John O. Crites

Personality Correlates of Academic Adjustment

College achievement, as indicated by over-all grade-point average (GPA), consists of several more or less well-established variance components. The major component, as demonstrated by over thirty years of research on the prediction of college grades (Harris, 1740; Garrett, 1747; Fishman & Pasanella, 1960), is intellective. Measures of scholastic aptitude and achievemenc and indices of previous performance, such as high school GPA and class rank, correlate in the .50s and .6Os with college achievemenc, which means that they account for approximately 25 to 35% of the total variance in the criterion (Fig. 1 ) . These estimates are based upon relationships between predictors (measures of aptitude and achievemenc) and criteria (GPA) which are continuous variables, unrestricted in range, and linearly related, as specified in the zero-order and multiple regression models. Stern, Stein, and Bloom (1756) have questioned the appropriateness of these models for the prediction of college achievement, because

Acquiescence response style and the Vocational Development Inventory

Abstract The possible effects of acquiescence response style upon endorsement of items in the Vocational Development Inventory-Attitude Scale (VDI-Att) were investigated in an experimental paradigm. On Test “free-choice” (T,F,?) response options were presented to both the Experimental (E) and the Control (C) groups; on Retest C received the same format but E was administered a “forced-choice” (T,F,) answer sheet. One hundred male and female undergraduates were randomly assigned to the E and C groups cross-classified by sex. ANOVA on Test indicated the groups were equivalent; ANOVA on Retest yielded negative findings on acquiescence in the VDI-Att. It was concluded that responses to the VDI-Att are not significantly affected by acquiescence; rather, it was hypothesized that they can be conceptually related to discrimination learning processes.