University of Virginia Library

Two Measures

Only two kinds of predictive
measures seemed to be related to
our criteria of success, and these
measures were themselves closely
related. Success was most closely
related to Volunteers' scores on
psychological tests measuring dogmatism
and authoritarianism and to
their self-reports on their prior
educational experiences. In particular:
those who were successful had
gone to schools where classes were
small, where there was close contact
between students and professors,
where students felt intellectually
challenged, and where independent
study and projects were
encouraged. It is perhaps not
accidental that otherwise diverse
colleges which have these characteristics
colleges such as Antioch,
St. Johns, Wesleyan, Reed, Sarah
Lawrence, Oberlin, Swarthmore,
Bere are noted for the high
proportion of their graduates going
on to graduate school and to
eminence in the Arts, the Sciences,
and even business and the military
on occasion.