A Technique for the Measurement of Social Adjustment

Abstract

pressed primarily in terms of grades. Attempts to develop instruments for prognosis of col lege success use academic record in this nar row sense as the major criterion; thus intelli gence tests are commonly validated by corre lating these tests with point-hour ratio or other similar data. However, it is being rec ognized increasingly that the college should aim to accomplish more than the development of academic competence. The development of social competence (using this phrase in a broad sense) should also be a major objec tive; students should learn at college how to get along with their fellows and should de velop certain capacities for leadership. Fur ther, adjustment to the other sex is (at least in a woman's college) a problem to which pre sumably the college should give some thought, since such adjustment is almost cer tain to be a major factor in the future life and happiness of these young women. The purpose of this research was to make a systematic study of college guidance prob lems, taking special account of the last two objectives?the development of social adjust ment to the same sex and to the other sex. It is believed that the investigation is distinc tive in two respects. In the first place, rela tively objective indices of social ability in re lation to the same sex and in relation to the other sex were developed. To develop these indices, and to use them along with the con ventional index of grades in a study of col lege prognosis and guidance problems, is be lieved in itself important. In the second place, all three criteria of success have been related to an unusual variety of other data, including not only intelligence test scores, but also re suits of tests of interests and attitudes and ratings on a number of traits by both stu dents and faculty. The total results would thus seem to be of exceptional range, and to offer rich opportunities for comparisons of possible significance.