Advancing The Study Of Optimal Functioning: A Longitudinal Research Investigation

Abstract

Recent research has explored the nature of the theoretical concept of optimal functioning, which emphasizes the importance of personal resolute, inner strength, and the maximization of a person's development, whether it is mental, cognitive, social, or physical. In the context of academia, the study of optimal functioning places emphasis on a student's effort expenditure, positive outlook, and determination to strive for educational success. One major inquiry closely associated with optimal functioning is the psychological process of optimization. Optimization, positive in nature, delves into the enactment of different psychological variables that could then improve a person's internal state of functioning (e.g., cognitive functioning). This theorization has extensive educational implications for consideration for example, what resources do we need and/or use to optimize students' emotional functioning at school (e.g., happiness)? <br/> From a non-experimental methodological approach, very little is known about optimization and how this process operates to facilitate personal experience of optimal functioning. This query is prevalent in school settings, especially when time restriction, logistic complexities, and academic demands make in situ experiments difficult to implement. Drawing from existing research investigations, we developed an innovative non-experimental model of optimization for testing. We used longitudinal data (N = 291 secondary school students) to explore the 'optimising effects' of effective functioning, personal resolve, and personal striving on two comparable adaptive outcomes: personal interest and academic achievement. From autoregressive structural equation modeling, we found effective functioning and personal striving sustained their optimizing effects across the two occasions. Mean score differences indicated academic achievement improved from T1 to T2. <br/> Evidence obtained from the present study, overall, has a number of school-based relevance and important methodological implications for consideration. In a practical sense, for example, educators could consider effective functioning and personal striving as intervention variables for implementation. Our findings, likewise, have established a strong premise for further methodological development. For example, in terms of assisting teachers, school counsellors, and school administrators, we propose a numerical 'index of optimization' (IO) that could indicate and reflect the magnitude of optimization (e.g., 0 1 where 0 = no resources required to optimize a student's subjective well-being, 10 = excessive resources required to optimize a student's subjective well-being).