Characteristics; Success IDENTIFIERS *Obsessive Compulsive Behavior

The purpose of the current study was to assess whether students differed by major or classification on self-reported symptoms of obsession and compulsion. Though sex differences have not been found on this construct, it was expected that students with different majors would require different levels of such characteristics in order to be successful. It was also postulated that students would learn over time to become more obsessive and compulsive in order to succeed in college. Students were recruited from each of several majors. Students were also recruited so as to obtain representative groups of students from each of the freshman and senior classifications. Freshmen were significantly less obsessive and compulsive than seniors, as well as sophomores and juniors. It appears that the students might not be as concerned about adopting such a style in their early college careers. They apparently learn to adopt such characteristics after that first year, however, from their older peers. Future research might collect a larger sample and query more specifically about majors. (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Obsessive-Compulsive Differences