Extrinsic Values and Their Impact on Self-Actualization
The priorities and values instilled in young people by the American school system have broader implications for their overall well-being and life satisfaction. Like in many other countries, students in the US often feel compelled to succeed, leading to an increase in stress levels, anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. Author Joseph maintains that the pursuit of extrinsic goals is incompatible with self-actualization.
One such goal, as discussed by Bronsky, is a focus on better grades, which dims the lives of many students. Accordingly, authors Oh and Grant assert that fun, unstructured playtime is key to well-being. Consequently, if these experts agree on the need for unstructured playfulness, what impact does the traditionally structured American school system have on students?
In an article on Psychology Today, Dr. Stephen Joseph, a professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham, UK, confesses his admiration for the work of psychologist Tim Kasser. In particular, he notes that for several years, Kasser has studied people’s values and goals and their connection to a good life. Specifically, he focuses on consumer culture, zeroing in on money, possessions, image, and status. He compares these values with intrinsic ones such as personal growth, relationships, and community, and evaluates their influence on well-being.
According to Joseph (2015, para. 4), “Numerous studies have found that the extent to which people prioritize intrinsic over extrinsic goals is associated with higher levels of self-actualization, vitality, life satisfaction, and pleasant effect, and with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and negative affect”. Thus, the competitive, achievement-oriented nature of the American education system tilts most students towards the less fulfilling extrinsic goals.
Achievement-Oriented Nature of American Education
Students too often narrate the depressing nature of the American education system. In one account, a student noted that, while in high school, he was raised to believe that academic and extracurricular excellence was the pinnacle of achievement he could aspire to (Bronsky, 2021). In this case, the student’s sense of self-worth was dangerously hinged on grades, test scores, awards, and other extrinsic markers of success. This took a toll on him as he believed that getting into a prestigious university and having a good GPA were the only successes that made sense.
However, proponents of pursuing extrinsic goals in education can argue that developing skills, knowledge, and discipline positions students for future success and satisfaction. This, they may maintain, is achieved through the ability to maintain meaningful work, financial security, and being able to positively influence society. From this perspective, a single-minded pursuit of academic excellence in the short term makes up for a more intrinsically satisfying life later (Bronsky, 2021). Educators often assert that skills such as analyzing information, thinking critically, and making reasonable decisions are among the tools young people need for a satisfying life.
Playfulness, Social Connection, and Psychological Health
Another factor that influences student well-being is the extent to which students’ environments foster or undermine social bonds. Social bonds are crucial for individuals, especially students, whose extensive academic demands, coupled with technology and social media use, have led to pandemic-level loneliness and disconnection among school-going youths. In his article in Psychology Today, Travis Tae Oh, Ph.D. (2021), an assistant Professor of Marketing at Yeshiva University, maintains that authentic in-person interactions and playfulness are key to well-being. This argument aligns with the mantra that having fun requires playfulness, connection, and flow.
Accordingly, many students are unable to connect at a personal level and do not have fun in the traditional sense. This sad reality is occasioned by students having to endure intense schedules, constant usage of their mobile phones, and having little time for nuanced experiences. As such, they are locked into a routine in which they perform only productive, practical, and pragmatic tasks, without balancing their lives with unstructured playtime, which eventually leaves them feeling depleted rather than nourished (Oh, 2021). It is this depletion and lack of social reconnection and unstructured playtime that perhaps represents the greatest threat that the American school culture poses to students’ well-being.
Educational Culture and the Rise of Student Mental Health Challenges
While schools model the young generations to take up the leadership mantle in the country, they have also become one of several epicenters of mental health issues. Specifically, the crushing psychological toll of academic intensity, isolation, lack of fun activities, and the pursuit of extrinsic goals is the ballooning rates of students afflicted with anxiety and depression (Oh, 2021). Additionally, an increase in the number of students with self-harm thoughts and suicidal ideation is symptomatic of how dull the education system has become. This status quo is attributed to the intense pressure of high-stakes testing, perfectionist parenting, and college admission mania.
This was particularly pronounced during the COVID-19 period. As Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at Wharton and TEDx host, reflected in an article for the New York Times, “Although we haven’t faced a pandemic before, most of us had faced loss. It helped us crystallize lessons from our own past resilience…” Unfortunately, the sudden disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic further intensified students’ sense of “languishing” – a pervasive “sense of stagnation and emptiness” where one is “muddling through…looking at life through a foggy windshield” (Grant, 2021, para. 11). Therefore, the collective experience of grief, listlessness, and a struggle to find a purpose compounded with the existing threats to further damage students’ mental well-being.
Reforming School Culture to Promote Holistic Development
Analysis of this issue often leads one to two solutions: double down on skills development and training, or radically overhaul the education culture to make it more fun. The strategy of maintaining the status quo often involves equipping students with coping strategies such as mindfulness, emotional intelligence, grit, and a growth mindset to help them excel academically (Bronsky, 2021). The alternative strategy advocates a profound reboot of the entire system to root out or fundamentally alter its values, such as competitiveness, individualism, and a sense of self-worth. They argue that simply layering mental health support on top of a broken system will simply compound the problem rather than eliminate its deficiencies. Thus, their idea is that the school environment should be redesigned to deprioritize its most depressing aspects.
To people who have passed and are coping with the current system, the proposals can seem significantly at odds with workplace requirements. However, proponents of change maintain that intrinsically motivated and mentally resilient individuals would have a higher capacity for critical thinking, allowing them to work collaboratively to solve any problem (Bronsky, 2021). However, rather than adopting this radical system, there needs to be minimal changes that will drive a balanced approach to integrated learning. This approach must offer ample playtime, opportunities for social connection, and opportunities to pursue intrinsic goals necessary for a student’s mental well-being.
The American school system largely negatively affects most students because it is characterized by competitiveness, intense pressure, and a particular focus on extrinsic goals, which makes it unsuitable from a student well-being perspective. The sometimes excessive workload and performance-based values instill anxiety and undermine the pursuit of intrinsic goals, leaving little room for vital social needs such as connection, play, and personal exploration. Thus, the impact of the US school system is general “languishing,” an increase in anxiety and depression.
However, education forms a small part of an individual’s life, and enduring its benefits and challenges may be the basis of achieving intrinsic motivation in the long term. Thus, schools should recalibrate their cultural incentives and environmental design to include features that holistically nurture students. As it stands, the American school system is deeply skewed toward materialistic values. The decision to continue or alter course will, without exaggeration, determine the fate and well-being of generations to come.
References
Bronsky, J. (2021). An Empirical Introduction to Youth. e-Book.
Grant, A. (2021). There’s a name for the blah you’re feeling: It’s called languishing. The New York Times.
Joseph, S. (2015). Consumer culture and well-being. Psychology Today.
Oh, T. (2021). What makes you happy? why fun matters to your happiness. Psychology Today.