The revised Appreciation of the Liberal Arts Scale (ALAS-R): Development, reliability and validity

Abstract

Three studies were conducted to develop and evaluate an Appreciation of the Liberal Arts Scale.The final 24-item revision (ALAS-R) was reliable (α = .86). Students who had a greater appreciation of the liberal arts were less materialistic, had greater life satisfaction, had greater ability to defer gratification, and reported greater openness to experiences, leadership, wisdom, and judgment. In addition, ALAS-R scores were predictably related to students' choice of academic major, with Arts and Humanities majors scoring higher. This scale has the potential to contribute to prediction of student retention and major, as well as the assessment of a dimension of college student development.