The relationships between a diverse set of individual difference, demographic, and aptitude variables; and a set of student attitudes and behaviors pertinent to experiences in large lecture classes were examined. The sample was 4300 students enrolled in 33 lecture classes at a large university. The relationship between the set of individual difference and background variables and the set of classroom attitudes and behaviors were examined by canonical analysis resulting in six significant canonical relations: (1) student ability to course grade received; (2) student ability, population of students' home communities, and high school class size to student effort; (3) students' family income and educational aspirations to their perceptions of background similarity of other students, instructor contact, and student attendance and motivation; (4) students' predictions of their college grades and educational aspirations to their perceptions of adequacy of classroom facilities, course reputation, and friendliness of other students; (5) students' family income to their perceptions of the adequacy of classroom facilities and course reputation; and (6) population of students' home communities, high school grades, and educational aspirations to their perceptions of the friendliness of other students, their opinions when registering, and contact with the instructor. Implications for traditional approaches to the study of achievement are discussed. (Author/BW)