Volume 2 Number 1
January 1962

by Ina Abrahams

Interests supply something that is not disclosed by ability and achievement. They point to what the individual wants to do; they are reflections of what he considers satisfying. If our objective is happiness and success we must consider both interests and abilities. Unequivocally, enjoyment is just as important as efficiency in everyday life. R. M. Hubbard concludes in his study concerning mechanical interests that interests and abilities seem to be independent variables, each one contributing to the individual's ultimate success. Analogically, the relationships among abilities, interests, and achievements may be likened to a motor boat with a motor and a rudder. The motor (abilities) determines how fast the boat can go, the rudder (interests) determines which way the boat goes. Achievement might be thought of as the distance traveled in a straight line in a given interval of time, resulting from operation of both motor and rudder.

From the above and from a host of other studies undertaken in the field of vocational and occupational interests, there seems to be sufficient evidence to indicate that interest, as well as achievement and ability, constitutes a fertile field for study.

The hypothesis on which the ensuing study is based may be stated succinctly as: American Indian students rate highest in those interest areas classified as clerical and social service. The importance of the data gathered to substantiate or refute the stated hypothesis lies in the observation that interests very frequently dictate the course of study one pursues, and the latter, in turn, influences the choice of vocational endeavor in which one will engage.

The study was undertaken on the Arizona State University campus. The writer administered the Kuder Preference Record - Vocational Form C to all currently enrolled American Indian freshmen and sophomore students. Although the use of this test for this purpose is open to question, perhaps this investigation will lead to further research using other methods.

The interest profile of each individual who took the Kuder Preference appears as a particular score in each of ten broad interest areas. Those areas are enumerated as outdoor (out), mechanical (mec), computational (com), scientific (sci), persuasive (per), artistic (art), literary (lit), musical (mus), social service (soc), and clerical (cle).

The raw scores for each individual in all ten areas were first recorded in terms of percentiles. Then the average (mean) percentiles were calculated five times - for all American Indian students tested, for males, females, freshmen, and sophomores - for each of the ten interest areas. Note was also made of the area in which each individual demonstrated highest interest.

To determine whether differences in interest areas, as indicated by the test results, were, in fact, significant or merely due to chance, the chi square method was used in the case of several variables, viz.; males, scores of 50 and above and males, scores below 50; females, scores of 50 and above and females, scores below 50; freshmen, same comparison as above; and sophomores, also the same comparison mentioned. Similarly, for all of the American Indian students tested this chi square method was used. The columns of the chi square set up for all the above were the ten interest areas, and the two rows were (a) scores 50 and above and (b) scores below 50.

Two additional chi squares were used, one involving all males and females tested and the other involving those freshmen and sophomores tested. For each of these two, the ten interest areas formed the columns, and scores 50 and above for males and 50 and above for females constituted the two rows used in the male-female chi square operation. Likewise, the same two rows were used in the freshmen-sophomore comparison.

All of the chi square operations indicated that the results of the interest inventory were significant and not due to chance. With nine degrees of freedom in each chi square, the significance in each was at: .0099 in the case of all American Indian students tested, .090 for males, .0099 for females, .0099 for freshmen, .090 for sophomores, better than .95 for males-females, and .99 for freshmen-sophomores.

A. Is there a difference in degree of interest expressed in the ten areas?

In terms of the mean percentile for each interest area, interests range from the lowest, 20.06, musical, to the second highest, 65.18, social service, and to the highest, 68.64, clerical. When considering just the male American Indian students tested, here too there is a noticeable difference in the degree of interest expressed. The lowest mean percentile was 34.67 in column zero, outdoors. The second highest occurred in the area referred to by Kuder as scientific, and the highest mean score was in artistic interests. For females, the lowest mean percentile rating was in mechanical interests, 11.89. Not the highest, as with males, but the second highest score was in area number five, artistic, with a score of 72.16. Women's interests were highest, on the average, in the clerical area, 79.37.

Both freshmen and sophomores were low in interest in areas zero and one, outdoors and mechanical, respectively. While the lowest percentile for freshmen was 21.08 in mechanical interests, the lowest for sophomores was in outdoor interests, score 27.22. The two groups indicated highest and second highest interests in artistic and social service areas, but in reverse order. Freshmen scored second highest in artistic interests, 74.13, and sophomores scored second highest in clerical interests, 64.33. As for highest interest scores, freshmen averaged highest in area nine, clerical, 76.25, and sophomores averaged highest in area five, artistic, 72.56. The reader will note that the first and second highest scores of the freshmen are both higher than either the first or second highest average score of the sophomores. This observation may also be made in reference to the comparison between mean scores of males and females, i.e., the females' first and second highest scores are greater than either of those of the males.

B. In which of the ten areas do most of the American Indian students score highest?

More American Indian students scored higher in areas eight and five, social service and artistic, respectively, than in any other areas. Extremely close, however, was the number of students demonstrating highest interest in clerical matters.

On the basis of highest frequencies, males overwhelmingly showed more of an interest in scientific concerns than in any other of the nine areas. Of the eighteen females tested, seven had highest interests in social service and six had highest interests in the clerical field.

Most freshmen and sophomores indicated interest that was highest in artistic, social service, and clerical areas. For the freshman, more students demonstrated their interest in area eight, social service, than in other areas. However, areas nine and five were just one number shy of sharing the top position with area number eight. For the sophomores, number five, artistic, appears most frequently. In this case, social service and clerical interests were each just one frequency behind area five.

Chart of Findings

Why should these American Indian students consistently score highest in particular areas and lowest in others? Are there factors peculiar to the cultures of the Southwestern Indian tribes which predispose these individuals toward manifesting these particular interests? The "why" behind these questions is one of conjecture or, better yet, speculation. No doubt, an intensive investigation of both cultural and individual predisposing factors would be of value in this respect. In this section, the writer shall discuss some of the findings put forth earlier in the paper. The writer's analysis may or may not in fact be an accurate explanation of the findings, but such speculation may be of some value to consider.

Lowest interest in all the breakdowns (refer to previous chart) consistently seems to be in the mechanical and outdoor areas. This low interest in the outdoors might be considered in the light of oft-heard comments concerning the ways in which even extremely acculturated American Indians still adhere to animistic and totemistic views of the world. Maybe these American Indian students, some of whom have had continuous contact with non-Indians for most of their lives, are not so preoccupied with the pervasiveness of nature throughout all things and beings. Also, the still too prevalent notion of the nomadic or semi-nomadic Indian roaming the plains, at one with all which inhabits the outdoors, might well be evaluated in terms of contemporary research.

Interest seemed to be highest in both mean scores and frequencies in the artistic, social service, and clerical areas. The strong interest in artistic pursuits might, at least in part, be a reflection of many of the Southwestern Indian tribes' high value of artistic creativity and the application of such creativity in various artistic undertakings, e.g., Hopi pottery making and basket weaving, Navaho silversmithing and rug weaving, Zuni jewelry making, etc.

As for why the American Indian student usually expresses high interest in the clerical area, this, again in part, may be attributed to the Indians' tendency toward incorporating many of the so-called non-Indian attitudes and values. Possibly, the Indian has for so long been exposed to the stereotypic view that he is only suited for clerical and not too highly skilled work, that begins to accept this attitude and incorporate it as one on which to act. Occupational or vocational counselors may have instilled within the Indian student that it is wisest to pursue those jobs in which he would be most readily employed.

Stemming from many of the Southwestern Indian tribes' heightened interest in very fine and precise works, as in the original designs of the pottery maker, the American Indian student might have retained his interest in and appreciation for such dexterity and precision. The careful carrying out of tasks related to clerical practice might well incorporate this culturally impounded value. As a group, the males did not express exceptionally high interest in the clerical area. This might be viewed in the light of the non-Indian value pertaining to clerical and most types of office work as "women's work." This explanation in terms of the Indian students' (males in this case) acculturation might be further substantiated by noticing the males' second highest average score, interest in those things scientific. Females scored third lowest in the scientific interest area.

The American Indian student, mindful of the many social problems which confront his people—substandard health facilities, lack of adequate educational facilities, inadequate job opportunities, etc.—understandably would demonstrate extensive social service interests. From the supplementary questionnaires which the students completed, it appeared that many of the students favored such occupations as social work, medical technology, on-reservation teaching, employment with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, etc.

In addition to the "why should this be so" aspect is the general interest concerning of what value this knowledge may be. Whether or not valid assumptions can be made from the data presented herein is difficult for the writer to judge. The writer feels that the previous information may be of some assistance to those concerned with the guidance and counseling of American Indian students and possibly to those concerned with vocational employment of these individuals.

On the average, American Indian students tested scored lowest in mechanical and outdoors interest areas.

American Indian males may have incorporated the general white American value with respect to their interest in things scientific and relative lack of interest in things clerical.

The mean percentile for artistic interests ranked among the highest in all five breakdowns. More students scored highest in this area than in at least seven other areas.

In support of the hypothesis, ALL of the variables—all, males, females, freshmen, and sophomores—had highest, second highest, or third highest mean scores in areas eight and nine, social service and clerical respectively. Similarly, most of the individuals tested, scored higher in either of these two areas than in any other areas, with the possible exception of area five, artistic. The only exception might be that part of conclusion (b) relating to American Indian males' relatively low average interest score in clerical concerns.