Impacts of Instant Gratification on the Academic Achievement of EFL Learners: A Survey among Saudi University Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes.v25i2.616Keywords:
academic achievement, distractors, EFL learners, instant gratification, self-controlAbstract
Learners are frequently challenged by distractors that undermine their self-control and affect their academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine how Saudi EFL learners' achievement is affected by instant gratification and explore the strategies learners employ to resist immediate pleasure. The scale of self-control developed by Tangney, Baumeister, and Boone (2004) was distributed to 98 students in the English department to identify those with low self-control, of which 36 students were selected. The findings revealed that low self-control affected students’ ability to control their emotions and regulate their thoughts; affecting their academic performance. This study demonstrated that learners employed strategies to resist temptation, such as thinking critically about their future goals, planning, and goal-setting. The participants failed to resist temptations many times because of the habits they developed in responding to immediate pleasure. Our findings have significant implications for educators and policymakers when considering implementing training activities and developing curricula to foster learners' self-control. The results of this study cannot be generalized to all students in other universities, whose conditions and environments might be different, as self-control is affected by other factors such as culture, mood, and individual differences.
References
Alsweel, Reema. (2007). ‘Education and the role of women in Saudi Arabia’. https://mason.gmu.edu/~ralsweel/portfolio/artifacts/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Final%202.pdf. (Retrieved on 21 May, 2024). George Mason University.
Al-Yami, Adham, Abdulrahman Abdulwahed, Abdulrahman Azhar, Abdullah Binsaddik and Saeed M. Bafaraj. (2021). ‘Impact of time-management on the student’s academic performance: A cross-sectional study’. Creative Education, 12(3): 471–485.
https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2021.123033
Alyami, Rafah H. (2016). ‘Saudi women’s education and work opportunities: equity matters’. International Journal of Technology and Inclusive Education, 5(2): 868-872. DOI: 10.20533/ijtie.2047.0533.2016.0111
Attia, Najya A., Lubna Baig, Yousef Marzouk and Anwar Khan. (2017). ‘The potential effect of technology and distractions on undergraduate students’ concentration’. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 33(4): 860.
Baumeister, Roy F., Kathleen D. Vohs and Dianne M. Tice. (2007). ‘The strength model of self-control’. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16: 351–355. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00534.x
Beland, Louise-Phillip and Richard Murphy. (2016). ‘Ill communication: Technology, distraction and student performance’. Labour Economics, 41: 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2016.04.004
Buker, Hasan. (2011). ‘Formation of self-control: Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime and beyond’. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16 (3): 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2011.03.005
Cayubit, Ryan F., Christine A. Cadacio, Mary P. Chua, Van A. Faeldon and Marc K. Verdan. (2016). ‘Academic delay of gratification, academic achievement, and need for affiliation of selected high school students’. Educational Measurement and Evaluation Review, 7(2): 1–14.
Cosentino, Erica, Christopher J. McCarroll and Kourken Michaelian. (2022). ‘Resisting temptation and overcoming procrastination: The roles of mental time travel and metacognition’. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 21(4): 791–811.
De Ridder, Denise T., Gerty Lensvelt-Mulders, Catrin Finkenauer, F. Marjin Stok and Roy F. Baumeister. (2012). ‘Taking stock of self-control: A meta-analysis of how trait self-control relates to a wide range of behaviors.’ Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(1): 76–99
Dotson, Ronnie. (2016). ‘Goal setting to increase student academic performance’. Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 1(1): 45-46.
Duckworth, Angela and Stephanie M. Carlson. (2013). ‘Self-regulation and school success’. Social and Developmental Dimensions of Human Conduct, 40(1): 208–230.
Duckworth, Angela and James J. Gross. (2014). ‘Self-control and grit: Related but separable determinants of success.’ Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23: 319–325. Doi: 10.1177/0963721414541462
Freud, Sigmund. (1911). ‘Formulations on the two principles of mental Functioning’. In James Strachey (ed. and trans.) in collaboration with Anna Freud, assisted by Alix Strachey and Alan Tyson, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, 1953–74, Vol. 12: 213–26. London: Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis.
Gitome, J. W., M. T. Katola and B. G. Nyabwari. (2013). ‘Correlation between students’ discipline and performance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.’ International Journal of Education and Research, 1(8): 1–10.
Jensen, Arthur R. (1998). The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability. Westport: Praeger.
Job, Veronika, Malte Friese and Katharina Bernecker. (2015). ‘Effects of practicing self-control on academic performance’. Motivation Science, 1(4): 219.
Judistira, Asep A. and Hariz E. Wijaya. (2017). ‘The role of self-control and self-adjustment on academic achievement among junior high school students.’ In 3rd International Conference on Education and Training (ICET 2017), 122–125. Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/icet-17.2017.19
Komarraju, Maera, Alex Ramsey and Virginia Rinella. (2013). ‘Cognitive and non-cognitive predictors of college readiness and performance: Role of academic discipline’. Learning and Individual Differences, 24: 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2012.12.007
Kuhnle, Claudia, Manfred Hofer and Britta Kilian. (2011). ‘Self-control as predictor of school grades, life balance, and flow in adolescents’. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4): 533–548.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02042.x
Kulesza, Justin, Gerald DeHondt II and George Nezlek. (2011). ‘More technology, less Learning?’ Information Systems Education Journal, 9(7): 4-13. http://isedj.org/2011-9/ ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2010).
McMillan, Danielle. (2019). ‘What are the effects of goal-setting on motivation and academic achievement in a fourth grade classroom?’ https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1341&context=maed (Retrieved on 1 September, 2023)
Mischel, Walter. (2014). The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control. New York: Little Brown.
Mischel, Walter, Yuichi Shoda and Monical L. Rodriguez. (1989). ‘Delay of gratification in children’. Science, 244: 933–938.
Doi: 10.1126/science.2658056
Oliveira, L. (ed.). (2019). Managing Screen Time in an Online Society. IGI Global.
Oriol, Xavier, Rafael Miranda, Juan C. Oyanedel and Javier Torres. (2017). ‘The role of self-control and grit in domains of school success in students of primary and secondary school’. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01716/full (Retrieved on 2 November, 2023)
Rajkhan, Safaa F. (2014). Women in Saudi Arabia status, rights, and limitations. Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Washington Bothell, Washington, USA.
https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/25576/Rajkhan%20-%20Capstone.pdf?sequence=1. (Retrieved on 20 May, 2024).
Razali, S., M. S. Rusiman, W. S. Gan and N. Arbin. (2018). ‘The impact of time management on students’ academic achievement’. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 995: 012042.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/995/1/012042.
Sides, Jacklyne D. and Joshua A. Cuevas. (2020). ‘Effect of goal setting for motivation, self-efficacy, and performance in elementary mathematics’. International Journal of Instruction, 13(4): 1–16.
Tangney, June P., Roy F. Baumeister and Angie L. Boone. (2004). ‘High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success’. Journal of Personality, 72(2): 271-324.
Doi: 10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00263.x. PMID: 15016066.
Travers, Cheryl J., Morisano Dominique and Edwin Locke A. (2015). ‘Self‐reflection, growth goals, and academic outcomes: A qualitative study’. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(2): 224–241.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12059
Wargo, Eric. (2011). Resisting temptation.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/resisting-temptation (Retrieved on 6 September, 2023)
Wenzel, Mario, Sebastian Bürgler, Veronika Brandstätter, Antonia Kreibich and Marie Hennecke. (2022). ‘Self-regulatory strategy use, efficacy, and strategy-situation-fit in self-control conflicts of initiation, persistence, and inhibition’. European Journal of Personality, 38(2):189-208. DOI: 10.1177/08902070221150478
Zimmerman, Barry J. and Anastasia Kitsantas. (2014). ‘Comparing students’ self-discipline and self-regulation measures and their prediction of academic achievement’. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 39(2): 145-155.
