NODA Journal 17_1.indd


FALL 2009  •  VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 45

Differences in the “Inclusion Need 
Orientation” of Students From a 
Historically Black University Versus 
Predominately White Institutions

Kathleen Gurley and Ann Herd

 The importance of inclusion and social adjustment within the college or university 
setting have been well documented by studies on student retention. The primary purpose 
of this study was to investigate the difference in “inclusion need orientation” between 
students at three different universities—a historically Black university (HBCU) and two 
predominantly White institutions (PWI). Students at the HBCU had significantly lower 
scores than the students at the PWIs on “expressed and wanted inclusion” using Schutz’s 
FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation) instrument. Lower scores on 
expressed inclusion need suggest that students at the HBCU feel less comfortable asking 
others to join them in activities than students at the PWIs, while lower scores on wanted 
inclusion need suggest that students at the HBCU have less desire to be invited to join 
activities than students at the PWIs. Implications of these findings are discussed. 

 A recent article in the Baltimore Sun (Kiehl, 2009) pointed out the growing gap 
between graduation rates at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) 
and the rest of the state universities in Maryland. The gap between Black students 
and other students has widened over the last three years, from 15% to 25%. Some 
of the predominantly White institutions (PWI) in the system have closed this gap 
to near zero. These statistics raise the question on why HBCUs struggle to increase 
their graduation rate. This study seeks to help understand the difference between 
the HBCUs and PWIs on the dimension of social integration and inclusion 
behaviors of students. 
 One of the keys to academic success for college students is feeling connected 
to their institutions by being actively involved in both academic and out-of-class 
activities (Bagayoko & Kelley, 1994; Datnow & Cooper, 1997). HBCUs are 
designed to provide supportive social environments, particularly for African 
American college students, which encourage students to pursue academic and 
out-of-class activities and to develop positive self images and strong racial identities 
(Berger & Milem, 2000; Cole & Omari, 2003; Credle & Dean, 1991; Tatum, 2004). 

FEATURED ARTICLE

Kathleen Gurley (kgurley@uncfsu.edu) is an Assistant Professor in Management in the School of 
Business & Economics at Fayetteville State University. 
Ann Herd (aherd@umuc.edu) is a Professor in the Graduate School of Management and Technology 
at University of Maryland University College.



46  THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION

Because HBCUs are designed to provide supportive social environments, it would 
be expected that students would be comfortable expressing inclusive behaviors. 
Although there has been considerable literature published on the comparison of 
HBCUs and PWIs, no research has been done using the Fundamental Interpersonal 
Relations Orientation (FIRO) theory developed by Schutz to identify differences 
in inclusion behaviors among college students at these institutions. Research 
by Schutz (1994) suggests that an individual’s interpersonal inclusion need 
orientation influences his or her engagement in positive inclusion behaviors, 
such as making friends and joining organizations, which help the college student 
become adjusted to the college environment. 
 The FIRO-B instrument adds value to previous studies that researched 
social support as a factor which improves retention. Social support has been 
operationalized as a measure of a student’s perception of the support students 
receive from family and friends (Procidano & Heller, 1983). The FIRO-B, instead, 
looks at the self-reported behavioral pattern of the student and suggests how those 
behaviors contribute to the student’s interpersonal relationships. The feedback 
students receive allow them to make choices about modifying their behavior if they 
are not satisfied with the current social situation. The FIRO-B instrument is more 
than a research variable; it is a means of improving interpersonal relationships and 
helping students to become integrated in the social environment of the university. 

Literature Review

Inclusion and Academic Success

  The importance of inclusion and social adjustment within college or 
university settings has been well documented by studies investigating factors 
related to college student retention and success in college (e.g., Bagayoko & Kelley, 
1994; Cabrera, Castaneda, Nora, & Hengstler, 1992; Drew, 1990; Grant-Vallone, 
Reid, Umali, & Pohlert, 2004; Tinto, 1993). Tinto’s (1993) early model, based on 
a theory of person-environment fit, looked at factors that increased academic 
persistence, a student’s desire to remain in college and graduate. He found that 
students who develop satisfying relationships with peers tend to earn better grades 
and are more inclined to remain in college than are students who fail to develop 
these relationships. A similar study by Napoli and Wortman (1998) found that 
students who have a high level of social support from their peers and family 
members indicate higher levels of social and academic adjustment and earn 
higher first-year grade point averages than students reporting lower levels of social 
support. 
 A more recent study of disadvantaged college students by Grant-Vallone et al. 
(2004) found that those students who reported greater levels of peer and social 
support had better academic and social adjustment and were more committed to 
achieving college degree. A study of 527 first-year female undergraduates (Rayle, 
Robinson Kurpius, & Arredondo, 2006) showed that social support was the 



FALL 2009  •  VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 47

strongest predictor of academic persistence among the three constructs studied, 
the other two being self-belief and university comfort. Nicpon, Huser, Blanks, 
Sollenberger, Befort, and Robinson Kurpius (2006) provide an excellent review 
of the past research on social integration using Tinto’s model. They reported that 
loneliness negatively correlates with social support and academic persistence. 
In addition, inclusion and involvement in both academic and out-of-class 
activities has been shown to lead to a wide range of positive student outcomes 
such as cognitive and intellectual skills development, ethical development, 
psychosocial development, and positive self-image (Datnow & Cooper, 1997; 
Harper, Carini, Bridges, & Hayek, 2004). 
 Most of the early studies on retention, including Tinto’s model (1993), were 
carried out at PWIs. Studies conducted at HBCUs have shown less support for 
Tinto’s model (Washington, 1996; Watkins, 1996). Other studies have focused 
on African American students. Gloria, Robinson Kurpius, Hamilton, and Wilson 
(1999) conducted a study with 98 African American undergraduate students 
attending a predominantly White university. They investigated the influence of 
social support, university comfort, and self belief on persistence decisions and 
found that university comfort and social support were the strongest predictors of 
the African American students’ decisions to stay in college. The university comfort 
variable in this study included measures of college stress, cultural fit, and how 
welcoming the university environment was perceived. Pascarella (1985) found that 
campus involvement had a stronger positive effect on graduation rate for Black 
male students than on White students. Campus involvement was also found to be 
more significant than academic integration in predicting degree completion for 
Black males. Social support was also found to be a factor in the level of stress 
experienced by African American students; the stress level varied based on the 
school’s racial composition (Negga, Applewhite, & Livingston, 2007).
 Research has shown that HBCUs provide a supportive social environment 
conducive to personal and academic development as evidenced by the number of 
students who reported being satisfied in their adjustment and achievement (Harper 
et al., 2004; Tobolowsky, Outcalt, & McDonough, 2005). Specific studies have 
found that HBCUs provide a positive campus climate and wide array of culturally 
appealing activities for African American students (Allen, 1992; Berger & Milem, 
2000; Davis, 1991). Fleming’s (1984) analysis confirmed that these efforts lead to 
students feeling a greater sense of connectedness, power, and affiliation at HBCUs 
than at PWIs. 

Interpersonal Need Orientation

 The Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO) 
theory developed by Schutz (1958, 1966) examines interpersonal behavior built 
around the concept of interpersonal needs and is operationalized in the FIRO-B 
questionnaire. Schutz’s theory is based on the assumption that interpersonal needs 
motivate behavior and that each person has a unique set of psychic needs. These 
needs lead to a pattern of interpersonal behaviors and expectations. These needs 



48  THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION

change over time and with experience, and people can choose to modify their 
patterns of behavior to increase their satisfaction with their interpersonal 
relationships. Inclusion is one of the interpersonal needs and refers to the need 
for belonging and interaction with others. 
 The need for inclusion is comprised of two scales: expressed and wanted 
behavior. Expressed behavior indicates how the respondent acts toward others; 
wanted behavior indicates what the respondent desires from others in relation to 
the need for inclusion.
 Schutz (1994) further characterizes the extremes of inclusion needs by 
describing them as under-social or over-social behaviors:

 When my relations are under-social . . . I am introverted and withdrawn. 
 I want to maintain distance between myself and others. I do not want to 
 become enmeshed with people and thereby lose my privacy. My greatest fear 
 is that people will ignore or abandon me. My deepest anxiety is that I am 
 worthless, insignificant, and unimportant. (p. 29)

 In contrast, when my relations are over-social . . . I am extroverted. I seek 
 people incessantly, and I want them to seek me out. I would enjoy going every 
 night to a bar where everybody knows my name. My fear is that people will 
 ignore me. My unconscious attitude is “Although no one is interested in me, 
 I will force them to pay attention to me in any way I can.” (p. 29)

 The FIRO-B questionnaire has had widespread use and popularity. Hurley 
(1990) estimated that FIRO-B received about 25 citations annually in the Social 
Science Citation Index, and Furnham (1990, 1996) described it as one of the 
three most widely used questionnaires in Occupational Psychology. Schutz (1977) 
validated the instrument with more than 6,000 people from the public school 
community. Results from reliability and validity studies of the instrument were 
published by Schutz in the FIRO Awareness Scales Manual (1978), with reported 
reliabilities on all the subscales over .80 indicating high reliability. The FIRO-B 
instrument has been used to study interpersonal needs affecting group dynamics 
in work settings (Fisher, Macrosson, & Semple, 2001; Hawley & Heinen, 1979; 
Herzberg, 1985; Siegel & O’Shaughnessy, 2008; Siegel, Smith, & Mosca, 2001; 
Johnson, Winter, Reio, Thompson, & Petrosko, 2008), psychotherapeutic settings 
(cf. Gassner, 1970; Sapolsky, 1965), as well as educational settings (Abrams & 
Abrams, 1974; Schutz, 1977).

Overview of the Present Study

 Because previous research suggested the importance of social support for 
college students’ retention and adjustment, and because research comparing 
HBCUs and PWIs has suggested that HBCUs in particular place great emphasis 
on developing and encouraging students’ inclusive behaviors and orientation, 
the present study was conducted to investigate differences in inclusion need 



FALL 2009  •  VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 49

orientation among college business students at an HBCU versus those at two 
comparably-sized PWIs. It was expected that students at the HBCU would display 
greater inclusion behavior and orientation than the students at the PWI because 
the HBCU in this study placed a great deal of emphasis on creating a nurturing 
environment with plenty of opportunities for inclusion activities for students. The 
following hypothesis was explored in the present study:

 Hypothesis: There will be a significant difference in inclusion need orientation 
 between HBCU and PWI students, with the HBCU students scoring higher on 
 expressed and wanted inclusion need orientation than the PWI students.

Method

Overview

 A survey/questionnaire method was decided upon for this study. Since the 
FIRO-B is a questionnaire instrument, the study questionnaire instrument could 
be given to students as a natural follow-up to their taking the FIRO-B, facilitating 
quick and unobtrusive collection of data for the study. The institutions from which 
the sample of student participants was solicited were carefully chosen to be 
comparable in overall size and racial diversity, with the HBCU’s student body 
consisting mainly of African American students and the PWIs’ student bodies 
consisting mainly of Caucasian students. Students chosen to participate were 
enrolled in the same course in all three universities. This course also occurred 
within the same time frame (junior year) in the students’ curricula at all three 
universities. Business students were sought for this study because previous research 
has suggested that inclusion needs are particularly important for business students 
when they get their first jobs out of college (Siegel, Smith, & Mosca, 2001; Siegel & 
O’Shaughnessy, 2008). In addition, the FIRO-B instrument could be incorporated 
into a meaningful learning experience for the business students in the class after 
the data for the study were collected. 

Participants

 Participants in the study consisted of 179 business students from three small 
universities in the southeastern United States. The HBCU is a state university, and 
the two PWIs are private, religious universities. All three schools have student 
enrollments of approximately 6,000 and an average class size of 22–25 students.
The diversity of the student population at the three universities and of the samples 
is indicated in Table 1. 



50  THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION

TABLE 1

Diversity of Student Populations and Study Sample

University (2005 Data) Caucasian  African Hispanic Other
  American

HBCU student population      17.0% 75.0% 4.0% 4.0%
HBCU study sample 15.0  75.0  3.0  7.0 
First PWI student population 78.0   9.0  3.0  10.0 
First PWI study sample 83.2   5.6  5.6  5.6 
Second PWI student population 64.0  19.4  6.6  10.0 
Second PWI study sample 76.0  24.0  0.0  0.0

One hundred seventeen (65%) of the students were from an HBCU, while 62 
(35%) of the students were from PWIs.

Procedure

 The FIRO-B instrument was administered to undergraduate students at all 
three universities as part of a discussion on human motivation in their Principles 
of Management course. The self-scorable version of the questionnaire gave the 
students immediate feedback, facilitating the discussion of Schutz’s theory on 
interpersonal behavior. Students willing to share their results for research purposes 
(over 90%) filled out and returned a demographic sheet along with their FIRO-B 
survey. The students’ scoring of the FIRO-B results was checked for accuracy prior 
to entering the results into a database.
 The data from the two PWIs were compared first to determine if there was a 
statistical difference in the inclusion orientation scores. The comparison of the 
means for expressed and wanted inclusion for the two PWIs with the two-tailed t 
test are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2

Comparison of Mean Inclusion Need Scores for Two PWI

FIRO-B Scale University N M SD SE t p

Expressed Inclusion PWI - 1 36 4.61 2.59 .431 -0.126 0.90
 PWI - 2 26 4.69 2.38 .467

Wanted Inclusion PWI - 1 36 4.64 3.63 .604 0.330 0.74
 PWI - 2 26 4.35 3.19 .625



FALL 2009  •  VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 51

No statistical difference was found in the inclusion scores between the two PWIs; 
therefore, the data from the two schools were combined.

Results

 The comparison of the means of students at the HBCU and the PWI students’ 
inclusion scores using a two-tailed t test is shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3

Mean Inclusion Need Scores of HBCU and PWI Students

FIRO-B Scale University N M SD SE t p

Expressed Inclusion HBCU 117 3.23 1.99 .184 4.15 .000**
 PWIs 62 4.64 2.48 .315

Wanted Inclusion HBCU 117 2.88 3.25 .301 3.09 .002**
 PWIs 62 4.52 3.42 .435

* p < .05, ** p < .01

Table 3 indicates that HBCU students’ scores were significantly lower than PWI 
students’ scores on both expressed and wanted inclusion scales. Thus, Hypothesis 1 
is partially supported, but in the opposite direction expected.

Discussion

 The results of the present study suggest that HBCU business students have 
lower inclusion needs than PWI business students. These results, along with study 
limitations and implications for future research, are discussed below.
 HBCU students reported lower expressed and wanted inclusion needs than 
PWI students. For expressed inclusion, these results suggest that HBCU students 
express the need to include others in group interactions less frequently than 
students at a PWI and may be less vocal in getting other students involved on team 
projects. The results for wanted inclusion needs suggest that HBCU students may 
have lesser desires to be included by fellow students in group interactions, class 
discussions, and team projects than PWI students.
 These results showing lower inclusion needs for HBCU students were in 
the opposite direction than expected. A more in-depth comparison of the three 
universities might help to explain the results. All three universities talk of 
providing a nurturing environment where students come first, and class sizes are 
small to encourage faculty and student interaction. One main difference between 



52  THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION

the universities is the average SAT score. The average SAT score for the HBCU was 
847 versus the first PWI at 1085 and the second PWI at 999. 
 A possible explanation for the lower inclusion need orientation for HBCU 
students may be that students who are more “at risk” because of lower SAT scores 
may be less comfortable in the college environment and, therefore, less willing 
to show inclusive behaviors. HBCUs traditionally have a higher percent of first-
generation college students. The self-identity of these students may be less aligned 
with academic success. Although research has shown that African American 
students who attend HBCUs rather than PWIs have higher self-ratings in academic 
self-efficacy and psychosocial wellness (Berger & Milem, 2000), the results from 
the present study suggest that HBCU students still may not feel as comfortable in 
college surroundings as students at predominately White institutions.
  Schutz’s theory of fundamental interpersonal relations orientation views the 
need orientation as developmental in that an individual’s scores are expected to 
change as the person deals with and resolves inclusion issues. To help students 
make the social adjustment to college, many universities are now forming learning 
communities for “at risk” students to increase peer support and social integration 
into campus life (Andrade, 2007). The HBCU in this study has established such 
a program for “at risk” African American males. The program—a learning 
community—starts in the freshman year with a group of male students who study 
and go to class together. The students stay in their cohort group throughout their 
college years until graduation. This program is credited for improving retention 
rates from approximately 26% to 50% among students in the group. 
 Results from the present study showing that HBCU students have lower 
expressed and wanted inclusion needs than PWI students are somewhat disturbing 
given the research suggesting that expressed and wanted inclusion needs are 
important for students’ social adjustment to college (Datnow & Cooper, 1997; 
Harper et al., 2004) as well as success in gaining entry into and exhibiting 
successful performance in early business jobs after college (Johnson et al., 2008; 
Siegel et al., 2001). Future research is warranted to determine whether these results 
are replicated in other comparisons of HBCU and PWI students.
 Results of the present study have implications for teaching and counseling 
practices. Strategies for reaching students with varying inclusion needs include 
diversifying the teaching techniques used in the classroom. For example, active 
learning techniques such as paired discussions, small group discussions, and group 
case studies may encourage inclusiveness at the small group level, practices with 
which students with low inclusive needs may be more comfortable. Explicitly 
stating inclusiveness norms in the classroom and restating the university’s value on 
inclusiveness may also help reach students with varying needs. 
 Counselors involved in helping students make a successful transition to 
college may find the FIRO-B instrument useful as an assessment tool for providing 
feedback to students on their expressed and wanted inclusion needs and helping 
students set developmental goals related to their inclusion orientation (Thompson, 
1998). Providing this feedback regarding inclusion orientation could help students 
recognize how their behaviors affect their relationships with others. Students who 



FALL 2009  •  VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 53

want to be included but are reluctant to ask others to join them in activities may 
be misunderstood by other students and be seen as aloof or unapproachable. The 
FIRO-B support materials provide developmental tips for such students and can be 
used as a part of ongoing counseling or coaching efforts.

Future Directions

 A major limitation of this study was its sample size as it included only three 
universities. Studying more institutions across a larger geographical location would 
make the results more robust. Furthermore, as the sample used in the current 
study consisted of business students, future studies should investigate whether 
differences in inclusion needs are found among students with other majors. It 
seems likely that different majors may attract students with differing inclusion 
needs. Findings from studies comparing inclusion needs among different majors 
may be helpful for universities in their efforts to target special programs geared 
toward addressing inclusion need issues. 
  Future research should also ascertain which teaching styles best facilitate 
learning for students with differing inclusion needs. For example, small group 
discussion activities during class may prove to be a useful tool for encouraging 
greater inclusion behaviors among students, while group projects requiring intense 
participation outside of class may not be as well-received by students with low 
inclusion needs. Also of interest is using the FIRO-B instrument as a counseling 
or coaching tool for conducting counseling sessions with students who have low 
inclusion need scores. This instrument may prove to be an early warning device for 
students who are struggling with making the transition to college. 
 In summary, the present study provides evidence of differences in inclusion 
needs among business students in different university environments. Because such 
differences impact student learning and performance, future research is needed 
to ascertain the cause(s) of these differences and determine how to best facilitate 
learning and career preparation for students with differing inclusion needs.

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