Un total de 103 alumnos con una edad promedio de 21 años fracasado en sus
estudios universitarios, se evaluaron a través de una serie de cuestionarios,
pruebas objetivas de inteligencia y personalidad, y entrevistas individuales. La
investigación pretende describir la relación entre aspectos actitudinales (motivaciones
e intereses profesionales) y fracaso académico, independientemente del
nivel de inteligencia. Asimismo, se elaboró el perfil vocacional de los alumnos
fracasados y se determinó su congruencia con respecto a la elección de estudios
universitarios. Los resultados indican que los aspectos motivacionales y
actitudinales poseen un potencial predictor del fracaso académico igualo mayor
que los aspectos cognoscitivos o intelectuales. Los alumnos mostraron claros
síntomas de indefensión aprendida, baja motivación intrínseca y pobres tendencias
a la realización personal (aprendizajes) y/o laboral. Por otra parte, los
resultados animan a considerar la importancia de la compatibilidad entre
vocación y elección universitaria.A total of 103 students with a mean age of 21 years, who had failed their university course, were evaluated via a series of questionnaires, objective personality and intelligence tests, and individual interviews. This study intends to describe the relationship between attitudinal aspects (motivational aspects and professional interests) and academic failure, irrespective of the level of intelligence. The vocational profile ofthe failing students was also drawn up, and its congruence determined with respect to the choice of course studied. Results indicate that the attitudinal and motivational aspects have a potential to predict academic failure which is equal or superior to that of the cognitive and intellectual aspects. These students showed clear symptoms of learned helplessness, low intrinsic motivation and poor tendencies to personal and/or professional fulfillment (learning behaviours). On the other hand, these results these results emphasize the consideration of the importance of compatibility between vocation and professional selection in order to guarantee academic success
