A student TAT measure of competence: a cross-cultural replication in Puerto Rico.

Abstract

A current NIMH study of American college students who show superior abilities in the academic, social, and extracurricular behavior spheres (Silber, et al., 1961a, 1961b) indicates that these competent adolescents actively seek new experiences and challenges, and strive for a sense of mastery. Instead of passive subjugation to the environment, they show initiative, independence, and autonomous self-direction. They set their own goals and achieve them efficiently. As part of their general competence and effectiveness, they are able to contain their anxiety within manageable limits, and match their self-images with what is anticipated in the future. In order to determine the generality of such findings of adolescent competence, a cross-cultural replication of this research was undertaken with a group of Puerto Rican college students. This sample of Puerto Rican studencs was selected according to criteria comparable to those used in the NIMH pilot study. A case study of one of these Puerto Rican students has indicated marked traits of dependency upon a group, obedience, and conciliation in the context of passive submission to a traditional Latin autocratic family (Field, et al., 1962). This finding suggests that some of the active, independent modes of competence reported in the NIMH investigation may not be generally applicable to Puerto Rican students. Comparative studies of culrural value-orientations suggest that the emphasis on independence, active striving, and mastery of the environment reflects key American values (Kluckhohn & Suodtbeck, 1961). Moreover, the concept of competence itself may be partially culture-bound, since it seems to assume a social structure in which substantial achievement through one's own efforts is possible, in which responsibility for making independent decisions about college and a career is encouraged, and in which social mechanisms exist for recognizing and rewarding achievement.