Personality and cognitive characteristics of students in science and engineering

This study was a longitudinal investigation into the relationship of personality and cognitive variables to persistence and success behaviors at a technological institute. Personality was assessed with the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Cognitive measures were the Learning Environment Preferences (LEP) and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA). The sample included the entire class (N = 354) matriculated in the Fall of 1990 at a private technical institute. Multiple regressions, discriminant analyses, and cluster analyses were utilized to test five hypotheses. Dependent variables were: grade point average, persistence to degree in a regular curriculum, and persistence to completion of a novel curriculum. Only the CPI made meaningful contributions to the explained variance of any of the equations.;Findings indicate that: (1) Persisting students could succinctly be described as well-organized, conscientious, stolid and hard-working. (2) Successful students were well-organized, individualistic and impatient. (1&2) Contrary to the literature, the results were more productive for persistence than for success. (3) Completion of assessment instruments and completion of the novel curriculum were found not to be independent. (4) Personality variables significantly increased the predictive ability of equations based on ability. (5) Cluster analyses of personality variables failed to return distinct clusters, reflecting homogeneity of technology personalities, lending credence to Holland's (1985) theory for this setting.;Organizational skills and conformity appeared to be the qualities most related to success and persistence performance in this study. Suggestions are offered to Counseling Psychologists and administrators toward selection, retention, and counseling of technology students. Suggestions for future research are offered including a call for a fresh formulation of approaches used to assess the dynamics of student performance characteristics.