Educational and personal characteristics of four different types of learning- and grade-oriented students

Abstract To discover personal and educational characteristics of learning- (LO) and grade-oriented (GO) students, over 200 subjects were divided into four groups: high LO-high GO; high LO-low GO, low LO-high GO, and low LO-low GO. All students completed the 16 PF, Myers-Briggs (M-B), Levenson Locus of Control (LOC), Achievement Anxiety (AAT), and Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) tests. Results indicated that H-L students produced highest scores on factors B, I, M, and Q1 of the 16 PF; scale N of M-B; scale I of LOC; the facilitative scale of AAT; and all scales of SSHA. They scored lowest on Q4 of the 16 PF, on scale S of M-B, on the debilitating scale of AAT, and on scale C of LOC. Students in the L-H groups scored lowest on scales I, M, and Q1 of the 16 PF, on scale N of M-B, on scale I of LOC, on the facilitating scale of AAT, as well as on all scales of SSHA. They scored highest on scale S of M-B and tied for highest on scale Q4 of the 16 PF. Students in the H-H group scored lowest on scales B, I, and Q4 of the 16 PF as well as on scale I of M-B and highest on scale E of M-B, on AAT (debilitating), and on scale C of LOC. Finally, students in the L-L group tied for highest on the 16 PF scale Q4 and on scale I of M-B and lowest on scale E of M-B and scale I of LOC. Results were discussed in terms of the personal and educational resources each student brings to the college environment and the way(s) in which these resources are used in coming to terms with the specifics of that situation.