EXPERIMENT NO.

LEVEL OF ASPIRATION

Level of aspiration of undergraduate students

By Khushbu sikligar (GIA)

(TYBA)

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Department of Psychology

Core- 10 Experimental Psychology- Practical 01

ABSTRACT

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the level of Aspiration (LOA) in university
students, by utilizing the level of Aspiration test that was created by Shah and Bhargav
in1983. Level of Aspiration is the desire to perform well in a task and set the goals for future
performances and achieve it. it varies from one person to another everyone have individual
goals and individual plans to achieve certain goals. At the end of the experiment we will be
able to understand what the different levels of aspiration are in different age groups.

For understanding this, Level of Aspiration is estimated by three ideas in particular Goal
discrepancy score (GDS),Attainment discrepancy score(ADS),number of times goals
reached score( Goal attainment score). In this experiment the goal discrepancy score,
attainment discrepancy score and the number of times goals reached score in a group data
indicate the subjects’ Level of Aspiration with increase in age. The result of this study shows
that the experiment of Goal Discrepancy Score, Attainment Discrepancy Score , and Goal
Attainment scores have no significance between SYBA & TYBA; the hypothesis has been
rejected. Thus the level of aspiration does not increase with the increase in age.

*Keywords- Aspiration, Level of Aspiration, Goal discrepancy score, Attainment

discrepancy score, number of times goals reached score.

Problem statement

To measure the Level of Aspiration in University students.

INTRODUCTION
Level of Aspiration (LOA) is an individual’s expectation on ambition. The level at which a
person sets his significant goals; the level of performance which he aspires. In today’s world
which is full of competition one needs to step up and be ambitious. The individuals need to
self introspect themselves in various matters. A person who is fully aware of himself
develops a self –concept wherein he is able to generate certain techniques to achieve his goals
and do what he feels is the best for him.

Aspiration is something which drives a person to think about his/her next step forward for
achieving the goal, thinking about the big picture and working hard to become the best he/she
can. It not only consists of being positive about everything but also to see weaknesses in you
and assessing it in a correct manner.

In the early 1930’s, it was observed that students who set challenging goals managed to
become more task-oriented, gain a heightened sense of purpose, and learn more. With this
acknowledgement, raising the aspirations of students became a priority of the time and
initiated pioneering research by proponents such as Dembo (1930), Hoppe (1931), and
Frank(1935)

A great deal of research activity toward the study of ‘Level of Aspiration’ was first
introduced in Germany in (1931) by Dembo in connection with her study of the dynamics of
anger. It is a recognizable idea to psychologists, educationists, sociologists and others and has
been the subject of broad discourse and experimentation in this last quarter of the Twentieth
century.

Aspirations are dreams, hopes, or ambitions to achieve a life goal. They can be thought of as
overarching life goals that can help provide a sense of purpose and direction. They can also
be out of line or something which they believe they are capable of. It is a person’s ego that
helps them to achieve their goal or to exceed their own potential. Aspirations can help give
life purpose and meaning. They can give them something to hope for and aim for. Aspirations
can be both positive and negative. Either it can help one to excel well or either it can leave
you in overconfidence. Having aspiration is really important whether it is small or big.“The
level of future performance in a familiar task which an individual, knowing his level of past
performance in the task, explicitly undertakes to reach.” Defined by J.D. Frank. A miniature
situation test can also be used to assess aspiration level. For eg; Darts or Goal Discrepancy.

Review of Literature

According to C.S. Hart “Aspirations are future-oriented, driven by conscious and

unconscious motivations; they are indicative of an individual or group’s commitments toward
a particular trajectory or end point.”The paper examines the notion of feasibility of
aspirations and the impact feasibility judgements have on aspiration formation and aspiration
realization, in terms of both capabilities and functionings. In particular this paper extends
existing theory by building on Hart's dynamic multi-dimensional model of aspiration and
Hart's aspiration set (2012. Aspiration, Education and Social Justice - Applying Sen and
Bourdieu. London: Bloomsbury). The theorization builds on empirical work, undertaken in
the UK, seeking to understand pupils’ aspirations on leaving school and college at age 17–19
as well as reviewing wider empirical and theoretical literature in this field. The discussion
contributes to capability theory by extending understanding regarding first, the way that
aspirations are connected to capabilities and functionings, secondly, the processes by which
aspirations are converted into capabilities and thirdly, how certain capabilities become
functionings. The paper reflects on the criteria that inform choices about the cultivation and
selection of different aspirations on individual and collective bases. In concluding the paper
the question of, “how do aspirations matter?” is addressed. Ultimately, an argument is made
for the need to “reclaim” a rich multi-dimensional concept of aspiration in order to pursue
human development and flourishing for all.

According to Siegel, S. (1957) Level of aspiration can be related to decision theory where an
achievement scale is viewed as a scale of utility of achievement goals. One's level of
aspiration can be reduced to the measurement of ordered metric goals which include a
ranking of the goals and the distance between them.

According to Boyd (1952) “level of Aspiration means an individual’s ambition in a dynamic

situation that is an individual’s goal or expectation in regard to the goodness of his own
future performance for a given task.”Level of aspiration can be related to decision theory where
an achievement scale is viewed as a scale of utility of achievement goals. One's level of
aspiration can be reduced to the measurement of ordered metric goals which include a ranking of
the goals and the distance between them. A behavioral model of decision making should contain
not only subjective probability but also utility whose main concepts are LA and reinforcement
effects. Given several choices the individual tries to maximize the subjective expected utility
where utility is a function of LA and reinforcement.

According to the American Psychological Association, Aspiration-level theory addresses

groups and individuals outcomes, assuming that initial goals and ambitions affect not only
specific outcomes, but also emotional, motivational, and behavioural outcomes. It’s a
conceptual approach.

Level of Aspiration is usually influenced by two types of factors. They are:

1. Environmental factors
2. Personal factors

Environmental factors include determinants like parental ambitions, social expectations, peer
pressure, social value, competition, group cohesiveness etc.

On the other hand, personal factors play a dominant role in determining his level of
aspiration as the child grows older and becomes more aware of his abilities and interests.
These personal factors include determinants such as wishes, personality, past experiences,
values, interests, sex, and socio-economic background. The dimensions of aspiration are
Career Aspiration, Social Aspiration, Economical Aspiration, Personal Aspiration, and
Educational Aspiration.

Y.G. Singh (2011) in his study aimed at finding out only level of Educational Aspiration in
Secondary School students in the influence at difference variables like sex and medium.
Findings show that the trait is not distributed normally. The educational aspiration level of
boys are better than girls, the medium of instruction also influences the educational aspiration
level.V.R. Rajesh (2014) in his study the level of aspiration of high school students in relation
to the background variables such as sex, residential locality, medium of instruction and
school management. The sample consisted of 300 high school students selected from Chennai
city for this study. The Level of Educational Aspiration Test developed by Dr. Yasmin Ghani
Khan (1999) was administered to collect the data. Collected data were subjected to suitable
statistical analysis and scores of the sample were computed. The result reveals that girls had
higher aspiration than that of boys. The study further reveals that aspiration levels of English
medium students are higher than that of Tamil medium students.

The level of aspiration of children is closely related to their self-concept and educational
achievement. (Bhargava, 1976).

METHOD

Objective

1. To measure the level of aspiration among TYBA Psychology students.

2. To measure the level of aspiration among SY and TY university students studying in
various courses.

Hypothesis

1. There will be a significant difference between the level of aspiration of TYBA

and SYBA undergraduate students.

Experimental Design

In this experiment, the experimental design taken in this experiment is the group experiment
design. Two subjects are used to determine if there is any difference between the levels of
aspirations amongst both the subjects. This is called two group design because it involves
splitting subjects into two groups so that they can be compared in evaluating a phenomenon.

Materials
Eleven sheets of level of aspiration ( Bhargav and Shah, 1983)
Stopwatch
Two pencils
An eraser
A sharpener
A plain sheet
A sheet with the human face depicted on it

Variables
Independent variable: Self aroused level of motivation.
Dependant variable : The goal discrepancies score, Attainment discrepancy score, Number of
trials the goal reached the score

Controls
The purpose of the experiment should not be revealed to the subject.
Interpretation of goal discrepancy score, attainment discrepancy score, and the number of
times the goal reached the score should not be discussed with the subject before or during the
experiment.
Environment factors – noise,light and fan are controlled.
The subject should make the human face from left to right in order.
The subject should follow the sequence of drawing the face from left to right on the page.
The subject will use the same pencil throughout the experiment.
The position of the sheet in respect to the subject should be kept constant in all the trials.
The subject’s mobile should be on silent.
The sitting position of the subject should not change throughout the experiment.

Sample
A 19 year old second year student of M.S. University was taken as a subject for the
experiment.
A 20 year old third year student of M.S. University was taken as a subject for the experiment.

Scoring method
The Goal Discrepancy Score, Attainment Discrepancy Score, and the number of times goal
reached to the score or Goal Attainment Score are to be calculated using the following
formulas:
Goal Discrepancy Score= Expected score on the present trial - Actual score on the
immediate past trial.
Attainment Discrepancy Score= Actual score on the present trial – Expected score on the
same trial.
Number of times goal reached the score (Goal Attainment Score)= Sum of positive values
and zero values in attainment discrepancy score represents the number of times goal reached
the score.

Procedure

1. Rapport formation

The subject and the experimenter were familiar with each other. The subject was excited
after understanding what was to be done. The experimenter explained the procedure to the
subject and the subject was able to understand everything thoroughly. The experimenter
built a good rapport with the subject that helped the subject to feel comfortable while
doing the experiment.
 2. Instructions for the subject:
o You are going to do a simple task. You have a page containing circles in front of
you and you have to draw 4 lines in this circle so that they may appear like a
human face.

o You must draw in this sequence – right eye, left eye, nose and mouth. Work
from left to right across the rows and then proceed to the next in the same manner.
o For each trial 30 seconds are allotted. There will be a practice trial following
which you will have 10 actual trials.
o After the practice trial, before the commencement of the1st trial, there is a box of
expected scores wherein you are supposed to write down the number of faces you
will successfully complete in the trial.
o At the end of each trial you will have to count the number of human faces you
have successfully completed and write the number in the box provided in the
actual score.
o “You may decide on the expected score based on your previous trial score”.

3. Actual procedure

The experiment was carried out one by one with each subject. Initially the experimenter built
rapport with the subject so that the subject can feel comfortable. The experimenter delivered
instructions to the subject. The sheet with the human face depicted on the page was placed in
front of the participant, who was then instructed to draw human like face starting from left
eye, right eye, nose and mouth. The participant was given a sheet with 50 circles and
instructed to draw as many as human face he can in 30secs. A practice trial was held before
the actual trial. The individual was instructed to write expected score before each actual trial,
the same way individual completed the 10 sheets.

4. Introspective report

Subject 1: The environment was a bit noisy which felt like a disturbance to say the least.
During the test after a few attempts my arms started feeling a little tired which affected my
performance. My expected score was not met in the end but it still remains what I would
expect out of myself had I been given more trials. I was having a mild headache and the noise
did not help.
Subject 2: it was not in that pressure but after the 3rd attempt my arms started feeling tired and
it affected my performance. I was expecting the least but I think I have attempted good from
my side.

Results

subject 1:

Qualitative result

It is concluded from the introspective report that the subjects were facing difficulties after
3-4 attempts because their arms were hurting also because the external noise was not
helpful. Subject 2 was under pressure while giving the test. Despite the noises the subjects
gave their tests kindly. Both the subjects had a positive approach towards the test. They
were excited to do something new.

Quantitative method

Experimenter Subject Age: 20 Attainment

Name: Khushbu Discrepancy Sc
Sikligar
Trial Actual Expected Score Goal reached -
Number Score Or no (1=yes, 0=no)
Practice 19 - - 4

1 25 21 0 -2

2 25 27 0 1

3 28 27 0 -1

4 29 30 0 -1

4 29 30 0 -1

5 29 30 0 -1

6 29 30 0 0

7 30 30 1 -1

8 30 31 0 -1

9 30 31 0 -1
 10 30 31 0 X : -4

Attainment
Discrepancy Sco

Table 1: Attainment discrepancy score for subject 1

Experimenter Subject Age: 20 Subject sex: Male

Name: Khushbu
Sikligar
Trial Actual Expected Score Goal reached Goal discrepancy
Number Score Or no (1=yes, score
0=no)
Practice 19 - - -

1 25 21 0 2

2 25 27 0 2

3 28 27 0 2

4 29 30 0 2

4 29 30 0 1

5 29 30 0 1

6 29 30 0 1

7 30 30 1 1

8 30 31 0 1

9 30 31 0 1

10 30 31 0 1

Y : 15

Table 2: Goal Discrepancy Score for subject 1

Goal Discrepancy Score= Expected score on the present trial – Actual score on the
immediate past trial. (For e.g. 21-19 = 2 for trail no. 1)

Attainment Discrepancy score = Actual score on the present trial – Expected score on the
same trial. (For e.g. 25-21= 4 for trial no. 1)

Average Goal Discrepancy Score = (Total Goal Discrepancy Score ) (Number of trials)

= Y/10
 = 15/10= 1.5

(The answer can be positive or negative integer or decimal)

Average Attainment Discrepancy Score

=( Total Attainment Discrepancy Score)(Number of trials)

=X/10

= --4/10 = -0.4

(The answer can be positive or negative integer or decimal)

Number or times the goal reached score= sum of positive values and zero values in
attainment discrepancy score represents the number of times the goal reached score.

Number of times the goal reached score= 1

subject 2:

Qualitative result

It is concluded from the introspective report that the subject was not under pressure.After 3
attempts the subject’s arms were hurting. Overall the subject expected the least.

Quantitative result

Trial Actual Expected Score Goal reached Attainment

Number Score Or no (1=yes, Discrepancy
0=no) Score
Practice 19 - - -
1 21 25 0 -4
2 24 25 0 -1
3 25 25 1 0
4 23 27 0 -4
4 24 25 0 -1
5 24 20 0 4
6 25 25 1 0
7 25 26 0 -1
8 25 26 0 -1
9 25 25 1 0
 10 24 25 0 -1
X = -9
Table 3: Attainment Discrepancy Score for subject 2

Trial Actual Expected Score Goal reached Goal discrep

Number Score Or no (1=yes, 0=no) score

Practice 19 - - -

1 21 25 0 6

2 24 25 0 4

3 25 25 1 1

4 23 27 0 2

4 24 25 0 2

5 24 20 0 -4

6 25 25 1 1

7 25 26 0 1

8 25 26 0 1

9 25 25 1 0

10 24 25 0 0

Y = 14

Table 4: Goal Discrepancy Score for subject 2

Goal Discrepancy Score= Expected score on the present trial – Actual score on the
immediate past trial. ( For e.g. 25-19 = 6 for trail no. 1)

Attainment Discrepancy score = Actual score on the present trial – Expected score on the
same trial. ( For e.g. 21-24= -4 for trial no. 1)

Average Goal Discrepancy Score = ( Total Goal Discrepancy Score ) (Number of trials)

= Y/10

= 14/10= 1.4

(The answer can be positive or negative integer or decimal)

Average Attainment Discrepancy Score

=( Total Attainment Discrepancy Score)(Number of trials)

=X/10

= -9/10 = -0.9

(The answer can be positive or negative integer or decimal)

Number or times the goal reached score= sum of positive values and zero values in
attainment discrepancy score represents the number of times the goal reached score.

Number of times the goal reached score= 3

Discussion

The objective of this experiment was to measure the level of aspirations in university
students. Level of Aspiration is defined as the goals or standards of performance a person
sets for himself or herself. The level of aspiration of university students was measured
using the level-of-aspiration test developed by Shah and Bhargav (1983). The goal
discrepancy score is the difference between the following trial’s desire (expected score)
and its immediate performance. The amount of score differential indicates how high or
low a target should be set based on recent performance. If the difference of the score is
consistently positive it may signal that the individual seldom attains the objective that he
sets for himself. This shows that the patient has an unrealistic aspiration, or a wishful
assessment of his abilities and goals. If the goal discrepancy scores are continuously
negative, it suggests that the person has a reasonable aim and is not setting his goals too
high or too low. It is the opposite for Attainment Discrepancy scores, if the scores are
more negative than the person is over expecting and not setting realistic goals and if the
scores are more positive then the person is setting realistic goals. Goal attainment score
indicates the number of times the subject was able to achieve the goal she set for himself,
based on the previous trial.

The findings of our study shows that:

1. Number of times Goal reached for subject 1 : 1

2. Number of times Goal reached for subject 2 : 3

Therefore, our hypothesis has been rejected. Level of Aspiration does not increase with
the increase in age.This also helped us to understand that age doesn't matter in level of
aspiration. Different individuals have different sets of goals and they move forward their
goal differently, some are not taking risks, some take risks of setting unrealistic goals.

Conclusion

Since the experiment of Goal Discrepancy Score, Attainment Discrepancy Score , and
Goal Attainment scores have no significance between SYBA & TYBA , the hypothesis
has been rejected. Thus the level of aspiration does not increase with the increase in age.
Studying about level of aspiration will always gauge how students set realistic or
unrealistic goals and how they manage to achieve those goals. This study also helps in
discovering how factors like self-esteem, level of motivation and personality will affect a
person’s goal setting behaviour.

Limitations

1) Experimenter was unable to control external noises which must have hindered the
performance of the subject.
2) The sample size was too small as the experiment was done on only 1 subject.
3) The experiment was conducted on university students so it cannot be generalized to
adults who are not students of a university or of similar level of education status.
4) The experiment was conducted on both the genders i.e., male and female.

Uses of the experiment

1) Level of aspiration is important in increasing self-esteem. It gives the high insight
of one’s potentialities and helps in boosting the esteem of an individual. It also
gives a wider understanding of self-concept. The level of aspiration by increasing
self-esteem enables one to evaluate their abilities and attributes.
2) Under organized setting the level of aspiration helps understanding the
employee’s aspiration and setting the goals accordingly this would benefit
employees and ultimately benefits the organization.
3) It helps to set realistic goals and is closely related to educational achievement. It
helps to know how much one must try and work to reach his goal.
4) It helps to avoid chances of failure in future.
5) It highlights several gender differences in academics with respect to academics.
Students with a high level of aspiration tend to perform better in the curriculum.
6) Managing aspirations involves understanding the aspiration of employees and
shaping them for their own organizational benefit. Aspiration level plays a very
important role in organizational setup as it enables the employees to take up the
tasks accordingly and know their capabilities and potentials.
7) It helps an individual’s intention to change and be flexible at any moment.
8) It heightens the level of motivation, achievement, and application for achieving
desired benefits.
9) Level of aspiration also plays a role in determining personality and helps in
understanding the adjustment level of an individual in various settings.

References
American Psychological Association. (2015) : APA Dictionary of Psychology
(2nd Revised edition).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Boyd, G. F. (1952). The levels of aspiration of white and Negro children in a non-
segregated elementary school. The Journal of Social Psychology, 36 (2), 191–196
Frank, J. D. [1937] : “Comparison between Certain properties of Level of
Aspiration and random Guessing, Journal of Psychology”, III, 43-62.

Bork, J. [2008]
; Effects of goal setting on academic achievement.

Caroline sarojini hart (2016) - How do aspirations matter?, journal of Human

Development and Capabilities, vol.17.

Dembo T. (1931), - Investigations in the psychology of the action and affection X.

Nger as a dynamic problem, psychology Forsch, 15,1-144.

Siegel,A.E., & Siegel,S. (1957).- Reference groups, membership groups and

attitude change.

Appendices
Appendix 1: signed consent