The Cognitive Development of Women: a Grounded Theory Derived from Fiction Harriet Howell Custer Iowa State University
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1987 The cognitive development of women: a grounded theory derived from fiction Harriet Howell Custer Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the American Literature Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, and the Literature in English, North America Commons Recommended Citation Custer, Harriet Howell, "The oc gnitive development of women: a grounded theory derived from fiction " (1987). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 8630. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/8630 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photo graph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the original text directly firom the copy submitted. Thus, some dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from a computer printer. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyrighted material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are re produced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each oversize page is available as one exposure on a standard 35 mm slide or as a 17" x 23" black and white photographic print for an additional charge. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. 35 mm slides or 6" X 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Accessing the UMIWorld's Information since 1938 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA Order Number 8805060 The cognitive development of women: A grounded theory derived from fiction Custer, Harriet Howell, Ph.D. Iowa State University, 1987 Copyright ©1987 by Custer, Harriet Howell. All rights reserved. UMI 300N.ZeebRd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark V . 1. Glossy photographs or pages 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print 3. Photographs with dark background 4. Illustrations are poor copy 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages 8. Print exceeds margin requirements 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print 11. Page(s) lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s) seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages numbered . Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled pages 15. Dissertation contains pages with print at a slant, filmed as received 16. Other University Microfilms international The cognitive development of women; A grounded theory derived from fiction by Harriet Howell Custer A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department: Professional Studies in Education Major; Education (Higher Education) Approved: Members of the Committee; Signature was redacted for privacy. In Charge of Majpfl/Work Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. aduate College Iowa State University Ames, Iowa ^ 1987 Copyright ^ Harriet Howell Custer, 1987. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 4 Purpose of the Study 5 Methods 6 Definitions of Terms 8 Assumptions of the Study 10 Limitations of the Study 11 Significance of the Study 12 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE 15 Defining Cognitive Development 16 Theories of Cognitive Development 19 Kohlberg's Cognitive Stage Theory of the Development of Moral Judgment 20 Perry's Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development 22 Women's Voices 24 The Anthropological View 24 The Psychological View 27 Gilligan and the Ethic of Care 31 Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger and Tarule on How Women Learn 38 Other Related Research Studies 44 Comparing the Theories of Gilligan and Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger and Tarule 46 Fiction and the Development of Women 49 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY 54 The Development of Grounded Theory 54 Development of the Research Problem 58 Procedure for Selecting and Reviewing the Literature 59 Theoretical Background 60 Selection of the Novels 61 Applying the Constant Comparison Method 61 CHAPTER IV THE COLOR PURPLE 78 Narrative Summary 79 Preliminary Evidence of Cognitive Categories 80 "I don't fight" 85 "My feets can let go the spot where they stuck" 90 "A needle and not a razor in my hand" 94 iii Page "Nothing but blooming trees" 97 "This hard work, let me tell you" 100 "I'm poor, I'm black, I may be ugly. But I'm here" 103 "Whatever happens, whatever you do, I love you" 105 Concluding Comments of Celie's Development 106 A Primitive Theory of Cognitive Development 108 CHAPTER V THE AWAKENING 115 Narrative Summary 117 Cognitive Characteristics of the Protagonist 118 Adele Ratignolle: "You seem to me like a child" 129 Mademoiselle Reisz: "You are the only one worth playing for" 132 Doctor Mandelet; "You seem to me to be in trouble" 135 Robert Lebrun: "Good-by—because I love you" 138 Primary Themes Which Relate to Cognitive Development 139 Chopin's Use of Imagery to Reveal Character and Cognition 143 An Evolving Theory of Cognitive Development 146 CHAPTER VI THE BLUEST EYE 149 Narrative Summary 151 Preliminary Evidence of Cognitive Characteristics 152 "How do you get somebody to love you?" 155 "The total absence of human recognition" 159 "She seemed to fold into herself" 163 "She never felt at home anywhere" 167 "How dare she love him?" 171 "Satisfaction guaranteed" 173 "The damage done was total" 176 An Evolving Theory of Cognitive Development 180 iv CHAPTER VII THE SONG OF THE LARK 184 Narrative Summary 186 Cognitive Characteristics of Thea Kronborg 188 Professor Wunsch: "It was a nature-voice" 197 Andor Harsanyi: "She sang from the bottom of herself" 200 Moonstone: "Something in the air froze her throat" 207 Ottenberg: "The voice is simply the mind and the heart" 211 An Evolving Theory of Cognitive Development 219 CHAPTER VIII THE BELL JAR 224 Narrative Summary 224 Cognitive Characteristics of Illness 226 Transitional Images; The Fig Tree and The Bell Jar 241 Cognitive Characteristics of Recovery 250 An Evolving Theory of Cognitive Development 257 CHAPTER IX THE HOUSE OF MIRTH 261 Narrative Summary 263 Cognitive Characteristics of Lily Bart 266 Gus Trenor: "That's dodging the rules of the game" 284 "She had never learned to live with her own thoughts" 288 "Poised on the brink of a chasm" 294 Rosedale: "You've had the power in your hands" 298 Lily did not "consider the question very closely" 302 An Evolving Theory of Cognitive Development 315 CHAPTER X A GROUNDED THEORY OF THE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN 320 General Features of the Novels 321 Characteristics of Cognitive Potential 326 Propositions Relating to the Cognitive Development of Women 328 A Theory of the Cognitive Development of Women 329 V Page CHAPTER XI CONCLUSIONS 353 Comparison of the Findings to Previous Related Research 353 Women and Higher Education 367 Implications for Further Study 379 Significance of the Study 381 BIBLIOGRAPHY 383 APPENDIX A MATERIALS SENT TO PANEL MEMBERS 390 APPENDIX B PANEL MEMBERS 399 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A central image in Tillie Olsen's novella Tell Me A Riddle (1956) represents the desire of women to learn in a culture which inhibits their quest for knowledge. In the bitterness of old age, Eva remembers her husband's insensitivity to that need in her; She thought without softness of that young wife, who in the deep night hours while she nursed the current baby, and perhaps held another in her lap, would try to stay awake for the only time there was to read. She would feel again the weather of the outside on his cheek when, coming late from a meeting, he would find her so, and stimulated and ardent, sniffing her skin, coax, "I'll put the baby to bed, and you—put the book away, don't read, don't read (pp. 75-76). Now an old woman, Eva's intellectual development has been stunted—sidetracked by the demands of housewifery and of a husband who has failed to understand that her needs are unique, different and distinct from his own. During the last two decades, psychological research has been concerned with cognitive and moral development. While Kohlberg (1969) and Erikson (1968) investigated development from childhood through early adulthood. Perry (1970) and Chickering (1984) described 2 the development of college students in formal learning situations. The research conducted by these four scholars has had an impact upon learning theory and practice as well as upon teaching in higher education and has provided a theoretical foundation for subsequent research; the results of their work, however, is limited (see Gilligan, 1982 and Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger & Tarule, 1986). Each conducted his research on primarily male subjects and generalized that what he discovered through studying men could also be applied to women.