Lawrence B. Lewis & Elizabeth Yost Hammer
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Benefits of Writing a Personal Mission Statement
As described by Stephen R. Covey in his best-selling book The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People, a personal mission statement “focuses on what you want to be (character)
and what you want to do (contributions and achievements), and on the values and prin-
ciples upon which being and doing are based” (Covey, 1989, p. 106). There are a number
of long-term benefits that may result from this assignment. This kind of experience
provides students with a formal opportunity to examine their lives. It helps them assess
their thoughts, feelings, and values, and it provides an opportunity to help students
separate their ideas of who they are and what they want from the ideas of others, such as
parents and friends. There is a potential for this assignment to provide direction for the
student’s values and to assist in making long-term goals. We plan to assess students at the
end of their college careers to help assess the long-term benefits of this assignment.
Results indicate that the project was successful in helping students write about their
goals in progressively more sophisticated ways. In addition to enhanced writing, this
assignment also allows for a formal opportunity for students to examine their lives; assess
their thoughts, feelings, and values; and make long-term goals. We plan to continue this
assignment as part of the psychology first-year experience and to assess the long-term value
of the assignment as the students progress through the program.
References
Butler, A., Phillmann, K., & Smart, L. (2001). Active learning within a lecture: Assessing the impact
of short, in-class writing exercises. Teaching of Psychology, 28, 257–259.
Connor-Greene, P. (2000). Making connections: Evaluating the effectiveness of journal writing in
enhancing student learning. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 44–46.
Covey, S. (1989). The seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Free Press.
Fallahi, C. R., Wood, R. M., Austad, C. S., & Fallahi, H. (2006). A program for improving under-
graduate psychology students’ basic writing skills. Teaching of Psychology, 33, 171–175.
Feldman, R. S. (2005). Improving the first year of college: Research and practice. Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Henderson, B. B. (2000). The reader’s guide as an integrative writing experience. Teaching of
Psychology, 27, 130–132.
Miller, S. (1997). Self-knowledge as an outcome of application journal keeping in social psychology.
Teaching of Psychology, 24, 124–125.
Upcraft, M. L., Gardner, J., & Barefoot, B. (2004). Challenging and supporting the first-year student:
A handbook for improving the first year of college. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Appendix: Excerpts From a Sample Mission Statement Paper
As a psychology major, it is hard for me to understand why anyone would choose another
major when the study of the human mind has a personal link within all of us. Surprisingly,