ERIC Number: ED250635
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1984-Mar
Pages: 10
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Influence of Personal Values and Self Concept on the Selection of an Academic Major.
Senn, David J.; And Others
To examine the interrelationships among undergraduate students' interests and values, their self-concepts, and their choice of an academic major, 298 college students (116 males, 182 females) completed a self-report questionnaire, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values. An analysis of the results showed that students whose current major was the same as their desired major scored significantly higher on total self-concept than did students who reported a discrepancy between their current and preferred major. A significant interaction between risk and self-concept revealed that low risk students scored lower than high risk students on social and personal self-concept. High risk students reported higher values in the social realm, while low risk students reported higher theoretical values. Sex by self-concept interaction revealed that females scored high on the moral-ethical self, family self, and social self, while males scored higher in the areas of physical and personal self. Males scored highest on economic, political, and theoretical values, while females were highest on aesthetic, religious, and social values. Finally, males in this study had changed their majors more frequently than had females, but tended to exhibit a greater consistency between their personal values and choice of an academic major. (BL)
Descriptors: Career Choice, College Students, Higher Education, Majors (Students), Self Concept, Sex Differences, Values
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association (30th, New Orleans, LA, March 28-31, 1984).