Poster- Intentional Self Regulation and Cadet Rank Ascension Across the West Point Experience

Abstract

The capacity to select appropriate goals, optimize resources to achieve those goals, and compensate when goals are no longer feasible, or simply, Intentional Self-Regulation (ISR), is a key construct moderating positive outcomes among adolescents and adults within multiple contexts, for example, schools, community organizations, and work settings. Positive outcomes of ISR in these settings involve, academic achievement, leadership in civic activities, and career success, respectively. The present study examines a setting wherein such a construct may be critical for such successes, the United States Military Academy (USMA), where academic achievement, leadership, and launching careers of honor and service are goals of cadets. Using data from Project Arete, a mixed-methods longitudinal study of character development and leadership among USMA cadets, the relations between ISR and cadet rank ascension was assessed. Data from the USMA graduating class of 2018 (N = 1009) were analyzed to assess if ISR scores predicted a cadet’s ascension in rank. Cadets were administered a version of the Selection, Optimization, Compensation measure of ISR within the first week of reporting to USMA for entry into the first-year of training. Selection refers to goal choice and management; optimizations refers to the means used to pursue goals effectively (e.g., strategic thinking, executive functioning); compensation refers to behaviors used when goals are blocked or when the means used to attain a goal fail (e.g., selecting a new goal in the face of loss, or using different means to reach a goal are instances of compensation). In turn, rank ascension was determined from the change in class rank on cadets’ admissions scores, accounting for academic, physical, and community leader attributes, and the final class rank based on the cumulative (academic, military, and physical) grade point average. Preliminary findings suggest that ISR was a significant predictor of cadet rank ascension between initial entry and graduation from USMA. To refine understanding of how the three components of ISR (Selection, Optimization, and Compensation) may have contributed to this overall relation, additional data analyses will be conducted to explore patterns of covariation within and across time among the ISR components, components of the admissions scores, and final graduation rank. Results will be discussed in regard to implications for USMA admissions, character and leadership training, and intervention strategies aimed at enhancing cadet development.