The Development and Validation of the Postgraduate School Application Outcome Expectations Scale

This study sought to develop and validate the Postgraduate School Application Outcome Expectations Scale (PSAOE), which measures an individual’s perceived consequences of completing self-regulatory tasks inherent to the postgraduate school application process. Items were generated from an extensive review of the literature, and a panel of experts and a pilot sample of undergraduate students provided feedback on items. Exploratory factor analysis of responses from 314 participants yielded a conceptually interpretable, 15-item, three-factor solution, which explained 57.08% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis of responses from 377 participants provided support for the three-factor model. Three conceptually similar measures, including the VOE-R, CEOES, and PSASE, were used to provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Implications for practice and future directions were also discussed.