THE CO-RELATED OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE--(1) TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE A MODEL OF EGO COUNSELING DERIVED, IN PART, FROM THE PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF ADAPTIVE FUNCTIONING, AND (2) TO INVESTIGATE CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS UNDERLYING ACADEMIC UNDERACHIEVEMENT. A COUNSELED EXPERIMENTAL SAMPLE OF 53 BRIGHT, BUT ACADEMICALLY UNDERACHIEVING HIGH SCHOOL BOYS WAS COMPARED WITH NON-COUNSELED CONTROL GROUPS OF UNDERACHIEVERS, PAR-ACHIEVERS, AND OVERACHIEVERS. DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND ON A NUMBER OF VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH ADAPTIVE EGO FUNCTIONING. THESE DIFFERENCES INCLUDE--CONTROL OF IMPULSE, ATTENTION TO LONG-RANGE CONSEQUENCES OF CONDUCT, NATIONAL MEANS-ENDS ANALYSIS IN PROBLEM-SOLVING, SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY IN DECISION-MAKING, ARBITRARINESS IN ATTITUDES AND JUDGMENTS, AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF-CONCEPTS AND LIFE GOALS. NO CHANGE ASSOCIATED WITH COUNSELING WAS FOUND IN GRADES OR ON STANDARDIZED MEASURES OF INTEREST, ATTITUDES, AND VALUES. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE FOUND ON VARIABLES OF ADAPTIVE FUNCTIONING AND IMPULSE CONTROLS MEASURED BY THE THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST. AN INTERPRETATION OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF EGO THEORY IS ENCOURAGED. (AUTHOR/PS)