Volume 11 Number 1
October 1971

Thomas G. Kennedy

THE RECENT national attention focusing on the lack of success with educating the American Indian (see Note 1) has placed a heavy burden on educators responsible to remedy the situation. Educating a minority group, with a reputed poor self-concept (see Note 2) combined with the bicultural and bilingual conditions found on many reservations (see Note 3) at best presents a difficult task.

A stereotyped view of the American Indian pictures him as lacking in humor, child-like, drunken and reserved. This viewpoint may be correct or incorrect, but without further substantiation, the information has little relevancy in providing baseline data to improve educational opportunities on the reservation. One research implication of this stereotype is the possibility of personality differences existing between Indians and non-Indians.

In reviewing normal library sources for such information, little data was found. Yet one familiar with the reservation community feels abnormal amounts of research have been generated from the reservation areas, therefore data should be readily available. Apparently this is not the case.

If personality differences do exist: What are they? How do they affect the Indian student educationally? How can the present system be altered to better accommodate the personality difference resulting from the poor self-concept and the bicultural and bilingual background? This study provided data in an attempt to answer the first of the above questions and to provide possible future inferences for the latter questions.

This study was to determine if a statistically significant difference existed in personality factor mean scores and variance scores as measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (see Note 4)and as measured by the standard deviation between selected Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indians college students and randomly selected non-Indian college students.

Specifically, the following null hypotheses were tested:

I. There is no statistically significant difference in personality factor mean scores, as measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, between selected Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indian college students and randomly selected non-Indian college students.

II. There is no statistically significant difference in variability scores as measured by the standard deviation, for the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, between selected Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indian college students and randomly selected non-Indian college students.

III. All personality mean factor scores will be in the average range, according to college students’ norms (see Note 5), for selected Crow Northern Cheyenne Indian college students.

The indigenous population consisted of all participants accepted into the Career Opportunities Program at Eastern Montana College. This program is a federally-funded program to train predominantly Indian-school aides to become certified elementary school teachers. All participants must meet three requirements: low income status, hired to be an aide in a elementary situation, and voted to participate by a local Policy Advisory Board. Fifty-one participants were accepted into the COP program. All 46 of the Indian participants were used as subjects, 41 of whom were female.

The non-Indian sample was selected by a stratified-random technique from all full-time undergraduate college students at Eastern Montana. Factors considered in the stratification were sex, college class age and home community. All names were selected from the student directory. Fifty names were selected for the sample.

The COP participants were given the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Form B at the beginning of the fall quarter, 1970. The questionnaire was administered in a central location on the reservation to minimize anxiety. It was also administered according to the instructions in the test manual (see Note 6) with one variation: that subjects were permitted to ask the meaning of words they did not understand.

The non-Indian college subject was contacted individually and asked to participate in the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. Each subject completed the questionnaire individually according to the test directions. Two subjects were selected randomly to replace two others unable to participate.

The results of the questionnaire were then hand tabulated according to factor and sample. The resulting data (raw scores) were analyzed according to the t-test for uncorrelated samples technique. Statistically significant differences were accepted at the .05 level or less. Sample variability was measured by calculating the standard deviation for each factor. Overall differences in variability were determined by analyzing the standard deviation scores according to the t-test for uncorrelated samples statistical technique.

Male personality factor scores were adjusted to correspond to appropriate female scores, necessitated by the large number of female participants. All norms cited were female referenced.

A statistically significant difference (p = .05) was found between Indian and non-Indian in the personality factor sober vs happy-go-lucky as indicated in Table 1. Large differences, although not statistically significant, were reported in Table I between the two groups for the factors © affected by feelings vs emotionally stable, (E) humble vs assertive, (L) trusting vs suspicious, and (O) placid vs apprehensive.

Table I

Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Mean Factor Scores,

Standard Deviation Scores, and Norm Placements for

Selected Northern Cheyenne-Crow Indian College

Students and Non-Indian College Students

*+ indicates average score is within average norm range

-- indicates average score is not within average norm range

Table I shows the Indian subjects sampled varied statistically significantly (p - .005) less than non-Indians in their responses to the questionnaire.

The Indian subjects differed from the college population average range for the factors © affected by feelings vs emotionally stable, and (L) trusting vs suspicious. Table I also indicates two factors (G) expedient vs conscientious and (H) shy vs venturesome close to the extremes of the average limits.

The results of the findings indicated:

1. Evidence to reject hypothesis I. There existed a statistically significant difference in personality factor mean scores between Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indian college students and non-Indian college students as measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire.

II. Evidence to reject hypothesis II. There existed a statistically significant difference in variability scores between Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indian college students and non-Indian college students, as measured by the standard deviation.

III. Evidence to reject hypothesis III. There existed personality mean factor scores for Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indian college students outside the average range for college student norms.

Personality differences exist between Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indian and non-Indian college peers. The Indian subjects were significantly more sober on the sober-happy-go-lucky continuum. This factor possibly would not have occurred if older age norms for college students could have been used. The average age of the COP participants was 33. (College age norms were based on 21 years of age.) Other interesting nonsignificant differences between the Indian and non-Indian groups were found. The Indian subjects tended to be more apprehensive, more humble, less trusting, and more affected by feelings than their non-Indian counterparts.

The Indian subjects showed statistically significant less variability in their response than did the non-Indian subjects. This difference in variability could be the result of homogeneous influences of the reservation sub-culture.

Indian subjects were outside the average norm group range for being affected by feelings and being more suspicious.

Each of the above described personality differences exhibited by the Crow-Northern Cheyenne Indians should be considered by the educational system and appropriate changes made to meet the specific needs of one of America’s silent minorities. Otherwise, the dismal disgrace of "Indian" education will continue to headline America’s educational establishment.