Autonomy, achievement motivation, and affiliation need in never-married female graduate students at
Montana State University
by Linda Marie Mainquist
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE
in Home Economics
Montana State University
© Copyright by Linda Marie Mainquist (1978)
Abstract:
The first goal of this study was to explore possible differences in autonomy, achievement, affiliation,
and negative feedback for autonomy and achievement between married and never-married female
graduate students through questionnaires. The second was to learn, through interviews, what single
women want to help them in meeting social needs. Out of 187 surveys mailed, 121 were returned.
Means, standard deviations, and T tests were calculated for the survey data.
Few differences existed between single and married females, but divorcees were significantly more
independent than wives at the .05 level.
All three groups' scores were near the continuum center for the total scores to the questions on
affiliation and autonomy; slightly above average for achievement; and low on negative feedback.
Seemingly, the subjects wanted close relationships which didn't require much time.
The singles were more likely to argue with friends than were wives, and the divorcees were more likely
to choose nonconformists as friends than were the wives or singles. Generally, the singles interviewed
said that in Bozeman and at MSU, it was easy to meet social needs; that Bozeman and MSU were not
responsible for relieving their loneliness; and that singlehood didn't make them particularly lonely, STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO COPY
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It
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fin a n c ia l gain shall not be allowed without my w ritte n permission.
Si' Q m ttfrJ iA
Date
Ctfu'i
/
AUTONOMY, ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION, AND AFFILIATION NEED
IN NEVER-MARRIED FEMALE GRADUATE STUDENTS
AT MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
by
LINDA MARIE MAINQUIST
A thesis submitted in p a rtia l fu lfillm e n t
o f the requirements fo r the degree
of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
Home Economics
Approved:
A
-Chairperson, Graduate Committe e
Headz, Major Department
Graduate Dean
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana
A p r il, 1978
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Grateful acknowledgment is offered to many people, without whose
help th is research would not have been possible:
To Dr. Howard Busching, fa c u lty advisor, fo r his d e ta ile d and
in-depth c r itic is m , wise counsel, and encouragement throughout the
research;
To Mrs. Vesta Anderson and Dr. Doug Herbster, members of the
graduate committee, fo r th e ir in te re s t in the study;
,
And to the author's parents fo r th e ir moral support and fin an c ia l assistance.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
VITA............................................................................................................................
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................
iii
LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................
ABSTRACT......................... . ....................................................................................
vi i
Chapter
I.
INTRODUCTION
Importance o f the S tu d y .........................................................
Purpose ......................................................
L im ita tio n .................................................
D e fin itio n o f T e rm s ............................
II.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Autonomy in Women ...............................................................................
Achievement in Women. .......................................................................
■ A f f ili a t i o n in Women.............................................
Negative Feedback to Single Women ..............................................
III.
i
I
IV .
I
5
6
6
7
1.3
18
23
METHODOLOGY
P u rp o se..............................................a .................................................
G o a ls .......................................................................................................
Sample......................................................
D e fin itio n o f Sample.................................................................. ;
Selection o f Sample ..................................................................
Instruments
Survey.......................................................... i . . . . . . .
.
In t e r v ie w .......................................................................................
27
27
27
27
27
28
28
30
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Description o f Respondents to Survey. . .................................
Data D escription.................................................
Survey Data ...................................................................................
Autonomy in Respondents ............................. ■...................
31
31
31
31
V
Chapter
IV .
Page
(Continued),
A f f ilia t io n in Respondents..............................................
Achievement Need in Respondents .................................
Negative Feedback to Women. ................................... . .
In terview Data........................
Finding Dates in Bozeman..................................................
Finding Female Friends in Bozeman .............................
Events Where Single People are Comfortable. . . .
Changes a t MSU to Help Single
Females Meet Social N ee d s ............................
Changes in Bozeman to Help Single
Females Meet Social N e e d s ............................
Loneliness as a Major Problem fo r Single Women. .
Changes in Bozeman to Help Single
Females Cope with Loneliness....................
Changes a t MSU to Help Single
Females Cope,with Loneliness.....................................
V.
43
45
51
54
54
56
57
57
58
59
60
61
SUMMARY, EVALUATION, AND POSSIBILITIES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Summary.................................................
Evaluation...............................................................................................
63
65
APPENDICES................................................................................................................
68
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................
75
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
1.
Means o f Total Scores on Autonomy..................................................
32
2.
W illingness to Argue with a Fried and Lose R elationship. .
37
3.
Friends Who Behave D iffe re n tly from S ociety's Expectations
40
4.
Means of Total Scores on Questions, on A f f i l i a t i o n ..................
43
5.
Means o f Questions on A f f i l i a t i o n ...................................................
44
6.
Means o f Total Scores on Questions on Achievement....................
46
7.
Grade Point A ve ra g e s.................................. .........................................
46
8.
Learning the Results o f Actions Immediately. . . . . . . .
47
9.
Comparison o f Means fo r Questions on Achievement .................
48
10.
Means fo r Selected Questions on Achievement.............................
49
11.
Negative Feedback fo r Autonomy and Achievem ent..................... .
51
12.
Means fo r Questions on Negative Feedback ................. . . . .
53
13.
Modes fo r Replies to Interview Questions .................................
55
\
V ii
ABSTRACT
The f i r s t goal o f th is study was to explore possible differences
in autonomy, achievement, a f f i l i a t i o n , and negative feedback fo r
autonomy and achievement between married and never-married female
graduate students through questionnaires. The second was to le a rn ,
through in terv ie w s , what single women want to help them in meeting
social needs. Out o f 187 surveys m ailed, 121 were returned. Means,
standard d e v ia tio n s , and T tests were calculated fo r the survey data.
Few differences existed between single and married females, but divo r­
cees were s ig n ific a n tly more independent than wives a t the .05 le v e l.
A ll three groups' scores were near the continuum center fo r the to ta l
scores to the questions on a f f i l i a t i o n and autonomy; s lig h tly above
average fo r achievement; and low on negative feedback. Seemingly, the
subjects wanted close relationsh ips which d id n 't require much time.
The singles were more lik e ly to argue with friends than were wives, and
the divorcees were more lik e ly to choose nonconformists as friends than
were the wives or s in g le s . G enerally, the singles interviewed said th a t
in Bozeman and a t MSU, i t was easy to meet social needs; th a t Bozeman
and MSU were not responsible fo r re lie v in g th e ir lo nelin ess; and th a t
singlehood d id n 't make them p a rtic u la r ly lo n e ly .
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Importance o f Study
Single women are being studied more than in the past, presum­
ably;
but th is study assumes th a t many single women s t i l l have
d i f f i c u lt y in coping with th e ir c e lib a te s ta te .
This study focuses on
three aspects o f singlehood which seem e s p e cia lly s ig n ific a n t to
females:
achievement, autonomy, and a f f i l i a t i o n .
The single woman often has d i f f i c u lt y with her social id e n tity
because her unmarried sta te runs against the accepted norm th a t a woman
needs to be married to be f u l f i l l e d J
Since society does not consider
remaining unmarried a viable a lte rn a tiv e fo r a female, no norms have
been established fo r her.
Thus, single women (and men) may wonder,
"'Who are we single individuals?
p
What are our appropriate spheres?12
"
3
S ocio log ists, as well as laymen, have disregarded the topic o f
singlehood.
Margaret Adams states th a t l i t t l e a tte n tio n has been given
O
to remaining s in g le .
Even three years ago, Peter S te in 's survey of
twelve sociology texts shows only three texts dealing w ith single men
^Peter S te in , "Singlehood:
Coordinator, October 1975, p. 496.
2
An A lte rn a tiv e to M arriage," Family
Margaret Adams, Single Blessedness (Basic. Books, 1976), p. 50.
3 Ib id . , p. I .
2
and women and those did not deal with the topic in depth.^
Single men and women may expend much more e f f o r t to begin and
sustain relationsh ips than th e ir married counterparts.
This is more
burdensome to the single woman because society does not sanction her
in it ia t in g relationsh ips with men, and leaves her alone to develop her
social l i f e .
"The s o li t a r i ly placed women has to i n i t i a t e contacts by
h e rs e lf, arrange and preside over formal entertainm ents, . . . and make
C
appropriate contributions a t social fu n ctio n s."
Often she may envy
her married counterpart who can lean on her husband to make conversation
a t social gatherings when she wants to withdraw s o c ia lly .
To adjust to remaining s in g le , women often acquire autonomy and
achievement m otivation.
Knupfer's research indicates th a t single women
are more lik e ly to possess dominant, s e lf-a s s e rtiv e personality tr a its ,®
7
which are more ty p ic a l o f men than women.
resentful because they do not f u l f i l l
^S tein , "Singlehood:
Thus, single women may feel
so ciety's expectations o f them.
An A lte rn a tiv e ," p. 489.
5
Adams, Single Blessedness, p. 144.
®Genevieve Kntipfer, W alter C la rk, and Robin Room, "The Mental
Health o f the Unmarried," American Journal o f Psychiatry, 122 (February
1966): 346-347.
^Jeanne Block, "Conceptions o f Sex-Role: Some Cross-Cultural
and Longitudinal Perspectives," in Beyond Sex-Role Stereotypes:
Readings Toward a Psychology o f Androgyny , ed. by Alexandra Kaplan and
Joan Bean (Boston: L ittle ,B r o w n , 1976), p, 77.
3
I f autonomy development and achievement m otivation were recog­
nized as p a rt o f healthy adjustment to remaining s in g le , unmarried women
might accept themselves more f u l ly .
In a d d itio n , th is recognition might
help both single men and women view autonomous and achievement-oriented
women as healthy and strong, rath er than as deviant females.
Since single women cannot look to th e ir diamond rings fo r
v a lid a tio n o f th e ir s e lf-w o rth , they may base th e ir feelin g s of worth
more on achievements than married women do.
In a d d itio n , unmarried
women may develop more autonomy than married women do because they do
not have the option o f asking th e ir husbands fo r help or advice and
because i t is d i f f i c u l t to re ly on parents or friends in th is mobile
society.
Knupfer re c a lls some women who were autonomous before mar­
ria g e , but a f t e r ten or twenty years o f wifehood, became dependent
creatures.
"One p a tie n t o f mine had, between the ages o f 20 and 32,
taken charge o f several foreign tours with her mother, but a t the age
o f 55 when she was widowed, had to ask friends how to go about getting
O
a p assport."
In a d d itio n , achievement-oriented and autonomous women may be
less lik e ly to marry because men often bypass "women with strong, inde­
pendent p e rs o n a litie s or with e s p e cia lly g ifte d native endowments" fo r
^Knupfer, "The Mental Health o f the Unmarried," p. 847.
4
1
Q
wives, because these women threaten th e ir self-im age o f dominance.
Women with these t r a it s may not desire marriage because-they don't
want to accept the ro le o f wife-homemaker.^
Another need o f single women, in addition to independence and
achievement, is a f f i l i a t i o n .
No m atter how much autonomy and achieve­
ment women may develop, no scholar, seemingly, has suggested th a t women
no longer need close personal re la tio n s h ip s .
The importance o f the single woman is highlighted by evidence
from many sources.
When counselors help th e ir single female c lie n ts ,
they consider the unmarried woman's special needs, and the MSU group,
"Focus on Women" has had a seminar t i t l e d "The Woman Alone."
The
U niversity o f Southern C a lifo rn ia has sponsored a course c a lle d , "The
Challenge o f Being S in g le ." ^
These are a few examples o f the many areas o f singlehood being
emphasized, but the in ve s tig ato r is unaware o f any study which exactly
re p lic a te s th is research.
^Lee Srol e t a l . , Mental Health in the Metropolis (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1962), p. 180.
^ E liz a b e th Havens, "Women, Work and Wedlock: A Note on Female
M arital Patterns in the United S ta te s," American Journal o f Sociology,
78 (January 1973): 980.
^ M a rie Edwards and Eleanor Hoover, The Challenge o f Being
Single (New York: New American L ib ra ry , 1974), p. 5.
5
Purpose
The purpose o f th is study was mainly to explore and describe
achievement m otivation and autonomy in single women as compared to other
women.
The in v e s tig a to r made an assumption which cannot be proved, but
which is often remarked in lit e r a t u r e :
th a t autonomy and achievement
are associated with "loss o f fe m in in ity , social r e je c tio n , and personal
or social d e s tru c tio n ."
12
Therefore, a f f i l i a t i o n need was also studied
as perhaps in versely re la te d to achievement and autonomy.
More s p e c ific a lly , data was gathered and discussed on the
follow ing questions:
1.
Are single women graduate students a t Montana State Univer­
s ity more achievement-oriented than th e ir married counterparts?
2.
Is the former group more autonomous than the la t t e r group?
3.
Are single women less a f f ilia t io n - o r ie n t e d than other women?
4.
Do single women with ,high achievement m otivation and
autonomy receive negative feedback fo r possessing these q u a litie s ?
5.
What help do single women desire fo r coping w ith th e ir
unmarried state?
12
Matina Horner, "Toward an Understanding of Achievement-Related
C onflicts in Women," in Achievement and Women, ed. Martha Mednick,
Sandra T a n g ri, and Lois Hoffman (New York: Malsted Press, 1975), p.
210.
6
Lim itation
The population o f the study was women graduate students a t
Montana State U n iv e rsity.
These subjects were not to be taken as
representative o f a ll females, because they were more highly educated
and achievement o rie n te d .
In a d d itio n , a m ajority probably came from
the western part o f the United S tates.
D e fin itio n o f Terms
Achievement M o tiv a tio n :
the drive to increase or maintain as high as
possible, one's performance in a c t iv it ie s in which a c r ite rio n of
excellence applies and in which one may succeed or f a i l .
A ffilia tio n :
13
drawing near and enjoying cooperation with someone e lse;
m aintaining close relatio n sh ip s with p e o p le .^
Autonomy:
fe e lin g fre e from r e s tr a in t;
avoiding a c t iv it ie s dominated
by a u th o rity ;
fe e lin g independent and s e l f - r e l i a n t J 5
Single Woman:
an a d u lt female who has never been m arried. 1
*5
3
York:
13
Heinz Heckhausen, The Anatomy o f Achievement M otivation (New
Academic Press, 1976), pp. 4 -5 .
^H enry Murray e t a l . , Explorations in Personality (New York:
Oxford, 1938), quoted by Calvin Hall and Gardner Lindzey, Theories of
Personali t y (New York: John W iley, 1957), p. 173.
15
Ib id .
CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Autonomy in Women
Autonomy includes freedom from r e s tr a in t and s e lf - r e lia n c e .^
Singlehood o ffe rs both to a woman, and i t may force her to develop those
q u a litie s .
In Floyd Martinson's study, the single women had more " s e lf-
reliance" and a "greater sense o f personal freedom" than th e ir married
counterparts.
17
In Birnbaum's research, 88 percent o f the single women
and 59 percent o f the homemakers saw themselves as "not a t a ll" or "a
b it" dependent, and 12 percent o f the single women and 41 percent o f the
homemakers perceived themselves as very dependent.
18
One reason fo r remaining c e lib a te is th a t singlehood allows an
in divid ual more freedom than marriage does.
A ll of the respondents in
S te in 's survey stressed th a t exclusive man-woman relationsh ips would
lim it th e ir freedom and growth.
19
In Margaret Adam's in terview s, nearly *1
7
^ M u rra y , Explorations in P e rs o n a lity , p. 173.
17
Floyd Martinson, "Ego Deficiency as a Factor in M arriage,"
American Sociological Review, 20 (A p ril 1955): 163.
IR
0Judith Birnbaum, "L ife Patterns and Self-Esteem in G ifted
Family-Oriented and Career-Committeed Women," in Women and Achievement,
ed. Martha Mednick, Sandra Tangri and Lois Hoffman (New York: HaTsted",
1974), p. 13.
^ P e te r S te in , Single (Englewood C lif f s : Pentice HaTl, 1976),
p. 69.
8
a ll o f the respondents underlined th a t independence is the most valuable
asset o f singlehood, and the d e ta ils o f th e ir everyday liv e s revealed
on
e ffo rts to preserve th is freedom.
Susan, who had liv e d with a man, says th a t being single o ffe r s ,
A lo t more freedom than there would be e ith e r in marriage or an
exclusive re la tio n s h ip . I lik e a lo t o f d iffe r e n t people, and
being single . . . affords the opportunity fo r g ettin g to know
and being friends with a lo t o f d iffe r e n t people. Mo re s tric tio n s
except the ones I happen to choose. They are not superimposed by
someone e ls e 's jealo u sy, fo r instance. ■
Marriage may be more r e s tr ic tin g to a woman than a man, thus
making singlehood e s p e cia lly a ttra c tiv e to independent females.
Laura
Bergquist quotes one woman,
When you marry, es p e cia lly very young, you're not ju s t marrying
a man, but a whole way o f l i f e .
You are lim ite d and defined by
what your husband is , e s s e n tia lly , by his income and his friends
and the geography o f where he works.
Most women respondents in S te in 's survey indicated th a t being
a c tiv e in career and being involved in stim ulating relationsh ips is
th e o re tic a lly possible while being m arried.
However, they believed th a t
in a c tu a lity , a female is secondary to a male in an exclusive re la tio n - 2
*
1
70
Adams, Single- Blessedness, p. 205.
21S te in , S in g le , p. 67.
2?
"Laura Bergquis t , "How Come a Nice G irl Like You Is n 't Mar­
ried?" in Toward a Sociology o f Women, ed. Constanina S a filio s Rothschild (Lexington: Xerox Publishing College, 1972), p. 109.
9
OO
ship and th a t his needs take p r io r it y over hers.
Marya Mannes
explains th is more s p e c ific a lly .
I f she has c h ild re n — th is c rea tiv e woman--she must pay fo r
th is indulgence with a long burden o f g u ilt , fo r her l i f e w ill
be s p lit three ways between them and her husband and her work.
What she is to one she must take from the oth er, and there w ill
be no time when one or the other is not harmed. No woman with
any heart can compose a paragraph when her c h ild is in trouble
or her husband i l l . : forever they take precedence over the com­
panions o f the mind . . . .
For one th in g , she has no w ife , as
he has to protect her from in tru s io n , to maintain the machinery
o f liv in g , to care fo r her c h ild re n , to answer the doorbell.
For another, no one believes her time is sacred. A man a t his
desk in a room with a closed door is a man a t work. A woman a t
a desk in any room is a v a ila b le .24
The women respondents in S te in 's survey also perceived economic
independence as a way of achieving psychological freedom.
25
I t allowed
them to f u l f i l l t h e ir own dreams and express th e ir opinions and wants
ozr
without being accountable to men.
A single women remarked, " ' i f I
choose to adventure o f f to C a lifo rn ia or splurge on cloth es, I'm not
taking food out o f babies' mouths.'"
27
A woman who married may be required to develop feminine t r a it s *2
5
4
2^S tein, S in g le , p. 72.
24
Marya Mannes, "The Problems o f Creative Women," in The Potent i a l o f Woman, ed. Seymour Farber and Roger Wilson (New York: McGrawH i l l , 1963) , p. 125.
25S te in , S in g le , p. 92.
25Adams, Single Blessedness, pp. 207-208.
2^Bergquist, "How Come a Nice G irl?" p. 109.
10
to gain social acceptance as a w ife .
Meanwhile, a single female may
have to c u ltiv a te d iffe r e n t behavior, characterized by "assertiveness,
OO
independence, and a t time egocentric ruthlessness."
She has no hus­
band in shining armor to complain to the landlord or mechanic fo r her.
In contrast to the tr a d itio n a l homemaker, the single woman
develops social and psychological autonomy because she doesn't have a
man to depend on fo r emotional or social id e n tity .
Her independence is
OQ
fu rth e r fostered by the fa c t th a t she has no children dependent on her.
A woman who had been separated from her husband introspects about her
autonomy,
I lik e . . . the s o litu d e . . . I even lik e sleeping by myself,
though I never would have believed i t . . . I'm s t i l l obsessed by
Don, . . . and I miss him. But then I think o f a ll I'v e gone
through and what I'v e accomplished a ll by m yself--and I enjoy
th a t fe e lin g o f s e lf-re lia n c e and freedom.30
Single women may develop more emotional s e lf-s u ffic ie n c y as a
re s u lt o f re s is tin g pressures to marry.
Parents and re la tiv e s often
h in t to the older single female, " 'W e ll, dear, a r e n 't you being too2
0
3
9
8
28
Margaret Adams, "The Single Woman in Today's Society: A
Reappraisal," American Journal o f Orthopsychiatry, 41 (October 1971):
777.
29
Kathrin P erutz, "The Anachronism o f M arriage," in Confronting
the Issues, ed. Kenneth Kahmeyer (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1975), pp.
52-53.
30Mary-Ellen Banashek, "Being Single: How to Stop Waiting and
S ta rt L iv in g ," Mademoiselle, July 1977, p. 95.
11
choosey?1"
31
When the la s t o f a single woman's female friends has
promenaded down the church a is le , she may be the only single person a t
the wedding reception and may be required to fig h t feeling s o f eccen­
t r i c i t y and being l e f t out.
O ften, women in small towns are forced
into a l i f e - s t y l e so d iffe r e n t from the community's th a t they are soon
32
aware o f th e ir oddness.
In tim e, a ll but the psychologically hardy or the unasked
get married. There comes a point when the resistance wears you
down. You c a n 't stand another dinner with couples, c a n 't stand
the in d ig n ity o f always having a possible mate offered you in
the person o f someone you never met before; you c a n 't bear your
empty bed and c a n 't muster the psychic energy fo r s ta rtin g
another a ffa ir --a n d then you decide you have to , y o u 'll g r it
your te e th , hold down the panic and go ahead. 3
In d ire c t opposition, the single graduate women in Doty's and
H pefli n ' s study scored lower in aggression and abasement and higher in
\
deference and change than the normative college group o f Edward's Per­
sonal Preference S ch ed u le.^
Bardwick suggests th a t possibly, these
single women f e l t uneasy about th e ir fem inity because they hadn't y e t
worn a b rid al gown, as the dolls o f th e ir childhood may have done, and*3
4
2
^ B e rg q u is t, "How Come a Nice G irl?" p. 24.
32
Manford Kunford, "How Mates a re,S o rted ," in Family, Marriage
and Parenthood, ed. Howard Becker and Reuben H ill (Boston: Heath, 1948),
p. 247.
QO
K ath rin"P erutz , 1The Anachronism o f Marriage," i n , Confronting
the Issues, e d .Kenneth Kahmeyer (Boston: A llyn & Bacon, 1975), pp 52-53.
34
Carol Doty and Ruth H oeflin , "A Descriptive Study o f T h irty Five Unmarried Graduate Women," Journal of Marriage and the Fam ily, 26
(February 1964): 93-94.
12
therefore these women were h esitant to express th e ir masculine
q u a litie s . 35*3
7
The current trend o f women working outside the home and the ris e
o f feminism
may have narrowed possible differences between married and
single women in regards to autonomy.
In Baker's study comparing never-
married and married mother members o f Business and Professional Clubs,
only small differences in s e lf-r e lia n c e and personal freedom existed
between the two groups.
36
Hershey's and Werner's research indicated
th a t wives who support feminism are more assertive in fam ily decision
o?
making and th a t t h e ir husbands stand behind th e ir e ffo r ts .
Divorcees may also be very autonomous.
Possibly, the sudden
resurgence o f independence in a w ife may disrupt a marriage.
During
the f i r s t few years o f m arriage, a woman may act subservient to her
husband and change her dress and social habits to please him and to
f u l f i l l her ro le as a w ife .
Later she may fin d th is unsatisfying and
her independence w ill a r is e , ju s t as E liza rebelled against Professor
35Judith Bardwick, Psychology o f Women (New York:
Row, 1971), p. 171.
Harper and
35Luther Baker, "The Personal and Social Adjustment o f the Never
Married Woman," Journal o f Marriage and the Family, 30 (August 1968):
476.
37 ■
S ib illa Hershey and Emmy Werner, "Dominance in M arital
Decision Making in Women's Liberation and Non-Women's Liberation
P a rtie s ," Family Process, June 1975, p. 232.
13
Higgins in "My F a ir Lady."
The husband, lik e Professor Higgins, may not
be prepared fo r the uprising.
The follow ing case is an example o f such a scenario.
Both Jose and Maria were professionals and had demanding,
fu ll-tim e jobs. Though they liv e d in a small apartment,
there were s t i l l many chores to do^ Before th e ir marriage,
they had agreed th a t they would not assume tra d itio n a l ro le s ,
but they soon found th a t Maria was doing the shopping, making
arrangements fo r laundry, and cooking the meals. She had
collected so much resentment th a t one night she f e l t ju s t if ie d
in blowing up. "Things have to change, or e ls e ," she to ld
Jose.3°
This couple was able to work out a system fo r sharing domestic
chores,
39
but husbands in s im ila r s itu a tio n s could have more trouble
adjusting to th e ir wives' new autonomy.
Hence,these independent wives
may become independent divorcees.
Achievement in Women
More opportunities fo r career advancement and development of
ta le n ts are possible advantages o f the c e lib a te s ta te .
Florence
Nightengale could possibly have founded nursing while being married and
ra is in g a fa m ily , but the chances o f a V ictorian husband, or a contem­
porary one, le t t in g her take a dangerous and p o lit ic a lly unpopular t r ip *3
9
OO
Dorothy Jongeward and Dru S c o tt, Women as Winners (Reading,
Massachusetts: Addison Wesley, 1976), p. 204.
39Ib id . , p. 204.
14
to the war Ir) Crimea are sm all.
Clara Barton, lik e Florence Nighten­
g ale, was an "old maid . 1,40
Marya Mannes explains more f u lly th a t career success and f u l ­
fillm e n t o f the tra d itio n a l sex ro le are often a n tith e tic a l fo r women.
Nobody objects to a woman's being a good w rite r or sculptor
or g e n e tic is t i f a t the same time she manages to be a good w ife ,
a good mother, good-looking, good-tempered, w ell-dressed, well
groomed and unaggressive. -These are entrance charges fo r the
approval pf other men and women. They a re , I m aintain, exorbitant
to the point o f im p o s s ib ility .41
Women who are superior in education and occupation tend to be
overlooked as marriage partners because men tend to choose females fo r
mates who are s lig h tly in f e r io r to them.
4?
At the same tim e, the con­
temporary college woman may in s is t th a t her mate be more in te llig e n t
AO
than h e rs e lf so she can "look up to him ."
As a r e s u lt, the single
female with superior a b ilit ie s has d i f f i c u lt y fin ding a s u itab le mate
in the tra d itio n a l sense.
Jesse Bernard described many never-married
men (B) as thp "bottom o f the b a r r e l" and many never-married women (A)4
3
^ L e s lie Koempel, "Why Get Married?" Saturday Evening, Post,
February 13, 1965, p. 10.
^Mannes, "The Creative Woman," p. 123.
4?
^ rq le , "Mental Health in the M etropolis," p. 180.
43
A lice Rossi, "B arriers to the Career Choice o f Engineering,
Medicine or Science Among American Women," in Women and the S c ie n tific
Professions, ed. Jacquelyn M attfeld and Carol Van Aken (Cambridge:
M .I.T . Press, 1965), p. 54.
\
15
as the "cream o f the crop.
„44
44
Figure I The Marriage Gradient
Man
Women
1A
"CreanvoMhe-Crop**
.
Zr.'*
“ bononvoMtie-barreT
Fig. I . --The Marriage Gradient
nc.
To the single woman, career is often the main source of social
reco gnition, self-esteem , and fin a n c ia l s e c u rity , and consequently, she
may become very achievement-oriented in her work.
Since the single
female cannot or does not want to depend on her husband fo r social
s ta tu s , she must seek advancement in her work to gain p restig e.
46
Her
career is not a luxury to be casually regarded because i t is her major
source o f fin a n c ia l s e c u rity .
A young lib r a r ia n used her career achievements to combat the
u n fu lfille d expectations of her home town th a t she would be "the g ir l *4
6
5
z^Jesse Bernard, The Future o f Marriage (New York:
Books, 1972): pp. 36-37.
45 I b i d . , p. 37.
46Birnbaum, " L ife , Patterns in G ifted Women," p. 415.
Bantam
16
who l e f t home to go to college but th a t she would return to get married
to a boyfriend o f long s ta n d in g .1"
She began to free h e rs e lf from
the negative feeling s created by th is f a ir y ta le ending by becoming
aware o f her career success and her f u lfillm e n t o f her values in i t .
This frame o f piind enabled her to envision h e rs elf as "'a decent person
in her own r ig h t who did not have to go around apologizing fo r her
existence . 1
In the u n iv e rs itie s and colleges as well as in the world of
work, differences in achievement m otivation between single and married
females may e x is t.
A dean of women observed th a t the more educated a
single woman becomes, the more removed she is from the tra d itio n a l ro le
o f w ife and m o th e r.^
Married female students often receive more pressure to forget
about th e ir educational goals, and they are less lik e ly to become a
part o f the camaraderie o f graduate students, which is considered an
important p art o f graduate student l i f e .
47
50
These d i f f ic u lt ie s may cause4
*
8
7
Adams, Single Blessedness, p. 208.
48 Ib iij .,. p. 208.
,
•49
David B o ro ff, "The U niversity of Michigan: Graduate Limbo fo r
Women," in The Professional Woman, ed. Athena Theodore (Cambridge:
Schenkman, 1 9 7 ]), p. 425.
88Saijl Feldman, "Impediment or Stimulus? M arital Status and
Graduate Education," American Journal o f Sociology ,78 (January 1973):
993.
17
them to drop out and forego f u l f i l l i n g th e ir as p ira tio n s.
Birnbpum's research indicates th a t the married professional
woman has a high achievement need ju s t as the single woman does.
Active ,and self-assu red , she maintains a complex personal
in te g ra tio n based on a high level o f energy and the experience
o f work and mastery as pleasurable and in t r in s ic a lly g ra tify in g
rath er than e x te rn a lly compelling. She works not because she
ought to but because she wants to and very much enjoys what she
does. '
In Doty's and H oeflin 's research, single college females were
CO
less achievement-oriented than married college females.
Again,
Bardwick suggests th a t single women may not feel th e ir fe m in in ity is
f u l f i l l e d , and consequently, are less w illin g to display the masculine
c h a ra c te ris tic o f achievement m otivation.
53
Another p o s s ib ility is th a t many women have d i f f i c u lt y settin g
a tta in a b le goals, a sign o f achievement m otivation.
54
Dru Scott and
Dorothy Jongeward describe th a t many women have d i f f i c u lt y pursuing
goals because they expect th e ir liv e s to improve not as a re s u lt of
th e ir e f f o r t s , but as a re s u lt of th e ir environment.
for?
Are you w aiting fo r something? I f so, what are you w aiting
For.the rig h t person to come along? For the children to 5
3
2
1
51
Birnbaurn, "G ifted Family Oriented and Career Committed Women,"
p. 40.
52
94.
'
53
Doty and HoefI in ," T h irty -F iv e Unmarried Graduate Women,"pp.93
Bapdwick, Psychology o f Women, p.
171.
^Hecjchausen, Anatomy of Achievement, p. 10.
18
grow up? For the rig h t a ffa ir ? To fin is h your education?
For your ship to come in? For a b e tte r job? To q u it working?
. • • For someone else to change? For someone else to make the
decision? For someone to discover you?55
This elementary teacher is an example of a single woman who
doesn't make ] ong -range plans fo r her l i f e , although she possessed
enough achievement m otivation to earn a college degree.
You know, I r e a lly lik e my jo b , and I fin d teaching th ird
grade very s a tis fy in g . I t fe e ls good seeing those l i t t l e
kids develop.- Even a f t e r e ig h t years I'v e been teaching, I s t i l l
see new and good things happening. But i f the rig h t man came
along today, I 'd be most happy to give i t a ll up. In f a c t, I
r e a lly don't want to do anything too d e fin ite about buying an
apartment or house or s e ttin g aside money fo r my retirem ent
because I c a n 't imagine turning 35 and not being married. 6
A f f ilia t io n in Women
In the minds of many women, achievement is in versely correlated
to s a tis fa c tio n on a f f i l i a t i o n need, as indicated by Matine Horner's
research.
In her study. U niversity of Michigan female undergraduates
completed Thernatic Apperception tests measuring achievement m otivation.
They fin ish ed a story based on the follow ing segment, "A fter fir s t-te r m
f in a l s , Anne finds h e rs e lf a t the top o f her medical school class."
Over 65 percent o f the stories f e l l in to one of the three follow ing *5
55
Scott and Jongeward, Women as Winners, p. 27.
5^ Ib jd ., p. 26.
19
categ ories, each with negative connotations of success. 575
0
*6
8
Most fre q u e n tly , the sto rie s indicated a serious worry th at
success .causes social re je c tio n .
For example, '"Anne is p re tty darn
proud o f h e rs e lf, but everyone hates and envies her.
Secondly, other women feared success would cause a loss of
fe m in in ity and norm ality.
For example, one woman wrote,
Anne is pleased she had worked e x tra o rd in a rily hard and her
grades showed i t .
" I t is not enough," Anne thinks. " I am not
happy." She d id n 't even want to be a doctor. She is not sure
what she wants. Anne says to hell with the whole business and
goes in to social work— not hardly [s ic ] as glamorous, p r e s ti­
gious, or lu c ra tiv e ; but she is happy.59
A th ird group
w e ll.
couldn't even conceive a female performing so
"'Anne is a code name fo r a nonexistent person created by a group
o f med students.
They take turns w ritin g exams fo r Anne . . . . '
In 1971, Lois Hoffman repeated Matina Horner's study o f 1965.
About the sarnie percentage o f women feared success in both groups, and
the response^ of both were s im ila r .^
57
Matina Horner, " F a il: B right Women," in The Professional
Woman, ed. Athena Theodore (Cambridge, Schenkman, 1971), pp. 254-256.
58
30Ib id . , p. 255.
KQ
I b id . , PP- 255-256.
60 I b id . , P- 256.
6^Lois Hoffman, "Fear o f Success in Males and Females: 1965 and
1971," in Wornan and Achievement, ed. Martha Mednick, Sandra Tan g ri, and
Lois Hoffman %New York: HaTsted, 1975), p .,2 2 9 .
20
Research indicates th a t there may indeed be two d iffe r e n t types
o f women in regards to achievement m otivation and a f f i l i a t i o n need.
Rossi concludes from her research th a t two opposite groups of women
exist--"homeniakers" whose primary goal .is being a good housewife and
"pioneers" who pursue careers in ty p ic a lly masculine fie ld s .
Rossi has
a th ird group c a lle d " tr a d itio n a ls" who choose tr a d it io n a lly female
62
occupations. ■
Another p a ir o f researchers typed women as e ith e r "home­
making-oriented" or "ca re er-o rie n te d ."
As a fin a l note, Jessee
Bernard comments, "The existence o f such types can scarcely be chal­
lenged. 1,64
Achievement-oriented single women may have more d i f f i c u lt y f u l ­
f i l l i n g her a f f i l i a t i o n needs simply because by d e fin itio n , her single
sta te means she does not have a lif e - lo n g companion to re lie v e feeling s
o f lo nelin ess.
Peter Stein believes th a t the most v it a l need of single
females (and males) is a substitu te fo r the intimacy and c o n tin u ity pro­
vided by the tra d itio n a l fam ily s tru c tu re .
This was re fle c te d by the
. ^ R o s s i, "B arriers to Career Choices," pp. 79-80.
^Donald Hoyt and C arroll Kennedy, " In te re s t and Personality
Correlates o f Career-Motivated and Homemaking-Motivated College Women,"
Journal o f Counseling Psychology, 5 (Spring 1958): 47.
f^Jesse Bernard, Women and the Public In te re s t (Chicago:
Aldine Ather'tpp, 1971), p. 9.
\
21
fa c t th a t a m ajority o f the single people in S te in 's interviews empha­
sized friendships and social a c t iv it ie s .* ^
To meet th is need fo r a f f i l i a t i o n , Rustum and D elia Roy suggest
th a t single persons be adopted into a fam ily in th e ir community.
These
single people would be in v ite d to fam ily outings, such as dinners,
th e a te rs , and vacations.
At the same tim e, they would be able to make
demands on the fam ily and, in re tu rn , accept re s p o n s ib ility from the
fa m ily . 66
Contrary to these researchers' fin d in g s , a d iffe r e n t type of
woman, who s a tis fie s both her achievement and a f f i l i a t i o n needs, may
e x is t.
In Laurel O liv e r's research, no s ig n ific a n t differences in
achievement and a f f i l i a t i o n existed between homemaking and careeroriented women, but the two variab les in teracted s ig n if ic a n t ly .6^
F rie d ric h 's and Harding's research indicated th a t social s k ills -might
be an area o f achievement because achievement m otivation was p o s itiv e ly
--------------M -------------03SteTn, S in g le , p. 109.
66Rustum Roy and Della Roy, "Is Monogamy Outdated?" in A lte rnatives: Exploring Intim ate R elationships, ed. Roger Libby and Robert
Whitehurst (Qlenview, I l l i n o i s : S c o tt, Foresman, 1977), p. 31.
6^Laprel O liv e r, "Achievement and A f f ilia t io n M otivation in
Career-Oriented and Homemaking-Oriented College Women," Journal of
Vocational Bdhavior, 4 (June 1974): 274.
22
correlated with e f f o r t on a te s t o f social s k i l l s . 68
In Rand's research,
the career-o rien ted women possessed ty p ic a lly masculine c h a rac te ris tic s
and retained feminine t r a i t s .
According-to Judith Bardwick, a women
with high achievement m otivation may add domestic endeavors to her l i s t
of accomplishments, such as high grades.
A fte r graduating from co lleg e,
she may compete to be the best gourmet cook, the most o rig in a l seam­
stre s s , mother o f the most successful c h ild re n , w ife o f the corporation
president, and head o f the county p o lit ic a l party.
Single females may look to th e ir careers.to f u l f i l l th e ir
a f f i l i a t i o n needs as well as achievement d riv e .
One unmarried social
s c ie n tis t described t h is ,
I t seems
woman has to
hood, i f you
to mothering
to me th a t the most valuable c h a ra c te ris tic a
o ffe r is compassion--call i t a capacity fo r mother­
lik e - - b u t it s importance in a career sense re la tes
the whole w orld, r e a lly caring about other people.*6
L. Friedrich and J. Harding, Achievement M otivation and
Academic Performance in Women ( It h ic a : Cornell U n iv e rs ity , 1968),
c ite d by Aletha Stein and Margaret B a ile y , "The S o c ia liza tio n of
Achievement M otivatio n ," in Women and Achievement, ed. by Martha
Mednick, Sancjra T a n g ri, and Lois Hoffman (New York: Halsted, 1975),
pp. 152-153. '
6^Lorraine Rand, "M asculinity or Fem ininity: D iffe re n tia tin g
Career-Oriented and Homemaking-Oriented College Freshmen Women," in
The Professional Woman, ed. Athena Theodore (Cambridge: Schenkman,
1971), p. 164,
^BartJwick, Psychology of Women, p. 170.
23
whether or how they h u rt. I t adds a q u a lity o f humanity to the professional world which helps combat some o f the s t e r i l i t y
c h a ra c te ris tic o f th a t w o rld .71
Judith Bardwick also sees th is new woman emerging among her
senior female students going on to graduate school.
These women do very
well academ ically, plan to earn graduate degrees, and pursue th e ir
careers with v ig o r.
The fie ld s o f study they choose are the ones with
more nurturant aspects (such as c h ild and c lin ic a l psychology, e t c . ) ,
but a t the same time* these women are demanding high le v e ls o f achieve70
ment from themselves.
, Negative Feedback to Single Women
The negative description o f being aggressive is often aimed a t
any fo rc e fu l female, no m atter what her m arital statu s.
U nfortunately,
a single woman is more lik e ly to be labeled as such because she is more
often in situ a tio n s in which she must be assertive and fo r th r ig h t.
73
In a d d itio n , i f a c e lib a te woman p e rs is te n tly pursues achieve­
ment to v a lid a te her s e lf-w o rth , she may encounter ostracism fo r d is ­
regarding the ro le expectations of women.
Matina Horner believes th a t
th is female, along with other success-oriented women, w ill learn th a t 7
1
71Birpbaum, "L ife Patterns and Self-Esteem in G ifted Women," p.
416.
17
73
Bardwick, Psychology o f Women, pp. 186-187.
Adaips, Single Blessedness, p. 78.
24
ambition is considered unfeminine and th a t many men w ill tr e a t her with
"d is tru s tfu l tolerance a t b e s t ." 74
Judith Bardwick explains th is pres­
sure to earn only the respectable "B" grade, instead o f an outstanding
"A."
Purdue U n iv e rs ity , where I earned my B.S. degree, used to
publish t|ie names o f a ll students who earned an "A" average
during the previous semester. The f i r s t time my name was
lis t e d , I was enraged, to ld the newspaper "they had the nerve,"
and in general c arried on outrageously--and the reason, which
I was f u l ly aware o f , was my fe a r th a t now the g ir ls would
d is lik e me and the boys would be a fra id o f me.'5
In constrast, women who are achievement-oriented and autonomous
may seek out s itu a tio n s and people which approve o f those t r a i t s , rath er
than discourage them.
Jongeward' and Scott believe th a t adults seek the
same kinds o f reinforcement they received in th e ir childhood.
If a
g ir l is encouraged to be a tomboy, she w ill learn to seek approval fo r
being a tomboy.
L a te r, in l i f e , she w ill probably seek p o sitiv e re in -
forcement fo r q u a litie s which are atypical of women. 7
A single woman may have more d i f f i c u lt y meeting her a f f i l i a t i o n
needs than a married woman and conclude th a t she is unimportant to
people.
A married in d iv id u a l's number o f friendships grows through his
spouse's kinship network, and with tim e, the number becomes even greater
_____________
i,
74Horper, " F a il:
75
B right Women," p. 259.
Bardwick, Psychology, o f Women, p. 179.
7^Jongeward and S c o tt, Women as Winners, p. 91.
25
as a second generation develops.
In c o n trast, a single in d iv id u a l's
number o f single companions grows sm aller as he grows o ld e r, and he must
constantly make conscious e ffo rts to replace lo s t re la tio n s h ip s . 777
8
Since the fam ily as a source o f id e n tity is stressed fo r women
more than men, single females may have more d if f ic u lt y than single men.
f i t t i n g in to social networks.
Consider coffee-break small ta lk among
women employees, which centers on husbands, children and homemaking
h in ts .
/\ single woman liv in g by h e rs e lf would probably fe e l obligated
to make appropriate contributions to the conversation, and y e t she may
know l i t t l e about those to p ic s , or be t o t a lly d is in te re s te d .
I f her
a ttitu d e s become apparent, the homemakers may label her as aloo f and
snobby.
The sparseness o f never-married women to serve as po sitive
models leaves single females in a void.
They do n't know how to cope
successfully with singlehood, and th is dearth of knowledge nurtures a
fe e lin g o f deviancy w ith in them.
78
Laura Bergquist w rite s , "One reads
of legendary females lik e Jane Adams, who had s a c rific e d Wifemanship
fo r Humanity, but who could id e n tify with them?"
79
77Adanis, Single Blessedness, pp. 142-143.
78
H a rrie t Holt e r , "Sex Roles and Social Changes," in Women and
Achievement, .ed. Martha Mednick, Sandra Tangri and Lois Hoffman (New
York: Halsted, 1974), p. 13.
7^Bergquist, "How Come a Nice ,Girl?" p. 107.
26
F in a lly , independent and achievement-oriented single women may
feel th a t the ultim ate snub they receive is th a t many men w ill not
court them fo r marriage.
80
Thus, these single women may feel lik e
merely spectators to m arriage, which is often considered the main source
o f happiness fo r females.
^ S r q le , Mental Health in the M etropolis, p. 180.
CHAPTER I I I
METHODOLOGY
Goals
z
The methodology o f th is research, was twofold.
The f i r s t was
to learn through a survey differences in autonomy, achievement need,
a f f i l i a t i o n , and negative feedback fo r autonomy and achievement between
single and married graduate students.
The second was to learn through
interviews what changes a t Montana State U niversity and in Bozeman
single women graduate students desire in meeting th e ir a f f i l i a t i o n needs.
Sample
D e fin itio n o f Sample
The sample fo r the survey consisted o f a to ta l o f 183 degree­
seeking and non-degree graduate students a t MSU during the f i r s t session
o f summer school in 1977.
Selection o f Sample
The to ta l population was 243 women graduate students enrolled a t
MSU during the f i r s t summer session in 1977.
The students' names and
addresses were obtained from the campus telephone operator.
',
From the
l i s t o f students, every fourth one was elim inated from the survey.
Questionnaires were completed and returned by 121 of the subjects.
28
Twenty never-married graduate students were selected fo r the
interviews through personal contacts and the O ffice o f Educational
Services a t NSU.
Some o f the in terview subjects received the question­
n a ire , and some did not.
Instruments
Survey
The questionnaire was developed, consisting o f tw enty-four
questions, each on a continuum-six on a f f i l i a t i o n , seven on achievement
m otivation, and s ix on negative feedback fo r autonomy and achievement.
The questions in the categories were mixed throughout the instrument.
The continuum was from one to seven, with seven as the highest numerical
score and one the lowest fo r a f f i l i a t i o n , achievement, autonomy, and
negative feedback.
Undergraduate gradepoint was requested, on the
assumption th a t a p o sitiv e c o rre la tio n exists between high achievement
m otivation aqd high G.P.A.
81
To insure v a lid it y , survey questions were reviewed by fiv e
fa c u lty members a t NSU--instructors in s t a t is t ic s , fam ily l i f e , coun­
s e lin g , education, and te s tin g and counseling.8
1
81Magna Arnold, Story Sequence Analysis (New York:
U niversity Prqss, 1962), pp. 175-176.
Columbus
29
Questionnaire r e l i a b i l i t y was tested .
Nineteen undergraduate
women answered the questionnaire tw ice, with a ten-day in t e r v a l.
co rrelatio n s between the two tests were found.
on a f f i l i a t i o n was .822;
negative feedback .758.
achievement .860;
The
The score fo r questions
autonomy .517;
and
A s ta tis tic ia n indicates th a t those scores
showed acceptable levels o f r e l i a b i l i t y .
The questionnaire, a cover l e t t e r , and return envelooe were
mailed e ith e r through the postal service or campus m ail.
To motivate
the subjects to complete and return the questionnaires, a g i f t c e r t i­
fic a te fo r an ice cream cone a t the MSU student Union was enclosed with
the questionnaire.
To keep track o f who had and had not returned th e ir
surveys, d iffe r e n t numbers were printed inside o f each return envelope.
Since the percentage o f returns was h ig h --s ix ty -fo u r percen t--th e
researcher believed i t was unnecessary to send follow -up cards to the
subjects who d id n 't return th e ir surveys.
Means, standard deviatio ns, and T -te s ts were calculated fo r a ll
o f the questions, by categories.
For example, the means and standard
deviations were calculated fo r the to ta l o f the six questions on
autonomy, and T -te s ts were conducted to check i f differences in autonomy
existed among m arried, never-m arried, and divorced women.
Means,
standard d eviatio ns, and T -te s ts were also calculated fo r every one of
the twenty-fqur in divid ual questions fo r the three groups o f women.
30
Interview
Eight in terview questions were developed, and they were tested
fo r c la r it y with a practice session.
The interviews were tape recorded
fo r la t e r reference and increased accuracy.
The responses to the ques­
tions were c la s s ifie d according to content, and the responses in each
c la s s ific a tio n were counted.
No formal s ta tis tic s were calculated on
the in terview data because the purpose o f the interview ing was to specu­
la te on how Bozeman and MSU could help single women.
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Description o f Respondents to Survey
Questionnaires were returned by 121 o f the female graduate
students— seventy-four m arried, twenty-two never-m arried, twenty
divorced, and two widowed women.
s ix ty -fo u r percent o f the sample.
The number o f returns represents
The widows are excluded from the
discussion because there were only two.
Data Description
Survey Data
Autonomy in Respondents
The mean scores of the divorcees on questions on autonomy were
s ig n ific a n tly higher than the married women a t the .05 le v e l, while
mean scores o f the single women were not s ig n ific a n tly d iffe r e n t from
e ith e r the wives' or divorcees' scores.
(One is the lowest possible
score fo r autonomy, achievement, e t c . , and seven is the h ig h est.)
Perhaps,the r e a lit y o f being on th e ir own spurred the divorcees
to become more autonomous.
/
They would have d if f ic u lt y believing th at
some man w ill care fo r them fo r the re s t o f th e ir liv e s .
A single woman
can fa n tasize th a t someday a knight w ill rescue her from having to think
fo r h e rs e lf, and the married woman already has her man;
however, the
32
TABLE I
MEANS OF TOTAL SCORES ON QUESTIONS ON AUTONOMY
I
Married
2
NeverMarried
Mean
4.40
4.68
,5.01
SD
0.90
0.82
1.01
3
Divorced
I &2
I & 3
2 & 3*
1.36
2.63
1 .23
T -te s t
*Numbers represent m arital status as indicated.
divorcee’ s knight l e f t her in the woods to fend fo r h e rs e lf.
Now, she
must think through problems by h e rs e lf and cry on her own shoulders.
The newly-divorced female must cope with divorce proceedings,
social c r itic is m , maintaining her c a r, landlord problems, making fin a n c ia l decisions, and meeting her social needs by h e rs e lf.
82
While the
married woman has a husband and a single woman may have been able to
develop these s k ills g radually, the new divorcee may not have the s k ills
to liv e on her own.
The re a liz a tio n o f new re s p o n s ib ilitie s may make
her want to be as s e lf - r e lia n t as possible to prevent being l e f t in the
lurch ever again.
Thus, the divorcee may not want to depend on a man,
nor anyone else. 8
2
82Norton Hunt, The World o f the Formerly Married (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1966), p. 50.
33
At the same tim e , women who are dependent may remarry sooner
than the independent divorcees.
On the other hand, the growth o f autonomy in a w ife may upset 1
the equilib rium o f a marriage and cause a divorce.
I f a w ife has been
f u l f i l l i n g the tr a d itio n a l sex ro le and suddenly embraces' feminism, the
husband may have to adjust to preserve the marriage, and i f he doesn't,
the marriage pray end.
the wives.
Hence, the divorcees may be more independent than
Jongeward and Scott explain th is point in a case study in
Women as Winners.
83
The married women's mean was 4 .4 0 ;
never-m arrieds' 4 .69; and
divorceds 1 5 .0 1 , a ll o f which are above the mean o f the scale, which
is 4 .0 0 .
Whether or not these means are high or low cannot be ascer­
tained because i t is not known what the means would be on these autonomy
scales fo r a random sample of the to ta l female population o f the United
States.
Therefore, conditions which might cause one to judge the scores
as high or low w ill be discussed.
A person might choose to consider four and on e-h alf or fiv e to
be a low score fo r these graduate students.
Perhaps, college students
are encouraged to follow a brick road to knowledge, ra th e r than to
think fo r themselves.
, '
83
One graduate student remarked, '"You have to 8
3
I
Jongeward and S co tt, Women as Winners, p. 204.
34
sort o f sneak learning in between a ll those required books. ' " 845
8
Sex ro le expectation th a t women shouldn't be independent may
override the influences o f education, feminism, and the Western c u ltu re ,
and s t i l l cause women to be less autonomous.
Another p o s s ib ility is th a t some o f these women may have chosen
to be students to avoid the re s p o n s ib ilitie s of jo b , c h ild re n , house, or
husband and to be dependent upon the school fo r stru ctu rin g o f time and
goals and fo r less intense personal relationsh ips than a fam ily o ffe rs .
The author has noted from personal experience th a t mistakes as a student
or dorm resident have fa r m ilder consequences compared to errors on the
jo b , with an intim ate (such as husband or lo v e r), or in ra is in g children.
The u n iv ers ity can also be an escape fo r a single woman.
One
female asked, " ' I f a g ir l graduates from college and is n 't engaged, what
should she do?
She can go to New York fo r a career, but I lik e academic
l i f e , so th is is what I d id . ' " 88
Thus, the u n iv e rs ity may be an escape
fo r women wishing to be dependent, ra th e r than independent, and seeking
temporary s h e lte r from the workaday world.
In c o n trast, the ro le of a graduate student places certain
expectations, such as te s ts , papers, and comprehensive exams, which may
be more e a s ily disregarded by a homemaker.
Further, whether a student
84B orpff, "Graduate Limbo fo r Women," p. 419.
85 Ib id . , p .-41 7 .
35
role is perceived as more dependent or more independent seems re la tiv e
to what previpus role the student role, is being compared to .
For
example, i f i t is being compared to work in adm inistratio n, student
l i f e may seem dependent.
I f four and on e-h alf .is regarded as a high score fo r autonomy
in women, education, academic success, and higher in te llig e n c e may have
caused them to be more independent.
In t e llig e n t ia are usually the
f i r s t to protest oppression, and so may g ifte d women be more indepen­
dent.
Also, since these women were more educated than most, one may
speculate th a t they were more lik e ly to embrace feminism, which is
commonly considered a sign o f independence.
Another p o s s ib ility is th a t the strength o f the e a rly fem inist
movement may s t i l l a ffe c t a ll it s women--married, unmarried, and
divorced.
Montana elected the f i r s t woman to Congress in 1916, the
Wyoming T e r r it o r ia l Legislature granted women the r ig h t to vote in 1869,
Wyoming had the f i r s t woman Justice o f the Peace in 1869, and Wyoming
elected the f i r s t woman governor in 1925.
Further, as a re s u lt o f the endurance required to s e ttle the
sparsely populated W e s t,^ some have thought th at the Western culture in
the U.S. may expect a ll females to be as s e lf - r e lia n t and emotionally
rugged as the cowboy o f the Marlboro c ig a re tte commercials suggests.
^ James Horan, The Great American West (New York;
pp. 204-205. '
Crown, 1959),
36
"Montana is where men are men, and so are the women," remarked an MSU
student.
Another comment the author heard was, "The West was hell on
horses and women."
While i t has been said th a t l i f e
in rural states often d is ­
courages nonconformity, the women who attend graduate school are
probably among the most independent o f her sex.
One may speculate th at
a c tiv e ly pursuing a career, rath er than concentrating on ra is in g a
fa m ily , often makes a graduate student an oddity in rural areas ,
87
and
she may develop re s ilie n c y to fig h t feeling s o f e c c e n tric ity .
A ll o f the women may be independent fo r d iffe r e n t reasons.
One
may speculate th a t the married women who attend graduate school are the
most autonomous o f her lo t because they feel free enough from t r a d i­
tio n a l roles to pursue graduate degrees and leave husbands and maybe
even children a t home.
The independent single women may have been over
OO
looked a t po ten tial mates,
or they may have decided marriage was too
OQ
r e s tr ic tin g ,
and the divorcees may be independent fo r reasons
explained previously.
S ig n ific a n t differences existed in the re p lie s to two of the
questions—one concerning arguing with a frie n d and another concerning
^ B o r o ff, "Graduate Limbo fo r Women," p. 421.
^ S r q l , Mental Health in the M etropolis, p. 180.
^Hayens, "Women, Work and Wedlock," p. 980.
37
friends who disregard s o c iety's expectations.
The f i r s t question asked the subject to choose between ( I )
"to
keep s ile n t when a frie n d expresses a b e lie f I disagree w ith , to pre­
serve the friendship" and (7) "to argue with a frie n d fo r what I believe
in and ris k losing the re la tio n s h ip ."
On th is question, the single
women scored s ig n ific a n tly higher than the wives a t the .05 level in
being more w illin g to argue.
TABLE 2
WILLINGNESS TO ARGUE WITH FRIEND AND LOSE RELATIONSHIP
I
Married
2
NeverMarried
3
D ivoreed
Mean
3.86
4.72
4.55
SD
1 .54
1.40
1.09
T -te s t
,
2.46
1.86
0.44
In lig h t o f the importance th a t the subjects in S te in 's survey
placed on frien d sh ip s,
the single women's responses may be surprising.
One could surmise th a t friendships were important to his single subjects
because they d id n 't have mates to keep them company and they were often
outside fam ily c i r c l e s . ^
^ S t e ip , S in g le , pp. 82, 109.
38
However, these single females may have f e l t th a t expression of
disagreement and the s e ttlin g o f problems is necessary to te s t and to
deepen relationsh ips and to prevent fu tu re arguments.
For them, the
relationsh ips must be strong because single women don't have husbands'
upon whom they can re ly .
The reason why singles may feel th a t i t is necessary to te s t
friendships by a irin g c o n flic ts can be explained by a noted th e ra p is t's
theory th a t arguing is needed to maintain a good re la tio n s h ip between
husbands and wives.
Dr. George Bach, author of The Intim ate Enemy,
believes th a t verbal c o n flic t is productive and d e s ira b le , i f conducted
properly.
He describes covering up disagreements as "gunny sacking . 11
Complaints are collected in a "gunny sack" fo r a time u n til eventually
the "sack" breaks from being too f u l l .
This spreads the collected
grievances a ll over the re la tio n s h ip , causing an explosive rage, while
le v e lin g about the issues as they arose could have prevented a V irg in ia
Woolf scenario.
91
An example o f a single woman "gunny sacking" with a female
frie n d would be i f she was disgusted with her frie n d 's habitual la t e ­
ness, constant complaining, and not returning a few loaned items.
Y et,
the woman never expressed her negative feeling s to her companion.
One
^ Dr. George Bach and Peter Wyden, The Intim ate Enemy (New York
W illiam Morroy, 1969), pp. 1-3.
39
day, when the frie n d was a h alf-h o u r la t e , the women simply cut o f f the
re la tio n s h ip , while discussing the issues as they came about could have
saved the frie n d s h ip .
W illiam Blake expresses th is point in a poem:
I
I
I
I
was angry with my frie n d :
to ld my wrath, my wrath did end.
was angry with my foe:
to ld i t not, my wrath did grow.
Single women may re ly on th e ir friends more than wives who can
count on th e ir husbands.
Since these relationships a re , th e re fo re , more
intense, more tensions arises than i f the relationsh ips were based on
belonging, fo r example, to the same committee.
The single women may have had a stronger id e n tity and known
where they stood in issues, and thus, be more lik e ly to argue with a
frie n d .
Since they were less li k e l y 't o be submissive about th e ir
opinions in conversation, some men may have overlooked these women as
Q9
po ten tial brides and found more mild-mannered females. -
Hence, one
may suggest th is is why the singles were more lik e ly to argue with th e ir
friends than the wives in th is study.
The three groups also d iffe re d in th e ir responses to a question
regarding nonconformity.
The divorced women indicated a s ig n ific a n tly
higher preference fo r (7) "friends who tend to behave d iffe r e n tly from
s o c iety's expectations," as opposed to ( I )
"friends who follow so ciety's
^ S r o -] , Mental Health in the M etro polis," p. 180.
40
expectations f a i r l y closely" than the other two groups.
The divorcees
had a mean o f 5 .3 0 , while the wives scored 3.89 and the single subjects
scored 4 .0 4 .
TABLE 3
FRIENDS WHO BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY FROM SOCIETY'S EXPECTATIONS
I
Married
2
NeverMarried
3
Divorced
Mean
3.89
4.04
5.30
SD
1.52
1.31
1 .63
T -te s t
0.44
3.61
2.88
The divorcees probably sympathized with nonconformists more than
th e ir single and married counterparts because they themselves had hot
followed s o c ie ty 's expectation th a t they remain married and had perhaps
encountered ostracism fo r divorcing.
93
Single women have not yet met
the expectation th a t they marry, but th a t is more often judged to be
lack o f opportunity, ra th e r than d e lib e ra te nonconformity.
Of course,
married f u l f i l l the expectation th a t females become wives.
The divorcees' preference fo r friends who are nonconformist is
9^Arthyr M ille r , "Reactions o f Friends to Divorce," in Divorce
and A f t e r , e d .: Paul Bohannan (New York: Doubleday, 1970), p. 66 .
41
in keeping with the general autonomy o f th is group, as indicated by
th e ir score fp r the to ta l o f the questions on independence.
The three groups scored s im ila r ly on the other questions on
autonomy.
The m arried, s in g le , and divorced women showed a s lig h t
preference fo r (7) essay questions, as compared to ( I ) questions with
one r ig h t answer.
They had means o f 4 .6 6 , 5 .4 0 , and 5 .2 0 , re sp ectively.
These women probably scored s im ila rly as th e ir graduate school a tte n ­
dance indicates lik e in te re s ts in academic achievement.
Further, the
common in te re s t in education o f many o f the subjects would also cause
the scores to be s im ila r.
On another question concerning classroom work, the women's
means were also close.
The subjects were asked to choose between ( I )
"classes with no discussion groups" and (7) "classes with discussion
groups."
(The author assumed th a t a preference fo r discussion classes
is an in d ic a tio n o f autonomy.)
single 5.08;
The married women's mean was 5.23;
and divorced 5.55.
Again, the resemblance in academic
in tere s ts and a b ilit ie s may account fo r the small d iffe re n c e s.
No s ig n ific a n t differences a t the .05 level existed between
the groups on the continuum o f ( I )
"to s tic k close to my frie n d when I
go to the pool" and (7) "to take o f f and swim by myself when I -go to
the pool."
Apparently, social independence did not depend on m arital
status fo r these women.
Perhaps, the subjects preferred a balance o f
being with others and being alone, as indicated by a score o f four in
42
the middle o f the continuum.
Another p o s s ib ility is th a t since swimming
i s n 't a very s ig n ific a n t aspect o f d a ily liv in g , few differences would
e x is t.
The women scored s im ila rly on the choice ( I ) "to dress in a
s ty le s im ila r to my peers" and (7) "to dress exactly the way I want,
regardless o f what everyone else wears."
4 .8 2 ;
the never-married 4 .9 6 ;
The married women's mean was
and the divorced 4 .9 0 .
Limited budgets
and time could account fo r the small differences in the scores.
A
career woman who is pursuing a graduate degree possibly has l i t t l e
to scour shops fo r unique o u tfits or to sew o rig in a l designs.
time
Even
more li k e l y , paying fo r graduate school often leaves l i t t l e money fo r
unusual clothes.
94
I t should be noted th a t a woman could dress exactly the way she
wants and simultaneously dress in a s ty le s im ila r to her peers.
While differences in expression o f in d iv id u a lity in clothing may
have existed in the three groups when a ll of them were single college
greshmen, time may have erased the d iffe re n c e s.
As a woman grows o ld e r,
her appearance may become less important because she bases her s e lf worth more on who she is than what she looks lik e .
C la ire Luce
explain s, "For the more mature and em otionally secure a woman becomes,
^ B o r o ff, "Graduate Limbo fo r Women," p. 420.
43
the less she turns to the looking glass to give her self-confidence and
95
a sense o f personhood . . .
A f f ilia t io n in Respondents
The three groups had s im ila r means in the to ta l o f questions
regarding a f f i l i a t i o n .
A ll three means were near fo u r--th e center of
the continuum.
TABLE 4
MEANS OF TOTAL OF SCORES ON QUESTIONS ON AFFILIATION
I
Married
2
NeverMarried
3
Divorced
Mean
4.49
4.56
4.66
SD
0.89
1.07
0.85
T -te s t
I &2
I & 3
2 & 3
0.31
0.77
0.36
A score o f four may be in terp re te d as a low score fo r a f f i l i a ­
tio n i f one believes th a t most women are very people-oriented.
I t could
follow th a t women who attend graduate school have chosen achievement,
rath er than a f f i l i a t i o n , as th e ir number one p r io r it y , and to study more
and s o c ia liz e le s s .
While i t is possible to have both achievement and
95C la ir Luce, "What Really K ille d Marilyn?" in Centering on a
Lopsided Egg^ ed. Ed Rintye (Boston: A llyn and Bacon, 1975), p. 141.
44
a f f i l i a t i o n as p r io r it ie s , a t le a s t occasionally one must choose between
them because resources o f tim e, money, and energy are lim ite d .
I f a score o f four is in terp re te d as an average fo r al l females *
ra th e r than a low score fo r a f f i l i a t i o n , then the subjects could have
incorporated independence and achievement in to th e ir perso n alities
without losing th e ir people o rie n ta tio n .
Another p o s s ib ility is th a t
since many o f the women were teachers, they were in terested in people
and pursued excellence in th e ir dealings with them.
TABLE 5
MEANS OF QUESTIONS ON AFFILIATION
Choice
Married
NeverMarried
Divorced
A few ( I ) or many (7) close friends and
acquaintances
3.43
2.88
To go jogging or do some sport by myself
( I ) or with another person (7)
5.21
5.16
A club with cold relationsh ips requiring
l i t t l e e f f o r t ( I ) or a warm one requiring
much e f f o r t (7)
5.07
5.48
5.16
To spend l i t t l e ( I ) or much (7) time
w ritin g le tte r s to friends and making
local phone c a lls
3.80
4.28
4.35
Friends who Keep th e ir problems to them­
selves ( I ) or who confide in you (7)
5.34
5.40
5.95
2.95
.
5.20
I t is apparent from the s im ila r ity of scores on the questions
45
th a t m arital status did not d iffe r e n tia te these female graduate students
as to a f f i l i a t i o n need.
Perhaps, since many of the women are teachers,
they would have s im ila r scores on a f f i l i a t i o n .
There were big d iffe re n c e s, however, among the means o f the d i f ­
fe re n t questions w ith in the category o f a f f i l i a t i o n .
The women showed
a strong preference fo r few friends and acquaintances and took a moder­
ate position on amount o f time w ritin g le tte r s and making phone c a lls .
I t may be speculated th a t the graduate students need close friends fo r
psychological s u rv iv a l, but a t the same tim e, th e ir careers, such as
homemaking and teaching, leave only a moderate amount o f time fo r
social l i f e , one aspect o f a f f i l i a t i o n .
Possibly, i f the women do
belong to a club, they want i t to be one th a t tr u ly meets th e ir social
needs, ra th e r than a pleasant
pastime.
One can surmise th a t the women
f e l t th a t i f they do jog, they may as well ask someone to go along and
strengthen frie n d s h ip s , as well as improve th e ir health.
Achievement Need in Respondents
For the most p a rt, the women responded in a lik e manner to the
questions on achievement m otivation.
A ll three groups' means were near
f iv e , and the groups had s im ila r grade point averages.
This may in d i­
cate th a t factors other than m arital status influenced the subjects'
achievement d riv e , or th a t th e ir success o rie n ta tio n did not influence
th e ir m arital s ta tu s , or th a t the sample was very homogeneous in some
respect.
46
TABLE 6
MEANS OF TOTAL OF SCORES ON QUESTIONS ON ACHIEVEMENT
I
Mprried
2
NeverMarried
3
Divorced
Mean
4.95
5.15
5.08
SD
0.70
1.07
0.85
T -te s t
I &2
I & 3
1 .28
0.73
0.42
I &2
I. & 3
2 &3
1.02
0.20
0.68
2 & 3' ,
TABLE 7
GRADE POINT AVERAGES
I
Married
2
NeverMarried
3
Divorced
Mean
3.20
3.30
3.23
SD
0.41
0.36
0.37
T -te s t
Apparently, achievement m otivation arid m arital status did not
influence each other s ig n ific a n tly in these graduate students.
Their
high grades consistently indicated high achievement m otivation, accordQC
ing to Arnold's research.
Presumably, the fa c t th a t many o f the women
^ A rn o ld , Story Sequence A nalysis, p. 176.
were pursuing careers in the same f i e l d , education, could have caused
th e ir achievement m otivation to be s im ila r.
Outside the academic w orld, stronger differences in achievement
motivation may e x is t among s in g le , m arried, and divorced women.
The married woman scored s ig n ific a n tly higher than her divorced
counterparts on the choice between ( I )
"learning the resu lts o f my
actions la te r " and (7) "learning the resu lts of my actions im m ediately."
(According to a study o f the a u th o r's , the desire to know the resu lts o f
one's actions immediately is associated with achievement need.)
One may
speculate th a t the additional re s p o n s ib ilitie s of m arriage--bigger
b i l l s , c h ild re n , in -la w s , a home and a husbahd--would make women need
to know the consequences of th e ir actions as soon as possible to prevent
problems.
TABLE 8
LEARNING THE RESULTS OF ACTIONS IMMEDIATELY
I
Married
2
NeverMarried
3
Divorced
Mean
6.23
5.96
5.10
SD
1.07
1.01
2.04
T -te s t
I & 2
I & 3
2 & 3
1.09
3.35
1.84
The three groups o f women scored lower on long-term goals than
48
any other question concerning achievement.
The women wanted to be
responsible fo r th e ir work and to have challenging jo b s , but they showed
a s lig h t preference fo r short-term goals as compared to long-term goals.
TABLE 9
COMPARISON OF MEANS FOR QUESTIONS ON ACHIEVEMENT
Married
NeverMarried
Divorced
A job with moderate pay and high challenge
5.27
5.76
5.90
Taking personal re s p o n s ib ility fo r a major
o f my work
6.53
6.64
6.60
Long-term goals (years or decades)
3.65
3.84
3.80
Perhaps these graduate students have developed enough achieve­
ment m otivation to be career minded and to attend graduate school, but
not enough to p re fe r planning th e ir careers and th e ir l i f e in terms o f
years and decades.
Scott and Jongeward explain th a t women may have d i f ­
f ic u lt y s e ttin g goals and overcoming b a rrie rs to them because they do
not believe t h e ir ultim ate fa te is in th e ir hands.
97
This reluctance to commit oneself to a long-term goal can be
p a r t ia lly explained by Robert L i f ton's description o f a Protean man.
believes th a t man is no longer as close to the tra d itio n a l values of
Q -J
Jongeward and S co tt, Women as Winners, pp. 26-27.
He
49
fa m ily , r e lig io n , and other in s titu tio n s , and th e re fo re , he is a root­
less wanderer.
The Protean man is so overwhelmed with the images of
other cultures through mass communication th a t he cannot id e n tify him­
s e lf with any idea or value fo r very long.
In contrast to the past, i t
is now rare to commit oneself to one ideology throughout one's l i f e .
Nuclear power challenges the b e lie f th a t one can achieve im m ortality
through his children or though his kindnesses.
Why should a person
commit him self to the fu tu re when there may be none?
The increase
in m o b ility , divorce and change in careers are additional evidence fo r
the existence o f the Protean man.
TABLE 10
MEANS FOR SELECTED QUESTIONS ON ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION
Choice
Married
NeverMarried
Divorced
Games which involve more luck ( I ) or more
s k ill (7)
5.08
5.72
5.50
Routine ( I ) or (7) untested ways of reaching
goals
4.09
4.40
4.30
Low ( I ) or moderate (7) risks in card
playing
4.09
3.95
4.44
Taking personal re s p o n s ib ility fo r only a part
of my work ( I ) or fo r a m ajority of my work (7) 6.53
6.64
6.60
A job with high pay and less challenge ( I ) or
one with moderate pay and high challenge (7)
5.76
5.90
5.27
50
The means fo r the questions on achievement in d ic a te th at the
women were concerned about achievement in th e ir work, while other areas
are less im portant.
The question concerning re s p o n s ib ility fo r work
got the highest score o f the tw enty-four questions, and the question
about the challenging job got among the Highest ra tin g s .
A possible explanation could be th a t many o f the women were a t
graduate school to improve th e ir job performance or to get a b e tte r
p o sitio n .
The women may have scored high on the question about respon­
s i b i l i t y a t work because i t concerned freedom from constant supervision
a t work.
To the question about goals, the women indicated a s lig h t
preference fo r using untested methods in reaching goals and a l i t t l e
stronger preference fo r games requirin g more s k ill than Tuck.
They
showed a consistent pattern o f being achievement and challenge oriented
in th a t the scores were above four.
One may speculate th a t the women showed a preference fo r lower
risks in card playing because they believed th a t achievement o f goals
is the re s u lt o f hard work and responsible actions, ra th e r than mere
QQ
Robert L i f ton, "Protean Man," in Family in T ra n s itio n , ed.
Arlene Skolnick and Jerome Skolnick (Boston: L i t t l e Brown, 1971), pp.
379-385.
51
luck.
This indicates achievement m otivation according to David
McClellan, a Harvard psychology professor.
99
Negative Feedback to Women about Autonomy and Achievement
The means fo r the groups o f questions about negative feedback
were low fo r a ll three groups, and no s ig n ific a n t differences existed
between them.
Perhaps these women wouldn't have developed in te re s t
in attending graduate school i f they had received much negative
feedback fo r achievement and autonomy.
is explained by Jongeward and Scott J 00
The influence o f such feedback
One can speculate th at i f a
woman's husband objected to her m a tric u la tio n , she probably wouldn't
go to the u n iv e rs ity .
Doing graduate work while leaving an ira te
husband and children a t home seems lik e an Amazonian task.
TABLE 11
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR AUTONOMY AND ACHIEVEMENT
Mean
I
Married
2
NeverMarried
3
Divorced
2.56
2.55
2.56
0.69
0.25
.083
SD
T -te s t
0.26
0.00
0.01
QQ
T. George H a rris , "To Know Why Men Do What They Do" Psychology
Today, January 1971, p. 36.
52
Conversely, the author imagines th a t those women, who had
husbands who supported th e ir educational goals, probably wouldn't
h esitate to go ahead.
I t is lik e ly th a t these husbands knew th at
th e ir wives t]ad high goals before marrying them and th e ir desire to
attend graduate school la t e r wasn't surprisin g.
At the same tim e, people may give a divorced woman approval fo r
being autonomous and achievement-oriented because she has to make a new
l i f e fo r h e rs e lf.
Another p o s s ib ility is th a t i f these women were given early
encouragement to be independent and to seek excellence, they have
learned, consciously or unconsciously, to avoid people who would give
negative feedback fo r those t r a i t s .
The seeking of p o s itiv e re in fo rc e ­
ment, s im ila r to th a t received in childhood, is explained by Jongeward
and Scott in Women as Winners.
IOl
When the questions regarded negative feedback (Table 12) from
"people," fo r autonomy and achievement, the three groups reported a
small amount o f c r itic is m .
c r it ic a l than "people."
The reported parents as being even less
C e rta in ly , the parents are pround, concurring
with the observation th a t Americans are achievement-oriented. (America's
s c ie n tific progress and fin a n c ia l success are often considered signs
^Jqngew ard and S co tt, Women as Winners, p. 91.
101
Ib id .
53
o f achievement m o tiv a tio n .)
I t should be noted th a t the scores to th is
question are the most extreme in the lower end of the continuum of a ll
the scores.
TABLE 12
MEANS FOR QUESTIONS ON NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Married
NeverMarried
Divorced
2.33
2.44
2.95
People admire me ( I ) or frown (7) i f I earn
high grades in math, e tc .
2.00
2.29
2.35
People admire me ( I ) or show disapproval (7)
when I show I am very career minded
2.71
2.24
2.50
My parents encourage ( I ) or discourage (7)
making career achievement a major goal
1.67
1.28
1 .57
Men show they are pleased ( I ) or show
disapproval (7) when I show i n it ia t iv e in
our re la tio n s h ip
2.62
3.24
2.60
Men lik e i t ( I ) or show discomfort (7)
when I beat them in a game
4.12
4.08
3.60
Choice
Approval ( I ) or disapproval (7) fo r doing
mechanical things
However, the women reported higher disapproval from men fo r
beating them in games.
The means to th is question were the only ones
over four o f a ll of the questions on negative feedback.
I t has been
suggested th a t men often feel uncomfortable when females beat them in
games because i t threatens th e ir self-im age of s u p e rio rity .
54
The women reported th a t men showed less disapproval fo r showing
in i t i a t i v e in man-woman re la tio n s h ip s .
sin g les' 3 .24;
and divorcees' 2 .6 0 .
The wives' mean was 2.62;
J t may be th a t the women graduate
students' in i t i a t i v e was less threatening to the men than s k ill in games.
I n it ia t iv e im plies e q u a lity , while more s k ill implies s u p e rio rity .
The author has observed th a t when a woman shows i n i t i a t i v e , i t
takes some re s p o n s ib ility o f f a man's shoulders.
For example, i f a
woman is taking a man o u t, he doesn't have to decide which movie they
are going to and plan what to do afterw ards.
The general s im ila r ity in scores o f the never-married and mar­
rie d women corresponds with the more recent studies and contrasts with
the older research mentioned in the review o f lit e r a t u r e .
Perhaps,
th is decrease in d iffe re n c e is due to the ris e o f feminism and the
higher number o f women working outside the home.
Interview Data
Finding Dates in Bozeman
In response to the question, "How is Bozeman fo r fin ding dates?"
ten o f the twenty women said they d id n 't look fo r dates.
Explanations
included attending summer school fo r p rim a rily academic reasons, worry
th a t an a f f a i r would in te rfe re with a ca re e r, and the number of a c t iv i­
tie s a t MSU th a t d id n 't require a male escort.
Four women believed th a t Bozeman was worse than other c it ie s .
55
One subject explained th a t her academic achievement seemed to threaten
men.
Another graduate student asked, " T m here a t summer school.
Who
comes to summer school but breadwinners, which are single women and
married men? " 1
Seven women reported th a t Bozeman was b e tte r fo r fin ding dates
than other places they had liv e d ,a n d the reason most often c ite d was
the U n iv e rsity.
" I do n't fin d Bozeman any more d i f f i c u l t or any less d i f f i c u l t .
I liv e d during the year a t Kali s p e ll,
same a t both places.
It 's
and I found i t p re tty much the
impossible!" exclaimed another graduate
student.
TABLE 13
MODES FOR REPLIES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Number
9
Reply
I do n 't look fo r dates.
13
Bozeman is a b e tte r place fo r fin ding female frie n d s .
9
Bozeman is a b e tte r place fo r fin ding events where single
people are comfortable.
12
No changes are needed a t MSU to help single females meet
social needs.
10
No changes in Bozeman are needed to help single females meet
social needs.
11
Loneliness is no more prevalent among single females than
other groups.
3
56
TABLE 13 (Continued)
Number
Reply
10
No changes are needed in Bozeman to help single women cope
w ith lo nelin ess.
10
No changes are needed a t MSU to help single females cope
with lo nelin ess.
Finding Female Friends in Bozeman
In response to the question, "How is Bozeman fo r fin ding female
friends?" th irte e n o f the twenty women believed th a t Bozeman was an
easier place to fin d female frie n d s .
The dormitory was often c ite d as
the vehicle fo r making woman frie n d s .
Two women believed Bozeman was worse.
s o ro ritie s fo r s e ttin g up social b a rrie rs .
One c r it ic iz e d the
Another commented:
In other communities, I am simply recognized as a member
o f the community, whereas here I'm recognized as a member of
the college community. Consequently, I'm not as involved in
organizations I belonged to in the past, lik e AAUW [American
Association o f U niversity Women], because I'm considered a
member o f the c o lle g e , not having been in c o lleg e, having a
degree already. So, . . . I'm not included unless I go out
and p ra c tic a lly demand, "Here I am."
In co n tra s t, another subject said th a t she knew a lo t of d i f ­
fe re n t kinds pf people because she was involved in AAUW,
Two women d id n 't feel q u a lifie d to comment, and another said
she wasn't p a r tic u la r ly concerned about her social l i f e .
57
Events Where Single People Feel Comfortable
In reply to the question, "How is Bozeman fo r fin ding events
where single people are comfortable?" nine women said th a t Bozeman was
b e tte r, and tjie reason most often c ite d was the Urtiversi t y .
Four said th a t they made themselves comfortable wherever they
were.
One subject explained, "There's no problem fin d in g social s itu a ­
tions in which I feel comfortable because I don't feel lik e an outsider
ju s t because I'm single in most places."
Three subjects f e l t Bozeman was worse.
Two thought Bozeman was
in fe r io r to the East Coast c itie s they were from.
Another explained
th a t there w eren't th a t many a c t iv it ie s , except rodeos, and she d id n 't
enjoy them because she wasn't from the West.
Four women d id n 't fe e l q u a lifie d to rate Bozeman fo r finding
events where single people are comfortable.
Two f e l t they were too
involved with th e ir stu d ies, another liv e d in a d iffe r e n t community, and
the other d id n 't feel lik e a part o f Bozeman.
Changes a t MSU to Help Single Females Meet Social Needs
Twelve o f the twenty women believed th a t no changes were needed
to help single women meet th e ir social needs a t MSU.
my own needs.
" I ' v e always met
I don't expect MSU to meet them," explained one subject.
Eight women had s p e c ific suggestions including a singles' club,
an association o f graduate students, more fre e events, more in te ra c tio n
58
between academic departments, and less emphasis on s o r o r itie s .
One
p a r tic u la r ly fru s tra te d subject remarked., "A sing les' club would be
great or a big b u lle tin board with names and places o f a ll single males'
on campus.
I'm serious.
I am."
One graduate student complained th a t the community doesn't
reach out to graduate students because they are here fo r only a short
tim e, but she d id n 't know how th a t change would be arrive d a t.
Changes in Bozeman to Help Single Women Meet Social Needs
In response to the question, "What changes in Bozeman would
make i t easier fo r you to meet your social needs?" nine women said no
changes were needed, four d id n 't know o f any, and eigh t suggested
changes.
Two graduate students wanted a new type of bar in Bozeman.
One
wanted a qu iet bar to go to ju s t to t a lk - - a type between a red-neck bar
and a Ramada Inn.
Another wanted a sophisticated b a r --!ik e one found
in downtown Minneapolis--W ith reasonably priced drinks.
"Who wants to
lis te n to a freshman complain about her in tro to psych or about a f r a t
party?" she asked.
One subject wanted the b a rrie r between Bozeman and the Univer­
s ity broken down, and another could see using the churches as a social
v e h ic le .
A bus and more places o f entertainm ent and a c tiv it ie s which
w eren't couple-oriented were also mentioned.
59
Loneliness as a Major Problem fo r Single Women
Ten o f the twenty women said th a t loneliness was no more pre­
valent among single women than any other group.
Another woman said,
"I spent most o f my time studying while I was going to school.
I kind
o f lik e being a lo n e ."
Many o f the women were adamant th a t loneliness is a matter of
a ttitu d e , not m arital statu s.
"You are as lonely as you want to be."
Loneliness is "a m atter I can do something about or ju s t be lo nely.
And th a t's a choice I make so I don't see i t as a huge problem."
)■
"Single women can get wrapped up with the fa c t th a t th e y 're alone and
have a p ity p a rty , and then th e y 're r e a lly lo n e ly ."
Another was more philosophical and explained th a t loneliness
was an in divid ual m atter and coping with i t involved g ettin g to know
oneself.
One woman described her experience with loneliness with another
person, in contrast to being lonely by oneself.
with John and fe e lin g lo n e lie r than I do now.
" I can remember liv in g
Having someone there and
not being able to ta lk to him accents the lo n elin ess."
It 's
" te r r ib le .
She continued:
It was real tough, la s t September, when I broke up with John.
My phone b i l l s , fo r four months, were between eighty and one
hundred d o llars fo r c a llin g my friends back East and my fam ily.
A fte r a w h ile , I co u ld n 't a ffo rd to spend more than h a lf my
income on rent and phone c a lls . My friendships up here got
stronger so i t was ea sie r to make a local phone c a ll.
I t was less
stre s s fu l to know I d id n 't have to pay fo r a local c a ll.
60
Now, she says.
A fte r dealing with people fo r seven hours as a hostess a t the
Pasta Company [a local restau ran t] or teaching, I want to be
l e f t alone, read the newspaper, f i x lunch, and replenish my
resources. I want to unplug the phone fo r an hour.
Another woman said i f she stayed home and watched TV, sewed,
crocheted, or k n itte d , she wasn't lo n e ly .
Only in fre q u e n tly , she was
lonely because she wanted to do something and couldn't fin d anyone to go
with her.
One graduate student f e l t th a t i t was important fo r a single
woman to feel lik e p art o f a group, e s p e cia lly a fa m ily .
I f the woman's
fam ily i s n 't a v a ila b le , she should -be able to fin d a su b s titu te fa m ily ,
she said.
A subject d id n 't fin d loneliness a problem a t Bozeman, but i t
was a d i f f i c u lt y during the school year when she taught.
Not being able
to fin d dates and liv in g o f f campus were c ite d as facto rs contributing :
to lo nelin ess.
Changes in Bozeman to Help Single Females Cope with Loneliness
Ten o f the twenty women said th a t there was nothing Bozeman
should do to help single women cope with lo n elin ess, nine made sugges­
tio n s , and another said she co u ld n 't think o f anything.
Concrete suggestions fo r Bozeman to help single women deal with
loneliness included:
women's groups to ta lk about coping with lo n e li­
ness, a s in g le s ' club, more a ttra c tiv e single men, b e tte r bars, a dress-
61
up day fo r wpmen, church a c t iv it ie s , a column in the newspaper on up­
coming MSU events, and the reaching out o f churches, Welcome Wagon,
e t c ., to single women.
Changes a t MSU ,to Help Single Females Cope with Loneliness
Eight o f the twenty women believed th a t MSU d id n 't need to make
any changes in help single women cope with lo nelin ess.
life .
"You make your
You need other people, but b a s ic a lly , you make your l i f e , "
explained one subject.
Four females suggested th a t MSU sponsor awareness groups.
One
female added,
They would have to have some so rt o f action connected with
it.
I t seems to me to s i t around and ta lk about i t would not
solve the problem. I t wouldn't solve the problem to get together
with women i f one wanted to meet men. The women would have to
take some s p e c ific action . . . .
Intramural sports fo r women, a column of upcoming events,
a c tiv itie s where single women could meet single men, a class which
would teach women to appreciate th e ir fe m in in ity , and more time allowed
fo r s o c ia liz in g a t the expense o f studying were other ideas o ffered .
The most common responses to the interview questions were th a t
the subjects d id n 't look fo r dates, th a t they had no problems in fin d in g
female friends or events where they would feel comfortable in Bozeman
and th a t loneliness was not more prevalent among single women than other
groups.
G enerally, the women believed th a t they, not MSU nor Bozeman,
62
were responsible fo r meeting th e ir social needs.
The responses to the in terview questions leave the impression
th a t these single women were a self-contained group which had adjusted
to meeting it s social needs.
One can speculate th a t the higher i n t e l l i ­
gence o f the subjects and the s e lf-r e lia n c e stressed by the Western
cultu re prompted these responses.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, EVALUATION, AND -POSSIBILITIES
FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Summary
This exploratory study was designed .to learn through a survey
differences in achievement m otivation, autonomy, a f f i l i a t i o n , and d is ­
approval fo r autonomy and achievement m otivation between single and
married women graduate students.
In a d d itio n , interviews were conducted
to learn what help single women graduate students desired from MSU and
Bozeman in meeting th e ir a f f i l i a t i o n needs.
Women graduate students
attending the f i r s t session of summer school in 1977 a t MSU comprised
the population fo r the study.
A questionnaire was designed to get a t
the differences previously mentioned between married and single women. ■
The survey, along with an introductory l e t t e r and a g i f t c e r t if ic a t e
fo r an ice cream cone, was sent to 183 women graduate students, and 121
were returned.
The means fo r the groups o f questions and each o f the twentyfiv e survey questions were studied, and the scores o f the s in g le ,
m arried, and divorced women were compared.
The resu lts o f the study showed few s ig n ific a n t differences
between single and married women, and the divorced women seemed to be
more set apart from the married women than the single women were;
The divorcees were s ig n ific a n tly more autonomous than the wives
a t the .05 le v e l.
The scores fo r autonomy of the married and single
64
women were near the center o f the continuum.
The single women were more
lik e ly to argue with a frie n d than the wives, and the divorcees were
more lik e ly to choose friends who were nonconformists than e ith e r the
married or sipgle women.
On the other questions concerning autonomy, no
s ig n ific a n t differences existed .
The m arried, s in g le , and divorced women had s im ila r means fo r
the questions on a f f i l i a t i o n .
A comparison o f answers to the questions
on a f f i l i a t i o n revealed th a t the women wanted to have close re la tio n ­
ships, but they d id n 't want to spend a great deal o f time developing
them.
For the most p a rt, the women responded in a lik e manner to the
questions on achievement m otivation.
fiv e .
A ll three groups' means were near
The married women scored s ig n ific a n tly higher on the choice
between ( I )
"learning the resu lts of my actions immediately" and (7)
"learning the resu lts o f my actions la te r " than the divorcees.
A ll of
the women scored lower on the question on long-term goals than any
other question concerning achievement.
The three groups reported low negative feedback fo r autonomy
and achievement;
however, the women indicated th a t when they beat
men in games, the men showed discomfort f a i r l y o fte n .
In the in terview s, the unmarried subjects, fo r the most p a rt,
said th a t Bozeman and. MSU were easy places fo r them to meet social needs
and th a t Bozeman and MSU were'not responsible fo r re lie v in g th e ir
65
lo nelin ess.
Most said th a t they were not lo n e lie r than anyone else
because they were s in g le .
Evaluation
This study was exploratory.
There was no hypothesis to te s t.
The large percentage o f return and the complete way in which the
surveys were f i l l e d enabled the exploration to be quite thorough.
The
findings should be useful to anyone in terested in the experiences o f the
female graduate students th a t were studied.
Also, these findings are
additional evidence th a t the trend is toward less d iffe re n c e between
single and non-single females in ro le behavior, concurring with the more
recent studies mentioned in the Review o f L ite ra tu re .
I f the survey had been sent out during the school year, rath er
than during a summer session, the sample could have included more
students in engineering, nursing, e t c . , and fewer teachers.
Presumably,
the la rg e s t percentage o f the students were education majors and th a t
could have influenced the s im ila r ity in responses to the questions.
Possibly, two o f the questions in the survey could have been
less ambiguous and more s p e c ific to produce more v a lid re s u lts .
The
questions, which asked the subjects to choose between long-term and
short-term goals, could have specified what types of goals, i . e . , career
or budget aim?.
The question about "untested ways o f reaching goals
which involve much work" could have narrowed on tasks a t work or in the
66
classroom.
Including the g i f t c e r tific a te s fo r the ice cream cones seemed
to be an e ffe c tiv e , inexpensive,, and convenient way to encourage
returns.
The graduate students were probably b e tte r than average sub­
je c ts fo r returning surveys because they are more aware o f the impor­
tance o f each returned questionnaire.
The introductory l e t t e r reminded
them o f th is po int.
Throughout the discussion o f the fin d in g s , the words-"probably," "perhaps," "may," and "possibly"--were often used.
Although
th is study i s n 't s tr ik in g , the number o f ideas and concepts th a t were
explored fo r the reader, perhaps, made th is study worthwhile.
Like so
much social science, i f th is study leads to fu rth e r studies of these
many queries, i t w ill be of additional value.
The questions th a t occurred to th is researcher during the study
and th a t might be recommended fo r fu rth e r research are:
1.
Are there differences in achievement m otivation , autonomy,
a f f i l i a t i o n , and negative feedback fo r achievement and autonomy between
women from d iffe r e n t geographic regions and densely-populated and
is o la te d areas?
2.
Why may divorced women be more autonomous than married and
single women?
Did the women's autonomy influence the s t a b ilit y of the
67
marriage, or did the divorce i t s e l f prompt the women to become more
independent?
3.
Are single and divorced women's friendships more em otionally
intense than married women's friendships?
4.
Does m arital status have less influence on autonomy,
achievement, a f f i l i a t i o n , and negative feedback fo r autonomy and
achievement in the u n iv e rs ity s e ttin g than in the world outside the
academic realm?
5.
Do college-educated women possess more autonomy and achieve­
ment m otivation and less a f f i l i a t i o n than women with only high school
diplomas?
6.
How many women, as compared to men, make long-term c a re e r.
7.
Is the fem in ist movement and the increase in divorce
plans?
influencing women to make long-range career plans?
8.
How do men adjust to the growth o f autonomy in women?
9.
Db male graduate students d if f e r from female graduate
students in autonomy, achievement m otivation, a f f i l i a t i o n need, and
negative feedback fo r autonomy, achievement, and a f f ilia t io n ?
10.
What help do single women desire in meeting th e ir social
needs in sma]l towns and m etropolitan areas, in contrast to MSU and
Bozeman?
APPENDICES
69
APPENDIX I
SURVEY
C ir c le the number which most c le a r ly represents your preference and experiences
among the fo llo w in g choices. For example, a student who enjoyed a tte n d in g school
much more than working on a job c irc le d the number 7.
Working on a job
1 2 3 4 5 6Q
A ttending co lleg e
A person who s l i g h t l y p re fe rre d job over c o lle g e would c ir c le the number 3.
A ff.*
F riends who keep t h e ir
problems to themselves
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
F riend s who confide in you
N .F .3
People approve when I do
mechanical th in g s , such as
change car t i r e s .
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
People disapprove when I do
mechanical th in g s , such as
change car t ir e s
A u t.3
K its fo r h a n d ic ra fts w ith
complete d ire c tio n s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To make up your own design
fo r a p ro je c t
A ff
A few close frie n d s and
acquaintances
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Many close frie n d s and
acquaintances
Ach.3
Games which in vo lve more
luck than s k i l l
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Games which in vo lve more
s k i l l than luck
Ach.
Short term goals (days,
weeks, or months)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Long term goals (years or
decades )
N .F .
People admire me i f I
earn high grades in math,
en g in e e rin g , or s t a t is t ic s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
People frown i f I earn high
grades in math, engineering,
or s t a t is t ic s
Ach.
Routine ways o f reaching
goals which in vo lve less
work
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Untested ways of reaching
goals which inv o lv e much
work
A ff.
To go jogging or do some
o th er sport by myself
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To go jogging or do some
other spo rt w ith another
person
People admire me when I show
am v e ry career-m inded.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
People show disap proval when
I show I am very c a re e rminded.
A ff.
To keep s ile n t when a frie n d
expresses a b e l i e f I disagree
w ith to preserve the f r ie n d ­
ship
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To argue w ith a frie n d fo r
what I b e lie v e in and r is k
lo s in g the re la tio n s h ip
A u t.
Test questions w ith one rig h t
answer (m u ltip le choice,
t r u e - f a ls e , e t c . )
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Open ended te s t questions
w ithout a r ig h t answer
(essay)
N .F .
I
70
A ff.
To belong to a club in which
the re la tio n s h ip s are c o ld ,
but is r e l a t i v e l y inexpensive,
convenient, and l i t t l e work is
req u ired
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To belong to a club in which
there are warm re la tio n s h ip s ,
but is expensive, is incon­
v e n ie n t, and much work is
req uired
Ach.
Low ris k s in card p layin g
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Moderate ris k s in card
p layin g
N .F .
Hy parents encourage me to
achieve in my work.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
My parents b e lie v e making
career achievement a major
goal is unfem lnine.
A u t.
C la s s e s w i t h no d is c u s s io n
g ro u p s (m ore l e c t u r e s t y l e )
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Classes w ith discussion
groups
A ch.
A jo b w it h h ig h pay and le s s
c h a lle n g e
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A job w ith moderate pay and
high challenge
A ff.
To spend l i t t l e tim e w r i t i n g
l e t t e r s t o f r i e n d s and m a kin g
l o c a l phone c a l l s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To spend much tim e w ritin g to
frie n d s and making lo c a l
phone c a lls
N .F .
Men show th e y a re p le a s e d when
I show i n i t i a t i v e i n o u r
r e la t io n s h ip .
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Men show d isap p ro val when I
show i n i t i a t i v e in our
r e la tio n s h ip .
A u t.
T o s t i c k c lo s e to my f r i e n d
when I go t o th e p o o l
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To take o f f and swim by
m yself when I go to the pool
w ith a frie n d
Ach.
Learning the re s u lts o f my
actio ns l a t e r
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Learning the re s u lts o f my
actio ns im m ediately
A ut.
To dress in a s ty le s im ilia r
to my peers
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To dress e x a c tly the way I
want, reg ard less of what
everyone e ls e wears
A ch.
T a k in g p e r s o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
f o r o n ly a p a r t o f my w o rk
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Taking personal re s p o n s ib ility
fo r a m a jo rity of my work
A u t.
To choose f r i e n d s who f o l l o w
s o c i e t y 's e x p e c ta tio n s f a i r l y
c lo s e ly
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
To choose frie n d s who tend to
behave d if f e r e n t l y from
s o c ie ty 's expectations
N .F .
Men l i k e i t when I show s k i l l ,
e ve n g r e a t e r th a n t h e i r s , i n
p la y in g a game.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A ch.
A p p r o x im a te ly w h a t was y o u r u n d e rg ra d u a te G ra de P o in t A vera ge?________
Men show discom fort when I
beat them in a game.
A re y o u m a r r ie d _____, o r n e v e r - m a r r ie d _____, o r d iv o r c e d ____ _, o r w idow ed
aA f f means a f f i l i a t i o n ;
a c h ie v e m e n t.
N .F . means n e g a tiv e fe e d b a c k ;
A u t. means a u to n o m y;
A ch. means
71
APPENDIX 2
COVER LETTER
Herrick Hall
Mon tana State University
Bozeman, M o n t a n a 59715
July
22,
1977"
Dear graduate
student:
Wou ld you help me with m y graduate w ork by completing and mailing
the e n c l o s e d s u r v e y ?
I f y o u h a v e d o n e s u r v e y s or o t h e r r e s e a r c h ,
y o u r e a l i z e h o w i m p o r t a n t it is f o r m e t o g e t b a c k y o u r survey.
T h e s u r v e y w i l l t a k e fi v e m i n u t e s a t t h e v e r y m o s t , a n d a s t a m p e d
a n d a d d r e s s e d e n v e l o p e is e n c l o s e d .
Th e results w i l l b e kept
anonymous
to pr otect yo u r privacy.
In a p p r e c i a t i o n for y o u r help,
I a m enclosing a gift
f o r a n ice c r e a m c o n e at t h e SUB.
T h a n k you,
Linda M a i n q u i s t ,
G r a d u a t e S t u d e n t in
Family Life Home Economics
Montana State University
certificate
72
APPENDIX 3
GIFT CERTIFICATE
Good
for a free
ice
c r e a m c o n e at the SUB
J u l y 22 to J u l y 29
73
APPENDIX 4
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
1.
Do you, as a single woman, f e d
th a t Bozeman is a less
d i f f i c u l t place to liv e in regard to meeting your social needs than
other places you have lived?
More s p e c ific a lly , how is Bozeman fo r
fin ding dates?
2.
How is Bozeman fo r fin d in g female friends?
3.
How is Bozeman fo r fin d in g events where single people are
comfortable?
4.
What changes a t Montana State U niversity would make i t
easier fo r you to meet your social needs?
5.
What changes in Bozeman would make i t easier fo r you to
meet your social needs?
6.
Some people believe th a t loneliness is a major problem
single women face.
7.
Do you believe th is is true?
What changes a t Bozeman would help single women cope with
th is problem?
8.
problem?
What changes a t MSU would help single women cope with th is
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MONTama
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cop .2
I
Mainquist, L. M.
Autonomy, achievement
motivation, and affilia­
tion need —