| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examines the achievement motive among the Chagga in order to explain their economic success, attained during the past sixty years amid general Tanzanian poverty. Since it was impossible to examine the first Chagga coffee growers, psychological tests were employed to ascertain levels of achievement motivation among present Chagga secondary school students and farmers, with Bondei and Hindu Asian students serving as control groups. The psychological techniques included McClelland’s Thematic Apperception Test, Knapp’s Color Preference and Time Metaphor Tests, Aronson’s Graphic Expression Test, Morris’ Value Scale, and the Sentence Completion Test for Achievement Motivation Measurement among Farmers. Actual economic and scholastic achievements by the same subjects were also Investigated in order to examine the validity of the psychological tests and to provide insight into the reasons for Chagga success in coffee growing. No statistically significant differences were found to distinguish any one group from the others. This lack of observed psychological differences between Chagga and less achievement proven Bondei subjects led to an examination of historical and ecological reasons for the unique Chagga achievements. Principal conclusions are (1) hypotheses dependent on any single variable (psychological, economic, /ecological, historical, etc.) prove difficult to substantiate because of the multivariance inherent in the process of economic development, and (2) although the achievement motive does not seem to have been associated with past Chagga success, the psychological commitment which it requires may be necessary for future Tanzanian development, and serious problems are foreseen if the Tanzanian government does not provide communication structures that can foster commitment to economic change. | |
