Article Critique

Higher education has become more diverse in the last few decades, creating challenges around inclusion and student development.  In the article “Examining the role of discomfort in collegiate learning and development,” Kari B. Taylor and Amanda R. Baker (2019), reviewed the theoretical theories surrounding dissonance and its relation to the learning and development of college students.  Throughout the article, Taylor and Baker (2019) culminated and analyzed three theories: cognitive-structural theories of development, Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning, and Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance.  All three theories were chosen because of their relation and usage in the framework of dissonance and student development.  While this article highlighted how to best approach dissonance-based student learning and development, there were limitations related to the depth of analysis and exclusion of demographic differences within the theories utilized.

While informational, the article had its strengths and limitations.  One strength, the researcher’s referenced different dissonance-based theories as a foundation for the theoretical review they conducted, which added validity to their review.  Another strength, the researcher’s inclusion of students of color and how their experiences may necessitate a different approach to introducing dissonance, as well as the type of support needed for students of color.  Despite the discussion regarding students of color, a limitation was the three theories reviewed lacked information on how age, geographic location, or socioeconomic status plays a role in student development through dissonance.  According to Taylor and Baker (2019) many of the dissonance-based theories used to support findings were based on the results of predominantly white and middle-class students during their college career.  This poses the issue of lack of representation among the theories used for research and discussion among student affairs professionals.  How can the field of student affairs advance with the growing diversity of the higher education climate, when its theories are rooted in limited/exclusionary research?

Through the article’s strengths and limitations, a framework is provided for what else needs to be researched to help better the field of student affairs.  The research discussed brought to light the importance of engaging students in discussions that push them outside of their comfort zone in order to promote learning and development.  However, there appears to be little methodological research on the influence of dissonance and student development.  It would be worthwhile for future research to also find a way to capture how demographic and personal identity factors such as geographic location, age, and socioeconomic status correlate to the success of student development through engaging in discussions that produce dissonance.

An important question I came away with, how can dissonance encourage development to those who are already feeling dissonance on a daily basis?  The factors of age, geographic location, and socioeconomic status all have an impact on a student’s ability to learn and develop. Pulling from my psychology background, based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, in order for an individual to reach the development stage (self-actualization), a lower level need such as resources (safety) must first be met (Myers & DeWall, 2015).  Connecting the two concepts caused me to think about how to best approach student development.  Based on what I know about the student affairs field, a good approach would be focusing first on providing learning resources, such as skills to actively listen, analyze, and professionally respond to discussions.  Followed by promoting dissonance-producing discussions to achieve student learning and development.  It may take more time, but I think it would be a more effective tool within the student affairs sphere and a good guide for myself as I pursue my professional goals of being a career counselor.

References

Myers, D.G., & DeWall, C.N. (2015). Psychology (11th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Taylor, K. B., & Baker, A. R. (2019). Examining the role of discomfort in collegiate learning and development. Journal of College Student Development, 60(2), 173-188. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/719745