Carolyn Sherif
(1922-1982)
Learning Objectives
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Know the historical antecedents that
influenced Sherif
Understand the zeitgeist in which her
ideas were developed
Know the obstacle/struggles she faced
Become familiar with selected works
Identify the strengths & weaknesses of
her ideas/theories
Understand her influence on the field
Overview
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Personal/Professional Background
Historical Background
Review of selected works
Summary & integration
Learning Objectives
Historical Antecedents
 Zeitgeist
 Professional/Personal Struggles
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Her Early Life
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Born June 26, 1922 in Indiana. Her
father was a professor at Purdue
University and mother was a highschool science teacher
Sang on radio show in high school
Attended Purdue in an experimental
program for female science majors
Financed college working at a
bookstore, a radio station, and as a
paid singer in a church quartet
Graduate Studies
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In undergrad, she wrote a play the
US treasury used to sell war bonds
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Curious about the effect this play had
on audiences’ attitudes towards the
war; led to her interest in psychology
Obtained Master’s degree in
psychology at University of Iowa
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Opportunities due to lack of men (off to
war)
Early Career
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Offered a job at an RCA plant to
decrease turnover and increase
attendance
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She declined
1st job- Collecting data on potential
movies at Audience Research Inc. at
Princeton
She was not impressed!
 “Monday morning declaration of love…”
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Back to school…
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Primary interest in attitudinal research
Desire to work with Muzafer Sherif
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Princeton does not allow women to enroll
Works with Sherif while commuting to
Columbia University in New York
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Muzafer is very prominent at this time
Research with Muzafer became her focus
Married Life
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Dec. 1945- She and Muzafer are married
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Luckily he had been released from Turkish
prison
1947- Has first daughter
1947-1958- Works with Muzafer at
University of Oklahoma
1950- has second daughter
1955- has third daughter
1958- begins doctoral work at University
of Texas
Professional Career
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1961- earned Ph.D. from University
of Oklahoma
1961-1965- published four books
with Muzafer
Teaches Oklahoma Medical School
and Sociology Dept. of OU
1965- Penn State offered Tenure
track positions to both Carolyn and
Muzafer
Effect of the Women’s
Movement
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“To me, the atmosphere created by
the women’s movement was like
breathing fresh air after years of
gasping for breath. If anyone
believes that I credit it too much for
changes in my own life, I have only
this reply: I know I did not become
a significantly better social
psychologist between 1969 and
1972, but I surely was treated as a
better social psychologist.” (Sherif, 1983)
Effect of the Women’s
Movement
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Research contributions during 1945-1961
not well documented
“A careful historian will recognize that
both of us were involved in everything
published under the name Sherif after
1945. In several instances, when Muzafer
asked me to appear as co-author, instead
of in footnote or preface, I declined, a
tendency that persisted into the 1960s. I
would not do so again. I now believe that
the world which viewed me as a wife who
probably typed her husband’s papers
(which I did not) defined me to myself
more than I realized.”
Effect of the Women’s
Movement
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President of APA division 35, Psychology
of Women in 1979
Orientation in Social Psychology
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Study and publish on gender
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Book on the effect of one’s social status
Bias in Psychology, 1994
Recognition of her work
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Fellow of APA, 1976
Distinguished publication award, 1979
Distinguished contributions to Education in
Psychology, 1982
Historical Antecedents
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Male dominated academia
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WWII
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Unable to attend Princeton
Personal interest in psychology
Created opportunities for women
Shaped her research interests
Women’s Movement
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Led her to research on gender and social
status
Gained recognition for works
Learning Objectives
Selected works
 Strengths & weakness of her
research/theories
 Influence on the field
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Dave’s Presentation
Sherif (1973)
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Social distance - assesses relative
intimacy/rejection between members of
diverse groups
Studied degree of ego-involvement of AA
students in inter-racial interaction as a
function of previous/current white
contacts
Hypothesis - lower the probability of AAwhite interaction & stronger the ties with
AA reference groups, the lower AA
student’s ego-involvement in interaction
Method
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Participants judge advisability that an AA
student decide to interact with white
individuals in a series of situations &
classify into categories
Persons highly involved use fewer
categories than those less involved
Latitude of noncommitment - categories
left unlabeled; size inversely related to
issue involvement
Results
# Cat’s
LNC
AA independent M (LU)
2.80
0
AA independent F (LU)
3.50
1.30
AA fraternity M (LU)
4.67
3.44
AA fraternity F (LU)
5.57
4.56
W-M
4.53
12.97
W-F
4.75
20.49
AA independent M (SC)
4.05
21.31
AA independent F (SC)
3.72
11.87
AA fraternity M (SC)
4.53
26.00
AA fraternity F (SC)
4.86
23.45
Predicted Order
Discussion
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Attitudes are related to one’s reference
groups & interaction situations
encountered
AA social fraternity served as insulating
function
Own categories method holds promise for
truly social-psychological study of
individual attitudes
Influence on Field
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Developed singular, coherent approach to
social psychology
Argued psychology perpetuated myths
about women’s inferior position
Argued human behavior best understood
by studying the entire context
Integrated study of specific attitudes with
overall structure of self-system
Demonstrated that as individuals make
personal commitments, they develop
categories for perceiving social world
Summary
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Change in attitudes during WWII
spawned interest in attitudes
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Personal struggles and women’s
movement led to interest in gender issues
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Sherif (1973)
Sherif (1982)
First psychologist to integrate attitudes
with self-concept
Inspired future research on genderrelated issues
References
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Harvey, O. J. (1989). Muzafer Sherif (1906-1988), American
Psychologist, 44, 1325-1326.
Koesterer, M. (n.d.). Dr. Carolyn Wood Sherif: (1922-1982). Unpublished
manuscript.
Sherif, C. W. (1992). Bias in psychology. In J. S. Bohan. (Ed.), Seldom
Seen, Rarely Heard: Women’s Place in Psychology (pp. 107-146).
Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Sherif, C. W. (1983). Carolyn Wood Sherif. In O’Connell, A. N. & Russon,
N. F. (Eds.), Models of Achievement: Reflections of Eminent Women in
Psychology (pp 279-293). New York: Columbia University Press.
Sherif, C. W. (1982). Needed concepts in the study of gender identity,
Psychology of Women Quarterly, 6, 375-395.
Sherif, C. W. (1982). Social and Psychological bases of social psychology.
In A. G. Kraut (Ed.), G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series, Vol. 2 (pp. 9-72).
Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association
Sherif, C. W., Kelly, M., Rodgers, H. L., Sarup, G., & Tittler, B. (1973).
Personal involvement, social judgment, and action, Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 27, 311-328.
Sherif, C. W., (1973). Social distance as categorization of intergroup
interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 148-156.
Sherif, M., & Sherif, C. W. (1967). The adolescent in his group in its
setting. In M. Sherif (Ed.), Social Interaction (pp. 247-312). Chicago, IL:
Aldine Publishing Co.