Research about the structure of character has largely assessed purported universal attributes. However, character develops within specific social, cultural and institutional contexts. As part of the first wave of a longitudinal study (Project Arete) of character development among cadets at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point,…

This study contributes to proactivity theory and debate on how universities meet competing stakeholder demands in an increasingly marketized higher education environment. We explore how the interplay between the stable facet of proactive personality and the situated behaviour of personal initiative influence academic performance. We hypothesized…

Explored the utility and meaning of the imaginary audience phenomenon in 2 studies involving 207 and 101college students. Results show that the Imaginary Audience Scale (D. Elkind and R. Bowen, 1979) meets conventional standards of validity and reliability, and that imaginary audience behavior is related to social anxiety, the self, and…

A study of 1,813 college freshmen in Hong Kong showed that Holland's model of interests and personality types has considerable external validity. Students with stronger traditional Chinese values behaved less consistently with Holland's model than those with weaker traditional values. (SK)

Results of tests done on 48 first-year students entering the Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University suggest that ambiguity may be present in Kolb's learning styles classification system and that further validity studies need to be conducted. (MLW)

Many studies which have investigated the differences between decided and undecided subjects have assumed homogeneity of both subsets, but results of these studies do not justify such a assumption. This study attempted to identify, multidimensionally, types of vocationally undecided college students. Data on 11 variables from 276 undecided…

Two studies involving 98 prisoners and 92 undergraduates examined whether increased attention to interpersonal behaviors would improve assessments of the personality core underlying psychopathology. Twenty-one items were developed as the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathology. Measurement of interpersonal behavior appears to improve prediction…

Explains that the concern of learning style research is to identify student characteristics, which are related to instructional methods and learning outcomes in educationally significant ways. Demonstrates that styles as measured by the Ego Inventory Instrument have some desirable reliability and validity qualities. Proposes that in addition to…

This study was conducted to evaluate whether the adjectival self-description checklist may provide a viable method of quickly obtaining initial personality type information. The Personal Preferences Self-Description Questionnaire (PPDSQ) was administered to more than 420 college students, and data were analyzed using classical reliability analysis…

Tested a sample of college students to determine the validity of Ellis' contention that irrational beliefs: (1) are held dogmatically and (2) interfere with logical inference making. Found greater endorsement of irrational beliefs on the Irrational Belief Scale associated with (1) greater dogmatism and (2) less critical inference making.…

Two studies involving approximately 3,500 college students were conducted to establish and validate a self-report method of identifying nonclinical young adults with significant borderline personality disorder features and to evaluate clinical correlates of this classification across relevant areas of functioning. Results support the validity of…

It is proposed that common variance among Factor V personality traits might best be modeled in terms of three broad and distinct subdomains one level below the superordinate level of the so-called Big Five. Three studies are reported that point toward this compromise conception of the top of Factor V as Absorption (A), Intellectance (I), and…

Jungian measures have proven extremely popular, selling more than three million copies per year for use in various types of counseling. This study investigated the construct validity of scores from an alternative measure of Jungian personality, the Personal Preferences Self-Description Questionnaire (PPSDQ) (B. Thompson, 1996). Forms of the PPSDQ…

Interrelated analyses were conducted with more than 4,000 college students to examine the reliability and validity of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and to develop and validate a short version of the scale. Results provide moderate support for the reliability and validity of both the TPQ and the short form. (SLD)

A discussion of student ratings of faculty looks at problems in measurement and interpretation, including such factors as the ability of raters to evaluate complex behaviors, the salience of personal characteristics in judging task performance, and emphasis on the students as consumer. (Author/MSE)