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Home , Affair, Romantic friendship

as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception

Roksana Parvin* [email protected] Md. Mahmudul Hasan Sagar† [email protected]

Abstract The importance of research on love affair and academic achievement is increasing day by day. The present study has been designed to investigate whether love affair and perception towards love affair has any significant impact on academic achievement of university students. To achieve this end, 100 participants were selected conveniently from the University of Dhaka. Among them 51 students had love affair relationship and 49 were single. One questionnaire was used in this study. The t-test, mean and standard deviation were employed to analyze the data. Findings illustrated that there is a significant difference in their obtained academic results (CGPA) between two groups of participants (Affair and Non-affair) but there is no difference in their expected academic results (CGPA). Findings further showed that students’ “perceived impact” (positive/negative) of love affair on academic achievement has significant impact on their academic achievement (CGPA). This study highlights the necessity of increasing awareness among the university students about the impact and perception of love affair on their academic achievement.

Key Terms: Love affair, academic achievement, own perception.

Introduction A love affair is a sexual or romantic relationship between two persons usually called couple. Love have a strong emotional emphasis. They are emotionally intense and are usually sexually intimate. They may begin as "just talking" and "just having a good time together" and evolve into a powerful bond. When a romantic affair lacks both overt and covert sexual behaviors and yet exhibits intense or enduring it may be

* Lecturer, Department of Psychology, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), Bangladesh † Lecturer, Department of Psychology, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), Bangladesh Love Affair as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception referred to as an , , or a romantic (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 2000). One important concept related with love affair is . Human sexuality is the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also refer to the way someone is sexually attracted to another person, whether it is to the opposite sex, to the same sex or to either sex, to all gender identities, or not being attracted to anyone in a sexual manner. Human sexuality impacts personal, cultural, political, legal, and philosophical aspects of life. Different experts categorize love differently. In a classic book titled Colors of Love, Lee (1973) defined six varieties of relationship that might be leveled as love: a) (life-long friends): the constructed type of storge love is characterized by rapport, self-revelation, interdependency, and mutual need fulfillment. b) Agapic (totally "thou" centered): an agapic lover is forgiving. This kind of love typically assumes that when the loved one causes pain to himself or herself or to someone else, that he or she is acting in ignorance, innocent error, or is the victim of forces not originating in the love-object’s personality. c) Mania (possessiveness and intense dependency): the ideal type of this lover is obsessed with his or her love object. A manic lover may be unable to sleep, eat, or even think logically around the loved one. The manic lover has peaks of excitement, but also depths of high . d) Pragma (logical-sensible): the ideal constructed type identified as pragma is that of a person who is unable to invest love in "unworthy" love objects. The pragmatic lover is keenly aware of the comparison level for alternatives that he or she has. Pragmatic lovers are inclined to look realistically their own assets, decide on their "market value" and set off to get the best possible "deal" in their partners. A pragmatic lover typically assists the loved one to fulfill his or her potentials; for example, such a lover might make sure the love object finishes school, asks for deserved promotions, gets the attention or that he or she "deserves" from physicians, stockbrokers, or employers. e) Ludus (self-centered game player): the ideal constructed type of a ludus lover is that of a person who ‘plays’ love affairs as he or she plays games or puzzles — to win, to get the greatest rewards for the least cost.

FENI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 142 Vol. 01, No. 01, August 2016, ISSN [2518-3869] Love Affair as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception

f) (romantic): the constructed type of Eros is romantic love. Erotic lovers believe that is possible if not mandatory. is highly desirable. It is believed to produce an optimum state in the whole mind-body; persons in love feel 10 years younger, sleep well, wake up rested and refreshed. Impotent persons become potent; in-orgasmic persons become orgasmic. Every gland and organ is believed to be operating at maximum efficiency. Perception Perception is the interpretation of any experience or information in meaningful sense. People make decision on the basis of their own perception and it varies from person to person. Perception may be positive or negative and it has great influences on people’s behavior. It is commonly established that perception, self-efficacy, self-monitoring has significant effect on performance. So, in this study it needs to be assessed whether the participants’ own perception toward their love affair has any significant impact on their academic achievement or not. Love Affair and Academic Achievement Academic achievement refers to the performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically in school, college, and university. School systems mostly define cognitive goals that either apply across multiple subject areas (e.g., critical thinking) or include the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in a specific intellectual domain (e.g., numeracy, literacy, science, history). Academic achievement as measured by the GPA (grade point average) or by standardized assessments designed for selection purpose such as the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) determines whether a student will have the opportunity to continue his or her education (e.g., to attend a university). University life is one of the most memorable experiences in one's life. It represents a critical developmental period for students’ life. Social factors such as romantic relationships, organizations and clubs, and sports activities have been found to have effects on students' academic performance. Quatman, Sampson, Robinson and Watson (2001) examined the relationship between status and academic achievement, academic motivation, depression, and self-esteem and found that dating frequency has negative relationship with academic achievement. Chilman and Meyer (1963) surveyed academic performance of undergraduate married students as compared to the single undergraduates found that married couples received higher CGPA. Married couples were shown to have a goal minded approach to academics. Archival data was studied by Vockell and Asher (1972) in the early seventies that related to high school seniors dating frequency and their

FENI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 143 Vol. 01, No. 01, August 2016, ISSN [2518-3869] Love Affair as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception scholastic aptitude, achievement, and school related activities. Future plans of the individuals positively affected their frequency of dating with respect to certain occupational goals. Kopfler (2003) studied the effects of romantic relationships on academic performance and found that romantic relationship has a negative effect on academic performance. Jiang (1972) examined a situation that is wide spread in colleges, namely college love affairs. He argued that it is positive for academic achievement if college students can correctly organize the relationship between college love and study. If handling well, then it may be beneficial and become a great power to college students leading them to success. Throughout the research findings it can be observed that in some studies love affair has a positive relationship with academic achievement but in contrasts some studies showed love affair has a negative relationship with academic achievement. This contradictory issues need to be addressed properly. Majority of the previous studies has been conducted in western societies. Study like love affair and academic achievement has rarely been conducted in collectivistic countries like Bangladesh. Since love affair is very common in Bangladeshi students, it is very essential to know the exact relationship between love affair and academic achievement in the context of Bangladeshi culture. In addition, it is also important to assess whether their own perception towards their love affair has any significant impact on their academic performance. Research Methodology Participants 100 students from the University of Dhaka were conveniently taken as the participants for this study. The participants of this study were categorized in two ways: affair (students engaged in love affair) and non- affair (students who are single). Selected participants covered all socio- economic background. Instruments One questionnaire was used in this study. The questionnaire consists of three questions. The questions were “Whether they are engaged in love affair or not?”; “What is their perception (Positive/Negative) towards their love affair and academic achievement?”; “What are their obtained academic results (CGPA) and expected academic results (CGPA)?” The response of the first two questions was Yes/No. Procedure Standard data collection procedures were followed in this study. For taking consent, the participants were briefed about the general purpose of the study and requested to cooperate with the researcher. The participants were

FENI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 144 Vol. 01, No. 01, August 2016, ISSN [2518-3869] Love Affair as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception also informed that the investigation is purely academic and their responses to the questionnaire would be kept confidential. In conducting the study, the participants were contacted in person. Then the questionnaire was distributed to them requesting to respond to the questionnaire during their free time. Prior to answering the questions, the participants were requested to go through the standard instructions given on the questionnaire. Thus, data collection from all the participants was completed in 3 weeks. Statistical Analysis Data were analyzed through some quantitative statistical techniques like t-test, mean and standard deviation. The t-test was used to see whether the participants obtained and expected result differ significantly or not. And also to see whether there is any difference according to their own perceived positive and negative effect of love affair on their academic performance. Mean and Standard deviation were used to find the average score and to see how they differ from the mean. Results Table 1: Mean, Standard Deviation (SD) and t value of participants in terms of obtained and expected result Obtained result Expected result Mean SD t Mean SD t Affair 3.4924 .31945 3.6696 .27786 -1.161 Non-Affair 3.6198 .20609 -2.360* 3.7302 .24207 * Significant at the 0.05 level Table 1 indicates that there is a significant difference in terms of obtained result (CGPA) between the participants of affair and non-affair group but there is no significant difference in terms of their expected result (CGPA). Table 2: Mean, Standard Deviation (SD), t value of participants perceived effect (positive or negative) of love affair on academic performance Participant’s perceived effect of love Mean SD t affair on their academic performance Positive 3.585 .267 2.791** Negative 3.346 .343 ** Significant at 0.01 level The above table illustrates that there is a significant impact of participants’ perception of love affair on their academic performance or obtained results (CGPA). Discussion The present study was designed to investigate whether the love affair and the perception of participants towards love affair has any impact on academic performance of the university students. The findings indicated that

FENI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 145 Vol. 01, No. 01, August 2016, ISSN [2518-3869] Love Affair as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception there is a significant difference in terms of obtained result (CGPA) between the participants of affair and non-affair group but there is no significant difference in terms of their expected result (CGPA). Students who are single (non-affair) obtained higher result (CGPA) than students who have affair but there is no significant difference in their expected academic result. This finding is also consistent with some other previous research findings (Quatman, et al. 2001; Kopfler, 2003, Jiang, 1972). Another finding of this study shows that, there is a significant difference in participants’ academic performance or obtained result (CGPA) on the basis of their own perception (positive or negative) towards love affair. That means participants who have positive perception about the effect of love affair on their academic performance or obtained result (CGPA), obtain higher academic result than participants who have negative perception. Some previous research findings suggested that love affair has a positive relationship with academic performance of the participants (Chilman and Meyer, 1963; Vockell and Asher, 1972; Jiang, 1972). Conversely, some other previous research findings suggested that love affair has a negative relationship with academic performance of the participants (Quatman, et al, 2001; Kopfler, 2003). The present researcher found a significant difference in the participants’ academic performance whether the participants have love affair or not. Since the finding of this study is consistent with some other previous studies and contradicts with some other studies, further study is needed to confirm the issue. As with many other studies, this study suffers from a number of limitations, suggesting scope for future studies. The first limitation is the reliance on a sample of small size. Future studies on larger samples can confirm the findings in Bangladeshi culture. A second limitation is the use of students from the University of Dhaka only. Such a sample of convenience facilities doesn’t ensure generalizing results to other university students. Despite these limitations, the present findings can serve as a base of further research on love affair and academic achievement in Bangladesh. Conclusion The current study aimed to identify whether love affair and the perception of participants about their love affair has any effect on their academic performance. Toward this end, data were collected from 100 university students. The mean, standard deviation and t-test were used to analyze the data. Results showed that there is a significant difference in obtained results between affair and non-affair group participants but no difference is found in their expected results. Even though there are some

FENI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 146 Vol. 01, No. 01, August 2016, ISSN [2518-3869] Love Affair as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception limitations of this study, this study plays a vital role to open a new area of research. This study has diverse implications for students, teachers, other professionals and so on. References Chilman, C. S. and Meyer, D. L. (1963), Educational Achievement and Aspirations of Undergraduate Married Students as Compared to Undergraduate Unmarried Students, with Analysis of Certain Associated Variables, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University, New York. Jiang, D.J. (1972), College Love Affair, Online version available at http://web clearing house.net (viewed on May, 2012) Kopfler, M. E. (2003), Effects of Romantic Relationships on Academic Performance, National Undergraduate Research Clearinghouse, 6, online version available at http://www.webclearinghouse.net/volume/6/KOPFLER- EffectsofR.php (Retrieved on 7 May 2015) Lee, J. A. (1973), The Colors of Love: An Exploration of the Ways of Loving. Don Mills, Ontario: New Press. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (2000), online version available at http://www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/love (viewed on 7 May, 2012). Quatman, T., Sampson, K., Robinson, C., and Watson, C.M. (2001), Academic, Motivational and Emotional Correlates of Adolescent Dating, Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 127(2), 211-234. Vockell, E.L. and Asher, J.W. (1972), Dating Frequency Among High School Seniors, Psychological Reports, 31, 381-382.

FENI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 147 Vol. 01, No. 01, August 2016, ISSN [2518-3869] Love Affair as a Factor of Academic Achievement of University Students According to Their Own Perception

FENI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 148 Vol. 01, No. 01, August 2016, ISSN [2518-3869]