The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of the psychological variables on the academic performance of first year students at the University of Potchefstroom. The reason that research in this field is important is that it can address the negative influence that the high failure rate of the first year students have on the community, the economy, and the severe financial and personal strain. Academic performance is the product of various inter-related factors. It is however difficult to get a representative model of all these factors. This is because academic performance, especially at university level, is an extremely complex and multi-facetted system. These factors need to be examined in conjunction with one another. A clear definition of the criteria used for academic performance evaluation is essential. A distinction is made between first year students that are successful in their studies as opposed to those that are not. A successful first year student is defined as a student who is credited with a pass mark in all the subjects required for that year of study, for the course taken. An unsuccessful first year student is a student that fails 50% or more of the subjects required for his I her course in that year, thus forcing the student to prolong the duration of the total study period by at least one year. A literature survey was done, in an attempt to identify and discuss some of the factors that influence academic performance. Various researchers' opinion on these factors were highlighted. The variables were grouped under the following headings: biographic, socio-economic, cognitive, personality, and academic factors. The following empirical tests were used: Senior Aptitude Test (SAT), the Ninteen Field Interest Inventory (19-FII), the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF) and the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA). The study population consisted of academically successful and unsuccessful first year students that started their studies in 1998 at the University of Potchefstroom. The population included diversity in terms of faculty, race and gender. Detailed statistics were used to correlate the variables by means of graphs for each assessment technique. Statistical variance is shown in tabular form. Psychological differences between men and women are highlighted, as well as differences between race groups and faculties. The empirical study shows that there definitely are psychological factors that play a role in academic performance. A correlation between intelligence, personality, career interests, study habits and attitude, and the academic performance of the student is shown. From the literature, and on grounds of the empirical study done, it can be shown that psychological variables do influence the academic performance of the student, and that there is a correlation between the variables and academic performance. / Thesis (M.A.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000

The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of the psychological variables on the academic performance of first year students at the University of Potchefstroom. The reason that research in this field is important is that it can address the negative influence that the high failure rate of the first year students have on the community, the economy, and the severe financial and personal strain. Academic performance is the product of various inter-related factors. It is however difficult to get a representative model of all these factors. This is because academic performance, especially at university level, is an extremely complex and multi-facetted system. These factors need to be examined in conjunction with one another. A clear definition of the criteria used for academic performance evaluation is essential. A distinction is made between first year students that are successful in their studies as opposed to those that are not. A successful first year student is defined as a student who is credited with a pass mark in all the subjects required for that year of study, for the course taken. An unsuccessful first year student is a student that fails 50% or more of the subjects required for his I her course in that year, thus forcing the student to prolong the duration of the total study period by at least one year. A literature survey was done, in an attempt to identify and discuss some of the factors that influence academic performance. Various researchers' opinion on these factors were highlighted. The variables were grouped under the following headings: biographic, socio-economic, cognitive, personality, and academic factors. The following empirical tests were used: Senior Aptitude Test (SAT), the Ninteen Field Interest Inventory (19-FII), the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF) and the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA). The study population consisted of academically successful and unsuccessful first year students that started their studies in 1998 at the University of Potchefstroom. The population included diversity in terms of faculty, race and gender. Detailed statistics were used to correlate the variables by means of graphs for each assessment technique. Statistical variance is shown in tabular form. Psychological differences between men and women are highlighted, as well as differences between race groups and faculties. The empirical study shows that there definitely are psychological factors that play a role in academic performance. A correlation between intelligence, personality, career interests, study habits and attitude, and the academic performance of the student is shown. From the literature, and on grounds of the empirical study done, it can be shown that psychological variables do influence the academic performance of the student, and that there is a correlation between the variables and academic performance. / Thesis (M.A.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000