An Examination of Demographics, Personal Values, and Philosophical Orientations of College Students from Multiple University Campuses

The purpose of this study is to identify what current students value today and to determine whether there is a link between personal values and student demographics. A brief demographic survey of fourteen questions was developed and distributed, along with a twenty-question survey which is used determine participant’s values, or philosophical orientation (McKee, Boyatzis, & Johnston, 2008). There were two hundred and forty-two subjects who volunteered over a two-week time period for this research project. Analysis was completed comparing various demographics (such as age, gender, nationality, first generation students) to determine if certain demographics strongly correlated with a particular philosophical orientation, such as pragmatic, human or intellectual. This manuscript further describes some of the current research within the field, the method in which the data was collected and analyzed, as well as the results