Running Head: AN ANALYSIS OF GILLIGAN’S THEORY AND STUDENT SERVICES 1

ACCORDING TO DELWORTH AND SEEMAN

An Analysis of Gilligan’s Theory and Student Services According to Delworth and Seeman

Desmond Collins

Louisiana State University

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An Analysis of Gilligan’s Theory and Student Services According to Delworth and Seeman

The Ethics of Care: Implications of Gilligan for the Student Services Profession by

Ursula Delworth and David Seeman (1984), is a practical application of Gilligan’s theory of

differential development concerning the occupation of student affairs and student services.

Gilligan’s theory on differential development states that moral development occurs

differently for women than it does for men (Delworth and Seeman, 1984, p. 489). From

childhood the moral development of males and females is shaped differently, generally with boys

playing competitive, rule-based games and girls playing non-competitive games that involve less

disputes (Delworth and Seeman, 1984, p. 490). This sets a precedent for adolescence and young

adulthood as girls learn that relationship and cooperation are more important than winning and

dominance (Delworth and Seeman, 1984, p. 490). In the corporate world this may manifest itself

for women as anxiety about competition as it can disrupt relationships; though society sees this

as an unfortunate consequence of competition in a capitalist world, this is not the ideal of success

for women (Delworth and Seeman, 1984, p. 490). Delworth and Seeman note that it is not

Gilligan’s purpose to further polarize the lenses through which men and women develop morally,

rather to state say that either “voice”, void of the accompanying male or female voice, is

incomplete (1984, p. 490).

For the student affairs professional it is essential that as students make life-changing

decisions and face varying dilemmas that as professionals they maintained balanced, tempered

perspectives and encourage students to examine their experiences beyond the societal norm for
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the sake of maturation. One example of implications mentioned by the authors is how in career

development there can be an overemphasized importance of independence in making the choice

rather than relationship and intimacy as it may impact the career-making decision (Delworth and

Seeman, 1984, p. 490). Another example could be counselors pushing for women to be more

independent and autonomous without analyzing the full spectrum of how relationships, rather

dysfunctional relationships, may negatively impact the student beyond the personal and into the

academic arena (Delworth and Seeman, 1984, p. 491). Gilligan’s theory is not just for the

utilization of the student experience, but is relevant for the experience for the student affairs

professional as well.

Delworth and Seeman refer to an example in which women may not be willing to

relocate for job seeking purposes on the groups of leaving a warm, loving work environment

(1984, p. 491). One example is if a university administrator who is a woman chooses to have

consensus-based decision making as one of her staples as opposed to linear, authoritative

decision making. Consensus-based decision making emphasizes the inclusion of more people in

arriving to solutions, but Delworth and Seeman ask if this is truly a weakness? Modern business

models would say no to this question, stating the fact that consensus-based decisions bode well

for clients and personnel by ensuring that everyone has a buy-in; if all opinions are equally

weighted then everyone feels important and a part of something bigger than their individual

selves. The philosophy of this is stated in the communal, African proverb, “If you want to go fast

go alone; if you want to go far go together” ("Inspirational Quotes," n.d.). The article provides

three additional student affairs examples in which Gilligan’s theory is applicable: one scenario

with a young man and his family, one relating to career services and choosing law school versus
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entering the business field, and the last where a university administrator proposes a new concept

of cross-disciplinary teams to staff different satellite offices across the campus (Delworth and

Seeman, 1984, p. 492). In all three of these the individual is faced with a dilemma which causes

a feeling of cognitive dissonance where they are perfectly positioned for a well informed student

affairs professional to help facilitate a transition to a different mode of thinking.

The authors made sure to state that Gilligan’s theory is not an absolute solution; things

such as the inaccuracy of the masculine-feminine binary and cultural differences are but two

examples of outliers in the scope of the theory. It is also worth mentioning that if one were to

construct an instrument using Gilligan’s theory that there is an implicit bias embedded in each

person and that this could potentially taint any research conducted with the aforementioned tool

(Delworth and Seeman, 1984, p. 491). Delworth and Seeman state that Gilligan, though she

illuminates the differences in voices for sexes, acknowledges that inevitably the mature adult can

acknowledge the presence of multiple truths in making moral judgments (1984, p. 492). For the

student affairs professional it is important to take Gilligan’s theory into account concerning

policy, institutional practices, interactions with students, and even with colleagues,

understanding that male and female “voices” should not be examined on a hierarchy but should

be seen as symbiotic halves to the whole of each individual that steps foot on the university

campus (Evans et al., 2010, p. 115).

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References

Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student

Development in College (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Delworth, U., Seeman, D. (1984). The ethics of care: Implications of Gilligan for the student

services profession. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, 489-492.

"Inspirational Quotes - Motivational Quotes - Inspirational Stories." Values.com. N.p., n.d. Web.

21 Feb. 2017.