A Note on the Relationship of the Kuder Preference Record Scales to College Marks,Scholastic Aptitude and Other Variables

Abstract

Test results and scholastic records of over 400 University of Georgia male students were analyzed by level of scholastic aptitude, college marks, occupational preference and academic adjustment. Results of this preliminary study seem to justify the following conclusions:

1. Students in the School of Business Administration seem to have characteristic occupational interest profiles on the Kuder Preference Record. Business Administration students, whether selected at random from the University student body or selected from the list of probation and excluded students, scored significantly higher on the Persuasive, Computational, and Clerical scales of the Kuder Preference Record than do non-Business Administration students.

2. The present data show no significant relationship between the several Kuder Preference Record scales and weighted grade; i.e., for the subjects of this study, college marks could not be accurately predicted from scores on the Kuder Preference Record.

3. A slight positive relationship was found between scores on the Literary scale of the Kuder Preference Record and scholastic aptitude, while Social Service, Mechanical and Computational scores seem to show low but negative relationship to scholastic aptitude.

4. Kuder Preference Record scores for students on scholastic probation do not differ significantly from scores made by students not on probation. Numerically, the mean percentiles of non-probation students are higher than those of probation students in Business Administration on those sub-tests that are typically high for students of this school. That the difference is not statistically significant makes additional comment largely speculative. There is, however, sufficient intimation that “highness” on these typically high sub-scores may relate to factors underlying successful work in this school so as to warrant more extensive study.