Comment on the Note by Super and Hakrness

Abstract

In my article on personality in Africa I ventured generalizations that went beyond what available evidence could support, hoping to stimulate systematic research and identify issues worthy of investigation. That Super and Harkness have taken up this challenge so quickly is gratifying. Their observations and interpretations add to our systematic knowledge of mother-infant interaction in Africa, correct certain exaggerations in my account of African interpersonal relations, and accurately emphasize the lifelong emotional attachments of African parents to their children. Since I see this as a continuing discussion, I shall respond in detail to their note, hoping thereby to provoke further scientific clarification of complex issues we are just beginning to probe. 1. Cultural variation. It is more difficult than Super and Harkness acknowledge to interpret observations from a single population in terms of the validity of generalizations as broad as those in the original article. When studies conducted among the Ganda and Kipsigis produce different results, it may be because of the cultural variation between the two peoples rather than the methods of conducting the study. Adding results of limited comparability from