Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The theory of womanist identity development depicts a stage-wise process through which women develop a positive gender identity. Given women's experiences of oppression and the fundamental influence of gender upon behavior, research regarding how women develop positive gender identities is important. It was hypothesized that women who viewed a 35-minute videotaped segment of information pertaining to women's history would differ significantly from controls in regard to womanist identity attitudes and recollection of gender bias. The independent variables in the present study were two videotapes: (1) "Century of Women" and (2) "Psychotherapy." The dependent variables were (1) Womanist Identity Attitudes Scale (WIAS) and (2) Campus Environment Survey (CES). A Solomon four group design was utilized and data analyzed via analyses of variance. Results were nonsignificant. Participants who received the treatment did not differ significantly from participants who did not receive the treatment in regard to both womanist identity attitudes, F(1,76) = 2.36, p $>$.05, and gender bias, F(1,75) = 0.06, nonsignificant. However, post-hoc analyses suggested that for the 43 participants who were raised by educated fathers, the treatment did significantly increase the extent to which they questioned their values and beliefs (stage two: encounter), F(1,38) = 4.81, p $<$.05.

Implications regarding the theory of womanist identity development, how women's history may affect womanist identity attitudes and recollection of gender bias and the use of the Solomon four group design are detailed. Recommendations for further research utilizing conditions more closely analogous to those of counseling are detailed.

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