prior to college reliably predicted
37% of the variance in fall semester GPA. It is interesting to note that when the vari- ables were added in the third step of the regression, cumulative college GPA re-
mained a highly significant, but reduced, predictor of fall GPA, F(1,73) = 9.77,
p < .002, (b = .38). Further, examination of the independent influence of the vari- ables added in the third step revealed that the only variable reliably associated with
fall semester GPA was studying in a quiet, solitary environment, F(1,73) = 4.13,
p < .05 (b = .21). When the high-school GPA, cumulative college GPA, and SAT scores were ex-
cluded in step 4, the regression equation accounted for 24% of the variance in fall GPA. The removal of these variables constituted a significant decrease in significance
of the overall model, Fchange(3,79) = 4.09, p < .002, indicating that they had a signif-
icant independent influence on the fall semester GPA.
3.4. Diary analyses
Given that approximately a third of the participants did not complete the diary
portion of the study, it was difficult to draw conclusions based on the responses to the diary. Further, over half of the participants who completed the diary reported
that the week covered by the diary was unusual either for academic reasons (e.g.,
they had several exams, n = 12) or non-academic reasons (e.g., travel off campus,
the homecoming game, n = 17). However, we were interested in whether the reported
study time in the diary over the week covered by the diary was consistent with the
average study time reported in the questionnaire. Supporting the validity of the
study time reported in the questionnaire, a tally of the time spent studying over
the course of the week covered in the diary was significantly correlated with the study time from the questionnaire, r(53) = .61, p < .001. As would be expected, this rela-
tionship was particularly strong for those students who reported that the week cov-
ered by the diary was typical, r(22) = .74, p < .001, but did not reach significance for
the participants who reported the week was not typical for academic or non-aca-
demic reasons, both r�s < .38, p�s > .24. For those participants who completed the diary and reported that the previous
week had been typical, we examined whether their study time reported in the diary
was related to their cumulative and fall semester GPAs above and beyond
E.A. Plant et al. / Contemporary Educational Psychology 30 (2005) 96–116 111
high-school GPA and SAT scores. Regression analysis indicated that the number of
hours that participants reported studying on the diary was significantly related to
their fall semester GPA, F(1,18) = 8.11, p < .02 (b = .57).3
4. General discussion
The current work drew upon the theoretical frameworks of deliberate practice
and self-regulated academic learning in order to examine why the amount of study
by college students has been found to have no, or a negligible, relationship to aca-
demic performance in a university setting. Previous research on the acquisition of ex-
pert performance has shown that the level of expertise in a domain is closely related
to the amount of high quality, focused practice, termed deliberate practice, that indi- viduals have accumulated during many years of committed training (Ericsson, 1996,
2002, 2003a; Ericsson et al., 1993). In applying this approach to performance in col-
lege, we sought to determine which characteristics of studying would help to identify
people likely to be engaging in the type of high quality study, which would qualify as
deliberate practice. We proposed a model where performance in college (GPA) was
jointly determined by previously acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities (high-
school GPA and SAT) as well as factors regulating the available time and resources
for consistent well-planned studying and class attendance. Based on the tenets of deliberate practice and self-regulated learning, those who engage in deliberate study-
ing take active steps to ensure their practice time will be of high quality and encour-
age the improvement of performance.
The results from the current study were generally consistent with predictions and
previous findings. First, performance attained prior to college reliably predicted
cumulative GPA and GPA in one semester, consistent with many previous investiga-
tors (e.g., Allen et al., 1972; Elliot, McGregor, & Gable, 1999; Gortner Lahmers &
Zulauf, 2000; Hinrichsen, 1972; Schuman et al., 1985). Specifically, high-school GPA and SAT scores were both positively related to the cumulative university GPA, and
SAT scores accounted for variability independent of all other variables. In addition,
GPA in previous semesters of college appeared to capture the relevant variability
associated with performance prior to entry in college when predicting GPA for a sin-
gle semester.