MOTIVATION IN AFRICAN-AMERICANS

Close to 140 studies comprising an African-American empirical literatu re on motivation were reviewed. The review was organized around five t opics subsumed under three broader assumptions about the relationship between. ethnic minority status and motivation. First, research on the achievement motive was reviewed to examine the belief that African Am ericans lack certain personality traits deemed necessary for achieveme nt strivings. Second, the empirical literatures on locus of control an d causal attributions were summarized to investigate the assumption th at African Americans are less likely to believe in internal or persona l control of outcomes, the belief system that theoretically should acc ompany high achievement-related behavior. And third, research on expec tancy of success and self-concept of ability was reviewed to examine t he hypothesis that African Americans have negative self-views about th eir competence. None of these assumptions was supported in the review. In fact, African Americans appear to maintain a belief in personal co ntrol, have high expectancies, and enjoy positive self-regard. Some of the conceptual and methodological limitations of this research were d iscussed. The article concludes with six suggested principles of a mot ivational psychology for African Americans that might serve as guides for future research.