WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS EXPECT FROM T HEIR MASTERS THESIS

Psychology students were asked to report what they expected from their master's thesis and their supervisor. Subjects were 133 psychology st udents (92 women, 41 men) at a German university who had completed the ir undergraduate studies and intended to commence their master's these s. Results showed three basic, study-related orientations in expectati ons regarding the master's thesis: Students with a self-related and a social orientation expected that their master's thesis might contribut e to solving social problems, and they hoped that working on the topic would clarify significant personal issues. Students with a scientific orientation wanted their thesis to contribute to psychological resear ch, they wanted to qualify themselves for a scientific career, and the y perceived their thesis as a personal challenge. Students with a prag matic orientation wanted to comply with course demands by exerting a c alculable effort, and they viewed their thesis as a purposeful prepara tion for their professional careers. This group of students had a diff erent academic and occupational biography compared with students who f ocused on either self-related and social or on scientific goals. Scien tifically oriented students gave higher self-ratings on their professi onal knowledge than the other groups. Expectations regarding their sup ervisors depended on the study-related orientation: Scientifically ori ented students expected greater scientific competence from their super visor. Pragmatically oriented students differed from the other groups through a stronger desire for direct guidance and fewer demands from t heir supervisors, and they reported the least interest in nondirective guidance. The results are discussed in terms of the demands that thes e varying student expectations place on the supervisors of master's th eses.