Student Expectations of Course and Instructor

A precourse questionnaire was administered to introductory psychology students to determine expectations of themselves in the course and the instructor of the course. A postcourse questionnaire was administered to determine how well these expectations had been met. Results generally indicated that men and women had similar expectations for themselves and the instructor. There was some indication that the nature of these expectations changed during the semester. Most students were unable to list 6 expectations for themselves or the instructor at the beginning of the course, but, at the end of the course, they indicated that at least 10 expectations had been met in each category. The results are discussed in light of their usefulness to instructors of introductory psychology.