Defines need for uniqueness as a positive striving for abnormality relative to other people. Recent research regarding situational determinants of uniqueness motivation is described, and a dispositional individual-differences measure of need for uniqueness is presented. The development of the Uniqueness Scale aims at insuring construct validity as a guide for the item selection. The internal reliabilities, item-remainder coefficients, test–retest reliabilities, cross-validation information, factor analysis, and discriminant validation data are presented, and all meet the normal psychometric criteria expected of an individual-differences measure. Additionally, 8 separate validational studies, conducted with a total of 1,523 US and Israeli college students, are presented. (28 ref)

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An experiment was conducted to tost the hypothesis that preferences for scarce experiences relative to plentiful experiences will become more pronounced as feelings of undistinctiveness increase, independent of the expected novelty of the experience. Subjects received bogus test results which described them as either extreme, high, or low in uniqueness, the first independent variable. After obtaining test feedback concerning their uniqueness, subjects were informed that they would be able to spend time in one of four "psychedelic" chambers. The four psychedelic chambers were described as either available or unavailable to others and as producing novel or familiar feelings, the second and third independent variables. Sex of subject was also treated as an independent variable. Subjects indicated their valuation (the dependent variable) of the four different chambers. The hypothesis was confirmed on three different measures of valuation. 1 The experiment was conducted while the authorwas a Canada Council Predoctoral Fellow, and is based, in part, on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree. The author gratefully acknowledges the imaginative contributions and insightful comments of the dissertation committee:

students who attended one of 12 conferences in the summer orientation program (SOP) for freshmen expecting to enter the State University of New York at Buffalo in fall 1974, 599 were sent a questionnaire. Usable responses were obtained from 224 students. The 155-item questionnaire covered evaluation of SOP activities and personnel, assessment of registration materials and procedures, the effect of SOP attendance on student anxiety, and preference for alternative formats. Each two-day conference consisted of about 30 activities. Each activity was assessed for student attendance, contribution to meeting fellow students, and contribution to familiarizing students with university facilities and services.[493 Dye, Griffith R. Pre-Professionals: A New Source of Help. Journal of College Placement, 1975, 35 (Summer) pp. 31-33.

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