Harvard Student Study, 1960-1964

The Harvard Student Study was initiated by McArthur and King to examine the factors underlying personality change in late adolescence and early adulthood in a subsample of 50 students from the Harvard College class of 1964. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which various aspects of a college community can affect the lives and development of students, by examining both the development of individuals within a particular social system, and the impact of the system on the individuals. The study also sought to assess the extent to which changes experienced during college could be predicted from students' pre-college backgrounds. Using semi-structured interviews and projective tests, numerous aspects of personality were examined. These included cognitive style, coping patterns, attitudes and values, object relations, self-esteem, mood, and ego integration and control. Variables assessed included time spent dating and studying, self-confidence and creativity, aggression, dependence, authoritarianism and ethnocentrism, individualism, religiosity and liberalism. The Murray Research Archive has original record paper data, including transcripts of interviews and test sessions, from the Harvard Student Study.