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Abstract
The psychometric properties of an instrument designed to assess study behaviors of college and university students were examined. Two convenience samples of 1,052 undergraduates at a group of two‐ and four‐year midwestern colleges and universities in the continental United States and a four‐year college in a U.S. Caribbean territory responded to the Study Behavior Inventory, Form D. Factor analysis using a principal components model with iteration and a varimax rotation yielded three factors composed of items which seemed to deal with feelings of competence, preparation for day to day, routine academic tasks, and preparation for special academic tasks such as term papers and examinations. Internal consistency reliability estimates for the entire instrument and the items in each of the three factors ranged from .70 to .88. The findings suggest that the SBI is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing study behaviors. In addition, providers of developmental education and other study skills programs should consider including a strong counseling component in their offerings. Finally, the study results suggest that it may be useful to view study behaviors as consisting of two sets of activities. One set of activities is directed toward short‐term, routine goals while the other set is directed toward long‐range, specific goals.