Factor Pattern Comparisons of EPPS Scales of High School, College, and Innovative College Program Students

EPPS scores from 167 high school seniors(Study 1, S1), 137 introductory psychology students (S2), and students from an innovative college program (S3) were compared using analysis of variance, image analysis, and factor pattern comparison. Using S1 as a comparison study, it was found that S2 had greater need for social control and authority than S1, while S3 showed greater need for freedom and freedom from social control or constraint with, however, more complex personality structure, showing need for affiliation or friendship and need for nurturance, the need to help others, in addition to greater need for autonomy, than in the other two studies. The relevance of the need structure to the educational program shows that image analysis and factor comparisons using EPPS are psychologically meaningful, even when all the mathematical assumptions for these statistical tests are not met.