Male and Female Adaptations in Culture Change

Abstract

THE PROBLEM HIS paper has a dual purpose : to compare the psychological adaptations T of adult males and females to the exigencies of sociocultural change in an historically primitive but rapidly acculturating population-the Menomini Indians of Wisconsin-and to present the methodology that makes it possible to describe these differences accurately.' In so doing, we hope to help to fill a lacuna in anthropological literature on the differential adjustment of the two sexes in culture change situations, and to illustrate a method of analysis for such situations that may prove useful as a model for comparisons in other situations.Although an awareness of the problem has long existed, few anthropologists have explicitly dealt with differences between the adaptations of males and females in their adjustment to a new environment created by the impact of an alien culture. Among those writing on American Indians, Mead (1932) was one of the first to recognize that acculturating females in one Plains Indian group undergo fewer abrupt changes in role playing than do the males. Joffe (1940) was impressed with the conservatism displayed by Fox Indian women in accu!-turation, as were the Hanks (1950) in their study of the Blackfoot, Vogt (1951) in his study of the Navaho, Elkin (1940) with the Arapaho, and Caudill (1949) with the Ojibwa. In studies where psychological tests such as the Rorschach were used, male-female differences in adjustment were again noted by Hallowell (1942), who found that Saulteaux women were in general making a better adjustment to white culture than were the males. Caudill(l949) likewise found acculturating Ojibwa women less anxious than the men. While these studies are suggestive, they were not mainly concerned with male-female differences, and make little or no attempt to analyze these observed differences systematically.In a general way, the Menomini data fit the model of male-female differences in culture change suggested by these studies. Menomini males appear to be more anxious and less controlled than do the women. And the women are psychologically more conservative. This suggests that for some reason the disruptions created in rapid culture change hit the men more directly, leaving the women less changed and less anxious. We will first demonstrate that these psychological differences are present, and in so doing apply some new techniques of analysis to Rorschach data that will permit accurate location of the sources of these differences on the Menomini acculturative continuum. Then we will turn to the sociocultural context, and particularly to differences in male and female roles, to seek explanation of the psychological observations. 217

Catalogue of Acculturation Constructs: Descriptions of 126 Taxonomies, 1918-2003

“…Finally, it was hypothesized that the transitional and peyote cult groups "alienated as they are from the cultural symbols of their ethnic past and at the same time not having internalized the symbols which constitute the value system of Western society, will exhibit more symptoms of personality disorganization than members of groups closely identified with the symbols of either of these culture types" (p. 80). This empirically defined typology was later replicated by Spindler and Spindler (1958).…”

“…Sociologists George Spindler and Walter Goldschmidt's (1952) Rorschach study of the Menomini native community statistically distinguished clusters of people in a twodimensional space defined by how much they had internalized European values and how much they knew and practiced traditional native ways (Spindler & Spindler, 1958 Those classified as the peyote cult [-F-C] group were people "in transition for whom the stress of this adjustment was especially acute" (p. 75) and as a result had enjoined hallucinogenic practices from another Native culture. Finally, it was hypothesized that the transitional and peyote cult groups "alienated as they are from the cultural symbols of their ethnic past and at the same time not having internalized the symbols which constitute the value system of Western society, will exhibit more symptoms of personality disorganization than members of groups closely identified with the symbols of either of these culture types" (p. 80).…”

Resilience Among American Indian Adolescents: Investigation Into the Role of Culture

“…Spindler and Spindler (1985) attempted to address these complexities and identified five types of "Indianness" (i.e., peyote cult, native-oriented, transitional, lower-status acculturated, and elite acculturated) all components of the acculturative process. However, the work of Spindler and Spindler (1985) was only based off of one Northern tribe. Suffice to say, this group tends to have more difficulties in coping with their problems   because they lack identity in either culture (Loye and Robert Ryan, 1982 as cited in LaFromboise et al, 1990, Trimble &Mohatt, 1990.…”

A Look at the Changing Acculturation Patterns in the United States and Implications for the Hospitality Industry

“…Its dynamics can be seen as the selective adaptation of value systems, the process of integration and differentiation, the developmental sequences, and the operation of role determinants and personality factors. (p. 974) This newer definition was offered because the classical definition insinuated that individuals progress from a native state through a transitional stage to an elite acculturated state (Spindler and Spindler, 1967). However, many modern researchers found fault in the original conceptualization because consensus has been building for the contention that acculturation is neither a linear process, nor an achievable end (Trimble, 2003).…”