Rank and Extracurriculars: Impacts on Social Integration, Motivation, Confidence, and Dedication
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Authors
Swartzle, Chelsea
Issue Date
2025-04-03
Type
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Description
This research follows the experiences of Alma College students who are involved in
extracurricular activities. The central question specifically aims to investigate how instances of
perceived rank in a group (i.e., how one feels/told they compare to other group members) impact
their feelings of integration with their peers, motivation to go to practices/meetings, confidence
in their abilities to complete the required tasks, and dedication to their organization as a whole.
This study covers a wide range of extracurriculars, from the performing arts to Model U.N. to
Greek Life. Notably, each participant was asked to have only one activity in mind (the one they
most identified with) when participating in the study. The rationale for the study comes from the
student researcher’s lived experiences taking part in numerous extracurricular activities at Alma
College, along with discussions with peers regarding rank. There are two goals for this research.
These are to identify if a relationship between rank and the four dependent variables exists and,
if it does, to then theorize potential solutions for coaches, supervisors, and leaders in order to
mitigate some of the adverse impacts. The student researcher is using two methodologies to
gather the data. The first is a quantitative Qualtrics survey in which anonymous participants are
requested to answer Likert-scale questions. The second mode of data collection includes multiple
qualitative semi-structured interviews of those who indicated that they would be interested in
participating in the Qualtrics survey. The data collection process is still ongoing. However, based
on previous literature, the student researcher anticipates the data to reflect a positive correlation
between feelings of integration, motivation, confidence, and dedication for those ranked more
highly in an organization and a negative correlation for those positioned lower within their
respective hierarchy.