From Erikson's (1968) psychosocial criteria of crisis and commitment, Marcia (1964) derived four ego identity statuses, i.e., achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion. To explore antecedents of Erikson's ego identity construct, 130 college females completed a modified identity status interview, and questionnaires designed to elicit…

Factors which aid an individual's progression from one stage of moral reasoning to another remain a mystery. Theorists suggest that intraception, defined as a predominance of feeling, fantasy, and aspirations (connoting a humanistic outlook and an ability to develop role-taking skills) as opposed to a down-to-earth, skeptical attitude, may be an…

Although parental effects on the personality development of children have been well examined, fathers' influence and effects on older children have received little attention. To investigate fathers' involvement in the attitude and personality development of college women, 333 women, ages 18 to 23, completed a three-part questionnaire gathering…

Social learning theory maintains that parents incluence sex development by modeling and reinforcing masculinity and femininity. To further examine the effects of parental modeling and reinforcement antecedents on sex role development, 103 college students (52 female, 51 male) who had been previously categorized as masculine, feminine, or…

The relation of moral reasoning to moral behavior has been the subject of a substantial number of empirical studies; it may be more productive to employ a configuration of characteristics to predict moral behavior. To investigate the relation of moral reasoning and personality variables to moral behavior, 74 undergraduates, 30 males and 44…

Hypothesizes that a conservative and individualistic orientation results in the fatalistic, alienated, and helpless outlook known as hopelessness. Provides extensive references to studies and theories characterizing conservatism and a work ethic belief as manifestations of an a maladaptive stage of psychological development. (MJP)