This study focuses on the dissonant study orchestrations of high achieving
university students. Advanced psychology students' dissonant study orchestr
ations were compared with previous findings of advanced medical students or
chestrations. Further, the relation of study orchestrations to study succes
s was examined. The subjects were 28 advanced psychology students at the Un
iversity of Helsinki, Department of Psychology who returned a task booklet
of learning; of these, 24 students completed a questionnaire concentrating
on the students' interests, expectations and evaluation of the curriculum.
All students were high achievers who had gone through a demanding selection
process. The subjects completed three questionnaires concentrating on thei
r study practices, conceptions of knowledge, expectations, and evaluation o
f the instruction in the Department of Psychology. The results showed that
seven out of 28 students expressed a dissonant study orchestration. The res
ults further showed that students' individual study orchestrations were not
related to study success. A comparison between advanced medical and psycho
logy students showed that although the profiles of dissonant study orchestr
ations were technically similar among medical and psychology students, cont
ent analyses revealed that reasons for the development of dissonant study o
rchestrations were different.