Applying the devising theatre activities to enhance the adversity quotient of the Faculty of Fine Arts’s students Srinakharinwirot University

Abstract

This transdisciplinary research was a collaboration between the performing arts and psychology. The objectives were to create devising theatre activities that cooperated with the adversity quotient (AQ) and compared undergraduate students’ AQ before and after participating in the research’s activity. The study used a quasi-experimental approach and included a pretest and posttest for a single group. Measurements were made of the dependent variable. Undergraduate students were the study’s population: 1,270 students at Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok campus Years 2–4, Academic Year 2022. Purposive sampling was used for selection, resulting in a sample size of fifteen participants. The design research instruments incorporated the AQ principles into the devising theatre process. The study’s findings were measured using Sabaiwan’s (2004) AQ scale, resulting in a bipolar message-type measure with five parts: Control, Origin, Ownership, Reach, and Endurance. The quality of the AQ measure had a reliability value of .84. The research’s results indicated that undergraduate students’ AQ could be increased to a higher degree by using research instruments. The AQ ratings increased in each of the five areas. Reach and Endurance were the two dimensions with the highest ratings, and it was found that the efficacy of research activities was mostly dependent on three factors: (1) activity design: AQ traits must be included in every activity and should be progressively increased from lowest to highest; (2) activity time, which called for both limited time and quality time; and (3) the facilitator, who contributed to creating a safe space and encouraging culture.