Date of Graduation

Spring 2014

Degree

Master of Science in Psychology

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Erin Buchanan

Abstract

Academic advisors are prepared to engage with a diverse population of students every semester, with each advisor bringing his/her unique personality and experiences to the advising relationship. Unfortunately, many advisors, particularly those dealing with music majors, find themselves meeting with students who display extreme cynicism and exhaustion, known as burnout, toward their chosen major. In order to help advisors recognize the needs of this student population, over 300 music majors across the country were surveyed to investigate the relationships between perceived academic advisor support, basic psychological needs, and burnout. Perceived advisor dissatisfaction was positively correlated with burnout, such that as advisor dissatisfaction grows, burnout also grows. Additionally, numerous predictive relationships were found between advising factors and burnout with basic psychological needs acting as mediators; these findings suggest that advisors should consider the psychological needs of their students within the advising relationship. Other implications for academic advisors are discussed, including the need for more professional development opportunities related to advising burned out students.

Keywords

advising, burnout, basic psychological needs, music majors, survey

Subject Categories

Psychology

Copyright

© Marilee Lewellyn Teasley

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