Honors Thesis Archive

Author	Cassidy Taylor
Title	Examining Personality Across College Institution Types
Department	Psychology
Advisors	William Davis, Stephanie Little, and Michael Mattison
Year	2020
Honors	University Honors
Full Text	View Thesis (632 KB)
Abstract	The current study investigates several personality characteristics and motivations of college students across different types of institutions, and their relation to the students’ decision-making process when choosing which college to attend. Personality traits and measurements are thoroughly examined, followed by ways that college institutions and their students differ from each other. An online survey assessed personality characteristics and factors involved in the college-decision process from 215 participants who were currently attending or had previously attended undergraduate institutions. Significant differences were found between different groups of students (e.g., students attending public vs private schools, male vs female) in their personality characteristics and the college factors they considered in their college-decision process. Personality traits also predicted how much students considered different factors when deciding which college to attend.