performance and self-regulated
dance is required for optimal quality of studying. In addition, other demands or
draws for students� time tend to influence the use of available time and, likely, energy
102 E.A. Plant et al. / Contemporary Educational Psychology 30 (2005) 96–116
for studying. For example, students who work for pay for a large number of hours
each week will have fewer hours available for studying and less freedom to choose
when to study. As a result, instead of selecting study time based on motivation
and level of energy, people working many hours for pay may be left with fewer op-
tions for when to study (e.g., late at night, between classes), which may lead to less effective and less focused studying. Similarly, students who choose to spend extensive
time partying may also limit the available time for studying as well as the quality of
their study time.
1.3. The current study
The current study examines those factors likely to indicate the high quality of
study among college students, endemic to deliberate practice and self-regulated learning, in hopes that it will help to clarify the relationship between study time
and GPA. Specifically, the current study examined a range of factors reflecting con-
ditions prior to the current academic semester (i.e., high-school GPA, SAT scores) as
well as factors from the current semester (i.e., study time, study environment, and
planning) and attempted to predict college performance both cumulatively and for
a current semester.
First, we assessed the relationship between estimated study time and cumulative
GPA. We then controlled for previous performance in high school, college, and on standardized aptitude tests before examining the effects of factors from the cur-
rent semester, including those related to quality of study on college GPA. Once pre-
viously acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities are statistically controlled, we
predict that factors related to quality and quantity of study would emerge as predic-
tors of college GPA. Therefore, in the current study, participants were asked about a
range of their activities in order to gain a detailed picture of the characteristics as
well as quantity of their study behavior. Across the factors assessed in the current
study, we focused on objective and verifiable information, such as official university records (e.g., GPA, SAT scores). We selected quantifiable assessments that are ver-
ifiable in principle and minimally subjective. For example, the time spent studying in
the library, attendance to classes, participation in parties, and outside employment
can be validated in future studies by direct observation and interviews of close
friends and roommates. We also collected information about studying and other
activities in diaries. Similar methods have been used to validate concurrent and ret-
rospective estimates of deliberate practice (Côté, Ericsson, & Beamer, 2004; Ericsson
et al., 1993; Krampe & Ericsson, 1996). By examining a large range of factors simul- taneously, the current work allows us to identify those factors that provide an inde-
pendent contribution to grade point average.
We anticipated that students, who reported studying behaviors that reflect
important aspects of deliberate practice (i.e., focused, uninterrupted, and carefully
planned) (Ericsson, 1996, 2002, 2003a; Ericsson et al., 1993) and characteristics the-
oretically related to self-regulated learning (Zimmerman, 1998, 2002), would excel.
Specifically, based on the findings regarding deliberate practice and the review of
the literature on academic learning, we anticipated
E.A. Plant et al. / Contemporary Educational Psychology 30 (2005) 96–116 103
that students who studied in a quiet environment with fewer distractions and who
carefully organized their study time would achieve higher performance. Further,
we expected that students who attended a large percentage of classes and had fewer
outside competing demands for their time and energy, such as working for pay or
frequently attending parties, would have higher GPAs.2 Finally, when other factors that may influence the quality of study time (e.g., study environment, planning) are
taken into account, we predicted that the amount of reported study time would
emerge as a predictor of academic performance.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
Participants were 88 volunteer, undergraduate college students (49% ma