Factors Influencing Concentration Choice Among Undergraduates, 1979-1983

This four-year longitudinal study was undertaken to explore the reasons why some women undergraduates who enter college intending to major in science abandon their plans before a major is actually declared. The factors that seem to facilitate the choice of a science major for women college students were examined as well. In the summer of 1978 and 1979, 150 women and 150 men from each incoming class of a large prestigious university were selected for participation in the study. Participants from the class of 1982 were selected on the basis of a score of 700 or above on the math SAT. The class of 1983 participants were selected if they expressed a tentative intention to major in science or mathematics on their college applications. For the purposes of this study, science and mathematics were defined to include physical sciences, biological sciences, mathematics, computer science, engineering, and premedical studies. In the summer prior to matriculation and once each year during college, these students completed questionnaires requesting information on their personal backgrounds, college experiences, choice of a concentration, and plans for a career. During their freshman year, participants from the class of 1983 also responded to four Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) picture cues. In addition, a subsample of 20 women and 20 men participated in yearly interviews designed to explore aspects of concent ration choice, career plans, and academic experience in greater depth. The Murray Research Archive holds participant responses to the Thematic Apperception Test, interview transcripts, some questionnaires, and numeric file data from the Class of 1983, and some interviews from the Class of 1982.