Ecology, Socialization, and Personality Development Among Athabascans

Field work in Alaska and the Southwest and a review of the literature suggest the presence of common dominant personality features among Athabascanspeaking Indians, regardless of rather widely differing social structural characteristics and acculturative influences. We hypothesize that (1) the harsh subarctic environment of the earliest Athabascans necessitated the development of individuals with personality and societal configurations which enabled them to function adequately within the framework of their specific ecology and that (2) the conservatism of socialization practices and attitudes accounts for the perpetuation of dominant personality characteristics among today's widespread Athabascans.