Manuel Ramirez

Cognitive Styles of Children of Three Ethnic Groups in the United States

Children of three subcultural groups in the United States-Anglos, Blacks, and Mexican-Americans-were tested with the Portable Rod and Frame Test. The results showed that Black and Mexican-American children, and females in all three groups, scored in a significantly more field-dependent direction than Anglo children. The results confirmed previous findings that members of groups which emphasize respect for family and religious authority and group identity and which are characterized by shared-function family and friendship groups tend to be field-dependent in cognitive style. Members of groups which encourage questioning of convention and an individual identity and are characterized by formally organized family and friendship groups, on the other hand, tend to be more field-independent.

Social Conformity and Psychological Differentiation

Abstract This study examined the role of socialization experiences in the development of psychological differentiation. In each of three countries (Holland, Italy, Mexico) two villages were selected as presenting a contrasting picture with regard to degree of emphasis on conformity to family, religious and political authority. It was hypothesized that within the pair of villages in each country children from the village which stressed social conformity would tend to be more field dependent and show other signs of less developed differentiation than children from the village in which social conformity was less emphasized. In each of the six villages approximately 100 children (boys and girls, aged 9–11 and 13–15) were studied. Differentiation was assessed by a battery of tests of field-dependence-independence and the figure-drawing test. In every comparison of mean test scores between pairs of villages, in each of the three countries, children from the village in which social conformity was stressed obtain...

Identification with Mexican Family Values and Authoritarianism in Mexican-Americans

In this study it was hypothesized that Mexican-American college students would score higher than Anglo-Americans on a family attitude (F) scale that reflected the values of the Mexican family. It was also predicted that the Mexican-Americans would score higher on the F scale because their family milieu is very much like that of the high authoritarians. The sample subjects were 70 Anglo-Americans not belonging to any identifiable cultural or racial minority group ranging in age from 18 to 24. They were all middle-class Catholic college students of an equal number of males and females. The California F scale consisting of 32 items was administered to all subjects. The results indicate that the Mexican-American subjects made significantly higher scores than the Anglo-Americans on both the F scale and the Mexican Family Attitude Scales. The Mexican-American females made higher scores on both scales than did any of the other 3 culture-sex subgroups. It is evident that the positive relationship between autocratic family ideology and authoritarianism found among high authoritarian Anglo-Americans is also evident in a cultural minority group. The results indicate that young middle-class Mexican Americans adhere to standards of conformity and authoritarian submission indicating a need to maintain the status quo and certainly to refrain from opposing it. Although this study employed quantitative techniques which are usually associated with the research of psychologists it confirmed the findings of anthropologists who had utilized different methods. Comparison of the family attitude pattern of the Mexican Americans with that of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans reveals that the Mexican American value system shows signs of Americanization in the form of a decrease in the authority of the male. The Mexican family values on which the Mexican Americans expressed more agreement than disagreement were those of conformity strict child rearing and authoritarian submission.

Identification with mexican-american values and psychological adjustment in mexican-american adolescents

CHILD2 and Madsen7 have observed that persons who are caught between two cultures experience severe value conflicts. A study of second-generation Italian-Americans2 revealed that they typically adopted one of three reactions to these conflicts : (1) the rebel-characterized by the desire of the individual to establish himself as an American and dissociate himself from the labels of the folk culture, (2) the in-group-a tendency to strive for affiliation with the folk culture and to express hostility to the symbols of the American group, and (3) the apathetic-an attempt to escape conflict by distorting memory or perception so that arousal tendencies to seek affiliation with either group are reduced. Child2 2

Achievement Motivation in Children of Three Ethnic Groups in the United States

Children of three ethnic groups in the United States-Anglos, Blacks, and Mexican Americans-were asked to tell a story to each of seven line drawings depicting persons in a setting related to education. Stories were scored for n Achievement and family achievement (oriented toward achievement goals from which the family would benefit or that would gain recognition from family members). The results showed that Mexican-American and Black children scored higher on family achievement than did Anglo children. Anglos, however, scored higher on n Achievement. On those cards depicting parental figures, however, Mexican-American and Black children tended to score higher on n Achievement than Anglo children. Females in all three ethnic groups scored lower on n Achievement but higher on family achievement than males. It was concluded that contextual conditions are most important in expression of achievement motivation and that the particular form in which achievement is expressed is determined by the definition that culture gives to it.

A Psychology of the Americas

In spite of our efforts to create a science that is universal, culture-free and beyond the boundaries of time and space, psychology is still very much culture bound….

Divergent Thinking, Cultural Differences, and Bilingualism

Summary Mexican-American, black and Anglo fourth grade children (N = 183) from Catholic parochial schools in Houston, Texas, were tested with the Unusual Uses Test and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The Anglo Ss scored higher than the blacks and Mexican-Americans on the Peabody test. Mexican-American and black males scored higher than Anglo males on both fluency and flexibility as measured by the Unusual Uses Test. Black males scored higher on fluency than any of the other subgroups. On the other hand, Anglo females scored higher on fluency and flexibility than the other females. Furthermore, Anglo females scored higher on flexibility than any of the other subgroups. Black females obtained the highest flexibility/fluency ratio. The results of the male Ss supported the hypothesis that children of minority groups and children who are “balanced” bilinguals tend to do better on the Unusual Uses Test. The female results, however, did not support this hypothesis and could not be explained by the study.

Ethnic Differences in Delay of Gratification

Summary Questions related to the problem of accepting a small reward immediately or waiting for a bigger reward were given to 180 fourth-grade children composed of three ethnic groups sampled from a relatively poor socioeconomic region of a South-Western area in the United States. In addition questions related to the factor of trust in the promises of investigators to deliver the bigger reward were undertaken. The sample consisted of 60 Anglos, Blacks, and Mexican-Americans, respectively; each ethnic group divided in turn into an equal number of boys and girls. Results showed that at the fourth-grade level Black and Mexican-American children were more prone than Anglo children to accept the immediate gratification rather than choose the later and bigger reward. No sex differences within each ethnic group were found, with the exception of the Mexican-American group for one out of the three conditions tested. The factor of mistrust in the promises of the investigators was noticeable in the Black children, d...

The History, Current Status, and Future of Multicultural Psychotherapy

Publisher Summary This chapter addresses the theoretical and professional developments in the field of multicultural psychotherapy. It discusses the early considerations of cultural differences in traditional or mainstream psychotherapy and also highlights the importance of multicultural counseling and supervision competencies, as well as a metatheoretical framework, to guide the development and ensure the success of multiculturalism in psychotherapy. In review of multicultural psychotherapy models most are classified into one of four major approaches—culture matching, acculturation and adaptation, ethnic and racial identity, and person–environment—and detailed the significance of each approach. Perhaps most striking, discussion illustrates that multicultural psychology is a revolutionary force that has the potential to create broad changes in the social sciences and mental health because of its emphases on inclusion, synthesis, and synergy. The future of multicultural psychotherapy rests upon the success of the multicultural therapist and client to be co-intentional social engineers of the future, to be active participants in the lives of culturally different people who are striving to live effectively and efficiently in a pluralistic society. To achieve this goal, chapter concludes with the need for scholars and practitioners to actively engage in research that will validate this multicultural way of life.

The Relation of Drug Trafficking Fears and Cultural Identity to Attitudes Toward Mexican Immigrants in Five South Texas Communities

ABSTRACT This paper reports the findings of research investigating the relationship of spill-over fears related to drug trafficking and of cultural identity to Mexican Americans’ attitudes toward recent immigrants from Mexico in five non-metropolitan communities in the US–Mexico borderlands of South Texas. A mixed methods design was used to collect data from 91 participants (30 intact families with two parents and at least one young adult). Quantitative findings showed that the majority of participants expressed the view that most people in their communities believed that newcomers were involved in drug trafficking and in defrauding welfare programs. A significant interaction indicated that Mexican cultural identity buffered the negative effects of drug trafficking fears as related to the view that the newcomers were creating problems in the communities and region. Qualitative data yielded positive and negative themes, with those that were negative being significantly more numerous. The findings have implications for intra-ethnic relations in borderlands communities as well as for immigration policy.