Cultural Conflict and the Feminine Role: An Experimental Study

Summary

Levenson's multidimensional I-E Scale was administered to 625 male and female university students and adults in America and Greece. The scores were categorized by sex, country, and employment status (job-holding adults or students) on each of the three control dimensions and then subjected to 2 × 2 × 2 analyses of variance. There were no significant sex main effects for any of the three I-E dimensions, thus calling into question previous cross-cultural findings that women were more external than men. Americans and Greeks did not differ on the Personal Control dimension, but Greeks did believe that they live in a more unpredictable environment than the Americans and also one in which powerful others control their outcomes. The results also indicated that students report having less of a sense of responsibility for their own actions than adults, but the two groups did not differ significantly on the Powerful-others or Chance dimensions. Finally, differences in the patterns of scoring across I-E content areas among subjects suggested the usefulness of utilizing a multidimensional I-E scheme in future cross-cultural personality research.