Powerlessness and the Adaptive Responses of Disadvantaged Blacks: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to develop a theoretical scheme for classifying the American Black's responses to a situation of deprivation and powerlessness. It was argued that Blacks tend to respond in four major ways to their sense of powerlessness. These responses were labeled as Traditionalist, Protester, Criminal and Revolutionist. The hypotheses were tested with two sample groups, one employed and another unemployed, selected from the Black population in a large metropolitan area in the mid-western region of the United States. The findings also revealed that the criminal response was more characteristic of a group with a high sense of powerlessness and the protest response was more characteristic of a group with a low sense of powerlessness.