African American Cultural Collectivism and the Self: Implications for Motivational Theory

• In Event: 45.025 - Looking at Motivation Across Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

Much of the research on self-construals have either been inconsistent in its assessment of African American self-construals or, more commonly, neglected to examine them altogether. This study sought to offer suggestions for revising traditional measures of cultural orientation to more accurately capture manifestations of collectivism amongst African Americans. Accordingly, the goals of the current study were to use qualitative methods to determine indicators of collectivistic cultural patterns and interdependent self-construals among African Americans. The broad research question guiding this study was “What practices and beliefs do African Americans view as indicative of interdependence among African Americans?”

Author

• Kelly A. Rodgers, City University of New York - BMCC