Analyzing Physics Majors' Specialization Low Interest Using Social Cognitive Career Theory

TL;DR

This study investigates why some physics majors develop low interest in theory and computation, revealing that lack of experience and negative outcome expectations significantly influence their preferences, using Social Cognitive Career Theory.

Contribution

It applies Social Cognitive Career Theory to analyze physics students' specialization preferences, highlighting factors affecting low interest in theory and computation.

Findings

Lack of knowledge and experience lowers self-efficacy.

Negative outcome expectations influence students' disinterest.

Interest in experiment remains relatively unaffected.

Abstract

As students pursue a bachelor's degree in physics, they may ponder over which area to specialize in, such as theory, computation, or experiment. Often students develop preferences and dislikes, but it's unclear when this preference solidifies during their undergraduate experiences. To get a better understanding, we interviewed eighteen physics majors who were at different stages of their degree regarding their interest in theory, computation, and experimental methods. Out of the eighteen students, we chose to analyze only nine students who rated computation and theory the lowest. Our analysis did not include interest in experiment because the ratings were less negative. We used Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Lucidchart to analyze students' responses and create individual graphical representations of the influences for each student. Through this, we uncovered how various factors such as learning experiences, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations influenced their low interest in a particular method. We found that lack of knowledge and experience is often the main reason why self-efficacy was lower. Students' lack of interest is also influenced by negative outcome expectations (e.g, math-intensive and a bad work-life balance) more than other SCCT factors. Our findings could help physics departments and educators identify positive and negative factors that could lead to a more motivating and inclusive physics curriculum.