A STUDY OF AGE DIFFERENCES AND SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-CONCEPT AND GRADE-POINT AVERAGE by Max Bruck AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the School for Advanced Graduate Studies of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department II II II II N Orenxpt: Age difference. For the purpose of this study, age differences refer to those differences as shown between grade levels. Limitations of the Study I The validating procedure for the SCS-DAP is vulnerable to criticism. The standard deviation of the SCS-DAP re- flected relatively little dispersion of scores and it can be said this was related to the homogeneity of the pilOt group, all of whom were referrals to a child guidance clinic. Although it can be argued that an instrument that discriminated 15 between a homogeneous population would discriminate even more effectively in a heterogenous population, in view of the "normal" population of the research group it must be granted that to have validated the SCS-DAP on a group identical with the research group would have been a method- ological improvement. The external criteria for the validation of the SCS- DAP, a rating scale for self-concept that was completed by a trained clinician, is also vulnerable to criticism. Any rating scale, of course, is subject to error due to the sub- jectivity of the water. However, in this case, the rater was a trained person in the evaluation of self-concept and the significant relationship between the rating scale (JRS) and SCS-DAP attested to this. In any case, the determination of reliability of the SCS-DAP and its still further refine— ment is warranted. .61.; CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Self-Concept and Personality Factors in Learning An overview of the social science literature revealed that there exists a considerable body of literature in the field of learning and personality. However, upon further investigation, it became clear that by far the greatest quantity of this literature dealt with non-emotional factors in learning. Furthermore, the literature revealed that, by and large, research and theoretical works have concerned themselves with the composite personality organization of the child rather than studying the constituent elements of the personality organization. It is not surprising, there- fore, that the self, representing one of these elements in the organization of the personality, has only very recently become a recognized topic for reputable consideration and scientific inquiry. In general, social psychologists and psychoanalysts have been the only groups of social scientists who have recognized the self and have devoted attention to it. The work of Murphy, Murphy, and Newcomb [50:152], Symonds[65:62-l33], and the recent work by Sherif and Cantrill [57:156] reflected a growing interest in the self. However, in evaluating the voluminous discussions in the literature in relation to the problem under investigation, 17 it became apparent that the child is generally regarded as a "segmented" concept and this is particularly true with respect to educational problems. Psychiatric literature, in particular, while often either implying or stating directly that the teaching process does not include the whole child, committed a like failure in not communicating to educators in just what way the learning process is related to the emotional construct of the growing child. Anderson [2:7U], in briefly touching on the purposes of the area of child development as a scientific field to coordinate the findings of research in the social science specialties, states: In recent years, hundreds of studies in- volving observations and experiments on children of all ages have been made. This vast and growing scientific literature, with its many implications for education, very much needs interpretation. for childhood education. This problem is particularly relevant to the concept of self and its relation to the learning process, an area that until now has almost been entirely neglected by scien- t ific inquiry. Liss [M3:102] made a pointed, although brief, reference to the relationship between self-concept and learning when he wrote: Learning in early infancy is a constant physiologic interchange between the adult and the infant. Into this experience are woven the reaction of the environ- ment to the infant's early physiologic interests, ‘which in the beginning are commendable, but which with time have to be repressed and sublimated. This is the basis for the necessary phychic sublimation of early physiological practices, such as food intake and body disposition of incorporated material, The firSt learning problem is centered around the body or self, for its actual existence is dependent upon the satisfaction, directly or through substitutes, of 18 these survival urges. 'The compromise of self in relation to others comes only with time, when the psyche is able to differentiate between extrinsic and intrinsic phenomena, and when the infant is able to grasp the difference between the self and all that is not self Symonds [65:183], in discussing that the main task of education should be concerned with helping individuals to change from dependence on others to dependence on one's own efforts, decisions and controls, stressed the importance of the development of the ego and the self. She stated: \The development of the self is equally important to the development of the ego._ It has been pointed out that effective ego development is in part conditioned by the adequate perception and conception of the self. Other things being equal, the more self-confidence and self-esteem a child possesses, the more effective will be his learning and his adjustment. Therefore, education must be concerned with helping children to form positive and constructive self feelings and self evaluations./ Pearson [53:96], in a recent work, implied a relation- ship between the development of the self and the learning process, His volume, however, remains primarily a theoretical (iiscussion of the relationship between the contributions to eriucation made by psychoanalysts and those made by educators and educational psychologists. The concept of self, as an Object of inquiry, and more particularly, its relationship to scholastic achievement, is not discussed. Pearson, like many Freudians, dealt with the self in praxfidce. In theory, they merely indicated how it is formed ENKi suggested that it has an influence, even a profound ixu?luence, but as an organizing and integrating pattern apart from the quite general "person," the self is omitted ~ru'. p .\-A.-. H,, t ,4 ...... O , - o" ‘a \v ~ N J-» 19 from even theoretical consideration. In this connection, Munroe [49:461], using self—image in the same sense as self- concept, in a very recent work wrote: . . .‘I strongly suggested the need for study of the self image as an "institution" of enormous power, at least in our culture, which should be distinguished from the super-ego as defined by Freud and from the overly broad Freudian concept of the ego. . In the same work Munroe [49:104—105] continued her discussion of the Freudian neglect of the self: To be blunt, there is very little talk about the self as an operating entity in any brand of '"Freudian" literature. This statement may sound like a critical comment, but I think it may be con- sidered essentially an item of reporting. Freud and Freudians, especially the ego psychologists, show how the "self" comes about. They deal with it in practice as any good therapist would. But they seem to have been so busy avoiding naive ideas of the "self" in favor of studying the major functions that they have neglected the tremendous power of the synthesis performed by the ego. . . . As indicated earlier, there are no studies reported in the literature concerning the relationship between self— moncept and grade-point attainment. The relationship, how- EflJer, between the development of self and learning is not disputed in the literature. Writers on the development of the self-concept agree that the development of the self is inseparable from learning. While the various schools of Ufllught by no means concur on how the self develops, there is agxeement that the self is a "learned" product. Sherif and. Cantrill [58:156], using ego development in the same amuse as "self-development" in their review of the voluminous literature on ego (self) development, wrote: 20 The more we study, the more we find the ego (the f self) consists mainly of those attitudes formed during the course of genetic development. . . as attitudes are formed in the course of genetic development, the ego is formed. Starting with the delimitation of one's own body from surrounding objects, ego formation readily expands by the learning of attitudes related to it (ego attitudes), particularly after the acquisition of communicable language. . . . Ego formation is not a mystic pro- cess. It can be readily detected in the behavior of the growing child. The social development a child has attained by the time he reaches school age is not the result of an automatic blossoming forth of some inherent natural endowment. Blanchard's work [9:550-563], particularly her study of reading disabilities, gave impetus to a study of the child‘s environment, especially his primary relationships, as an approach toward understanding some of his learning difficulties. Subsequently, several Other articles, es- pecially of psychiatric and psychoanalytic thought, appeared in the literature strongly supportive of Blanchard's "en- vironmentalism" and, in turn, contributed several theoretical works as based on clinical case studies toward an under- :standing of the child's learning difficulties. These works, ixi particular, stressed disturbed relationships with parents and singled out'"rejecting parents" as a particularly potent factor in educational disabilities. In one of his earlier articles Liss [39:126-131] wrote: Where the ungratified parent-child relationship is highly charged and the educational techniques have been taken over by these parents, the subject material is colored by this hostility and it confused the en- :/ tire learning process because of its latent social antecedent condition. ... . The sibling status is similarly influenced. Only through security previously attained through experiment with the other siblings can the child amiably share subject matter and activity with contemporaries. 21 In subsequent articles Liss [MOleB-218] [blzfl83-fl88] again stressed the reciprocal biological and emotional factors in the learning process as these are carried into the classroom. In his latest article Liss [43:105] stressed: Learning is conditioned by parent-child relationships. The earlier relationships condition the subsequent teacher—student pattern for good or evil when the problem is no longer body action, but discrimination or substitutes for physiologic satisfaction which we call sublimations. Again, Liss [haz3M3-348] wrote: One must understand that the nuclear conflict in learning is a perpetual attempt of sublimation of the individual‘s drives. Therefore, in major dis- turbances of the learning process, the genesis of that conflict is in the early biological area around which learning is centered. In ratio to the individ- ual's acceptance or rejection of the limitations set down by society upon his body interests, is he able to accept or reject the subsequent learning structure which is built upon these early experiments. Liss, of course, bases his conclusions on Freudian theory of personality development. Writing in the same vein, IWahler [M6:uu] stated: Education, from the simplest gradual domestication and training of the infant up to the learning of skills and high scholastic achievements, can be. compared with the continual barter in which the child is brought to give up infantile, egoistic and increasingly unacceptable, immature and objeCtional behavior in return for tangible or intangible pre— miums, symbolizing love. Several studies have Concerned themselves with examining ‘UNE effects of early emotional deprivations on the child‘s intesllectual functioning. Goldfarb [25:151], Bender [5:27], EMKi Spitz [61:623] were particularly intereSted in evaluating tin? effects upon children of growing up in institutions and 22 in foster homes. Goldfarb Stated that the effect of an in- stitutional milieu in contrast to foster parents results in retarded intellectual development. ‘"The trend is clear for the total group: 42.5 per cent of all the institution child- ren are experiencing educational difficulty in contrast to 15 per cent of the total foster home group." In summarizing her own clinical experience and the literature on early emotional deprivation of children in institutional settings and their pre-school experiences, Bender wrote: Children who have been cared for in the institution during infancy. . . were inferior in all intellectual fields, in all personality traits and all capacities for social adjustment. In these fields of personality which are the more closely related to socialization, language development and abstract thinking, the defect was more serious than even in defective children, It appears that studies such as these point up the need for further investigation of personality sectors that .have an influence on the child's intellectual and other ffiinctioning. An important area for future research thus ssuggests itself in the study of early or primary deprivation and its differential effects on personality adjustment. In recent years psychologists and educators have txnided to regard the majority of children who seem to have dii?ficulty in learning their school work as suffering from IHTDblems that range all the way from severely neurotic dif- fiCILIties to relatively more mild "situational" difficulties. For this reason, many of these children have been referred to child psychologists, child psychiatrists, and child 23 psychoanalysts. According to Liss [39:126-131], "This is a step in the right direction." He stated: . . . every child who shows any form of steeple- like or valley- ~like learning patterns requires an evaluation by a psychoanalyst. . . . In the same article he emphasized, however: It is important that those psychoanalysts who specialize in the psychoanalysis of children have a broad knowledge of the factors which may produce such problems and of how they may be cured. Attention in the literature has only lately been centered on the development of the ego with its implications for the learning process. French [17:6-8], for example, is typical of several writers who make reference to ego func- tions and ego adaptation as these are related to the general problem of adjustment. French is especially concerned with the problem of goal achievement, but again falls short of tying if! his discussion on ego function with the learning process and with education generally. In his later work [17:3-A] French was again concerned unith an analysis of the process of integration of behavior out of its more elementary component patterns. He proposed to study intensively the many problems passed over by dynamic psychology beginning with the "common-sense assumption" that all human behavior is "goal-directed," which he also viewed as "learning activities." French [17:56-57] remarked that ". . . excessive motivating pressure tends to disintegrate the» patterns of goal-directed behavior." He discussed how '"for'effective goal-directed behavior, 'integrative capacity' 24 must be adequate to the integrative task. Disintegration of the mechanism of goal-directed behavior occurs whenever the integrative task exceeds the integrative capacity." He concluded: ". . . it is evident that the integrative task increases roughly in proportion to the motivating pressure of the underlying need or to the sum of the pressures of conflicting needs. . . . If so, integrative capacity should vary as a positive function of one's confidence of attaining the goal." WAS learning difficulties are coming to be increasingly regarded as symptoms of intra-psychic conflict and of neu- rotic adaptation in general, a review of the literature revealed that dynamic psychology is giving an increasing emphasis to the implications of psychodynamic theory for education. Until now, however, the approach to the related- ness between psychodynamic theory and education has been on an individual or "case study" basis from which has developed a considerable body of theoretical discussion that has by now been broadly accepted. The "case study" methodology has as yet, however, not been followed up further with scientific experimentation. While early psychiatric litera- ture reflected almost an exclusive pre-occupation with an exploration of the "unconscious" and with instinctual drives, Arnia Freud [19:53] noted the implications of these earlier DIVE—occupations for education. She stressed that in order .fOI“ the child to achieve the kind of adaptation that is I’e'filuired in our present Western civilization, he must 25 . tolerate larger and larger quantities of "pain" (frustration,strain) without immediately having re- course to his defense-mechanisms. It must, however, be admitted that theoretically it is the business of education rather than analysis to teach him this lesson. Sigmund Freud [22:16-17] laid the broad framework for the later research into the problems of school adjustment when he wrote: . the ego functions of an organ is impaired whenever its oregeneity, its sexual significance is increased. . . . The ego renounces those func- tions proper to it in order not to have to under- take a fresh effort of repression, in order to avoid a conflict with the id. Other inibitions evidently subserve a desire for self-punishment. . . . The ego dares not do certain things because they would bring an advantage which the strict superego has forbidden. . The more general inhibitions of the ego follow a simple mechanism of another character. When the ego is occupied with a psychic task of special dif- ficulty. . . it becomes impoverished with respect to the energy available, that it is driven to re- strict its expenditure in many places at the same time. The insight contained in this work provides much of the basis for the contributions of psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis and education to the problems of adjustment to learning situations. The approach by Liss [40:126-131] on problems of Education is typical of much of the subsequent thinking whicki strongly emphasized that learning needs to take account of trie child's sublimated energy from his component instinc- tual drives . 26 Josselyn [33:86] tied in directly the child's learning difficulties in school to disturbances in the pre-latency phase of the child's development. She wrote: One of the school problems of the latency period is . emotional blocking in learning. . . related to early repression of sexual curiosity. . . . Under therapy ‘ these children are able to bring their sexual ques- tions to consciousness. . . and they are able to extend their desire to learn to a wider area. . . . Many writers have stressed how the classroom becomes the locale for the acting out of the past of the student, and incidentally, also of the teacher. Anna Freud [18:87] saw this when she stated: . . a young child s training (education) is facili- tated by his love of adults and his wish to retain their affection and approval. . . . She described further how the child carries with him into the school situation the attitudes that he has previously acquired in relation to his parents. Klein [34:263] wrote in the same vein when he stated: Most children have experienced some of the symptoms associated with a reluctance to go to school. All of a child's worries, fears, anxieties, self—conscious- ness, feelings of inadequacy, his relation to his parents, to his siblings and to himself, tend to gain reflection in the school situation. The symptoms associated with school distress range from the phy- sically expressed anticipatory anxiety symptoms such as nausea, vomitting,diarrhea, abdominal cramps, Egreat difficulty in getting up in the morning, which C>ften vanishes magically on holidays, to disorders :in learning and behavior in the classroom, and finally ‘to the avoidance of school, called truancy. In a Llater article, Klein [34:369] stated: 53chool experiences are the first important experiences crutside the family circle that involve a systematic u/’ ESeparation from the home and where the child is con- ifronted with the need to adjust to strange children 27 and adults, and at the same time to perform tasks from which escape is difficult. The attitudes to— ward the teacher, the classmates and the schoolwork are an important bridge between early attitudes to the parents, the siblings and the self, and their later expression in adult life. . . . Writing in a similar vein and stressing particularly the concept of identification, Pearson [53:1A7-1A8] stated: Identification is one of the most important mechanisms in the process of learning. . .if the child loves the teacher, he wants to please him. The best way he knows to please the teacher is to do what he asks, that is, to be like him. Because he loves the teacher and wants the teacher to love him, he identifies him- self with the teacher as he formerly did with his parents. . . . Of course, all of the dynamics in this process go on unconsciously and no one realizes they are there, but the end result is noticed. . . . Q" And again, in the same work, Pearson [53:149] continued: As identification with the teacher takes place be- cause the child loves the teacher, any emotional reaction of a difficult nature, such as hate, anger, or fear, will interfere with the identification and therefore, with the learning process. . . . If he dislikes the teacher, for whatever reason, if the rewards of the teacher's love do not grafity him suf- ficiently, or if the teacher dislikes him, he will re- fuse to learn even a subject that is somewhat inter- esting in itself. Sex Differences in Achievement and Personality A review of the literature related to the problem of investigating the age differences and sex differences in the relationship between self-concept and grade-point averuage revealed that no studies have been undertaken that have] a direct bearing on the problem.. As indicated in the revieew cfi‘ the literature dealing with the problem of the rtlafitionship between self-concept and grade-point average, the self has only recently become a topic for scientific 28 inquiry. In the main, however, the research and theoretical works that comprise the literature in the field concerned themselves with the composite organization of the child. It has also been pointed out that by and large even this research and theoretical discussion has not been directly tied in with the learning process, and especially with achievement, as measured by grade-point averages. It is not surprising, therefore, that a study of age differences and sex differ- ences in the relationship between self—concept and grade- point averages has not been undertaken. On the other hand, an investigation of the literature regarding sex differences revealed that these have been in- vestigated and reported for almost every physiological vari- able, including body build, anatomical characteristics, gene constitution, biological functioning, bio-chemical composition, maturational rates, physical Strength, viability, and infant mortality rates. While these had only indirect bearing on the problem of this study, they are nevertheless reported to simply point out the variables that have been investigated. Gesell and his associates [23:85], of the Yale Clinic of Child Development, compiled a vast body of data over a period of many years, much of which is in the form of ob- servations of the developmental progress of more than one hundred boys and girls almost from the time of their birth through the fifth year and beyond. While these writers have been particularly interested in defining "behavior norms," they have also reported in their findings some significant sex differences. They erte: Considerably before the end of the firSt year--by the ninth month—~we nOTed boys are ahead in loco- motor development, such as creeping and other move- ments involving muscular strength and physical activity. Of the infants we studied, the postural behavior of the boyS--including standing and creeping-- was on the average about a month in advance of that of the girl infants. The little girls were not so active in a motor way, showed less motor drive and sat longer, engaging in more sedentary activity in- volving finer hand motions. The considerable body of literature that dealt with individual differences made note of sex differences also, particularly in reference to emotion, personality adjustment, intellectual development, and scholastic achievement. While the literature contained a large number of comparisons be— tween the sexes, there is a considerable paucity in the kind of studies aimed at an understanding of the factors under— lying such differences. McGeoch [u8z243], writing largely from the environmentalist point of View, addressed himself to this problem as he wrote: . there have been few systematic investigation ‘ of the conditions which determine obtained differ- ences in rate of learning. Instead, experimenters have seemed to be searching for fixed and constant differences, presumably differences determined by innate conditions. It should be noted that these studies, despite their claims, failed to demonstrate any fixed and constant differences, while writers on the psychology of learning tend to view obtained sex differences in laboratory setting experiments as related more to differences in stimulation and training. McGeoch [48:2u6], for example, commented on this point also.as he stated: 30 There is no crucial positive evidence that native differences do not play a part, but the evidence that differences in stimulation and training can account for the obtained differences in many cases is so cogent that there seems little need to call on native conditions, except in so far as they operate to favor particular classes of prior train- ing and interest. Numerous studies are reported which have investigated the sex differences in scholastic achievement. The bulk of these studies,however,nmasure achievement by the use of standardized tests. Notably fewer studies have concerned themselves with sex differences in achievement as measured by grade-point averages. In general, investigations in this area have shown that girls tend to achieve higher grade- point averages than their male counterpart. Anastasi and Foley [1:661-662], in summarizing a study by Lentz that is typical of the investigations in sex differences in school grades, wrote: In school grades, girls excel consistently, even in those subjects which favor boys. Thus a comparison of grades in arithmetic, or history, or any other subject in which boys obtain higher achievement test scores, show a sex differenCe in favor of girls. The girls were found to excel consistently in school grades, when compared with boys receiving the same achievement test scores. Thus, the grades showed a far greater female superiority than seemed to be warranted by performance on objective achievement tests. This is somewhat paradoxical in the light of the general agreement in the literature that sex differences as measured by intelligence tests are "slight" and that even where achieve- ment test batteries reflect only slight differences in the learning of the material, girls, nevertheless, continue to 31 excel in grade-point averages. Stroud [62:408], for example, wrote: On the whole, sex differences in marks received and in failure, retardation, acceleration and like evi- dence of progress in school, are greater than those found in performance on educational achievement tests. Johnson [30:M4] was equally impressed with the incon- sijstency between teachers' marks and achievement test scores .for“ the same pupils. He found that 63 per cent of the fttiling grades given in schools covered in his study were Ire12eived by boys and that the median grade for all boys was 78.3, but for all girls, 80.3. In sensing the implications of this discrepency, JYDkuqson [32:25-26] followed up his earlier study with an aliellysis of the difference between the standings of boys and gi—rfils, respectively, on standardized achievement tests, on tGEEicher markings and on intelligence. In brief, his findings Wfiirfie that in the St. Louis high schools investigated, 61 p631“ cent of the boys were in the upper half of their classes OI1 eachievement test scores, which meant that only 39 per Cerlt'of the girls rated in the upper half. Further, 51 per Gearlt of the boys and 49 per cent of the girls rated in the ‘JEJFNer half on intelligence test scores. When it came to t‘aéichers' grades, however, these ratios became reversed. Here, 59 per cent of the girls reached into the upper half E$r¥ides and only #1 per cent of the boys achieved a like poSition. 32 Douglass and Olson [111:283-288], using four of the larger high schools in northern Minnesota as their experi- mental group, reported findings that are further supportive of the findings described by Johnson. Again boys fared worse than girls in the matter of teacher marks. Moreover, they point up an interesting relationship of these marks to the sex of the teacher who assigned them. Thus, female teachers in these high schools failed 10.9 per cent of the boys but only 5.3 per cent of the girls; the men teachers failed 5.1 per cent. of the boys and 4.5 per cent of the girls. Studies were also reported by Schinnerer [57:558], Swenson [63:522], Edmison [15:245], Anastasi and Foley [1:661], Lawson [37:176], and Ryan [55:558], that corroborated the fsil’ldings of Johnson as these pointed to sex differences in SChool grades as well as to Johnson's statement that female te‘ac21ners consistently gave female students grades that ave raged considerably higher than those given to boys. These studies are in agreement that girls in general attain higher grades while the boys attain somewhat higher aclqievement test scores. These findings tend to support the theory stated in Chapter I that girls, in better meeting the role expectations of teachers, attain higher grades While the boys, with their behavior which is in greater dis- parity with the teacher's role expectation of them, attain lQWer grades. While numerous studies that have investigated the sex differences in scholastic achievement have been reported, few 33 haye attempted to investigate the underlying factors that determine the sex differences in the first place. Many Studies are now available that imply that female superiority in this school subject or that school subject is due to some innate factors. Thus, Stroud [62:410], in summarizing re- search data on sex differences in language development, wrote that "inasmuch as girls are superior in language func- tions in school, it may be of interest to point out, as a final word on sex differences, that this feminine superiority in language obtains from the start." Anastasi and Foley [1: 652], in summarizing data on sex differences, also re— ported that "verbal superiority of girls persists throughout the successive educational levels, the sex differences often becoming more pronounced at the upper levels." The authors Went on to report that "girls usually excel in speed or I‘ect-Miing and in tests as opposites, analogies, sentence com- pletion, and story completion." Furthermore, "girls also exc€31 in memory, although the differences are neither so large nor so consistent in this respect as they are on Verbal tests." With regard to studies on spatial and mechan— ical aptitude tests Anastasi and Foley [1:665] summarized a mm“be? of studies in this area and stated that - . . . In the light of the negative findings in the Gesell observations, it is likely that the sex dif- erences reported on such isolated tests may result Pom differences in the play experiences of the particular groups of boys and girls studies. N umepous studies reported by Anastasi and Foley [1:633-6341 ha Ve emphasized sex differences in the rate of physical 34 growth and the authors observed that "it has been suggested that many girls may be accelerated in intellectual as well <38 physical development. ." The authors concluded, however: It should be noted that intellectual acceleration of girls has not been directly demonstrated. Its possi- bility has only been inferred by analogy with physical development. It is doubtful, however, whether physical maturity can have much influence upon intellectual development. The data on the relationship between psychological and physical traits are too consistently negative for such an assumption. As indicated earlier, the investigations reviewed Eitxave have been more or less typical of the work of the rnexturation school of thought. Olson [51:4] summarized the IDIRDfessional and also the popular point of view regarding tide-concept when he stated: "The word maturity refers to a Cflild's total state of readiness for an activity under dis- Cllshsion." Olson[5l:l7] expanded the concept of maturation SliiLLl further in highly concise fashion when he wrote: Change is the first law of growth. The organism is never static. The change that occurs in the balance between intake and excretion is described as growth. The growth process is characterized by both regularity and rhythm. In broad outline each individual passes through the same successive stages in very much the same sequence. In some the physiol— Ogical time clock is running rapidly, and the Sequences are compressed into a narrower portion of the life span. In others, physiological time is ESlower, and the sequence of events is stretched out (Dver a longer period. As will be seen in later dis— CBussions of the stimulation and retardation of growth, tide individual himself and the adults about him have Juittle control over physiological time; wise nurture, therefore, in both physical care and education, makes IIC) attempt to alter the individual's rate of growth 811d development. 35 The literature contained several references to other DOints of view that tended to emphasize the environmental Stimulation to which an individual has been exposed as deter- Iniriing behavior and adaptation in general. Differences in pkrysical condition were considered slight, or tended not be ccnisidered. Anastasi and Foley [1:637], having in mind the unarflx of social anthropologists, stated rather neatly and. czleearly when they wrote: That sex roles and sex sterotypes vary in different times and places is apparent not only from anthropology but from our own cultural history as well. To be sure, a few persistent differences in behavior can be iden- tified. . . . Thus the widespread prevalence of male dominance in different cultures may be historically related to sex differences in physique and muscular strength. But the amount of such sex differences in dominance varies widely from culture to culture, as does the manner in which it is expressed. Moreover, many characteristics associated with the traditional male stereotype in our culture may be absent or reversed in other cultures. In continuing their search for underlying factors Aruasstasia and Foley [1:623] discussed at another point the disSimilarity in educational opportunities for the two SeXes, the subtle but omnipresent home influences that are intPOduced differentially in the environments of boys and girilsi, and finally, the element of social expectancy which the [841thors consider a "relatively intangible but highly Effective factor. . ." llmy stated: This operated to perpetuate all group differences, ‘3r1ce they have been established. What is expected Of all individual is a powerful element in the deter- mination of what he will do. When sudh expectation Elathe force of social tradition behind it and is <2Oir‘roborated at every instant by family attitudes, everyday contacts in work and play, and nearly all 36 other encounters with one's fellow beings, it is very difficult not to succumb to it. Young [68:136], a social psychologist, developed the seune point when he wrote in somewhat different terminology: "A. child perceives himself after the manner in which others liaJJe reacted to him. . . . His role-taking is an adaptation tc> the expectations of others." Slotkin[60:lY5], a social arrtkuopologist, wrote on this same point: "Man's plasticity iJntblies that he does not have enough inherited ways of al:t:ing by which to adjust. He therefore has to learn most CDf' his responses. Though he acquires some by himself, most (If what he learns he adapts from others. . ." In considering Clll.tural influences on various psychological processes, inCtlluding set, attention, perception, emotion, concept fOr‘mation, learning, and recall, Slotkin [60:175-256] devteloped his thesis, supported by studied observation of 0111‘ own and foreign cultures, that all these psychological pI‘C>cesses are dependent on culture. He wrote: It was stated. . . that the infant does not inherit enough action patterns by which to adjust, and that most of those he does inherit are random and unorgan- ized. It follows that he acquires the majority of his actions, and even in the case of those which are inherited he has to learn to direct and organize them. Thus his action patterns are chiefly acquired. And again, in a reference intended by the author to apu934y to learning in general, but particularly relevant to a 53th4dy of sex differences in personality and achievement, Sl‘Dtliin [60:209-210] discussed the impact of the interaction b e]5hkeen heredity and environment on the learning responses 0 f individuals. He stated: 37 . Individuals. . . are often exposed to customs in varying situational contexts, and even in a common situation these are, at the time, individual differ- ences in motivation, set, attention, and perception.... In a classroom the teacher provides the students with common instruction in a common situation, yet no two students write identical examinations (unless they are cheating), which shows differences in learning. In fact, an individual‘s motivation, set, attention, and perception at the time of exposure to a custom may lead him to reject it. Stroud [U:MO8], in considering the question of sex (iiifferences in achievement in the school situation reported a. Eitudy’by Ayres done as long ago as 1910 which led Ayres tCD <2onclude that "our schools as they now exist are better filledto the needs and natures of the girl than of the boy FNJF>11." Stroud [62:408] considered other aspects to this DIYDIDlem. He stated: . .No doubt boys feature in disciplinary prob- lems with much greater frequency than do girls. There appears to be no necessary reason to assume that all so-called behavior problems are sympto- matic of maladjustment. Some of them, in fact many, probably reflect group mores. A certain amount of protest is in masculine mores at the Juvenile level. Indifferent cooperation and a certain amount of nonchalance about his lessons and "cussedness" are not only condoned in certain juvenile masculine groups, but also rewarded. The fact that men in general are ostensibly as well adjusted as women seems to accord with the notion that a portion of the so-called maladjust- Inent of boys may be attributed to adherence to custom. . . Blair and Burton [8:35] in having become impressed Winfl the sharp differentiation that developed during the elementary school years between boys and girls, reported frkbnl a study by Blatz and Bolt which stated that "all the o t’Jeotionable social qualities of this age appear to be more 38 prnonounced in boys. Blair and Burton reported that the LBliatz and Bott study "revealed a considerably higher fre- qtuency of school misbehavior among boys at this age.” Blair zxnti Burton [38:35] reported a study by Levy and Munroe wluich pointed out that the figures for attendence at public child guidance centers show that the boys expressed their antagonisms at this age much more often than girls. Girls are referred to guidance centers most frequently between sixteen and seventeen; boys, at ten. At ten years boys are sent to clinics for help three times as frequently as girls. AJIEistasi and Foley [29:668] reported "extensive tests" by Phaxetshorne, May and Shuttleworth on approximately 850 GILennentary school children in three cities in order to deter- Inirieeconsistent sex differences in "social mores and re- STII‘iction, as well as in other aspects of personality com- nlorllydesignated as character traits." The investigators COI’loluded that: "It appears on the surface at least that gj-Itls are more sensitive to both conventional and ideal SC>C=ial standards than boys." This study is typical of many Otikuers reported in the literature that aimed at uncovering per‘Sonality traits that influenced school success, especially as; Ineasured by grade-point averages, in favor of the girls. Approaching this same problem from a somewhat differ- erlt jpoint of View Blanchard [10:11], in investigating the considerably greater frequency of reading problems among bCNVES than girls, made the following observation: . Possibly there are differences between boys 51nd girls in the points at which they are most .likely to meet with difficulties in emotional 39 development. It has been stated, in the psycho- analytic literature, that in early psychosexual development, "masculine" or active and aggressive strivings are usually held in check, in girls, by passive, feminine tendencies, so that the former seldom reach the same strength in girls as in boys. Possibly, then, for boys development may be especially complicated on the side of handling aggressive and destructive impulses and feelings, in some instances, if these are stronger and less inhibited by counter- acting forces at certain stages of development for boys than for girls. From the maturation point of View, however, Anderson arnj. Dearborn [3:31-41], while agreeing that more boys than gi;b].s, suffer reading disabilities, stressed that "from the SfLaJIdpoint of total growth, girls are likely to be more Pewaciy for reading than boys at the beginning school age. It follows, therefore, that more boys will falter than girls, if‘ eequal pressure is brought to bear on both to read. Writing from a point of View sharply in contrast to the maiztiration school of thought, Liss [43:108-109], a psycho- anal yst, stated: We find that each culture has its own concepts of masculinity and femininity, and that these mores in— fluence learning. These concepts become compart- mentalized and often rigid. . . each culture has its own mores as to what is a feminine activity. World wide investigation indicates to the anthropologist .how much such attributes are conditioned by the historical background of the people and how the inter- jpretation of what is masculine and what is feminine ‘varies from culture to culture. In many cultures, as in our own, the emphasis for the male is on activity, eessentially physical activity and physical prowess. 'Fhis concept is engendered in the young male and is isomething which remains the core of his self-evaluation. tiny deviation in fundamental skills requiring physical Estrength and aggression is regarded as lack of potency ;in.males. And again: no The emphasis on physical activity rather than cerebral function is an important aspect of the younger years. It conditions and affects its atti- tude toward learning. In thinking through the sex differences in intellectual sacriievement in the formal school situation Liss, [43:110-111], spmaaking generally for the psychoanalytic point of View, wrwate the following: Often in homes where the self made successful father has manifested his creativity in trade rather than in academic persuits and activities, the mother, with more opportunities for leisure available to her as a benefit from generationsof pioneer toil, has become the so-called cultured member of the family. This represents an easier identification for the female than for the male siblings. In such cases intellec- tualism becomes enmashed in feminine identification and creates difficulties for the boy in the resolution of the oedipus complex and the adoption of a truly masculine role. Klein [35:378] offered another explanation for sex dif‘f‘erences in achievement when he declared: Learning is generally perceived as masculine. This may stimulate the girl's wish to amass knowledge as a sublimated expression of her masculine strivings or it may cause her to withdraw from it at some point because it conflicts with her feminine strivings. Usually we see many oscillations between these urges. At the beginning of school life, under the spur of her masculine urges we find little girls often do well at school. In adolescence with its upsurge of feminine strivings, some girls lose interest in their studies or become inhibited in them, pouring out their energy in more directly feminine interest. An exceedingly relevant and pointed discussion of th63 lDroad underlying factors that tend to promote sex dif- fernerlces in school performance, Klein [35:378] continued: there the mother is the more intelligent parent, lxearning may seem to be feminine and may result in Clonflict in the boy. This conflict may be heightened i.f there are bright sisters or female cousins, or Al bright classmates. Excelling at school is then often regarded as a sign of being a sissy. As one patient said, "None of the regular guys studied or got good marks. The fellows who studied were the skinny kids with big glasses, the Sissies." This trend is further augmented by the fact that learning does require a certain degree of passivity toward the teacher. It is thought to be feminine to be good in the classroom and listen to the teacher. Proof of one's masculinity demands a certain amount of defiance or behavior disorder. Prowess at sport is often contrasted with scholastic achievement. The culmination of the contemptuous masculine attitude toward learning is found in the fascist remark, "When I hear the word culture I reach for a gun." As indicated from these quotations, psychoanalytic Jaitxerature stresses the mechanisms of identification as arneaas of conflict for the male which pose a particular prob- leTn. to him in the formal learning situation and which accounts fTDr‘ some of the discrepancy in achievement between boys and gi&?].s. This point of View is shared also by writers in Ottleer areas. References to the writings of anthropologists “8&3 already been made. Parsons [51:610], a sociologist, in Wrfili:ing of age and sex in the social structure of the United St5113es, takes the same position. He too emphasized the role exI3E3ctancy of docility for the girl and the role expectancy Of‘ 1?ecalcitrance for the boy. He remarked that "there is Peallyno feminine equivalent of the expression 'bad boy'." Pall7‘E3Ons emphasized how girls are initiated from an early age in tile feminine role through being continually about the hollsfa while, especially to the urban middle class boys, the fatjieer's work is usually out of the range of his personal e XpePience. He pointed out that the relative abstractness r4 42 and intangibility of many of the masculine functions makes their character even less accessible to the male child. This "leaves the boy without a tangible meaningful model to eanulate and without the possibility of a gradual imitation iIItO the activities of the adult male role." In an approach ‘tc> the problem that leaves implications for sex differences Liri scholastic achievement on the high school level, Parsons vvrnote: Although the pattern of equality of treatment is present in certain fundamental respects at all age levels, at the transition from childhood to adolescence new features appear which disturb the symmetry of sex roles while still a second set of factors appear with marriage and the acquisition of full adult status and responsibilities. It is at the point of emergence into adloescence that there first begins to develop a set of pat- terns and behavior phenomena which involve a highly complex combination of age grading and sex role elements. Parsons continued: It is of fundamental significant to the sex role structure of the adult age levels that the normal man has a "job" which is fundamental to his social status in general. . . . In the case of the feminine role. . . the majority of married women, of course, are not employed. . . . In this situation the primary Status carrying role is in a sense that of a house- ‘wife. . . that her husband's wife, the mother of his <3hildren, and traditionally the person responsible .for a complex of activities in connection with the rnanagement of the household, care of children, etc. . This leaves the wife a set of utilitarian IVunctions in the management of the household which "May be considered a kind of "pseudo-" occupation. Sherif and Cantrill [57:238] commented on this very poinj; (Df the academic situation being more contradictory f or tflfiea adolescent girl when they wrote: 43 .it is the female in a bourgeois society who is in most danger of remaining "marginal,“ of experi- encing continued conflict due to the contradictory ego-attitudes and situations in which she finds herself. . . . In the areas of work opportunities, these problems are particularly accentuated for girl. ' Having provided its boys and girls with the same educational opportunities of vocational motivation, oursociety then reverses itself, suddenly denying the girls the very rewards it has held out to them throughout the whole course of their development. ESLlnnnary An examination of the literature relevant to the Eirnsblem under consideration revealed that no studies have txeeen undertaken that are directly concerned with the rela- t21<>nship between self-concept and grade-point average. It 113 .not surprising, therefore, to find that no studies have tm3€n1 undertaken that have inquired into the age differences arui. sex differences in the relationship between self-concept aruj, grade-point average. While there has accumulated a con- Siflieerable body of literature on the relationship between I“3rflsonality factors and learning, by far the greatest portion Of‘ tflqis literature dealt with non-emotional factors in the leEIIvling process and only a considerably smaller portion deEth: with the relationship between personality as a whole, or 518 a.compositecmganization, and intellectual functioning. NO 53t11dy has yet undertaken the investigation of the rela- tionShip between self-concept and grade-point average, and in addition, the self as a concept has only lately been r ecogrLized as a construct of sufficient importance to even ML warrant it as a reputable topic for scientific inquiry. In the writings that have accumulated in the relationship be- tween emotional factors and learning the failure on the part of the great mass of the writers to have made clear to edu- cators just in what way the personality factors as a whole are related to learning represents a serious omission. Because of the small amount of research in this area this study was undertaken. Furthermore, investigating the relationship between self-concept. and specific educational disabilities is another area for research that merits consideration. The literature also contained many studies that have dealt with sex differences in scholastic achievement. How- ever, again the bulk of these investigations has measured aChievement by the use of standardized achievement tests and notably fewer studies dealt with sex differences in achievement as measured by grade-point averages. By and lar‘ge, investigations in this area have shown that girls tend to achieve higher grade-point averages than their male COllnterparts. In contrast to the relatively numerous studies that have inquired into the sex differences in scholastic achievement, few have attempted to move into the problem of investigating possible causative factors that have determined these sex differences in the first place. What does exist relevant to this problem is often incomplete and employed distinCtly different methodologies making comparisons dif' flcult with the bulk of the work having been by those who ! lea . n toward the maturation, or "growth,’ point of View. at l 45 The literature contained some psychiatric and/or psycho- analytical references to this problem, however, these were not experimental comparative studies, but remained in the .realm of theory. By and large, these emphasized that sex Ciifferences in achievement are related to differences in eerivironmental stimulation and role expectations to which the ‘ttvo sexes are exposed almost from birth onward. More par- tcicularly, psychoanalytic literature stressed the conflict 111 identification especially for the male child as being a Lbalrticular problem in the formal learning situation when "sschool" learning becomes equated with femininity. The majority of present day writers in the social 55C:ience field conceive of the self as a learned psychic EDPMenomenon that exerts pervading influence in the individ- ual's total adaptation. Likewise, the relationship between tide? development of self and learning is not disputed in the 3~iflterature and, in fact, writers on this topic agree that trle? development of the self is inseparable from learning. With the stressing of the need for examining the en- ViI‘Onment of the child as an approach toward understanding }‘155 learning difficulties, education turned more and more to pSyehology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis for an under- StaIlding of causative factors. Dynamic psychology, which tmui Eill the while been pre-occupied with the examination of tile unconscious and with the instinctual drives, and had Onl5’ Jéecently turned its attention to the psychology of real 11:y adaption, or ego psychology, now gave increasing 46 attention to investigating the relationship between learning in the formal school situation and the emotional organization of the child. Until now, the approach had been largely through the case study method from which, however, has devel- cxped a considerable body of theory that provides fruitful Efreas for further scientific experimentation. /’ The nature of the child's adjustment to the formal Lleearning requirements imposed by the school are viewed as t>eeing conditioned by the totality of his pre-school or early lacame centered experiences. Specifically, learning is seen £153 conditioned by the parent-child relationship in the con— ‘teext of mastering and sublimating primitive physiological .iriterests lfld beginning with the first learning problem, ‘Nflich is centered around sorting out the self from the non- SEEJ_f. The child learns, that is, becomes socialized, because k“? is dependent on others and on their positive regard for hirn for his very physical survival first, and later, for flits psychological survival. If his family relationships are nC>tZ conducive to developing a strong and worthwhile self- Cx3rhcept, then conflict is aroused which deflects energy away fr*3n1 positive growth strivings as these are required in the SeI”Vice of repression and/or inhibition for compensatory graiiiflcation. // CHAPTER III PROCEDURE The purpose of this chapter is to present the method- c>lxogy that was followed in the investigation of the problem Lirider consideration. More specifically, sources of the ciaita, method of procedure, and treatment of the findings vvj.1l be described and explained. lXCiapmation and Validation of the SCS-DAP In considering the problem under investigation, one C>f‘ the first tasks was to find a valid measurement of self- CCDricept that was both objective and would lend itself to glleuntification. Inquiry into the literature revealed that ttue self as a concept has only lately come to be regarded Of‘ :importance and that consideration of the self was still laI‘gely confined to the theoretical realm. It was not sur- pIViESing, therefore, that the review of the literature did IKDt .reveal any valid measurement of self-concept that met the Criteria of objectivity and possibility for quantifi— catiAan While it is true that projective psychology sheds ligfilt on the nature of the self that characterizes a given indiVidual it is also true that the findings of projective psychCfllogy, at least in the area of the determination of the SEE‘lf--concept, are not yet adequately prepared to meet as the relatively rigorous tests of objectivity, quantification and validity. Thus it became obvious that the investigation of self-concept necessitated a new tool that would meet the (ariteria described earlier. With this in mind, a prelim- iiiary study was designed to develop a valid tool to objec- t:j;vely measure self-concept which would lend itself to quantification. Certain criteria were judged to be important in the tseelection of this instrument. These included objectivity, eqatse of quantification, and validation. In addition, how- e‘veer, an important concern dealt with the search for a test tideit would be non-verbal in nature for it was well recognized t}161t the test would be administered to subjects some of whom MKDLAId have educational, including reading, disabilities. Ar1C>ther important criteria was that the tool should be pro- J€3crtive in nature, for in keeping with the formulated def- inition of the self-concept it was essential that the uI“Iconscious levels of this concept be measured. This imme- diiitxely introduced still another criterion. In addition, tr“? tool finally selected should not be perceived by the SubJ'EBcts as a test, in order to reduce the personal threat arms rninimize self protective maneuvers. Certain other Critfiirion were held essentional for the technique; Its amniriistration and scoring for a group of subjects should be characterized by ease, rapidity and facility. After considerable investigation of available tests, the IVIéicjhover Draw-A-Person Test (henceforth to be referred 49 to as the DAP), as developed by Karen Machover, was selected for having met all the criterion described earlier as well as having the additional advantage of requesting the subject to perform something with which he has already established a degree of familiarity. The DAP consisted of a free hand drawing of a person, which was felt to result in an admixture of conscious and unconscious projection of his self-portrait. According to Machover, the drawing of the human figure indi- cates an intimate tie-up between the figure drawn and the personality of the individual who is doing the drawing. Since the subject who is drawing must rely consciously and unconsciously upon his whole system of psychic values, Mach- Over proceeded on the hypothesis that the figure drawn is related to the individual who is drawing with the same iI’ltimacy as any other of his expressive movements. Because of this, the drawing appeared particularly suitable as a teSt to measure self-concept especially as it involved a projection of the body image and provided a natural expres- Sion of one's body needs, conflicts, and self-concept. Unf‘Ortunately, however, neither Machover nor any one else, had developed a scheme for scoring the technique for self- coneept. Therefore, quantification was needed. An inspection of many drawings revealed certain categories that appeared to I‘eVeal self-concept. These categories are listed and defined as follows: 1. Shading. Light, dim, subtle, and uncertain lines Which furtively accent particular parts of the figure. Patterned or stylized shading. 50 2. Reinforcement. Shading of the boundaries of clothing or the figure. Heavy dark lines or parts of the drawing emphasized through retracing over the same area. 3. Erasures. Any attempt to alter or perfect all or part of the drawing through erasure. A. Detail in figure. Unessential features or details added to the figure or background. 5. Sketchy lines. Parts of the body particularly the outline defined by light, broken, blurred, vague, fuzzy lines. 6. Transparency. Body of the figure completely transparent or inadequately clothed so that body parts ordinarily covered are shown. 7. Asymmetry. Imbalanced and lopsided arrangement of the body parts in respect to size, shape, or position on the opposite sides of the center. 8. Distortion. Any unnaturalness or irregularity 111 form. Any non-human aspects to figure drawn often dis- Ifllayed by size disproportion. 9. Incompleteness. Figure not drawn complete, 1£1Cking in significant body parts or clothing. 10. Mixed age. Disparity in the physiological maifiiration of various body parts such as breasts emphasized inan otherwise childish body. ll. Opposite sex identifications. Figure drawn is of tflde opposite sex of the subject or if of the same sex, OppCHSite sex characteristics are displayed. 51 12. Primitiveness° Over-all figure is crudely and roughly drawn. Specific points are confusion of full and profile View of the head, mouth emphasis, trunk incomplete, omission of the neck, and disorganized body representation. 13. Immaturity. Drawing is marked by elaborate treatment of the midline such as the adam's apple, tie, buttons, buckle, and fly on trousers. There is emphasis on mouth and/or breasts. After defining each of the thirteen categories they were rated on a five point rating scale. A score of one indicated a great deal of the characteristic present in the drawing. A socre of five indicated that little or none of the characteristic was present in the human figure drawing. This then was the procedure followed for the Quantification of the Self-Concept Scale of the Draw-A—Person Test (hence- forth referred to as the SCS-DAP). The validity of the .SCS-DAP was established through the following procedure: llfter an individual interview by a judge--a clinician other tflian the investigator of their problem--rated a research grwoup of children for self-concept. In order that the Clinician might do this, each of the elements contained in tFNB definition of self-concept was rated on a five point Paft-ing scale at the termination of his interview. The sub- Je<3ts employed for the study to validate the SCS-DAP were Selected from referrals to the Flint Child Guidance Clinic for’ a variety of personality and/or behavior problems. In all, sixty subjects were employed. These were divided into 52 three groups, one whose birthdate was 1947-1948, another whose birthdate was in 1943-1944 and a third whose birth- date was in 1938-1939. In turn, each group was evenly divided between ten boys and ten girls. Half of each sub- group was also selected for educational disabilities, that is, they were one year or more retarded in grade level in one or more subjects. In this way half of the total group represented thirty non-educational disabilities while the other half of the total group represented thirty educational disabilities. At the time of rating the judge was also unaware which of the subjects belonged to the non-educational disability or educational disability group. In addition he was also asked to administer the SCS-DAP at the termination of his diagnostic interview which was then socred by the author without either knowing the self-concept rating of the clinician, or without himself knowing in which category (either educational or non-educational disability) to which the subject belonged. After administering and scoring the JRS and the SCS—DAP it was now possible to correlate these scores to complete the validation study. Machine calculation of the Pearson Product Moment Coefficient of correlation was used in as much as both variables were of a continuous nature. An examination of the SCS-DAP scores made it apparent that some of the categories of the SCS-DAP were discriminating better than others between mature and immature self-concept. The SCS—DAP was therefore subjected to an item analysis to 53 sort out the better discriminating characteristics from those that were discriminating less adequately between mature and immature self-concept. The scores of the characteristics for those subjects who were of the upper 27 per cent of mature self-concept of the SCS-DAP were compared with the scores of the characteristics for those who fell in the lower 27 per cent of the research group. It was decided to arbitrarily set the cut—off point when the difference for each category between the upper and lower 27 per cent reached a magnitude of + 2.0. The nine categories that dis- criminated best in the terms of yielding the greatest dif- ference were then retained in the final revision of the SCS—DAP. The validation procedure for the SCS—DAP was thus completed. At this time it was considered a sufficiently adequate tool for the measuring of self-concept and made it possible to proceed with the major problem of the study. The criteria described earlier that had been originally set for an instrument to measure self-concept had been met satis- factorily and as a result of the validation procedure the SCS—DAP was now sufficiently refined to make it a useful and feasible instrument for the main body of the research. Before this was accomplished, however, a correlation pilot study between SCS-DAP and the presence and absence of educa- tional disability and the age differences and sex differences in this relationship was undertaken. The statistical measure used for this study was the Biserial coefficient of correlation 5M inasmuch as the variables were of a continuous (SCS-DAP) and dichotomous (presence or absence of educational disability) nature. The Main Body of Research Description of population. In beginning the inves- tigation into the main problem under consideration in this study the SCS-DAP was administered to the third and sixth grades of the Collidge, Washington, and Durant elementary schools and to the eleventh grade of the Central High School of the public school system in Flint, Michigan. The decision to use the particular schools listed above resulted from the desirability of obtaining as adequate a representation of the general school population as possible, and the final selection of the schools was agreed upon only after con- sultation with appropriate administrative school personnel. Three different grade levels divided equally between boys and girls were included in order that age differences and sex differences might be determined and to investigate the relationships as described in the problem of the study. Earlier than third grade levels could not be included in the experimental groups. The practical consideration was that grades are only sporadically assigned throughout the Flint. public school system during the initial two years of the elementary school. Further, by the end of the first or second grades differences in grade point average of sufficient magnitude may not have appeared. The third, sixth, and 55 eleventh grades were finally selected because they met the above criterion. Another consideration for their selection was that they were sufficiently spaced to determine the age differences, if any, in the relationships being investigated. 'A random selection of 100 subjects, evenly divided between the sexes, was chosen from the third, sixth, and eleventh grade levels making a grand total of 300 subjects. It was this group that finally constituted the research group for the study under consideration. Administration of the SCS-DAP. The SCS-DAP was admin- istered to these subjects in their classrooms which consti- tuted relatively small groups of children ranging from twenty- four to thirty-three pupils. Eight and one-half by eleven inch white paper and pencils were provided each time. The directions for the administration of the SCS-DAP was each time identical. The subjects were asked to print their name, grade, and school on one side of the paper and then requested to turn the paper over in order to have available a completely free page on which to proceed with their drawing. Instructions as follows were then read: I am interested in finding out some things about children and their drawings. I would like you to draw a picture of a person for me. Please draw all of the person. If you like you may erase. Be sure to draw all of the person. The subjects were permitted to have as much time available to them as they needed to complete the task. In no case, however, did the time required for the third and 56 sixth grade subjects exceed fifteen minutes and the time required for the eleventh grade subjects did not exceed twenty minutes. Statistical treatment of the data. Following the completion of the SCS-DAP the drawings were scored without knowledge of the grade-point averages of the subjects in order to eliminate contamination. Because both variables that were to be correlated in this study were continuous, Pierson Product Moment Coefficients of correlations calculated 'by machine, were selected as the appropriate statistical Ineasures to determine the relationships as hypothesized in this study. In order to obtain the significance of this statistical measure the standard error of this correlation was calculated. In addition, one and two tailed tests of significance, »as described by Edwards [16:304-307], were employed to evaluate the significance of the age differences and sex differences displayed at the various grade levels investigated. CHAPTER IV DATA AND RESULTS The purpose of this chapter will be to report data and results obtained in the investigation under consideration. To facilitate clarity and understanding of the data and results the reporting of this material will be done in two separate sections, one dealing with results of the adaptation and validation procedure and pilot study, and the other with the results of the main body of the research. Adaptation and Validation of the SCS-DAP With the completion of the selection and definition of the thirteen categories of the SCS-DAP this test was administered by a judge--a clinician other than the author-- to sixty subjects after the completion of an hour diagnostic interview. At this time the clinician also completed the JRS. The results, as derived from this calculation, are listed in Table I. TABLE I THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE JUDGE'S RATING SCALE FOR SELF-CONCEPT AND THE SCS-DAP *— r ._—:__ — v; -—' N-6O Judge's Rating Scale SCS-DAP Range 9-2U l9-U8 Mean 18.1 3A.7 S.D. 6.77 7.96 r .61* S.E.of r .08 *Significant at one per cent level of confidence. 58 The biserial coefficient of correlation was calculated to measure the relationship between the SCS-DAP (self-concept) and the presence or absence of educational disability. IFollowing in Table II are the statistics for this correlation. TABLE II THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF—CONCEPT AND THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF EDUCATIONAL DISABILITY-A PILOT STUDY Mean of SCS-DAP S.E. of N Scores S’D' r r lflon-Educational 20 34.0 7.05 Disability .60* .14 Educational 20 40.6 7.16 Disability *Significant at one per cent level of confidence. In order to further refine the SCS-DAP the test was subjected to an item analysis. In this way it was determined which of the thirteen categories were discriminating between mature and immature self-concept more adequately then others. The characteristics that yielded the greatest differences between the two groups were identified and retained in the revised SCS-DAP test. The results of this SCS-DAP revision and refinement are listed in Table III. 59 TABLE III ITEM ANALYSIS RESULTS OF THE ORIGINAL FORM OF THE SCS-DAP Mean for Mean for Characteristics Upper 27% Lower 27% Difference l. Opposite sex identifica- tion 4.2 1.2 3.0 2. Sketchy lines 4.2 1.5 2.8 3 Incompleteness 4.3 1.2 2.5 4 Transparency 3.7 1.2 2.5 5 Immaturity 4.3 1.8 2.5 6 Primitiveness 4.1 1.7 2.4 7 Reinforcement 3.9 1.9 2.0 8. Erasures 3.6 1.6 2.0 9. Distortion 4.0 2.0 2.0 10. Asymmetry 3.4 1.6 1.8 11. Detail in figure 3.7 2.0 1.7 12. Shading 2.3 1.8 0.5 13 1.6 1.0 -O.3 . Mixed age Age Differences in the Relationship between Self—Concept and Grade-Point Average One of the central problems in this investigation was to determine age differences as shown by grade differences in the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average. Machine calculated Pierson Product Moment Co- efficients of correlation were used as the statistical measure to derive the degree of these relationships. A summary of the results is presented in Table IV. The one-tailed test of significance [16:258] employing Fisher's "t" was calculated to determine whether or not one correlation was significantly higher or lower than another. The two-tailed test of Significance [15:304—307] that used TABLE IV AGE DIFFERENCES AS SHOWN BY GRADE DIFFERENCES . IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF— CONCEPT AND GRADE POINT AVERAGE (N— 300) 60 Third Grade Sixth Grade Eleventh Grade SD DAP 6.48 7.22 7.71 SD GPA 6.38 7.29 5.45 Mean DAP 24.57 26.47 20.54 Mean GPA 27.45 29.1?3 25.36 r .54* .3 * .72* SE Cd‘r .IO .12 .05 * Siégiificant on one per cent level of confidence. a pufijbability formula (p) was also calculated to determine whettuar or not the difference between these correlations was significant. The results are listed in Table V. TABLE V SIGNIFICANCE OF AGE DIFFERENCES AS SHOWN BY GRADE DIFFERENCES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCS-DAP AND GAP (N-300) . p ‘FIsherTSWPW' ‘Two-tailed Test One-tailed Test Grades of Significance of Significance Third and sixth grades .15 1.44 Third and eleventh grades .03* 2.15* Sixth and eleventh ‘ grades .0004** 3.60** *Difference significant on one per cent level of confidence. **0ne significantly higher than other. 61 Sex:1)ifferences in the Relationship Between Self—Concept and and Grade -Po int Ave rage The second major problem of this study was to deter- mirua sex differences in the relationship between self-concept arui grade-point average in the third, sixth, and eleventh greuhes. Machine calculated Pierson Product Moment Coeffic- itnlts of Correlation were used as the statistical measure to charive the degree of these relationships. A summary of the ITNMJltS is presented in Tables VI and VII. TABLE VI SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF- CONCEPT AND GRADE-POINT AVERAGE FOR BOYS N-3OO i n‘ Third Grade Sixth Grade Eleventh Grade SD DAP 3.60 6.77 6.65 SD GPA 3.24 7.147 4.10 Mean DAP 22.44 23.54 18.04 Mean GPA 24.96 27.06 24.56 r .64* .32** .57* SE of r .08 .12 .07 *Significant on one per cent level of confidence. **Significant on five per cent level of confidence. 62 TABLE VII SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF- CONCEPT AND GRADE-POINT AVERAGE FOR GIRLS N—BOO Third Grade Sixth Grade Eleventh Grade SD DAP 4.79 6.38 7.68 SD GPA 5.25 6.53 6.27 Mean DAP 26.70 29.40 23.04 lflean GPA 29.94 31.24 26.16 r .34** .27** .80* SE of r .12 .13 .04 *Siégiificant on one per cent level of confidence. ‘**Siégiificant on five per cent level of confidence. The one—tailed test of significance [15:258] employing iFisher”s "t" was calculated to determine whether or not one correlation was significantly higher or lower than another. lflua two-tailed test of significance [16:304-307] based on probability (p) was also calculated to determine whether or not the differences between these correlations was signifi- cant. The results are listed in Table VIII TABLE VIII SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCS-DAP AND GPA (N-300) p Fisher's ”t” Two Tailed Test One Tailed Test Grade of Significance of Significance Third Grade .08 1.72* Sixth Grade .79 .82 Eleventh Grade .03** 2.20* *Significanf'on one per cent level of confidence. **Significant on five per cent level of confidence. CHAPTER V DISCUSSION OF RESULTS The purpose of this chapter will be to present a dis— CNIssitnlcm‘the results obtained in this investigation as regxarted and described in the preceding chapter. As in the pxrrvious chapter, organization of this chapter will be dJAFLded into two parts, one concerning itself with the results of"the adaption and validation procedure and pilot study and the ()ther dealing with the results of the main problem of research. 'The Adaptation and Validation of the SCS-DAP Table I listed the results of the validating study which investigated the relationship between the Judge's Rating Scale for self-concept and the SCS-DAP. The magnitude of the correlation obtained (.64) indicated that a positive and very significant relationship existed between these two variables which was significant on the one per cent level of confidence. For this reason the SCS-DAP was regarded as a sufficiently valid instrument for the evaluation of self- concept to warrant its employment in the form of a self- concept scale (SCS-DAP) in the major study under consideration. A calculation of the standard error (.08) of the correlation indicated that there is less than one chance in a hundred that this correlation obtained was not significant. 64 It will be noted that the standard deviation of the Jludgxe's Rating Scale was 6.77 while that of the SCS—DAP was 7096. Plus and minus one standard deviation of JRS scores ixiclnided.essentially the entire range (9—24). This indicated ttult ‘there was relatively little dispersion of the JRS scores arml that, by and large, they tended to cluster around the Inearl. It could be speculated that the lack of sufficient ciisgxarsion of the JRS scores was due to the relatively small siJue of the population tested (N=60), or that the group was of‘zi homogeneous nature, or both. There is, of course, some supmxbrt for the claim of homogenity of population since it will. be recalled that all of the subjects included in this par%:<3f the study were children referred to a child guidance cliiric. However, if this speculation were reasonable, it rnight be expected that the scores of the SCS-DAP would Show :1 similar lack of dispersion. The standard deviation of the SCS-DAP (7.96) does not bear this out. Considering the range of SCS—DAP scores (19-49) it became apparent that this range included approximately plus and minus two standard deviations. There was, therefore, considerably greater dispersion of the , SOS-DAP scores than was the case for the JRS scores. For this reason, the relative small size of the group, or the homogeneity of the group, or both, did not appear to be sound explanations. The relative lack of dispersion on the JRS scores may have been the result of an overly cautious approach on the part of the clinician in scoring the rating scale. It is well recognized that rating scales in general lack in 65 zaccnirwicy and objectivity. In being aware of the research guirpxbse of his single interview with the subjects in the \nilixiating study, the clinician may have been exceedingly caiitixaus in evaluating the individuals for self-concept. Tkris eattitude could result in underrating those with mature seljl—concept and in overrating those with immature self- coruuept which would tend to cluster the scores around the mean . The correlation, however, between the JRS and SCS-DAP ( .61) was of sufficient magnitude to have considered the SCELJDAP a valid tool for the measurement of self-concept arui to warrant its use in the major problem under consider- ation. It will be recalled that in addition to the validation (Jf the SCS-DAP the validating group was also used for the pilot research to determine whether or not a positive and significant relationship did exist between self-concept and the presence and absence of educational disability. The statistic employed to investigate this relationship was biserial correlation since one variable was continuous (SCS—DAP) while the others dichotomous (presence or absence of educational disability). The results of this study are listed in Table II. The correlation obtained (.60) was significant on the one per cent level of confidence. It can, therefore, be stated that a positive and significant relationship existed between SCS—DAP and the presence, or absence, of educational disability. These results were 66 Stuffixziently encouraging to pursue the major problem of this stmudyr since it is distinctly related to the main problem under investigation . With-the conclusion of the validation of the SCS-DAP, vfliicrl consisted of thirteen categories, it was hypothesized tiuat <3ertain of these categories discriminated better than otlmars between mature and immature self-concept. In order to iJivestigate this hypothesis to further refine the SCS-DAP, ttue illstrument was subjected to an item analysis. The mean scorfns of each of the categories in the upper and lower tvwnlty-seven per cent of the group were retained in the Iwwrised form of the SCS-DAP. Table III shows the results of tjiis investigation. In considering which categories shotflxi be retained and which categories Should be eliminated it was decided to arbitrarily set the cut-off point at less than tMm>points discrimination. In this way, the four categories of shading, mixed age, asymetry and detail in figure were eliminated in the final revision of the SCS-DAP. It can, of course, be speculated that were the revised form of the SCS-DAP correlated with the JRS that the magnitude of the relationship between these variables would be even greater. However, it was felt that the magnitude of the correlation obtained was of sufficient size to have validated the SCS-DAP without further investigation. An advantage of the revised form of the SCS-DAP was its greater accuracy and brevity. 67 Agga Itifferences in the Relationshipretween Self-Concept and Grade -Po int Ave rage Hypothesis one stated that the relationship between selIfl—concept and grade-point average increases in magnitude witti an.increase in age. The correlations obtained were .54 (Hi the third grade level, .38 on the sixth grade level, and. J72 on the eleventh grade level, all of which were sigxrificant on the one per cent level of confidence. These fdjuiingfi would indicate that a positive and significant reltrtionship existed between self-concept and grade-point averwuge. Furthermore, significant age differences, as shown In; grade differences, can also be shown in this relationship. The one tailed test of significance [15:258] employing Fisher”s "t" was calculated to determine whether or not one correlation was significantly higher or lower than another. The two tailed test of significance [15:304-307] based on probability (p) was also calculated to determine whether or not the difference between these correlations was signi- ficant. These results are reported in Table V. There is no significant difference between the correlations obtained on the third and on the Sixth grade levels. Neither is the third grade correlation significantly higher than the sixth grade correlation. It can, therefore, be stated that there is no significant age difference in the relationship between self-concept and GPA on the third and sixth grade levels. Thus, the hypothesis which stated that the relationship 68 txetjween self-concept and grade-point average would increase 111 Inagnitude with an increase in age is not supported by the dEEtEE for the two grade levels. Although there is a positive armi significant relationship between self-concept and grade— pcxint average on both grade levels, no significant age dif- :fexnence was displayed on these two grade levels. Despite the lack of significant difference it will be ru>ted.that the sixth grade correlation (.38) tended to be :sonuewhat lower than the third grade correlation (.54), aliflqough not significantly so. This study did not investi- gaixa the reason for this trend, but it is possibly due to ttue sixth grade children employing intellectual and personal- ity components other than self-concept to a greater extent to attain grades than third graders. An inspection of the Ineans of the SCS-DAP and the GPA revealed that they both gained the same size increment at the Sixth grade level, which would lend support to the speculation that factors other than self—concept are employed to a greater extent on the sixth grade level in attaining marks. When the one and two tailed tests of significance were applied to the third (.54) and eleventh (.72) grade cor- relations, the difference was found to be significant on the five per cent level. Further, the correlation for the eleventh grade was significantly higher than the correlation for the third grade on the five per cent level of confidence. Likewise, the difference in correlation on the sixth grade (.38) and on the eleventh grade (.72) was also significant, tilis time on the one per cent level. In addition, the eeljeventh grade correlation was very significantly higher truan.the sixth grade correlation. It is thus apparent that a.:significantly greater difference in the relationship bertween self-concept and grade-point average existed on the sijcth and eleventh grade levels then was found in the rela- tixonship between any of the other grade levels investigated. It will be recalled that hypothesis one stated that true relationship between self-concept and grade-point aver- agxa would increase in magnitude with an increase in age. Tfliis hypothesis was not supported by the results of the cor- reliations on the third and sixth grades, but was somewhat suppmnfed by the results of the Sixth and eleventh grades. 131 general, one can then say that there are significant age (differences in the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average when one compares early elementary and senior high students, but that there is no age difference in this relationship between early and late elementary school subjects. Sex Differences in the Relationship between Self-Concept and Grade-Point Average Hypothesis two stated that sex differences in the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average will vary according to age. As an out-growth of this major hypothesis it was further hypothesized that (a) in the third grade level the relationship between self-concept and grade- point average will be greater for the male, (b) that on the 70 sixth grade level the relationship between self—concept and grade-point average will tend to be equal, and (c) that on the eleventh grade level the relationship between self- concept and grade-point average will tend to be equal. The correlations obtained on the third grade level were .64 for the males and .34 for the females. Both cor- relations were significant, .64 on the one per cent level of confidence and .34 on the five per cent level of confidence. When the one and two tailed tests of significance were applied to these correlations, that obtained for the boys was found to be significantly higher on the one per cent level than that obtained for the girls (.32), although the difference between these two correlations was not signifi- cant. Therefore, hypothesis (a), which stated that on the third grade level the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average will be greater for the male, has been accepted. The correlations obtained on the sixth grade level were .32 for the males and .27 for the females, both of which are Significant on the five per cent level. When the one and two tailed tests of significance were applied no significant difference between these correlations was revealed, nor was the males' correlation significantly greater than for the females. It can therefore be said that hypothesis (b), which stated that on the sixth grade level the relationship between self-concept and grade point-average will tend to be equal for males and females, has been accepted. 71 The correlations obtained on the eleventh grade level were .57 for the males and .80 for the females and both of these correlations were significant on the one per cent level. When the one and two tailed tests of significance were applied to the correlations on the eleventh grade level the correlation obtained for the female pupils was found to be a significantly higher than the correlation obtained for the males on the five per cent level of confidence. The difference between the correlations was found to be Signi- ficant on the one per cent level of confidence. Hypothesis (0), which stated that on the eleventh grade level the re- lationship between self-concept and grade-point average will tend to be equal for males and females, was nOt supported by the data and was in fact rejected by the data which in- dicated a very marked sex difference on the eleventh grade level in favor of the female pupils. It will be recalled that the second major hypothesis stated that sex differences in the relationship between self- concept and grade-point average will vary according to age. This major hypothesis was supported by the data on all grade levels. In general, one can say that there are significant sex differences when one compares early elementary pupils and also senior high school pupils, but that there is no significant difference in this relationship when one compares later elementary school pupils. 72 One can only speculate why hypothesis (c) was rejected by the data. It will be noted that on the eleventh grade level the mean SCS-DAP and GPA scores were of smaller magni- tude for both males and females when compared with the means of the previous grade levels, but that the drop in GPA on the eleventh grade level is greater for the females than for the males. When this is combined with the very high cor- relation (.80) between self-concept and grade-point average for the female pupils on the elventh grade level this might indicate that they are using self-concept to a greater extent in the attainment of grade-point average to the same extent they relied on these factors on earlier grade levels. The correlation of .80 for the females on the eleventh grade level seemed to indicate quite definitely that female pupils on the eleventh grade level are perhaps not working as hard in school in the area of grade-point attainment as they did previously. While the female with an adequate self-concept appeared to be attaining grades as she had until now, the female with a less mature self-concept appears now to be solving her difficulties in ways other than striving in the area of grade-point attainment. For this reason, it might be speculated, the SCS—DAP discriminated to a much greater extent between higher and lower grade-point average in the case of the female pupil, since in her case self-concept appeared so much associated with grade-point attainment on the eleventh grade level. In contrast, while the mean of the SCS-DAP for the males on the eleventh grade level 73 decreased in magnitude approximately to the same extent as that of their female counterparts, the mean for the GPA for the males does not decrease nearly so much. This suggested that male pupils tend to a much greater extent than their female counterparts to employ personality and intellectual factors other than Self-concept in grade-point attainment. While the correlation of .57 for the males on the eleventh grade level indicated a positive and Significant relation- ship between self-concept and grade-point average, the very significant difference between the correlation for the males (.57) and females (.80) on the eleventh grade level suggested that the SCS-DAP discriminated to a significantly greater extent between high and low grade-point average for the females than for the males. It is possible that while earlier cultural pressures accented the male child‘s physical activity, the substitution of the reality principle by the senior high school level forces the male child to identify at least with certain aspects of the academic aims. This shift may be due in part to the male becoming aware of a world in which it is commonly thought that males can mani— pulate their social and economic situation through "brains," in which males assume dominance over females, in which men have to develop skills to prepare themselves to support a family in an economically competitive world, etc. It is possible that under the pressure of adolescent strivings it becomes even more important for the male individual to maintain a self-concept that is powerful, capable, resourceful, 74 independent, "smart," in a word, "masculine” and in this way he may well be stimulated to amass knowledge even more. The male's concern with social, occupational, and vocational areas and the greater stress placed on these areas by the school, perhaps motivates him still further to achieve, to master his environment. In contract, to the girl at the time of adolescence, the amassing of intellectual information may bring her into conflict with her culturally mirrored feminine strivings. This is not to say, however, that boys will necessarily excel over girls in grade-point average on the eleventh grade level, but the data pointed out that the boys' grade-point average on this grade level comes closer to that of their female counterparts, although still being somewhat lower. The experiencing of the adolescent conflict might, however, tend to decrease her interest in the strictly adacemic areas and periaps to this extent might accentuate a concommittant increase in home and family subject areas, or it might result in a pre—occupation with activities and/ or interest in areas relatively distant from the academic emphasis in the school milieu. The difference in the cor- relations on the eleventh grade in favor of the girls can possibly be explained on the basis of the above speculations. An inspection of the data revealed that hypothesis 1, (a) and (b) have been supported. Hypothesis (0) was not supported by the data. CHAPTER VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Summary The purpose of this study was to investigate the age differences and sex differences in the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average, Two major hypotheses were formulated: (l) The relationship between self-concept and grade-point average increases in magnitude with an in- crease in age, and (2) sex differences in the relationship between self—concept and grade-point average varies according to age. As an outgrowth of the latter major hypothesis, it was further hypothesized that (a) on the third grade level the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average is greater for the male; (b) on the sixth grade level the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average will tend to be equal; and (c) on the eleventh grade level the relationship between self-concept and grade—point average tends to be equal for both boys and girls. It was theorized that the self-concept evolves through the interaction of internal and external stimuli employing the processes of imitation, incorporation, and identification. These processes, which are initially motivated to allay 76 anxieties, became the processes through which the infant acquires (learns) modes of adaptation. Since learning is viewed as an adaptation to personal and socio-cultural demands, these processes become the prototype for all learning that is to follow. Any interference with mature self—concept development may, therefore, be reflected in disturbed learning processes with resultant learning problems in the formal school situation. , A review of the literature revealed no studies on the problem under consideration, nor any studies indirectly re- lated to the problem of self-concept and grade—point average. The self has, in fact, only recently become an object of scientific inquiry. By and large, the literature has dealt with non-emotional factors in learning. Literature that dealt with personality and learning tended to concern itself with the composite personality organization of the child and, in the main, these were not tied in with the learning process. Studies on sex differences had only an indirect bearing on the problem. While sex differences have been investigated for almost every variable, sex differences in scholastic achievement were selected as the area nearest to the problem being investigated. The instrument selected to measure self-concept was the Machover Draw-A-Person (SCS-DAP) test which was adapted and validated with a pilot group. The investigation of the major problem included a research group of 300 subjects, evenly divided between the 77 sexes from the third and sixth grades of three public elemen- tary schools and from the eleventh grade of a senior high school in Flint, Michigan. The SCS-DAP was administered to these subjects in their classrooms, the grade-point averages were calculated and the relationship between these variables determined. The significance of the relationships and the significance of differences between the relationships was calculated. Conclusions l. A significant positive relationship exists between self-concept and grade-point average on all grade levels ranging from the one to the five per cent level of confidence. 2. There are significant age differences as shown by certain grade differences in the relationship between self-concept and grade-point average. This was found to be true in comparing early elementary and senior high students and later elementary and senior high students, but there was no significant difference in this relation- ship between early and late elementary school levels. 3. There are significant sex differences for early elementary pupils and senior high school pupils, but there is no significant sex difference in this relationship for later elementary school pupils. 78 Implications of the Study The study revealed age differences and sex differences between self—concept and grade—point average. These differ- ences suggest that particular care needs to be given to factors that influence self-concept development especially for male students on the lower elementary school level and for female students on the senior high school level. It may be possible for some of the sex differences in the frame of reference and role expectations to be utilized more positively in the development of the self-concept of each of the sexes. It would appear that developing a curriculum that would result in the attainment of the opportunity for academic expression in ways consistent with the role expectations of males on third grade level and for females on the eleventh grade level would be particularly useful in facilitating favorable adjustment to school requirements. Since individual adjustment to age and sex roles tends to be associated with grade-point average then it would appear that emotionally meaningful relations, or at least contact, with individuals in the school milieu which is con- ducive to positive identifications would assist in positive self-concept development. In this way it is possible that adaptation in general to the formal learning situation will be enhanced as well as making it more likely that the usual long range goals of the "socialization of the individual" will be achieved. For example, the availability of male 79 teachers for especially lower elementary grade males would appear particularly helpful. Additional Research Indicated l. The defining and investigation of personality sectors in their relationship to intellectual and other functioning holds promise for further studies. Particularly is the study of early or primary deprivation and its differ- ential effects on personality adjustment an area for prom- ising research. 2. Numerous studies have investigated the sex dif- ferences in scholastic achievement, but few have attempted to investigate the underlying factors that have determined these sex differences. Although the methodological problems are readily apparent, this area, nevertheless, holds promise as a fruitful one for scientific investigation. 3. The relationship between self-concept, general achievement test results, and grade—point averages poses an- other interesting area for investigation. A study of self- concept and arithmetic disability, self-concept and reading disability, and the investigation of self-concept in its relationship to other school subjects all present areas for further research. 4. Inherent in the relationship between self—concept and school achievement are the motivational factors as these are related to learning. A defining and investigation of these motivational patterns, and their age and sex differences 80 in their relationship to learning, holds promise of being further fruitful ground. From the magnitude of the relation- ships established, factors other than self-concept appear operative in the learning process. These may, or may not, be as important as self-concept in achievement and over-all adaptation. 5. The whole topic of self-concept appears of suf— ficient importance to warrant its further investigation by a variety of methodological approaches, including the tech- nique employed in this study after its further refinement. 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Judge's Rating Scale for Self-Concept l 2 3 4 5 Immature Mature Self-Concept Self—Concept It will be noted that only the extreme categories of the Judge's Rating Scale were labeled while the middle categories were not. This was done to insure that a high score would correspond with a mature self-concept and a low score would correspond with an immature self-concept. Each of the five elements that were defined in this study as being components of self-concept were rated on the above scale and thus resulted in five ratings for each subject. M.‘ APPENDIX B INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCS-DAP The SCS-DAP was administered to the subjects in their classrooms. Care was taken to observe that all the situational requirements inherent in any good testing situation would be present. For example, external distractions were eliminated, ventilation and lighting was adequate, etc. In order to H H avoid any particular set, or bias, in connection with the drawing, the teacher was not informed regarding the specificy of the research problem. She was merely advised that her class would be employed in a research project. Eight and one-half by eleven inch white paper and pencilas were provided. The subjects were asked to print their name, grade and school on one side of the paper and then were requested to turn the paper over in order to have available a completely free page on which to proceed with their drawing. Instructions were then read as follows: I am interested in finding out some things about children and their drawings. I would like you to draw a picture of a person for me. Please draw all of the person. If you like you may erase. Be sure to draw all of the person. The subjects were permitted to have as much time available to them as they needed to complete the task. In no case was a time limit imposed. Adequate time was set 9O aside for the drawing to insure sufficient time for everyone. Questions were answered by the examiner. Care was taken, however, to avoid any discussion, or response to questions, that would in any way direct, advise, or in any way influ- ence the subject's drawing. The only comment relevant to the drawing made by the examiner was that the whole person should be drawn. Within this structure the subjects had complete freedom to proceed with their production. RBGM USE GNU / .fl . RUSS”? 3"”— "”' ’ L‘. 7:J:.ACJ_E_;E!§! Y .. .;-*‘J‘“""H , ...»u {at W” i 799' 49.-19's? ., '1 7 b a... '4‘ a»! "11111411411171I