Carolyn Sherif(1922-1982)

Michael AndersonElizabeth RischDavid Ware

Learning Objectives Know the historical antecedents that

influenced Sherif Understand the zeitgeist in which her

ideas were developed Know the obstacle/struggles she faced Become familiar with selected works Identify the strengths & weaknesses of

her ideas/theories Understand her influence on the field

Overview Personal/Professional Background Historical Background Review of selected works Summary & integration

Learning Objectives Historical Antecedents Zeitgeist Professional/Personal Struggles

Her Early Life Born June 26, 1922 in Indiana. Her

father was a professor at Purdue University and mother was a high-school science teacher

Sang on radio show in high school Attended Purdue in an experimental

program for female science majors Financed college working at a

bookstore, a radio station, and as a paid singer in a church quartet

Graduate Studies In undergrad, she wrote a play the US

treasury used to sell war bonds Curious about the effect this play had on

audiences’ attitudes towards the war; led to her interest in psychology

Obtained Master’s degree in psychology at University of Iowa Opportunities due to lack of men (off to

war)

Early Career Offered a job at an RCA plant to

decrease turnover and increase attendance She declined

1st job- Collecting data on potential movies at Audience Research Inc. at Princeton She was not impressed! “Monday morning declaration of love…”

Back to school…

Primary interest in attitudinal research Desire to work with Muzafer Sherif

Princeton does not allow women to enroll Works with Sherif while commuting to

Columbia University in New York Muzafer is very prominent at this time Research with Muzafer became her focus

Married Life Dec. 1945- She and Muzafer are married

Luckily he had been released from Turkish prison

1947- Has first daughter 1947-1958- Works with Muzafer at

University of Oklahoma 1950- has second daughter 1955- has third daughter 1958- begins doctoral work at University

of Texas

Professional Career 1961- earned Ph.D. from University of

Oklahoma 1961-1965- published four books with

Muzafer Teaches Oklahoma Medical School

and Sociology Dept. of OU 1965- Penn State offered Tenure

track positions to both Carolyn and Muzafer

Effect of the Women’s Movement “To me, the atmosphere created by the

women’s movement was like breathing fresh air after years of gasping for breath. If anyone believes that I credit it too much for changes in my own life, I have only this reply: I know I did not become a significantly better social psychologist between 1969 and 1972, but I surely was treated as a better social psychologist.” (Sherif, 1983)

Effect of the Women’s Movement Research contributions during 1945-1961 not

well documented “A careful historian will recognize that both of

us were involved in everything published under the name Sherif after 1945. In several instances, when Muzafer asked me to appear as co-author, instead of in footnote or preface, I declined, a tendency that persisted into the 1960s. I would not do so again. I now believe that the world which viewed me as a wife who probably typed her husband’s papers (which I did not) defined me to myself more than I realized.”

Effect of the Women’s Movement President of APA division 35, Psychology

of Women in 1979 Orientation in Social Psychology

Book on the effect of one’s social status Study and publish on gender

Bias in Psychology, 1994 Recognition of her work

Fellow of APA, 1976 Distinguished publication award, 1979 Distinguished contributions to Education in

Psychology, 1982

Historical Antecedents Male dominated academia

Unable to attend Princeton WWII

Personal interest in psychology Created opportunities for women Shaped her research interests

Women’s Movement Led her to research on gender and social

status Gained recognition for works

Learning Objectives Selected works Strengths & weakness of her

research/theories Influence on the field

Dave’s Presentation

Sherif (1973)• Social distance - assesses relative

intimacy/rejection between members of diverse groups

• Studied degree of ego-involvement of AA students in inter-racial interaction as a function of previous/current white contacts

• Hypothesis - lower the probability of AA-white interaction & stronger the ties with AA reference groups, the lower AA student’s ego-involvement in interaction

Method• Participants judge advisability that an AA

student decide to interact with white individuals in a series of situations & classify into categories

• Persons highly involved use fewer categories than those less involved

• Latitude of noncommitment - categories left unlabeled; size inversely related to issue involvement

ResultsPredicted Order # Cat’s LNC

AA independent M (LU) 2.80 0

AA independent F (LU) 3.50 1.30

AA fraternity M (LU) 4.67 3.44

AA fraternity F (LU) 5.57 4.56

W-M 4.53 12.97

W-F 4.75 20.49

AA independent M (SC) 4.05 21.31

AA independent F (SC) 3.72 11.87

AA fraternity M (SC) 4.53 26.00

AA fraternity F (SC) 4.86 23.45

Discussion• Attitudes are related to one’s reference

groups & interaction situations encountered

• AA social fraternity served as insulating function

• Own categories method holds promise for truly social-psychological study of individual attitudes

Influence on Field• Developed singular, coherent approach to

social psychology• Argued psychology perpetuated myths about

women’s inferior position • Argued human behavior best understood by

studying the entire context • Integrated study of specific attitudes with

overall structure of self-system• Demonstrated that as individuals make

personal commitments, they develop categories for perceiving social world

Summary Change in attitudes during WWII spawned

interest in attitudes Sherif (1973)

Personal struggles and women’s movement led to interest in gender issues Sherif (1982)

First psychologist to integrate attitudes with self-concept

Inspired future research on gender-related issues

References Harvey, O. J. (1989). Muzafer Sherif (1906-1988), American Psychologist, 44,

1325-1326. Koesterer, M. (n.d.). Dr. Carolyn Wood Sherif: (1922-1982). Unpublished

manuscript. Sherif, C. W. (1992). Bias in psychology. In J. S. Bohan. (Ed.), Seldom Seen, Rarely

Heard: Women’s Place in Psychology (pp. 107-146). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Sherif, C. W. (1983). Carolyn Wood Sherif. In O’Connell, A. N. & Russon, N. F.

(Eds.), Models of Achievement: Reflections of Eminent Women in Psychology (pp 279-293). New York: Columbia University Press.

Sherif, C. W. (1982). Needed concepts in the study of gender identity, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 6, 375-395.

Sherif, C. W. (1982). Social and Psychological bases of social psychology. In A. G. Kraut (Ed.), G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series, Vol. 2 (pp. 9-72). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association

Sherif, C. W., Kelly, M., Rodgers, H. L., Sarup, G., & Tittler, B. (1973). Personal involvement, social judgment, and action, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27, 311-328.

Sherif, C. W., (1973). Social distance as categorization of intergroup interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 148-156.

Sherif, M., & Sherif, C. W. (1967). The adolescent in his group in its setting. In M. Sherif (Ed.), Social Interaction (pp. 247-312). Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Co.