A Portrait of the Artist and Scientist as Young Men

Abstract

From a large national sample of high school physics students, three groups were identified: those winning awards in science, those winning awards in the arts, and those winning awards in neither of these fields. The groups were compared on 300 biographical items. In contrast to responses of those winning no awards, both artists’ and scientists’ responses were wholesome and indicative of high aspirations for social status. Comparisons of the award winning groups suggests that social communication of inner feeling is the preoccupation of the artists while scientists are more intent on the single minded conceptualization of external reality.