To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: How Undergraduates' Choices Align with Team- and Self-Related Beliefs

Cooperative learning requires individuals to work interdependently with others to accomplish common goals. Professionals focused on human development require skills that can foster social interdependence. Yet not all students use such opportunities to support their own and others’ learning. Undergraduates (n=149) assigned to intact groups across a semester chose to work interdependently or individualistically after completing structured group activities. Volunteers completed pre- and post-surveys and reflected on their group learning experiences. Most undergraduates chose to work interdependently. Their commitment was strengthened when they perceived greater control over their own and others’ learning. Some were unable to reconcile team-related constraints and global beliefs and worked individualistically. By exploring the intentions of undergraduates, I described why only some persisted at group learning.