The purpose of this research was to determine if the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) would quantify and isolate some internal motives that will predict college choice decisions. The basic conceptual assumption was that internal motivation plays a significant role in the mediating process when such a decision is made. Specifically, this research focused on commuter students who had the choice of attending either a junior college, a four-year college or a university in a unique situation where all three institutions conducted their classes at the same education center. / The composite sample of 332 students consisted of 107 students attending classes offered by Troy State University, 83 students attending classes offered by Saint Leo College, and 142 students attending classes offered by Okaloosa-Walton Junior College. All subjects completed the EPPS. The resulting 15 subscale scores of each subject were the independent variables used in a discriminant function analysis program. The task was to predict which of the three institutions each subject was attending. There was no attempt to compare male-female differences since general discriminative information concerning the choice decision was the goal. / The findings indicate that the EPPS subscale scores do aid in discriminating between those commuter students selecting a junior college and those deciding to attend to four-year institution. Approximately 70% of the subjects attending the junior college were correctly classified; 56% attending the university were correctly classified; and 27% of those attending the college were correctly classified. Scores of the six subscales representing the needs of achievement, dominance, nurturance, abasement, succorance, and affiliation proved to be the most significant in this discrimination. / The findings from this study offer some hope of quantifying non-intellectual factors that may have an important influence on the decision to attend either a junior college or a four-year institution. Both prospective students and counselors could use more factual data when making such important choice decisions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2573. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74508 |
| Contributors | HOYER, WILLIAM FRANCIS., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 84 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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