carolyn sherif (1922-1982) michael anderson elizabeth risch david ware
TRANSCRIPT
Carolyn Sherif(1922-1982)
Michael AndersonElizabeth RischDavid Ware
Learning Objectives Know the historical antecedents that
influenced Sherif Understand the zeitgeist in which her
ideas were developed Know the obstacle/struggles she faced Become familiar with selected works Identify the strengths & weaknesses of
her ideas/theories Understand her influence on the field
Overview Personal/Professional Background Historical Background Review of selected works Summary & integration
Learning Objectives Historical Antecedents Zeitgeist Professional/Personal Struggles
Her Early Life Born June 26, 1922 in Indiana. Her
father was a professor at Purdue University and mother was a high-school science teacher
Sang on radio show in high school Attended Purdue in an experimental
program for female science majors Financed college working at a
bookstore, a radio station, and as a paid singer in a church quartet
Graduate Studies In undergrad, she wrote a play the US
treasury used to sell war bonds Curious about the effect this play had on
audiences’ attitudes towards the war; led to her interest in psychology
Obtained Master’s degree in psychology at University of Iowa Opportunities due to lack of men (off to
war)
Early Career Offered a job at an RCA plant to
decrease turnover and increase attendance She declined
1st job- Collecting data on potential movies at Audience Research Inc. at Princeton She was not impressed! “Monday morning declaration of love…”
Back to school…
Primary interest in attitudinal research Desire to work with Muzafer Sherif
Princeton does not allow women to enroll Works with Sherif while commuting to
Columbia University in New York Muzafer is very prominent at this time Research with Muzafer became her focus
Married Life Dec. 1945- She and Muzafer are married
Luckily he had been released from Turkish prison
1947- Has first daughter 1947-1958- Works with Muzafer at
University of Oklahoma 1950- has second daughter 1955- has third daughter 1958- begins doctoral work at University
of Texas
Professional Career 1961- earned Ph.D. from University of
Oklahoma 1961-1965- published four books with
Muzafer Teaches Oklahoma Medical School
and Sociology Dept. of OU 1965- Penn State offered Tenure
track positions to both Carolyn and Muzafer
Effect of the Women’s Movement “To me, the atmosphere created by the
women’s movement was like breathing fresh air after years of gasping for breath. If anyone believes that I credit it too much for changes in my own life, I have only this reply: I know I did not become a significantly better social psychologist between 1969 and 1972, but I surely was treated as a better social psychologist.” (Sherif, 1983)
Effect of the Women’s Movement Research contributions during 1945-1961 not
well documented “A careful historian will recognize that both of
us were involved in everything published under the name Sherif after 1945. In several instances, when Muzafer asked me to appear as co-author, instead of in footnote or preface, I declined, a tendency that persisted into the 1960s. I would not do so again. I now believe that the world which viewed me as a wife who probably typed her husband’s papers (which I did not) defined me to myself more than I realized.”
Effect of the Women’s Movement President of APA division 35, Psychology
of Women in 1979 Orientation in Social Psychology
Book on the effect of one’s social status Study and publish on gender
Bias in Psychology, 1994 Recognition of her work
Fellow of APA, 1976 Distinguished publication award, 1979 Distinguished contributions to Education in
Psychology, 1982
Historical Antecedents Male dominated academia
Unable to attend Princeton WWII
Personal interest in psychology Created opportunities for women Shaped her research interests
Women’s Movement Led her to research on gender and social
status Gained recognition for works
Learning Objectives Selected works Strengths & weakness of her
research/theories Influence on the field
Dave’s Presentation
Sherif (1973)• Social distance - assesses relative
intimacy/rejection between members of diverse groups
• Studied degree of ego-involvement of AA students in inter-racial interaction as a function of previous/current white contacts
• Hypothesis - lower the probability of AA-white interaction & stronger the ties with AA reference groups, the lower AA student’s ego-involvement in interaction
Method• Participants judge advisability that an AA
student decide to interact with white individuals in a series of situations & classify into categories
• Persons highly involved use fewer categories than those less involved
• Latitude of noncommitment - categories left unlabeled; size inversely related to issue involvement
ResultsPredicted Order # Cat’s LNC
AA independent M (LU) 2.80 0
AA independent F (LU) 3.50 1.30
AA fraternity M (LU) 4.67 3.44
AA fraternity F (LU) 5.57 4.56
W-M 4.53 12.97
W-F 4.75 20.49
AA independent M (SC) 4.05 21.31
AA independent F (SC) 3.72 11.87
AA fraternity M (SC) 4.53 26.00
AA fraternity F (SC) 4.86 23.45
Discussion• Attitudes are related to one’s reference
groups & interaction situations encountered
• AA social fraternity served as insulating function
• Own categories method holds promise for truly social-psychological study of individual attitudes
Influence on Field• Developed singular, coherent approach to
social psychology• Argued psychology perpetuated myths about
women’s inferior position • Argued human behavior best understood by
studying the entire context • Integrated study of specific attitudes with
overall structure of self-system• Demonstrated that as individuals make
personal commitments, they develop categories for perceiving social world
Summary Change in attitudes during WWII spawned
interest in attitudes Sherif (1973)
Personal struggles and women’s movement led to interest in gender issues Sherif (1982)
First psychologist to integrate attitudes with self-concept
Inspired future research on gender-related issues
References Harvey, O. J. (1989). Muzafer Sherif (1906-1988), American Psychologist, 44,
1325-1326. Koesterer, M. (n.d.). Dr. Carolyn Wood Sherif: (1922-1982). Unpublished
manuscript. Sherif, C. W. (1992). Bias in psychology. In J. S. Bohan. (Ed.), Seldom Seen, Rarely
Heard: Women’s Place in Psychology (pp. 107-146). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Sherif, C. W. (1983). Carolyn Wood Sherif. In O’Connell, A. N. & Russon, N. F.
(Eds.), Models of Achievement: Reflections of Eminent Women in Psychology (pp 279-293). New York: Columbia University Press.
Sherif, C. W. (1982). Needed concepts in the study of gender identity, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 6, 375-395.
Sherif, C. W. (1982). Social and Psychological bases of social psychology. In A. G. Kraut (Ed.), G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series, Vol. 2 (pp. 9-72). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association
Sherif, C. W., Kelly, M., Rodgers, H. L., Sarup, G., & Tittler, B. (1973). Personal involvement, social judgment, and action, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27, 311-328.
Sherif, C. W., (1973). Social distance as categorization of intergroup interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 148-156.
Sherif, M., & Sherif, C. W. (1967). The adolescent in his group in its setting. In M. Sherif (Ed.), Social Interaction (pp. 247-312). Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Co.