Achievement Strivings, Scholastic Aptitude, and Academic Performance: A Follow-Up to "Impatience Versus Achievement Strivings in the Type A Pattern"

A recent study of college students ( Spence, Helmreich, & Pred, 1987 ) demonstrated that the Jenkins Activity Survey measure of the Type A pattern consisted of two relatively independent factors labeled Achievement Strivings (AS) and Impatience-Irritability (II). Scores on the AS scale but not the II scale were significantly correlated with cumulative grade point average (GPA) on the basis of 2 or more semesters of work. Follow-up data on the academic performance of these students are reported here. Correlations between AS scores and updated GPAs that were based on at least 4 semesters of work were comparable in value with those reported by Spence et al. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, obtained from students' records, were also significantly related to GPA. However, SAT and AS scores were nonsignificantly correlated and combined additively to account for a substantial portion of the variability in GPAs. The R 2 s in four independent samples ranged from .22 to .36.