This study was designed to discover what background, personality, or college experience characteristics distinguished those women who aspire to enter occupations dominated by men from those women who choose careers in which women are well represented. In 1967, a subsample of 200 women seniors were chosen from those tested as freshmen in 1963 in the Michigan Student Study: A Study of Students in a Multiversity (Gurin, 1971). An extensive questionnaire was administered to these students. One hundred eighteen of the 200 women agreed to take additional projective tests to measure personality variables. The major areas investigated by the questionnaire included: (1) the educational and occupational achievement of the respondent's parents, and the characteristics of the student's childhood family life in general; (2) college experiences, including interaction with faculty members, and involvement in extracurricular activities; (3) the interests, attitudes, and beliefs of the respondent; and (4) the respondent's desires and expectations regarding her future life work. The projective personality testing consisted of four verbal cues which were scored for need for achievement and motive to avoid success. In 1970, 152 of the initial sample of women were recontacted. Again, the participants responded to an in-depth interview schedule, or questionnaire, if not available for an in-person interview. The interview/questionnaire concentrated on the respondent's educational and occupational experiences and expectations since graduation from college, and also attempted to characterize the participant's current family circumstances (whether married, with children, and so on). In 1981, a follow-up of 109 of the participants was conducted. The instruments used included four projective cues and an extensive questionnaire which explored career aspirations, support systems, and the role of work, marriage, and motherhood. Computer-accessible data are available for all three periods of data collection, as well as the completed questionnaires from the 1970 collection and the projective stories from the 1967 collection.
