Sorority Rituals - Reflections On Rites of ... - Mari Ann Callais

Value Congruence
Research conducted by Burnett, Vaughan, and Moody (1997), indicates a correlation
between an organization’s values and an individual’s values. They postulated that potential
members seek value congruence as selection criteria when determining which sorority to join.
They expected that female students would join sororities with values that matched their own
values. Participants were questioned prior to and after their participation in sorority membership
recruitment. Prior to the recruitment process, participants were asked to indicate the values of
their ‘ideal’ organization. After the recruitment process, they were asked to indicate the values of
the sorority that they had an interest in joining. They found that the values participants attributed
to their ideal organization were similar to those they used to describe the organization they
wanted to join. The study also indicated that there was a correlation between an individual’s ideal
culture and the organization’s culture that they joined. The findings of the study supported the
position that individuals will choose an organization that matches their own and values. “The
significant correlation indicated a ‘fit’ between an organization’s values and an individual’s
values” (Burnett, et al., 1997, p. 299). Ford (1999) stated, “it is important to ensure that the
values and ethics important to the organization are shown to the newly recruited and initiated” (p.
12). Values emerge as a factor in the selection and recruitment of sorority women and should be
considered by the organizations as a primary source of identifying women interested in sororities
and those whom the sorority accepts into their membership.
Developmental Theory
The purpose of this section is to examine the developmental processes of women,
specifically because the participants of this research are women in sororities. This section will
briefly mention student development theory by traditional theorists such as Astin, Chickering,
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