SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION 8: IDENTIFICATION IN
IRANIAN CHILDREN OF VARYING CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS

Thesis {0: the 599:0. c.‘ M. A.-
MICI‘EIGAN 535323. UHI‘IERSI'W
Cyrus Azimi
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LIBRARY

Michigan State
University

 

 

SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION & IDENTIFICATION

IN IRANIAN CHILDREN OF VARYING CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS

By

Cyrus Azimi

A THESIS

Submitted to the College of Science and Arts
Michigan State University of Agriculture and
Applied Science in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Psychology

1960

Dedication

To my mother, Mrs. Nezhat Azimi without whose help
the completion of this work would have been impossible,

and

to my wife, Forough.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author desires to express his sincere thanks and
gratitudes to Dr. Alfred Dietze, who in his capacity as
chairman of this thesis committee has been very patient and
helpful in guiding the author in this study.

Further gratitudes is also expressed to Dr. A. Rabin
and Dr. Mary Haworth for their suggestions and helpful
guidance. The author especially wishes to express his thanks
to Miss Josefina Limuaco who permitted him to use a portion
of her statistical work in connection to the present study.

Also a note of thanks to Mr. Kenneth Terhune for his
guidance on the statistical analysis and to the principals
of the elementary schools in Iran who made subjects available

for the purposes of this study.

SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION & IDENTIFICATION

IN IRANIAN CHILDREN OF VARYING CULTUMAL BACKGROUNDS

By

Cyrus Azimi

AN ABSTRACT

Submitted to the College of Science and Arts
Michigan State University of Agriculture and
Applied Science in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
Department of Psychology

1960

Approved ,ajfl. B a?

 

l
Cyrus Azimi

ABSTRACT

In the present study, the Draw-A-Person test was ad-
ministered to 253 Iranian children between the ages of ll and
12 for the purpose of testing certain hypotheses regarding
culture-connected differences in sexual differentiation and
identification. These children presented the village com-
munities with their radical, old cultural background, the pub-
lic school children who come from similar traditional homes
in the larger cities, and the private school children with
their modern, pro-western homes who have adopted the European
and American ways of living. They come from ten different
schools. Only 170 sets of drawings, each set including a male
and a female figure, met the criteria for inclusion in the
study.

The drawings were first scored on a revision of Swensen's
sexual differentiation scale by Rabin and Limuaco (1959), the
revised scale yielding five points. These data were analyzed
by the means of Chi square technique to determine the signifi-
cance of the differences between the groups on sexual differen-
‘tiation.

Then the drawings were scored on the Goodenough's sexual
ixjentification scale for the determination of the degree of
Enexual identification with the same-sex figure. Differences
IDeatween sub-cultural groups in sexual identification were then
aJialyzed.

The results of this study were also compared with results

Cyrus Azimi
found by Limuaco (1959) and Rabin & Limuaco (1959) on a
similar Sample of American and Filipino children.
The following hypotheses were found to be tenable:

Regarding sexual differentiation as measured by Swensen's

scale, it was found that:

(l) Iranian village school children excell public school
children.

(2) Iranian public school children excell private school
children.

(3) Iranian village and public school children excell
American children.

(4) Iranian private school children do not differ from
American children.

(5) Iranian village and public school children do not
differ from Filipino children and hence, Filipino
children excell Iranian private school children.

(6) There is no difference between Iranian boys and girls
of different cultural backgrounds on sexual differen-
tiation.

In regard to sexual identification as indicated by the D-A-P

‘test, it was shown that:

(7) Iranian village and public school boys excell the
private school boys on same-sex identification.

(8) There is no difference between the girls of all
various cultural backgrounds of Iran on the point of

same—sex identification.

II.

III.

IIV}

\[1,

VIII

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . .

A. Statement of the problem .

B. Cultural factors in sex—typing .

C. Iran as an ideal setting for the

of sub-cultural groups
D. Statement of Hypotheses

I‘llethOd - o o o o o o o o o

A. Measurement of dependent variable

B. Subjects . . . . . . .
C. Testing procedure . .
D

. Criteria for selection
ings . . . . . . . . .

E. Scoring . . . . . . .

Results . . . . . .O. . .

A- Analysis of results for sexual differentiation “

B. Analysis of results for sexual identification

Discussion . . . . . . . .
Conclusion & Summary . . .

Appendix . . . . . . . .

comparison

& elimination

of draw—

1. Iranian culture & educational system .

2. Personality theories on sexual differentiation

regarding children's development

3. Goodenough's scale . .

A. Swensen's scale of sexual differentiation

Bibliography . . . . . . .

I“
p
o

til

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ID

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48
5O
52

LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I Source of Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
II Mean Age of Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

III Socio—Economic Distribution of Experimental
SUbJeCtS O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 18

IV Inter-judge Agreement (r) of Scores on
Swensen's Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

V Relation of Sexual Differentiation to the Degree
of Westernization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

VI Inter-judge Agreement (r) of Scores on Good-
enough. S scale 0 O . . . C . C O C . O . . . . 21

VII Comparison of Children (sexes combined) of
Different Cultural Groups . . . . . . . . . . 23

VIII Comparison of Boys of Different Cultural Groups
on Sexual Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . 24

IX Comparison of Girls of Different Cultural Groups
on SeLual Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . 24

X Comparison of Iranian Village & Public School
Children and American Children on Sexual
Differentiation O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 23

XI Comparison of Iranian Private School and Ame-

rican Children on Sexual Differentiation . . . 26

XII Comparison of Iranian and Filipino Children on
Sexual Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

ZXIII Comparison of Sexes on Differentiation in Vary—
ing Cultural Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . 27

LXIV’ Comparison of Boys of Different Groups on Same-
Sex Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

XV Comparison of Girls of Different Groups on Same-
sex Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Statement of the Problem

The effects of two world wars have not only marked an
advance in scientific invention but also have served to
bring the nations of the Earth into closer contact than at
any previous time. Consequently, American and European civi-
lization and culture have in various ways come to influence
the other nations of the world, especially the Middle Eastern
countries. One result of this has been that some of the
better educated families of these nations have abandoned their
traditional ways of child rearing and have adopted western me-
thods which allow more freedom and equality between the sexes.
Since this is still a new trend, which has unequally affected
different sub—groups, a certain amount of conflict has deve-
loped among different social classes manifesting itself, among
other things, in a degree of rebellion on the part of the old-
er, traditionally minded families. Unfortunately, this places
the children in such communities in a difficult dilemma. The
‘traditional ways of their fathers prevent children from adopt-
:ing the more liberal western fashions, yet the attractive forces
(bf the latter is quite unavoidable.
In order to find out to what extent the children of the
d.1fferent sub-cultural families are affected by this change,
3- country which serves as a very suitable experimental ground
fWDr this purpose was chosen for investigation, the findings

0f7 which are reported in the following pages.

B. Cultural Factors in SeX-Typing

The development of a child's personality is directly
related and greatly influenced by the social class in which
he grows up. His family is also the primary source of influence
on the child's character and personality development. Britton
(1954) points out that sociologists and cultural anthropologists
stress the importance of the location of an individual in the
socio—economic class structure of his community as a basic
determiner of a large proportion of the cultural and environ-
mental experiences he may have. A social class group tends to
restrict the individual's learning to a particular social pattern
of behaving and believing. This pattern is in many ways dis—
tinct from what other persons experience who may belong to or
identify with other social classes.

The differences in cultural experience, together with an
individual's cultural motivation, may influence what a child
learns in school, how he feels about his teachers, his peers,
and his community in general. Koreover, according to Davis
(1946), these cultural differences may be expected to affect
also the responses of children on different intelligence and
13ersonality tests.

The role parents play in child rearing is of utmost
fianortance in his character and personality development. Since
Tibey in turn reflect the cultural patterns of their community,

tide child's development is indirectly influenced by the culture

iri which he is placed.

3

From the dawn of civilization, each culture has placed
different emphasis on the different sexes, ascribing differ—
ent roles to males and females. Even today in many countries
of the world, the roles of boys and girls are more sharply
differentiated than in others. Thus, in societies where the
fathers assume the domineering role and boys are valued more
than girls, the male child develops corresponding attitudes
and identifies more with the male figure in order to secure
the prestige and esteem given only to the males. On the other
hand, in societies such as the United States, as both Masters
(1957) and Gorer (19fl8) point out, due to the important role
played by the female figure in the form of the mother, the
child has little chance to know with which of his two parents
he should identify himself; and since both girls and boys are
given the same amount of freedom and rights, there is no clear-
cut model of different sex roles to follow. Consequently less
sexual differentiation develops.

According to personality theories*, both boys and girls
start by taking their mothers as their primary love object and
source of identification; by the age of six, boys have acquired
£1 conscious sexual differentiation, identifying with their
fkathers, to a degree which depends on cultural and family back-

E;Pound. On the other hand, girls keep on identifying with their
mOthers regardless of their cultural background and home
environment .

x

'* Iieference is made to Appendix, section 2.

4
Thus the impact of different cultures in sex typing is

evident and it is to be expected that boys from homes which
traditionally emphasize the dominant role of the father will
show a higher degree of sexual identification and differentia-
tion than boys from more modern and lenient homes. Likewise,
in the cultures where the role of the male figure is quite
distinct and is regarded as superior to that of the female,
boys are motivated to identify with their fathers and males

in general. Conflict arises when the belief system of such
people is invaded by new ideas from contrasting cultures.

C. Iran as an Ideal Setting for the Comparison of

Sub-Cultural Groups
Iran may be considered an ideal setting for the compa-

rison of sub-cultural groups relative to sexual identification
and differentiation. Perhaps in no other place in the world
are contrasts between old and new cultural patterns more visi-
ble than in Iran. A country which was considered one of the
most backward and primitive nations of the world only fifty
years ago, has achieved an important place in today's world
aand is making rapid headway toward greater progress and pros-
IDerity. Although the physical aspects of the country are chang-
iJig fast as a result of the introduction of modern devices and
inuethods, to change the ideas and attitudes of the majority of
‘tlde people whose forebearers for centuries had their own way
(31‘ life, one should grant a full generation or two. Iran,
t'herefore has a culture with strong conflicting forces between
kuar sub-cultural groups. The influence of modern western

IDIVactices and ideas is confronted by the defensive forces of

the older traditional ways of life and the rebellion of the
people to deny the new change. A new generation, on the other
hand, is eager to adopt western ways and thus comes into con-
lict with established mores.

The family life in Iran Can be divided into three main
groups on the basis of the degree of the adoption of westernized
fashions:
(l) the modern, adopting western patterns of life completely;
(2) the traditional, following older cultural patterns in the

urban situation and not fully accepting westernized ways; and
(3) village families with traditional customs with little or

no acceptance of western influences.

The elementary schools of Iran can be also divided to
three groups. The children from modernized families go to
private schools, children from middle socio—economic families
along with lower socio—economic boys and girls go to public
schools, and village children go to village schools. Thus
the schools which these children attend 'reflect' to a large
extent the socio-economic level of the sub—culture and above
eall, the degree of westernization of the families. The children
(Df each school have little contact with other groups, which
1?esults in a unique situation in Iran. This provides, for the
tlime being, an ideal situation for comparing personality effects
le cultural differences within the matrix of a fairly homogeneous
ethnic group.

The modern families of Iran, the largest majority of whom

1¢lve in Teheran, have to a large extent adopted the established

Western pattern of living. host of them have been to European

countries and some of them have an American education. The
hierarchical structure of the family in this class of people
is breaking ddwn chiefly as a result of the stimulus of
western ideas and values. The family is undergoing a democra-
tization resulting in greater equality of the sexes and a
decrease in paternal authority. The father's role is not as
severe and clear-cut as it would be in the traditional homes,
and in fact, both parents enjoy almost the same degree of
freedom and equality. Consequently there is no preference
between the sexes of children. Boys and girls are equally
loved. .

In the older traditional homes, however, as head and
master, the father occupies the central position as the autho-
rity and organizer of the family. He demands total obedience
and reverential respect. He can make any family decisions he
sees fit. His wife, mother, and sisters have no influence on
the final decisions made by him. Such parents have little
tolerance for independence on the part of their children, a
point which is severely observed in these homes. The father
;punishes the children for infringement of his commands and
.for disrespect. Thus, fear of the father is universal in
'this group and children are submissive to his will. The
Inother, on the other hand, plays a more permissive role in her
rearing of the children. She is more lenient, emphasizes the
child's good points and is the most important source of love
and reassurance.

Thus the role of father in the traditional homes of Iran

7
is very clear-cut. He is the lord of all and can do what he
desires. This holds true to an even greater extent in village
life. Here there has been little change in the pattern of
living from past ages. Since in the village the father is the
bread-winner, his word and his law come before that of the
woman. Since village families are more religious and better
Moslems than some urban families, reverence for the father is
greatly enhanced.

Due to the importance of the male in the traditional
village and urban life, the birth of boys is considered a much
more pleasant and agreeable event than that of a girl. Boys
are loved more than girls are and are given opportunities to
identify with their fathers.*

The above account should provide a picture to the reader
of conditions already ideally set up for a study of cross-
cultural factors which are presumed to be related to differen-
ces in sexual identification and capacity for sexual differen-

tiation.
D. Statement of Hypotheses

This study takes its departure from the hypothesis derived
from personality theory that the more differentiated the roles
of father and mother the greater will be the sexual differen-

tiation, which is shown by children. As has been pointed out,

 

* Reference is made to section 1 of the Appendix for an account
of child rearing in Iran.

8
in Iran there exist the three distinct sub-cultures within a
homogeneous ethnic population, reflecting three degrees of diver—
gence in parental (sexual) roles. In the most modern of these
groups westernization has developed to the extent of being
hardly distinguishable from American society. In the villages
fathers exercise extreme dominance and mothers have a sub—
servient and passive role in family life. Urban families who
have not yet fully accepted western ways lie between these in
regard to differential parental role.

The division pointed out above is well reflected in the
type of school attended by the children of each group. Thus
private school children come from modern, westernized homes,
public school children from urban traditional families; and village
children go to village schools.

The following hypotheses are, therefore, suggested as
alternatives for the rejection of the null hypothesis in regard
to sexual differentiation, except for hypotheses 4, 6, and 8
which are stated in terms of no difference.

(1) Iranian Village school children will excell public

school children.

(2) Iranian public school children will excell private

school children.

Since equalization of parental roles is characteristic of
American culture, it is advanced that:

. (3) Iranian village and public school children will excell

American children.

(4) Iranian private school children will not differ
from American children.

A previous study by Limuaco (1359) on Filipino children
provides data for another hypothesis, following from the sharp
sexual differentiation in Filipino culture which is similar to
that of Iranian traditional and village families, namely:

(5) Iranian village and public school children will not
differ from Filipino children and hence, Filipino
children will excell Iranian private school children.

Since sexual domination presumably operates equally on boys
and girls in Iran it is further hypothesized that:

(6) There will be no differences between Iranian boys

and girls of different cultural backgrounds on sexual
differentiation.

Since the D—A-P test has also been used as a measure of
sexual identification (Rabin & Limuico 1959), two further
hypotheses are suggested which may be derived from the degree
of motivation attached to identification with the paternal or
maternal figure in the different sub-cultural groups described,
and the theoretical assumption that identification will take
place in the direction of highest reward. Thus there is more
at stake in identification with the father for the Iranian
village boys and boys from traditional homes than boys of the
westernized groups. In the case of girls there is quite equal
motivation for same sex identification with the mother. There—

fore:

10
Iranian villlge and public school boys will excell
the private school boys in same-sex identification.
There is no difference between girls of different

sub-cultures of Iran in same-sex identification.

11
II. METHOD
A. Measurement of Dependent Variable

An instrument which lends itself to the measurement of
sexual differentiation and sexual identification is the Draw—A-
Person Test. Drawings of children have been investigated at
least since 1885, when Cooke (1885) published an article on
children's drawings, or 1887 at which time Ricci (1887) pub-
lished an article on the drawings of a group of Italian child-
ren based on what was perhaps the earliest collection of child-
ren's drawings for scientific purposes (Goodenough 1926). With
the growth of the child study movement many studies of children's
drawings have appeared, among them a large scale inter-cultural
study initiated by Lamprecht in which children's drawings were
collected from almost every nation of the world, including seve-
ral primitive African tribes. The most extensive study was,
perhaps, that of Kerschensteiner (1905), who collected and stu-
died more than 100,000 drawings produced by children in Munich
and neighboring areas of Germany, finding in them interesting

sex differences.

The Draw-A-Person Test (DAP)

Karen Machover (1949) developed the DAP as a projective
test, subjects being required to draw the figures of both sexes.
This differs from Goodenough's (1926) who utilized only drawings
of the male figure. The assumptions underlying analysis and

interpretation of such drawings are described by Machover in

12
in detail. According to her, the human figure drawn by an
individual who is directed to draw a person relates intimately
to the impulses, conflicts, and compensations characteristic
of the individual. Accordingly, the personal problems of a sub-
ject who draws such figures may be discerned from one or both
of the figures he has drawn. Among other things such drawings
are thought to reveal the degree of identification and sexual
differentiation of the drawer. Sexual differentiation here
refers to the degree to which a subject discriminates or makes
a difference in the rendering of the male and the female in his
drawings, and sexual identification refers to the adequacy with

which a subject portrays his self-sex figure.

Swensen's Scale for Sexual Differentiation

Swensen (1955) has prepared a special scale for the measure-
ment of sexual differentiation using the DAP test. According
to him, the differentiation, or lacm of it, in drawing male
and female figures in the DAP test is thought to indicate the
degree to which the subject adequately identifies sexually with
his parents. A drawing in which the two sexes are clearly and
correctly differentiated would presumably indicate an individual
whose sexual identification was mature and unimpared.

The present study employs an adapted form of the Swensen's
scale for children's drawings. The author has used as a refe—

rence the study performed by Rabin and Limuaco (1959)*.

Goodenough's Scale

In order to study the drawings obtained by the DAP test,

 

* Section 4, Appendix

l3
Goodenough (1926) has prepared a scale which is mainly used
in connection with children's drawings and is, as she claims,
quite successful. The maximum number of points which a pic-
ture may receive is fifty-one. The point at issue is the pre-
sence or absence of the detail organs of the body, and no draw—
ing may receive a high score merely because it is cleverly and
artistically drawn. Goodenough claims a direct relationship
between the number of points received and the child's intelli-

gence.
B. Subjects

The data for the present study were collected in the
spring of 1960 in Iran. The author sent a full description
of the procedure pertaining to the administration of the DAP
to Mrs. Nezhat Azimi, an experienced social worker in the city
of Teheran. She in turn administered the test in various
community schools. Since Mrs. Azimi is one of the few quali-
fied persons who could administer the test in Iran, the author
has complete confidence in the adequacy of the data collected
in the absence of his direct supervision.

Subjects were tested in various elementary schools, both
in Teheran, the capital of Iran, and in villages within some
distance from Teheran. A total number of 253 fifth and sixth
grade children between the ages of 11 and 12 were tested. They
were of both sexes and were enrolled in private schools, public
schools and village community schools, thus coming from the

three different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds already

14
described. The 11-12 year age group was selected in order to
make possible comparison of Iranian children with Filipino and
American children used as subjects as experimental group two by
Limuaco (1959). Limuaco's second group consisted of 51 American
and 69 Filipino children, aging between 11 to 12 years.

Table 1 presents the names, locations, and status of the
schools used, together with the total number tested in each
and the number of cases actually studied after certain pictures

were eliminated that did not meet the criteria of the study.

Table 1

Source of Subjects

 

 

 

No Name of School Location Status Tested Accepted
1 Keyan Boys School Eyvanekey Village B & C 40 15
2 Keyan Girls School B & C 50 25
3 Viraneh Boys " Viraneh Village C 15 10
4 As odi B0 8 " Teheran C 28 20
(Public)
5 Bizhan Bo s " Teheran B & c 16 10
(Public)
6 Iran-Tomorrow" Teheran A 15 15
(Boys, Private)
7 Parvaresh Teheran A 15 15
(Boys, Private)
8 Rey Girls School Teheran B & C 20 15
(Public)
9 Avicina Girls " Teheran C 2O 15
(Public)
10 Firuzeh Girls " Teheran A 34 30
(Private)
TOTAL: 253 170

 

refers to middle socio-economic status.

refers to low socio-economic status.

This classification is based on total family income and
parental occupation.

 

A; refers to high socio-economic status.

15
0f the total number of 253 tested 170 drawings of the male and
female figures were accepted for analysis after the above men—
tioned criteria for selection of drawings were applied. These
are discussed in a later paragraph. I

Table 2 presents data on sex and age distribution of subjects.

Table 2

Mean Age of Subjects Tested

 

 

Groups Number Mean Age Age Range
Village Boys 25 11.9 11412
Village Girls 25 11.8 11—12
Public School Boys 30 11.7 11-12
Public School Girls 30 11.8 11-12
Private School Boys 30 11.6 11-12
Private School Girls 30 11.7 ll-l2
TOTAL 170

 

C. Testing Procedure

The testing procedure and instructions were adopted from
Karen Machover. Each child was asked to use a pencil and was
given a rather thick white sheet of paper. The children were
instructed not to use colored pencil nor pen. They were not
told to draw a man, but to draw a person. A half an hour was
allowed for drawing the first figure, after which they were
asked to draw on the back of their papers the opposite sex of
that which they had first drawn. Another half hour was allowed
for this drawing, the total session requiring a full hour. In

all class-rooms except one, the results of which were discarded,

16

the instructions emphasized drawing a full figure. Examiners
were cautious to avoid suggestions or remarks except those in-
volving the instructions. Some of the drawings were later
found to show a remarkable tendency on the part of the children
to over-emphasize or under-emphasize the importance of some part
of the body. Should the children have been directed to abstain
from doing so, these drawings would have been less valuable.
The teachers, who cooperated with the examiner, made sure that
instructions were followed and that no cheating, copying, trac-
ing, etc. was done.

The children were instructed to write their names, ages,
class, and their fathers' occupations in the corner of their pa-
pers. This enabled the author to make sure that the children

from a given school all came from similar socio-economic back-

grounds.

D. Criteria for Selection & Elimination of Drawings

The most important points observed in the selection of the
drawings were similarity in age level and insuring that authors
of the drawings from a given class or school came from almost
identical homes and family backgrounds. This could be accomplished
on the basis of the location of the schools used and the data
on fathers' occupations provided in the papers. Drawings which
did not fit in the dominant class category of the group were eli-
minated. For example the drawings of a village school boy who
had indicated his father's occupation as "doctor", and of a girl

lNhose father was the lawyer of the village, were eliminated

f‘rom the sample. Such families do not belong to the real village

17
community and came originally from urban areas to serve in the
villages.

Since the class-rooms in some of these schools were small
and several children sat at the same desk rather than having
individual seats, the problem of control occasionally presented
some difficulty. However, because of the strong discipline
prevailing in schools of Iran, copying was kept at a minimum.
The author, however, discarded five drawings which appeared to
resemble each other sufficiently to arouse suspicion that copy-
ing had taken place.

Other reasons for eliminating drawings fall under the follow-
ing categories:

(1) Failure to follow the instructions on the part of the
subjects to draw a full figure. Thus busts and heads were ex-
cluded.

(2) Drawings showing very superior drawing talent. The sub-
jects in this category were commended by their teachers for their
abilities, and it was thought that their drawings might intro-
duce irrelevant factors in judging the drawings. A total of 4
drawings were discarded for this reason.

(3) Drawings which were colored or drawn by pen. Six drawings
‘which had very little coloring on the lips alone were accepted.

Table 3 shows the socio—economic distribution of the subjects

'used in the analysis.

18
Table 3

Socio-economic Distribution of Experimental Subjects

 

 

Status Boys Girls Total
Low Socio-economic 25 25 50
Low & Middile Socio-econ. 30 30 60
High Socio—economic 30 30 60
TOTAL 85 85 170

 

E. Scoring

The pictures were scored according to two separate scales:
(1) for sexual differentiation by means of the revised Swen-
sen scale.

(2) for sexual identification by means of the Goodenough scale.

1. Scoring for Sexual Differentiation

Each child had drawn two figures, male and female. Each
drawing was scored according to the Swensen scale as modified
by Limuaco for children. Two independent judges performed the
judgments.* The drawings were rated on a five-point scale on the
basis of excellent, good, fair, and poor sexual differentiation
between the two figures.

In order to avoid bias in judgment, the judges were not
informed about the effects their decisions might have on the
study. Neither of them knew the plan of the study but were ins-
tructed regarding their own task prior to the actual judgment.

‘

'* The author's wife, Mrs. Forough Azimi, and Miss Ruth Skewa-
rek. Miss Skewarek has had training in psychology and currently
works as a psychometrist.

19
Agreement between the judges was Quite high and is shown
by the interjudge correlation coefficiences summarized in
table 4.
Table 4

Inter-judge Agreement (r) of Scores on
Swensen's Scale

 

School Figures

 

Village School Children .93
Public School Children .89
Private School Children .96

 

After the drawings were scored, in order to preserve
conformity with the scores on the Filipino children, and because
the number of pictures distributed into five different categories
were too small to be treated adequately by Chi square, it was
decided to dichotomize the ratings, putting categories one and
two together (poor sexual differentiation) and categories 3,4,
and 5 together (good sexual differentiation). Table 5 presents
the results for sexual differentiation, from which our hypothe—
ses for sexual differentiation could be tested by means of Chi-
square, setting a significance level of 0.05 for rejection of

the null hypotheses.

2. Scoring for Sexual Identification
Since each child had drawn two figures, a subject's draw-
ings were scored separately for male and female figures. The

Goodenough scale counts one point for each part of the body port-

20
rayed in the drawing. Although Goodenough does not recommend
that different judges score the figures, advocating rather
evaluation by one trained judge, as a safety measure a second
trained judge was asked to score every fifth drawings*. The
author also served as the judge. The Pearson product—moment
correlation between the two sets of scores are shown in Table 6
and show satisfactory interjudge agreement.

-The maximum score obtainable on the Goodenough scale is
fifty-one. Each child's drawings were scored for identification .
on both the same sex figure and the opposite sex figure. The
mean and standard deviation of each group was computed and t-test
of significance of differences between means was applied with an
accepted level of confidence of 0.05 for rejection of the null

hypotheses in favor of the hypotheses stated for the study.

 

* Miss Ruth Skewarek in addition to the author.

Table 5

Relation of Sexual Differentiation to Degree of Westernization

 

 

 

 

 

Sex School Categories* Number
A. Boys
Village Schools 1-2 2
j-b 23
Public Schools 1-2 11
3-5 19
Private Schools 1-2 21
3".) 9
B. Girls
Village Schools 1—2 4
Q_ -
J 5 .11
Public Schools 1—2 12
3-5 18
Private Schools 1—2 23
3-5 7
TOTAL 170
Table 6
Inter-judge Agreement (r) of Scores on
Goodenough Scale
Schools Male Figure Female Figure

 

CO

0 O O
Uidcm

'Village Schools
Public Schools
Private Schools

0 O O
Q)\O\O
«l P—‘LU

\C‘ \l .

 

* Categories 1—2 refer to poor and little sexual differentiation
while categories 3—5 refer to good and excellent sexual
differentiation.

:8

III. RESULTS
A. Analysis of Results for Sexual Differentiatjux‘

The results of Chi square calculations on the basis of
the data of Table 5 are shown in Tables 7-13 and constitute
the tests for hypotheses 1—6.

Hypothesis 1 states that village school children excell
public school children in sexual differentiation; and Hypothesis
2 states that public school children excell private school
children.

The pertinent data for these hypotheses appear in Table
7, 8, and 9. The results for sexes combined (Table 7) are
significant at the 1% level and the null.hypothesis is re—
jected for both comparisons in favor of the experimental hypo-
theses stated. Hence Iranian village children from traditional
and older homes who have not extensively accepted western fashions
excell Iranian public school children whose parents have partially
accepted western ways of life and the latter excell private
school children who come from fully westernized homes in sexual
differentiation. As a corrolary it may be noted that village
school children on the grounds of order of comparison, excell
;private school children.

A comparison between Iranian children and American children
(Dn sexual differentiation appears in Tables 10 and ll. Table 12
EDresents a similar comparison between the Iranian and Filipino
<3hildren.

The results for boys presented in Table 8 are significant
a1; the 5% level for both comparisons. In the case of girls the

COmparison of village and public school ~"Ldren has a p value of 1C?

23
and the null hypothesis cannot be rejected with safety.
However, the other comparisons are significant at the 1% level
and the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the stated
hypotheses.

Two-tailed tests of significance were used, but many
authorities would claim that a one-tailed test is in order when
directional hypotheses are investigated. In this case the com-
parison between village and public school children would reach

the requisite level of significance.

Table 7

Comparison of Children (sexes combined) of
Different Cultural Groups

 

 

 

Schools Categories No. Cni2 p*
Village Children 1—2 6
3-5 44

8.2 0.01
Public School Boys 1-2 23
3-5 37
Public School Children 1-2 23
3-5 37

14.78 0.01
Private School Children 1-2 44
3-5 16

 

* Two-tailed test with one degree of freedom; Yates
Correction applied.

Table 8

Comparison of Boys of Different Cultural Groups
on Sexual Differentiation

24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schools Categories No. Chi2 p*
Village Boys 1-2 2
3-5 23
4.87 0.05
Public School Boys 1-2 11
3-5 19
Public School Boys 1-2 ll
3-5 19
5.42 0.05
Private School Boys l-2 21
3-5 9
Table 9
Comparison of Girls of Different Cultural Groups
on Sexual Differentiation
Schools Categories No. Chi2 p*
Village Girls 1-2 4
3-5 21
2.76 O.10(N.S.)
Public School Girls 1-2 12
3-5 18
Public School Girls 1-2 12
3-5 18
6.84 0.01
Private School Girls 1-2 23
3-5 7
Village Girls ,1—2 4
3-5 21
17.73 0.01
Private School Girls 1-2 23
3-5 7

 

* Two-tailed test with one degree of freedom; Yates Correction

applied.

25
Hypothesis 3 states that Iranian children of low and
middle socio-economic status excell American children in sexual
differentiation. The data for American children are taken from
Limuaco's data (1959). The null hypothesis is rejected in fa-
vor of the stated hypothesis at the 1% level of significance
in the case of village children of low socio-economic status
and at the 5% level in the case of children of middle socio-
economic level.
Table 10

Comparison of Iranian Village & Public School Children
and American Children on Sexual Differentiation

 

 

 

Culture Categories No. Chi2 p*
Iranian Village Children 1—2 6
3-5 44

22.13 0.01
American Children 1-2 30
3-5 21
Iranian Public School 1-2 23
3-5 37

3.85 0.05
American Children 1-2 30
3-5 21

 

Hypothesis 4 states that Iranian private school children
do not differ from American children on sexual differentiation
due to the similarity of their home environment. This is the
null hypothesis and is theiconfirmed by the analysis shown in

Table 11.

 

* Two-tailed test with one degree of freedom; Yates Correction
applied.

26
Table 11

Comparison of Iranian Private School and American Children
on Sexual Differentiation

 

 

Culture Categories No. Chi2 p*
Iranian Private School 1-2 44
3—5 16

2.00 N.S.
American Children 1-2 30
3-5 21

 

Hypothesis 5 states that, due to cultural similarities
and the emphasis on the male role in both the Iranian and
Filipino traditional homes, there will be no differences in
sexual differentiation between village and public school child-
ren of Iran and Filipino children. However, Filipino children
will excell Iranian children of private schools. Again, using
Limuaco's results for the Filipino children, Table 12 gives
the data for testing this hypothesis, and both aspects of the

hypothesis are sustained.

Table 12

Comparison of Iranian and Filipino Children
on Sexual Differentiation

 

 

 

Culture Categories No. Chi2 p*
Iranian Village & Public School 1—2 29
3—5 81
0.95 N.S.
Filipino Children 1-2 13
3-5 56
Iranian Private Children 1—2 44
3—5 16
36.46 0.01
Filipino Children 1-2 12

27
Finally Hypothesis 6 states that there are no differences
in sexual differentiation between Iranian boys and girls of
the same cultural status. The null hypothesis is sustained
by all three analyses of Table 13 and this hypothesis is, there-
fore, upheld. Sex alone does not seem to favor sexual differen-

tiation when cultural status is held constant.

Table 13

Comparison of Sexes on Differentiation in Varying
Cultural Backgrounds

 

Sub—culture Categories No. Chi2 p*

 

 

 

Village Boys l-2 2
3-5 23
0.19 N.S.
Village Girls 1-2 4
3-5 21
Public School Boys l-2 11
3-5 19
0.00 N.S.
Public School Girls 1—2 12
3-5 18
Private School Boys 1-2 21
3-5 9 ‘
0.09 N.S.
Private School Girls 1-2 23
3-5 7

 

B. Analysis of Results for Sexual Identification

The data for testing the hypotheses on sexual identification

 

* Two-tailed test with one degree of freedom, Yates Correction
applied.

28
(Hypotheses 7 and 8) are presented in Tables 14 and 15 for boys
(same-sex identification) and for girls (same-sex differentia-
tion). The differences between sexual identification scores
are tested in terms of the t-ratio at an established significance
level for rejection of the null hypothesis of 5%. Before apply-
ing the t-test, a test of equality of variance was made and in
each case the hypothesis of no difference in variance was found
to be tenable.* ‘

Hypothesis 7 states that Iranian village and public school
boys excell the private school boys on same-sex identification.
The difference between the village school boys and public
school boys is not significant, but both groups show a signifi-

cant difference in comparison with private school boys.

Table 14

Comparison of Boys of Different Groups on Same-sex Identification

 

 

 

 

Boys N M SD t p**
Village Schools 25 31.4 1.20

0.18 N.S.
Public Schools 30 31.66 1.18 \
Village Schools 25 31.4 1.19

3.85 00001
Private Schools 30 25.2 1.08
Public Schools 30 31.66 1.24

3°71 00001
Private Schools 30 25.2 1.22

¥

* The assistance of Mr. Kenneth Terhune, who carried out the
analysis of the F tests, is greatly appreciated.

** TWo-sided test.

29

Hypothesis 8 states that there is no difference between

the girls of various cultural backgrounds in Iran in same-

sex identification.

As may be seen in Table 15 presents the

hypothesis of no difference is accepted for all three compari-

 

 

 

 

sons.
Table 15
Comparison of Girls of Different Groups
on Same—sex Identification
Girls N M SD t p*
Village Schools 25 30.64 1.23
1.94 N.S.
Public Schools 30 27.4 1.12
Village Schools 25 30.64 1.31
0.54 N.S.
Private Schools 30 29.70 1.20
Public Schools 30 27.4 0.97
. 1.55 N.S.
Private Schools 30 29.7 1.12

 

 

 

* Two-tailed test.

30

IV. DISCUSSION

In an attempt to test certain hypotheses regarding

differences in sexual identification and differentiation

between Iranian children from different cultural backgrounds,

the drawings of 11 year old boys and girls were obtained

from different schools in Iran. These drawings were scored

for sexual differentiation and identification.

The results support the hypotheses in regard to sexual

differentiation that:

(l)

(2)

(3)

(4).-

(5)
(6)
and

(7)

(8)

Village children in Iran excell public school
children.

Public school children excell private school
children.

Iranian children of low socio-economic status
excell American children.

Iranian private school children do not differ
from American children.

Iranian children of low socio-economic status
do not differ from Filipino children.

Iranian boys and girls do not differ.

in regard to same-sex identification, that:

Iranian boys of lower socio-economic group excell
private school boys.
Iranian girls of different cultural groups do not

differ.

 

1|" 1].]!Jil I

31

A discussion of the drawings is appropriate before any
general comments are made. The drawings clearly show class
differences. Those obtained from the private school children
strongly reflect the western influence. They are dressed in
western clothes, women have short dresses and men wear ties
and coats. 0n the other hand, those from the village children
generally present another form. Many of the male figures have
a typical working trousers, similar to short—blue-slacks, and
the women are portrayed as more covered by clothes.

The facial expressions are clearly different: The draw-
ings of the private school children are modern looking with
western haircut styles and make-ups for women. But those of
the village Children show connected eye-brows, dark eye-lashes,
and long hair. This distinction may be assumed to be due to
the different costumes worn by women of different classes of
Iran.

The village children received more points on their draw-
ings because they were careful in presenting the details. Their
drawings looked more mature in comparison to those of the
private school children. This finding is clearly in contrast
with Britton's (1954) hypothesis that the children from the
higher socio-economic status do better in the Draw-A-Man test
because of the greater attention given to them and the facilities
provided for them by their parents to draw. An explanation of
this point may be offered as follows: Although the Children

of the lower socio-economic classes of Iran may not have a

32
chance to practice drawing, they may have an advantage over
their wealthier country-men in finding it easier to identify
with the same-sex parent. Thus, once the children have identi-
fied with the same-sex parents, they may be in a better position
to express this identification in their drawings.

Similarly, the subsequent work with the American and
Filipino children has shown that even though the American Child-
ren may have better opportunities for drawing at home, yet the
Filipino children do better because of greater facility in
sexual differentiation.

The treatment of the different parts of the body is worthy
of discussion. Almost all the Iranian boys from the middle and
lower socio-economic classes have drawn a large head in great
detail, whereas the feet and the lower parts of the bodies are
not clearly defined. In fact, the most astounding point is the
fact that a considerable number of the boys have cut the figures
Just above the waste-line. The heads and the shoulders are
beautifully drawn, but the legs and the feet are either poorly
shown, or not at all. This is however, not true for the girls'
drawings. They are complete and devoid from any mis-treatment
of the organs of the body. Moreover, the drawings of the private
school boys are also more complete and the feet are better treated.
The presence of breast in the male drawings is interesting to
note. Girls' drawings also show breasts. This is perhaps due
to the fact that children are breast-fed in the majority of

homes .

Regarding sexual differentiation, the statistical findings

33

are consistant with the hypotheses advanced and it can be said
that sharply differentiated parental roles bring about superior
sexual differentiation. The same point holds true for the fact
that due to the lack of this sharp distinction in the United
States, Iranian village and public school children coming from
low and middle socio-economic status were found to be superior
to American children. Iranian children of older homes are simi-
lar to Filipino children in their degree of sexual differentia-
tion due to similar family atmosphere.

It should be pointed out that the boys from village schools
and public schools showed no difference in their degree of same-
sex identification (Table 14). The explanation may be, accord-
ing to the statistics released by official departments of Iran,
that during the last ten years a number of rural families have
moved to the larger cities and now send their children to public
schools. Moreover, since both come from the older traditional
homes, the role of the father is almost the same as in the
villages and in the older city homes. Therefore no degree of
differentiation is found between the boys of village and public
city schools.

Finally, the analysis of the data has shown no differences
between girls of different socio-economic classes of Iran in
sexual identification with the same-sex figure. This follows
no doubt from the fact that girls continue identifying with their
mothers as their initial love objects, no matter in what sub-

culture they happen to be.

34
V. CONCLUSION & SUMMARY

In the present study, the Draw-A-Person test was adminis-
tered to 253 Iranian children between the ages of 11 and 12.
These children represented the village communities with their
radical, old cultural background, the public school children
who come from similar traditional homes in the larger cities,
and the private school children with their modern, pro-western
homes who have adopted the European and American ways of living.
They come from the different schools. Only 170 sets of draw-
ings, each set including a male and a female figure, met the
criteria for inclusion in the study.

The drawings were first scored on a revision of Swensen's
sexual differentiation scale, the revised scale yiedling five
points. These data were analyzed by the means of Chi square
technique to determine the significance of the differences
between the groups on sexual differentiation.

Then the drawings were scored on the Goodenough's sexual
identification scale for the determination of the degree of
sexual identification with the same-sex figure. Differences
between sub—cultural groups in sexual identification were then
analyzed.

The results of this study were also compared with results
found by Limuaco (1959) on a similar sample of American and
Filipino children.

The following hypotheses were found to be tenable:

Regarding sexual differentiation as measured by Swensen's

Scale, it was found that:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

35
Iranian village school children excell public
school children.
Iranian public school children excell private school
children.
Iranian village and public school children excell
American children.
Iranian private school children do not differ from
American children.
Iranian village and public school children do not
differ from Filipino children and hence, Filipino
children excell Iranian private school children.
There is no difference between Iranian boys and girls
of different cultural backgrounds on sexual differen-

tiation.

In regard to sexual identification as measured by Good-

enough's Scale, it was shown that:

(7)

(8)

Iranian village and public school boys excell the
private school boys on same-sex identification.
There is no difference between the girls of all
various cultural backgrounds of Iran on the point of

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VI. APPENDIX

CONTAINING:
l Iranian Culture & Educational System
2 Personality Theories on Sexual Differentiation
3 Goodenough's Scale
u Swensen's Scale of Sexual Differentiation

37

I. IRANIAN CULTURE & EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM

A. Geography

Iran, formerly known as Persia lies between the Caspian
Sea and the Persian Gulf and has common frontiers with Iraq,
Turkey, the Soviet Russia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Iran
may be described in general terms as a high plateau some 4,000

feet above sea level, strewn with high mountains.
B. The Character of the Iranian Culture

Although Iran has been subject to invasions a number of
times, the thousands of villages in which many people dwelt
were remote from the main roads and were little affected by such
recurrent invasions. Thus it may well be that the isolation
of the villages was a major factor in the preservation and con-
tinuity of the Iranian civilization. 0f the 20 million people
in Iran (1958 census), about four million live in cities, two
million dwelling in the capital city of Teheran. About two
million belong to migratory or the semi-sedentary nomadic tribes.
14 million are farmers living in 45,000 villages of fifteen or
more houses.

There has been a considerable movement away from the
villages to the newly important industrial centers, and the pOpu-
lation of Teheran has doubled within the past fifteen years.

98% of the inhabitants are Moslems and there are relatively few

minority groups within the country.

38

C. Village and Village Life

The countless farming communities of Iran exist wherever

water for drinking purposes and for irrigation is available.
By far the largest number are hidden away in remote mountains.
Until a few years ago all the villages were protected against
outside attacks by high walls of mud and brick. To-day these
walls have been abandoned.

The farmers may wear a modified version of European dress,
but the native costume of cotton coat is generally worn. The
women wear black trousers which are gathered at the ankbs, a
shirt, and a length of cotton piece goods draped around the
body and over the head so that it serves as both head covering
and veil.

There is a natural division of labor; the men work on the
fields and the women look after the house and weave rugs.
Marriages are arranged by heads of the families. The villagers
have only limited contact with the outside world. Conversation

is the chief form of diversion and relaxation.
D. Towns, Cities & Urban Life

Most of the towns of Iran fit into a pattern, averaging
about 40,000 inhabitants and situated about 80 miles apart
along the main highways. Of all the.cities in Iran, Teheran
which is now the capital, is the largest and the most modern one.
Yet the traces of ancient culture have not been completely

obliterated and camels still trod the streets next to modern

American cars.

39

E. Social & Cultural Progress

According to Sir Denison Ross (1931), the most specta-
cular recent change is in the women of modern Iran. For centu-
ries women remained hidden behind heavy black veils, falling
short of possessing equal status with men. The government of
Iran started the work of the emancipation of women very slowly
and steadily. By the year 1929 the upper strata of the society
adopted European dress. Today, though the number of female
students is not yet equal to male, equal opportunities are given
to both sexes in educational institutes.

To appreciate the position of Iranian women, the following
quotation is made from Vreeland (1957):

"Iran is a man's world outside the household;

and the virtue which Iranians consider most manlike,

strength, is one of the main themes of the Iranian

way of life. The strong man, strong of will and

character as well as of body, is the ideal leader."

The most stable and fundamental social unit in Iran is the
family household. Since the Iranian derives orientation and
support from it throughout life, he identifies himself first
with his family. Continuing reciprocal obligations between
family members and between close kinsmen outside the immediate
family are a dominant aspect of the Iranian's social behavior.

The Iranian's self respect and personality are functions of the

family. Anything he does reflects directly on his family.

F. Child Rearing

Due to the difference in cultural backgrounds of the families,

40

child rearing is practiced quite differently in Iranian
society and varies remarkably from modern homes to the older
traditional ones. A recent study on this subject has been
conducted by Vreeland (1957) and clearly illustrates this point.
It should be pointed out that the birth of a son is the
greatest blessing to a mother in most of the traditional homes,
while the modern 'pro-western' parents equally welcome the
birth of a daughter. Such families usually have a nurse or a
maid who takes care of the new born infants under parental super-
vision. Since both father and mother share equal rights and
obligations at home, none of them is directly responsible for
the sole upbringing of the children. In such homes the parents
are busy with other social obligations and responsibilities as
well. Swaddling is rarely practiced and as the child grows up
he enjoys more freedom and has more opportunities for freer
relationships with his parents. When he becomes six years old
he is sent to a kindergarden for a year, after which he is
usually sent to a private school where he associates with other
children from similar pro—western homes. The boys and girls of
such families have a moderate amount of freedom to associate
with each other and most of the private schools recently estab-
lished in Iran educate boys and girls side by side. The child—
ren, in short, are brought up very similar to children in the
American middle class. Some very rich families send their child-
ren to Europe when quite young, but since this practice is not
common, it will not be considered here.

Child rearing, on the other hand, is quite different in

41
older traditional Iranian homes. In such families, the
father is the master and has all the rights pertaining to this
issue. The fathers usually have small businesses in the bazar
and are less educated than the modern class parents. They
believe in the old customs and their parental rights, and the
new rules and regulations introduced by the western influence
have touched them and their ways of thinking but little. In
such families during the early years children are reared almost
entirely by the mothers. Boys are greatly favored over girls.
From the age of five the boys help their fathers. They are
generally removed from intimate contact with their sisters. The
girls feel themselves subordinate to the boys and, as though
they were left out of life. They remain sub-servient to their
mothers until marriage. (p.264, Vreeland) In such families a
woman's idea of life centers in and is bounded by her family.
The girls look forward to marriage as their sole destiny. After
the infants are born, they are swaddled and cared for by the
mother who has nothing else to do but stay home and take care of
the children. The father has nothing to do with this hard work
and never shares the responsibility until the child grows old
, enough. As soon as the child is old enough, he is taught to
obey his father and carry out his wishes. If he is a boy, he is
taught to follow his father's path and he will soon identify
himself with his father. He will be taught to observe the rules
and regulations of the Moslem religion by the time he is seven

and ready to go to a public school.

42

G. Schooling

Iranian schooling requires about the same total number of

years as grammer, high school, and college in the United States,
but the division before the college level is somewhat different.
The elementary schools are free and attendance is compulsary.

In 1949-50 there were 7,360 primary schools run by the govern-
ment and 291 run by private organizations. There were 245
public secondary schools and 63 private ones. The government
administered 25 teacher training colleges and 15 technical
schools. In the earlier grades instruction is devoted to the
Persian language, manners and morals, and games and arithmetic;
later the number of courses is increased and the subjects are
much the same as those taught in American schools (Wilber, 1948).

Most of the wealthy Iranian families send their children
to private schools where boys and girls usually go through the
elementary grades side by side. Such schools are sometimes
highly exclusive and poorer families cannot afford to send their
children to them. Of all the cities of Iran, Teheran, the capital
city has the best of such private elementary schools.

Poorer families send their children to the public schools
which are segregated for the sexes.

The village schools are quite similar to public schools in
the cities and mostly are attended by farmers' children. Most
land-owners however, prefer to send their children to a better
city school.

The characteristics of public schools reflect the back-

43
ground of the people in that particular area. The public
schools in the southern part of Teheran are more strict and
fanatic than those in the northern sections. This strange
contrast is significant and is worthy of study.

Girls are also sent to public schools if they are from
poorer families. They are taught to be clean and become obe-
dient to their parents.

Before the new laws concerning compulsory education went
into effect, the farmers hardly provided any education for their
children. Now they are obliged to send their children to
village schools, but since the programs are especially suitable
for urban children, they are all the more unhappy for being
deprived of their help.

To sum up, there are three different types of schools in
Iran: The private schools for richer children of the modern
homes, the public schools for more traditional and poorer fami-
lies, and the village schools. Each one of these has its special
impact on the development of the children; the foundations of

the present study is based upon such differences.

O? ”I; it“
. ' .
’ S

(‘0' ‘D‘lknuasu _—- - .
w,

44
II. PERSONALITY THEORIES ON SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION
REGARDING CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT

A. Identification with Parents

The child's personality is a direct product of the social
environment and parental supervision. The direct control of
the parents will bring the child to realize that he is expected
to perform certain duties and to avoid others. Maccoby (1954)
reports three types of parental control. There is the external
type that requires constant surveillance and direct intervention.
The child does as he wishes until someone stops him. Then there
is the child's self-control that is based on fear of punishment
or hope of reward. And finally there is the child's inner
control that appears to come from a genuine acceptance of the
parents' standards of conduct as his own. Diviation from these
carries its own punishment from within the child himself. He
feels guilty, ashamed, or self derogating if he goes counter to
his self—instructions. The term conscience is applied to this
kind of internal control by Sears, Maccoby, and Levin (1957).

In other words, it is as though the child has identified with
his parents and assumes their roles.

Control by fear and identification with parents are both
learned by a gradual process. The criteria of conscience control
becomes more and more frequently evident as children grow through
their pre-school and early school years.

Psychoanalytic therapists have discovered that many qualities

of their adult patients' personalities seem to be direct

45
imitations of their parents'. Feelings of love, anxiety, and
hatred seem to stem from the earliest years of life and to be
connected with both the love and disciplinary relationships
the child had had with his parents. Many of the similarities
such as the moral standards seem to have developed as a direct
parental demand.

Perhaps the most pervasive of these patterns is that of

sex typing, i.e., the development of social behavior appropriate
to the child's own sex. Seward (1946) mentions that the growing
child adopts his sex role as early as he accepts the facts of
genital sex differences. His acceptance of his social sex role
is facilitated by his identification with the same-sex parent.
Davis (1941) points out that the emotional interaction between
the child and his parents contributes to the child's learning

of his appropriate sex role and his peers help him to achieve

his proper sex identification.
B. Oedipus Complex

The course of development followed by boys is quite
different from the one taken by girls. Therefore, it would be
appropriate to devote two separate sections on the developments
of the two sexes.

By the time a child is a year old, he has become related
to his mother in such a way that not only many of his satisfying
actions require her presence and cooperation, but her very
orientation towards him is a source of pleasure. Indeed her

simple existance near him serves as such.

The nature of a mother's responsibilities deems it
necessary for her to draw her attention gradually away from
the child and divert it to her other children, and her husband.
She must return to her customary role as an individual. This
gradual withdrawal however, provokes the boy. He feels with-
drawn and deprived. Naturally he seeks methods of recovering
what he has lost.

Further complications arise in the development of the
Oedipus Complex. Freud describes this as such: (Freud, 1946)

The boy's first love object is the mother whom he has
associated with his sucking activity. At about the age of two
or three the child develops an interest in his genitals. At
this stage the boy desires his mother and wants to dispose of
his father who is his rival for the mother's love. He becomes
his 'mother's lover'.

Baudouin (1922) points out that:

".....this is the condition in which a boy is

greatly attracted to his mother while more or less

hostile to his father. What frequently happens,

according to Freud's interpretation, the attach-

ment to the mother is primitive, being a manifes-

tation of 'infantile sexuality'. The hostility

to the father is the outcome of jealousy to the

mother's love.”

In view of the fact that the father is the source of power
in a good deal of the Middle Eastern homes, the boy, while still
resenting him, will identify with him in the way Anna Freud (1946)
terms,"the identification with the aggressor". His father

being stronger and more powerful than himself is a potent source

of threat to the little boy.

47

The opportunities provided for the boys to assume the
masculine role will facilitate the identification with the
father. Since the father punishes the boy for acting like
a girl, he is prevented to continue identifying with his
mother or sisters.

Thus the boy who had chosen his mother as his initial
source of identification gradually leaves her and identifies
with his father. By the time he is six years old, he is
separated more and more from women and girls, is sent to a
boy's school and associates more and more with his father.

The rigorous traditional rules and mores of the Middle East

will pave the rOad and facilitate this change greatly whereas
the modern, lenient ways observed in newly western-like families
will little help such a transission in love object and iden-
tification. Hence it is expected that boys with domineering,
authoritative fathers who follow the ancient rules, will iden-
tify more with the male figure, whereas boys of submissive,
lenient parents who do not have a clearly differentiated role

find it difficult to identify with the male figure.

III. GOODENOUGH'S SCALE *

Outline of the Scale
Class A
Preliminary stage, in which the drawing cannot be re-
cognized as the human figure.
1. Aimless, uncontrolled scribbling.

2. Lines somewhat controlled, approaching crude geometrical forms.

Class B
Drawings which can be recognized as the human figure.
The fifty-one points have reference to drawings of this class.

1. Head present.

2. Legs present.

. Arms present.

4a. Trunk present.

43. Length of trunk greater than breadth.

40. Shoulders indicated.

5a. Both arms and legs attached to trunk.

5b. Legs attached to trunk. Arms attached to trunk at the
correct point.

6a. Necx present.

6b Outline of neck continuous with that of head, of trunk or
of both.

7a. Eyes present.

7b. Nose present.

7c. Mouth present.

7d. Both nose and mouth shown in two dimensions; two lips shown.

7e. Nostrils indicated.

8a. Hair shown.

8b. Hair present on more than the circumference of the head
and non-transparent. Method of representation better than

a scribble.

9a. Clothing present.

9b. Two articles of clothing non-transparent.

“c. Entire drawing free from transparency when both sleeves and
trousers are shown.

9d. Four or more articles of clothing definitely indicated.

C*e. Costume complete, without incongruities.

 

* Goodenough's scale was originally used for the test of child-
ren's intelligence by the use of their drawings.

10a.
10b.
lOc.

lOd.
lOe.
lla.
llb.
12a.
12b.
12c.
12d.
12e.
13.

14a.
14b.
14c.
14d.
14e.
14f.
15a.
15b.
16a.
16b.
16c.
16d.
17a.
17b.
18a.
18b.

49

Fingers shown. '

Correct number of fingers shown.

Fingers shown in two dimensions, length greater than
breadth, and the angle subtended by them not greater than
180 degrees.

Opposition of thumb shown.

Hand shown, as distinct from fingers or arms.

Arm joint shown, either elbow, shoulder, or both.
Leg Joint shown, either kneww, hip or both.

Head in proportion.

Arms in proportion.

Legs in proportion.

Feet in proportion.

Both arms and legs shown in two dimensions.

Heel shown.

Motor coordination. Lines A

Motor coordination. Lines B

Motor coordination. Head outline. ,

Motor coordination. Trunk outline.

Motor coordination. Outline of arms and legs.
Motor coordiantion. Features.

Ears present.
Ears present in correct position and proportion.

Eye detail. Brow or lashes shown.

Eye detail. Pupil shown.

Eye detail. Proportion.

Eye detail. Glance directed to front in profile drawing.
Both chin and forehead shown.

Projection of chin shown.

Profile with not more than one error.

Correct profile.

50
IV. SWENSEN SCALE OF SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION

In preparation of her scale, swensen used all the drawe
ings in the Knoxville, Tennessee Veterans Administration Men-
tal Hospital Clinic. Seven judges were employed in the pro-
duction of a five point scale which was then expanded to cover
descriptions and examples (points l,3,5,7,and 9) and four
points (points 2,4,6,and 8) to be used for rating of drawings
that appeared to fall midway between the defined points.

The present study employs a modified form of Swensen's
Scale for children's drawings. The scale was revised by Rabin
and Limuaco (1959) in connection with a study of Filipino and
American children. According to these authors, Swensen's scale
was developed on the basis of the drawings of adult subjects.
Children's drawings are more simple and less complicated than
those of the adults. In order to avoid any complications, the
scale was reduced to a five-point scale containing numbers 1,
2,3,u,end 5 corresponding to the odd numbers (i.e., l,3,5,7,
and 9) of Swensen's scale. The scale is as follows:

(1) little or no sexual differentiation.

There is little or no difference between the two figures,

and what difference exists between them does not particular-

ly suggest sexual differentiation.
(2) Poor sexual differentiation.

Longer hair on the female than on the male. There may be

a slight suggestion of difference in body contour and/or

clothing.

(3) Fair sexual differentiation.
-The female definitely has longer hair than the male. The
female clearly has different body contour, with either

rounded hips or breasts, or both present. There may be a
suggestion of difference in the clothing of the pair.

(A)

51

Good sexual differentiation.

The female has longer hair than the male. The female

has rounded body contour, the male has angular contour.
Breasts and / or rounded hips present, with both usually
present. There is a clear difference in clothing, with
the female wearing feminine apparel, although the apparel
may be copied after that of the male, e.g. slacks.

There may be the suggestion of differentiation in minor
details, such as eyelashes or fuller lips on the female.

Excellent sexual differentiation.

Female hair is longer than male hair, with definite fe—
minine hair styling in the female. The male body has
angular contour, the female body has rounded contour with
both breasts and rounded hips present. The male wearing
clothing that is definitely masculine, the female wearing
cloting that is clearly feminine. Minor details, such as
eyes, mouth, earrings, bracelets, etc. clearly approp-
riate for the sex of the figure on which they are drawn.

W?" _‘~“‘““j_

10.

ll.

12.

13.

14.
15.

52
VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baudouin, C. Studies in_Psychoanalysis. London: George
Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1922.

 

Britton, J. Influence of social class upon performance
on the Draw-A-Nan test. J, Educ. Psychol., 1954,
45: 44-5]- o

 

Davis, A. American status system and the socialization
of the child. Amer. Soc. Rev., 1941, 6, 345-356,

 

Davis, A. and Havighurst, R.J. Social classes and color
differences. Amer. Soc. Rev., 1946, ll, 698—710,

 

it.

Freud, Anna The Ego and the Mechanism g£_Defense. New 1
York: InternaTl. Univer. Press, 1946,

 

Freud, S. New Introductory Lectures 9n_P§ychoanalysis.
New York: InternaTl Univer. Press, 19Eb,

 

Goodenough, Florence Measurement gf_Intelligence by
Drawings. Yonkers, New York: World Bock, 1936.

 

 

Goodenough, Florence and Harris, Dale Studies in the
psychology of children's drawings. Psychol. Bull.,

1950: 47: 369-u330

Gorer, G. The American People. New York: W.W. Norton,

1948.

 

 

Limuaco, J. A_Comparison of American and Filipino Child-
ren by_Means 9£_the DrawZALFErson Test. M.A. Thesis,

1959-

Maccoby, Eleanor; Gibbs, P. and the Staff of the Labora—
tory of Human Development- Harvard University. In_Martin
and Stendler (Ed.) Readings in Child Development. New
York: Harcourt and Brace, l9gfi}

 

 

Machover, Karen Personality Projection in_the Drawings
Qf_the Human Figure. Illinois; Charles C. Thomas, 1949.

 

Master, E.E. Modern Courtship ang_Marriage. New York:
McMillan, 1957.

Newcomb, T.M. Social Psychology. New York: Dryden, 1950.

 

Rabin,A.; Limuaco, J. Sexual Differentiation of American
and Filipino children as reflected in the Draw-A-Person
test. J, Soc. Psychol., 1959, 50, 207-211.

 

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

53

Ross, Sir Denison The Persians. London: Oxford
University Press, 1931.

 

Sears, R.; Maccoby, E.; and Levin, H. Patterns 9§_Child
Rearing. New York: How, Peterson, 1957.

Seward, Georgene Sex and the Social Order. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1946.

Swensen, C. Sexual differentiation on the Draw-A—Person.
g—g Cling PSDrCh01.’ 1955, 11, 37-41.

 

Vreeland, Herbert H. Iran. Country Survey Series. New
Haven: Human Relation Area Files, 1957.

Wilber, Donald N. Iran, East and Present. Princeton
University Press, l9h8.

 

 

 

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