Undergraduate Self-Perceptions of Creativity and Independence

Abstract

596 undergraduate students from 7 schools of a major university responded to a group of 20 questions relating to self-perceptions of creativity and independence employed in earlier studies of graduate faculty members and industrial inventors and producers. The hypothesis was that these students would tend to perceive of themselves in terms of popular expectations relating to the schools of their choice. The results indicated that students of architecture, engineering, liberal arts, and science tend to see themselves as significantly more independent, individualistic, and creative than students of business, education, and to some extent, agriculture.