The Effects of 10 Mgs. of Benzedrine Sulfate and Low Oxygen Tension on the Span of Attention for Letters,and Other Factors

The three wishes of a random sample of 100 subjects were obtained from each of five age groups: elementary, junior high, high school, early college (18–24 years), and late college (25–50 years). The wishes were placed in appropriate categories and into subcategories including possessions, activities, maintenance, achievement, and altruism. Exploratory measures of “confidence” and “sense of personal control” were taken for each subject. Sex and socioeconomic condition were analyzed. Results supported previously established trends of increasing generality, increasing altruism, and decreasing materialistic content up to different ages in adolescence and early adulthood depending on the data chosen to relate to the generalizations. In addition, a gradual increase in achievement wishes through middle adulthood was observed. The measure of “sense of personal control” was found to yield significant variation, while the data related to “confidence” varied only within chance limits. Comparisons with previous studies led to speculation that achievement orientations of adolescents may have lessened over the past decade.