Ambition and Dominance among the Parsees of India

Summary The Parsees are Indians descended from Zoroastrian refugees who fled Persia at the time of the Moslem conquest. They are highly Westernized and economically very successful. A sample of the Bombay Parsee community answered a questionnaire which included scales of achievement motivation, authoritarianism, neuroticism, and social desirability. The same scales had previously been administered to a random sample of the whole of Bombay and a sample of Bombay residents with college education. Various international comparisons were also available. When compared with other Indians, Parsees were found to be low on achievement motivation and high on interpersonal authoritarianism. The previous sample showing a level of achievement motivation nearest to that of the Parsees was a sample of Los Angelenos. The results were consistent with previous findings showing that—contrary to McClelland's thesis—economic success is associated more with dominance than with ambition.