Project Talent Public Use File, 1960-1976

This data collection contains a representative portion of the data collected through Project TALENT, a longitudinal survey designed to investigate the personal, educational, and experiential factors that promote or inhibit the development of human talents. Seven specific objectives of this study were: (1) to inventory the pool of available talent for training in science, engineering, and other professional fields, (2) to assess the relationships among aptitudes, interests, and other factors, (3) to determine the extent to which lack of interest or motivation limit the development of individuals' talents, (4) to identify the main factors affecting vocational choice, (5) to identify predictors of creativity and productivity, (6) to assess the effectiveness of various types of educational experience, and (7) to provide a basis for developing procedures for realizing individuals' potential. Extensive data were obtained in 1960 from a sample of 400,000 students in grades 9-12 in the United States. Follow-up surveys were conducted one year, five years, and 11 years after high school graduation. This data collection contains data for a subsample (about 1 percent) of respondents made up of 4,000 of the original 400,000 Project TALENT participants (1,000 men and women from each of the high school classes of 1960-1963), all of whom had responded to the 11-year follow-up survey. Data obtained in the 1960 survey include each individual's cognitive test scores (e.g., language aptitude and ability, mathematics ability, visualization ability, complex intellectual aptitude, and general and specific knowledge), self-descriptive adjectives, occupational and activity interest inventory, family background (e.g., parents' education and occupation, economic status, number of siblings and their educational experience), personal information (health, high school activities, plans, sex, and date of birth), and description of school (e.g., kind, size, urban-rural, percent minority, and retention ratio). The 11-year follow-up data include individuals' post-high school education and work experiences, family development, plans and aspirations, life satisfaction, and decisions regretted. Follow-up personal information includes race, religion, marital status and history, spouses' education, number of children, health (own and parents'), geographical mobility, and military status and experience.