Behavioral Implications of Ethnic Categories Among Northern Nigerian Schoolchildren

The major objective of this work is to test the heuristic value of the combination of certain aspects of cognitive theory and aspects stressing the social nature of ethnic groups and their boundary maintenance functions. The first section of the paper is a discussion of the cognitive theoretical approaches to anthropology of Goffman, Barth, Le Vine, and Goodenough that are combined and applied in this research. An extensive analysis of a case study follows that provides data on ethnic stereotyping and the cognitive dimensions of behavior. Questionnaires with open-ended responses were given to 121 children in grades 6 and 7 and secondary school in an ethnically heterogeneous area--Youri Division, Northwestern State, Nigeria. Their responses showed that ethnic groups are stereotypically ranked, reflecting well-understood rules for socioeconomic positions and rights, duties, and privileges of each ethnic group. The study concluded that members of an ethnic group see themselves as people who have access to a number of culturally defined social identities, the possession of which entitles them to certain rights and duties in interaction with members of other groups. The last section investigates the usefulness of the combination of cognitive and behavioral approaches and suggests some implications for further theoretical development and research. Data obtained from the study are included as tables in the paper. (Author/ND)