1. ProtoLyfe Ashley Moulton Sarah McDevitt How visualizing
potential life outcomes can help decrease high school students
stress
2. Stressor: High school pressures I feel like if I get a bad
grade on a test, Ill get a bad grade in the class, then I wont get
into a good college, then I wont be successful in life. - Brooklyn
16 POV: High school students can reduce their stress about the
future if they can broaden definitions of future success
3. SBTM: Simplest Behavior that Matters Identify and visualize
3 future paths to happiness, helping students understand that one
mistake won't alter their future meaningfully
4. Prototype 1: Life Maps via Post-It Step 1: Student lists 3
places careers work environments college majors hobbies Step 2: We
draw Step 3: Student reflects
5. Prototype 2: Life Maps via texts
6. Prototype 2: Life Maps via texts
7. Design Trial Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Life Map Group
pre-test Question 1: location Question 2: work environ. Question 3:
career Question 4: college major Question 5: hobby sent 3 life maps
then submitted reflection on life maps then completed post-test
Question Only Group pre-test Question 1: location Question 2: work
environ. Question 3: career Question 4: college major Question 5:
hobby post-test
8. Design Trial Questions Engagement: Will students
participate? Outcome: Reduce current stress about... future?
consequences of a bad test grade? Participants 19 high school
students Grades 9-12 From 5 high schools in California and
Pennsylvania High academic achievers ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
9. Engagement Results They liked it! 17 of 19 students
participated in all 7 days I really loved the personalized life
map! That really made me excited. I liked it all! Thank you! Each
day's questions were quick and easy to answer, which was good. I
liked that I could do it all on my phone, too.
10. Qualitative Stress Results Life Map Group: Decreased Stress
This project made me realize that I have more options than I
thought. I dont have to decide my entire life right now, which many
high school students feel pressured to do. - 11th grader This
helped me realize that I dont have to make all my decisions now,
and that there is still the option for me to change my mind halfway
through life. - 11th grader I do not have just one option to
follow, I realized I have multiple paths I could go on and still be
happy. - 12th grader It made me excited to get my life started. -
11th grader
11. Eh, not really. Not really. I still don't know what I want
to do in my future so not really. It made me feel a little better
because it simplified everything down into just naming three
options I was considering instead of a billion options swirling
around my head. Qualitative Stress Results Questions Only Group:
Unchanged
12. Quantitative Results: Life Maps Reduced Future Stress %
Reduction in self- reported stress about the future: Life Map
group: 23% Questions only: 4% n=9 n=7 High stress Low stress
13. Quantitative Results: Life Maps Reduced Future Stress %
Reduction in the perceived effect of one bad test grade this year
on future success: Life Map group: 10% Questions only: 3% n=9 n=7
High effect Low effect
14. Insight By visualizing multiple future lives that would
make them happy, high school students can reduce the stress that
comes from believing there is only one path to success
15. Prototype 3: ProtoLyfe
16. Next Steps Feature additions: - Affirmations that it is
okay to be uncertain about future paths - Use more interest-based
questions to develop life paths User testing: - Test with boys -
With larger data set, look for any correlation between academic
indicators (homework hours, # APs) and intervention effects
