Race, Ethnicity, and the Achievement Syndrome

The disparity between the vertical mobility rates of some racial and ethnic groups can, in part, be explained as a function of their dissimilar psychological and cultural orientations towards achievement. Three components of this orientation--achievement motivation, achievement values, and educational-occupational aspirations--which have important consequences for social mobility in this country, are examined. Converging bodies of historical and ethnographic data indicate that differences between groups in motivation, values, and aspirations existed before their arrival in the Northeast, and had their origins in dissimilar socialization practices, traditions, and life-situations. Current attitudinal and personality data reveal that, for the most part, these differences still exist.