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The role of the farmer's Self-Concept in determining farmer behaviour
Agric. Admin. & Extension 30 (1988) 99-108
The Role of the Farmer’s Self-Concept in Determining Farmer Behaviour
M. F. Seabrook Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonnington, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK
C. B. R. Higgins Derbyshire College of Agriculture, Morley, Derby, DE7 6DN, UK (Recieved 7 September 1987; revised version received 28 January 1988; accepted 1 March 1988)
ABSTRACT The images the farmer holds about himselflherself signijicantly aflect behaviour and the decisions made about the farm business. Details are given on the nature and measurement of these images and their relevance in understanding farmer behaviour. The importance of the Self-Concept from the viewpoint of extension and training is outlined by the use of three research projects: one from Syria and two from the United Kingdom. The need for marketing extension and training in a form that recognises the d#erent SelfConcepts of different farmers and in a manner avoiding conflict with these images is emphasised.
INTRODUCTION Each and every individual person has a view of himself or herself’ and a view about how he or she is seenby other people. These views and images about 99 Agric. Admin. & Extension 0269-7475/88/$03.50 0 1988 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Great Britain
100
M. F. Seabrook,
C. B. R. Higgins
the self can be termed the Self-Concept. The images defined by the SelfConcept, the way persons seethemselvesin their world, generatea frame of reference by which an individual recognises himself or herself and can preselect both the goals and the behaviour adopted from an array of alternatives. In an agricultural context, the individual farmer’s concept of himself or herself asa decision maker definesthe components of appropriate farming practice.4
THE STRUCTURE OF THE SELF-CONCEPT The Self-Concept is the conglomerate of those attitudes which the individual holds, regarding himself or herself, in relation to personally defined variables. Thus, the individual will have an attitude regarding himself or herself in terms of intelligence, shape,introversion, confidence,skill and so forth. The Self-Concept is not static, since the attitudes can change with the dynamics of knowledge and belief. Individual experiences will help to consolidate or shift a person’sattitude on the relevant dimension of the SelfConcept. However, the attitudes towards the self are, like all other attitudes, relatively enduring once established. In different contexts, different aspects of the Self-Concept come to the fore as determinants of behaviour. Three essential components are acknowledged within the Self-Concept. The CognisedSelf This component reflects the point at which the individual recogniseshimself or herself on the scaleof any dimension of the Self-Concept. In other words ‘. . . THIS
IS ME..
.‘.
The Other Self This forms a second component, important in the development of the Cognised Self, and reflects the point at which the individual perceivesothers to recognisehim or her on the scaleof any dimension of the Self-Concept. In other words ‘. . . THIS IS HOW I THINK OTHERS SEE ME.. .‘. The Ideal Self This constitutes the point on the scaleof any dimension of the Self-Concept to which the individual aspires.In other words ‘. . . THIS IS HOW I WANT TO BE SEEN..
.‘.
Role of Self-Concept
THE MEASUREMENT
in determining
farmer
101
behaviour
OF THE SELF-CONCEPT
The Self-Concept is a construct rather than a tangible structure and, as such, must be approached indirectly. It is a strictly individual construct, and will not necessarilyalways sharecommon referencepoints between individuals. The dimensions of the Self-Concept important to one individual may not be shared by another individual. A considerable amount of researchhas been carried out on the Self-Concept in agriculture,2 and measurement scales have been formulated and tested. The scales
A longitudinal casestudy investigation4 of a group of dairy farmers using the participant observation technique enabled some general ideas of effective dimensions to emerge. The farmers within the study population were then requested to place a mark on each of the scalesshown in Fig. 1 reflecting their Cognised Self, ‘. . . this is me.. .‘, on that dimension. Farmers were able to use these dimensions easily and the dimensions enabled differentiation between different farmers. EXPERIENCED
*------*------*------*------e
INEXPERIENCED
EXTENSIVE
*------*------*------*------*
INTENSIVE
TRADITIONAL INEFFICIENT
*------*------*------*------* *------*------s------e------*
PROGRESSIVE EFFICIENT
ORIENTATED
*------*------*------*------*
LIVESTOCK
MACHINERY
Fig. 1.
The parameters
ORIENTATED
The scales of the Self-Concept.
of the dimensions
of the Self-Concept
While the dimensions may be useful measures it is necessary to also understand the parameters of the dimensions selected.If the dimensions are universal within the population, the parameters of each dimension may be unique to each individual. For example, while the dimension PROGRESSIVE may be universal it may encapsulate a totally different concept in the perception of one individual to that held by another individual. One farmer may see it as being associated with the use of a computer in his business,another as being associated with the size of the farm business.In an attempt to circumvent this problem individuals were subjectedto a semi-structured interview centred upon the semantic scales,in which they defined the parameters of each scale as they saw them and
102
iU. F. Seabrook,
C. B. R. Higgins
delineated behaviours associatedwith that scalein the process.This process was aided by the use of a list of ‘possible’ behaviours and actions e.g. attends market every week takes holidays abroad keeps a lot of records usesand pays a consultant for advice feeds cows relative to their yield carries out analysis of silage dislikes paper work talks a lot to his neighbours keeps field records routinely trims animals’ feet likes ‘making and mending’ Respondents saw each dimension as a continuum, the parameters, with a few exceptions, reflecting degree rather than discrete differences. Whilst specific examples vary between individuals the definitions shown below reflect the actual perceptions of the study population. EXPERIENCED was defined by having the time, the opportunity and the willingness to learn. INTENSIVE was defined by the levels of inputs, high performance and hard work. PROGRESSIVE was defined by the speedof uptake of new ideas and the degreeof control over the business. EFFICIENT was defined by use of records and attention to detail. LIVESTOCK ORIENTATED was defined by the amount of physical and mental time devoted to cattle. The samescalesand dimensions can also be usedto define the Other Self and Ideal Self. APPLICATIONS
OF THE STUDY OF THE SELF-CONCEPT
The use of the Self-Concept to help understandfarmer behaviour A study has beencarried out of a group of farmers in the United Kingdom to investigate the way in which their Self-Concept influences their actions and behaviours.In many ways thesefarmers can be seenas typical of many other farmers throughout the United Kingdom and indeed worldwide. There are many similarities, for example, in the way that land is adjacent to roads and paths, the fact that many farmers travel to market to meet friends, and the fact that farming is generally a very visible process.The isolation of the role
Role of Self-Concept
in determining
farmer
behaviour
103
that these images of the self have on the components of behaviour may provide information which will have wide, if not universal, application. The Cognised Self in farming
practice
In generalterms,the individual decisionmaker’sconceptof himself as a farmer defines the components of appropriate farming practice. Perhaps in years to come we’ll be spending a lot of time in the office looking at performance targets on a computer, oh dear, I’d do it if I had to but I’m really not in farming to end up like that. This comment, by a Nottinghamshire farmer, exemplifies the role of the Cognised Self which furnishes the individual with an internally defined identity. Farmers recognise and identify with certain types of farmers and identify particular behaviours which are seento be appropriate. Farmers recognisea variety of sub-groups definedby the behaviour patterns to which affiliative preferencesare expressed.If this sub-group is not enthusiastic about a new farming development, for example, then the individual too rejects that approach to his/her farming, in order to retain identity. The Other Self in farming
practice
Farming is a notably visible occupation pursued by individuals within a highly judgemental peer group. Land is intersected by roads and lanes and meets other land farmed by other members of a farmer’s peer group. Practices such as the great effort put in to ensuregood fertiliser distribution in roadside fields, and buying a new large tractor, too big and totally uneconomic for the business,are examples of pandering to the Other Self. A group of you gets talking at market and if you haven’t tried these things you can’t say anything, you feel really left out of it. This quote, by a respected Staffordshire dairy farmer, reflects how an individual thought that he would demean his Other Self as a competent, knowledgeable farmer if unable to contribute to a conversation from firsthand experience.Many behaviours and many compromises of a technically sound package are adopted in support of the Other Self. These include experimenting with only parts of a complete system, i.e. with such things as grass hormone growth promoters, calcified seaweedor polymers to aid silagedigestion. Adopting some small technological, but incomplete, change appearsto meet farmers’ Other Self, but conflicts with most current research findings suggesting the adoption of complete packages. For example, increasing the yield of cereals is not simply a matter of adopting new varieties,it also involves using the correct seedrates,accurateplant spacing, appropriate pest control measures and the right level of fertiliser use.
104
M. F. Seabrook,
The Ideal Serf in farming
C. B. R. Higgins
practice
The Ideal Self furnishes the individual with an internally defined goal in relation to which lies his or her Cognised Self. In the perceptions of farmers, a number of stereotypesexist and thesehelp to define the Ideal Self in terms of farming behaviour. Discrete items of behaviour and behavioural patterns are associated with particular stereotypes, and if a given behaviour or pattern of behaviour is seen to be symbolic of a stereotype which runs contrary to the Ideal Self, its adoption would attack the individual’s own Self-Concept. For example, if a new researchidea symbolises a stereotype which runs contrary to the Ideal Self its adoption would causeconflict with the individual’s image, the Self-Concept. Under such circumstances, the individual must reject the behaviour, amend his or her Cognised Self, adjust his or her Ideal Self or soften the symbolism of that behaviour in his or her own perception. The following comment made by an Oxfordshire dairy famer in responseto a question concerning the use of drugs to synchronise calvings, reflects the Ideal Self. I suppose those go ahead farmers will jump at that, but I don’t really have any ambition to join them. Similarly the following remark, made by a Leicestershire farmer, reflects how a person wants to be seen. Yes, George R.. . . . . . has all these check lists, but of course he’s a businessman, he’s not a proper stockman. My wife says I spend more time with my cows than with the family, but stockmanship takes you like that. The role of the Self-Concept in extension and training There are a number of implications from the study of the Self-Concept within the context of extension and training. A common explanation put forward for the failure of the uptake of researchfindings, or innovations, is consideredto be a lack of knowledge by the farmer of thesenew techniques. Many resourcesare committed to information transfer. However, it may not be lack of knowledge which inhibits adoption but a conflict created by the new idea with the image of the self. If, for example, the idea is viewed by a farmer as for the PROGRESSIVE, but he has a view of himself as TRADITIONAL, he will not want to adopt it. The innovations are perhaps seenas ‘for someoneelse’.The Self-Concept may help to explain why some individuals are enthusiastic for change,while others are more reluctant to change.All individuals have views of themselves,and a person will try to interpret all information available to them in the light of this Self-Concept;
Role of Self-Concept
in determining
farmer
behaviour
105
to do anything elseinvolves changing the way of understanding the world, and that can be unsettling. When a state of tension arises because new research information means that one view a person holds of their world seems at variance with another view, an attempt is made to avoid such discomfort by: (a) ignoring the information or trying to discredit it; or (b) trying to interpret the information in a way consistent with one’s Self-Concept; or (c) changing one’s Self-Concept to a more compatible one; or (d) building a line of reasoning to justify one’s Self-Concept despite the information. Each of these responseswill reduce dissonance but in so doing will often merely reinforce the Self-Concept already held. The components of the SelfConcept, like attitudes, are difficult to change.If it is consideredthat the SelfConcept is a real inhibitor to change,the approach is to attempt to present ideas and material in a way which builds on the existing Self-Concept,rather than to try and changeit. The material must be presentedin such a way that it does not conflict with the Self-Concept. The Self-Concept has a very significant effect on the adoption of researchfindings. If the farmer’s SelfConcept is one of TRADITIONAL, EXTENSIVE and INEFFICIENT and he perceives a concern for new ideas to be associated with PROGRESSIVE, INTENSIVE and EFFICIENT he will not be attracted to them, and will do all he can to reject them to avoid a conflict with his SelfConcept. All three components of the Self-Concept are important in any decision to adopt, reject or compromise a quantum of behaviour. The concept of a quantum of behaviour, as a package of identifiable components, is important since much of the recent husbandry researchhas involved attention to a number of components either in parallel or in series. Three specific examples of research into the role of the Self-Concept in agricultural extension and training are now given.
A STUDY OF EXTENSION WORK IN THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF SYRIA A joint researchproject between the International Center for Agricultural Researchin Dry Areas, the Syrian University of Aleppo and the University of Nottingham is attempting to study how the image the Syrian farmer has of himself affects the adoption of new crop varieties. Preliminary studies suggestthat the Self-Concept of the farmer will indeed affect the degreeto
106
hi. F. Seabrook, C. B. R. Higgins
which he adopts new techniques. For example this quote from a Syrian farmer indicates a distinct attitude. I supposeI would could adopt these new varieties if I had to, but you know I really don’t want to alter, I suppose I see myself as a bit of a traditionalist. In the future this researchmay indicate lines of more effective presentation of information to farmers, i.e. in a way that may not conflict with a farmer’s view of himself as a TRADITIONAL and INEFFICIENT farmer. A STUDY OF A GROUP OF UNITED KINGDOM FARMERS
SHEEP
In a survey’ of 94 randomly selectedlowland sheepproducers throughout Great Britain, all with at least 150 ewes,an attempt was made to examine their attitudes to early lambing techniquesand the use of drugs to influence lambing rate and time. This is one of many researchareasthat has received very large amounts of British taxpayer support. The conclusions from this survey are of much interest; in generalterms it confirms the suggestionthat it is not a lack of information about new techniquesor husbandry changes,but a lack of willingness, or desire, to change. Table 1 summarises the results. TABLE 1 A Summary of the Results of a Survey of Lowland Sheep Farmers Farmers Farmers Farmers Farmers
who who who who
wished to change lambing time would use A.I. on their flock wished to increase their lambing percentage would use drugs to increase lambing percentage
% 4.3 21.3 66.0 31.9
In summary, only a very small number of producers appearedwilling to changetheir time of lambing, possibly reflecting the problems of feeding and managing ewes and lambs early in the year, and while there was some interest in increasing lambing percentagedrugs were not seenas the desired way to do this. In fact 35 per cent of the farmers did not evenwant to increase their lambing percentage.The limitations of any survey are accepted, but, when one considers the very considerable sums of money spent on research on aseasonallambing, attempts to generatemore than one lamb crop per year and the development of drugs to increase lambing rates, there is an indication of an apparent failure to assessthe needs and wants of the
Role of Self-Concept
in determining
farmer
behaviour
107
farmers. There are no doubt other examples where current agricultural research appears of no real relevance to many or even most farmers. The reason for this is the lack of interest in change held as an attitude by many farmers to the management of their businesses.Their Self-Concept is one of TRADITIONAL, INEFFICIENT and EXTENSIVE. A STUDY OF ATTITUDES
TO TRAINING
COURSES
The Self-Concept has important implications for training,3 and a number of studies of the attitudes of potential attenders at training courseshave been carried out.3 Figure 2 shows the results of a Self-Concept study and indicates the image position results for the ‘average’farmer (F) in the study together with their average perception of the type of person for whom the training course (C), on stockmanship, was designed. EXPERIENCED *------*F----*----C*------* EXTENSIVE *----F*------e------C-----* TRADITIONAL INEFFICIENT MACHINERY ORIENTATED
*--F--*------*------*----C* *----F*------*-----+---C-* *------*-----FC----*------*
INEXPERIENCED INTENSIVE PROGRESSIVE EFFICIENT LIVESTOCK ORIENTATED
Fig. 2. Perception conflict over stockmen training courses.
These results highlight the gap between perceptions. It is clear that these farmers perceive these courses as being for the PROGRESSIVE, INTENSIVE and EFFICIENT, while they see themselves as TRADITIONAL, EXTENSIVE and INEFFICIENT. There is no doubt they need the course, but cannot accept it as currently ‘marketed’. If, however, the training package could be designed and presented in a manner shown to be helping to ‘maintain a way of life’ or ‘reinforcing the traditional skills’ thesefarmers would be rather more interested,and be willing to adapt and change.In other words, the courseswould be more acceptablefor these farmers if packaged as for the TRADITIONAL and INEFFICIENT. This, however, also suggests a need for more than one type of course, one catering for the PROGRESSIVE/EFFICIENT another for the TRADITIONAL/INEFFICIENT, each presented in different ways for different people. There is another good reasonfor a variety of courses,as the Other Self can be easily threatenedby appearing ignorant in front of others. If the course contains people with very different perceptions and experiences there will be difficulties. There is a need for people to have similar perceptionsand backgrounds before the start of a course;if not they may say
108
M. F. Seabrook, C. B. R. Higgins
‘it’s just not useful’ being an easierway of saying ‘it’s too d@kultfor me, Z am totally out of my depth’. CONCLUSION It is recognisedthat the studies outlined comprise a relatively small number of farmers, but they do suggestthat the measurement of the Self-Concept can help to explain behaviour differences between farmers. More importantly, they highlight the need to decide and plan the presentation of information in ways that do not causeconflict with the farmer’s images of himself or herself. The studies probably have implications for all concerned with advising, training and educating farmers. The hypothesis presented would appear to have a relevance in many different cultural, social and economic situations. It would seem that the implications are of interest for advisers and trainers worldwide, explaining behaviour of farmers in many situations. A greater awareness of the Self-Concept may enable more effectiveextensionand training. The work suggeststhat a total unwillingness on the part of a farmer to change may be a greater inhibitor than a lack of knowledge. This unwillingness to change arises because of conflicts with the image of self and may in part be overcome by presenting information in a view more acceptable to the images of the self, and, in grouping farmers not according to farm size, cropping, or location but on their Self-Concepts.Farmers from rather different farm types and farm sizes may have many concepts and images in common. Farmers with very similar farm systems may have very different images of themselves and their businesses. REFERENCES 1. Burns, R. B., The Self Concept; Theory, Measurement, Development and Behaviour, Longman, London, 198 1. 2. Harvey, P. P., The adoption of techniques to increase lowland lamb production, BSc thesis, University of Nottingham, (unpublished), 1987. 3. Higgins, C. B. R., Inhibitors to the adoption of behaviours in milk production. In The Role of the Stockman in Livestock Productivity and Management, ed. M. F. Seabrook. Commission of the European Communities, (EUR 10982), Luxembourg, 1987, pp. 119-36. 4. Higgins, C. B. R. & Seabrook, M. F., The Self-Concept as a factor influencing flexibility in farming practice. Journal of the Agricultural Manpower Society, l(12) (1986), 14-25.
The Role of the Farmer’s Self-Concept in Determining Farmer Behaviour
M. F. Seabrook Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonnington, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK
C. B. R. Higgins Derbyshire College of Agriculture, Morley, Derby, DE7 6DN, UK (Recieved 7 September 1987; revised version received 28 January 1988; accepted 1 March 1988)
ABSTRACT The images the farmer holds about himselflherself signijicantly aflect behaviour and the decisions made about the farm business. Details are given on the nature and measurement of these images and their relevance in understanding farmer behaviour. The importance of the Self-Concept from the viewpoint of extension and training is outlined by the use of three research projects: one from Syria and two from the United Kingdom. The need for marketing extension and training in a form that recognises the d#erent SelfConcepts of different farmers and in a manner avoiding conflict with these images is emphasised.
INTRODUCTION Each and every individual person has a view of himself or herself’ and a view about how he or she is seenby other people. These views and images about 99 Agric. Admin. & Extension 0269-7475/88/$03.50 0 1988 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Great Britain
100
M. F. Seabrook,
C. B. R. Higgins
the self can be termed the Self-Concept. The images defined by the SelfConcept, the way persons seethemselvesin their world, generatea frame of reference by which an individual recognises himself or herself and can preselect both the goals and the behaviour adopted from an array of alternatives. In an agricultural context, the individual farmer’s concept of himself or herself asa decision maker definesthe components of appropriate farming practice.4
THE STRUCTURE OF THE SELF-CONCEPT The Self-Concept is the conglomerate of those attitudes which the individual holds, regarding himself or herself, in relation to personally defined variables. Thus, the individual will have an attitude regarding himself or herself in terms of intelligence, shape,introversion, confidence,skill and so forth. The Self-Concept is not static, since the attitudes can change with the dynamics of knowledge and belief. Individual experiences will help to consolidate or shift a person’sattitude on the relevant dimension of the SelfConcept. However, the attitudes towards the self are, like all other attitudes, relatively enduring once established. In different contexts, different aspects of the Self-Concept come to the fore as determinants of behaviour. Three essential components are acknowledged within the Self-Concept. The CognisedSelf This component reflects the point at which the individual recogniseshimself or herself on the scaleof any dimension of the Self-Concept. In other words ‘. . . THIS
IS ME..
.‘.
The Other Self This forms a second component, important in the development of the Cognised Self, and reflects the point at which the individual perceivesothers to recognisehim or her on the scaleof any dimension of the Self-Concept. In other words ‘. . . THIS IS HOW I THINK OTHERS SEE ME.. .‘. The Ideal Self This constitutes the point on the scaleof any dimension of the Self-Concept to which the individual aspires.In other words ‘. . . THIS IS HOW I WANT TO BE SEEN..
.‘.
Role of Self-Concept
THE MEASUREMENT
in determining
farmer
101
behaviour
OF THE SELF-CONCEPT
The Self-Concept is a construct rather than a tangible structure and, as such, must be approached indirectly. It is a strictly individual construct, and will not necessarilyalways sharecommon referencepoints between individuals. The dimensions of the Self-Concept important to one individual may not be shared by another individual. A considerable amount of researchhas been carried out on the Self-Concept in agriculture,2 and measurement scales have been formulated and tested. The scales
A longitudinal casestudy investigation4 of a group of dairy farmers using the participant observation technique enabled some general ideas of effective dimensions to emerge. The farmers within the study population were then requested to place a mark on each of the scalesshown in Fig. 1 reflecting their Cognised Self, ‘. . . this is me.. .‘, on that dimension. Farmers were able to use these dimensions easily and the dimensions enabled differentiation between different farmers. EXPERIENCED
*------*------*------*------e
INEXPERIENCED
EXTENSIVE
*------*------*------*------*
INTENSIVE
TRADITIONAL INEFFICIENT
*------*------*------*------* *------*------s------e------*
PROGRESSIVE EFFICIENT
ORIENTATED
*------*------*------*------*
LIVESTOCK
MACHINERY
Fig. 1.
The parameters
ORIENTATED
The scales of the Self-Concept.
of the dimensions
of the Self-Concept
While the dimensions may be useful measures it is necessary to also understand the parameters of the dimensions selected.If the dimensions are universal within the population, the parameters of each dimension may be unique to each individual. For example, while the dimension PROGRESSIVE may be universal it may encapsulate a totally different concept in the perception of one individual to that held by another individual. One farmer may see it as being associated with the use of a computer in his business,another as being associated with the size of the farm business.In an attempt to circumvent this problem individuals were subjectedto a semi-structured interview centred upon the semantic scales,in which they defined the parameters of each scale as they saw them and
102
iU. F. Seabrook,
C. B. R. Higgins
delineated behaviours associatedwith that scalein the process.This process was aided by the use of a list of ‘possible’ behaviours and actions e.g. attends market every week takes holidays abroad keeps a lot of records usesand pays a consultant for advice feeds cows relative to their yield carries out analysis of silage dislikes paper work talks a lot to his neighbours keeps field records routinely trims animals’ feet likes ‘making and mending’ Respondents saw each dimension as a continuum, the parameters, with a few exceptions, reflecting degree rather than discrete differences. Whilst specific examples vary between individuals the definitions shown below reflect the actual perceptions of the study population. EXPERIENCED was defined by having the time, the opportunity and the willingness to learn. INTENSIVE was defined by the levels of inputs, high performance and hard work. PROGRESSIVE was defined by the speedof uptake of new ideas and the degreeof control over the business. EFFICIENT was defined by use of records and attention to detail. LIVESTOCK ORIENTATED was defined by the amount of physical and mental time devoted to cattle. The samescalesand dimensions can also be usedto define the Other Self and Ideal Self. APPLICATIONS
OF THE STUDY OF THE SELF-CONCEPT
The use of the Self-Concept to help understandfarmer behaviour A study has beencarried out of a group of farmers in the United Kingdom to investigate the way in which their Self-Concept influences their actions and behaviours.In many ways thesefarmers can be seenas typical of many other farmers throughout the United Kingdom and indeed worldwide. There are many similarities, for example, in the way that land is adjacent to roads and paths, the fact that many farmers travel to market to meet friends, and the fact that farming is generally a very visible process.The isolation of the role
Role of Self-Concept
in determining
farmer
behaviour
103
that these images of the self have on the components of behaviour may provide information which will have wide, if not universal, application. The Cognised Self in farming
practice
In generalterms,the individual decisionmaker’sconceptof himself as a farmer defines the components of appropriate farming practice. Perhaps in years to come we’ll be spending a lot of time in the office looking at performance targets on a computer, oh dear, I’d do it if I had to but I’m really not in farming to end up like that. This comment, by a Nottinghamshire farmer, exemplifies the role of the Cognised Self which furnishes the individual with an internally defined identity. Farmers recognise and identify with certain types of farmers and identify particular behaviours which are seento be appropriate. Farmers recognisea variety of sub-groups definedby the behaviour patterns to which affiliative preferencesare expressed.If this sub-group is not enthusiastic about a new farming development, for example, then the individual too rejects that approach to his/her farming, in order to retain identity. The Other Self in farming
practice
Farming is a notably visible occupation pursued by individuals within a highly judgemental peer group. Land is intersected by roads and lanes and meets other land farmed by other members of a farmer’s peer group. Practices such as the great effort put in to ensuregood fertiliser distribution in roadside fields, and buying a new large tractor, too big and totally uneconomic for the business,are examples of pandering to the Other Self. A group of you gets talking at market and if you haven’t tried these things you can’t say anything, you feel really left out of it. This quote, by a respected Staffordshire dairy farmer, reflects how an individual thought that he would demean his Other Self as a competent, knowledgeable farmer if unable to contribute to a conversation from firsthand experience.Many behaviours and many compromises of a technically sound package are adopted in support of the Other Self. These include experimenting with only parts of a complete system, i.e. with such things as grass hormone growth promoters, calcified seaweedor polymers to aid silagedigestion. Adopting some small technological, but incomplete, change appearsto meet farmers’ Other Self, but conflicts with most current research findings suggesting the adoption of complete packages. For example, increasing the yield of cereals is not simply a matter of adopting new varieties,it also involves using the correct seedrates,accurateplant spacing, appropriate pest control measures and the right level of fertiliser use.
104
M. F. Seabrook,
The Ideal Serf in farming
C. B. R. Higgins
practice
The Ideal Self furnishes the individual with an internally defined goal in relation to which lies his or her Cognised Self. In the perceptions of farmers, a number of stereotypesexist and thesehelp to define the Ideal Self in terms of farming behaviour. Discrete items of behaviour and behavioural patterns are associated with particular stereotypes, and if a given behaviour or pattern of behaviour is seen to be symbolic of a stereotype which runs contrary to the Ideal Self, its adoption would attack the individual’s own Self-Concept. For example, if a new researchidea symbolises a stereotype which runs contrary to the Ideal Self its adoption would causeconflict with the individual’s image, the Self-Concept. Under such circumstances, the individual must reject the behaviour, amend his or her Cognised Self, adjust his or her Ideal Self or soften the symbolism of that behaviour in his or her own perception. The following comment made by an Oxfordshire dairy famer in responseto a question concerning the use of drugs to synchronise calvings, reflects the Ideal Self. I suppose those go ahead farmers will jump at that, but I don’t really have any ambition to join them. Similarly the following remark, made by a Leicestershire farmer, reflects how a person wants to be seen. Yes, George R.. . . . . . has all these check lists, but of course he’s a businessman, he’s not a proper stockman. My wife says I spend more time with my cows than with the family, but stockmanship takes you like that. The role of the Self-Concept in extension and training There are a number of implications from the study of the Self-Concept within the context of extension and training. A common explanation put forward for the failure of the uptake of researchfindings, or innovations, is consideredto be a lack of knowledge by the farmer of thesenew techniques. Many resourcesare committed to information transfer. However, it may not be lack of knowledge which inhibits adoption but a conflict created by the new idea with the image of the self. If, for example, the idea is viewed by a farmer as for the PROGRESSIVE, but he has a view of himself as TRADITIONAL, he will not want to adopt it. The innovations are perhaps seenas ‘for someoneelse’.The Self-Concept may help to explain why some individuals are enthusiastic for change,while others are more reluctant to change.All individuals have views of themselves,and a person will try to interpret all information available to them in the light of this Self-Concept;
Role of Self-Concept
in determining
farmer
behaviour
105
to do anything elseinvolves changing the way of understanding the world, and that can be unsettling. When a state of tension arises because new research information means that one view a person holds of their world seems at variance with another view, an attempt is made to avoid such discomfort by: (a) ignoring the information or trying to discredit it; or (b) trying to interpret the information in a way consistent with one’s Self-Concept; or (c) changing one’s Self-Concept to a more compatible one; or (d) building a line of reasoning to justify one’s Self-Concept despite the information. Each of these responseswill reduce dissonance but in so doing will often merely reinforce the Self-Concept already held. The components of the SelfConcept, like attitudes, are difficult to change.If it is consideredthat the SelfConcept is a real inhibitor to change,the approach is to attempt to present ideas and material in a way which builds on the existing Self-Concept,rather than to try and changeit. The material must be presentedin such a way that it does not conflict with the Self-Concept. The Self-Concept has a very significant effect on the adoption of researchfindings. If the farmer’s SelfConcept is one of TRADITIONAL, EXTENSIVE and INEFFICIENT and he perceives a concern for new ideas to be associated with PROGRESSIVE, INTENSIVE and EFFICIENT he will not be attracted to them, and will do all he can to reject them to avoid a conflict with his SelfConcept. All three components of the Self-Concept are important in any decision to adopt, reject or compromise a quantum of behaviour. The concept of a quantum of behaviour, as a package of identifiable components, is important since much of the recent husbandry researchhas involved attention to a number of components either in parallel or in series. Three specific examples of research into the role of the Self-Concept in agricultural extension and training are now given.
A STUDY OF EXTENSION WORK IN THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF SYRIA A joint researchproject between the International Center for Agricultural Researchin Dry Areas, the Syrian University of Aleppo and the University of Nottingham is attempting to study how the image the Syrian farmer has of himself affects the adoption of new crop varieties. Preliminary studies suggestthat the Self-Concept of the farmer will indeed affect the degreeto
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which he adopts new techniques. For example this quote from a Syrian farmer indicates a distinct attitude. I supposeI would could adopt these new varieties if I had to, but you know I really don’t want to alter, I suppose I see myself as a bit of a traditionalist. In the future this researchmay indicate lines of more effective presentation of information to farmers, i.e. in a way that may not conflict with a farmer’s view of himself as a TRADITIONAL and INEFFICIENT farmer. A STUDY OF A GROUP OF UNITED KINGDOM FARMERS
SHEEP
In a survey’ of 94 randomly selectedlowland sheepproducers throughout Great Britain, all with at least 150 ewes,an attempt was made to examine their attitudes to early lambing techniquesand the use of drugs to influence lambing rate and time. This is one of many researchareasthat has received very large amounts of British taxpayer support. The conclusions from this survey are of much interest; in generalterms it confirms the suggestionthat it is not a lack of information about new techniquesor husbandry changes,but a lack of willingness, or desire, to change. Table 1 summarises the results. TABLE 1 A Summary of the Results of a Survey of Lowland Sheep Farmers Farmers Farmers Farmers Farmers
who who who who
wished to change lambing time would use A.I. on their flock wished to increase their lambing percentage would use drugs to increase lambing percentage
% 4.3 21.3 66.0 31.9
In summary, only a very small number of producers appearedwilling to changetheir time of lambing, possibly reflecting the problems of feeding and managing ewes and lambs early in the year, and while there was some interest in increasing lambing percentagedrugs were not seenas the desired way to do this. In fact 35 per cent of the farmers did not evenwant to increase their lambing percentage.The limitations of any survey are accepted, but, when one considers the very considerable sums of money spent on research on aseasonallambing, attempts to generatemore than one lamb crop per year and the development of drugs to increase lambing rates, there is an indication of an apparent failure to assessthe needs and wants of the
Role of Self-Concept
in determining
farmer
behaviour
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farmers. There are no doubt other examples where current agricultural research appears of no real relevance to many or even most farmers. The reason for this is the lack of interest in change held as an attitude by many farmers to the management of their businesses.Their Self-Concept is one of TRADITIONAL, INEFFICIENT and EXTENSIVE. A STUDY OF ATTITUDES
TO TRAINING
COURSES
The Self-Concept has important implications for training,3 and a number of studies of the attitudes of potential attenders at training courseshave been carried out.3 Figure 2 shows the results of a Self-Concept study and indicates the image position results for the ‘average’farmer (F) in the study together with their average perception of the type of person for whom the training course (C), on stockmanship, was designed. EXPERIENCED *------*F----*----C*------* EXTENSIVE *----F*------e------C-----* TRADITIONAL INEFFICIENT MACHINERY ORIENTATED
*--F--*------*------*----C* *----F*------*-----+---C-* *------*-----FC----*------*
INEXPERIENCED INTENSIVE PROGRESSIVE EFFICIENT LIVESTOCK ORIENTATED
Fig. 2. Perception conflict over stockmen training courses.
These results highlight the gap between perceptions. It is clear that these farmers perceive these courses as being for the PROGRESSIVE, INTENSIVE and EFFICIENT, while they see themselves as TRADITIONAL, EXTENSIVE and INEFFICIENT. There is no doubt they need the course, but cannot accept it as currently ‘marketed’. If, however, the training package could be designed and presented in a manner shown to be helping to ‘maintain a way of life’ or ‘reinforcing the traditional skills’ thesefarmers would be rather more interested,and be willing to adapt and change.In other words, the courseswould be more acceptablefor these farmers if packaged as for the TRADITIONAL and INEFFICIENT. This, however, also suggests a need for more than one type of course, one catering for the PROGRESSIVE/EFFICIENT another for the TRADITIONAL/INEFFICIENT, each presented in different ways for different people. There is another good reasonfor a variety of courses,as the Other Self can be easily threatenedby appearing ignorant in front of others. If the course contains people with very different perceptions and experiences there will be difficulties. There is a need for people to have similar perceptionsand backgrounds before the start of a course;if not they may say
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‘it’s just not useful’ being an easierway of saying ‘it’s too d@kultfor me, Z am totally out of my depth’. CONCLUSION It is recognisedthat the studies outlined comprise a relatively small number of farmers, but they do suggestthat the measurement of the Self-Concept can help to explain behaviour differences between farmers. More importantly, they highlight the need to decide and plan the presentation of information in ways that do not causeconflict with the farmer’s images of himself or herself. The studies probably have implications for all concerned with advising, training and educating farmers. The hypothesis presented would appear to have a relevance in many different cultural, social and economic situations. It would seem that the implications are of interest for advisers and trainers worldwide, explaining behaviour of farmers in many situations. A greater awareness of the Self-Concept may enable more effectiveextensionand training. The work suggeststhat a total unwillingness on the part of a farmer to change may be a greater inhibitor than a lack of knowledge. This unwillingness to change arises because of conflicts with the image of self and may in part be overcome by presenting information in a view more acceptable to the images of the self, and, in grouping farmers not according to farm size, cropping, or location but on their Self-Concepts.Farmers from rather different farm types and farm sizes may have many concepts and images in common. Farmers with very similar farm systems may have very different images of themselves and their businesses. REFERENCES 1. Burns, R. B., The Self Concept; Theory, Measurement, Development and Behaviour, Longman, London, 198 1. 2. Harvey, P. P., The adoption of techniques to increase lowland lamb production, BSc thesis, University of Nottingham, (unpublished), 1987. 3. Higgins, C. B. R., Inhibitors to the adoption of behaviours in milk production. In The Role of the Stockman in Livestock Productivity and Management, ed. M. F. Seabrook. Commission of the European Communities, (EUR 10982), Luxembourg, 1987, pp. 119-36. 4. Higgins, C. B. R. & Seabrook, M. F., The Self-Concept as a factor influencing flexibility in farming practice. Journal of the Agricultural Manpower Society, l(12) (1986), 14-25.