MEASUREMENT AND STUDY OF SELF-CONCEPT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT OF DEGREE CANDIDATES IN FOUR TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRAMS
Abstract
Students in engineering curricula have traditionally been selected for admission on the basis of past academic achievement and/or measures of intellectual ability. These measures have been used because they correlate with successful completion of engineering school. Researchers have indicated however, that personality factors play a role in the retention of students in engineering curricula. Some researchers have suggested that personality measures, when combined with measures of cognitive abilities, could provide counselors with valuable information with which to assist students in making specific engineering curricula decisions. The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of two personality measures for the differentiation of degree candidates in four engineering curricular programs. The Adjective Check List (ACL), a measure of self-concept, and the Association Adjustment Inventory (AAI), a measure of general psychological adjustment, were administered to Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Degree candidates and Bachelor of Science Degree candidates in Electrical Engineering (BSEE), Mechanical Engineering (BSME), and Industrial Management (BIM) at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The hypothesis tested was: There will be no significant differences between the four degree candidate groups on the 24 ACL scales or the 13 AAI scales. In order to test the hypothesis, an analysis of covariance was performed on each of the 37 total scales. For each scale, the covariate was defined as the total effect of the remaining 36 scales. Results of this analysis indicated that there were significant differences between the four degree candidate groups on the Lability, Order, Heterosexuality, Change, Succorance and Favorable scales of the ACL. Significant differences were also found on the Withdrawal-sociable, Paranoid-naive, Psychosomapathic-physical contentment and Anxious-relaxed scales of the AAI. On this basis, the null hypothesis was rejected. In order to isolate the specific group differences uncovered by the analysis of covariance, a Scheffe post hoc comparison was performed on each of the 6 ACL and 4 AAI scales identified. The Scheffe comparison resulted in the identification of 14 degree candidate group differences which were significant at the .05 level. Differences were found between: the BSEE and BSME Degree candidate groups on the Lability scale of the ACL; the BSEE and AAS Degree candidate groups on the Paranoid-naive scale of the AAI; the BSEE and BIM Degree candidate groups on the Favorable scale of the ACL and the Withdrawal-sociable, Psychosomapathic-physical contentment and Anxious-relaxed scales on the AAI; the BSME and BIM Degree candidate groups on the Favorable, Order, Heterosexuality, Change and Succorance scales of the ACL and Psychosomapathic-physical contentment scale of the AAI; and the AAS and BIM Degree candidate groups on the Heterosexuality and Succorance scales of the ACL. Of the 14 degree candidate group differences found, 12 involved the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management (BIM) Degree candidate group. This result indicates that the major utility of the ACL and AAI is in the ability to differentiate the BIM students from their counterparts in Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering programs and the Associate of Applied Science programs.
Recommended Citation
GRIEPENTROG, WILLIAM PAUL, "MEASUREMENT AND STUDY OF SELF-CONCEPT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT OF DEGREE CANDIDATES IN FOUR TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRAMS" (1980). Dissertations (1962 - 2010) Access via Proquest Digital Dissertations. AAI8111856.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations/AAI8111856