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' jooNALcoPY: O . “21m"- ' ' '~ , l ‘9 . ~ 11;: _v_ LIBRARY Michigan State University 1m SP 'm' ray—07.2 {9‘28“ ‘1; ABSTRACT SELF-CONCEPT OF APPEARANCE AND RELATED ADORNMENT BEHAVIOR OF NEGRO AND WHITE ADOLESCENT GIRLS by Isabelle Mushka Lott The objective of this study was to explore the differences in appearance concerns between Negro and white teenage girls within an interactionist frame of reference. Specifically, appearance was examined under two aspects; namely, adornment and physical attributes. The primary independent variables employed were race, a Negro Race Rating and social class status. Based upon the classical assumption that Negroes internalize the ideal Caucasoid type as their model image, four broad hypotheses were proposed: 1. Negroes will demonstrate less confidence in appearance than whites. 2. Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar referent relationships for appearance. 3. Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar grooming behavior. A. Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar color-wearing preferences. Isabelle Mushka Lott Accordingly, a questionnaire based on previous related research was developed to test the proposed hy— potheses. The final instrument was administered to 3M9 tenth grade girls who attend a school in the Detroit school system. To measure some of the variables involved, oper- ational techniques were required. These included a Guttman type, unidimensional attitude index to measure self— conceptions of adornment, a ranked mean to ascertain self- conceptions regarding physical attributes, and Warner's seven point Occupational Ratings to indicate social status. Probability statistics utilizing the chi-square test of significance and the contingency coefficient were the sta- tistical techniques used in this research. The results of this investigation proved, contrary to the hypothesis, that Negroes possessed a higher self- conception of their physical attributes than did their white classmates. However, self-conceptions regarding adornment were not found to be associated with race. Further, teen- agers of both races who possessed a high self-concept of their physical attributes also tended to possess a high self—concept regarding their adornment behavior. .g Race was not related to the choice of significant others for adornment or the choice of a model for physical appearance emulation. However, when the choice of model for dress emulation was considered, Negroes tended to make less use of mass media models than whites. Isabelle Mushka Lott In their grooming behavior, each race appeared to choose items which had the greatest potential for the aes- thetic enhancement of their particular facial and tonsorial attributes. There was some indication that Negroes and whites were-using a common aesthetic model for their grooming activity, i.e., the ideal Caucasoid type. Negroes, only, demonstrated an inhibited use of lipstick if the self- conception of the adequacy of their lips was low. Also, Negroes indicated greater usage of hair straightening tech- niques. Color-wearing preferences of the races differed considerably in the choice of favorite colors but not in the least favorite colors. Although both races prefer blue and pink, Negro teenagers tended to prefer more of the warm, advancing colors, yellow and red, while whites showed some greater preference for the dark, dull shades of navy and black. Also, in all color choices, percentage distributions of the races differed. Neither the Negro Race Rating nor the Occupational Ratings of Warner demonstrated any significant association with the dependent variables. In conclusion, the findings of this study indicated that some of the proposed hypotheses were not entirely ten- able, and others were completely untenable. And the findings demonstrate that certain definitive differences do exist between the races with respect to self-concept of appearance and related adornment behavior. SELF-CONCEPT OF APPEARANCE AND RELATED ADORNMENT BEHAVIOR OF NEGRO AND WHITE ADOLESCENT GIRLS By Isabelle Mushka Lott A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Textiles, Clothing and Related Arts 1966 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express particular appreci- ation to Dr. Arthur M. Vener under whose guidance this study was initiated and developed into a research topic of constant challenge. Sincere wishes of appreciation are also extended to Dr. Mary L. Gephart for her encouragement and assistance throughout the study and for her criticism of the manuscript; to Dr. Elinor R. Nugent, Dr. Clinton A. Snyder and Mrs. Edna Rogers for their aid in initiating the study and developing the instrument; and to Dr. Pearl J. Aldrich who also read the manuscript and suggested re- visions. The writer also wisher to express her gratitude to Linda Lott for assistance in administering the question- naire; to Barbara Gibson for her aid in the analysis of the data and helpful suggestions throughout the study; and to fellow graduate students, especially Anita M. Fratianne, who gave constant support and criticism. The writer is grateful for the valuable assistance and cooperation of the Lansing school system during the pre- test of the questionnaire and of the Detroit school system during the administration of the final instrument. The 11 Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station is also gratefully acknowledged for the financial assist- ance allotted to this study. Finally, the writer wishes to express sincerest gratitude to George E. Lott, Jr., who in his many roles as critic, typist, editor, chauffeur, offered greatest sup- port in his role as her husband. iii Chapter IO II. III. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Statement of the Problem . . . . . . Review of Literature . . . . . Focus of the Study . . . . . . . METHODOLOGY Selection of Method Development of the Questionnaire . The Pretest . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reliability . . . . . . . . . . Validity . . . . . . . . . . . The Community Setting . Selection and Description of the Sample Race . . . . . . . . . . . . Racial Composition of the School . Size of Community . . . . . . . Social Class . . . . Age/Grade . . . . . . . . . Sex . . . . . . . . Other Background Factors . The Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . Measurement of Variables . . . Self- Conception of Physical Attributes Self- Conception of Adornment . . . . .Statistical Techniques . . . SELF-CONCEPTIONS REGARDING APPEARANCE Self— —Conceptions Regarding Physical Attributes . . . . . . . . Individual Physical Attributes Items and Race . . . . . High- Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Race . . . Individual Physical Attributes Items and the Negro Race Rating . High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and the Negro Race Rating iv Page 22 25 27 28 29 31 31 32 32 33 35 36 37 37 37 38 A0 A2 A2 “5 M6 AB M8 TABLE OF CONTENTS-—(Continued) Chapter High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Social Class Self- -Conception of Adornment . . . . Race . . . . . . . . . . Negro Race Rating . . . . . . . . . . . Social Class . . . . High- -Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes. Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . IV. REFERENT RELATIONSHIPS FOR APPEARANCE . . The Independent Variables and the Appearance Referents . . . . . . . . . Significant Others for Adornment . . . . Race . . . . . . . . . . . Models of Emulation for Appearance . . . Look- Like Referent and Race . . . . . Dress-Like Referent and Race . . . . Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . V. GROOMING BEHAVIOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Usage of Facial Grooming Items . . . . Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Negro Race Rating . . . . . . . . The Usage of Selected Facial Grooming Items and Self- -Conceptions Regarding the Particular Physical Attribute Being Groomed . . . . . . Self— —Conception and Grooming of Eyes. Self— -Conception of Lips and Teeth and the Usage of Lipstick . . . . . . Self-Conception of Complexion and Skin Tone and the Usage of Face Cream. Self-Conception of Complexion and Skin Tone and the Usage of Face Powder or Face Make- -Up . . . . . . . The Usage of Tonsorial Grooming Items . . . Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Negro Race Rating . . . . . . . . . . Total Number of Grooming Items Used Regularly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 50 52 52 53 56 59 63 76 77 78 79 80 81 81 8A 85 85 TABLE OF CONTENTS—-(Continued) Chapter Page Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . 86 VI. COLOR-WEARING PREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . 88 Colors Most Preferred to Wear . . . . . . 89 First Choice Color Most Preferred to Wear and Race . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Second Choice Color Most Preferred to Wear and Race . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Colors Least Preferred to Wear . . . . . . 92 First Choice Color Least Preferred to Wear and Race . . . . . . 92 Second Choice Color Least Preferred to Wear and Race . . . . . . . . . . . . 9“ Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . 94 VII. SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . 96, Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Implications . . . . . . . . 100 Recommendations for Further Study . . . . . 102 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 APPENDIX--The Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 vi Table 10. LIST OF TABLES A summary of associations between self— conceptions regarding the Individual Physical Attributes Items and race . The association of self-conceptions based on the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and race . . . . . . . . A summary of associations between self- conceptions regarding the Individual Physical Attributes Items and the Negro Race Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . The association of self-conceptions based on the High-Low Mean of Physical Attri- butes and the Negro Race Rating . The association of self—conceptions based on the High—Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Warner's Occupational Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The association of self-conceptions based on the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Warner's Occupational Ratings for whites alone . . . . . . . . The association of self-conceptions based on the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Warner's Occupational Ratings for Negroes alone . . . . The association of the Self—Conception of Adornment Index and race . . . . . . The association of the Self-Conception of Adornment Index and.Negro Race Rating The association of the Self-Conception of Adornment Index and Warner's Occupational Ratings . vii Page AA 47 A9 50 51 51 52 53 54 55 Table ll. l2. 13. 14. 15. l6. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. LIST OF TABLES-—(Continued) Page The association of the Self-Conception of Adornment Index and Warner's Occupational Ratings for whites alone . . . . . . . . . . 55 The association of the Self-Conception of Adornment Index and Warner's Occupational Ratings for Negroes alone . . . . . . . . . 56 The association of the Self—Conception of Adornment Index and the High-Low Mean of Physical Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The association of the Self-Conception of Adornment Index and the High-Low Mean of Physical Attributes for Negroes alone . . . 57 The association of the Self-Conception of Adornment Index and the High—Low Mean of Physical Attributes for Whites Alone . . . . 58 The association of Significant Others for Adornment and race . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 The association of the Look—Like Referent and race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The association of the Dress-Like Referent and race 0 0 O O 0 O O O O O 0 O O O O O O O 70 A summary of the associations between Facial Item Usage and race . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A A summary of the associations between Facial Item Usage and the Negro Race Rating . . . . 76 A summary of the associations between eye make- ~up usage and the self— ~conception rating of eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 A summary of the associations between lip- stick usage and the self-conception ratings of lips and teeth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 A summary of the associations between face cream usage and the self-conception ratings of complexion and skin tone . . . . . . . . 79 viii Table 2A. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. LIST OF TABLES--(Continued) Page A summary of the associations between face powder or face make-up usage and the self- conception ratings of complexion and skin . . 80 A summary of the associations between the Tonsorial Item Usage and race . . . . . . . . 82 A summary of the associations between the Tonsorial Item Usage and the Negro Race Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 The association of the total number of groom- ing items used regularly and race . . . . . . 86 The percentage distribution by race of the responses to colors most preferred to wear. . 90 The percentage distribution by race of the responses to colors least preferred to wear . 93 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Central to the cultural ethos of American society is the ideology of success.1 Mass media and educational institutions place constant emphasis on this ideology.2 Because individuals of all socio—economic backgrounds have access to these sources of information one can assume that, at some point in their lives, all individuals in American society become conscious of the value orientation to success. Recently, social scientific literature has empha- sized the fact that some minorities within the population have certain of their success channels blocked.3 Thus, the mode of attaining recognition must be transferred to the 1Robert K. Merton, "Social Structure and Anomie," American Sociological Review, 3 (October, 1938), p. 674; R. A. Cloward, and L. E. Ohlin, Delinquency and Opportunity, (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1960), p. 82. 2Cloward and Ohlin, p. 86. 3Cloward and Ohlin, p. 150; P. Johnson, "Negro Reactions to Minority Group Status," American Minorities, ed. Milton L. Barron, (New York: Alfred A Knopf Co., 1957), p. 192; Joseph S. Himes, "Negro Teen-Age Culture," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 338 (November, 19617, pp. 92-93. other channels which remain open. In addition to illegiti- mate or deviant modes, Merton and others have suggested that many additional legitimate modes of adjustment are possible, e.g., if the channel to occupational success is blocked, an individual might chose to obtain success through material competition.“ The American Negro is such a culturally stigma— tized minority group. Because of his race the Negro's sub- ordinate status is highly visible, and certain of his success channels are blocked.5 Therefore, it is speculated that the Negro will be greatly concerned with his appearance and will attempt some demonstration of success through em- phasis on material goods related to appearance, i.e., clothing and grooming apparatus. The purpose of this study is to investigate the manner in which the Negro is concerned with his appearance and appearance-related factors. To explore this area the researcher chose to compare a Negro and a white sample with respect to self-concept of appearance, referent relation- ships for appearance, grooming behavior and color preferences. “Merton, p. 676; Johnson, p. 200; Cloward and Ohlin, p. 86. 5Margaret Brenman, "The Relationship Between Minority Group Membership and Group Identification in a Group of Urban Middle Class Negro Girls," Journal of Social Psychology, 11 (1940), p. 181. 6Himes, pp. 93—94; Bertram P. Karen, The Negro Person— alit , (New York: The Springer Publishing Co., Inc., 1958), p. 8. Throughout the study, the following definitions apply to these primary variables. ffluaterms"self-concept" or "self-conception" connote "the directive attitude which defines and regulates the behavior of an individual in a "7 social context. The term "referent relationship" refers to "any relationship with which a person psychologically 8 identifies himself." "Grooming behavior" refers to the usage of items to artificially enhance the facial and ton- 9 sorial area of the body. "Color preference" refers to a preference to wear,or not wear, the color, as differentiated from simply liking or disliking colors. A sampling of tenth grade girls of the working class background was chosen for two reasons: 1. The majority of the Negro population is found within the working classes;10 and 2. There is much evidence that appearance and self—concept are of crucial concern to the adolescent, especially to girls.11 7M. Sherif, Group Relations at the Crossroads, ed. M. Sherif and M. O. Wilson, (New York: Harper, 1953), p. 20. 8Alfred Lindesmith and Anselm Strauss, Social Psy— chology, (New York: The Dryden Press, 1956), p. 2H. 9Tonsorial area refers here specifically to hair on the head. 10Morton Grodzin, "The Metropolitan Area as a Racial Problem," American Race Relations Today, ed. Earl Raab, ("Anchor Books"; New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1962), p. 96; Johnson, p. 213. 11S. S. Silverman, Clothing and Appearance--Their Specifically this study is designed to explore the appearance concerns of a Negro teenage girl as compared with that of a white teenage girl, both of whom come from a work- ing class background in an urban northern community. Review of Literature From the vast amount of literature, both academic and popular, one can obtain a neat stereotyped picture of the American Negro today. As a minority group member, by his racial heritage, he is forced into second class citizenry. Relegated to the lower classes of society, he is the last— hired and the first—fired. Unstable incomes breed unstable marriages, female~headed households, fatherless children, poor housing, poorly brought up and educated children, in a vicious, never—ending circle. This, coupled with the cul- tural background of slavery and its deteriorating effect on the familial structure of the American Negro, has wide impli- cations. These elements, coupled with others inherent in being born into this particular minority group, cause one to wonder how the Negro views his physical uniqueness. Psychological Implications for Teen—Age Girls, (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia Univer- sity, 19A5), p. 23; James S. Coleman, "Peers and the Ado- lescent Culture," Finding a Place in Contemporary Mass Society: A Problem of Roles, (East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press, 1962), p. 70. It is the Negro's racial heritage which forms the highly visable segregating factor in his life. . Although numerous studies have been carried out A on the Negro population, relatively few have been found to deal directly with the appearance self-conceptions of the Negro. Many have fragmentary references after the fact. Others deal with some part of the area of appearance self- conceptionstnNJnot with the whole frame of reference. For instance, in a hospital situation with almost a thousand male Negro psychotic patients, Myers and Yochel- son12 were amazed to find that delusional material involving the denial of color and ancestry was not uncommon. They concluded that the insecurity involved in being a Negro necessitates the development of certain security operations or expressions. One such security expression is the desire for whiteness which manifests itself "in the social ordering of the Negro community, in the use of skin lighteners and hair straighteners, in the dreams and fantasies of the Negro, in the phenomenon of 'passing,' and also in the psychotic reactions of the Negro patient."l3 12Henry J. Myers and Leon Yochelson, "Color Denial in the Negro," Psychiatry, 11 (1948), pp. 45-46. 13Ibid., p. 39. Other studies in the earlier 1940‘s dwelt on the aspect of skin color values. Parrish,lu Seeman15 and Bovelll6 all noted the advantages and prestige attached to "whiteness" and the lowness attached to "blackness." Parrish's study was carried out within the Negro community and encompassed teachers, sororities and Negro employees, while Seeman worked with third and fourth grade children. Few authors fail to make similar observations. The classic sociological study by Dollardl7 states that white skin represents full personal dignity and full participation in the American society, while dark skin represents limitation and inferiority. Negroes are sufficiently a part of American society to want to be fully human as Americans and, thus, prefer to be as 18 light as possible. Myrdal, too, remarked on the permeation of cliques, clubs and social life with color preference. 14Charles H. Parrish, "Color Names and Color Notions," Journal of Negro Education, 15 (1946), p. 13. 15M. Seeman, "Skin Color Values in Three All Negro School Classes," American Sociological Review, 11 (1946). p. 315. l6Gilbert Bovell, "Psychological Considerations of Color Conflicts Among Negroes," Psychoanalytic Review, 30 (1943), p. 447. 17John Dollard, Caste and Class in a Southern Town, (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1937). 18Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1944). 19 have found that as a result of this The Clarks color preference and color denial within the Negro population, Negro preschool children have problems of identifying them- selves correctly in terms of race. Children as young as three years of age were shown to be able to recognize the concept of race. But Negro children were shown in many in- stances to tend to prefer white dolls and friends, or even identify themselves as white, and/or refuse to acknowledge that they were Negro. Kenneth Clark further feels that the most serious injury seems to be in the concept of self-worth which is directly related to the skin color.20 Brenman,21 working shortly after Dollard and some- what prior to the Clarks, also found confusion of racial identification. She explored a group of twenty—five urban middle-class Negro girls via intensive interview, life histories and direct observations. She noted these young adults had either a keen sense of race awareness or a conscious rejection of this awareness. In the latter group she found that this rejection of race awareness was more often closely connected to strong identification or associ- ation with whites rather than simply connected to a light 19Kenneth Clark and Mamie P. Clark, "Racial Identi- fication and Preference in Negro Children," Readings in Social Psychology, ed. Eleanor Maccoby et al., (New York: Hold, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1958), pp. 602-611. 20Kenneth B. Clark, Dark Ghetto (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1965), p. 65. 21 Brenman, p. 181. personal skin pigmentation. This would seem to be an indi- cation that referent relations may be more significant than skin pigmentation in some cases. (These are examples of research which show that 7 throughout his life, the color of his skin may prove to be a source of difficulty for the Negro with respect to his adjustment. This alleged stigma may cause feelings of in- feriority, shame and self—hatred. Concurrent with this is the obsession with "whiteness" which develops in childhood and continues into adulthood.22 t It is commonly held that the prejudice Negroes experience affects not only their concern with their skin color, but also other race-related physical features. The widespread use of hair straighteners and skin bleachers may illustrate the devaluation the Negro has for his physical features.23 A perusal through recent popular Negro publi— cations may yield anywhere from twenty to thirty advertise- ments promoting the use of these cosmetics. However, finding studies which deal explicitly with a self—evaluation of physical attributes by the Negro, as compared with his white counterpart, has been an impos- sibility. There are, however, some anthrOpometric studies 22St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton, Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City ("Harper Torchbooks"; New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1962), pp 495-506. 23Leonard Broom and Norval Glenn, Transformation of the Negro American (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1965), p. 34; Clark, Dark Ghetto, p. 64. which deal with ascertaining differences in physical attri- butes between Negroes and whites. Rose,2u in reviewing studies concerned with ascertaining these racial differences, cited Herskovits' study25 as the best study available, since Herskovits tried to determine the representativeness of his sample--an objective overlooked by other researchers. Rose, nonetheless, attempted a summation of all those physical traits reported by more than one anthropologist to distinguish 26 27 the American Negro from old Americans. He reported that, at best, the following descriptive statements are qualitative rather than quantitative. This is, they are concerned with average differences of which neither the actual quantity of difference or deviation from the average is known. Thus the average Negro, compared to the average white man in America, seems to exhibit the following physical traits: head slightly longer and narrower; cranial capacity 24Arnold Rose, The Negro in America: The Condensed Version of Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma ("Harper Torch- books"; New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1964), p. 49. 25Melville J. Herskovits, The Anthropometry of the American Negro (New York: Columbia University Press, 193?). 26Rose, p. 50. The American Negro was defined as the average individual whose traits are predominantly mulatto since the mulatto forms the majority of the American Negro population. 27Rose, p. 49. The Old American was defined as "the white population most often used for furnishing a stand- ard set of measurements. This group is composed mainly of Americans whose ancestors came from Britain, Germany and Scandinavia, and includes a disproportionate number of persons of high socio—economic status. It is not at all representa- tive of the general American population." lO slightly less; hair wavy, curly, frizzly or wooly; distri- bution of hair less; interpupillary distance greater; nose broader; nose shorter; nasal depth greater; external ear shorter; lips thicker; prognathism (jaw projection) greater; torso shorter; stature shorter; pelvis narrower and shorter; arms and legs longer; more sweat glands; skin with greater amount of black pigment; a larger proportion of brown eyes, black hair and sacral pigment spots. Many of these traits represent only slight vari- ation between the races, nearly all overlap in both races. Other traits, although sometimes nearly lacking in some individual Negroes, are outstanding and easily visible in most Negroes, i.e., dark skin, woolly hair,broad nose, thick lips and prognathism. These latter form the basic traits of the Negro's "social visibility."28 The owner—Operator of a charm school for Negroes29 felt that along with skin color and hair quality differences in grooming, the Negro girl had two other problems. One was the difference of her conformation which made it impossible for the Negro girl to develop the ideal white figure (bust and hips equal in width, waist ten inches smaller). From her Powers Charm School training she had gleaned that the Negro buttock was narrower in width but more protruding in 28Rose, pp. 49—50. 29Interview with Lottie Barnes, Charmed Circle Finishing School, Detroit, Michigan, February 20, 1965. 11 derriere. This resulted in a larger all around hip measure— ment. The second problem was the Negro myth with con- ditioned Negroes to the idea that they were not to be seen. To achieve this end her clients felt the darker their skin, the darker the color they should wear. Along with this was the stigma attached to red or bright colors and as a result she found it difficult to promote their wearability. Conclusive evidence regarding this particular theory of hip conformation was difficult to find. For example, Rose, as previously noted, would substantiate the narrowness of tux) but not the derriere protrusion.30 LaBarre seemed to confirm the hip protrusion but failed to mention narrowness in width. He stated that both in the lumbar curve in the small of the back and in buttock pro— trusion some Negroids surpass all other human races. As an example he used the South African Negro, the Hottentot, whose "buttocks project from the lumbar almost horizontally, like a shelf."31 From this it is inferred that LaBarre was speaking of the Negro race in general and not of the American Negro to which Rose referred. I References on Negro color-wearing preferences were, again, random and somewhat incongruous. Himes referred to "field reports from all regions" which indicated that the 3ORose, pp. 49—50. 31Weston LaBarre, The Human Animal (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1965), p. 137. 12 dress, grooming and ornamentation of Negro teenagers were extreme and faddish. Girls were reported to wear heavy eye make-up, light matching shades of lipstick and nail polish, usually chosen to match some color of the outfit which may have included bright unharmonious colors.32 This contra— dicted the information obtained from the personal interview with the Operator of the charm school. Rose, on the other hand, tended to feel that love for the gaudy, the bizarre, the ostentatious, was another trait, connected with emotionalism, which was exaggerated in reference to the Negro. He felt that most Negroes cannot economically afford to be ostentatious and that others, who can, prefer to be conservative in dress and public behavior.33 Pettigrew also referred to the Negro's usage of ostentatious clothing or conspicious consumption as a means of symbolic status striving, i.e., the oppressed seek the culturally-defined tinsel facade of success but not true success itself.3u He felt that this was a form of reaction to oppression. This symbolic status striving could be termed a "reaction toward the Oppressor," i.e., and integra— tion wish, or could be "movement against the oppressor," i.e., an aggressive assertion of personal dignity.35 32 33 Himes, p. 94. Rose, p. 303. 3“Thomas F. Pettigrew, A Profile of the Negro Ameri— can (Princeton, N. J.: D. VanNostrand Co. Inc., 1964), p. 34. 351bid. l3 Broom and Glenn state that most Negroes of dif- ferent socio-economic levels do spend more for clothing than whites of comparable levels. Contrary to popular im— pression, there was no firm evidence that they buy more luxury or status items. However, these authors do feel it would be feasible to expect more conspicuous consumption among Negroes of middle and high income levels, since most have only recently moved up from lower levels. Also, the Negro may feel a need to compensate for the low status which his physical appearance symbolizes. They conclude, though, that the evidence is tenuous.36 T :5 3‘?I Frazier contended that conspicuous consumption was central to the Negro middle class and, in this, he agreed with the projection of Broom and Glenn stated pre- viously. Fraizer believed this to be a desperate attempt by the Negro to gain recognition within the ghetto since it was denied him in the larger society.37 Prior to and during the 1930's, studies regarding color preferences made no reference to wearing preferences but were solely concerned with esthetic preferences. Of those which considered racial differences three are found applicable: Hurlock,38 who studied 400 Negro and white 36Broom and Glenn, pp. 28-29. 37E. Franklin Frazier, Black Bourgeosie (New York: The Free Press, 1957), pp. 200—208. 38Elizabeth B. Hurlock, "Color Preferences of White and Negro Children," Journal of Comparative Psychology, 7 (1927), Pp- 389-404. 14 39 children; Mercer, who studied some 2,000 Negroes and whites of various ages; and Eysenck,”O who made a comparison of about fifty studies, including racial studies, completed up to 1940. Comparison of these studies is difficult since it is not clear how they relate in methodology--especially with respect to their techniques of questionnaire development, interview construction and methods of observation. Nonethe- less, their conclusions are strikingly similar. Mercer found some differences between Negroes and whites which were only slightly significant. Hurlock reported insignificant differences between Negroes and whites. Eysenck proposed no difference in color preferences among all races of man. These studies by Hurlock, Mercer and Eysench were used as the prime guide to this study, since their conclu— sions were based on empirical research. The previously cited writings of Pettigrew, Rose, Broom and Glenn, Clark and Frazier, while highly respected, did not have an empiri— cal base for their speculations regarding color-wearing preferences. Instead they were based on impressions gained from general knowledge of the American Negro. 39Florence M. Mercer,"Color Preferences of 1006 Negroes," Journal of Comparative Psychology, 5 (1925), “OH. J. Eysench, "A Critical and Experimental Study of Colour Preferences," American Journal of Psychology, 5” (lgul), pp. 385-394- 15 This review, then, permits the following deduc— tions: the physical appearance of the Negro is the basis for his discrimination. This causes problems for personal adjustment. He feels inferior, he finds it difficult to identify with his race, and this tends to devalue his physical appearance. This frustration manifests itself in compensatory actions. Where appearance is concerned, facial and tonsorial cosmetics are used to assume white characteristics, along with large quantities of clothing to simulate success. The white race has become the Negro's model or referent for appearance. However, some projections for the present day Negro should be added. Recent developments have enhanced the Negro‘s self—esteem and may have altered his perception 141 ----- of a seemingly hostile world. Broom and Glenn list the contributing factors as: "the emergence of the free Negro states in Africa, the publicity given to the scientific View that Negroes are not innately inferior, and the more benevolent policies of the federal and many state govern— ments."Ll2 In addition, they concur that "increased self— esteem . . . has tended to make the Negro ambitious, more optimistic, and less willing to submit to discrimination, and may lead to a revaluation of racial characteristics."Ll3 l .0“ ' ulPettigrew, pp. 6—15. 2Broom and Glenn, p. 34° u31bid. 16 Pettigrew,lM Broom and Glenn,“5 and Clark”6 related this devaluation of the Negro appearance directly to his self—esteem or concept of self—worth. Thus, to measure the amount of this devaluation it would seem logical to use some measure of self-esteem which is related to appearance. How- ever, in a recent conference regarding the Negro self-concept, 47 Gramps commented on the work of Wylie“8 on self—concept: Interestingly enough, a recent comprehensive review and evaluation of the research in the area of self- concept does not include any discussion of research that considers race as an aspect of self-concept, though re- search relating to other factors, such as sex, religious affiliation, social—class status, is discussed. Blind- ness to, or avoidance of, the implications of the caste system on the self-concept of the Negro, and of the white, which is thus seen to occur at the most- and least- -SOphisticated levels of society, is symptomatic of the difficulty in dealing with color discrimination in American life and thought. "9 in. Recent research dealing with Negro youth does give us some insight on self—conceptions in general, though few deal directly with self—concept of appearance, per se. Lott and Lott, in an extensive southern study, showed that even uuPettigrew, p. 9. 45 46 Broom and Glenn, p. 34. Clark, Dark Ghetto, p. 65. u7Jean D. Gramps, "The Self-Concept: Basis for Reeducation of Negro Youth," Negro Self-Concept, W. C. Kvara- ceus, et al. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1965), pp. 11- 30. u8Ruth C. Wylie, The Self-Concept (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1961). 49 Gramps, pp. 14-15. 17 when innate capacities and higher socio-economic familiar position should indicate higher achievement motivation, Negro youth selected lower goals and performed below their capacity levels. Lower class status and lower caste seem to go hand—in-hand.50 Campbell, Yarrow and Yarrow felt that the self- perceptions of children, Negroes especially, was signifi- cantly affected by an integrated camp situation. While another study by Fishman gave indications of a lowering of a Negro child's View of himself after school desegregation.51 In a recent Master's thesis, Morse compared Negro and Caucasian eighth graders for self-concept of ability, significant others and school achievement. This study bore out a symbolic interactionist based theory which states that self-concept of ability is a functionally limiting factor in school achievement. Of specific importance here are the following findings: Although Negro students indicated a higher level of motivation to achieve, their mean score for all actual achievement variables was significantly lower than whites. And on all but three variables investigated, \v' 50Albert J. Lott and Bernice E. Lott, Negro and White Youth (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc., 1963), p. 163. 51John D. Campbell, Leon J. Yarrow and Marian Radke Yarrow, "A Study of Adaptation to a New Social Situation; "Acquisition of New Norms: A Study of Racial Desegregation"; Personal and Situational Variable in Adaptation to Change"; and "Leadership and Interpersonal Change," The JOurnal of Social Issues, 14, No. l (1958), pp. 3—59. 18 the mean scores obtained by Caucasian students were signifi— cantly greater than the mean scores obtained by Negro students.52 In a brief consideration of the significance of ethnic group status and self-esteem Rosenberg made unexpected findings. He found the self-esteem of Negroes to be only slightly below that of the whites--certain1y "not nearly as low as one might expect if general societal status were a determinant of self-esteem"53 Upon further investigation of his data, he found no unusual social characteristics which could have biased the findings. Indeed, the Negroes in the sample were predominantly of lower class status, had poorly educated parents, were less likely to be taking aca— demic course programs and came from small towns.5u It is perhaps significant that the two latter studies, which singled out the Negro in relation to self conceptions, used self-rating scales based on the interaction- ist approach. This approach "makes clear that the individual's self—appraisal is to an important extent derived from re— flected appraisals--his interpretation of others' reactions 52Richard J. Morse, "Self-Concept of Ability, Sig- nificant Others and Social Achievement of Eighth Grade Students: A Comparative Investigation of Negro and Caucasian Students," (unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Edu- cation, Michigan State University, 1963). 53Morris Rosenberg, Society and the Adolescent Self- Image (Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1965), p. 3030 54 Ibid., p. 304. l9 n55 to him. In addition to these two sociological studies, a recent psychopathological study of Negroes by Kardiner 56 and Ovesey used this phenomenon as its basis. Indeed, hardly an authority failed to mention the fact that the racial prejudice of the American culture effects a negative self-valuation within the Negro. Though not always uti- lizing an interactionist framework, few authorities would negate this as a reflexive appraisal on the part of the American Negro. Focus of the Study \ That the literature is somewhat contradictory in many of the areas with which this study is concerned is evident. Therefore, a basic assumption is necessary as a premise to this research. For purposes of this study we shall assume that American culture uses as its model image the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. This is the model which the Negro internalizes but which he cannot possibly attain. In an attempt to gain some measure of success most Negroes will conform where possible to the white Anglo-Saxon Protes- tant standard of appearance. 551bid., p. 12. 56Abram Kardiner and Lionel Ovesey, The Mark of Oppression: Explorations in the Personality of the American Negro, (Cleveland: The World Publishing Co., 1962). 20 The basic objective of this study is to determine whether any difference exists in appearance concerns of the Negro and white teenage girl. Specifically, comparison will be made of their: a. b. c. d. Self conceptions regarding appearance, referent relationships for appearance, grooming behavior, and color-wearing preferences. The broad hypotheses guiding the study are as follows: 1. Self Concept of Appearance: Negroes will demonstrate less confidence in appearance than whites. Forced to accept subordinate status due to his race, the Negro will transfer his inferiority feelings to his race and his appearance. This is evident in the fact that Caucasian rather than Negroid features and skin color have been apparently valued by the Negro race in America for centuries. 2. Referent Relationships for Appearance: Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar referent relationships for appearance. Significant others and models of emulation for appearance will be similar to that of the American teenage culture rather than peculiar to the particular race of the teenager in the American Culture. 21 3. Grooming Behavior: Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar grooming behavior. Negroes will emulate whites in their grooming behavior. 4. Color-Wearing Preferences: Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar color—wearing preferences. There is some indication in the literature that there is no difference between the races in simple color preferences. When the aspect of wearing a color enters, Negro preference is likely to be similar to that of whites, based on fashion preferences or fads pOpularized by the mass media. CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY Selection of Method In formulating the research method for this study, careful consideration was given to a study of the sub-cultures of both the Negro and the adolescent. In particular, self- attitudes, appearance concerns, referent relationships for appearance and grooming behavior of the female sex were con- sidered.1 Related studies were analyzed in terms of their data procurement devices. As a result a standardized, group- administered questionnaire was chosen as the most amenable research instrument. The main considerations governing this decision were as follows: 1. The information sought was of a personal and highly sensitive nature. Impersonality of the research device was necessary to allow respon- dents anonymity and hence to reduce the possi— bility of bias. 1Being part of a larger study, these were the areas of particular concern to this thesis. The larger study included aspirations for education, occupation and spouse; self-conceptions and involvements in social ability, family relationships and academic ability. 22 23 2. A quantity of specific information was desir- able from a large number of respondents, since broad statistical analysis was intended. 3. The questionnaire is commonly used in studies of the adolescent, due to the facility with which it can be used in the school situation. Thus, a questionnaire was the most feasible instru- ment to employ. Development of the Questionnaire Data were collected relevant to the problem area through the following methods: 1. Insights were gained from related substantive studies, particularly those of Vener, Bjorngaard, Coleman, Brookover, and Parker and Kleiner.2 2Arthur M. Vener, "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Social-Psychological Interpretation" (unpub- lished Doctoral thesis, Department of Sociology and Anthro— pology, Michigan State University, 1957); Arlene Bjorngaard, "The Relationship of Social Class and Social Acceptance to Clothing and Appearance of a Selected Group of Ninth Grade Girls" (unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Textiles, Clothing and Related Arts, Michigan State University, 1962); James S. Coleman, The Adolescent Society (New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1961); Wilbur B. Brookover, et al., "The Relationship of Self—Images to Achievement in Junior High School Subjects" (East Lansing, Michigan: Office of Research and Publications, Michigan State University, 1962); Seymour Parker and Robert J. Kleiner, Mental Illness in the Urban Negro Community (New York: The Free Press, 1966). 24 2. Informal interviews were conducted with se- lected Negroes on the topics of appearance, clothes, grooming and appearance referents. Those interviewed were Negro coeds of under- graduate and graduate levels, a Negro sociolo- gist, and an owner-operator of a charm school for Negro girls of working class status. 3. A sampling of magazines for the Negro public was collected. The purpose was to gain in- sight into appearance—related ideas being promoted for the Negro consumer. 4. For many years, direct observation of adoles- cent clothing and appearance have been a focal professional concern of this researcher. From the above a file of questions which would probe the areas of concern was develOped. Several drafts of the questionnaire were revised before an actual pre-test schedule was reached. In its various stages the question— naire was evaluated by the following types of peOple: pro- fessors in the areas of Textiles and Clothing, and Sociology, graduate students in Textiles, Clothing and Related Arts and residents of Owen Graduate Center, undergraduate women of undeclared majors, adolescent girls of the researcher's acquaintance and the Research Supervisor of the Detroit Public School System. 25 During its creation, care was taken to make the instrument applicable to adolescent girls of working class background. Precautions were also taken to avoid any racial implications in the wording and the structure of the ques- tions. This was necessary since school systems are reluctant to participate in studies with racial overtones due to the current sensitivity of this area. Since this thesis is but a segment of a total study, the questionnarie developed by the researcher included items additional to those explored here. The original design was \ ‘ establishedxtoxobtain as much information as feasible on M ‘\ topics of particular concern to the Negro teenager. Additional questionnaire items attempted to probe other self-conceptions, aspiration—expectations and involvements in social, familial and academic areas. The Pretest The schedule was administered to approximately forty tenth grade girls (two classes) in a Lansing, Michigan, High School. Of the forty girls, thirty—five were white and only five were Negro. The school was situated in a working class, racially mixed neighborhood. Thus, except for the racial percentage within the pretest group, these factors simulated the desired controls for the study. It was recog- nized that having only five Negroes take the pretest may have biased the results. Nonetheless, upon examination, the results were assumed to be adequate. 26 The purposes of the pretest were to determine: 1. The length of time needed to complete the questionnaire. 2. The meaning implied by each item. 3. The response distributions for specific items. 4. The specific responses to open ended questions. 5. The necessity of visuals for the color prefer- ence items. 6. The feasibility of the race coding when the questionnaires were handed in. 7. The familiarity of the researcher with the administration of the questionnaire. To achieve these ends, students were encouraged to ask questions during the pretest when any item or portion of an item was unclear to them. Also, following the pretest, the class was interviewed as a group regarding the readability and understandability of each question. Students were encouraged to write any additional comments next to the particular questions or on the back of the questionnaires. The pretest resulted in the following observations and actions. Several items were revised in wording or format. The length of time required to administer the questionnaire ranged from fifteen to twenty-five minutes. The open-end items did elicit usable responses. It was decided that visuals were not necessary for color preference ratings. While the questionnaire was being answered, the researcher 27 did have sufficient time to make decisions prior to the race rating. This, coupled with the fact that individuals com— pleted the questionnaire at different rates and handed them in sporadically meant that the researcher had adequate time to make this judgement. In all, the questionnaire was well received and proved to be quite satisfactory for the research requirements. Reliability Reliability of a questionnaire refers to the extent to which repeated administrations of the instrument would yield the same results. In other words, reliability is a problem of stability.3 In this case, the reliability of the questionnaire would depend on the extent to which repeated administrations to similar groups would result in similar response data. Therefore, because this questionnaire was administered only once, the reliability was not directly ascertainable. However, other studies have employed identi- cal or similar items to those used in this study and have obtained comparable results.Ll In addition, the responses obtained from the final pretest. questionnaire were compar- able to those of the final schedule, even though some alter- ation did occur as a result of the pretest. /Furthermore, 3W. J. Goode and P. K. Hatt, Methods of Social Research (New York: McGarw—Hill Book Co., 1952), pp. 152-161. “Coleman, Vener, Bjorngaard, Brookover, Parker and Kleiner studies. 28 the fact that some of the items were scalable provides evi— dence of internal consistency and, therefore, some degree of reliability. Validity The validity of an instrument refers to "the de— gree to which a measurement procedure measures what it pur- ports to measure."5 According to Verner "for all science, validity can be determined only through reliability. In short, the findings of a study are valid only to the extent that the procedures employed in the study can be repeated and comparable conclusions result."6 As was stated above, this study can claim limited proof of reliability and, therefore, limited validity. Nonetheless, it is assumed that the method of develOping the questionnaire contributed to validity. This assumption was based on the fact that following the pretest and during the develOpment of the instrument, a number of adolescents, both Negro and white, were interviewed to determine whether or nor their interpretation of the ques- tions was the same as that intended by the researchers. Questionnaire items were subsequently modified in order to 5Marie Jahoda, Morton Deutsch, and Stuart W. Cook, Research Methods in Social Relations (New York: The Dryden Press, 1951), p. 109. 6Vener, p. 27. 29 convey the intended interpretation. As was previously men- tioned, the responses obtained from the pretest question- naire were very similar to those of the final instrument. The Community Setting The larger community from which this sample was derived was the city of Detroit. Located in the southeastern corner of Michigan, Detroit is the largest major city in the state. It is the center of a highly industrialized area where the major industries are associated with automobile manufacturing. Since this kind of community is a typical residen- tial area for large numbers of Negroes, Detroit was an ideal choice for this particular research. The fact that 486,996 out of a total population of 1,670,144 were nonwhites as of 1960, further substantiates the choice. Residence in this community offers the Negro many advantages, among which better income and education are of major importance. In 1960, nonwhites of Detroit possessed more edu- cation than other nonwhites in urban Michigan or urban United States. Nonwhites 25 years of age and over had com— pleted a median of 9.2 years of school in Detroit but only 9.1 years of school in urban Michigan and 8.7 years of school in urban United States. The education of the general population of Detroit though considerably depressed from that of urban Michigan and urban United States, was still 30 above that attained by the Negro. The median years of school completed by all persons 25 years of age and over was 10.8 in Detroit but 11.0 in urban Michigan and 11.1 in urban United States. Nonwhites in Detroit have better incomes than other nonwhites in the nation and comparable incomes to those of the state. In 1960, nonwhite, urban families received a median income of $4,366 in Detroit, $4,444 in Michigan and $3,711 in the nation. Deferential treatment is again realized when the statistics for the general populace are viewed. The median income for the urban family is $6,482 in Detroit, $6,590 in Michigan and $6,166 in the United States. Thus, even though the margins between the races are narrowed in Detroit, nonwhites have still not achieved full comparability.7 7The statistics for the general United States dis— cussed within the Community Setting were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Census of Population: 1960, General Social and Economic Characteristics, United States Summary, Final Report PC (l)-1C(Washington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962). The median urban family incomes were obtained from page 1-225. The median years of school were obtained from page 1-207. Statistics for Michigan and Detroit were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Census of Population: 1960, General Social and Economic Characteristics, Michigan, Final Report PC (l)-24C (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962). The median income of urban Michigan families was obtained from page 24-206. The median years of school of urban Michigan residents was obtained from page 24-191. Income and education for the total pOpulation of Detroit residents were on page 24-260 while comparable statistics for the nonwhite population of Detroit residents were on page 24-273. Total and nonwhite pOpulations of Detroit were obtained from page 24-224. 31 Selection and Description of the Sample Six major factors guided the selection of this sample: race, racial composition of the school, size of community, social class, age/grade and sex. Race With respect to race, the most important variable, two controls were attempted. The first was to obtain equal representation of both the white and Negro races. This was almost exactly obtained since the final sample contained 172 whites and 177 Negroes. The second control was the coding of the Negro students according to the degree of Negroid characteristics. The Negroes were classified on a numerical continuum of one to five. The number one denoted a very Caucasian-looking Negro, typified by light skin, straight or wavy dark hair, narrow to medium-broad, high— bridged nose and thin or moderately thin lips. The number five denoted an ideal-type of Negro individual, typified by a very dark skin, curly drwoolly hair,a broad or flat nose and with some prognathism and thick lips. This rating was assigned by the researcher after each respondent re— turned her questionnaire. This method was suggested by a physical anthrOpologist as a means of drawing minimal at- tention, if any, to the coding process. In an attempt to exclude bias, all coding was done by one researcher.8 The 8 Due to the profession of the researcher, a Home Economist specializing in the area of clothing and textiles, 32 subjective element of this coding was recognized but any rating of this sort is still an observation and subjective regardless of other aids used to assist the observer, e.g., Munsells' color chips. Very few individuals were rated at one‘and five levels, most fell between levels two and four. Thus, for purposes of analysis it became more meaningful to combine level one with two and level four with five. Racial Composition of the School For the purposes of the study an equal represen- tation of both races was necessary to give a stable basis of comparison. Due to limitations of time and funding, choosing one school which could supply equal representation in adequate quantity became desirable. It is realized that this purposive sample may not be representative since a percentage of 80/20 is more typical of the racial distribu- tion within Detroit schools. This limitation was accepted in light of the advantages offered in data collection. Size of Community A community of over 100,000 in population was chosen because this is the most typical size of community in which the American Negro presently resides.9 Detroit was, therefore, a desirable and most convenient choice. it was assumed that an analytical approach to appearance had been cultivated. Through further reading and personal obser— vation the researcher attempted to augment this facility in order to achieve the capacity to rate physical race character— istics more accurately. 9Grodzins, pp. 85—123. 33 Social Class An attempt was made to obtain the majority of the sample from the common man level. This was designated by Warner as the lower-middle class and the upper—lower class.10 This decision was reached for two reasons. First, it was desirable to exclude the effects of economic deprivation which might be characteristic of the lower—lower class. This was fairly well achieved in this sample since only seven percent of the whites and eight and one-half percent of the Negroes stated that their family received support from social security, pension or welfare agencies in ad- dition to the income of the main wage earner of the family. Of the total sample, 70.2 percent fell into the fourth, fifth and sixth levels of Warner's Occupation Ratings, while only 11.5 percent fell into Warner's seventh and lowest level. Further, there was no significant difference between the races in the proportion who received agency as— sistance or the percentage found in each occupational level. The second reason was to make the sample group more representative of a fairly large percentage of American Negroes. The common man level satisfied this requirement 10Lloyd Warner, Marchia Meeker and Kenneth Eells, Social Class in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1960). 34 since almost half of the Negro community falls into the middle classes while the remaining half falls into the lower classes.11 Since authorities have agreed that occupational status is the major element in determining social class status,12 the occupational status of the adolescent's main source of support was considered a valid criterion for de- lineating social class status for the purpose of this study. Warner's seven point Occupational Ratings of his Index of Status Characteristics was chosen to rate the social class background of the adolescent.13 This index has been shown to be the most reliable when compared with other stratifi- cation indexes.lu The researcher is aware of the claims made that there exists in America a Negro class system separate from that of the white.15 The data illustrated this possibility 11Office of Policy Planning and Research, United States Department of Labor, The Negro Familyi the Case for National Action (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965), p. 29. 12J. A. Kahl and J. A. Davis, "A Comparison of Indexes of Socio-Economic Status," American Sociological Review, 20, No. 3 (June, 1955), pp. 317-325. l3W. Lloyd Warner, et al., p. 185. This rating is one of four ratings of Warner's Index of Status Characteris- tics measuring social class status. Note, also, that no one of the other three, namely source of income, house type and dwelling area, is given as much weight as occupation when computing the Index. lL‘Kahl and Davis, pp. 317—325. 15E. Franklin Frazier, The Negro in the United States (rev. ed.; New York: The Macmillan Co., 1957), pp. 289- 305. 35 may exist for this sample in that there was a significant difference in education between the races even though no significant difference existed between the races in relation to occupation. The significantly higher education of the Negro in relation to occupation also tended to support the theory of differential opportunity previously stated in the Introduction to Chapter I. Since some basis for comparison was necessary and since no interracial system of classifi- cation was known to the researcher, it was decided to com- bine both the Negroes and whites into a single rating system. Age/Grade To minimize scope, the study was limited to one grade. A grade rather than a particular age was chosen because it facilitated data collection. The tenth grade was chosen for two reasons. First, this age/grade has been shown to be quite concerned about self—conception.l6 Second, after this grade, school drOpout is found to increase sharply. Since the dropouts are primarily of the lower classes, a class bias favoring the upper class results.l7 l6 Coleman, et al., "Peers and the Adolescent Cul— ture," Finding a Place in Contemporary Mass Society: A Problem of Roles, p. 73. 17 Verner, p. 29. 36 Sex Only girls were chosen mainly to control the size of the study and also because of the researcher's greater familiarity with their concerns and habits. Other Background Factors Of particular interest to this study were three other factors which are commonly stated as characteristic of the Negro pOpulation. These were residence in urban centers, recent migration from a rural environment and large families.l8 Urban residence proved typical of both races of this sample. There was no significant difference between their residential background. Over 80 percent of both races spent most of their lives in a city like Detroit or Chicago, and only approximately three percent of both races spent most of their lives in a small town or rural area. This further seemed to indicate a minimum of mobility or of recent migration from rural areas. A significant difference between the races in the numbers of brothers and sisters substantiated the claim that Negroes come from larger families. Thirty-two percent of the Negroes as compared with 13 percent of the whites claimed more than two sisters, while 36 percent of the Negroes as compared with 15 percent of the whites acknowledged more 18Grodzins, pp. 85-183. 37 than two brothers. Thus, while class level might be aug- mented by the higher education of the parents of the Negro sample, the standard of living might be lowered for the Negro due to the larger family size. The Sample Since most tenth graders of the selected Detroit school participated in physical education classes, arrange- ments were made to administer the questionnaire in place of one day's schedule of gym classes. Thereby a sample of 349 tenth graders was obtained from the high school. The researcher administered the instrument with the help of one assistant. Upon completion of the question— naire, students were asked to return their questionnaires in person to the researcher. This facilitated the race coding of each questionnaire. Due to the sensitivity of the nature of the research, the exact nature of the coding was not made known to either teachers or students. Method of Analysis Measurement of Variables To facilitate the testing of the proposed hypothesis indexes were employed to measure the variables involved in these hypotheses. These measurements were developed and based on 100 questionnaires pulled randomly from the sample prior to coding. 38 Self—Conception of Physical Attributes To achieve a unit measurement of the self-conceptions of physical attributes for each individual, mean scores were taken on questionnaire items 80 through 105. These scores were then placed into a continuum of twelve categories of equal size. This continuum was further collapsed into four categories of high, medium high, medium and low self-concep— l9 tions. In the analysis the twelve categories were termed the Mean Rank of Physical Attributes, while the collapsed version is referred to as the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes. Self—Conception of Adornment It was felt that there were three items related to self—conceptions of adornment which were unidimensional in nature. Rather than relying upon assumption, a scaling de- vice was used to check the internal consistency of these items. The Cornell Technique for Scalogram Analysis had proven valuable in developing a scale of clothing awareness 20 by Verner. Thus, the researcher felt it feasible for use in this similar situation. 19These categories corresponded to the following means: high - mean 1.00-2.24, medium high - mean 2.25-2.74, medium - mean 2.75—2.99, low - mean 3.00-3.75+. 20Arthur M. Vener, "Stratification Aspects of Clothing Importance," (unpublished Master's thesis, Depart- ment of Sociology and AnthrOpology, Michigan State University, 1953). 39 Accordingly, questionnaire items25,-28and 29, relating to self—conception of clothes, grooming and ability to dress prOperly, respectively, were tested by the four criteria set up by Guttman. The results of the test were as follows: 1. The coefficient of reproducibility was .93, thereby meeting the Guttman lower limit of about .90.‘51 2. Number of items and responses categories: Since dichotomization22 was used, the three items did not meet the minimum of ten items required for a scale. The marginal frequencies did, however, fall well within the stipulated 30 percent to 70 percent range required for a 23 scale of less than ten items. 3. Range of Marginal frequencies: As stated above, extreme frequencies have been avoided and, thus, spuriously high reproducibility avoided. Further, Guttman's criterion that 21Louis Guttman, "A Basis for Scaling Qualitative Data," American Sociological Review, 9 (1944), p. 140. 22Each of these questions was of the five response type, with the answers rangingihxml"much above average" to "be- low average." All three questions were dichotomized giving a weight of two to the responses "much above average" and "somewhat above average" and a weight of 0 to the remaining responses. An individual's self-conception of adornment was determined by totalling the-weights he received in response to the three questions. A score of "6" indicated a high self-conception, "0" a low self—conception. 23They were #29 - 53/42; #28 — 47/48 and #26 - 36/49. 40 the reproducibility of an item should never be less than the largest frequency of its categories, was also met. 4. Pattern of Error: The pattern of error was found to be random for the most part. Non- scale types were found in solid segments of not more than five per column outside the cutting points. Furthermore, no category had more errors than non—errors. For the most part, the criteria of scalability were met. The only divergence was that the minimum of ten items was not achieved. Nonetheless, this does indicate a unidimensionality of the three items alone. For the pur- poses of this thesis it is feasible to utilize these three items as an index of one dominant dimension, i.e., the self— conception of adornment. Statistical Techniques Probability statistics utilizing the chi-square test of significance were used in this study since variables were both qualitative and quantitative, continuous and non- continuous in nature. In those cases where, in addition, it was desirable to compare the degree of association between variables of similar tests, the coefficient of contingency was used. 41 For this study, a probability of .05 or less will be designated a significant relationship, or one that was not likely to have occurred by chance alone. Throughout the thesis, the degree of significance will be indicated as followsz2u 1. When probability is greater than .05--not significant—-NS. 2. When probability is .05 or less, but greater than .Ol——moderately significant--P .05. 3. When probability is .01 or less, but greater than .001--highly significant——P .01. 4. When probability is .001 or less--extremely significant-—P .001. 2“The last three of these qualifying adjectives were originally used by George W. Snedecor, Statistical Methods: Applied to Experiments in Agriculture and Biology (4th ed.; Ames: Iowa State College Press, 1946), Reproduced in Margaret J. Hagood, Statistics for Sociologists (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1952), p. 325. CHAPTER III SELF-CONCEPTIONS REGARDING APPEARANCE The focus of this study is a comparison of the appearance concerns of Negro and white teenage girls to determine their differences and similarities. In the en- suing chapter the hypothesis that Negroes will demonstrate less confidence in appearance than whites is considered. For the purposes of this study, two main aspects of appearance are employed as a test of this hypothesis. These aspects, self—conceptions regarding physical attri— butes and self—conceptions regarding adorment, are con- sidered separately. Self-Conceptions Regarding Physical Attributes Information regarding self-conceptions of physical attributes was achieved by employing a series of questions which asked, "Compared to others your age, how would you rate the appearance of your hair, eyes, ears, cheeks, lips, etc." Respondents rated themselves through choice of the following phrases "much above others," "somewhat above others," "same as others," "somewhat below others" and "below others? The initial interest here was to compare the 42 43 self ratings on the Individual Physical Attributes Items to ascertain where the differences of concern occur between the races. Table 1 summarizes the associations between each of the self—conceptions of physical attributes and race. With the exception of two items, the association ranges from moderately significant (P .05) to extremely significant (P .001). In each case the Negro teenage girls' self- ratings are higher. The hypothesis that Negroes will demon- strate less confidence in appearance than whites is not sup- ported by any item. Contrary to the indications of the literature, the Negro teenage girl of this sample regards her appearance as being comparatively better than the com— parable self-ratings of her white classmates. When a comparison of individual items is made, other interesting details arise. The major purpose of listing the items individually is to test the literature regarding the items which form the "social visibility" or stereotype of the American Negro, i.e., hair, nose, lips, complexion and skin tone,1 hips and thighs. These items have been discussed in some detail previously.2 1It would be more desirable to use the term "skin color" instead of the terms "complexion" and "skin tone." Because of the sensitivity of the school systems to the racial issue, it was not possible to do so. 2See Chapter I, p. 10. 44 Table 1. A summary of associations between self-conceptions regarding the Individual Physical Attributes Items and race. Individual Physi— Race cal Attributes Items 7 Probability gggiiigiggi Direction* Hair .01 .208 N+ Forehead .05 .156 N+ Eyes .05 .160 N+ Nose .001 .222 N+ Cheeks .01 .187 N+ Ears .01 .211 N+ Lips .01 .198 N+ Teeth NS —- -- Chin .01 .204 N+ Facial Shape .001 .234 N+ Complexion NS —— -— Skin Tone .05 .177 N+ Neck .001 .260 N+ Shoulders .01 .197 N+ Arms .01 .184 N+ Hands .05 .172 N+ Bust .05 .158 N+ Waist .01 .193 N+ Stomach .01 .196 N+ Hips .001 .308 N+ Thighs .001 .255 N+ Knees .001 .221 N+ Calves .05 .155 N+ Ankles .05 .159 N+ Feet .01 .181 N+ Figure .01 .194 N+ * N+ designates that the self-conceptions of the Negroes were higher than the whites in each case. 45 Individual Physical Attributes Items and Race Table 1 shows that the association between race and the items contributing to the stereotype is very sig- nificant with the exception of skin tone and complexion. Race and skin tone are only moderately significantly asso- ciated (P .05), while race and complexion show no associ— ation (NS). Since these items were designed to probe feelings regarding skin color, they are especially interest- ing. Skin color is by far the most alluded to of all the racial characteristics in both the scientific and pOpular literature. Therefore, it seems significant that in relation to the other stereotyped items, the Negro teenage girls of the sample feel comparatively less confident about their complexion and skin tone. But their confidence in their skin was still greater than the confidence expressed by the white teenagers. Thus, these data do not comply with most indications given in the literature with regard to self- conceptions regarding the social visibility or stereotyped items of the American Negro. Before further speculation as to the reasons for these results, the data were searched for additional information. When the contingency coefficients for all the stereotyped items in Table l are compared, additional infor- mation becomes evident. The highest coefficient is in the hip—thigh area, then neck, facial shape, nose and knees, in order of decending significance. In fact, these are all the 46 items which have extremely significant (P .001) relationships with race. AnthrOpometric studies indicate that in compari- son to the Caucasian race there are physical differences in the hip-thigh, facial shape and nose of the Negro, and this could account for the degree of concern demonstrated here. However, neck and knees are not included in these areas of 3 That all these items received such a consider- difference. ation might indicate a strong value difference between the races for these body areas. In summary, no support has been discovered for the hypothesis that the Negroes maintain a lowered self-concep— tion regarding their appearance than their white counterparts. In fact, for this sample, the complete reverse is evident. High—Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Race To corroborate the findings of the Individual Physi- cal Attributes Items and to facilitate further statistical comparisons, a ranked mean of physical attributes” was cal- culated for each respondent from all of the Individual Physi— can Attributes Items.5 Table 2 shows a very strong association 3See Chapter I, p. 9. “Refer to Chapter II, "Method of Analysis," for the development of this mean. 5It was later discovered that because the Mean Rank of Physical Attributes contained twelve categories, it could not be subjected to the chi-square statistics with a sample size of 349. Every analysis had theoretical frequencies 47 Table 2. The association of self-conceptions based on the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and race. High-Low Mean Rank of Race Totals PhySlcal Attributes White Negro High 11 35 ”6 Medium High 45 42 87 Medium 59 46 105 Low 56 51 107 Totals 171 174 ' 345 x2 14.443 P .01 df 3 between the High-Low Rank of Physical Attributes and race. This further supports the statistics of the individual attributes items. It is consistent to find that this as- sociation is very significant (P .01) because all but two of the individual attributes were significantly related to race. For the same reason it is consistent to find that Negroes exhibit a higher self-conception of their physical attributes than do their white counterparts. Further exami- nation of Table 2 shows that a far greater number of Negroes rated themselves in the highest category than did the whites, while in the three lower categories the whites exceeded the Negroes. The data show, again, that Negroes show greater confidence in appearance than whites. below the required limits for each cell. Therefore, through— out the discussion of the results, the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes became the unit measure for the self- conceptions regarding physical attributes. 48 Individual Physical Attributes Items and the Negro Race Rating Table 3 below shows no statistical significance (NS) between the Negro Race Rating and the self rating of physical attributes. The one item which does show some association is just at the significance level (P .05). The fact that the item is "ears" further seems to negate the meaningfulness of the association with the rating. It would appear that for this sample, based on the obser— vations of this researcher, the Caucasoid-Negroid continuum shows no relationship to self—conception of the Negroes re- garding their physical attributes. This, again, is contrary to most indications in the literature. High—Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and the Negro Race Rating Table 4 is a further attempt to see if physical appearance had anything to do with self rating, i.e., did lighter, more Caucasian—looking Negroes rate themselves more highly than the darker more Negroid-appearing Negroes? This table indicates no significant association (NS) between these variables. Closer examination shows that the group of Negroes with medium, mixed characteristics has the greatest proportion of its group in the high self-rated category. This would seem to oppose both conventional feelings of "white is right" and the new racist feelings of "Black Supremacy." 49 Table 3. Summary of associations between self-conceptions regarding the Individual Physical Attributes Items and the Negro Race Rating. Individual Negro Race Rating Physical Attributes Contingency Items Probability Coefficient Direction Hair NS -- -- Forehead NS -— —— Eyes NS —- -- Nose NS —- ~- Cheeks NS -- -- Ears .05 .282 Medium, mixed characteristics Lips NS -- -- Teeth NS —- -- Chin NS -— —- Facial Shape NS —- —— Complexion NS -- -- Skin Tone NS -- -— Neck NS —- -— Shoulders NS -— —- Arms NS -- -- Hands NS -- -- Bust NS -- -- Waist NS -- -- Stomach NS -- -- Hips NS —— -— Thighs NS -- -- Knees NS -- -- Calves NS -- -- Ankles NS —- -— Feet NS -- -- Figure NS —— -— 50 Table 4. The association of self—conceptions based on High— Low Mean of Physical Attributes and the Negro Race Rating. Negro Race Ratings High-Low Mean Light, Medium, Dark, Rank of Physical Caucasoid Mixed Negroid Totals Attributes Charactere Character- Character- istics istics istics High 5 15 15 34 Medium High 9 9 24 42 Medium l2 13 21 46 Low 12 ll 28 51 Totals 38 48 88 174 NS High—Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Social Class Is social status a contributing factor in the self-rating of appearance? Table 5 indicates that it is not, since no significant association (NS) was found between Warner's seven levels of Occupational Ratings and the High-Low Mean rank of Physical Attributes. Even when each race was held constant, no significant relation- ship was noted between social class and the self ratings of physical attributes. (Tables 6 and 7). 51 Table 5. The association of self—conceptions based on High- Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Warner's Occupational Ratings. * 1 High-Low Mean Rank Warner 5 Occupational Ratings , Totals of Physical Attributes 1_3 4 5 6 7 High 5 3 7 20 6 41 Medium High 10 24 15 24 8 81 Medium 11 22 16 36 15 100 Low 14 21 18 36 11 100 Totals 40 70 56 116 40 322 NS * Ranks 1-3 were combined into a single column, Column 1, for computation of the chi-square. Table 6. The association of self—conceptions based on High- Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Warner's Occupational Ratings for whites alone. ! High-Low Mean Rank Warner s Occupational Ratings . Totals of Physical Attributes 1_3 4 5 6 7 High 1 l 2 5 2 11 Medium High 7 l2 8 l2 5 44 Medium 4 l7 9 l7 9 56 Low 10 13 10 18 l 52 Totals 22 43 29 52 17 163 Ns* * This statistic is not completely valid since 6 of the 20 cells had expected frequencies lower than 5. 52 Table 7. The association of self—conceptions based on High— Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes and Warner's Occupational Ratings for Negroes alone. ! High—Low Mean Rank Warner 8 Occupational Ratings of Physical Attributes 1—3 4 5 6 7 TOtalS High 4 2 5 15 4 30 Medium High 3 l2 7 12 3 37 Medium 7 5 7 l9 6 44 Low 4 8 8 18 10 48 Totals 18 27 27 64 23 159 NS Self-Conception of Adornment The Adornment Index was developed to explore self attitudes regarding grooming, clothes and dressing abilities of the teenage girls.6 This differs from the previous aspect of appearance in that physical attributes deal with inherited bodily properties while adornment deals with the individual's ability to beautify or enhance these inherited qualities. Race Table 8 shows race and Self-Conception of Adornment Index to have a non-significant relationship (NS). In this sample it would seem that in both races there are comparable 6Refer to Chapter II, "Method of Analysis," for a discussion of the development of this index. 53 feelings of positive and negative self-conceptions regarding adornment. Stated another way, race does not appear to be a determining factor of one's abilities of adornment or, further, race does not limit one's feeling of adequacy with respect to adornment. Table 8. The association of the Self-Conception of Adorn- ment Index and race. - Race iglidgggmgfifilIHdex Totals White Negro Very High 42 57 99 Medium 30 26 56 Low 53 48 101 Totals 170 175 346 NS Negro Race Rating No significant association (NS) is found when the Negro Race Rating is related to the Self-Concept of Adorn- ment. Table 9 designates that the physical appearance of the Negro does not limit her feelings regarding adornment, i.e., a light Caucasian-appearing Negro girl may feel just as inferior about her ability to adorn her body becomingly as does her darker, more Negroid-appearing classmate. 54 Table 9. The association of the Self—Conception of Adornment Index and the Negro Race Rating. Negro Race Rating Light, Medium, Dark, Self-Conception Caucasoid Mixed Negroid Totals of Adornment Character- Character- Character— Index istics istics istics Very High 9 23 25 57 High 13 6 26 45 Medium 6 8 12 26 Low 9 12 27 48 Totals 37 49 90 176 NS Social Class An examination of Tables 10, 11 and 12 indicates that no significant relationship (NS) exists between social class and the self—concept of adornment. This is true for not only the total sample (Table 10) but also when control— ling for each race (Tables 11 and 12).7 Thus, neither social class nor race are associated with self-conceptions regarding adornment. Or, stated another way, those of the upper eche- lons of class felt no more self confident of their adornment than those of the lower echelons--regardless of race. 7The chi—square test cannot be used when more than 20 percent of the expected frequencies have a value of less than 5. Tables 11 and 15 have 25 percent of the expected frequencies below 5 and, as such, the chi-square statistic is not completely valid. For purposes of this research it does, however, give reasonable indications of a non-signifi- cant association. 55 Table 10. The association of the Self-Conception of Adorn— ment Index and Warner's Occupational Ratings. v Self-Conception Warner 8 Occupational Ratings of Adornment Index 1-3 4 5 6 7 Totals Very High 12 18 16 35 12 93 High 10 21 19 24 9 83 Medium 7 12 10 19 5 53 Low 11 19 13 37 13 93 Totals 40 70 58 115 39 322 NS Table 11. The association of the Self-Conception of Adorn— ment Index and Warner's Occupational Ratings for whites alone. t Self—Conception Warner s Occupational Ratings of Adornment Index 1—3 4 5 6 7 TOtalS Very High 6 11 8 9 6 40 High 6 13 9 10 4 42 Medium 4 8 4 13 l 30 LOW 6 l2 8 19 5 50 Totals 22 44 29 51 16 162 NS 56 Table 12. The association of the Self—Conception of Adorn- ment Index and Warner's Occupational Ratings for Negroes alone. I Self-Conception Warner 8 Occupational Ratings of Adornment Index 1-3 4 5 6 7 Totals Very High 6 7 26 6 53 High 4 8 10 14 5 41 Medium 3 4 6 6 4 23 LOW 5 7 l8 8 43 Totals 18 26 29 64 23 160 NS Therefore, for this sample, it would appear that neither caste nor class plays a determining role in the individual's self—conceptions regarding adornment. Conse- quently, no support has been gained for the hypothesis that Negroes are less confident regarding their appearance than are whites. High—Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes The analysis of the association of the Self Con- ception of Adornment with the High-Low Mean of Physical Attributes is found in Tables 13, 14, and 15. Table 13, based on the total sample, shows this association to be extremely significant (P .001). Table 14 deals with the Negro portion of the sample only, and it, too, is extremely 57 Table 13. The association of the Self—Conception of Adorn- ment Index and High—Low Mean of Physical Attributes. Self—Concep— High Low Mean of Physical Attributes tion of Adorn— Totals ment Index High Medium High Medium Low Very High 28 28 26 16 98 High 6 26 28 30 90 Medium 6 19 13 17 55 Low 6 13 37 43 99 Totals 46 86 104 106 342 x2 47.409 P .001 df 9 Table 14. The association of the Self—Conception of Adorn- ment Index and High-Low Mean of Physical Attributes for Negroes alone. Self-Concep— High-Low Mean of Physical Attributes tion of Adorn- Totals ment Index High Medium High Medium Low Very High 22 12 13 9 56 High 6 12 7 20 45 Medium 4 ll 6 4 25 Low 3 6 20 18 47 Totals 35 41 46 51 173 x2 39.274 P .001 df 9 58 Table 15. The association of the Self-Conception of Adorn— ment Index and High—Low Mean of Physical Attributes for whites alone. Self-Concep— High-Low Mean of Physical Attributes Totals tion of Adorn- , . ment Index High Medium High Medium LOW Very High 6 16 13 7 “2 High 0 14 21 10 45 Medium 2 8 7 13 30 Low 3 7 17 25 52 Totals 11 45 58 55 169 x2 25.563 P .01 df 9 significant. However, the white portion of the sample, Table 15,8 shows the relationship between adornment and physical attributes to be only a very significant relation- ship (P .01). Why the white portion of the sample has a lesser association is not clear. Since all are at least very significant relation- ships it would seem to support the assumption that if one has a feeling of well—being regarding one's physical attri- butes, feelings regarding the embellishment of one's physi— cal structure will be similar. 8See footnote 6, p. 52. 59 Summary and Conclusions Throughout the chapter the analysis of the data has repeatedly negated the major hypothesis that Negroes will demonstrate less confidence in appearance than whites. The Individual Physical Attributes Items in all but two of the twenty-six items show the Negro teenager to be signifi- cantly higher than the white teenager in her feelings of esteem of her physical self-attributes. Building upon these Individual Physical Attributes Items, the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes completely corroborates these results. No significant association is noted between the Negro Race Rating and self-conceptions of physical attributes. This, too, is an unexpected finding due to the indications of Dollard, Myrdal, and Clark, to mention but a few, who cite the prestigious value of lightness and Caucasian fea- tures within the Negro race. But neither are there indica- tions that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction to the point of the Black Nationalist or Black Supremist perspective. Tied in with the above is the amazing discovery that, for this sample, occupational status has no bearing on the selfeattitudes regarding physical attributes. ~The sample is predominantly common man level, but does have small percentages of upper and lower classes. Evidently the class of the majority influences all within the sample, or the youth culture wipes out the effect of social class. 60 As was indicated in the section on methodology there is no significant difference in occupational status between the races. Thus, these findings give due cause for speculation. Perhaps the Negroes of this study are at a higher level of their caste group whereas the whites are at the lower end of theirs, even though occupational levels of both races are essentially the same, the class structure within each race may differ. From indications given by Frazier,9 the majority of the Negroes within this sample may very well fall within the middle class instead of the lower-middle or upper-lower class of the whites. Education of the parents seems to further support this assumption. As alluded to in the methodology section, Negro parents are significantly better educated than the white parents. Further, the Negroes' salient referents may not be white, but Negro. Thus, the Negroes of this sample group may feel that in comparison to the vast numbers of lower—status Negroes, they are relatively superior. Most of the references in the literature were made before the Negro may have had a definitive sense of identification as a group. Maybe this study fulfills some projections stated by Broom and Glenn10 that recent develOp— ments have enhanced the Negro's self—esteem and have brought about a Negro identity. 9Frazier, The Negro in the United States, p. 301. OBroom and Glenn, p. 34. 61 The literature may be guilty of overgeneralization. Bias may have been built into the previous studies since most were concentrated on the lower classes of the Negro American. Socio-economic deprivation may, therefore, have been confused with race. This study has attempted to con— trol for the deprivation factor by using the common man level as its focal class. In summary, then, any of three possibilities may account for the findings that Negro teenage girls of this study feel more confident about their appearance than do their white classmates: 1. These Negroes may be of a higher class within their caste than the whites 2. There may be a change in present—day Negro self—attitudes regarding his identity. 3. The controls of this study may have been rigorous enough to prevent the biasing effect of socio-economic deprivation. In summarizing the findings regarding the Self- Conception of Adornment Index, one major aspect stands out. This index shows a nonsignificant relationship with race and social class, while the physical attributes show a very significant association with race. Underlying elements provide a basis for speculation. Adornment differs from the physical attributes in that adornment connotes owner- ship of material possessions, not a part of the body. 62 These material possessions permit the activities and abili- ties of dressing and grooming. Ownership of material pos- sessions presupposes value orientations, personal goals and buying habits. Therefore, if both races of teenage girls have similar self—conceptions regarding adornment then both may have similar values, similar spending patterns, similar activities and abilities. This, in turn, probably denotes that this is an area where the youth culture supercedes the effects of both race and class. While adornment is not significantly related to race or class, it is strongly related to self-conceptions regarding physical attributes. This degree of association of these variables does, however, allow for the involvement of other unknown factors. It does, nonetheless, show that positive or negative feelings regarding one's body probably carry through to feelings regarding the grooming of that body, and those feelings comprise a total positive or nega— tive attitude toward one's total appearance. CHAPTER IV REFERENT RELATIONSHIPS FOR APPEARANCE The literature infers that the Negro uses the white race for his appearance referent. Consequently, it would be desirable to ascertain empirically the actual race of this appearance referent. The desirability of such in- formation becomes even more evident when it is discovered that Negro self-conceptions regarding appearance are higher than those of their white classmates.l Unfortunately, due to the sensitivity of the matter, direct pursuance of this information was impossible. However, it was possible to compare the general kinds of persons who are referents for both races and thereby gain insight into racial appearance referents. Vener,2 in his study of adolescent clothing orien- tations, investigated personal referents in clothing be— havior. His main concern was with salient referents of clothing behavior. These could also be termed the most prominant significant others with regard to the teenagers clothing behavior. This significant other is usually 1See Chapter III. 2Vener, "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Social Psychological Interpretation." Chap. IV, p. 64—76. 63 64 considered as that referent of intimate association whose Opinions form the basis of one's behavior, in this case with regard to clothing. He also investigated another type of referent termed a model of emulation. This referent is the person vfluxn the adolescent wishes to emulate in his clothing behavior. Since Vener establishedvnkmlthese referents were is both of these cases, it was most appropriate in this instance to build upon his findings and conclusions. Ac— cordingly, referent relationships for appearance were pur- sued on two levels, the significant others and the models of emulation. Vener's questions were slightly modified on the basis of his suggestions to make them more applicable to this study. The Independent Variables and the Appearance Referents An attempt was made to discover the relation be- tween the appearance referents and the Negro Race Rating, and between the appearance referents and Warner's Occupa- tional Ratings. In only one of the cases was the chi-square statistics applicable because the number of expected cell frequencies fell below the required limits. Despite this, in all cases, the relation showed no statistically signifi— cant trends. Therefore, it seemed reasonable to assume that neither the race rating nor the occupational ratings had any influence upon appearance referents in this sample. 65 Vener also found no relationship between the occupational ratings of the father and the saliency of the individual referents. These findings would seem to corroborate those of Vener. Because of inadequate frequency distributions, the appearance referents are discussed in detail only in relationship to Negro-white differences. Significant Others for Adornment Students were asked the question, "Whose Opinion counts most when deciding what to wear?"3 To respond they had a choice of "brother," "sister, " "father," "mother," "boyfriends," "girlfriends," "other persons (explain who)" and "no one."u When the raw data were analyzed it was dis- covered that the choices of "brother," "father," and "other persons" were seldom chosen and these were excluded to per- mit the use of chi-square statistics. The choices remaining were very similar to the salient referents ascertained by Vener. Race Table 16 shows no significant association between race and significant others for adornment. In both races the most salient referent is the mother but an almost equal num- ber of each race spread their choices among the sister, 3Item 72 of the questionnaire. “These were somewhat of a revision from the choices offered by Vener. 66 boyfriends, or girlfriends. These latter groups could pos— sibly be termed as peers. Thus, in this case, peers and mother share almost equally as a significant other to both races . Table 16. The association of Significant Others for Adorn— ment and race. Race Significant Others Totals White Negro Sister 18 20 38 Mother 52 59 111 Boyfriends 22 16 38 Girlfriends 22 14 36 No One 36 49 85 Totals 150 158 308 NS It is surprising to find such a large number of both races who indicated they had no significant other for adornment. Perhaps, as Vener indicated, these teenagers have matured to the point where norms related to dress be- havior are well internalized. They may have developed a sufficient "generalized other" and therefore there may be 5 less necessity to consciously refer to a specific person. 5Vener, p. 74. 67 In summary, there is no indication of any signifi- cant association between significant others for adornment and race. Vener's findings that mother and peers are the most salient referents are also substantiated for both races. Models of Emulation for Appearance These referents were broken into two categories again on the two aspects of appearance, i.e., the appearance of the physical body and the adornment of that body. On the questionnaire these questions appeared as follows: If you could look like any one person you know or have ever heard of, who would it be and why? (EXPLAIN AND NAME THIS PERSON)." If you could dress like any one person you know or have ever heard of, who would it be any why? (EXPLAIN AND NAME THIS PERSON)."6 For ease of discussion the first referent shall be termed the "Look-Like Referent" and the latter the "Dress—Like Referent." Due to the free response nature of these questions a coding system was required. This was achieved by tabula— ting the responses of 100 questionnaires pulled randomly from the total sample. Then the response to each question was coded into one of the following: "celebrity or mass media"; "peer, same sex"; "mother"; "self"; "no one, I don't know"; 6Vener used the latter of these two questions. Since a dual focus with regard to appearance has been pre— viously discussed in Chapter 111, it was decided to build on this dual focus and parallel the dress-like referent with a look—like referent. Thus the adornment and the physical attributes segments of appearance were accounted for. 68 "not interpretable"; "fashion model"; "female acquaintance"; . i) ‘ "male acquaintance"; "no response." 2? Sample size for these questions was reduced from 349 to around 250 for several reasons. A major portion of these were omitted because of no response. Other responses were not interpretable or received too few choices. Accord- ingly, the following codes were drOpped from the statistical analysis-—"non-response," "not interpretable," "mother," "fashion model" and "male acquaintance." In addition, the codes, "self" and "no one, I don't know" were combined into one because of their similarity of connotation. It did not seem probably that racial bias might result from this shift— ing of data since the races seemed equally represented in each code. Look—Like Referent and Race The association between the Look—Like Referent and race is insignificant as domonstrated (NS) in Table 17. Of particular interest is the fact that about one-half of each race choose no model of emulation but indicate that they prefer to look like themselves. When the respondents do choose someone whose appearance they would like to emu- late, racial differences are somewhat in evidence. Whites choose a celebrity in preference to a peer while Negroes prefer peers to celebrities. However, these tendencies are not strong enough to be significant. 69 Table 17. The association of the Look-Like Referent and Race. Race Look—Like Referent Totals White Negro Celebrity 34 19 53 Peer 27 26 53 Self, No One 61 72 133 Female Acquaintance 8 9 17 Totals 130 126 256 NS In summary, then, only approximately half of each race, more whites than Negroes, indicate that they would prefer to look like someone else. Of these respondents the most salient referents are divided between a glamorous mass media model and a person of one's intimate association, usually a peer. Although there are some tendencies toward differences between the races, these tendencies are not sig- nificant. Dress-Like Referent and Race Table 18 shows the association between the Dress- Like Referent and race to be moderately significant (P .05). As was noted with the Look-Like Referent, the greatest di- vergence between the races seems to be on the choice of a celebrity referent. More Negro teenagers express a preference 70 to dress like themselves than emulate anyone else. Further, Negro teenagers choose peers in preference to celebrities. Whites, although they also express a strong desire to dress like themselves, choose celebrities somewhat before their peers as a dressing referent. One possible explanation for these racial dif- ferences may be due to the fact that there are comparatively fewer female mass media Negro personalities for the Negro teenager to choose as a referent. Thus if she chooses a referent, the Negro teenager chooses one of her peers. Table 18. The association of the Dress-Like Referent and race. Race Dress-Like Referent Totals White Negro Celebrity 37 20 57 Peer 34 33 67 Self, No One 50 59 109 Female Acquaintance 8 12 20 Totals 129 124 253 x2 6.532 P .05 df 3 Summary and Conclusions The hypothesis that Negroes and whites will have similar appearance referents have been only partially substanti- ated by this study. Only in the Dress-Like Referent was any 71 significant difference noted between the races. However, these findings do not designate whether or not the Negro's referent for appearance is white. The findings of Vener have been substantiated by this study. Certainly the most salient significant others are mothers and peers, although mothers have more influence than any other single type of peer. It was also found that the models of emulation most often chosen are celebrities or peers. There is an interesting difference in the response to the Dress-Like Referent and the Look-Like Referent ques— tions. Both races seem to feel more free to emulate some- one's dress than to emulate someone's appearance, since more students of both races choose referents for dress than appearance. Another interesting facet is the large numbers who express no need for either significant others or models to emulate. Vener hypothesized that these may be mature students who have already internalized dress behavior norms and no longer need a conscious specific other for reference or emulation. This tends to be more true of the Negro than of the white in this study. It is therefore speculated that this may be due to the comparative lack of female mass media personalities for the Negro teenager to emulate. CHAPTER V GROOMING BEHAVIOR It has been hypothesized that Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar grooming behavior. It was assumed that if Negroes value Caucasian appearance, they would use available grooming facilities to achieve an appearance which would approximate the appearance of the Caucasian race. Negro publications, replete with advertisements for hair straightenersenkiskin bleachers, would seem to support this assumption. This chapter will explore racial differences in grooming behavior in an attempt to support the aforementioned hypothesis. The eXploration will be handled in three parts as follows: the useage of facial grooming items; the usage of tonsorial items; and the total number of grooming items used regularly. The Usage of Facial Grooming Items To investigate the grooming habits of these teen- agers, students were asked to indicate which of the specified items they used daily for facial grooming. The items listed were those in common usage and readily available at cosmetic 72 73 counters. All students were assumed to have had previous contact with them.1 Race Table 19 is a summary of the associations between the usage of facial items and race. Contrary to the hy- pothesis, we find the two races showing very significant (P .001) differences in grooming behavior on all but two items—-lipstick and eyebrow pencil. In the instances where there are significant differences between the races, it is only in the usage of face cream where Negroes surpass the whites in consumption. The strongest divergences between the races exist in the usage of mascara and the usage of face make-up. Negroes use these items very much less than do their white classmates. Perhaps it is not inconsistant to find such a divergence in the cosmetic usage of these two races. Physi- cal appearance varies between the races and to achieve equivalent aesthetic effects, differing techniques may need to be used. Negroes may need to add little emphasis to their eyes with mascara, eyeshadow or eye liner since their eyes are usually naturally surrounded by dark lashes. Face cream blends into the face readily and improves its texture but other face make-up is colored and is applied to the 1See Table 19 for an itemization of these cos- metics or number 78 of the questionnaire. 74 surface of the face which in turn must match or blend with skin color. Because face make-up or face powder, rouge and eye shadow fall into this category they may be difficult for the Negro to purchase, mainly because most of these items are geared for consumption by the white race. Table 19. A summary of the associations between Facial Item Usage and race. Race Facial Item Usage Prob- Contingency ability Coefficient % White % Negro Direction* Mascara .001 .451 56.4 9.0 N- Eye Liner .001 .259 44.8 19.8 N- Eyebrow Pencil NS —- 52.3 48.0 -- Eye Shadow .001 .174 11.1 .3 N— Rouge .001 .183 15.7 4.5 N— Lipstick NS -- 54.1 57.6 -— Face Cream .001 .164 19.2 33.9 N+ Face Powder or Face Make-Up .001 .461 78.5 26.6 N- Other (Specity) NS -- 4.1 3.4 -— M N+ designates that more Negroes than whites use the grooming item. N- designates that less Negroes than whites use the grooming item. It is not meant to give the impression that the Negro teenager does not employ some of these items. She does, however, use considerably fewer of most grooming items 75 than the white teenager. Looking at the percentages in Table 19, a preferential order is also noticeable. The item worn by almost 80 percent of the whites is face make—up or face powder. Approximately 50 percent also use lipstick, mascara,eyeeliner and eyebrow pencil, whereas only 10-20 percent wear eye shadow, rouge and face cream. On the other hand, only a little over 50 percent of the Negroes wear lipstick and almost 50 percent wear eyebrow pencil. Face cream is worn by a little better than 30 percent while face make—up is worn by more than 25 percent. Some 20 percent wearenmeliner but less than 10 percent wear mascara,enmeshadow or rouge. In conclusion, several reasons may account for racial differences in facial grooming habits. Of primary consideration is the basic difference in conformation and coloration of facial features. Coupled with this is the white orientation of the American cosmetic industry which makes usage of similar items for the Negro inexpedient. Therefore, the hypothesis that Negroes and whites will demonstrate similar grooming behavior is untenable. Negro Race Rating The association between facial item usage and the Negro Race Rating is summarized in Table 20. Items receiving little usage from the entire Negro group, such as mascara, 76 rouge orenmeshadow, are omitted. Nonetheless, no signifi- cant relationship is found among the variables. The indi- cation here is that the Negro's physical appearance does not govern her facial grooming behavior. Table 20. A summary of the associations between Facial Item Usage and the Negro Race Rating. Facial Item Negro Race Rating Usage P . Contingency robabillty Coefficient Direction Eye liner NS —— __ Eyebrow Pencil NS —_ __ Lipstick NS —_ __ Face Cream NS _— __ Face Powder or Face Make-Up NS —— __ The Usage of Selected Facial Grooming Items2 and Self-Conceptions Regarding the Particular Physical Attribute Being Groomed Thus far it is established that there is a dif- ference in the facial grooming behavior between the racial groups but no difference when only the Negro group is con- sidered. Of next interest is whether grooming of particular physical attributes is influenced by the self—conception Of 2All facial grooming items were not employed here since some items were used too little to be able to compute chi—square statistics. 77 that particular attribute. In addition, differences in the association of this variable between the races is explored. Self-Conception and Grooming of Eyes Table 21 summarizes the associations between eye make—up usage and the self—conception rating of eyes. Obvious from the table is that none of these associations are significant. Usagecfi‘eye liner or eyebrow pencil is therefore not related to self-conceptions regarding eyes. This is true for all students and for each race separately. Table 21.11summary of the associations between eye make—up usage and the self-conception rating of eyes. Self-Conception Eye Make—Up Usage Rating of Eyes and _ . . . Contengency Usagethe datacfi‘ this study support the myth perpetuated by Barnes. Negroes of this sample do not seem to be conditioned to wear dark dull colors. They definitely show no aversion to wearing red or yellow which are generally thought of as bright colors. The choice of these warm advancing hues on the part of the Negro may further express the self-confidence of these teenagers in their appearance. CHAPTER VII SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary The major concern of this study was focused upon an exploration of the differences in appearance concerns between Negro and white teenage girls utilizing an inter- actionist frame of reference. An investigation of self- conceptions regarding appearance was carried out through variables dealing with physical attributes and adornment. Referent relationships for appearance were explored via the identification of significant others and models for emulation. Grooming behavior was evaluated through the usage of both facial and tonsorial items. Color-wearing preferences were investigated through the identification of colors most preferred and colors least preferred. The major independent variables of the study were race, a Negro Race Rating and social class status. Broad hypotheses which encompassed these variables were proposed. In order to test the prOposed hypotheses and also to gather information related to the problem area, a questionnaire was developed. Accordingly, 349 tenth grade girls, from a school within the Detroit school system, 96 97 responded to the final instrument. The data necessitated the develOpment of some operational techniques, means and indexes, to measure some of the variables involved. The significant findings of the study may be summarized as follows: 1. Self-Conceptions Regarding Appearance a. For the teenagers of this sample, race was found to be very significantly associated with self-conceptions regarding physical at- tributes. Negroes possessed a higher self- conception of their physical attributes than did their white classmates. b. Race was not found to be significantly as- sociated with the Index of Self-Conceptions regarding Adornment. c. A very significant association was found for both races when the High-Low Mean Rank of Physical Attributes was related to the Index of Self-Conceptions regarding Adornment. Teenagers of both races who possessed a high self-conception of their physical attributes also tended to possess a high self-conception regarding their adornment ability. 2. Referent Relationships for Appearance a. Race was not significantly associated with the choice of significant others for adornment. 98 Teenagers of both races indicated that their mothers or one of several peers were their most salient significant others. No significant association was found between race and the choice of a model whose appear- ance was desirable for emulation. Models of emulation for appearance were primarily celeb- rities and peers for either race. A moderately significant association was noted between race and the choice of a model whose mode of dress was desirable for emulation. Fewer Negroes than whites chose models to emulate. When models were chosen by Negroes, peers were preferred over celebrities, whereas whites chose celebrities somewhat in prefer- ence to peers. 3. Grooming Behavior a. Various levels of significance were noted between the association of race and the usage of various grooming items. In general, each race chose those items which had the greatest potential for the aesthetic enhancement of their particular facial and tonsorial attri- butes. There was some indication that the Negroes and whites were using a common aesthetic model for their grooming activity, 99 i.e., the ideal Caucasoid type. Only Negroes demonstrated an inhibited use of lipstick if the self—conception of the adequacy of their lips was low. Negroes also indicated a greater usage of hair straightening techniques in their grooming behavior. b. An extremely significant association was found to exist between race and the total number of grooming items used regularly. Negroes habitu- ally tended to use fewer grooming items than did whites. c. A moderately significant association was noted between the self-conception of lips and the use of lipstick. Negroes, specifically, tended to wear less lipstick if their self-conception regarding their lips was low. d. A significant association was found between the self-conception of complexion and the usage of face powder or make-up. Whites, only, were more likely to use face powder or make-up if their self-conception of their complexion was low. Color-Wearing Preferences Race and color-wearing preferences showed tenden- cies toward significant associations. The races differed considerably in their choice of favorite 100 colors. Where they did favor the same color, the percentage distributions differed. The races did not markedly differ in their choice of least favored colors. However, the percentage distri- butions of each race that least preferred a given color were also dissimilar. 5. The Negro Race Rating The Negro Race Rating showed no significance in any of the associations with variables dealing with self-conceptions of appearance, referent relationships for appearance and grooming behavior. 6. Social Class The Occupational Rating of the teenager's father demonstrated no significant relationship with any of the variables dealing with self-conceptions of appearance and referent relationships for appear— ance. Implications The most significant finding of this study is the discovery that the Negroes of this sample possess a better self-conception of their appearance than do their white classmates. This may be an indication that as a result of the Negro revolt and the attendant social change, a Negro identity is showing signs of development. It is also recog- nized that other factors are in Operation here which may 101 be associated with these findings. Some of these additional factors may be that the Negroes of this sample have a rela- tively stable family background with economic security, attend a school whose population is equally integrated and reside in a northern urban community which has been rela- tively free of disturbance in the midst of extreme racial tension elsewhere. Some of the findings of this study are in direct Opposition to a major portion of the related literature. It is only in some of the most recent other research that similar findings are in evidence. When class position is controlled, many of the differences alluded to by the major portion of the literature indicate extreme relative depri- vation on the part of the American Negro. However, as in this study, where class is controlled, these relative depri- vations are not observable. In fact, in some instances the whites show greater relative deprivation than the Negroes, e.g., self—conceptions of physical attributes. These findings may anticipate the already estab— lished effects of the rapidly improving socio-economic con- ditions under which American Negroes are living. It may be that the literature of the 1960's, based on the research of the previous decade, is already obsolete. 102 Recommendations for Further Study Due to the complexity of this problem area, any one of a number of avenues may be pursued to further explore the major findings of this study. For example, a study which encompasses boys as well as girls, men as well as women, would be desirable. The Negro American has a history of a matriarchal family structure where males tend to be subordinated. Due to the Negro revolution, up-to-date infor- mation would help establish if this revolution has affected any change in the self-perceptions of male Negroes. Schools of equal racial integration such as the type from which the sample of this study was selected, tend to be atypical of the American society. Therefore exploration within schools of varying percentages of integration would provide valuable information for comparison. Perhaps schools of different degrees of integration have differential impacts upon self—conceptions of Negroes. Other studies have shown that the tenth grader is acutely concerned with appearance factors. However it might be desirable in a comparison of Negroes and whites, to in- vestigate a broader age-grade range. This study focused on the common man level, i.e., the upper—lower and lower-middle classes. It would be of interest to obtain a larger number of those who are in the more privileged classes along with the economically dis— advantaged in order to explore the variables of this study more extensively. 103 An urban community was used for this study since this is the most typical residence of the northern Negro. Focus on a different community size and/or a different area of the country would be desirable to provide a more com— prehensive view of the appearance concerns of the Negro American. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Broom, Leonard and Glenn, Norval. Transformation of the Negro American.‘ New York: Harper and Row, Pub- lishers, 1965. Clark, Kenneth B. Dark Ghetto. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1965. Cloward, Richard A. and Ohlin, Lloyd E. Delinquency and Opportunity. Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1960. Coleman, James S. The Adolescent Society. New York: The- Free Press of Glencoe, 1961. Dollard, John. Caste and Class in a Southern Town. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1937. Drake, St. Clair and Cayton, Horace R. Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern Cit . "Harper Torchbooks", New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Frazier, E. Franklin. Black Bourgeosie. New York: The Free Press, 1957. Frazier, E. Franklin. The Negro in the United States. rev. ed. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1957. Goode, W. J. and Hatt, P. K. Methods of Social Research. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1952. Jahoda, Marie, Deutsch, Morton and Cook, Stuart W. Research Methods of Social Relations. New York: The Dryden Press, 1951. Kardiner, Abram and Ovesey, Lionel. The Mark of Oppression: Explorations into the Personality of the American Negro. Cleveland: The World Publishing Co., 1962. Karen, Bertram P. The Negro Personality. New York: The Springer Publishing Co., Inc., 1958. 104 105 Kvaraceus, William C., et a1. Negro Self—Concept. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1965. Herskovits, Melville J. The Anthropometry of the American Negro. New York: Columbia University Press, 1930. LaBarre, Weston. The Human Animal. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1965. Lindesmith, Alfred and Strauss, Anselm. Social Psychology. New York: The Dryden Press, 1956. Lott, Albert J. and Bernice E. Negro and White Youth. New York: Rinehart and Winston Inc., 1963. Parker, Seymour and Kleiner, Robert J. Mental Illness in the Urban Negro Community. New York: The Free Press, 1966. Pettigrew, Thomas F. A Profile of the Negro American. Princeton, N. J.: D. VanNostrand Co. Inc., 1964. Raab, Earl (ed.). American Race Relations Today. "Anchor Books"; Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1962. Rose, Arnold. The Negro in America: The Condensed Version of Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma. "Harper Torchbooks"; New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1964. Rosenberg, Morris. Society and the Adolescent Self—Image. 1 Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1965. Sherif, Muzafer and Wilson,M. 0. (ed.). Group Relations at the Crossroads. New York: Harper and Bros., 1953. Silverman, Sylvia S. Clothing and Appearance-~Their Psycho- i. logical Implications for TeenAge Girls. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1945. Warner, Lloyd, Meeker, Marchia and Eells, Kenneth. Social Class in America. New York: Harper and Row, 1949. Wylie, Ruth C. The Self-Concept. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uni- - versity of Nebraska Press, 1961. 106 Articles Bovell, Gilbert B. "Psychological Considerations of Color Conflicts Among Negroes," Psychoanalytic Review, 30 (1943), pp- 447-459- Brenman, Margaret. "The Relationship Between Minority Group Membership and Group Identification in a Group of Urban Middle Class Negro Girls," Journal of Social Psychology, 11 (1940), pp 171-197. Campbell, John D., Yarrow, Leon J., and Yarrow, Marian Radke. "A Study of Adaptation to a New Social Situation"; "Acquisition of New Norms: A Study of Racial De- segregation"; "Personal and Situational Variables in Adaptation to Change"; and "Leadership and . Interpersonal Change," The Journal of Social Issues, 14. No. 1 (1958). pp 3-59. Clark, Kenneth and Clark, Mamie P. "Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children," Readings in Social Psychology, ed. Eleanor Maccoby et al., pp. 602-611. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1958. Coleman, James S. "Peers and the Adolescent Culture," Find- ing a Place in Contemporary Mass Society: A Prob— lem of Roles. pp. 51-74. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press, 1962. Eysench, H. J. "A Critical and Experimental Study of Colour Preferencesfl American Journal of Psychology, 54 (1941), pp. 385-394. Guttman, Louis. "A Basis for Scaling Qualitative Data," American Sociological Review, 9 (1944), pp. 139-150. Himes, Joseph S. "Negro Teen-Age Culture," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 338 (November, 1961), pp. 91-101. Hurlock, Elizabeth B. "Color Preferences of White and Negro Children," Journal of Comparative Psychology, 7 (1927). pp. 389-404. Johnson, P. "Negro Reactions to Minority Group Status," American Minorities, ed. Milton L. Barron, pp. 194- 214. New York: Alfred A. KnOpf Co., 1957. Kahl, J. A. and Davis, J. A. "A Comparison of Indexes of Socio—Economic Status," American Sociological Re- view, 20, No. 3 (June, 19557, pp. 317-325. 107 Mercer, Florence M. "Color Preferences of 1006 Negroes," Journal of Comparative Psychology, 5 (1925), pp. 109—146. Merton, Robert K. "Social Structure and Anomie," American Sociological Review, 3 (October, 1938), pp. 672- 682. Myers, Henry J. and Yochelson, Leon. "Color Denial in the Negro," Psychiatry, 11 (1948), pp. 39-46. Parrish, Charles H. "Color Names and Color Notions," Journal of Negro Education, 15 (1946), pp. 13-20. Seeman, Melvin. "Skin Color Values in Three All-Negro School Classes," American Sociological Review, 11 (1946), pp- 315-321~ Other Sources Barnes, Lottie. Charmed Circle Finishing School, Detroit, Michigan. Interview, February 20, 1965. Bjorngaard, Arlene. "The Relationship of Social Class and Social Acceptance to Clothing and Appearance of a Selected Group of Ninth Grade Girls." Unpub— lished Master's thesis, Department of Textiles, Clothing and Related Arts, Michigan State Uni— versity, 1962. Brookover, Wilbur B., et al. "The Relationship of Self- Images to Achievement in Junior High School Sub- jects." East Lansing, Michigan: Office of Research and Publications, Michigan State Uni- versity, 1962.(Mimeographed) Morse, Richard J. "Self—Concept of Ability, Significant Others and Social Achievement of Eighth Grade Students: A Comparitive Investigation of Negro and Caucasian Students." Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Education, Michigan State University, 1963. Office of Policy Planning and Research, United Stated De- partment of Labor. The Negro Family, The Case for National Action. Washington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965. 108 U.S. Bureau of the Census. U.S. Census of Population: 1960. General Social and Economic Characteristics, Michigan. Final Report PC (1)-24C. Washington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962. U.S. Bureau of the Census. U.S. Census of Population: 1960. General Social and Economic Characteristics, United States Summary. Final Report PC (1)-1C. Wazhington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 19 2. Vener, Arthur M. "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Social Psychological Interpretation." Unpublished - Doctoral thesis, Department of Sociology and Anthro- pology, Michigan State University, 1957. Vener, Arthur M. "Stratification Aspects of Clothing Impor- #- tance." Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Michigan State University, 1953. APPENDIX THE QUESTIONNAIRE GRADE 0 i—o N 90 OPINIONNAIRE WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT Michigan State University is doing a study of the opinions teenage girls in Michigan have about themselves and their clothing. You can help us by answering the following questions as clearly and carefully as you can. If there is something you do not understand, ask questions. You will be given as much help as possible. No one you know, not even your teachers, will ever see what you have written. INSTRUCTIONS Most of the questions can be answered by circling a number before the answer you choose. Circle only one answer unless the question tells you to do otherwise. In those cases where you are asked to write out your own answer, space is provided for you to do so. REMEMBER This is not a test. There are 22 right or wrong answers (except for a few questions about your age, school, etc.). We want to know what your opinions are. Different people have different opinions. llO 1. 2. 3. 111 When were you born? , , . month day year What is the name of your High School? Where have you lived most of your life? 1 . . . . . on a farm 2 . . . . . in a rural area 3 . . . . . in a small town 4 . . . . . in a city smaller than Lansing or Flint 5 . . . . . in a city about the size of Lansing or Flint 6 . . . . . in a city larger than Lansing or Flint, but not as large as Detroit 7 . . . . . in a larger city like Detroit or Chicago 8 . . . . . in the suburbs of a city How many living brothers and sisters do you have? (CIRCLE THE APPROPRIATE NUMBERS.) Brothers 0 l 2 3 4 5 more Sisters 0 l 2 3 4 5 more 112 5. Who contributes most to the financial support of your family? 1 . 2 3 . . Your father . Your mother . Some other person (EXPLAIN WHO THIS PERSON IS: AN UNCLE,YOUR BROTHER, ETC.) 6. How far did the person mentioned in question #5 go in school? 1 . 2 . no schooling some grade school . graduated from grade school . some high school . graduated from high school some college . graduated from college other (EXPLAIN) . don't know 7. What does this person do for a living? (WRITE THE COMPLETE NAME OR TITLE OF HIS 0R HER JOB, AND THE COMPANY HE 0R SHE WORKS FOR.) Describe what this person makes or does on the job. (FOR EXAMPLE: SHE SUPERVISES THE WORK OF 150 OFFICE CLERKS; HE SELLS FROM DOOR- TO-DOOR; HE WORKS ON AN AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLY LINE; ETC.) 10. 11. 12. 113 Does your family receive financial support from any other person or source? 1 2 . Yes . No IF NO -- GO ON TO QUESTION #13. If YES, explain who (MOTHER, BROTHER, SOCIAL SECURITY, PENSIONS, ETC.) What does the person mentioned in question #10 do for a living? (WRITE THE COMPLETE NAME OR TITLE OF HIS OR HER JOB, AND THE COMPANY HE OR SHE WORKS FOR.) How far did the person mentioned in question #10 go in school? 1 2 . no schooling some grade school . graduated from grade school some high school . graduated from high school some college . graduated from college other (EXPLAIN) . don't know 114 13. Do you intend to graduate from high school? 1 . . . . . Yes 2 . . . . . No 14. Whether you intend to graduate from high school or not, how much more schooling do you expect to get? 1 . . . . . Business school or other occupational training school 2 . . . . . Community or junior college 3 . . . . . College 4 . . . . . None 5 . . . . . Other (SPECIFY) 15. What type of job do you eXpect to get when you leave school? 16. When you get married how much education do you expect your husband to have? 1 . . . . . no schooling 2 . . . . . some grade School 3 . . . . . graduated from grade school 4 . . . . . some high school 5 . . . . . graduated from high school 6 . . . . . some college 7 . . . . . graduated from college 8 . . . . . other (EXPLAIN) 9 . . . . . don't know 17. What kind of job do you expect your future husband will have? 115 fairly important --------- 1 city about the size of Lansing or Flint a city larger than Lansing or Flint, but not Slightly .iTPQEEBBE, '---------‘ I‘----‘-‘-I not imeorEPEE 18. Where do you expect to live when you finish school? 1 on a farm 2 . in a rural area 3 . in a small town 4 . in a city smaller than Lansing or Flint 5 in a 6 . in as large as Detroit 7 in a very large city like Detroit or Chicago 8 in the suburbs of a city AFTER EACH QUESTION, CIRCLE THE NUMBER BELOW THE ANSWER WHICH BEST SATISF IES YOUR FEELINGS . ' How important are the very --___§9119Y293_59-YPEZ ................. .EPBQEEEEE. 19. The amount of education you get 1 —---——_a ......................................... A 20. The type of job you get 1 21. The amount of education your husband has 1 --------------------------------------- b—--———-—-q 22 The type of job your husband gets 1 23. The place you.live after schooling 1 ....................................... ...--..----l 24. 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How do you rate yourself in school ability compared with your close friends? 1 2 3 . 4 S I am the best I am above average I am average I am below average I am the poorest 45. How do you rate yourself in school ability compared with those in your class at school? 1 2 3 4 . 5 I am among the best I am above average I am average I am below average I am among the poorest 46. Where do you think you would rank in your class in high school? 1 2 3 4 . 5 47. Do you think you 1 2 . among the best . above average . average below average . among the poorest have the ability to complete college? yes, definitely . yes, probably . not sure either way probably not 0 no 118 48. Where do you think you would rank in your class in college? 1 . . . . . among the best 2 . . . . . above average 3 . . . . . average 4 . . . . . below average 5 . . . . . poorest 49. In order to become a doctor, lawyer, or university professor, work beyond four years of college is necessary. How likely do you think it is that you could complete Such advanced work? 1 . . . . . very likely 2 . . . . . somewhat likely 3 . . . . . not sure either way 4 . . . . . unlikely 5 . . . . . most unlikely 50. Forget for a moment how others grade your school work. In your own opinion how good do you think your school work is? l . . . . . my work is excellent 2 . . . . . my work is good 3 . . . . . my work is average 4 . . . . . my work is below average 5 . . . . . my work is much below average 51. What kind of grades do you think you are capable of getting? 1 . . . . . mostly A's 2 . . . . . mostly 3'3 3 . . . . . mostly C's 4 . . . . . mostly D's 5 . . . . . mostly E's 119 AFTER EACH QUESTION, CIRCLE THE NUMBER BELOW THE ANSWER WHICH BEST SATISFIES YOUR FEELINGS. nct important -.‘m‘ Jan-1‘- on. uaouu-r‘I—vmm hum-u‘wmn.-mc "4-!l-‘.l.~-err‘v_-— 4 -‘wumvx--Q\m --‘4uwcmcm‘ 5--_f"'ml--l’- ?--m-‘w---- l-‘-=mc--IC‘§.- ..‘ml-fhmm-‘ -l-i-‘IU‘Ja-‘l a----r----I-' mumowmm-p-m --D‘m----- ISO------- How important are the very fairly slightly --_--191191111-19_2911---------------- -112911111 112911111.111911111 11---19111-1-19£1_111911_--- .......... ._--_1 ......... 1 ...... .---_1-_-. 11..-111111-1191111 ........................ -1 ..... ,_--1 ............ 1----1 11---111111-1-1991_112111119“ ........... .-__-1 ..... .---1 ..... .-_--§_---. 1:- .... 19111-Ys11:1199111_-------------_.----1 ......... 1----------1----. 11.--119Y111-1?Y 19 dYPPS Proper11----1-_--1 ..... 1---? ...... - ._§-_-- 131-,11:111 a 199d-911111-1119 ........ ._---1 ..... -.1--1 ....... 1----1 ..... 59’-.EEEEEB§-§}991-31EP-P¥-EESEESES§2- -_--1__---.---1 ...... .----1-__-. 1?.--11111-2921111-Y111_111-1921 ...... .----1 ..... ._-_1 ..... .----§ ...... 191--111111§_1991-111911_11-121991----.----1 .......... 1-----.-_-_§ ..... 91---£§31B§-E§EE-12-ECEEPE-§EE1Y1E1§§-.----} ..... .---1 ..... ._-_-1. ....... 4 11 ..... 111111-111111111111--_-----------.----1 ..... .-_-Z ..... .----1 ...... 11---1111191-11911-Y111-11-191111----- --_-1 ..... ._--1 ......... 1----. 13 ...... 1111111-11911-Y111-12-11121211--- ----1 ............ 1 ..... j-_-_1 _____ l 63. participating in any activities -----1111191_19-12911§ ................ _-_--1 ..... ._-_1 ..... l----1--_-1 69.--19111-2921111-Y111-111-11111-----.--__1 ......... 1 ..... .-_--1 ...... 93---SEEEEE§-§ESE§1Y1EP-PY-§§EEEE ..... .----1 ......... 1 ..... .----1----. 9§1--5?EEEP§-§19§§-Y1§P-PX-EléffPifff-.-_-_} ......... 1-----.----1 ..... 1?.--111111-1991-11111-111111 ......... .--_-1 ......... 1 ...... .----1_-_-. 19;--1111111-11911-Y111-EY_111191112-- _---1 ......... 1 ..... 1----1 ............... 71. Which category comes closest to your feelings about yourself? 1 I don't like myself the way I am: I'd like to change completely 2 There are many things I'd like to change, but not completely 3 I'd like to stay very much the same; there is very little I would change. 72. 73. 75. 120 Whose Opinion counts most when you are deciding what to wear? 1 . 2 8 . . other person's (EXPLAIN WHO) . brother sister father . mother . boyfriends . girlfriends . No one If you could look like any one person you know or have ever heard of, who would it be and why? (EXPLAIN AND NAME THIS PERSON.) If you could dress like any one person you know or have ever heard of, who would it be and why? (EXPLAIN AND NAME THIS PERSON.) ‘ L 0n the basis of your experience so far, how satisfied with your life are you? 1 2 . very satisfied fairly satisfied slightly satisfied . not satisfied 121 76. From the list below, choose the 2 colors you like to wear the most. l 2 pink beige pastel blue maroon red brown blue grey orange green navy white yellow 1 turquoise purple black 771 From the list above, choose the 2 colors you like to wear least. l 2 781 As part of your daily facial make—up do you use...(CIRCLE ALL THOSE YOU USE.) ' l . . . . . mascara 2 . . . . . eye liner 3 . . . . . eyebrow pencil 4 . . . 1 . eye shadow 5 . . . . o rouge 6 . . . o . lipstick 7 . . . a . face cream 8 . . . . . face powder or face make~up 9 . . . . . other (SPECIFY) 79. What do you usually do to your hair? (CIRCLE ALL THOSE WHICH APPLY TO YOU,: 1 . . . . . get a permanent to curl you hair 2 . . . . a get a permanent to straighten you hair 3 . . . . . set your hair in rollers 4 . . . . . use a heat set 5 . . . . . use coloring solutions 6 . . o 1‘. use hair conditioners 7 . . . . a other (SPECIFY) 1. ' O- r ‘_r_ 11 . If! ‘ .‘ J “ IQ. 1 1. . A I . .. "-122“ w l,’ Everyone rates the attractiveness of her appearance by comparing herself to others in her group. (AFTER EACH.QUESIION, CIRCLE THE NUMBER BELOW THE ANSWER WHICH BEST 11111111§-1911-111111§§;2 .............. 19;--1111 ............................. 1 §11--E9599§§§ ......................... 1 11;-_1111 .............................. 1 §§_--1111 .............................. 11;--911111 ........................... 1 §1_-_1111 .............................. 11---1111 .............................. §Z_-_11111 ............................. §§;-_§Ei§ ............................. 1 12-_-111111_§1111 ..................... 1 191_-9111111111 ....................... 1 111-_§111-1111 ........................ 1 21;--1111 ............................. 1 11;--111111111 ......................... 1 91;--1111 ............................... ?§;--E§P§§ ............................. 99;--§E§E .............................. 92;--11111 ............................ 1 11;-_§111111 ............................ 92;--EEE§ .............................. 199;--IEEEE§ ............................ 1911--11111 ............................ 4 191:--911111 ........................... 1 19§_-_111111 ............................ 191---1111 ................................ 105. Figure much above others --—----1 -------‘ —------d ---l----‘ ---—---d -------d ----—--‘ ---.l---- --------- -------q somewhat above others .......... 5------—-d --------- -nm-----I --~--_--‘ ----I----" ----_---d the same as others J---U----- --------- --------I --------l --------- m-‘-—‘m.uq -------l-‘ --------‘ --------d I..-------t ........... somewhat below others h------—-1 ---------- n--m----‘ -------_d --------- ---‘_---d ---------- How would you rate the following characteristics? below others D-----K- h--_-v-- ----rl-a- ---—-I-