Skin Shade and Need for Achievement in a Multiracial Society: Jamaica, West Indies

Abstract

Summary The relation of n Ach to skin shade in male Jamaican university students and technical students was investigated with the use of the TAT method of n Ach measurement. Half the Ss saw pictures of white people and half saw pictures of brown Jamaicans. At the University of the West Indies those Ss seeing White pictures had significantly higher n Ach scores than those seeing Brown pictures, and Light Ss had significantly higher n Ach scores than Dark Ss. The lowest mean n Ach score was that of Dark middle class Ss. At the College of Arts, Science, and Technology, where the overall mean n Ach score was significantly lower than at the university, the pattern of n Ach scores was much less clear. Although the relationships among the variables were complicated, it seems fair to say that a persistent white bias in Jamaican society contributed substantially to the results.