Prioritizing the goals and aspirations of the students of Allameh Tabatabai University and the University of Missouri–Kansas City

Life goals and aspirations seem to be influenced by culture. Individualist cultures allow individuals to choose their own lifestyles based on their own preferences and attitudes; but in collectivist cultures, individuals' personal goals depend on collective goals. The aim of the present research is to study the role of culture in prioritizing goals and aspirations of Iranian and American students. This study was designed and implemented descriptively. The sample consisted of 250 Iranian students and 164 American ones. Data were collected using an Aspiration Index (AI). Friedman test was used to analyze the data. The results of Friedman test showed that the prioritization of American students includes intrinsic, self-physical, self-transcendence and extrinsic goals and aspirations, and Iranian students include intrinsic, self-physical, extrinsic and self-transcendence goals and aspirations, respectively. Also prioritizing the dimensions of American students' goals and aspirations, including relatedness or affiliation, self-acceptance, physical health, community feeling, hedonism, spirituality, wealth, fame, conformity, and physical attractiveness and Iranian students include self-acceptance, physical health, community feeling, wealth, hedonism, spirituality, fame, conformity, physical attractiveness, and having a sincere and relatedness or affiliation, respectively. In general, American students have paid more attention to the goal of "relatedness or affiliation" than Iranian students. In fact, considering the division of internal and external goals based on individualistic and collectivist culture, Contrary to expectations, individualism was higher in Iranian students than in American students.