A Comparison of Freshmen and Upper Division Students' Preferences for Small and Large Psychology Classes

Abstract

Contrary to the commonly held view, we hypothesized that freshmen would prefer small classes and that upper division students would prefer large classes. Twenty freshmen and 20 upper division students rated their preferences for 16 class structures, which varied on combinations of four variables: small or large class size, multiple-choice or essay exams, heavy or moderate work load, and average class grade of B or C. Subjects also filled out the Watson and Friend (1969) Social Avoidance and Distress (SAD) and Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) Scales as control variables. Finally, upper division students identified and rated the size of psychology classes they had taken. Results support our prediction: Freshmen prefer small classes, and upper division students prefer large classes. Moreover, upper division students with greater experience of large classes report stronger preferences for them. Gender and social anxiety do not affect these findings. We discuss these results as well as the need for longitudinal investigations of the effects of academic experience on personal and intellectual development in university students.