Educational choice and student attitudes in relation to terminal and instrumental values

Two studies were reported in which it was found that (a) students' choice of School at Flinders University was related to the relative importance assigned to different terminal and instrumental values as assessed by Rokeach's Value Survey, and (b) that students' attitudes toward controversial social issues as assessed by the semantic differential were also related to some of these values. Results were compared to those of a sample of students from Michigan State University and the differences were related to Lipset's discussion of value patterns in different democracies. Results also indicated significant relationships between the different attitudes and between the attitudes and dogmatism. It was suggested that these relationships might be a function of a dogmatic style involving a cluster of values concerning traditional authority. 1970 Australian Psychological Society