DOCUMENT RESUME CG 027 163 ED 397 351 AUTHOR Petty, Steve TITLE Fear of Success. PUB DATE [92] NOTE 59p.; Master's Thesis, Fort Hays State University. For a thesis having the same title, submitted to the same school, but dealing with college level subjects, see ED 354 430. Practicum Papers (043) PUB TYPE Dissertations/Theses Research/Technical (143) Reports Tests/Evaluation Instruments (160) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. Achievement Need; *Adolescents; Aspiration; *Fear of DESCRIPTORS Success; Goal Orientation; High Schools; *High School Students; Motivation; Personality Assessment; *Self Efficacy; *Self Esteem; Self Motivation; Success; *Underachievement ABSTRACT Fear of success in a group of high school students (N=127) was studied, with research findings supporting the following generalizations: (1) high school students with an intermediate level of self-esteem have greater fear of success than those with high and low levels of self-esteem; (2) high school students with BSRI (Bem Sex Role Inventory) classifications of "androgynous" have greater fear of success than those with classifications of (3) gender and age should be interpreted "undifferentiated"; concurrently in examining subjects' fear of success; (4) the family structure in which high school students are living is not associated (5) employment status of high school students with fear of success; is not associated with fear of success; and (6) the population of high school students displays above average levels of fear of success. Six appendices present documentation and instruments used in this study; three tables present data and statistical analysis. Contains 18 references. (TS) *********************************************************************** * * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. *********************************************************************** (t, FEAR OF SUCCESS cn being A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the Fort Hays State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Steve Petty B.S., Fort Hays State University Approved Date Major Professor BEST COPY AVAIIABLE Approved Chair, Graduate Council U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND ce nt I dun:OK-Ina, Resew', and linior.vOrnoni DISMINATE THIS MATERIAL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Hh`-, BEEN GRANTED BY O This document has been reproduced as s: received from the person or organization PET-Ty or yinating it Minor changes have been made to z improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI positron or policy Graduate Committee Approval The Graduate Committee of Steve Petty hereby approves his thesis as meeting partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. Approved Chair, Graduate Committee Approved Committee Member Approved Committee Member Approved Committee Member Date 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A Masters Degree seemed like something everyone else would get except me. When I finally decided this is something I really wanted to do I felt very good about reaching for a big goal. Unless you experience this for yourself, there is no way to really tell someone what it is like to experience this much stress and finally great satisfactions. I appreciate all my friends that expressed support and encouragement for what I was doing. To Dr. Billy Daley, Dr. Thomas Guss, Dr. Jim - Stansbury, and Dr. Warren Shaffer I send a large thank you for the support and assistance I received from each one. The biggest thank you for her love, support, and hard work when I needed it most, goes to my wife Marilyn. Without her none of this would have been possible for me. 11 Table Contents Page Introduction 1 Overview 1 2 Definitions of Fear of Success 2 Fear of Success: An Overview General Studies 5 9 Age and Fear of Success - 9 Gender and Fear of Success Family Structure and Fear of Success 12 Self-Esteem and Fear of Success 13 Sex Role Orientation and Fear of Success 13 13 Employment and Fear of Success 13 Summary 13 State of the Problem Rational and Importance of the Research 13 Composite Null Hypotheses 15 15 Definition of Variables 15 Independent Variables 16 Dependent Variables 16 Limitations 17 Methodology 17 Setting 17 Subjects 17 Instruments iv 18 Demographic Sheet 18 Fear of Success Scale 19 BEM Sex Role Inventory 20 Personal Attributes Inventory 20 Design and Data Collecting Procedures 21 Data Analysis 21 Results 29 Discussion 29 Summary 30 Related Literature and Results of the Present Study 31 Generalizations 32 Implications 32 Recommendations 33 References List of Appendices Page 35 Appendix A: Pennission Sheet 37 Appendix B: Instruction Sheet 39 Appendix C: Demographic Sheet 41 Appendix D: Fear of Success Scale 45 Appendix E: BEM Sex Role Inventory 47 Appendix F: Personal Attribute Inventory vi List of Tables Page Table 1: A Comparison of Mean Fear of Success Scores for High School Students According to Age, Gender, and Family Structure Employing a Three-Way 23 Analysis of Variance Table 2: A Comparison of Mean Fear of Success Scores for High School Students According to Age, Gender, and Self-Esteem Employing a Three-Way Analysis of 25 Variance Table 3: A Comparison of Mean Fear of Success Scores for High School Students According to Gender, Self-Esteem, and Employment Status Employing a Three-Way Analysis 28 of Variance I vii List of Figures Page Figure 1: The Interaction Between the Independent Variables Gender and Age for the Dependent Variable Fear of 27 Success Abstract The purpose of the researcher was to study fear of success in high school students. The sample consisted of 127 of which 64 were female and 37 63 were male. The total sample consisted of 43 freshmen, 28 sophomores, juniors, and 19 seniors. The independent variables were age, gender, family dependent variable structure, self-esteem, BEM, and employment status. The composite null hypotheses were tested was fear of success scores. Three using three-way analysis of variance (general linear model). .4 recurring. Of the 17 A total of 17 comparisons were made plus comparisons 6 were for main effects and 11 for interactions. Of the 6 main effects 2 were statistically significant at the .05 level. The following main effects were statistically significant: 1. the independent variable self-esteem and the dependent variable fear of success, and 2. the independent variable BEM and the dependent variable fear of success. The results indicated the folloviing for main effects: 1. high school students with an intermediate level of self-esteem had greater fear of success than those with high and low self-esteem, and 2 high school students classifi Id by the BEM as androgynous had statistically greater fear of success than those classified as undifferentiated. Of the 11 interactions 1 was statistically significant at the .05 level. The following interaction was statistically significant: the independent variables gender and age for the dependent variable fear of success. The results of the present study appeared to support the following generalizations: ix 19