Abstract
A 72 item Study Behaviour Questionnaire (SBQ) was constructed and administered to 314 prospective teachers, enrolled in the Faculties of Arts and Science, before they had started university lectures and again just prior to the first year examinations. The items on the first administration were factor analyzed and 6 factors were obtained: a study organization factor, a motivational factor, and several cognitive style‐type factors. The latter appeared to involve two main classes of study strategy: “simplifying” strategies, and “opening‐out” strategies. The study organization factor was uncorrelated with performance, but there were consistent correlations, in the Arts faculty only, between the remaining factors and performance. It was suggested that the general tasks demanded of Arts and Science students were different, and required different strategic approaches.