College students may only have vague notions about how an undergraduate degree in psychology will help them in future careers. By focusing on their knowledge of theories in psychology, students may not be cognizant of skills acquired during their undergraduate education. This set of skills includes thinking skills, language skills, information gathering and synthesis skills, research methods and statistical skills (see, for example, McGovern et al., 1991). Although these skills are varied and distinctive, they have been elusive to a specific delineation and measurement (Hays, 1996). A skills inventory was created with the goals of giving feedback to individual students on their development of skills through the completion of the psychology major, and documenting the nature of skill acquisition by psychology majors (see Hays, 1996). Feedback to individual students would provide an assessment of their progress in skill areas related to career goals and enable them to better market themselves to employers.

Unique skills were compiled from the literature and from consultation with psychology faculty. Ten skill areas were developed based on this compilation (see Table 1). An inventory was developed with 90 items, 9 for each skill area.These items were based in concrete experiences where students exercised a particular skill. Senior and freshmen psychology majors (N=102) completed the inventory and a Multivariate Analysis of Variance compared the differences between groups on the skill areas.

The MANOVA found a significant overall effect for experience in the psychology program, and statistically significant differences in 7 of the 10 skill areas (see Table 2 and Table 3). The largest effect was for Research Methods, then for Information Gathering, Ethics/Values, and Critical Thinking. There was not a statistically significant difference for Groups/Organizations, Behavior Management or Individual Differences.

This inventory may provide valuable feedback to students and faculty about the skills developed through their Psychology program. The finding that senior psychology majors scored significantly higher on many of the skill areas than did freshmen helps validate the usefulness of this instrument. This instrument is a step towards the measurement of the distinctive but elusive skills instilled in psychology majors.

Hays, N. (1996). What makes a psychology graduate distinctive? European Psychologist, 1, 130-134.

McGovern, T., Furumoto, L., Halpern, D., Kimple, G., and McKeachie, W. (1991). Liberal education, study in depth, and the arts and sciences major- Psychology. American Psychologist, 46, 598-605.

Table 1

Ten General Areas of Academic Skills

Skill Area	Description
1. Written/Oral Communication	The ability to convey information effectively in both written and oral communication.
2. Information Gathering	The ability to obtain relevant information from publications, databases and other appropriate sources.
3. Groups/Organizations/Community	The ability to work effectively in teams and with groups of other people.
4. Interpersonal/Counseling/Interviewing/Mentoring	The ability to effectively conduct one-on-one interactions, including counseling, interviewing and administering standardized tests.
5. Behavior Management/Supervision/Teaching	The ability to teach, supervise and manage behavior through personal skills and by monitoring and manipulating relevant aspects of the immediate environment.
6. Individual differences/Special populations/Cultural diversity	The ability to work with individuals from special populations and diverse cultures in a sensitive and effective manner.
7. Critical thinking/Problem solving	The ability to critically evaluate situations and projects in a rational manner and reach conclusions based on the information available.
8. Research Methodology/Statistics	The ability to design, conduct, and analyze the results of research experiments and studies.
9. Ethics/Values	The ability to take into consideration the costs, benefits, and impact of projects on the individuals involved and society in general.
10. Technology/Computer	The ability to use computers for information gathering, analysis and dissemination.

Table 2

Results

Skill Area	Effect	Eta-squared
1. Communication	F(1,100) = 5.66, p = .019	.05
2. Information Gathering	F(1,100) = 20.35, p = .001	.17
3. Groups/Organizations	F(1,100) = 0.00, p = n.s.	.00
4. Interpersonal	F(1,100) = 11.63, p =.001	.10
5. Behavior Management	F(1,100) = 0.14, p = n.s.	.00
6. Individual Differences	F(1,100) = 0.16,p = n.s.	.00
7. Critical Thinking	F(1,100) = 13.22, p = .001	.12
8. Research Methods	F(1,100) = 62.21, p = .001	.38
9. Ethics/Values	F(1,100) = 18.02, p = .001	.15
10. Technology/Computer	F(1,100) = 4.27, p = .041	.04

Table 3

Mean Scores

Skill Area	Freshmen	Seniors
	M XX SD	XXMXX SD
1. Communication*	3.9XX 1.66	XX 4.74XX1.67
2. Information gathering***	4.57X 1.95	XX 6.54XX2.07
3. Groups/Organizations	4.70XX2.14XX	XX4.65XX2.00
4. Interpersonal***	2.78XX1.17XX	XX3.78XX1.81
5. Behavior Management	3.52XX 2.36XX	XX3.37 XX2.05
6. Individual Differences	4.50XX1.51	XX4.67XX1.90
7. Critical Thinking***	3.37XX1.31	XX4.59XX2.06
8. Research Methods***	2.26XX1.77	XX5.74XX2.62
9. Ethics/Values***	3.50XX1.81	XX5.22XX2.44
10. Technology/Computer*	5.41XX1.45	XX6.02XX1.57

Note. The possible range of mean scores is 0 to 9, 0 indicating
no skill experiences for an area, 9 indicating all possible skill
experiences for an area.
* p < .05, *** p < .001.