Internal‐External Control in the Motivational Dynamics of Negro Youth*

Gurin, Patricia; Gurin, Gerald; Lao, Rosina C.; Beattie, Muriel

doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1969.tb00605.x

Cited by 557 publications

(259 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Self-attribution and black self-esteem.-In the late 1960s and early 1970s sociologists argued that black Americans were keenly aware that discrimination and the structure of opportunities were responsible for the failure of the average black person to enjoy a life comparable with those of typical whites (see, e.g., Gurin et al 1969). Presumably, this belief protected black self-esteem by enabling blacks to attribute blame for failure to the social system rather than to themselves as individuals (McCarthy and Yancey 1971;Porter and Washington 1979).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Perceptions of Black Americans: Self-Esteem and Personal Efficacy

Hughes¹,

Demo²

1989

American Journal of Sociology

321

243

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This study examines the determinants of personal self-esteem, racial self-esteem, and personal efficacy in a 1980 national sample of black Americans. The findings show that the three dimensions are interrelated and each is anchored in interpersonal relations with family and friends. However, the three dimensions are produced by fundamentally different processes. Personal self-esteem is most strongly influenced by microsocial relations with family, friends, and community, while personal efficacy is generated through experiences in social statuses embedded in macrosocial systems of social inequality. We conclude that black self-esteem is insulated from systems of racial inequality, while personal efficacy is not, and suggest that this explains why black Americans have relatively high self-esteem but low personal efficacy. The belief that racial discrimination, rather than individual failure, accounts for low achievement among blacks is irrelevant to personal self-esteem and personal efficacy. In contrast, racial self-esteem is produced by a combination of education, interracial contact, and ideological processes.Two major dimensions of self-perception known to be positively correlated are self-esteem and personal efficacy. Somewhat surprisingly, black Americans have relatively high self-esteem but relatively low personal efficacy. There is no widely accepted, empirically supported explanation for this apparent inconsistency. Most studies in this area have

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Perceptions of Black Americans: Self-Esteem and Personal Efficacy

Hughes¹,

Demo²

1989

American Journal of Sociology

321

243

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“…As noted earlier, Gurin et al (1969) In terms of luck, chance, or good fortune, it appears that Natives do not consider their health to be contingent on such factors. Although the differences are not statistically significant, Natives answered negatively to externality-based items more often than did non-Native health providers.…”

Section: Hlc Scale Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The communication of wellness concepts interculturally in an Alaskan health-care context

Allan¹

2000

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A review of the literature on cross-cultural health care reveals an agreement that health care should "fit" the cultural values and beliefs of the people it serves. However, few authors provide theories that could be applied to overcoming obstacles that surface in the context of cultural difference.The purpose of this study is to investigate in what ways cultural value differences between Alaskan Native clients and non-Native health professionals affect the communicating of "wellness" concepts. Specifically, this study focuses on possible difference in the cultural value Utilizing the descriptive method for data collection, both oral interviews and a written instrument measuring "Health Locus of Control" were included. Thirty subjects included twenty Natives and ten non-Natives. The twenty Natives were administered the author-generated interview questions (modified with suqgestions of five Native pretest subjects). Of this Native group ten were health providers and were also given the written instrument. The ten nonNatives were health providers and they too completed the written instrument.A !_-test was performed on the results of the Health Locus of Control instrument. Although not statistically significant, the differences between the two groups were suggestive of definite value orientation differences, Natives proving to be more internally oriented than nonNatives. 3A thematic analysis was undertaken to identify and evaluate themes generated by the interview questions. This data was also used to cross-validate the written instrument results.Both the interview and written instrument data suggested that Native people had a strong belief in selfresponsibility for their own health and that they experienced communication problems that resulted from culturespecific differences between the two groups.Information from this study provided methodological suggestions that may prove valuable for future research in this area.

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“…67 Some of the results reported here are consistent with John Henryism and other studies that suggest that high levels of perceived control are not inherently healthy, and may be deleterious to health when they are contrary to the reality of an individual's actual control and influence, as shaped by social context. 68,69 Women who maintain the perception that their organizations or their neighborhoods can be effective in improving community conditions may suffer poorer health outcomes if conditions do not improve or they worsen over time. Although we cannot directly test this hypothesis by using these cross-sectional data, the cohort effects reported here are consistent with this potential mechanism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%