Journal of Psychology & Behavioral Science

Ideology, Character and Progress
Harold B. Jones, Jr.; Harold B. Jones, Jr.

Abstract
Every society has a dominant ideology, within the context of which each subset of belief and action must be understood. Child-raising practices both express and perpetuate this ideology. Different ideologies predict different outcomes. McClelland (1961) found that a sense of personal responsibility to the Divine was associated with an insistence upon children's self-reliance, which led to an increased number of entrepreneurs, more innovations, and accelerated economic progress. McClelland described his research as an elaboration of Weber's [1904-05] Protestant Ethic thesis. With economic progress there comes a dominant ideology emphasizing human self-sufficiency, and child-raising practices that derive from a sense of personal responsibility to the Divine go out of favor. This is mirrored in educational practices. The work ethic begins to disappear. This value re-orientation is evident in the behavior of American youth.

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