Fear of Success in Black Male and Female Graduate Students: A Pilot Study

Abstract

In accordance with Horner's (1969) assumption that the intensity of fear of success arousal increases with the subject's success potential, graduate students from a prestigious university were chosen for a pilot investigation of the motive to avoid success in black men and women. Thirty-five subjects (14 female; 21 male) received a verbal TAT and a 54-item sex role questionnaire designed for purposes of this investigation. Fear of success was scored according to the new, experimentally derived scoring system for this motive. Contrary to expectation, the results did not indicate any evidence of success avoidance in either sex. However, fear of success in females was clearly associated with striving to develop career interests compatible with their strong commitment to home and husband, while among similarly motivated males it was suggested that the pragmatic career orientation observed was the product of compensatory motivational dynamics. It was concluded that these subjects were motivated to avoid what are perceived to be role-inappropriate behaviors while conforming to socially accepted values internalized in earlier years.