Higher education research on faculty and psychological and sociological literature on professionals at work in organizations are reviewed in order to determine, as part of a 5-year project, why faculty behave as they do. The survey is seen as a conceptual guide for understanding the multidimensional factors involved. The results of the analysis of the literature survey are presented in five major sections covering: (1) works by well-known commentators on faculty; (2) faculty goals, the tripartite division of faculty work functions, and faculty allocation of effort; (3) the teaching role, particularly empirical evidence of the relative effectiveness of college classroom methods and styles, assessment of teaching quality, relationships between instructional performance and student learning, and rewards of teaching; (4) faculty research review; (5) theoretical constructions from psychological and sociological research that suggest alternative approaches to understanding how faculty experience their work; and (6) selected results that suggest trends and needs for future research and theory. Ten pages of references are included. (LB)