How Motivation and Engagement Lead to Meaningful Work in Creative Majors

This poster presentation is on a study that seeks to determine the factors that foster meaningful creativity in college students through their motivation and engagement tendencies. Many factors can contribute to how college students are motivated and engaged in the various aspects of their daily lives. The key to meaningful work is doing something that connects a person with their interests in a conscious manner. This study, conducted in the spring 2024 semester, included 9 upper classmen studying in creative majors including Studio Art and Photography with various minors at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Participants provided a myriad of responses to each of the four activities conducted, as well as engaging in in-depth discussion about the topics being discussed. The data analysis shows that overall, participants in this study are mostly motivated to create meaningful work by personal factors including mental health, self-care, and personal goals. Guiding the students through this workshop allowed them to think critically about how they view their intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.