University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Self Concept And Social Class Correlates Of Contrasting Behavioral Subcultures Among Ninth Grade Boys

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Self Concept And Social Class Correlates Of Contrasting Behavioral Subcultures Among Ninth Grade Boys

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Content This d isse rta tio n has been 64— 12,478 m icro film ed exactly as receiv ed CIIARLAP— IIYMAN, A rth u r, 1921- S E L F C O N CEPT AND SOCIAL CLASS CO RRELA TES O F CONTRASTING BEHAVIORAL SUBCULTURES AMONG NINTH GRADE BOYS. U niv ersity of Southern C alifornia, Ph.D ., 1964 Education, psychology University' Mirioiihu! SELF CONCEPT AND SOCIAL CLASS CORRELATES OF CONTRASTING BEHAVIORAL SUBCULTURES AMONG NINTH GRADE BOYS by Arthur Chariap-Hyman A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Education) June 196^ UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N CALIFORNIA T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L U N I V E R S I T Y P A R K LO S A N G E L E S , C A L I F O R N I A 9 0 0 0 7 This dissertation, written by Arthur C torla^.^ynan.......... under the direction of Dissertation C o m mittee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Graduate School, m partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y June» 1964 D r an Date DISSERTATION, COMMITTEE : cl l / H ■' ■ C hairm an 0 L: Piter .... TABLE OP CONTENTS Page LIST OP TABLES v Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 The Problem Hypotheses Delimitations of the Study Definitions of Terms Organization of the Report General Writings on the Nature of the Self Theoretical Structure, Development, and Functioning of the Self Phenomenal and Nonphenomenal Views Structure and Role of the Self: Representative Views The Research Literature Q Technique Rating Methods Using Scales, Check Lists, or Questionnaires Rating Methods for Interview Materials Reliability and Validity Reports of Specific Research Studies Views from Essentially Sociological Sources Summary II. REVIEW OP THE LITERATURE 12 ii Chapter III. THE RESEARCH DESIGN Page 57 Development of the Instrument and the Meaning of Discrepancy Scores General Considerations Selection of the Schools Utilization of "Critical Incident" Tech nique Preparation of the Maximum Adjustment Subculture Items Preparation of the Minimum Adjustment Subculture Items Additional Items and Response Category Completing the Instrument Selection of Subjects Selection of the Maximum Adjustment Candidates Selection of the Minimum Adjustment Candidates Potential Size of the Sample Administering the Instrument Pretesting the Instrument Testing of Ninth-Grade Subjects Scoring Method Other Sources of Data Method of Determining Socioeconomic Class Method of Data Analysis Summary Over-all Findings Related to the Stated Hypotheses Hypothesis I Hypothesis II Hypothesis III Hypothesis IV Supplementary Findings Discussion of Findings Evaluation of the Instrument IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS 9^ iii Chapter Page Analysis of Scores Scores of Individual Subjects Detailed Analysis of Instrument Items Summary of Scores Relationship of Scores and Socioeconomic Focal Concerns Interpretation of Scores Findings Related to Socioeconomic Class Interpretation of Instrument Scores in Relation to Socioeconomic Focal Concerns Summary V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . 1?0 Summary Purposes Methods and Procedure Hypotheses and Findings Conclusions Implications General Implications Specific Implications Recommendations Educational Recommendations Research Recommendations BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................... 168 APPENDICES............................................ 177 Appendix A. Incidents Listed from Records of 232 Behavior Deviant Ninth- Grade Boys Appendix B. Pupil Behavior Opinion Survey iv LIST OP TABLES Table Page 1. Maximum Adjustment Subculture Items Arranged According to Kvaraceus and Miller Categories of Middle-Class Focal Concerns ....... 65 2. Categorization of 280 Incidents of Behavior Deviation from 232 Boys According to Two Classification Systems .................... 71 3. Minimum Adjustment Subculture Items Arranged According to Miller's Categories of Lower- Class Focal Concerns...................... 73 Self-Ideal Discrepancies and Significance Levels Associated with Instrument Items. . . 103 5. Self-Concept Items Scored According to Expectation for Each Subculture............ 106 6. Individual Self-Ideal and Self-Social Dis crepancy Scores and Number of Items Marked as Expected for Each Subculture............ 109 7. Socioeconomic Class Categories of Focal Con cerns and Degree of Support by Instrument Items (See basic data in Table **•).......... 128 8. Middle-Class Occupational Croup................ 139 9. Working-Class Occupational Croup.............. 1*+1 v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Problem Behavior deviant pupils have been a continuing source of concern to educators, parents, and therapists interested in seeking greater understanding of possible causes and appropriate methods of treatment of the problems of such children. Within recent years this concern has been related to another that has received considerable attention, that of pupils who drop out of school, often following a history of academic failure and poor adjust ment. The sizable numbers of students within the normal range of intelligence who fail to complete high school indicate that many potential skills are not being devel oped and that many human resources are not being utilized. The writer is in agreement with the view that society is, ultimately, the poorer when it fails, for whatever reason, to receive the contributions that persons are not free to give. Of at least equal importance is the amount of undeveloped potential for self-realization among those individuals who, because of insufficient education, 1 2 experience the frustrations of being barred from numerous occupational, social and personal opportunities and satis factions. Either of these two conditions would appear to justify research into causes and possible amelioration of the problem. The present study was undertalten with the expecta tion that it might arrive at findings which would contrib ute to the body of knowledge concerning pupils whose behavior indicates poor school adjustment. Optimally, it was hoped that the findings might suggest implications for either preventive or remedial solutions to the problem of school failure by some pupils. The study approached the problem of behavior- deviant pupils by attempting to learn whether they differed in two particular respects from pupils whose behavior was exemplary. The two characteristics selected for considera tion were social class and self concept. The first characteristic, that of social class, was selected because of the extensive literature which tended to relate juvenile delinquency with the lower or working class. V/hether a similar relationship existed between social class and in-school behavior remained to be deter mined. If found to be so, there would be support for the assumption that nondelinquent, behavior-deviant pupils differed from delinquents largely in degree, i.e., that they represented merely different points along a continuum. There would also be greater support for imputing to behav ior deviant pupils of the working class some of the same causes for their behavior as those considered applicable to delinquents. Kvaraceus and Miller (^-7), for example, presented the view that delinquents tended to be essen tially "normal" lower-class children whose acts were largely attempts to conform to role expectations in partic ular subcultures. Concerning the phenomenon of middle- class delinquency, however, such sociologically-oriented writers as Kvaraceus and Miller have generally lacked experimental evidence to support their theories, or have not dealt in depth with the problem. The second characteristic selected for considera tion in the present study was the self concept, chosen because an assumption underlying self concept theory states that individuals act in accordance with and in the further ance of their self-images. This assumption, most appro priate for interpretation of much deviant behavior, appeared to provide a needed theoretical bridge between psychological and sociological interpretations of behavior. This bridge was achieved by permitting the hypothesis to be stated that social class membership is an important, but not necessarily determining factor in influencing the way an individual perceives himself. A specific aspect of 1 + self concept theory— that which dealt with the degree of congruence between the self and the ideal self— offered an opportunity for experimental testing of a social class theory of delinquency as it applied to in-school deviant behavior. It offered, additionally, a way of regarding variations in the nature of deviant behavior in different social classes as they might be manifested in dissimilar degrees of self-ideal congruence. In this way, it was hoped that some light might be shed upon the causes of middle-class behavior deviations. The general approach to the problem utilized in the present study was suggested by Cohen's (12:121-131) speculation that members of working-class delinquent sub cultures, even though overtly rejecting of established authority and norms of behavior, nevertheless had internal ized some middle-class standards to the extent that they were culturally ambivalent. According to this theory, overt behavior, however closely it conforms to one set of norms, need not argue against the existence or effective ness of alternative and conflicting standards. Discussing the relationship of self concept to con flicting standards, Cohen stated: Technically, we do not call the person's atti tudes toward himself "status" but rather "self esteem," or, when the quality of the self-attitude is specifically moral, "conscience" or "superego". . . . The reasons for the failure of self expectations and overt conduct to agree are complex. 5 One reason is that we often internalize more than one set of norms, each of which would dictate a different course of action in a given life- situation; since we can only do one thing at a time, however, we are forced to choose between them or somehow to compromise. In either case, we fall short of the full realization of our own expectations and must somehow cope with the residual discrepancy between those expectations and our overt behavior. (12:126) In the present study it was hypothesized that the discrepancy referred to by Cohen woLild be reflected in a corresponding discrepancy between self concept and ideal self and that this discrepancy could be investigated by means of an instrument designed for use with boys in con trasting school behavior subcultures. Cohen, like Kvaraceus and Miller, based his find ings upon research with delinquents whose relationship to school, while characteristically poor, was but a single facet of a . total behavior pattern. V/hether the evidence cited by these writers that delinquents were predominantly of working-class background was also applicable to boys selected solely on the basis of poor adjustment in school raised the following issues: 1. Was the minimum adjustment school subcul ture necessarily a working-class phenomenon, or might not some middle-class boys conceiv ably be found in the group? While it could, safely be assumed that standards of desirable school behavior were at least consistent with, if 6 not an expression of, middle-class values, this did not necessarily mean that unacceptable school behavior was attributable to working-class background. Just as it was anticipated that some boys from working-class homes might be found in the maximum adjustment group, some from a middle-class background might be among those in the minimum adjustment group. 2. If boys from middle-class homes were found in the minimum adjustment group, would they show the same degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self as would minimum adjust ment boys from working-class homes? In the case of a poorly-adjusting boy from a working-class background who showed a discrepancy between self concept and ideal self, it was assumed that such dis parity could be attributed to his having developed a mode of self-assessment, possibly involving resignation or rationalization, in comparison with pupils who a.djusted well to school. In terms of Cohen’s theory, the discrep ancy would be the reflection of cultural ambivalence brought about by knowledge of the realities of the world, both in school and beyond— a world in which education, con formity, responsibility and work are generally considered necessary for the attainment of the goals desired by him. To these factors would be coupled his awareness of and 7 frustration at (1) being unable to function adequately in the school setting, and (2) running the risk of losing status in his subcultural group if he were to fail to con form to its standards. In the case of a poorly adjusting boy from a middle-class background, it was assumed that if a more pronounced discrepancy between self concept and ideal self were obtained, this would be attributable to the disparity between his status in school and the presumed expectations of his parents and others of his socioeconomic background. Because of his home associations, such a boy would be con sidered more likely than the working-class boy to be exposed to the focal concerns of the middle class, and to be made aware of considerable parental concern over his poor adjustment in school. Hypotheses The following hypotheses have been examined in this investigation: 1. Pupils in the subculture characterized by minimum school adjustment will show a greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will pupils in the subculture characterized by maximum school adjustment. 2. Pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture 8 will be predominantly from working-class homes. 3. Pupils in the maximum adjustment subculture will be predominantly from middle-class homes. *+. In the minimum adjustment subcult^ire, middle- class pupils will show a greater discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will those from working-class homes. Delimitations of the Study Following pretesting with twenty eighth-grade boys, the study was limited to ninety boys in the ninth grade. Forty-six boys formed the maximum adjustment group and forty-four the minimum adjustment groux>. All ninety were drawn from two junior high schools in a large school dis trict in Los Angeles County. Each school had an average daily attendance of more than 2,100 but fewer than 2,^00 pupils. The two schools shared a common boundary and served areas which were made up almost entirely of Caucasian middle-class and working-class families. Sub jects were selected for the minimum adjustment group by the boys’ vice principals. Head counselors and grade counse lors selected subjects for the maximum adjustment group. Pupils who were absent during the time of the experimental period were dropped. The investigation was limited to the use and inter pretation of scores on a self-concept instrument developed 9 for the study, and to information obtained from school sources concerning subjects’ in-school behavior and fathers* occupations. The instrument was made up of thirty-four school-oriented items indicative of maximum or minimum adjustment sub cult'are as well as of social class. Items were developed from the records of 232 behavior- deviant boys, and from the compositions, records, and coun selors’ evaluations of 62 boys and girls in special leader ship classes at both schools. Each item permitted subjects to indicate identifi cation (self concept) with the boy described in the sample incident, followed by an opportunity to express approval or disapproval (ideal self). Regardless of the social- class background or maximum or minimum adjustment group membership of subjects, any difference between answers to the self concept and ideal portions of an item was scored as a discrepancy and used in compiling a total discrepancy score for each subject. Differences in total scores for the groups and subgroups were subjected to statistical analysis for the purpose of testing the hypotheses. Definitions of Terms Self concept— the person’s awareness of his individual existence and his conception of who and what he is (1*2:123). 10 Ideal self— the individual’s concept of the kind of person he would like to be (95*^1). Subculture— a subgroup of society, with ways of thinking and doing that are in some respects peculiarly its own, that are acquired only by interaction with those who already share and embody, in their belief and action, the culture pattern (12:12-13). Maximum adjustment subcult’ ire--a social subgroup whose members conform to, support, help formulate, and implement school rules and objectives, cooperate with teachers, achieve well, and participate fully in school activities through leadership in student government and school representation. Disciplinary problems are absent in this group. Minimum adjustment subculture--a social subgroup whose members resist teacher authority, are frequently in violation of school rules, are poor achievers, and do not participate in student government or school representation. Disciplinary problems are common in this group. Socioeconomic status--either working class or middle class, as determined by father’s occupation. Middle class--a category determined by the father’s occupational placement among the top three groups of Centers’ Scale (9*102-103), plus those in Group * + with weighted scores of l*f or more on the Minnesota Occupational 11 Rating Scale (67). w'orking class- -synonymous with lower class. A category determined by the father's occupational placement among the lowest three groups of Centers' Scale, plus those in Group * + with weighted scores of 13 or less on the Minnesota Occupational Rating Scale. Organization of the Report Chapter II reviews the literature related to the central issues of the research. Chapter III describes the research design of the study, including the selection of the sample, the develop ment of the instrument used in the investigation, the method of procedure, and the way in which the data were treated. In Chapter IV the findings of the investigation and the results of the statistical tests are reported, and the results discussed. Chapter V presents a summary of the study, analysis of the data, conclusions, implications and recommendations. CHAPTER II REVIEW OP THE LITERATURE G-eneral Writings on the Nature of the Self The theories upon which the present investigation is based were drawn from two major sources in the litera ture— psychological writings dealing primarily with the self concept, and sociological or psychosocial theories in which the role of the individual is considered largely in terms of his status within a societal group. One of the assumptions upon which this study is based is that these two approaches share common ground that can provide a unified interpretation of behavior compatible with both. Thus, a person's membership in a societal group such as a socioeconomic class can be considered to be a factor whose effect upon his behavior is determined by the significance that the group membership has for the self concept of the individual in a given situation. Since the actions of an individual are considered to be both a result of, and an extension of his self-image (the manner in which he per ceives the self that he is), an examination of the theo retical structure, development and functioning of the self 12 13 would appear to be in order for the beginning portion of the review of the literature which follows. The second portion, dealing with methods and findings of self-concept research, includes only sources which appear to be rele vant to the assumptions, hypotheses, research design, instrument, or type of subjects utilized in the investiga tion. The final portion of the review of the literature presents essentially sociological and psychosocial views relating to behavior deviations, juvenile delinquency, or a related aspect of the study. Theoretical Structure. Development, and iVmctioning of the Self The present study bases its theoretical approach upon an assumption that each person experiences a self. Support for this view was expressed more than sixty years ago by William James (*+1*33*+) who wrote that the sense of one’s own personal identity was exactly like any other of a person’s perceptions of sameness among phenomena, and that "resemblance among the parts of a continuum of feel ing (especially body feelings) experienced along with things widely different in all other regards thus consti tutes the real and verifiable 'personal identity’ which we feel." Lowe (51:33*+) » however, after assessing ten years of empirical, theoretical, and philosophical foundations lb of self-concept research, came to the conclusion that, far from being an objective reality, the self was a nebulous abstraction, "an artifact that has been invented to explain experience." Allport (i +:1 +5l) has stated that "the existence of one’s own self is the one fact of which every mortal per son— every psychologist included--is perfectly convinced." Thorpe and Schmuller (89:87) interpreted Allport's view as one which contended that a real self did exist. Wylie (95:2), discussing the substantial increase during the last fifteen year3 of reports of empirical research dealing with the self concept, attributed this output to the usefulness of self-concept constructs to a va.riety of theorists. She stated: And so we find that all the theories of per sonality which have been put forth within the last two decades assign importance to a phenomenal and/or nonphenomenal self concept with cognitive and motiva.tional attributes. (95:2) Phenomenal and Nonphenomenal Views In the present investigation, although examining only phenomenal responses, the writer's theoretical orien tation is one which views the self concept as possessing both phenomenal and nonphenomenal attributes. This repre sents a position midway among theorists who stress the relative importance of one or the other of these two 15 aspects. It is expressed most clearly by Jung (H-3 i 1^+ 7) ? who stated in a discussion of the self: "It embraces not only the conscious but also the unconscious psyche, and is therefore, so to speak, a personality which we also ?,re." Fisher and Cleveland (2*+) , within a recognizably Freudian frame of reference, presented a view that assigned greater importance to the unconscious sell" con cept as a behavior determinant than to the phenomenal self. Combs and Snygg (l3:1 +5) stressed the conscious aspects of the self concept. Stating that the phenomenal self was not only real to the individual but was actually himself, they described it as including his physical self and "everything that he experiences as 'me* at that instant." Rogers, although regarded as a phenomenological theorist, has made statements which cast some doubt con cerning his strict adherence to such a view. His writings have not explained how the following excerpts, for example, could be fitted into a theoretical system from which such constructs as unconscious motivation, repression, and drives had presumably been excluded: While these concepts are nonverbal, and may not be present in consciousness, this is no barrier to their functioning as guiding principles. (76:1 +98) He may have some experiences which are incon sistent with his perceptions, but he either denies these experiences to awareness or symbolizes them 16 in such a way that they are consistent with his general picture. (77i321) Structure and Role of the Self: Representative Views A number of authors have discussed the relation of the self to the ego. Views vary from those which postu late no differentiation between self and ego to those which delineate the role of the latter in the development of the self concept. For the present investigation the writer does not deem it wise to commit the responses elicited from the subjects to a theoretical position, because of their limited age range. Much variation among them may be assumed in the degree of development of ego or self-identity. In fact, it appears reasonable to spec ulate, in the terms of Erikson (21:^-28), that the extent to which the subjects manifest self-ideal discrepancy could be a measure of their progress from "ego diffusion" to "ego identity." (Erikson's view is discussed more fully in the portion of this chapter devoted to writings that are essentially sociological in orientation.) In the section which follows, representative views concerning the structure and role of the self are presented as background for the theoretical basis of the present study in utilizing self-reporting and introspective methods in the assessment of aspects of the self. 17 Possible influences upon the responses to the test instru ment employed may be inferred from the positions which follow. Freud, who did not differentiate between the self and the ego, stated: Normally there is nothing we are more certain of than the feeling of our self, our own ego. It seems to us an independent unitary thing, sharply outlined against everything else. That this is a deceptive appearance, and that on the contrary the ego extends inwards, without any sharp delimita tion, into an unconscious mental entity which, we call the id and to which it forms a facade, was first discovered by nsychoanalytical research. . . . (27:3) Hilgard (37:373), who favored a more inclusive approach to the self concept than one dependent upon unaided introspection, proposed the term "the inferred self." Such a concept, he hoped, would facilitate use of all available data and would overcome a weakness in Freud's theories which, he said, failed to take into account a view exemplified by Hilgard's contention that the impor tant human motives were interpersonal both in origin and expression (35:378). Hilgard stated: Despite the fertility of Freud’s mind . . . this is one hypothesis about the self which he never fully grasped ... he remained within the instinct tradition. Once we reject the 3elf as the unfolding of an inevitable pattern, but see it instead as an individual acquisition, we are impressed by the part which other people play in the shaping of an individual self. (3 5:379) Jung made obvious his belief that the ego and the 18 self were not equivalent, except in the minds of certain personality types: Were the ego identical with the self, it would be unthinkable that we should be able to appear in dreams in entirely different forms and with entirely different meanings. But it is a charac teristic peculiarity of the introvert . . . that he tends to confuse his ego with the self. . . . 0+3:219) Jung also maintained that the conscious and unconscious were not necessarily in opposition to one another, but acted "to complement one another to form a totality, which is the self" (hStl^?). Because he conceived of the self as being "superordinate" to the conscious ego, Jung felt that there was little chance of understanding the true nature of the self as long as unconscious material remained unavailable: It is easy enough to think of ourselves as possessing part-souls. Thus we can, for instance, see ourselves as a persona without too much difficulty. But it transcends our powers of imagination to form a clear picture of what we are as a self, for in this operation the part would have to comprehend the whole. There is little hope of our ever being able to reach even approximate consciousness of the self, since how ever much we may make conscious there will always exist an indeterminate and indeterminable amount of unconscious material which belongs to the totality of the self. Hence the self will always remain a superordinate quantity. C^+3: 1^+7“ 1^+8) Allport has echoed much the same feeling concerning the limitations of introspection in understanding the nature of the experience of the self. He claimed such 19 efforts have not been particularly rewarding Adler viewed the self as the product of both con scious and unconscious aspects of a unified process of joint striving toward a common goal. In his position, the aspects of the self that have to do with feelings of inferiority and superiority were stressed particularly (2). Claiming that "what is frequently labeled 'the ego' is nothing more than the 'style' of the individual," he con tended that an adequate psychology of life style would make superfluous the need for a separate psychology of the ego (1:5~8). In this view Adler was supported by Allport. In an article, "Is the Concept of Self Necessary?" Allport agreed that such a position, although not fully elaborated by Adler, would in effect be a psychology of the ego (3:55). Among neo-Freudians, Promm, Sullivan, and Horney have stressed particularly the sociological influences upon personality. Fromm referred to a "true self," and defined this term to include all of the potentialities which the individual might develop under the most favorable social circumstances (28:13). That these potentialities existed from the beginning and might or might not have developed was part of Fromm's position. Sullivan, on the other hand, as was pointed out by 20 Thompson (87s 21*+-215) , stressed a self which was the out growth of those "reflected appraisals" made by parents and other persons in close relationship that the individual experiences since childhood. Only those potentialities which had been at least partly realized or elicited by cultural influences were included in Sullivan*s viewpoint. Sherif (82:186) took a position which went beyond Sullivan's in the importance it attributed to social influ ences upon the self. According to this view, the segrega tion of the ego occurs in childhood through the acquiring of a name, status, behavior standards, a social sense of guilt, and social standards for makiing judgments. Sherif thus considered the ego to be no more than the social part of man, a view which Allport (i f:l +58) considered "extreme." Homey illustrated one way in which the cultural milieu affects self concept: Another reason why success is such a fascinating phantom is its effects on our self-esteem. It is not only by others that we are valued according to the degree of our success; willy-nilly our own self- evaluation follows the same pattern. . . . Even the most normal person is constrained to feel that he amounts to something when successful, and is worthless if he is defeated. (39:286) Kohler, expressing a Gestaltist view, although not specifying the nature of the self process within the organ ism, nevertheless implied its existence: On various occasions we have mentioned that everybody experiences his self as a particular 21 entity among many other objects. Consequently, in the brain there must be processes not only corresponding to objective experiences, but also others corresponding to the experienced self. 0+6:17*0 Other writers have not been so confident that the brain was, of necessity, the repository of self feelings. Horowitz found that subjects located their self-feelings in a variety of portions of their bodies— in the brain to be sure, but including the heart, face, head, and genitals as well. He concluded that "the localization of the self . . . is not the basic phenomenon one might hope for to ease an analysis of the structure and personality" (*+0: 386). Allport felt that Horowitz' approach, based of necessity upon introspection, resulted in "relatively unenlightened localizations for the ego" Theorizing further with respect to the nature and functions of the self, Kohler stated: In Gestalt psychology the various directed attitudes of the self are not interpreted as "instincts" which reside in the self per se. Kather, they are regarded as vectors, which depend both upon the self and upon given objects. . . . The various states of the self which are here involved are to a high degree determined by physiological conditions within the organism. Studies of special appetites, of sexual behavior, and so forth, have made this perfectly clear. (*+6:176,177) Koffka, also speaking for the Gestaltist school, equated the ego with the self, and maintained that it had been proved impossible to discuss the behavioral environment 22 without including the ego. He expressed belief that the ego included material beyond that which was present in consciousness. Our conclusion is clear: the disappearance of the Ego from the behavioural world does not mean for a normal adult an annihilation of the Ego. It survives as a part of the psychophysi cal field even when it is not represented in consciousness, and that forces us to the conclu sion that normally when the Ego exists in our behavioural world, this phenomenal, or conscious Ego is not the whole Ego. (*+5:3305 Although Lewin rarely referred to the ego or self by name, it must be concluded that his position has meaning largely, if not entirely, in terms of an organizational process or system within the individual. Heider has stated that Levin’s primary concern with the life space indicated that it was there that he expected to find relevant variables. Eor Lewin these so-called intervening variables are the focus from the start, and output and input are relegated to a secondary role; they form the tools for observation which make it possible for us to get a glimpse of the processes in the life space which are the ultimate object of observa tion. (3*+: 5) Allport, discussing Lewin’s concept of the ego, pointed out that even though according to this concept not all behavior was ego-linked, many kinds of experimentally- obtained results could not be explained without reference to the kinds of tension existing when the ego was "engaged" (*+:*+57). Allport also stated: 23 It is clear that Lewin, no less than Koffka, wishes to avoid thinking of the ego as a single entity, and prefers to regard it as the variable set of forces that are aroused whenever the per son enters into some novel and perhaps dangerous relation to his environment. (4-:*+58; Lewin, himself, stated quite simply: The psychological environment has to be regarded functionally as a part of one inter dependent field, the life space, the other part of which is the person. This fundamental fact is the keynote of the field-theoretical approach. (50:l*+0) Raimy, writing in 19*+3» was among the first to use the term self-concept as such. He defined the construct as: . . . the more or less organized perceptual object resulting from present and past self observation. . . . The self-concept is the map which each person consults in order to under stand himself, especially during moments of crises or choice. (71) In a subsequent article, he acknowledged the contributions of Gestaltist theory when he pointed out similarities between Koffka's conception of the ego, and the theory of self concept, both of which predicated . . . that each individual’s perception of him self is of ultimate psychological significance in organized behavior. The person in biological, social, and historical setting is the concrete object of self-perception. The self-concept is the more or less organized perceptual object resulting from present and past self-observation. (70:15*+) Combs and Snygg, developing Raimy’s trend of thought, wrote that the individual's frame of reference 2b provided the best key to understanding his behavior. Behavior, according to them, was to be understood in terms of the field of consciousness of the subject, rather than in terms of observer-determined analytical categories. Stating that the self was not to be considered as a physi cal entity, they referred to the phenomenal self as the Gestalt of the concepts of the self. The self concept itself was the organization of the most vital perceptions of the self (13:126,127). Rogers' definition was virtually the same: The self-concept or self-structure may be thought of as an organized configuration of per ceptions of the self which are admitted to aware ness. It is composed of such elements as the perceptions of one's characteristics and abili ties; the percepts and concepts of the self in relation to others and to the environment; the value qualities which are perceived as asso ciated with experience and objects; and goals and ideals which are perceived as having posi tive or negative valence. (76:136) That the self has come to play an important part in many theories of behavior is apparent. As Hall and Lindzey stated, following their examination of the litera ture : We have seen that there are several senses in which the self concept is employed by per sonality theorists. Either the self is seen as a group of psychological processes which serve as a determinant of behavior or else it is con ceived of as a cluster of attitudes and feelings the individual has about himself. In one form or another, however, the self occupies a promi nent role in most current personality formula tions. (31*26) The Research Literature Research dealing with the self concept can be divided into three categories based upon the type of instrument or method used in the course of the investiga tion. Q Technique Stephenson (8*+) has been credited with developing the Q technique approach to the investigation of the self concept. This method provides a correlation of the results derived from administering many tests to two or more persons on one occasion; it thereby permits the researcher to study the person, or to compare the person’s concept of himself with self concepts of others. Ix also makes possible correlation and factor analysis of scores for different individuals or for the same person under various conditions. Q sort is the name given to the usage of Q technique in which the subject sorts various state ments on cards according to specific instructions. With this method the subject groups the statements on the cards into a series of categories arranged in such a way that the resulting distribution can be considered a normal dis tribution within the subject’s frame of reference. The first sorting, for example, might be in terms of his self concept. The second might be according to his ideal con cept. 26 The Q sort technique appears to he most advan tageous when time is not at a premium and when individual administration is possible. For more detailed discussions of 4 technique and the issues concerning its use, the reader is referred to Mowrer (6b-), Oronbach (1*+), and Koses (63). Rating Methods Using Scales, Check Lists, or Questionnaires Rating scales, check lists, and questionnaires comprise the most commonly used group of instruments employed to secure indications of self regard. V/ylie (95:65) has categorized such instruments as follows: (1) those which purport to tap self-acceptance directly, i.e., by asking the subject how he feels about his stand ing on the stated characteristics; (2) those which use this direct approach and also derive a discrepancy score between separately-obtained self and ideal ratings, answers, or checks; (3) those which utilize mainly a self minus-ideal discrepancy score; and (^-) those which rely on the subject’s reports of actual self only, the ideal end of the scale being assumed by the experimenter, or the favorability of the terms being defined by external judges’ opinions of desirability. Rating Methods for Interview Materials Raimy (70:153~l63) first developed this method of 27 measuring changes in self-reference that occur during the course of psychotherapy. Various coding schemes have been developed for the purpose of classifying statements on the part of the subject into units which are then categorized. Raimy, for example, counted everything a subject said between two counselor responses as a unit. Categories used by him were: positive self-attitude, negative self attitude, ambivalent self-reference, ambiguous self reference, other or external reference, and informational question. Reliability and Validity The reliability of data secured in the course of research devoted to the measurement of personality vari ables has long been of concern to those involved with assessing them. Although some studies have attempted to present reliability computations (5) (69)* many have not, or have done so only to an inadequate degree. The validity of any instrument based upon infer ences from the self-reports of subjects is influenced by a number of factors, some of which have been discussed by Combs and Snygg and paraphrased in the following general categories that apply to the subject: his clarity of awareness, the presence or absence of adequate symbols available to him, social expectancy experienced by him, 28 his willingness or ability to cooperate, his freedom from feelings of being threatened, and changes in his field of organization (132) . Wylie, after surveying the research literature dealing with the self concept, pointed out certain diffi culties likely to be encountered in attempts to evaluate many of the findings: One finds that a very wide range of instru ments has been used to measure various aspects of the phenomenal self, most of them having been used in only one study. Many of the articles give incomplete descriptions of the instruments or no real description at all, and no publicly available source is given for the reader to follow up. Consequently it is difficult or impossible for the critical reader to make any confident inferences as to what variables might be influencing S's responses. In the majority of studies no reliability estimates are given, and those that are presented are mostly of the split-half or interjudge variety, giving no indi cation of stability on retest. The problem of any kind of validity is often bypassed entirely, being substituted for by assumptions of face validity, or reliance on the reader to infer what he will from whatever statement of opera tions is given. Sometimes inappropriate (i.e., theoretically irrelevant or inconsistent) valid ity criteria are offered. . . . (95:39) Reports of Specific Research Studies Because of the large number of studies involving the self concept that have appeared in recent years, the criterion of selection for review in this section was the study's relevance to one or more aspects of the present study. 29 Development and stability of the self concept* Two questions that occurred in connection with the study were: Cl) By what age range and to what extent did the self con cept develop ir. children? (2) How stable were the responses pertaining to it? Pew reports on these points were found. Engel (20) investigated the self concept stability of 172 boys and girls over a two-year period, testing one group in the eighth and tenth grades, and another in the tenth and twelfth grades, using a Q sort of items, 50 of which were positive and 50 negative in tone. Items were derived from definitions developed by Jersild of adolescent concerns. Results appeared to show that crystallization of the self concept occurred earlier than the eighth grade, since no significant difference was found between the older and younger groups* self-self correlations over the two- year period. Havighurst, Robinson, and Dorr (32) analyzed the compositions of children aged six to sixteen; children were asked to describe "The Person I Would Like to Be Like." The authors stated that with increasing age, the children’s choices tended to change from family members to glamorous persons, to attractive visible adults, to composite, imaginary persons. Perkins (68), whose subjects were fourth and sixth 30 grade children, found a significant increase in self-ideal congruence over a six-month period, the older group showing greater congruence than the younger. The instrument was a Q sort whose items were made up from a survey conducted by Jersild of the responses of fourth and sixth grade chil dren. It is not clear, however, whether these findings were indicative of developmental changes in the self-ideal relationship or to other factors such as reading and sort ing skills. Friendship choice and self concept. In considering the possible effects of group membership upon the self con cepts of the subjects of the investigation, it was assumed that in both the minimum and maximum adjustment groups, individual pupils were aware of their relationship with respect to the two groups. While it was believed likely that most subjects chose their friends largely from among peers, like themselves, in their own subculture, this was not made an assumption, since one of the dependent varia bles in the study deals with hypothetical friendship choices. The research literature offered several reports having to do with friendship choice and self concept. Thompson and Nishimura (88), among other investi gators, reported that persons chosen sociometrically were 31 seen by the chooser as more similar to his own ideal self than were non-chosen persons. The choosers idealized their friends to the extent that the average correlation between the subjects' own ideal and ratings for friends was sig nificantly higher than the correlation between subjects' own self concept and their ideal. Fiedler, Warrington, and Blaisdell (23), using the Q sorts of fraternity brothers, found that persons chosen as friends were perceived by the subject making the choice as more similar to himself than were disliked persons. Similar findings were obtained by Lundy (52) (53), hncL by Lundy, Katkovsky, Cromwell, and Shoemaker (5*+), using MMPI items. Davitz (19) obtained supporting findings with regard to the self concepts of children who regarded their friends and their friends' activities as being more similar to themselves than their disliked peers. Northway and Detweiler (65), who asked children about ten important good qualities, reported that their friends were seen as more similar to their ideal selves than were disliked children. McKenna, Hofstaetter, and O'Connor (58), using Q sorts and female college students, discovered that friends or persons chosen sociometrically were perceived by the chooser to be more similar to the subject’s ideal self than to the subject's self concept. This was found not to be so, however, when self-ideal congruence was very high. 32 Socioeconomic status and self concept characteris tics. Reports of research (as distinct from theoretical writings) devoted to the interrelationship of socioeconomic status and aspects of the self concept have been few in number and generally inconclusive. Since this interrela tionship is the central issue of the present investigation, it is hoped that a useful contribution will be made to this seemingly untapped, but potentially fruitful area of research. Hill (36) investigated possible relationships between social class and self concept characteristics, finding only inconclusive associations. His instrument was the Phillips Questionnaire, containing fifty state ments, half of which concerned the self, and half of which concerned others. His subjects were divided into experi mental and control groups, both of which were given the questionnaire six weeks after the original testing, the experimental group having studied V/arner’s "What You Should Know about Social Class" in the interim. Pupils in the experimental group, who had been classified as either high or low status, showed no significant difference from pupils in the control group when the questionnaire was adminis tered a second time. Mason (56; 57) attempted to find relationships among feelings of self worth and affective response to life on the one hand, and age, economic status, and living conditions (institutionalized or independent) on the other. Her instruments were the Chicago Attitude Scale, the Vineland Social Maturity Scale, Caldwell Pictures, and a 26-item Self-Concept Questionnaire based upon Fiedler’s Q-Sort Statements. Her subjects included 30 young adults of lower socioeconomic class; 30 middle-class independent subjects 60 years of age or older; and 60 institutionalized indigents 55 years of age or older. Inconclusive results were obtained probably due to diffei’ ences between the two older groups' living conditions as well as to socioeconomic class. In addition, the two independent groups differed with respect to both age and socioeconomic status. Iiavighurst and Taba (33*258) developed a scale for rating the compositions of 78 sixteen-year-olds who wrote on "The Person I would Like to Be Like." The scale rated the compositions (and presumably the ideal selves of the students) on moral values, which ranged from selfish and materialistic to altruistic and spiritual. In terms of the scale, papers were assigned to a rank order as judged by three judges, and divided into upper and lower groups. These were then compared with the (Warner's) social class of the subjects. Social class status and scale-determined moral values were positively correlated. Stanford-Binet IQ and average school grades were also correlated positively 3^ with moral values. No findings were reported in which IQ and achievement were held constant. Klausner (Mf) classified 27 seventeen-year-old boys according to Warner’s Index of Status Characteristics and administered Q sorts of 60 statements to them concerning their self concepts. Factor analysis resulted in the fac tors: "reactive aggression," which showed a suggestive trend toward lower middle class status; and "socially iso lated self aggression," which was associated to the same suggestive degree with upper middle class status. The factor of "adjusted inferiority" was not clearly related to social class. Self concept and ratings of achievement or other behavior. Attempts to discover relationships among self- concept characteristics and sociometric or school- achievement ratings have produced variable findings. The study reviewed last in this section closely relates to the present study in type of subjects selected, although not in method of investigation. Turner and Vanderlippe (90), using Butler and Haigh’s Q sort with college students as subjects, estab lished eight components on a sociometric instrument which correlated significantly with high, as compared with low, self-ideal congruence. No significant difference was 35 found, however, between high self-ideal congruence and higher grade point averages among the subjects. Zelen (97; 98) used the Bonney Sociometric method, the Peelings of Personal Worth component of the California 'Test of Personality, and the "VTho Are You?" test to secure insignificant correlations between sociometric acceptance by sixth grade children and each of the instruments indi cating self-acceptance. The self-a.cceptance measures correlated with each other. Perkins (68), working with 2 51 fourth and sixth grade children, attempted to correlate sociometrically- measured changes in acceptance by classmates with self ideal congruence. Over a six-month period he was unable to find significant relationships. He did find, however, that girls showed significantly greater congruence than boys. Brownfain (7), using fraternity brothers, found that popularity and being better known by more fraternity peers were associated with stability of self concept. Brownfain’s instrument was a two-part index of self- evaluation made up of twenty-five items on which subjects rated themselves four times, indicating positive, nega tive, private, and social self concepts. A stability score was established by subtracting positive from nega tive self concepts, and adding all items, regardless of 36 8ign. Walsh (91) matched groups of *+0 high-achieving and U-0 low-achieving boys on IQ and other variables, adminis tering the Driscoll Play Kit. Differences in self concepts were inferred from ways in which stories were completed through doll play. The underachievers, as compared to the high achievers, less frequently showed the boy doll as: free to follow his own interests, free to express his feel ings, accepted as a member of the family, adequate in responses to environmental stimuli. Reckless, Dinitz, and Murray (73) and Reckless, Dinitz, and Kay (72) investigated teacher-nominated poten tially delinquent and nondelinquent boys in a study which sought relationships between these categories and self concepts. Findings showed that the first group had an expectation of eventual court or jail experience, did not express a desire to avoid trouble at all costs, and regarded themselves as lacking in obedience to parents to a greater extent than did the second group. They also indicated less favorably their relationships with their families and parental discipline than did the nonpoten- tially-delinquent boys. Neurotic and psychotic subjects and self concept. The following group of reports is devoted to research which 37 compares self concept scores of normal subjects with those of subjects diagnosed as being neurotic or psychotic. It is included as background for considering the findings of the present study in terms of whatever diagnostic and therapeutic implications they may have for behavior deviant pupils. It should be pointed out, however, that the pupils of the investigation are younger than the sub jects reported upon in this section. Chase (10), who had his subjects sort Hilden’s 50 self-referent items for self and ideal self, found insig nificant tendencies for self-ideal and self-"average- other" correlations to be least among psychotics, next smallest among neurotics, and greatest among patients with character disorders. Nonpsychiatric patients yielded sig nificantly higher self-ideal and self-"average-other" con gruence than did psychiatric subjects. Sarbin and Rosenberg (80) reported that normal volunteer student subjects, and student subjects who were diagnosed as neurotic presented significantly different scores on Self-Acceptance as well as on an index of Self- Criticality developed from Gough’s Adjective Check List. The normal subjects showed greater self-accepting and less self-critical scores. Tamkin (86), who matched normal persons and schizophrenic patients as to race, age, sex, education, 38 and place of residence, found considerable overlap between the two groups, using the Scott-Euke questionnaire; but significantly lower Self-Acceptance scores on the part of the schizophrenics. Hillson and Worchel (37) worked with groups of normal, neurotic, and schizophrenic subjects. The groups, they claimed, were not disparate as to age, sex, education, and socioeconomic class. Using the Self-Activity Inventoiy, they reported that the neurotics rated themselves with significantly greater unfavorability than did the normal or schizophrenic subjects. Self-scores for the normals and schizophrenics were closely similar. Views from Essentially Sociological Sources The foregoing writings have treated a number of aspects of the self concept as they related to the present investigation. Those which follow have also been selected for their relevance to the problem of behavior deviant pupils, but are, generally speaking, presented within a sociological or psychosocial frame of reference. In addi tion, many of the writings cited concern juvenile delin quency and its association with children from working-class homes. It has been pointed out in the preceding chapter that it remained to be seen whether a similar relationship exists between social clas3 and in-school behavior of the 39 particular subjects being examined in this project. Such a finding would support the assumption that these non delinquent school deviants differ from delinquents largely in a matter of degree, representing a different range along the same continuum of behavior, but coming from homes of the same socioeconomic level. In attempting to answer the question of why social class seems to determine either the direction or degree of behavior for some children, and not for others, the writ ings of Erikson are much to the point. Bridging the gap between psychological and sociological interpretations of the etiology of deviant behavior, Erikson points out the , importance of everyday experiences in the home, school, and community, stressing the view that personality develops through a series of psychosocial crises that lead, in most cases, to "ego identity" (21). Ego identity is achieved by the individual when there is a close correspondence between the way he regards himself and the way in which others regard him (21?*+). "Ego diffusion" occurs when the individual does not achieve a high degree of such corres pondence and, according to Moore’s presentation of this aspect of Erikson’s theory, "the youth in such a state is not sure how he feels about himself, and is certainly unsure of how he appears to others and how they feel about him" (62?28). **0 Viewing adolescence as a period of "psychosocial moratorium," Erikson describes it as a time . . . during which the individual through free role experimentation may find a niche in some section of his society, a niche which is firmly defined and yet seems to be uniquely made for him. In finding it the young adult gains an assured sense of inner continuity and social sameness which will bridge what he was as a child and what he is about to become, and will reconcile his conception of him self and his community’s recognition of him. (22:9) Erikson*s theory of causation of many forms of deviant behavior in adolescence attributes such behavior to ego diffusion, the resolution of which indicates not so much a need for psychiatric treatment as it does a need to help adolescents, largely through recognition by adults of the individual worth of the young people, to accept the values and behave according to the desirable norms of the culture. Even where psychiatric treatment is indicated, he states, it should not extend the psychosocial moratorium unneces sarily by permitting the subject to escape from the neces sity of social responsibility (21:6). Like Erikson, Redl and Wineman (7*+) presented a view of deviant behavior, expressing psychological concepts within a sociocultural framework. Utilizing the term "delinquent ego," they described it in the following way: We use the term "delinquent" in its cultural meaning— referring to any behavior which runs counter to the dominant value system within which the child's character formation takes place. . . . We mean all the attitudes which will be developed Ifl in a child who is about to drift into a "delin quent style of life." As far as the "ego" side of the picture goes, we want to describe the ego in those situations in which it is bent on defending impulse gratification at any cost. In short, instead of performing its task of looking for a synthesis between desires, reality demands and the impact of social values, the ego is, in those moments, totally on the side of impulsivity. It throws all its weight into the task of making impulse gratification possible, against the outside world as well as against what ever remainders of the voice of its own conscience may be left. . . . (T^sl^-lW The delinquent ego, according to Redl and Wineman, was likely to develop in certain individuals who con structed self-images made up largely of examples of anti social behavior which they encountered, and which non delinquents, in effect, were largely able to reject by only approaching them in imaginative play (7*+: 195). Parsons (66), writing of aggression in social situations, contributed a view which is relevant to theories of causation of deviant behavior in young people. Stating that social behavior was understandable in terms of the motivations of persons in situations, he named two basic causes of aggressive behavior: insecurity in inter personal relations, and anxiety from feelings of inadequacy in relation to norms and goals established for the individ ual, either by powerful others or by society in general (66:167). Boys, Parsons found, became delinquent in greater numbers than did girls, because of difficulties in b2 incorporating as their ego-ideals their mothers and female teachers. In attempting to prove their masculinity, they denied tenderness and "goodness." Additionally, since good behavior generally implies responsibility, masculinity in the delinquent became equated with irresponsibility and physical prowess (66:171-172). Merton (59)9 who developed his views from those of Durkheim, applied the concept of anomie to juvenile delin quents, some of whom, he said, suffered from lack of values or norms. The behavior of youths who were involved in a delinquent subculture, he stated, was due in many cases to disturbances in the "control system" of ego and superego. He commented: . . . the extent to which the members of a group encounter disturbances in perception of self, of past, of future, of self orientation, of career orientation, and the like would be very heavily affected by the cultural context. This context clearly defines the emphasis assigned the past and the future for an individual in such and such a social category, and in such and such a role. But anomie isn’t always a matter of conflict ing definitions. It may result from diverse emphases. . . . This multiplicity of different values to which the individual is exposed— and I want to underscore that they may not be psycho logically or logically contradictory or conflict ing— represents one part of the cultural environ ment which would be linked with the probability of disturbances to the control system being more or less frequent, however the effects upon the personality might show up clinically. (59:63) However, Moore (62) declared the fact that there ^3 was no value system in personalities or groups did not mean that there was no desire to obtain at least the surface symbols of values of the predominant cultural structure. Hence, delinquent or criminal behavior often is directed toward the acquisition of such symbols of success as automobiles stolen rather than pur chased, jewels and clothes obtained through bur glary or bought with the proceeds of burglary, and position attained by being a "slick operator" rather than achieved by being a productive person. (62:^0) Sutherland (85) presented a "genetic theory" of criminality and delinquency, stating that both were expres sions of social organization in the sense that communities were organized both for law-abiding and criminal behavior. Systematic criminal behavior is due immediately to differential association in a situation in which cultural conflicts exist, and ultimately to the social disorganization in that situation. A specific or incidental crime of a particular per son is due generally to the same process, but it is not possible to include all cases because of the adventitious character of delinquency when regarded as specific or incidental acts. (85:9) That Sutherland’s theory omitted recognition of motivation and individual personality cr\racteristics is apparent in the following statements: . . . the chance that a person will participate in systematic criminal behavior is determined roughly by the frequency and consistency of his contacts with the patterns of criminal behavior. . . . individual differences among people in respect to personal characteristics or social situations cause crime only as they affect differ ential association or frequency and consistency of contacts with criminal patterns. (85:6) bb Shaw and McKay (81) described the close relation ship that exists between delinquency and socioeconomic factors. Originating in the "dynamic life" of the commun ity are differences in social values, attitudes and norms, which in the case of low-income areas, provide a tradition of delinquency which makes certain forms of deviant behav ior the indices of good "adjustment" in that milieu. They stated: This tradition is manifested in many different ways. It becomes meaningful to the child through the conduct, speech, gestures, and attitudes of persons with whom he has contact. Of particular importance is the child's intimate association with predatory gangs or other forms of delinquent and criminal organization. . . . In cases of group delinquency it may be said, therefore, that from the point of view of the delinquent's immediate social world he is not necessarily disorganized, maladjusted, or anti social. Within the limits of his social world and in terms of its norms and expectations he may be a highly organized and well adjusted per son. (81:^36) Glueck, discussing trends in theories of juvenile delinquency, wrote in 1959* Of all the sources of character-molding, habit formation and deterrence, American crimi- nologic research has tended in recent years to emphasize the neighborhood— the "delinquency area" and, more recently, the "delinquent sub culture"— as the most influential. C29*l61 +) Cohen has probably been more closely identified with the subculture theory of delinquency than has any other writer. The influence of his ideas is seen h5 particularly in the present study, in its emphasis upon subcultures, and the resulting discrepancy between peer standards and self-expectations. Cohen described subcul tures in the following terms: Every society is internally differentiated into numerous subgroups, each with ways of thinking; and doing that are in some respects peculiarly its own, that one can acquire only by participating in these subgroups and that one can scarcely help acquiring if he is a full-fledged participant. These cultures within cultures are "subcultures." (12:12) Although contending that juvenile delinquency is, in general, a working-class phenomenon, Cohen nevertheless admitted that it was conceivable that any correlation between juvenile delinquency and social class could be an artifactural consequence of the biases of the police and courts (12:37). To support tnis contention, Cohen referred to Warner and Lunt, who had stated: This disparity is not to be accounted for by the fact that "criminal behavior" is proportion ately higher among lower-class juveniles or that there are more ethnic members whose children have been imperfectly adapted to Yankee City. It must be understood as a product of the amount of pro tection from outside interference that parents can give the members of their families. (92:^27) Bordua, however, in a report of a I960 Children's Bureau Conference dealing with sociological theories and their implications for juvenile delinquency, pointed out that the members of the conference were largely in agree ment that a large proportion of serious, officially-known >+6 delinquency had the attributes of being "male, urban, low- status, group behavior” (6:2). Other facts concerning lower-class delinquency with which the participants of the Children’s Bureau Conference reached agreement were: . . . group delinquency is supported— often demanded— by a more or less systematic body of beliefs and values held by and enforced in a given body and even by a ramified network of street-comer groups. This body of beliefs, values, and status-conferring criteria has been referred to as "the delinquent subculture." Because of these facts, sociologists take as their central task the investigation of the con ditions under which a given person becomes a carrier of the subculture. . . . There are many forms of delinquent subcultures, even in low-status populations. . . . The delinquency-supporting values and beliefs of street groups are related to the values and beliefs and systems of social relationships found in many low-status urban populations. • • • Delinquent groups vary greatly in the degree to which specifically illegal behavior is the cen ter of group concern. . . . The organizational forms of delinquent groups vary widely. . . . Probably most delinquent acts as such occur in small clique groups of two to five boys. . . . (6:2-3) Cohen’s explanation of the way in which delinquent subcultures developed was as follows: The crucial condition for the emergence of new cultural forms is the existence, in effective interaction with one another, of a number of actors with similar problems of adjustment. These may be the entire membership of a group or only certain members, similarly circumscribed, within the group. (12:^9) In essence, the delinquent subculture was described as resulting from a discrepancy between the self-perceived status of lower-class boys and the status to which they aspired but which was blocked from them in many ways. Cohen stated: If we lack the characteristics or capacities which give status in terms of these criteria, we are beset by one of the most typical and yet dis tressing of human problems of adjustment. One solution is for individuals who share such prob lems to gravitate toward one another and jointly to establish new norms, new criteria of status which define as meritorious the characteristics they do possess, the kinds of conduct of which they are capable. . . . Such new status criteria would represent new subcultural values different from or even antithetical to those of the larger social system. (12:65, 66) "llegativism" directed against essentially middle class norms was viewed by Cohen as the motivating force delinquent subcultures. The delinquent subculture is not only a set of rules, a design for living which is different from or indifferent to or even in conflict with the norms of the "respectable" adult society. It would appear at least plausible that it is defined by its "negative polarity" to those norms. That is, the delinquent subculture takes its norms from the larger culture but turns them upside down. The delinquent’s conduct is right, by the standards of his subculture, precisely because it is wrong by the norms of the larger culture. (12:28) Miller disagreed with Cohen's view that status deprivation and negative polarity with regard to middle- class norms was the primary motivation for delinquent i+8 subcultures. Probably the most significant and provoca tive portions of Miller’s writings are those in which he claimed that lower-class culture was not a reaction to other cultural forces, and that for the lower-class delin quent, violation of middle-class norms was not the true motivation for his behavior; his actions could better be understood as a by-product of action primarily oriented to the lower class system. The standards of lov/er-class culture cannot be seen merely as a reverse func tion of middle-class culture— as middle-class standards "turned upside down." Lower class cul ture is a distinctive tradition many centuries old with an integrity of its own. (6l:19) Kvaraceus and Miller expanded upon the distinctive character of lower-class culture. Referring to both "lower class" and "middle class" as systems of behavior and concerns rather than as groups defined in conventional economic terms, they stated: Lower-class culture refers specifically to a way of life which is followed by a large segment of the present-day population of this country, whose concerns, values, and characteristic patterns of behavior are the product of a well- formed cultural system. Preliminary evidence indicates that somewhere between *fQ and 60 per cent of the total population of the United States share or are significantly influenced by the major outlines of the lower-class cultural sys tem. ... In its most representative form, it reveals a distinctive patterning which differs significantly from that of middle-class culture. Much of the delinquency of lower-class youngsters may be seen as an attempt by the act ing individual to adhere to forms of behavior *+9 and to achieve standards of value as they are defined within this type of community. (*+7:63) The forms of behavior and standards of value which Miller ascribed to the socioeconomic classes were presented by him as "focal concerns"; in the case of the lower-class culture, the following were categorized as having their correlates in norm-violating behavior of lower-class adolescents: Trouble. "'Getting into trouble' and 'stay ing out of trouble' ..." Toughness. "Physical prowess, 'masculinity,' endurance, athletic ability, strength. ..." Smartness. "Skill in duping and outsmarting the other guy as well as the ability to avoid being duped by others. ..." Excitement. "The search for thrill and stimu lation. ..." Pate. "Lady Luck. . . . ' I was -unlucky, I was caught’ . . . Gambling in its many forms. It • • • Autonomy. "'No one is going to boss me, but nobody.' . . . Overt expression of dislike, dis dain, and resentment of external control of behavior. ..." (61:5-19) These six lower-class focal concerns are the ones which were utilized in the present study in the develop ment and categorization of instrument items for the mini mum adjustment subculture. As a member of the six-man interdisciplinary team which conducted the National Education Association's Juve nile Delinquency Project, Miller contributed to the 50 conceptual framework of that study not only the six lower- class focal concerns referred to, but ten additional con cerns toward which middle-class individuals tended to be oriented. These were: achievement through directed work effort; deferment of immediate pleasures and gains for future goals; responsibility; maintenance of the solidarity of the nuclear family; child rearing; accumulation of material goods and conscientious maintenance of property; education and improving of the mind; formal organizations; cleanliness; and ambition to get ahead (^7:77). These ten middle-class focal concerns were used in the present study in developing and categorizing the instrument items for the maximum adjustment subculture. They correspond fairly closely to other lists of what have more generally been termed "values” of the middle class. For example, Davis and Havighurst (18), Davis (17), and Hollingshead (38) have presented middle-class values similarly as having the same general attributes as those accepted by the National Education Association project. Warner, Meeker, and Eels (93) and Centers (9)» in their delineations of the social classes in the United States, arrived at substantially parallel conclusions regarding middle-class concerns. It is of interest to note, hov/ever, that Miller's categories of norm-violating behavior of lower-class adolescents, as well as the restatement of these cate gories in Kvaraceus and Miller, omitted (or appeared to minimize) the quality of malice stressed by Cohen (12) and by Martin (55). The three major characteristics of the delinquent subculture described by Cohen were the non utilitarian, malicious, and negativistic qualities of their activities (12:25). Group autonomy, and short-run hedonism were two other characteristics brought out by Cohen, which would appear to correspond to Miller’s terms of autonomy and excitement. Among Miller's categories, however, only excitement seemed to be related to the malicious behavior cited by Cohen, and then only in an incidental way. Kvaraceus and Miller stated, for example, in their discussion of excitement: Much of the delinquency related to this cul tural concern involves the quality of high adven ture. Although aggression against persons and property may figure in many of these acts, such behavior, from the actor’s point of view, can not be interpreted simply as "antisocial"; the aggres sive component is one by-product of a complex of motives which includes the quest for "excitement." 0*7:67) The failure of Miller and Kvaraceus to include negativism as a lower-class norm-vidating attribute was consistent with the previously-discussed view expressed by Miller that lower-class behavior, rather than being a negative reaction to middle-class standards, was positive in accordance with its own distinctive tradition (61:19). 52 The relationship of social class to deviant behav ior was also discussed by Clinard, who stated that studies of class structure had shown that value orientations and behavior served not only to represent but actually to integrate class ways of life (ll:*+l5). He stated: So different are the social norms and other behavior of social classes in America, for example, that the differences in the behavior of the various social classes may be nearly as great as that between the members of that society and some other society. . . . Many psychiatrists and others with a similar orientation often do not recognize this. Consequently, seeing the world through a middle-class perspective, they regard the behavior of a deviant as a unique prod uct of a family situation, whereas it more properly reflects the behavior of families of a certain social class or occupation. (11:, +15) Freedman and Hollingshead, writing in the American Journal of Psychiatry, discussed neurosis and social class, relating the type of neurosis suffered by an individual with his social class. Every analysis, therefore, to which we have thus far subjected our data, gives us essentially the same results. Viewed in the perspective of their "social significance," manifestations of these neuroses range through a remarkably regular progression from introversive, intimate, personal symptoms in Classes I and II to the increasingly wider community crises and more severe social and legal collisions in the lower Classes IV and V. (26:772) We may indulge ourselves in the following (over) generalizations: the Class V neurotic behaves badly, the Class IV neurotic aches physically, the Class III patient defends fearfully, and the patients in Classes I and II are dissatisfied with themselves. (26:77*+) 53 Miller and Swanson also presented evidence of a social class basis of symptoms, noting that culturally- deprived persons were more likely to develop malfunctions of the voluntary muscles, in the form of hysteria and catatonia. Middle-class symptoms were more often expressed in obsessions and depressions, and by "rumina tive attempts to figure out solutions to conflict" (60:2*+). One might conjecture from the writings of these authorities that implicit in a theory of social class determination of symptoms is the possibility that treat ment methods which vary according to social class may be justified. This has been discussed by Riessman, who believed that, since the average culturally-deprived per son holds not himself but the world to be responsible for his misfortunes, he is much less apt to experience feel ings of self-blame, is more directly aggressive, and is more likely to be a poor patient in psychotherapy (75:27). In fact, Riessman cited considerable evidence that stand ard psychological approaches were not only unattractive to most deprived people, but were often inappropriate as well. He added that the rather unusual practice of home visits t>y psychiatrists to the families of deprived patients had been productive of improved patient-doctor rapport (75:1 +7~ Goffman (30), using the perspective of the stage, % demonstrated that much of the Individual’s "performance" in social life could be understood in terms of the parts played by him in relation to combinations of other actors and audiences. This view appears to be quite consistent with subculture theory, particularly if one assumes limited ability to perform a particular part in a more demanding subculture, thereby, as it were, type-casting the youngster in a part which, in the eyes of other actors in that subculture, he performs well, regardless of exter nal critics. This view has its counterpart, to some extent, in the psychologically-oriented work of Sarbin and Jones (79) dealing with experimental role enactment, and Sarbin and Farberow (78) in role perception. Clinard, referring to role theory, stated that wider application of the self concept, as a corrollary to role theory, was needed in research relating to deviant behavior. Referring to self concepts as "social products arising in symbolic interaction," he claimed that, although research that makes use of the self concept has been widely used in social psychology, its application to the study of social deviations has been limited to date (1958), except for the work of Reckless and Dinitz (ll:kl8). Summary The writings reviewed in this chapter were selected for their relevance to the present investigation, which is 5 5 based upon the general hypothesis that boys belonging to subcultures at opposite extremes of school adjustment will show different degrees of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self, and that these discrepancies correspond to the extent to which the subjects have internalized con flicting standards associated with social class. The nature of the self, and differing views con cerning the relative importance of phenomenal and non- phenomenal emphases were discussed. This was followed by the presentation of representative views of the structure and role of the self, tracing the contributions of Freud and his associates, the neo-Freudians, and the Gestaltists to the more recent writings of Rogers and those associated with him and client-centered therapy. Research dealing with the self concept, and utiliz ing the Q technique and other methods of rating or infer ring self concept characteristics were noted, as well as certain comments regarding the reliability and validity of such instruments. This was followed by reports of self concept research findings related to the present investi gation. A final section presented relevant references drawn from sources dealing with theories of delinquency, subcultures, social classes, and role playing. The following chapter describes the research design, employed in the present study, the way it was developed, and the manner in which the resulting data were treated. CHAPTER III THE RESEARCH DESIGN As stated at the outset, the present investigation sought to test the hypothesis that junior high school boys belonging to subcultures at opposite extremes of school adjustment will show different degrees of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self. The theory under lying the hypothesis interprets such discrepancy as corres ponding to the extent to which the subjects have internal ized conflicting standards associated with socioeconomic class characteristics. Although a search of the litera ture devoted to research of the self concept elicited several reports whose method or content were suggestive of ways of approaching the problem, no individual report or instrument appeared to have the exact focus desired for testing the indicated hypothesis. Accordingly, it was deemed necessary to develop an instrument specific to the purpose• 57 58 Development of the Instrument and the Meaning of Discrepancy Scores General Considerations Since the instrument was to be made up of school- oriented items indicative of adjustment subculture as well as social class, it seemed appropriate to gather state ments typical of each subculture, to categorize the infor mation in accordance with social class characteristics, and to construct a scale of items to which each subject could then respond in terms of his 3elf concept and ideal self. The discrepancy scores that were obtained represented an aspect of the self whose components, although responded to consciously, revealed a relationship which was presumed to be one of which the subject was unaware, or at least one upon which the instrument did not appear to the subject to be focused, regardless of his awareness. Since the instrument was being utilized to elicit indications of the degree of self-ideal congruence, and because its material was in the form of social class oriented items, a resulting self-ideal discrepancy could be considered to be an indication of the lack of congru ence between the way the subject saw himself and the way he would like to be, in terms of the specific social class material making up the particular item. That the dis crepancies scored by each subject were grouped into a 59 total score was not to be taken as an assumption that each instance of lack of congruence was of equal strength in representing either the item’s importance in the subcul ture or the degree of relevance to the individual. Obviously, certain characteristics could be expected to be more or less closely identified with one or the other of the two subcultures, since subjects presumably Vary in their degree of adherence to subcultural characteristics. Although degree of congruence between self and ideal self has been considered by some writers as an index of "adjustment," in the sense of "being proud of one’s self or evaluating one’s attributes highly," Wylie has pointed out that to others, optimum self-esteem or self- satisfaction was shown by "moderately small" (rather than by very small or zero) discrepancies (95:^0). Since, how ever, in the present investigation, item material has been limited to school-oriented social-class characteristics, self-ideal discrepancies were considered as indices not of adjustment, but as manifestations of ambivalence between conflicting cultural standards to which the subjects were responding. The nature of the hypotheses with which the investigation has been concerned suggests that any lack of "adjustment" was not applicable to the subjects, but should rather be imputed to those subcultural and social-class standards which fail to coincide and which have been 60 reflected in the ambivalence of the subjects. It is con ceivable, for example, according to the hypotheses being tested, that a working-class behavior-deviant subject with a self-ideal discrepancy on every item could, in his self responses, have identified as anticipated with each charac teristic of his subculture, thereby indicating maximum "adjustment" of the self component within his subculture. That his ideal self responses were in conflict in every instance would indicate that the goals to which he aspired were not to be found within his own group. Whether such a condition could be considered as lack of adjustment or a beginning point for motivation toward goal-directed behav ior would, to a large extent, be dependent upon the experi ences encountered by such an individual in the process of pitting his ability to work toward acknowledged goals against his tolerance for the ambivalence engendered by identification with a peer group. In the sense that an individual who is faced with such a discrepancy between present identification and the identity toward which he aspires must somehow move or change in order to minimize the internalized conflict, Erikson has stated: Identity formation, finally, begins where the usefulness of identification ends. It arises from the selective repudiation and mutual assimilation of childhood identifications, and their absorption in a new configuration, which in turn, is dependent on the process by which a society (often through 61 subsocieties) identifies the young individual, recognizing him as somebody who had to become the way he is. . . . (22:10) Selection of the Schools Two junior high schools (hereinafter designated as School A and School B) in a large school district in Los Angeles County were selected for investigation. The average daily attendance of each school was more than 2,100 but less than 2,^00 pupils. The two schools shared a common boundary and served areas which were considered to be made up almost entirely of Caucasian middle-class and working-class families. Utilization of "Critical Incident" Technique In developing the statements typical of each adjustment group’s behavior and attitudes, a version of Flanagan’s (25) "critical incident" technique for job analysis was developed for pupil "jobs" in the school setting. Cronbach has described the technique as follows: The analyst asks a foreman or some other person well acquainted with the job to think of an individual who has done excellently on the job, and then to recall one particular incident which showed this person's superiority. Like wise, the informant recalls a poor performer, perhaps one who had to be discharged, and the incident which led to the final verdict of unsuitability. . . . The incidents are classi fied into logical categories in order to iden tify variables that may be measured for the pur poses of prediction. (15*326) 62 Preparation of the Maximum Adjustment Subculture Items Prom the boys' vice principal or persons designated by him at each of the two schools the names of fifteen boys who were recent graduates of the ninth grade and who had demonstrated excellent school adjustment were obtained. The criteria of such adjustment were high academic and citizenship grades, service, representation, recognition by the school, and noninvolvement in disciplinary problems. Through a combination of examining the records of the named boys and discussing their accomplishments with administra tors and teachers who had known them, descriptions of a variety of types of achievement were secured. Material for items was also obtained from pupils still in attendance. During the last week of March, 1963, student government sponsors were asked to have all pupils (girls as well as boys) in special leadership classes write answers to the following questions which were intended to bring out attitudes characteristic of the sub culture : 1. Should pupils be allowed to drop out of school before they are sixteen? 2. Should pupils participate in making and carry ing out some school rules? 3. What, in your opinion, causes some pupils to 63 get into trouble frequently while others never have to be sent to the vice principal or registrar because of misbehavior or attendance irregularities? *+. What are your goals in this school and high school? Sixty-two papers were received, consisting of forty-three papers from the eighth and ninth grades at School B, and nineteen papers from the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades at School A. Differences in student organization structure and representation in leadership classes accounted for the disparity in numbers. Statements indicative of attitudes and beliefs were extracted from the papers, reduced to typewritten form, and used as a basis for discussion with student gov ernment sjjonsors, administrators, and counselors at both schools. Prom the discussions, certain additional charac teristics of pupils typical of the maximum adjustment sub culture were secured. The total resulting list of state ments from all sources was then analyzed according to the ten middle-class focal concerns of Kvaraceus and Miller (*f7:77): achievement through directed work effort, defer ment of immediate pleasures and gains for future goals, responsibility, maintenance of the solidarity of the nuclear family, child rearing, accumulation of material 6b goods and conscientious maintenance of property, education and improving of the mind, formal organizations, cleanli ness, and ambition to get ahead. For each focal concern, two corresponding state ments from the list were selected. This process resulted in twenty school-oriented statements arranged according to the Kvaraceus and Miller categories. Table 1 presents the statements. It should be noted that the instrument was to be administered, finally, to ninth grade boys in the same schools from which the statements were developed. For that reason, no potentially identifiable statement derived from a ninth-grade boy’s leadership class paper was used in item development unless it seemed reasonably applicable to other pupils. Certain statements were also disguised, generalized, or otherwise modified, when it seemed desir able, in order to avoid possible recognition. Preparation of the Minimum Adjustment Subculture Items The preparation of the items pertaining to the minimum adjustment subculture began with conferences with the boys’ vice principals at both schools. Each agreed to furnish the names and descriptive statements concerning fifteen boys who were recent graduates of the ninth grade, and who had demonstrated serious problems in conforming to TABLE 1 65 MAXIMUM-ADJUSTMENT SUBCULTURE ITEMS ARRANGED ACCORDING TO KVARACEUS AND MILLER'S CATEGORIES OF MIDDLE-CLASS FOCAL CONCERNS Focal Concern Item Number, and Item 1. Achievement 10, through directed work effort 35, 2. Deferment of immediate pleasures and gains for future goals This boy plans ahead for the things he wants, and works hard for them instead of waiting for a lucky break This boy enjoys playing the piano or other musical instrument for himself or friends. This boy is able to plan his after noons and evenings so that he gets his school work and home duties done and still has some time for TV or other recreation. 15. 3. Responsibility 4. 12. 4. Maintenance of the solidarity of the nuclear family This boy often gives up doing things he would enjoy now, in order to pre pare for the future. This boy believes in cooperation between pupils and teachers, and agrees that pupils should help in making and carrying out school rules This boy says that it is your duty to your school to tell a teacher if you see anyone stealing or destroy ing valuable school property. 7. This boy often talks with his father or mother about what he is studying and doing in school. 28. This boy's parents attend FTA meet ings and take part in PTA committees or assist in other school-sponsored activities. TABLE 1 (continued) 66 Focal Concern Item Number, and Item 5. Child rearing 19 30 6. Accumulation 9 of material goods and conscientious maintenance of property 17 This boy knows that if he showed signs of laziness about doing his homework, his parents would help him to avoid any distractions that were bothering him. This boy says that, in his opinion, the way boys are brought up at home has a lot to do with whether they can stay out of trouble at school. This boy regularly saves some money from his allowance or earnings so that he will be able to buy a car or other valuable possession later on. This boy, through careful saving, buying, trading, and help from his parents, has built up a coin, stamp, or other collection of value. 7. Education and improving of the mind 16. This boy is planning for the high school and college courses he will need to become a doctor, lawyer, or scientist. 8. Formal organizations 21. This boy is able to speak and write correctly, according to most of the rules of grammar, when he wants to. 23. This boy has been an officer in one of the school clubs. He also believes in the importance of student govern ment . 29. This boy was elected to a student government office. He also hopes to receive an award at school, given by the American Legion, a newspaper, Rotary, Kiwanis, or some other TABLE 1 (continued) Focal Concern Item Number, and Item 9. Cleanliness 31, 34, 10. Ambition to get ahead service organization. This boy usually tries to have a clean-cut appearance and to be neat and orderly in his work. This boy bathes regularly and has not had his clothing or hair style discussed with him by teachers or Vice Principal. This boy says he wants to do his best in everything he tries out for in junior high so that he can be successful in the years that follow, This boy says that his school years are preparation for what he will do later in life. He believes that working hard in school now will help him to get ahead in his chosen vocation. 68 standards of behavior. The criteria of such poor adjust ment were: nonacceptance of teacher authority, poor aca demic and citizenship grades, lack of participation in activities such as service, representation, or recognition, and a record of referrals to administrators for discipli nary actions such as detention, suspension, or social adjustment classes. In the course of examining the records of disciplinary referrals and actions concerning the fifteen boys who were no longer in junior high school, it became apparent that, at both schools, such records were arranged in ways that made sampling on a larger scale feasible. At School A it was possible to examine the records and take note of the incidents in which eighty-two boys had been involved. This number represented all ninth-grade boys who had been graduated from the school, or left it, during the semester ending in February, 1963. In most cases there were several recorded entries for each boy, since the records included all referrals to the vice prin cipal for the three years of attendance at the school. A representative sampling was obtained by noting the last (or only) incident on each boy’s record, as well as any additional deviant behavior accompanying the incident. Providing useful background information relating to the attitudes of the boys involved in the incidents was the custom at School A of having each boy write a brief 69 statement on "Why I Am Here," upon being sent to the vice principal . At School B the arrangement of records permitted examination and notation of reports of incidents in which 150 boys had been involved. The figure represents all boys, with the exception of those still in attendance, who had ever been sent to the boys' vice principal's office since the opening of the school three years previously. As at School A, most of the boys were involved in several incidents. A representative sampling was secured in the same manner as at School A, by noting the last (or only) incident on each boy's record, as well as any additional deviant behavior accompanying the incident. After the records in the offices of each vice principal and registrar had been examined and discussed with these administrators, a sufficient variety of types of deviant behavior and attendance irregularities was at hand to illustrate characteristics of the minimum adjust ment subculture. In all, a total of 280 incidents from the records of 232 behavior deviant boys had been obtained. The list is exhibited in Appendix A. The total list of incident-based statements was analyzed according to Miller’s six lower-class focal con cerns: trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy (6l:5**19)» Since many of the statements did not seem to fall into any of the six focal-concem cate gories, all statements were grouped according to a more detailed categorization utilized "by Zeitlin in a Phoenix, Arizona study of the frequency and type of discipline prob lems cited by teachers in seven schools (96). Pour additional categories were developed that included certain types of deviant behavior not reported separately in the Phoenix study. The numbers of incidents, arranged accord ing to both the Zeitlin and the Miller categories to which they seemed to correspond, are displayed in Table 2. An analysis of the categories which did not seem to correspond indicated that the incidents involving theft, and actions against girls could not clearly be assigned to the Miller categories, nor did Miller’s inclusion of "destroying pub lic property" under the heading of "excitement" seem to match the quality of many incidents of school property damage. It would appear, for example, that breaking into a school and creating wanton destruction would be logically classifiable under excitement, whereas the sullen, methodi cal carving of desks or chairs during class would not. Therefore the categories of damaging property, theft, and actions against girls were not used in making up instrument items. Por each focal concern, two statements from the remaining list were selected to correspond with it. This TABLE 2 CATEGORIZATION OP 280 INCIDENTS OP BEHAVIOR DEVIATION PROM 232 BOYS ACCORDING TO TWO CLASSIPICATION SYSTEMS I. PHOENIX STUDY CATE GORIES (ZEITLIN) Number of Incidents II. "LOWER-CLASS POCAL CONCERNS" (MILLER) Number of Incidents Disturbance 32 Disobedience 32 Disrespect 22 Misrepresentation 12 Ignoring Health and Safety Rales 26 Smoking 8 Pighting 32 Damaging Property 17 Profanity and Obscenity 28 Gambling 8 Theft 11 Cheating 1 Trouble Autonomy Autonomy Smartness Excitement Excitement Toughness Toughness Pate Smartness 32 77 (Included above) 13 3^ (Included above) 68 (Included above) 8 (Included above) ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES DEFINED FOR THIS STUDY Actions against Girls (other than verbal) Truancy and Tardiness Spitting Unclassified 17 23 8 3 Autonomy Toughness (Included above) (Included above) 72 process resulted in twelve school-oriented statements arranged according to the Miller categories. These are shown in Table 3. Since the items had been derived entirely from boys no longer attending the school, there was no possibility that any ninth grader to whom the instrument was to be administered would be faced with an incident from his own records. Additional Items and Response Category In addition to the twenty maximum adjustment and twelve minimum adjustment statements, three items not derived from categories of social class concerns were initially included in the scale. One item was intended to secure information concerning parents’ education; the other two pertaining to popularity and being liked. Following pretesting of items, the less effective of the latter two was deleted. While not central to the main hypothesis, a response category of social distance or attraction was added to all items. From this question concerning each statement it was anticipated that an indication might be obtained which differed from both the self concept and the ideal self. In the case of a minimum adjustment pupil, a No answer with reference to a maximum adjustment statement, followed by a Yes answer in the social column might TABLE 3 73 MINIMUM-ADJUSTMENT SUBCULTURE ITEMS ARRANGED ACCORDING TO MILLER'S CATEGORIES OF LOWER-CLASS FOCAL CONCERNS Focal Concern Item Number, and Item I. Trouble 2. Toughness 11 , This boy gets into trouble at school frequently. He has been sent to the Vice Principal at least three times. This boy knows that he gets into trouble because of breaking various school rules, but he says that rules are made to be broken when they get in your way too much. This boy, on at least two occasions, chose off other boys and had fights with them after school. 13. This boy admitted spitting in the direction of another boy whom he did not like. 3. Smartness 14. This boy gave a teacher, who did not know him, a false name when the teacher caught him shoving at lunch time. 18. This boy took some stamped excuses from a school office and passed them out to his friends. 4. Excitement This boy set off a school. firecracker at 24. This boy says he and his friend were just "goofing off" in the lunch area and pretending to fight. Then a crowd gathered and a teacher sent the two boys to the Vice Principal. TABLE 3 (continued) Focal Concern Item Number, and Item 5. Fate 26. This boy says that very often things will happen that he gets blamed for just because he is close by and cer tain teachers and other kids happen to know him. 27. This boy was caught matching coins between classes. He has been sent to the Vice Principal twice for the same kind of activity. 6. Autonomy 33. This boy does not like being told what to do by teachers. He often does not bring books, paper, or pencil to class. 20. This boy says it should not be anyone else's business if some boys want to come to school with long hair, no belts on their jeans, horse shoe taps, three shirt buttons open, and wearing big rings. S O B 75 represent a more remote form of reaching out toward the ideal than the ideal category itself. In the case of a pupil with maximum school adjustment, a No answer in the ideal category with reference to a minimum adjustment statement, followed by a Yes answer in the social space might represent an unfulfilled need, through a vicarious experience, for involvement in some of the activities of the contrasting subculture. Those references listed under Friendship Choice and Self Concept in Chapter II of the present study showed obvious relevance to this additional response category. Completing the Instrument In making up the self concept instrument from the selected items, certain considerations were noted. It was desired that the instrument should be: 1. Capable of being group-administered. 2. Capable of being completed within one hour of pupil time. 3. Presented in terms understandable to subjects whose verbal ability might be limited. b. Capable of being read to the subjects, who would also have the instrument before them. 5. In a form that could easily be scored. 6. Capable of fulfilling its purpose of providing opportunities for subjects to indicate self concept through identification with a charac teristic, and ideal self through selection of that statement which represented desirability or approval. 7. In a form which avoided self concept and psychological terminology and to which pupils could respond as if it were an opinion survey concerning pupil behavior. 8. In a form which, while permitting identifica tion of each subject's paper, would preserve his impression of anonymity. The form in which the instrument emerged consisted of thirty-four statements relating to behavior or attitude, each beginning with the words, "This boy ..." For example, "This boy set off a firecracker at school." Each statement was followed by three questions for which Yes or No spaces were provided for check marks: Are you like this boy? Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? Would you like to have him for a friend? The instrument was reproduced by the Ditto process, headed "PUPIL BEHAVIOR OPINION SURVEY," and provided with an inconspicuous coding system which would insure the iden tification of individual papers with names numbered in the 77 order in which the papers were to be handed out. The following instructions were placed on the covering page: This opinion survey is for eighth and ninth grade boys only. Its purpose is to learn what pupils at this school and other schools think about certain kinds of behavior. Some pupils believe most school rules are reasonable. Others may think that some things are unfair. This is to be expected, because different people have different ideas about the way they should act in school and the way they should be treated. Because this is a survey of what pupils think, honest differences of opinion are welcome. There are no right or wrong answers, no scores, and no grades. Nothing of what you say will be shown on any of your school records. In other words, the more honestly you can answer these questions, the more useful your opinions will be in helping to improve school for everyone. All of the questions are about things that boys at some school have supposedly said or done. Each question has three yes or no parts to answer. Mark an X after the YES or NO for each part of every question. BO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME ON THIS SURVEY Selection of Subjects It was predicated that a total of sixty boys from the two schools, divided between upper and lower adjust ment groups, was the minimum number from which meaningful statistical inferences could be drawn. It was deemed necessary, however, to select a larger number of candi dates than this to take the Survey, in anticipation of absences, programming difficulties, and deliberately 78 invalidated papers on the part of some of the "boys with records of such behavior. A further reason for nominating many candidates was a school district policy which princi pals at both schools agreed would be best implemented through the securing of signed parental consent slips. The rate of return of the slips, and whether those that were not returned would be of statistical or theoretical sig nificance were questions that could not be answered at the time. The principals agreed upon the following wording for the consent slips: ________ JUNIOR HIG-H SCHOOL April 25, 1963 « • Our school is taking part in a research program in which a brief questionnaire is being given to a few boys in the school. The questionnaire is in the form of an opinion survey of attitudes of boys concerning patterns of behavior at school. It will take less than an hour to complete. Your son’s name will not be used in any way, and the results of the questionnaire will be anonymous. May we have your permission for your son to partici pate in this program by your signing and returning the attached slip. Very sincerely, Principal 79 Selection of the Maximum Adjustment Candidates At each school, the boys* vice principal, registrar and counselor were asked to agree upon and utilize some procedure whereby between fifteen and thirty maximum- adjustment ninth-grade boys could be expected to take the Survey. Criteria for selection were: excellent school adjustment as evidenced by high academic and citizenship grades, service, representation, recognition by the school, and noninvolvement in disciplinary problems. Selection of the Minimum Adjustment Candidates At each school, the boys’ vice principal, registrar, and counselor were asked to agree upon and utilize some procedure whereby between fifteen and thirty minimum- adjustment ninth grade boys could be expected to take the Survey. Criteria for selection were: poor school adjust ment as evidenced by nonacceptance of teacher authority, poor academic and citizenship grades, lack of participa tion in activities such as service, representation, or recognition; and a record of referrals to administrators for disciplinary actions such as detention, suspension, or social adjustment classes. Potential Size of the Sample At School A, forty-eight boys were given consent 80 slips to have signed by their parents. This was accom plished through the Counselor’s office. All slips were returned with parent approval. At School B, sixty boys were given consent slips through the Attendance Office. All but two slips were returned with parent approval. Whereas a good response had been expected from the parents of the maximum group, the response from the minimum group parents was greater than expected. The efficiency of the minimum group in returning the slips was assumed by at least one administrator as due to the opportunity of being excused from a class period in order to take the Survey. Administering the Instrument Because the investigator was known to many of the boys in the minimum group in his capacity as child welfare and attendance supervisor for both schools, it was neces sary that the Survey be given by another person or persons. At each school, the administration selected an experienced male teacher for this purpose, with whom the investigator thereafter conferred several times and instructed concern ing the Survey instructions and method of coding of papers. Pretesting the Instrument A pretesting of the survey instrument seemed advis able to test the effectiveness of items to gauge general 81 pupil reaction to them, and to provide the two teachers with some experience in administering it. This was accom plished with a total of twenty eighth-grade hoys from the two schools, selected according to the criteria referred to above. Eighth graders were selected for the pretest in order to conserve the number of ninth graders for whom the Survey was designed. The Survey administrators were instructed to solicit comments from pupils concerning ambiguous or otherwise unsatisfactory items, and to add their own reactions. The results of the pretesting indi cated the advisability of clarifying the wording of certain items. This was done, and one of two extra items dealing with popularity was deleted when it failed to discriminate between the two groups. Testing of Ninth-Grade Subjects Ninth-grade subjects were given the Survey in the following numbers and according to the schedule which follows: School Date Number Tested School B May 1*+ 10 School A May 16 10 School B May 21 20 School A May 22 26 School B May 23 2*f 82 Thus, the Survey was administered to a total of 90 boys, of whom *f6 were in the maximum adjustment group and M+ in the minimum. All were in the A-9 class with the exception of two B~9 boys at School A. On each date an equal number from each group participated, except on May 22, when the numbers were 1*+ maximum adjustment and 12 minimum subjects. In order to provide equivalent conditions for maximum and minimum groups, they were mixed for the pur pose of taking the Survey. This had the added advantage of preventing awareness on the part of the boys of the contrasting groups of the basis for their selection. How ever, because of the known prevalence of reading problems of the minimum group, it was considered necessary to have the administering teachers read the Survey to the subjects, who also had the Survey before them. The stated reason for the procedure was that it would enable all to complete the work within the time allotted. Printed instructions to Survey administrators stressed the coding procedure for later identification of papers, and the fact that no interpretations of items were to be made. The instructions read: Each set of Survey sheets has a numbered slip of paper clipped to it. Number each boy's name on the list of those present, and give each boy the set of Survey sheets of the same number, removing each number slip before handing the sheets to the 33 boy. This should minimize the possibility of mis laid sets. Pencil or pen may be used. Read the cover page to the group and tell them that in order for everyone to finish the Survey within the time allowed, you will read it to them question by question and page by page. If the meaning of any item is questioned, do not interpret it, but urge that the boy use his best judgment and mark the answer according to his opinion of what it means. At the end of the Survey, collect a set of sheets from each boy before he leaves the room. The Survey administrators reported no particular problems, either in administering the Survey, or in coding and identifying papers and boys. Interest in the Survey was attributed to its novelty and explicit subject matter. Some minimum group items were reported as having been responded to with amusement and attempted whispering, but not with apparent disbelief. In almost all cases papers turned in were legibly marked. Only one seemed deliber ately to have been invalidated through an excessive number of double answers. The impression of anonymity conveyed to the subjects seemed confirmed by the freedom with which some papers were found to have been marked with obsceni ties. These seemed most in evidence when a minimum adjust ment attribute appeared threatened by a maximum adjustment item. 8J+ Scoring Method Papers were scored in the following manner: 1. Total number of self concept ("Are you like this boy?") items checked Yes as anticipated for the maxi mum or minimum group from which the boy was selected. This provided a rough estimate of the extent to which the boy was identifying with his subculture. Expressed from a different point of view, this score indicated the extent to which the items of the instrument coincided with the boy’s image of his subculture. 2, Total number of discrepancies between self concept and ideal concept ("Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be?"), regardless of whether the self concept was checked as anticipated for the sub culture. Thus, Yes followed by No, or No followed by Yes for any statement other than the one dealing with parents’ education was counted as a discrepancy. This method of absolute summation was used by Worchel in connection with his Self-Activity Inventory, concerning which he stated, "In any case it is the amount of discrepancy and not the direction that is important in the prediction of maladjust ment" (9^s7). Wylie (95:7^-75)j questioning whether dis crepancies in a "reversed" direction warranted the same psychological inference as did discrepancies in the more usual direction, concluded that it was not clear what 85 defensible change could be substituted for the method. 3. Total number of discrepancies between self con cept and social self ("Would you like to have him for a friend?"), regardless of whether the self concept was checked as anticipated for the subculture and regardless of whether a discrepancy between self concept and ideal self was shown for the same statement. *+. The extra item concerning being liked by teach ers and other adults was treated as a regular item. It was scored as "correct" when answered Yes by a maximum subject or No by a minimum subject. The authority for the item was Kvaraceus and Miller’s discussion of acceptance and rejec tion of pupils by teachers (*+7:26) and delinquency vulner ability factors (*+7:136-137). 5. The extra item concerning parents' education was scored separately. Other Sources of Data In order to secure the necessary data for testing three of the four hypotheses considered in the present study, the occupations of fathers were analyzed to deter mine placement in either working-class or middle-class status. The use of the father’s occupation to serve as the most significant indicator of socioeconomic class is well 86 established. Caplow states: There appears to be a consistent tendency for occupational identification to displace such other status-fixing attributes as ancestry, religious office, political affiliation, and personal charac ter. (8:30) Occupational information was determined from the school cumulative record of each boy. Where there was more than one entry on a record, the most recent one was used. Indefinite statements of occupation were clarified through cross-checking of emergency cards and through inquiries of persons to whom the fathers’ occupations were known. Method of Determining Socioeconomic Class To determine the socioeconomic class associated with the occupations of fathers, Centers’ Scale (9) was used, supplemented by the Revised Minnesota Occupational Rating Scale (67). Of the Centers’ Scale, Caplow remarks that "it probably comes closer to measuring level of living than any preceding one" (8:36). Caplow’s evaluation of the Minnesota Scale was equally high. It was rated as "the most careful and elaborate classification of occupations by socio-economic rank" (8:3*0 • Accordingly the Centers' Scale was used for its broad categories, while the Minnesota Scale was used to determine the ranking of bor derline occupations in the white-collar group of Centers. Occupational placement among the top three of Centers' groups (Business Executives, Professionals, Small 87 Business) resulted in their assignment to the middle-class category. Placement among the lowest three groups (Skilled, Semiskilled, Unskilled Manual Workers) resulted in assignment to the working-class category. Occupations found in Centers' Group Pour (White-Collar Workers) were dichotomized according to the Minnesota Scale which pro vided, for example, separate ranked ratings for ten types of sales work. Using those ratings, occupations with weighted scored of 1*+ or more were placed in middle-class status, while those with 13 or less were assigned to the working class. The method utilized resulted in the assign ment of all but five of the cases, which were placed in a socioeconomically indeterminate group because of the following situations: 1. The fathers of two boys were deceased and no stepfathers were indicated. 2. The father of one boy was a contractor (middle class). His stepfather was a glass-installer (working class). 3. The father of one boy was an accountant. His stepfather's occupation could not be deter mined . 1 +. The father of one boy was listed only as a salesman. Inquiry disclosed he was no longer associated with his last shown place of employ ment . 88 Method of Data Analysis With respect to the first hypothesis— that pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture will show a greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will pupils in the maximum adjustment subculture— the following statistical- computations were used in accordance with the procedures described by Siegel (83:111) for the median test; 1. The median discrepancy score for all self-ideal discrepancy scores in both adjustment groups was determined. 2. Both sets of scores, minimum adjustment and maximum adjustment, were dichotomized at the combined median and cast in a 2 x 2 contingency table. 3. The Chi Square formula for two independent samples, corrected for continuity, was used. h. Significance was determined for a one-tailed test by halving the significance level indi cated for one degree of freedom by the abridged Fisher and Yates table of critical values of Chi Square shown in Siegel (83:2*+9). Analysis of the data in terms of the second and third hypotheses— that pupils in the maximum adjustment subculture will be predominantly from middle-class homes, and pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture will be predominantly from working-class homes— required the following statistical computations in accordance with the procedures described by Siegel for the Chi Square statistic for two independent samples (83:10*+): 1. A 2 x 2 contingency table was utilized, in which the numbers of middle-class and working- class subjects in each of the two adjustment groups were cast. 2. The Chi Square formula for two independent samples, corrected for continuity, was used. 3. Significance was determined for a one-tailed test by halving the significance level indi cated for one degree of freedom by the abridged Fisher and Yates table of critical values of Chi Square shown in Siegel (83:2^9). In terms of the fourth hypothesis— that middle- class pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture will show a greater discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will those from working-class homes— the follow ing statistical computations were used in accordance with the procedures described by Siegel for the median test (83:111): 1. The median discrepancy score for all self ideal discrepancy scores in the minimum adjustment group was determined. 2. Both sets of scores, middle-class and working- class, were dichotomized and cast in a 2 x 2 contingency table. 3. The Chi Square formula for two independent samples, corrected for continuity, was used. h. Significance was determined for a one-tailed test by halving the significance level indi cated for one degree of freedom by the abridged Fisher and Yates table of critical values of Chi Square shown in Siegel (83:2^9)* Evaluation of individual items of the Survey instrument was conducted as follows: For each item, the number of times the self content portion had been checked (as anticipated for the subject in terms of his subculture) was scored and placed in a table for comparison of the responses by adjustment group for each item (Table 5). The numbers of discrepancies yielded by each group in response to each item were placed in a table (Table b); in addition, the difference in resulting numbers of dis crepancies was evaluated statistically in the following manner for each item after dropping those items which did 91 not differentiate between the two groups in the hypothe sized direction: 1. The number of discrepancies produced by each group was converted to a percentage of the number of subjects (*0 in the minimum adjust ment and *+6 in the maximum adjustment group) . 2. The difference between percentages was compared with the average percentage and tested for sig nificance, using Lefever’s Table of "Key Numbers" to Assist in Determining the Signifi cance of Differences in Percentages, and Table of Minimum Percentages Significant at the Five Per Cent and One Per Cent Levels (*+8; *+9). This method yielded results equivalent to those obtainable through the use of Chi Square. Table *+ presents the significance levels of the items. The item dealing with parents* education, having been scored separately, required the following statistical computation in order to compare education with socioeconomic class: 1. A 2 x 2 contingency table was utilized, in which the numbers of Yes and l \ To answers of middle-class and working-class subjects were cast, 2. The Chi Square formula for two independent samples, corrected for continuity, was used. 3. Significance was determined for a two-tailed test with one degree of freedom by the abridged Fisher and Yates table of critical values of Chi Square shown in Siegel (83: 2^-9). Summary This chapter has described the manner in which the self concept instrument used in testing two of the hypothe ses was developed and applied, how the groups of subjects representing two contrasting subcultures were selected and the instrument administered to them, and the methods by which the remaining two hypotheses were investigated from analyses of certain variables associated with the subjects. Descriptions of the statistical computations involved were also presented. Essentially, the research design testing the first hypothesis consisted of employing an instrument developed for the purpose, to obtain measures of inferred personal ity variables (self concept discrepancies) from two groups of subjects, and examining their scores to determine whether differences between the groups corresponded to other criteria of dichotomization (maximum or minimum school adjustment). The second and third hypotheses were tested 93 through comparing characteristics of the subjects in terms of two dichotomies, maximum or minimum school adjustment on the one hand, and middle- or working-class socioeconomic status on the other. The fourth hypothesis was tested by comparing measures of inferred personality variables (self concept discrepancies) of two subgroups (middle-class and working- class) within a larger group (minimum adjustment subjects). CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS The data obtained for the purpose of testing the hypotheses according to the procedure outlined in Chapter III are reported and discussed in this chapter. Supplementary related data are also presented. The data have been organized to perform the following functions: 1. To compare the discrepancy scores obtained by the high- and low-adjustment subjects in order to determine whether a significant difference in the proper direction existed, thereby testing the first hypothesis, that pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture will show a greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will those in the maximum adjustment subculture. 2. To compare the socioeconomic class membership of high- and low-adjustment subjects in order to determine whether a significantly greater number of either adjust ment group was associated with either of the socioeconomic classes, thereby testing the second and third hypotheses, that pupils in the maximum adjustment subculture will be predominantly from middle-class homes, and that pupils in 9^ 95 the minimum adjustment subculture will be predominantly from working-class homes. 3. To compare the discrepancy scores obtained by the middle-class and working-class subjects in the low- adjustment group in order to determine whether a signifi cant difference in the proper direction existed, thereby testing the fourth hypothesis, that middle-class pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture will show a greater dis crepancy between self concept and ideal self than will those from working-class homes. To present supplementary data related to the hypotheses. Over-all Findings Related to the Stated Hypotheses Hypothesis I The hypothesis that pupils in the subculture characterized by minimum school adjustment will show a greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will pupils in the subculture characterized by maximum school adjustment was supported at the .00 5 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the median test and the Chi Square statistic. Hypothesis II The hypothesis that pupils in the minimum adjust ment subculture will be predominantly from working-class 96 homes was supported at the .005 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the Chi Square statistic. Hypothesis III The hypothesis that pupils in the maximum adjust ment subculture will be predominantly from middle-class homes was supported at the .005 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the Chi Square statistic. Hypothesis IV The hypothesis that, in the minimum adjustment subculture, middle-class pupils will show a greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will those from working-class homes was supported at the .025 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the median test and the Chi Square statistic. Supplementary Findings A supplementary finding related to the first hypothesis was that discrepancies between the self concept and social self were greater in the minimum adjustment group than in the maximum. The difference was significance at the .025 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the median test and Chi Square. In a finding related to the fourth hypothesis, middle-class pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture 97 showed a greater discrepancy between self concept and social self than did minimum adjustment pupils from working-class homes. The difference was significant at the .005 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the median test and Chi Square. Discussion of Findings Because of the interrelated nature of the research hypotheses and the fact that all were supported, they are discussed together in this section. Ways in which the probable meaning of the findings may be interpreted are in accordance with the central pur pose and background of the investigation, presented in the first chapter. They include the following interpreta tions: 1. If one can assume the existence of a continuum which extends from delinquent behavior, through unaccept able deviant school behavior (the minimum adjustment group), to exemplary school behavior (the maximum adjustment group), then it might be shown that the behavior-deviant pupils shared a number of the characteristics of delinquents. Following the reasoning of Cohen, who discussed the "residual discrepancy" which he postulated as existing between self expectations and overt behavior in delinquent boys, the greater number of discrepancies found here would 98 be indicative of the cultural ambivalence of boys in the minimum adjustment subculture, resulting from the internal ization of some middle-class standards (12:126). 2. The findings also support the existence of contrasting subcultures within the school setting, at least to the extent that one can generalize from the greater degree of homogeneity within each group as compared to the differences between the groups in terms of the responses with which they identified with items considered to be characteristic of the contrasting subcultures. 3. Hypotheses II and III supported the view that subcultures were associated with socioeconomic class, since the minimum adjustment group was found to be made up of boys predominantly from working-class homes, while the maximum adjustment boys were predominantly from middle- class homes. To the extent to which the behavior deviant pupils shared some characteristics with delinquents, sup port was found for the view of Kvaraceus and Miller (*+7) that delinquents tended to be essentially "normal" lower- class boys whose acts were largely attempts to conform to role expectations in particular subcultures. The finding that provided strongest support for this view was one associated with Hypothesis II, that the behavior deviant pupils tended to be from working-class homes. 99 5. Within the minimum adjustment group, the fact that middle-class members showed a greater degree of self ideal discrepancy than did working-class subjects suggests either what Kvaraceus and Miller referred to as "the influ ence of lower-class concerns in middle-class behavior" through "upward diffusion" (*+7:79)> or emotional disturb ance. In their discussion of the phenomenon of middle- class delinquency, Kvaraceus and Miller stated: . . . a non-lower-class youngster who becomes involved in delinquency is much more likely to be emotionally disturbed than not; . . • some lower-class delinquent youngsters may manifest emotional disturbance, but their proportion is small compared to those who do not. (^7:55) Accordingly, deviant behavior in school, in so far as it is related to socioeconomic class, may be interpreted as being possibly more "normal" among working-class boys, and more indicative of emotional disturbance among middle- class boys. If a greater degree of self-ideal discrepancy is indicative of lower degrees of self-regard, then Wylie's observation contained in a review of the literature is pertinent: Despite the difficulties of defining "adjust ment," either conceptually or operationally, it is generally conceded theoretically that a low degree of phenomenal self-regard should be indicative of, or an aspect of, or perhaps even a cause of, "mal adjustment." Theorists seem less clear concerning the reverse of this proposition. It is felt that high phenomenal self-regard may indicate (a) good 100 adjustment; or (to) denial of problems and self rejection which are actually more serious than those of subjects who consciously admit low self- regard; or (c) unsophisticated conventionality. (95:203) 6. The supplementary finding, related to Hypothe sis I, that discrepancies between the self and the social self were greater in the minimum adjustment group than in the maximum group, was less significant (.025) in distin guishing between the groups than was the self-ideal dis crepancy of the hypothesis (.005). This can be interpreted as indicating that the social questions were slightly less productive of a difference in degree of discrepancy between the groups than were those of the ideal self. 7. The supplementary finding, related to Hypothe sis IV, that discrepancies between the self and the social self were greater among the middle-class subjects in the minimum adjustment group than among the working-class sub jects was more significant (.005) than was the self-ideal discrepancy of the hypothesis. This can be interpreted as indicating that, among such middle-class subjects in the minimum group, the social questions were more productive of a difference in degree of discrepancy between middle-class and working-class subjects than were those of the ideal self. Taken together, the supplementary findings appear to possess certain similarities to those of Thompson and 101 Nishimura (88) who found that persons chosen sociometri- cally were seen by the chooser to be more similar to his own ideal self than were nonchosen persons, and that the choosers idealized their friends to the extent that the average correlation between the subject's own ideal and his ratings of his friends was significantly higher than the correlation between the subject's own self concept and his ideal. An additional finding of McKenna, Hofstaetter and O'Connor (58) was that, although friends or persons chosen sociometrically were perceived by the chooser to be markedly closer to the subject's ideal self than to the subject's self concept, this was not so when self-ideal congruence was very high. Evaluation of the Instrument As described in the preceding chapter, the instru ment used in the inv.stigation consisted of thirty-four items, each of which presented a Yes or No choice in response to each of three sub-items, the first dealing with the self concept, the second with the ideal self, and the third with the social self. Ten pairs of items were developed from focal concerns of the middle-class, accord ing to categories listed by Kvaraceus and Miller (*+7*77) and adapted here to the school-oriented behavior of maxi mum adjustment pupils. Six pairs of items were developed 102 from focal concerns of the working-class, according to Miller’s (6l:5“19) categories, as adapted to the school- oriented behavior of minimum adjustment pupils. Two addi tional items were included in the instrument. One was intended to secure information concerning parents' educa tion, and another dealt with the pupil's popularity and being liked. In the scoring of the instrument, the expectation was that members of each subculture would identify with the items of their own group by a Yes answer to those items and No answers to those of the contrasting subcul ture. Worchel's method of absolute summation of responses was utilized so that any discrepancies between self concept and ideal self, regardless of direction, could be counted (9*+:7). Accordingly, regardless of whether or not a subject gave the answer to the self question that would be expected for his subculture, any difference between the self response and the ideal response was counted as a discrepancy. Analysis of Scores Table *+ presents the number of self-ideal dis crepancies derived from each item for each of the adjust ment subcultures, and indicates the associated significance levels as well. Significance figures refer to the extent 103 TABLE k SELF-IDEAL DISCREPANCIES AND SIGNIFICANCE LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH INSTRUMENT ITEMS u <D rQ a a > M Pupils Scoring Discrepancies Minimum Adjust ment Group ( N = 1+3) Level of Confidence i Pupils Scoring Discrepancies Maximum Adjust ment Group ( N = 1+6) 1 19 .01 7 2 17 .01 2 3 17 .01 1+ 1+ 10 .05 3 5 8 — i+ 6 l*f .01 2 7 16 .05 6 8 9 - 6 9 11 - lit 10 18 .01 6 11 8 .05 1 12 6 - 13 13 10 .01 2 Ilf 9 .05 2 15 12 — 22 16 19 • o H 1 17 15 — 22 18 12 .01 2 19 lif - 12 20 10 .05 3 21 Ilf .05 5 22 10 .05 3 23 17 - li+ 2*f 12 .01 2 26 19 .01 7 £ K o H P Pi H- H- c+ CD B t o ro vn. to IV) H r v ) -r VJV to to to VA-ftO to to ro ro to H 0\0 00-vJ Item Number H H cd o ro VJ\VD O O Pupils Scoring Discrepancies Minimum Adjust- ment Group (N = h3) i o i H i o i i i VJV Level of Confidence H O h ro ■Pro oovji- t Pupils Scoring Discrepancies Maximum Adjust ment Group (N = 1*6) H3 £ •r i i o 0 p c+ 1 CD Pi •^01 105 to which an item discriminated between the two groups in numbers of discrepancies. 1. A greater total number of discrepancies was produced by the minimum adjustment group. Of the 659 dis crepancies appearing in both groups, Vl3, or 63 per cent, were from the minimum group. The maximum adjustment group accounted for 2^-6, or 37 per cent of the discrepancies. On 27 of the 33 items, the minimum group exceeded the maxi mum group in numbers of discrepancies. This finding has relevance for the first hypothesis, which was tested, how ever, by comparing the medians of discrepancy scores made by individuals in the two groups. 2. In the maximum group a greater number of responses (1,136 versus 910) was scored according to expectation for the subculture. Table 5 presents the dis tribution of self-concept items scored according to expec tation for each of the subcultures. Although not indicated in the table, the minimum group was productive of 23 answers marked with question marks, or responses for which both Yes and No were checked, or omitted responses. The maximum group produced a total of seven unscorable responses. In the minimum group it was necessary to discard the ideal and social self responses of one subject because of a total of 35 instances in which he had checked both 106 TABLE 5 SELF-CONCEPT ITEMS SCORED ACCORDING TO EXPECTATION FOR EACH SUBCULTURE Item Number Pupils Scoring According to Expectation Minimum Adjustment Group (N = M+) Maximum Adjustment Group (N = if6) 1 % 38 2 38 if3 3 22 38 3^ 38 5 25 ifl 6 22 >+3 7 22 35 8 32 if 2 9 13 31 10 22 39 11 32 39 12 b2 20 13 17 ifl lb 29 39 15 31 21 16 27 ^3 17 29 lif 18 31 37 19 25 30 20 36 31 107 TABLE 5— Continued Item Number Pupils Scoring According to Expectation Minimum Adjustment Group (N = M+) Maximum Adjustment Group (N = i+6) 21 12 IfO 22 2b bO 23 35 27 2*f 38 36 26 37 35 27 25 bo 28 39 9 29 b2 21 30 20 ^0 31 11 ^3 33 27 ^2 3^ lb Ub- 35 23 15 Total 33 items* Median 27 38 ^Excluding items 25 and 32. Yes and No answers. However, his score for the self responses was retained. This explains the difference between the number of minimum-group subjects in Table b (where it is shown as *+3), and in Tables 5 and 6 (where it is shown as M+). Scores of Individual Subjects Table 6 presents the scores of individuals in each of the two adjustment subcultures, showing the number of self items responded to in accordance with the expectation for the appropriate subculture, the number of discrepancies between self and ideal self scores, and the number of dis crepancies between self and social self scores. It was from the data exhibited in this table that Hypothesis I was tested. The table also reveals that only five boys in the minimum group scored more than 25 self items according to expectation, whereas in the maximum group 27 boys scored more than 25 self items according to expectation. A possi ble interpretation for this disparity is discussed later. Detailed Analysis of Instrument Items In the section which follows, individual items which comprise the instrument are discussed in terms of both responses elicited, and interpretations of the TABLE 6 INDIVIDUAL SELF-IDEAL AND SELF-SOCIAL DISCEEPANCY SCORES, AND NUMBER OF SELF ITEMS MARKED AS EXPECTED FOR EACH SUBCULTURE MINIMUM GROUP (N = ¥0 MAXIMUM GROUP (N = if6) Number of Self Items Marked as Number of Self Items Marked as Expected Self-Ideal Self-Social Expected Self-Ideal Self-Social 18 1 1 31 0 0 19 1 5 32 1 1 6 2 2 31 1 1 19 3 1+ 29 2 2 2M- i f 31 2 2 18 if 6 21 2 10 21 i f 7 27 3 2 17 5 9 28 3 3 22 6 6 29 3 3 15 6 7 29 3 3 20 6 7 29 3 3 15 6 12 28 3 if 28 7 5 20 3 7 2M- 7 6 29 b if 23 7 9 28 if i f 22 8 5 27 b if 18 8 7 29 k if 26 8 8 28 k if 2k 9 7 26 k 5 16 9 lif 25 k 6 TABLE 6— Continued MINIMUM GROUP (N = kk) Number of Self Items Marked as MAXIMUM GROUP (N = 1+6) Number of Self Items Marked as Expected Self-Ideal Self-Social Expected Self-Ideal Self-Social 2k 10 10 9 1+ 7 2k 10 11 27 5 2 20 10 12 26 5 5 11 11 11 2k 6 5 18 11 11 27 6 6 Ik 11 13 26 6 7 20 11 13 26 6 7 20 12 8 17 6 7 20 12 8 23 6 8 20 13 9 12 6 9 20 13 9 26 6 10 20 13 10 1 6 11 11+ 13 10 29 6 12 21 13 li+ 26 7 7 23 13 16 26 7 7 28 lit 3 2i+ 7 8 22 li+ 12 25 7 9 28 15 7 26 7 10 23 15 13 23 7 li+ 25 15 15 23 8 7 H o TABLE 6— Continued MINIMUM GROUP (N = M+) MAXIMUM GROUP (N = >+6) Number of Self Items Marked as Number of Self Items Marked as Expected Self-Ideal Self-Social Expected Self-Ideal Self-Social 27 16 1*+ 25 8 8 23 16 19 2b 8 9 25 22 18 2b 8 10 22 * * 23 10 8 19 13 16 15 17 17 Excessive double answers. 112 responses. The maximum adjustment subjects are referred to here as the "high group," while the minimum adjustment subjects are referred to as the "low group." Responses in accordance with expectation are referred to as "correct," while those not in accordance are termed "incorrect." In considering the items it should be recalled that all ques tions were submitted to all subjects, but that they were scored in terms of the appropriate subculture from which they were drawn, and of the individual subject*s member ship or nonmembership in that group. Thus, in the analy sis of Item 1, which follows, a subject in the high group who responded Yes to the self portion ("Are you like this boy?") was credited with a correct answer, while a subject in the low group who responded No was also credited with a correct answer. Significance figures refer to the extent to which the item discriminated between the high and low groups in terms of the number of self-ideal discrepancies each group produced in response to the item. Scores and levels of significance of individual items. In this section each item is analyzed in terms of response and significance with which it discriminated between the two groups. Item 1. This boy is able to plan his afternoons 113 and evenings so that he gets his school work and home duties done and still has some time for TV or other recrea tion. Keyed to the middle-class characteristic of "defer ment of immediate pleasures and gains for future goals," this item was answered correctly by 38 of the ^6 subjects in the high group, with 7 self-ideal discrepancies; and by 31+ of the *+3 subjects in the low group, with 19 discrepan cies. The difference was significant at the .01 level of confidence. Only one other item was productive of more discrepancies in the low group. Item 2. This boy gets into trouble at school fre quently. He has been sent to the vice principal at least three times. Keyed to the working-class focal concern of "trou ble," this item was answered correctly by the large number of ^3 in the high group, with only two discrepancies; and by 38 in the low group, with 17 discrepancies. The differ ence was significant at the .01 level of confidence. In the high group, only one other item received more correct responses. In the low group, only three other items received a higher number of correct responses. Item 3. This boy says he wants to do his best in everything he tries out for in junior high so that he can Ilk be successful in the years that follow. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "ambition to get ahead," this item was answered correctly by 38 in the high group, with >+ discrepancies; and by 22 in the low group, with 17 discrepancies. The difference was signifi cant at the .01 level of confidence. Item k. This boy believes in cooperation between pupils and teachers, and agrees that pupils should help in making and carrying out school rules. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "responsibil- ity," this item was answered correctly by 38 in the high group, with 3 discrepancies; and by 3^ in the low group, with 10 discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .05 level of confidence. Item 5. This boy knows he gets into trouble because of breaking various school rules, but he says that rules are made to be broken when they get in your way too much. Keyed to the working-class concern of "trouble," this item was marked correctly by the large number of *+1 in the high group, with ^ discrepancies; and by 25 in the low group, with 8 discrepancies. It was not a statisti cally significant item, although the difference it pro duced was in the hypothesized direction. 115 Item 6. This boy says that his school years are preparation for what he will do later in life. He believes that working hard in school now will help him to get ahead in his chosen vocation. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "ambition to get ahead," this item was marked correctly by the large number of ^3 in the high group, with only 2 discrepancies; and by 22 in the low group, with 1*+ discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .01 level of confidence. Item 7. This boy often talks with his father or mother about what he is studying and doing in school. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "maintenance of the solidarity of the nuclear family," this item was marked correctly by 35 in the high group, with 6 discrepan cies; and by 22 in the low group, with 16 discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .0 5 level of confi dence . Item 8. This boy set off a firecracker at school. Keyed to the working-class concern of "excitement," this item was marked correctly by the large number of b2 in the high group, with 6 discrepancies; and by 32 in the low group, with 9 discrepancies. It was not a statisti cally significant item, although the difference it produced was in the hypothesized direction. 116 Item 9. This hoy regularly saves some money from his allowance or earnings so that he will he able to buy a car or other valuable possession later on. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "accumulation of material goods and conscientious maintenance of property," this item was marked correctly by 31 of the high group, with l1 * - discrepancies; and by the small number of 13 in the low group, with 11 discrepancies. The differ ence this item produced was not in the hypothesized direc tion. Item 10. This boy plans ahead for the things he wants, and works hard for them instead of waiting for a lucky break. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "achievement through directed work effort," this item was marked cor rectly by 39 in the high group, with 6 discrepancies; and by 22 in the low group, with 18 discrepancies. The differ ence was significant at the .01 level of confidence. Item 11. This boy, on at least two occasions, chose off other boys and had fights with them after school. Keyed to the working-class concern of "toughness," this item was marked correctly by 39 of "the high group, with only one discrepancy. (Items 16 and 3*+ were the only other items with as small a discrepancy score in the high 117 group.) In the low group, 32 marked the item correctly, with 8 discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .05 level of confidence. Item 12. This boy says that it is your duty to your school to tell a teacher if you see anyone stealing or destroying valuable school property. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "Responsibil ity," this item was marked correctly by 20 in the high group, with 13 discrepancies; and by the large number of ^2 in the low group, with the small number of 6 discrepan cies. The difference this item produced was not in the hypothesized direction. (Number 29 was the only other item on which low group subjects marked as many correct respon ses.) Item 13. This boy admitted spitting in the direc tion of another boy whom he did not like. Keyed to the working-class concern of "toughness," this item was marked correctly by the large number of ^1 in the high group, with the small number of 2 discrepancies; and by 17 in the low group, with 10 discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .01 level of confidence. Item l1 *. This boy gave a teacher, who did not know him, a false name when the teacher caught him shoving at lunch time. 118 Keyed to the working-class concern of "smartness," this item was marked correctly by 39 in the high group, with the small number of 2 discrepancies; and by 29 in the low group, with 9 discrepancies. The difference was sig nificant at the .05 level of confidence. Item 15. This boy often gives up doing things he would enjoy now, in order to prepare better for the future. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "deferment of immediate pleasures and gains for future goals," this item was marked correctly by 21 in the high group, with the large number of 22 discrepancies; and by 31 in "the low group, with 12 discrepancies. The difference this item produced was not in the hypothesized direction. Item 16. This boy is planning for the high school and college courses he will need to become a doctor, law yer, or scientist. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "education and improving of the mind," this item was marked correctly by the large number of * 4 - 3 in the high group, with only one discrepancy. (Items 11 and 3^ were the only other items with as small a discrepancy score in the high group.) In the low group, 26 marked the item correctly, with the large number of 19 discrepancies. The difference was sig nificant at the .01 level of confidence. 119 Item 17. This boy, through careful saving, buying, trading, and help from his parents, has built up a coin, stamp, or other collection of value. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "accumulation of material goods and conscientious maintenance of property," this item was marked correctly by the small number of 1*+ in the high group, with the large number of 22 discrepancies; and by 29 in the low group, with 15 dis crepancies. The difference produced by this item was not in the hypothesized direction. Item 18. This boy took some stamped excuses from a school office and passed them out to his friends. Keyed to the working-class concern of "smartness," this item was marked correctly by 37 in the high group, with the small number of 2 discrepancies; and by 31 in the low group, with 12 discrepancies. The difference was sig nificant at the .01 level of confidence. Item 19. This boy knows that if he showed signs of laziness about doing his homework, his parents would help him to avoid any distractions that were bothering him. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "child rear ing," this item was marked correctly by 30 in the high group, with 12 discrepancies; and by 25 in the low group, 120 with lb discrepancies. It was not a statistically sig nificant item, although the difference it produced was in the hypothesized direction. Item 20. This hoy says it should not he anyone else's business if some hoys want to come to school with long hair, no belts on their jeans, horse shoe taps, three shirt buttons open, and wearing big rings. Keyed to the working-class concern of "autonomy," this item was marked correctly by 31 in the high group, with the small number of 3 discrepancies; and by 3& in the low group, with 10 discrepancies. The difference was sig nificant at the .05 level of confidence. Item 21. This boy is able to speak and write correctly, according to most of the rules of grammar, when he wants to. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "education and improving of the mind," this item was marked correctly by the large number of Mo in the high group, with 5 dis crepancies; and by the small number of 12 in the low group, with 1*+ discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .05 level of confidence. Item 22. This boy believes that he is liked by his teachers, and by adults in his neighborhood. 121 This item was derived from Kvaraceus and Miller's discussion of acceptance and rejection of pupils by teach ers (*+7£26) and delinquency vulnerability factors (*+7:136- 137). It was scored as correct when answered Yes by a high group subject and No by a low group subject. It was marked correctly by the large number of *+0 in the high group, with the small number of 3 discrepancies; and by 2*+ in the low group, with 10 discrepancies. The difference was signifi cant at the .05 level of confidence. Item 23. This boy has been an officer in one of the school clubs. He also believes in the importance of student government. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "formal organ izations," this item was marked correctly by 27 in the high group, with 1*+ discrepancies; and by 35 in the low group, with 17 discrepancies. It was not a statistically signifi cant item, although the difference it produced was in the hypothesized direction. Item 2*+. This boy says he and his friend were just "goofing off" in the lunch area and pretending to fight. Then a crowd gathered and a teacher sent the two boys to the vice principal. This item, keyed to the working-class concern of "excitement," was marked correctly by 36 in the high group, 122 with the small number of 2 discrepancies; and by the large number of 38 in the low group, with 12 discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .01 level of confidence. Item 25. This item was dropped after pretesting with eighth-grade subjects. Item 26. This boy says that very often things will happen that he gets blamed for just because he is close by and certain teachers and other kids happen to know him. Keyed to the working-class concern, of "fate," this item was marked correctly by 35 in the high group, with 7 discrepancies; and by the large number of 37 in the low group, with 19 discrepancies. The difference was signifi cant at the .01 level of confidence. Item 27. This boy was caught matching coins between classes. He has been sent to the vice principal twice for the same kind of activity. Keyed to the working-class concern of "fate," this item was marked correctly by the large number of U-0 in the high group, with *+ discrepancies; and by 25 in the low group, with the small number of 6 discrepancies. This was not a statistically significant item, although the differ ence it produced was in the hypothesized direction. 123 Item 28. This boy's parents attend PTA meetings and take part in PTA committees, or assist in other school- sponsored activities. This item, keyed to the middle-class concern of "maintenance of the solidarity of the nuclear family," was marked correctly by only 9 in the high group, with 25 dis crepancies. For the high group, it was the item which thereby produced both the least number of expected respon ses and the largest number of discrepancies. In the low group the large number of 39 correct responses was obtained, with 16 discrepancies. The difference this item produced was not in the hypothesized direction. Item 29. This boy was elected to a student gov ernment office. He also hopes to receive an award at school, given by the American Legion, a newspaper, Rotary, Kiwanis, or some other service organization. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "formal organizations," this item was marked correctly by 21 in the high group, with 18 discrepancies; and by the large number of b2 in the low group, with 21 discrepancies. (Only item 12 resulted in as many correct answers by the low group.) This item thus produced, in the low group, both the greatest number of correct responses and the greatest number of discrepancies. It was not a statisti cally significant item, although the difference it 12*+ produced was in the hypothesized direction. Item 30. This boy says that, in his opinion, the way boys are brought up at home has a lot to do with whether they can stay out of trouble in school. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "child rear ing," this item was correctly marked by the large number of bO in the high group, with the small number of 2 dis crepancies; and by 20 in the low group, with 9 discrepan cies. The difference was significant at the .05 level of confidence. Item 31. This boy usually tries to have a clean- cut appearance and to be neat and orderly in his work. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "cleanliness," this item was marked correctly by the large number of *+3 in the high group, with * + discrepancies; and by the small number of 11 in the low group, with 5 discrepancies. For the low group, this item produced both the least number of correct answers and the least number of discrepancies. While not statistically significant, the difference pro duced was in the hypothesized direction. Item 32. This boy, while talking about his own plans, mentioned that one or both of his parents was a college graduate. This item was included in the instrument in an 125 attempt to secure information concerning parents’ educa tion. It was scored separately from the other items and no discrepancy scores were counted in connection with it. In the high group there were 20 Yes and 26 No answers. In the low group there were 1*+ Yes and 30 No answers. The differ ence was not statistically significant, although, if college graduation is considered to be a middle-class characteristic, the direction of the difference is consist ent with Hypotheses II and III pertaining to socioeconomic class status. Item 33. This boy does not like being told what to do by teachers. He often does not bring books, paper, or pencil to class. Keyed to the working-class concern of "autonomy," this item was marked correctly by the large number of k-2 in the high group, with 6 discrepancies; and by 27 in the low group, with 12 discrepancies. The difference was not statistically significant, failing by the score of one sub ject to be significant at the .05 level. The difference, however, was in the hypothesized direction. Item 3*+. This boy bathes regularly and has not had his clothing or hair style discussed with him by teachers or vice principal. This item, keyed to the middle-class concern of 126 "cleanliness," was marked correctly by the large number of M+ in the high group, with one discrepancy, thus producing for this group both the largest number of correct respon ses and, along with Items 11 and 16, the smallest discrep ancy score. In the low group, the small number of 1*+ correct responses was obtained, with 10 discrepancies. The difference was significant at the .01 level of confi dence . Item 35. This boy enjoys playing the piano or other musical instrument for himself or friends. Keyed to the middle-class concern of "achievement through directed work effort," this item was correctly marked by the small number of 15 in the high group, with the large number of 21 discrepancies; and by 23 in the low group, with 8 discrepancies. The difference this item produced was not in the hypothesized direction. Summary of Scores A summary of the foregoing scores on individual items showed that the median number of correct answers scored by the high group was 38> with a median number of discrepancies of *+.5. In the low group the median number of correct answers was 27, with a median number of 12 dis crepancies (see Tables and 5). On eleven items statistically significant 127 differences between groups occurred (differences which were significant at the .01 level of confidence) in terms of the difference in the number of discrepancies each group pro duced in responses to the items. Eight other items revealed differences that were statistically significant at the .05 level of confidence. An additional eight items were not statistically significant, but produced differ ences that were in the hypothesized direction; while six items resulted in differences contrary to the hypothesized direction. Relationship of Scores and Socio economic Focal Concerns As was explained earlier, 32 of the 33 items were based upon focal concerns of the working-class and middle- class socioeconomic groups. Each of the six categories of working-class concerns was represented by two items, or a total of 12 items. Each of the 10 categories of middle- class concerns was represented by 2 items, giving a total of 20 items. Table 7 presents the socioeconomic categories of focal concerns and the degree of support by instrument items. It can be seen that of the 1*+ items which were not statistically significant at the .01 or .0 5 level of con fidence , four proved to be arranged in pairs which had the effect of eliminating both items in the middle-class 128 TABLE 7 SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS CATEGORIES OP FOCAL CONCERNS AND DEGREE OP SUPPORT, BY INSTRUMENT ITEMS®- Category- Items Yielding Sig nificant Support Working Class Trouble 2** Toughness 11* 13** Smartness lb* 18** Excitement 2*+** Pate 26** Autonomy- 20* Middle Class Achievement through directed work effort 10** Deferment of immediate pleasures and gains for future goals Responsibility b* Maintenance of the solidarity- of the nuclear family 7* Child rearing 30* Accumulation of material goods and conscientious maintenance of property Education and improving of the mind 16** 21* Formal organizations — Cleanliness 3*+** Ambition to get ahead 3** 6** aSource: See data in Table b. * Significant at the .05 level of confidence. * Significant at the .01 level of confidence. 129 categories of "accumulation of material goods and con scientious maintenance of property," and "formal organiza tions." Each of the remaining 10 items which was not sig nificant was paired with a significant item remaining in that category. Thus, four working-class categories were significantly supported by single items, and six middle- class categories were significantly supported by single items. The two working-class categories which were sig nificantly supported by both items in each pair were "toughness" and "smartness." The two middle-class cate gories which were similarly supported were "education and improving of the mind," and "ambition to get ahead." Interpretation of Scores Differences have been shown to exist not only between the numbers of correct answers on items scored by the two groups of subjects, but also in item-functioning in terms of differences between the two groups in the num bers of discrepancy scores. In attempting to assess the effectiveness of an item it would appear, accordingly, that questions bearing upon certain specific functions would need to be asked concerning the particular item. Three such questions have been formulated. 130 1. Have the majority of subjects in each group identified with that group's own subculture as expressed in the item? In cases where this question is answered in the negative, one might question either the validity of the socioeconomic focal concern to which the item was keyed, or the degree to which the item, in the process of being translated into a school-oriented statement, had lost rele vance to its antecedent. Among the scores obtained in the present investiga tion, incorrect responses to some five items were made by at least a majority (21 * pupils) in the high group, the median number of correct answers to items being 38. In the low group, incorrect responses to ten items were made by at least a majority (23 pupils), the median number of correct answers being 27. It would appear, therefore, that the subjects were responding to items that were characteristic of their subculture, keyed to the socioeconomic focal con cerns. That the low group responded appropriately to a lesser degree than did the high group may be interpreted as follows: if a large number of subjects in a group answers an item as anticipated, it may be assumed that the item is strongly characteristic of that group's subculture. If, on the other hand, in the contrasting group, the same item 131 is marked, correctly by less than a majority of the members, it may be assumed that the item does not typify a charac teristic strongly associated with that subculture. As has been explained, each item was scored in the opposite direction for the contrasting group. Thus, a wrong answer by a low-group subject was a correct answer from the frame of reference of the high group. Accordingly, the fact that less than a majority of the low group responded correctly to ten items may be interpreted as indicative of a pull or attraction upon the low group mem bers toward upper group characteristics, since each of the ten questions was responded to strongly by the high group, and only one of the ten questions was keyed to a working- class focal concern. Item 13, concerning "toughness," apparently did not function as well as the other item in the "toughness" pair, Item 11, in representing an aspect of that attribute with which the lower group chose to be identified. Or, possibly, for the lower group, the fight ing described in Item 11 was closer to the subcultural con cept of "toughness" than was spitting, as described in Item 13. Another possible interpretation of the lesser num ber of correct responses by the lower group may simply be a statistical one in that there were more middle-class derived items in the instrument than there were items stem ming from working-class focal concerns (20, as compared 132 with 12). However, the scores obtained would appear to minimize the necessity for any great degree of concern over this point, since so few questions failed to secure a majority of appropriate responses. With respect to whether the two contrasting subcul tures are reverse images of each other or whether each has characteristics which may or may not contrast, one finds differing opinions expressed in the literature. Miller stated: The standards of lower-class culture cannot be seen merely as a reverse function of middle class culture— as middle class standards "turned upside down." Lower class culture is a distinc tive tradition many centuries old with an integ rity of its own. (61:19) On the other hand, Cohen, speaking of the "negativism" of the delinquent subculture, stated: The delinquent subculture is not only a set of rules, a design for living which is different from or indifferent to or even in conflict with the norms of the "respectable" adult society. It would appear at least plausible that it is defined by its "negative polarity" to those norms. That is, the delinquent subculture takes its norms from the larger culture but turns them upside down. The delinquent's conduct is right, by the standards of his subculture, precisely because it is wrong by the norms of the larger culture. (12:28) Another explanation of the smaller number of cor rect responses by the lower group may be, simply, that these subjects were not delinquent. Questioning of vice principals at the two schools disclosed, for example, that 133 only one subject in the low group was known to be a ward of the Juvenile Court. Therefore, if one assumes that a con tinuum may be drawn from delinquency to exemplary behavior, the subjects in the low group may be considered as being located between the high group and a theoretical delinquent group, and that the low group possesses some of the charac teristics of both extremes. 2. Has the item effectively assessed discrepan cies on the part of the subjects in the con trasting subculture? Self-ideal discrepancies are produced in two ways. The subject may identify with a characteristic of his own group, and then indicate an opposite ideal, or he may fail to identify with a characteristic of his own group and then indicate that the characteristic represents his ideal. One would expect discrepancies to occur with regard to items which reflect dissatisfaction with current status. Since the status of the lower group, in general, was assumed to be unattractive to the upper group in the school, it was not anticipated that there would be many downwardly-directed discrepancies on the part of the upper group. This assumption appeared to have been borne out, since the great majority of upper-group discrepancies were in the nature of failing to identify with an upper-group 13^ characteristic which was then indicated as the ideal. For example, Item 28 produced the greatest number of discrepan cies among upper-group respondents. The item, "This boy’s parents attend PTA meetings and take part in PTA committees, or assist in other school-3ponsored activities," was answered correctly by only 9 boys in the upper group. The large number of 25 discrepancies can be interpreted as indicating that, ideally, the upper-group subjects would like to see their parents take a more active part in school affairs than they were doing. Item 15 was another which produced a large number of discrepancies in the high group. The item, "This boy often gives up doing things he would enjoy now, in order to prepare better for the future," was answered correctly by only 21, and was productive of 22 discrepancies. This probably indicated the high standards imposed upon itself by this group, the discrepancies reflecting the subjects’ ideal of being able to withstand greater self-denial. Item 17, "This boy, through careful saving, buying, trading, and help from his parents, has built up a coin, stamp, or other collection of value," was answered correctly by only lb- in the upper group, but it produced 22 discrep ancies. Perhaps the interpretation of this might be that the subjects considered it an ideal thing to do, although most of them did not engage in the activity. 13 5 Item 35? having to do with the playing of a musical instrument, may be viewed in much the same way. Only 15 boys in the high group answered the item correctly, but 21 indicated it as their ideal. In the lower group, discrepancies which indicated upwardly-directed ideals were also preponderant. In most of the items which asked whether the subject identified with a characteristic of the high group, there appeared honest admission (against what one could term self- interest) of nonidentification, followed by responses to the ideal portion in the affirmative. Item 29j for example, stated, "This boy was elected to a student government office. He also hopes to receive an award at school, given by the American Legion, a newspaper, Rotary, Kiwanis, or some other service organ ization." This was marked correctly by k2 in the low group and produced the largest number of discrepancies (21). Since eligibility for student government office and most awards is based upon scholarship, service, and non involvement in disciplinary problems, it would appear that the lower group was expressing a desire for the fruits of the upper group’s efforts, without possessing the inclina tion or ability to meet the necessary conditions. Similarly, Item 16, which reads, "This boy is planning for the high school and college courses he will 136 need to become a doctor, lawyer, or scientist,1 1 was marked correctly by 27 in the lower group, with 19 discrepancies. This could be interpreted as realistic recognition of not being in the group which is more likely to reach and com plete college. On the other hand, when a high-group item too severely threatened a strong lower-group characteristic, there were few discrepancies indicative of willingness to break ranks to express or admit an upper-group ideal. Item 12, for example, "This boy says that it is your duty to your school to tell a teacher if you see anyone stealing or destroying valuable school property," was marked cor rectly by b2 lower-group subjects with only 6 discrepan cies. However, when the scores of the upper group are examined for this same item, it can be seen that there was greater discrepancy-indicated conflict than in the lower group. Only 20 upper group boys marked the item correctly, with 13 discrepancies, showing that turning in someone was an action not easily accepted by the high group, but cer tainly less so for the low group. If, then, the lower group has been shown to be attracted to many of the characteristics of the upper group’s focal concerns, how secure is its attachment to its own subculture? Twelve items represented the focal concerns of the working class. The median number of 137 correct responses to these items on the part of lower-group subjects was 31.5, compared to a median of 2b for the other items. Similarly, with respect to lower-group subjects, whereas the median number of discrepancies for the lower- class focal concerns items was 10, their median on the other items was l*f; this can be considered to be indicative of firmer attachment and less conflict regarding the lower subculture items and their related working-class focal concerns. 3. In assessing the effectiveness of an item in this instrument, was it capable of permitting subjects in the contrasting groups to produce discrepancies which could be compared statis tically to determine whether significant differences were obtained between the dis crepancy scores of the two groups? The extent to which this condition has been met is the basis for testing the first hypothesis. Table 6 has presented the discrepancy scores obtained by each subject in the two adjustment groups. Prom the table it can be determined that the median number of discrepancies obtained by the low group was 10, in contrast to 5.5 for the upper group. 138 Findings Related to Socio economic Class As outlined in the preceding chapter, the socio economic class of each subject was determined by his father’s occupation, according to Centers' Scale (9)> sup plemented by the Revised Minnesota Occupational Rating Scale (67). Occupations were divided into the categories of middle class or working class, depending upon whether they were included in Centers’ top three or lowest three groups. Occupations found in Centers' Group Number Pour (white-collar workers) were dichotomized according to the Minnesota Scale. Obtained ratings permitted the assign ment of weighted scores of 1*+ or more to middle-class status occupations, while those in the working class were assigned weighted scores of 13 or less. It was necessary to place five cases in a socioeconomically indeterminate group for reasons detailed in the preceding chapter. Tables 8 and 9 present the two occupational groups. Occupational titles are those indicated on school records. Comparisons of the two occupational groups in terms of the distribution of the boys showed that in the middle- class group, 30 boys were high-adjustment subjects and 15 were low. In the working-class group, virtually the same two-to-one proportion existed, but in the opposite direc tion— i.e., 27 were low adjustment boys and 13 were high. 139 TABLE 8 OCCUPATIONS OP FATHERS OP BOYS IN MIDDLE-CLASS OCCUPATIONAL GROUP Accountant, Insurance Aeronautical Engineer Aircraft Engineer Architect Business Agent, Carpenters' Union CaLinet Maker, Shop Owner Chef, Part Owner of Restaurant Chemical Engineer Citrus Buyer, Own Business Cost Estimator C.P.A., Comptroller Dentist District Manager, Newspaper Circulation District Sales Manager Doctor, M.D. Electrical Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineer Engineering Administrator Financial Analyst Heat Treating Engineer Insurance Insurance Agent Insurance Consultant In-Teacher Training, Working for Master's Manager Mechanical Engineer Nuclear Engineer Pawn Shop Owner Plant Manager President- Manufacturing Company Printer, Shop Owner Psychology Professor Radio Engineer l*+0 TABLE 8— Continued Real Estate Broker Realtor Research Chemist Salesman, Traveling, Wholesale Service Engineer Store Manager Supervisor, Brewery Supervisor, Schools Maintenance Truck Parts Manager Used Cars, Sales Manager Ikl TABLE 9 OCCUPATIONS OP FATHERS OP BOYS IN WORKING-CLASS OCCUPATIONAL GROUP Accounting Clerk Aircraft Dispatcher Aircraft Inspector Army Sergeant Army Sergeant Auto Painter Auto Trimmer, Seat Cover Butcher Caret alee r Carpenter Carpenter Department Store Work Dispatcher, Drug Store Electrician Electrician, Electronic Maintenance Electronics Technician Foreman Leadman Library Worker (father), Technician (stepfather) Machinist Mailman Mechanic Mechanic Mechanic Painter Pie man (father), Pool Repairs (stepfather) Policeman Postman Ranchhand Retail Clerk Ro o fe r, Paving Service Station Attendant Sheet Metal Mechanic, Pizza Maker Shop Foreman Technical Writer TABLE 9— Continued Tool Designer Tool Designer Trimmer Truck Driver Truck Driver 1*0 This difference was significant at the .01 level, using Chi Square for a one-tailed test. With respect to the second and third hypotheses, in which comparisons were posited between the two occupa tional groups of boys by subculture, the obtained data showed that of ^6 boys in the high-adjustment group, 30 had fathers in middle-class occupations, 13 had fa,thers who were in the working class, and 3 were in an indeterminate status. Of the hh boys in the low-adjustment subculture, 15 had fathers in middle-class occupations, 27 had fathers in the working class, and 2 were in an indeterminate status. It would appear, therefore, that in this investi gation, socioeconomic status and school adjustment subcul ture were strongly associated. Interpretation of Instrument Scores in Relation to Socioeconomic Eocal Concerns Earlier in the chapter the relationship between scores and socioeconomic focal concerns was discussed. Table 7 presented the categories of focal concerns of the two socioeconomic classes, and the degrees of support each received from items in the instrument. An interpretation of the findings concerning instrument scores and socio economic focal concerns would include the following points. 1. "Education and improving of the mind," and "ambition to get ahead" were the two middle-class l¥+ categories most strongly supported by the data as produc tive of significant differences in numbers of self-ideal discrepancies between the two groups. This may be inter preted as meaning that these categories were so firmly a part of the maximum adjustment subculture that they pro duced very few discrepancies between the way the group identified and the way it wished to be. On the other hand, both of these categories were, in comparison, identified by the minimum adjustment group as desirable and wished for, although alien to their subculture. 2. "Toughness" and "smartness" were the two working-class categories most strongly supported by the data as productive of significant differences in numbers of self-ideal discrepancies between the two adjustment sub cultural groups. This may be interpreted as meaning that these categories, to the maximum adjustment subjects, were so alien and undesirable in their subculture that very few subjects either identified with the characteristics or idealized them. On the other hand, the characteristics represented by these categories were not only identified by the minimum adjustment subjects as part of their sub culture, but were, in effect, rated by them as being undesirable attributes, thereby productive of discrepan cies. 3. Two categories that reflected middle-class iM concerns, "formal organizations" and "accumulation of material goods and conscientious maintenance of property," failed to be significantly supported by at least one of the pair of items associated with each. The two items tied to the focal concern of "formal organizations" both produced differences in the hypothesized direction, but were not distinguishable by a . significant degree of differ ence. The two items associated with "accumulation of mate rial goods and conscientious maintenance of property," hov/ever, both produced differences that were opposite to the hypothesized direction. An explanation of why these and other items did not produce significant differences between groups with respect to the number of discrepancies scored, involves the following issues: a. There may be differences that are qualitative as well as quantitative between the delinquents upon whom Cohen (12) and Kvaraceus and Miller (*f7) based the writ ings from which the hypotheses in the present investiga tion were developed, and the behavior-deviant pupils who made up the minimum-adjustment subculture. b. The samples from contrasting school subcultures may have been excessively large, resulting in too great a departure from the behavioral extremes which were being contrasted. Were this the case, differences between the Ib6 characteristics of the two groups would, to a certain extent, have become blurred, and resulting differences have been rendered less significant. A smaller number of sub jects from each of a greater number of schools, the sub jects being drawn specifically from more limited extremes, would overcome such a problem. c. Where only one item of a pair produced signifi cant differences, the two items may have been focused upon different aspects of the same focal concern. d. Items may have contained distracting implica tions, excessive or insufficient specificity, or insuffi cient generality to permit subjects to identify appro priately with characteristics. e. The responses of subjects may not, in all cases, have been truthful when items approached areas of particular sensitivity, lack of perception, or unrealistic or excessively harsh self judgment. It appears likely that the minimum-adjustment subjects tended to identify them selves unrealistically with some characteristics they coveted (such as ability to speak and write grammatically), while the maximum-adjustment subjects tended to minimize some desirable attributes (such as being able to defer immediate pleasures) which they possessed to a lesser degree than they considered ideal, but in which they proba bly surpassed average subjects. The net effect of these lit 7 processes would have been to bring the groups closer together and produce reduced intergroup differences in dis crepancy scores. f. Perhaps the focal concerns of the socioeconomic classes did not adequately reflect or account for differ ences between subcultures from one part of the country to another. One must consider, for example, possible rela tionships between attitudes toward cleanliness and the separate subculture associated with beach and surfing activities which has seemed, at least in the locale of the present investigation, to have been a peculiarly local focal concern involving both maximum and minimum adjustment subjects. Summary In this chapter have been presented the findings ■ m r of the investigation and some interpretation of their probable meaning. The discussion of the implications of the obtained data dealt with the explanation of the following findings related to the research hypotheses: (1) Pupils in the sub culture characterized by minimum school adjustment showed a greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than did pupils in the maximum-adjustment group. (2) Pupils in the minimum-adjustment subculture were found Ib8 to be predominantly from working-class homes. (3) Pupils in the maximum-adjustment subculture were found to be pre dominantly from middle-class homes, (b) Within the minimum adjustment subculture, middle-class pupils were found to have shown a greater discrepancy between self concept end ideal self than was shown by those from working-class homes. Supplementary findings and interpretations dealt with the following matters: (1) Discrepancies between the self concept and the social self were greater in the minimum-adjustment group than in the maximum. (2) Middle- class pupils in the minimum-adjust.ment subculture showed a greater discrepancy between self concept and social self than did minimum-adjustment pupils from working-class homes. The chapter also included a discussion of the func tioning of the instrument in general and a detailed analy sis of the scores obtained in responses to each item. A discussion of three issues to be considered in assessing the effectiveness of items in the instrument was included. Among the findings related to socioeconomic class were the actual occupations of fathers of the subjects as shown on school records. These were presented in the form of tables. The final chapter presents a summary of the inves tigation, the conclusions drawn from the findings, and recommendations for further research. CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS This concluding chapter presents a summary of the purposes, method, and findings of the study, to which have been added conclusions based upon the resulting data, and educational and research recommendations Summary Purposes The present study sought to determine whether junior high school boys, identified as being in two con trasting behavioral subcultures in terms of school adjust ment, showed corresponding differences in aspects of their self concepts and socioeconomic class backgrounds. Litera ture related to the question, although based upon delin quents rather than upon behavior-deviant pupils, had sug gested the existence of contrasting subcultures within the school setting, and of cultural ambivalence on the part of the members of the minimum-adjustment subculture. The investigation sought to determine whether, through the development and utilization of an appropriate 150 151 instrument, indications of discrepancies between aspects of individuals’ self concepts might be found, and considered as evidence of corresponding ambivalence with regard to the conflicting influences of contrasting cultural stand ards . Methods and Procedure Using a modified ’ ’critical incident" approach, material characteristic of the behavior, attitudes, accom plishments, and participation in school activities of maximum- and minimum-adjustment pupils at two junior high schools in a large school district in Los Angeles County were obtained. Maximum-adjustment incidents were categor ized according to ten middle-class focal concerns; minimum- adjustment incidents were categorized according to six lower-class focal concerns. A self-concept instrument, developed from the incidents, and containing two items for each of the sixteen focal concerns, was constructed. Each item contained a self portion, with which the subject might or might not identify, and an ideal portion which permitted him to express his approval or desire to be like the individual described in the item. An opportunity to indicate whether friendship with the described individual was desired completed the three questions concerning each item. The instrument was scored for discrepancies between 152 self and ideal self by counting as a discrepancy any dif ference, regardless of direction, between answers to the first and second questions of each item. At the same schools, the instrument, entitled Pupil Behavior Opinion Survey, was administered to a total of *+6 maximum-adjustment and M+ minimum-adjustment ninth- grade boys selected as representative of these contrasting extremes by vice principals, registrars, and counselors. Obtained scores were subjected to the median test and Chi Square to determine whether the median number of self ideal discrepancies of the minimum-adjustment group was greater than that of the maximum-adjustment group. In addition, the records of the subjects to whom the instrument had been administered were examined to determine the occupational status of fathers. Occupations were assigned to middle- or working-class status and com pared by means of Chi Square with maximum- or minimum- ad justment group membership. Finally, within the minimum-adjustment group, the median discrepancy scores of middle-class subjects were compared with those of the working class, using the median test and Chi Square, to determine whether they were greater. Hypotheses and Findings Four hypotheses were tested in the investigation. 1. Pupils in the subculture characterized by minimum school adjustment will show a greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than will pupils in the subculture characterized by maximum school adjustment. 2. Pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture will be predominantly from working-class homes. 3. Pupils in the maximum adjustment subculture will be predominantly from middle-class homes. In the minimum adjustment subculture, middle- class pupils will show a greater degree of dis crepancy between self concept and ideal self than will those from working-class homes. The findings related to the hypotheses were: 1. Pupils in the minimum adjustment subculture did show a statistically greater degree of discrep ancy between self concept and ideal self than did maximum adjustment pupils. This finding was supported at the .005 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the median test and Chi Square. 2. Pupils in the minimum-ad justment subculture were found to be predominantly from working- class homes. This finding was supported at the .00 5 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using Chi Square. 3. Pupils in the maximum adjustment suhculture were found to be predominantly from middle- class homes. This finding was supported at the .00 5 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using Chi Square. *+. In the minimum adjustment subculture, middle- class pupils did show a statistically greater degree of discrepancy between self concept and ideal self than did those from working-class homes. This finding was supported at the .025 level of confidence for a one-tailed test, using the median test and Chi Square. Conclusions The findings presented in the previous section pro vide the basis for the conclusions which follow. 1. Behavior-deviant pupils see themselves as being less like the kinds of persons they admire and would like to be, in terms of characteristics, attitudes, and achievements, than do pupils at the opposite extreme of school adjustment. 2. Behavior-deviant pupils tend to be the products of families of the working-class socioeconomic level. 3. Pupils who achieve well, participate fully, and 155 do not become involved in disciplinary prob lems at school tend to be from families of the middle-class socioeconomic level. h. Middle-class pupils who present behavior prob lems in school see themselves as being less like the kinds of persons they admire or would like to be, in terms of characteristics, atti tudes, and achievements, than do working-class behavior-deviant pupils. Implications General Implications As distinguished from the specific implications of the study, the general implications are not points that are new. However, in so far as the subjects studied are representative of other pupils, the findings serve to strengthen viewpoints and evidence furnished by related research. In the opening chapter of this study it was stated that when numbers of persons fail to develop and utilize their potentials, whether in terms of contribu tions to be made or in terms of satisfactions to be derived, society in general is made poorer. The implications of the present study, it would seem, have strong bearing upon problems associated with children from lower-class back - grounds, like those of the behavior deviants in the ^tudy. 156 It would appear that these things are likely to occur with children from lower-class backgrounds, in spite of normal capacity and expressed goals that are consistent with socially acceptable values: 1. Many pupils are failing to receive or profit from opportunities to learn needed skills, develop understandings, and prepare for pro ductive and satisfying citizenship. 2. Many pupils are suffering continual personal frustration because of inability to achieve adequately in school. 3. Many pupils are becoming increasingly alienated from the standards of society as represented by those of the school, its instrument. The con tinued imposition of frustrating or unrewarding experiences upon these pupils may serve to extend their hostility, rejection, or indiffer ence concerning school to other social insti tutions^ If. Many pupils, because of the two preceding reasons, are becoming ready recruits for the ranks of drop-outs. 5. Many pupils are developing resistances to edu cation which may prevent acceptance of future opportunities for learning, whether in high school, adult school, or on-the-job trs.ining. 157 6. Many pupils are developing antieducational attitudes which, if unmodified, may he passed on to still another generation. Thus, the basic general implication of the study is that the failings described above are attributable to some extent to insufficient emphasis upon the needs of pupils from lower-class backgrounds. Specific Implications The more specific implications of the findings of this study are as follows. 1. Pupils from lower-class homes, because of the greater likelihood of their becoming members of behavior-deviant subcultures, are in need of identification and some sort of specialized attention as early in their school career as adjustment problems attributable to social class influences become apparent. 2. Instruments designed to tap aspects of the self concept of pupils at different ages, and of particular cultural backgrounds within social classes, may prove useful in identifying those with special needs attributable to sociological causes. 3. Behavior-deviant pupils who show marked dis crepancies between their self-images and those qualities to which they aspire are in need of help, lest their ideals change to a less desirable form through rationalization or other ego defense mechanism. Because the behavior deviations of lower-class pupils are likely to be in conformance with their adjustment subculture, an individualized approach to such pupils may appear to them as a threat to their membership in that group. Apparent resistance to change may be a reflec tion of their being trapped, psycho-socially, within the subculture. They are not equipped, in terms of the skills by which status is won in school, to enter a group of greater achieve ment. Nor do they want to leave the group in which they find acceptance among others who are similar to them. The implication for treatment is that the more members of the sub culture that can be reached concurrently for attention, the more effective will be any attempts to bring about change in individual members. In view of the conclusion that behavior deviants, as shown by their self-ideal dis crepancies, see themselves in many ways as being unlike the kinds of persons they admire and would like to be, it should be recognized that they are suffering from feelings of inferiority, regardless of the nature of their acts. Attempts to work with them should assist in overcoming the insecurity and building up the self-image, as well as in improving the symptomatic behavior. Teachers, for example, who experience difficulty in acceptance of lower-class behavior, and who make known their rejection of certain pupils from that back ground, may be strengthening, to some extent, the ties of lower-class pupils to the deviant subculture. Davidson and Lang (16), in this regard, found that teachers' negative images of lower-class pupils were associated with lowering not only of pupils' self-images, but of behavior and academic achievement, as well. When behavior deviants are found to be from middle-class homes, it is likely that their self-ideal discrepancies will be large, and their feelings of self-esteem low. Since some of the same causes that trap lower-class deviants within a minimum adjustment subcul ture can be assumed to be operative, 160 consideration must be given to the rewards enjoyed by the middle-class deviants of acceptance by others, albeit of a different background, in the subculture. In addition, however, the middle-class deviants, as indi cated by their greater self-ideal discrepan cies, can be rated as less well-adjusted than lower-class deviants. Furthermore, they would appear to be enjoying membership in the sub culture for reasons other than socioeconomic background. Thus, one implication is that they may be in need of individual psychiatric help because of personal or family tensions, rather than because of cultural ambivalence. Recommendations The study has presented findings, implications, and conclusions concerning certain psychological and sociological factors associated with the behavior of pupils at two extremes of school adjustment. Such knowledge should be of particular interest to personnel in the school setting charged with assessing and dealing with the problem of behavior-deviant pupils, and to other professional per sons in the community to whom some of these pupils may be referred. l6l Edacational Recommendations In view of the conclusions and implications of the study, educational personnel, in assessing the behavior deviations of individuals, need to evaluate the socio economic as well as other possible factors in order to reach valid conclusions concerning causes of problems. Because of the likelihood that many behavior- deviant pupils of working-class background will otherwise become dropouts, it is imperative that ways be sought in the schools to provide them with special opportunities. They appear to need, especially, opportunities to master the skills, develop the habits, experience acceptance, and gain understanding of the attitudes which may enable them to close some of the gaps between the way they regard them selves and the way they would like to become. Since large numbers of boys will, like their fathers, enter working-class occupations, schools should, along with stressing upward mobility and higher education, provide pupils with understanding and appreciation for the importance of, and satisfactions to be derived from, working-class occupations. Non-college-bound pupils need to be able to see themselves as responsible, productive future citizens. Familial and group pressures serve to strengthen membership within the social class and corresponding 162 subculture. Because of the difficulty which a working- class youngster must expect to experience in breaking away from undesirable attributes and gaining acceptance in a less deviant group, both in school and in out-of-school associations, a group-method approach should be provided. Group counseling within the school setting, or social case work involving the entire family would seem to offer oppor tunities for enabling the pupil to overcome some of his problems, in the company of other persons. These group methods may serve to overcome some of the resistance to standard psychotherapy which, according to Reissman (75s *+7)5 is not only unattractive to most deprived people, but "somewhat inappropriate" as well. Middle-class pupils who exhibit behavior problems are more likely than working-class pupils to be in need of the individual attention of counselor, social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist. Their problems are, in all likelihood, complicated and personal because their mis behavior stands for more than the recognized pattern of the working-class youngster; it may represent a protest against family and social class. In consultations with therapists to whom such pupils may be referred, school personnel should be alert to symptoms, in the interest of both accurate reporting and the well-being of the pupil. With middle-class 163 behavior deviants more is needed than the common observa tion that a youngster’s trouble derives from his asso ciating with the "wrong crowd." Consideration must be given to the boy's possible reasons for needing such asso ciation. Attention should be given to the possibility that the degree to which such youngsters experience conflict between acceptance and rejection of self concept components may be reflected in their pathology. In this respect the earlier-cited writings of Freedman and Hollingshead (26) and Miller and Swanson (60) , dealing with the characteris tics of middle-class neurotic symptoms as they differ from those of the lower class, are pertinent. Research Recommendations Since experience with the instrument utilized has been limited to two schools in the same general area, cross-validation should be attempted in other areas and at other grade levels in an attempt to develop generally effective items. Results of the present study showed that with the middle-class behavior deviant, the social self plays a more important role than the ideal self in terms of pro ductivity of discrepancies, although both yielded signifi cant differences. Expressed differently, this finding means that in these subjects, the correlation between ideal 1&* and social self concepts is greater than the correlation between the subjects' self concept and ideal self, a find ing similar to that reported by Thompson and Nishimura (88) and by McKenna, Hofstaetter, and O'Connor (58). Additional research is needed to make more clear the role played by the social self component in those middle-class youngsters who appear to have adapted the norms of subcultures asso ciated with the working class. Whereas the ten categories of middle-class focal concerns used were sufficient to group all instances of exemplary behavior encountered, the six working-class categories need to be expanded in any future research to account for such behavior as theft, vandalism of certain types, and actions against girls. The relationship of self-ideal discrepancy to frustration, aggression, and anxiety at the ninth-grade level warrants definitive research. A longitudinal study of self concept discrepancies of individuals, beginning in the elementary grades and con tinuing through the college years would yield knowledge useful in understanding when certain aspects of the self develop, and the extent to which they may be correlated with physiological development, school achievement, drop ping out of school, delinquency, and influences of family and community. Where working-class subjects have shown high self ideal discrepancies during adolescence, it would be helpful to know whether those who drop out of school ever succeed in bringing their self-identity closer to their ideal through such experiences as marriage, the learning of a trade, and success as wage-eamers. In a neighborhood with a high rate of delinquency, it would be profitable to examine the self concepts of a representative group of elementary school children and to re-examine them periodically through the age levels at which delinquency develops, in order to compare the possi ble differences in discrepancy rates between the delin quents and nondelinquents. An analysis of the kinds of deviations engaged in by working-class and middle-class boys at the same school, through the use of a listing such as that in the Appendix, might seek relationships between kinds of behavior, social class, and self-ideal discrepancies. A study such as the present one, developing and modifying the instrument for use with girls, would offer material for fruitful comparisons. The effects of racial segregation and desegration upon school children should be investigated by comparing the self concepts of pupils of different ethnic backgrounds at the same school with those at segregated schools in near-by communities. Research concerning the interrelationships of self concept, socioeconomic class, and family relationships should be undertaken in an attempt to discover why some working-class youngsters do succeed in adjusting well in school. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Adler, Alfred. "The Fundamental Views of Individual Psychology,” International Journal of Individ ual Psychology. 1:5-8. 193 5. 2. . The Practice and Theory of Individual Psychology. Paterson, New Jersey: Little field, Adams and Co., 1959. 350 pp. 3. Allport, Gordon W. Becoming: Basic Considerations for a Psychology of Personality. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955. 106 pp. b, _________. "The Ego in Contemporary Psychology," Psychological Review. 50:l +5l~78, 19^3• 5. Berger, E. M. 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"The Relationship of Peer Acceptance, Acceptance of Others, and Self-acceptance," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science. 6l:Mf6-M+9, 19 5 * 4 - . APPENDICES APPENDIX A INCIDENTS LISTED PROM RECORDS OP 232 BEHAVIOR DEVIANT NINTH- GRADE BOYS APPENDIX A LISTING OP 280 INCIDENTS AS INDICATED IN RECORDS OP 1. 232 BEHAVIOR DEVIANT NINTH-GRADE BOYS AT TWO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS Possession of cigarettes 2. Possession of cherry bomb 3. Remarks about girls if. Matching pennies 5. Printed obscene card 6. Touching girls 7. Tore up teacher citation 8. Obscene note to girl 9. Possession of knife 10. Stomped girl’s pen 11. Fighting to get even for last semester 12. Truant 13. Disturbing class 1*+. Excessive tardiness 15. Brought water-filled liquor bottle to school 16. Rarely brings books, paper, pencil to class 17. Excessive talking and out of seat frequently 18. Hit boy safety 19. Left campus without permission 20. Talks back or takes his time to obey teacher 21. Possession of cigarettes and lighter 22. Kicked girl; stuck her with pen 23. Hit girl with book 2*f. Ann around girl without her consent 25. Shot off cap pistol 26. Possession of knife 27. Bent metal chair 28. Called male teacher an obscenity 29. Smoking in lavatory 30. Possession of switch-blade knife 179 31 32 33 3*+ 35 36 37 38 39 J+O hi b2 *+3 bb h5 b6 b7 bQ ^9 50 51 52 53 5V 55 56 57 58 59 60 6l 62 63 6^ 65 66 67 68 69 70 180 Refusing to wear "belt Vandalism to lavatory door Smoking Obscene remark to girl Vandalism to volley ball Insolent—to teachers in lunch area Tore up detention slip Possession of fire crackers Displayed large hammer and sickle on note book Refused to give name to teacher Fighting Talking out in class Gave wrong name to teacher Spitting in locker room Possession of switch-blade knife Hit a Shield (student government representative) Told teacher to shut up Told teacher to go to hell Obscene language Smoking on way home Excessive tardiness Out of seat without permission Insolence Brings no books Possession of pornographic material Disturbs class Unauthorized use of shop machines Pornographic drawings Insolence to teacher Spat on girls Possession of metal knuckles Lewd drawings Picking fights on way home Refusal to strip in physical education Used obscene word Spat on boy Lighting matches in classroom Disturbing class when substitute teacher in charge Stuck boy with pin Obscene sign to girl 71 72 73 A 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 8* + 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 9^ 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 lOh 10 5 106 107 108 109 110 181 Swearing Obscene words Touched girl Defiant to teacher Leaves class without permission Smoking on way home Disturbs class Non-conforming in physical education Scrubbing (hazing) B-7 boy Said "this damn' school." Wrote "Go to h " on citations Non-strip in physical education Threw lighted matches Obscenity and vulgarity Caught breaking lavatory tile Possession of cigarettes Tardiness Obscene language to and about teachers Took teacher’s keys from desk Excessive tardiness G-ambl ing Classroom disturbance Eight after school Possession of knife G-ambl ing Disturbs class Eorged signature for another boy Leaves campus without permission Truancy Possession of chain for "protection" Threw away test paper during test Copied homework from someone else, turning in as own Leaves campus without permission Eighting Non-strip in physical education Truant Threw dirt at another boy Gambling Fighting Non-strip in physical education 182 111. Suspended pending haircut 112. Rude, insolent 113. Caught using knife in attempt to open classroom door after school 11*+. Accused girl of sexual behavior 115. Shooting rubber bands 116. Sent to social adjustment nine times in two semesters for poor classroom behavior 117. Forged father’s name on failure notice 118. Acted as lookout for friends smoking at school 119* Hitting 120. Damaging desk 121. Shook down a boy after school for 50 cents 122. Yelling into girls’ lavatory 123. Called teacher chicken for stopping fight 12*+. Sexual remarks to girls 125. Extorted $5.00 from boy who, he claimed, caused him to get paper pickup 126. Shooting staples 127. Using obscenity to teacher 128. Touching girl 129. Allowed another boy to steal a lock from shop lumber room 130. Gave false name to teacher who did not know him 131. Leaves school grounds to get doughnuts 132. ’ When another boy was told by a teacher to go to the vice principal, this boy said "Don’t go." 133. Spitting at other boys 13*+. Rude to girls’ vice principal v/hen she observed him leaving grounds 135. Used obscenity in sample letter turned in for English assignment 136. Leaves class without permission 137. Wrote on door 138. Spitting in boy's eye 139. Stole stamped office excuses and gave to friends l*+0. Set off fire cracker on way to school 1*+1. Forced boy to kiss his foot or fight l*+2. Threw paper wad at girl l*+3. Scrubbing (hazing) a B-7 lM+. Forged mother's signature on unsatisfactory notice l1 +5. Wrote obscenities in composition on "How to be a good student" 183 l*+6. Smoking 1^7. Non-3trip in physical education 1^8. Brings no materials or hooks to class 1^9. Talking in class l5o. Kicked boy in groin 151. Fighting during fire drill 152. Wrote on desk 153. Urinated on boy in shower 15^. Carved initials on seat 155. Called girl ugly 156. Told teacher to shut up 157. Tardies 158. Spat on boy 159. Possession of duck caller 160. Matching coins 161. Wrote obscenity on table 162. Talked back to teacher 163. Forged progress report I6*t. "Goofing off" during flag salute 165. Ran up thermometer in Health Office 166. Truancy 167. Broke boy’s nose in fight over alleged insult his girl to 168. Steals and/or destroys classroom materials 169. Throwing spitballs and paper airplanes 170. Water fight in lavatory 171. Refused to go to vice principal when sent by teacher for snapping rubber bands 172. Stole milk from doorway on way to school 173. Stuck girl with pin 17>+. Caught filling balloon with water in lavatory. Walked away from teacher who was talking to him 175. Loud noises eating com nuts in library 176. Used stolen excuse slips supplied by friend 177. Told girl student government representative to go to hell when she asked him to clean up his own mess of popped milk cartons 178. Truancy 179. Stole pieces of plastic from handicrafts 180. Calling girls whores 181. Breaking tile in lavatory 182. Disturbing class 18b 183, Talking in class 18^. Disturbing class 185. Opened girl’s purse; took 5 cents 186. Truant 187. Attempting to break into school after hours 188. Truancy- 189. Possession of switch-blade knife 190. Refused to give required oral report in English class 191. Shooting rubber bands 192. Touching girl’s breast 193. Spitting 19^. Called girl a slut 195. Defiant to teachers 196. Insolence 197. Truant 1§8. Brought stink fluid to school 199. Classroom disturbance 200. Threatened to hit male teacher 201. Tardies 202. Eights 203. Brought and sold fireworks at school 20*f. Ditching classes 205. Threatened to ’ ’get" a boy and a male teacher after school 206. Insolent to vice principal 207. Stole watch and money from locker in physical education 208. Involved in gang activity at neighboring junior high 209. Hit boy in class 210. Refusal to pick up food from classroom floor brought in against rules 211. Raised thermometer temperature in Health Office 212. Hitting with paddle in shop 213. Forged father’s signature to cover truancy 21^+. Truant 215. Disturbance in class 216. Forging teacher’s name on paper pickup card 217. Rude to substitute teacher 218. Galled girl a whore 219. Goosed a girl 220. Brought glue to school; instructed others in manner of sniffing 18 5 221. Threatened to "get" hoy who had told on another boy for stealing cookies during cookie drive 222. Threw piece of candy at teacher 223. "Borrowed" jacket; gave to a friend 22*f. Gambling 225. Willful disobedience 226. Unacceptable hair style 227. Horse shoe taps on shoes 228. Possession of teacher’s name stamp 229. Gambling 230. Scrubbed (hazed) girl with lipstick 231. Classroom disturbance 232. Gave teacher obscene sign 233. Kicked brother in leg 23*+. Theft of jacket 235. Unzipped back of girl’s dress 236. Possession of eggs 237. Set off fire alarm to avoid taking test 238. Wrote note to teacher saying had burned unsatis factory notice and called teacher (sign for) square 239. "1 was on my hands and knees behind a girl and she fell over me" 2*+0. Urinating on lavatory wall 2^1. Told teacher to "make me" go back on school grounds 2^-2. Told principal "Be quiet. The fuzz (police) is coming." 2^+3. Threw water bomb in locker room 2M+. Gambling 2*+5. Possession of master key to lockers 2^-6. Hit teacher with spit wad 2^7. Broke into school over weekend 2^8. Cursing and spitting at girl on way home 2*f 9. Fighting 250. Took locket from teacher’s desk 251. Horse-play with water pistol 252. Carved chair and initials in door of vice princi pal's office 253. Hit bus with thrown lemon on way to school 25^. Spitting at boy 255. Pushing in line at lunch area 256. Took boy’s glasses; called him fairy 257. Fighting boy who allegedly messed up his hair 186 258. Smoking on way home 2 59. Had hand around girl higher than waist 260. Wearing pants too low 261. Improper hair style 262. Horse-play involving holding girl without her consent 263. Fighting 26*+. Defiance of Boys’ League representative 265. Urinating and defecating on lavatory floor 266. Igniting fire crackers on way to school 267. Fighting 268. Found contraceptives on way to school; sold for 20 cents 269. Putting dry ice down girl's back 270. Throwing objects at girls on way home 271. Classroom disturbance 272. Shooting rubber bands in classroom 273. Leaving class without permission 27*+. Possession of electric cattle prodder 275. Writing on desk with ball-point pen 276. Talking without permission 277. Disturbance in class 278. Smoking behind building 279. Truancy 280. Trying combinations on other boys' lockers A P P E N D I X B PUPIL BEHAVIOR OPINION SURVEY APPENDIX B PUPIL BEHAVIOR OPINION SURVEY This opinion survey is for eighth and ninth grade hoys only. Its purpose is to learn what pupils at this school and other schools think about certain kinds of behavior. Some pupils believe most school miles are reason able. Others may think that some things are unfair. This is to be expected, because different people have different ideas about the way they should act in school and the way they should be treated. Because this is a survey of what pupils think, honest differences of opinion are welcome. There are no right or wrong answers, no scores, and no grades. Nothing of what you say will be shown on any of your school records. In other words, the more honestly you can answer these questions, the more useful your opinions will be in helping to improve school for everyone. All of the questions are about things that boys at some school have supposedly said or done. Each question has three yes or no parts to answer. Mark an X after the YES or NO for each part of every question. DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME ON THIS SURVEY 188 189 PUPIL BEHAVIOR OPINION SURVEY This boy is able to plan his afternoons and evenings so that he gets his school work and home duties done and still has some time for TV or other recreation. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO “ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO “ 2. This boy gets into trouble at school frequently. He has been sent to the vice principal at least three times. Are you like this boy?_____________YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO ’ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ‘ 3. This boy says he wants to do his best in everything he tries out for in junior high so that he can be success ful in the years that follow. Are you like this boy?_____________YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO ^ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO “ 190 This boy believes in cooperation between pupils and teachers, and agrees that pupils should help in making and carrying out school rules. Are you like this boy? YES_______ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_______ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES_______ NO ______ 5. This boy knows that he gets into trouble because of breaking various school rules, but he says that rules are made to be broken when they get in your way too much. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_______ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES______ NO ______ 6. This boy says that his school years are preparation for what he will do later in life. He believes that working hard in school now will help him to get ahead in his chosen occupation. Are you like this boy? YES_______ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like tc be? YES______ NO Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO 191 7. This boy often talks with his father or mother about what he is studying and doing in school. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_ NO _ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO " 8. This boy set off a firecracker at school. Are you like this boy? YES NO ^ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO “ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ' 9. This boy regularly saves some money from his allowance or earnings so that he will be able to buy a car or other valuable possession later on. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO “ 192 10. This boy plans ahead for the things he wants, and works hard for them instead of waiting for a lucky break. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO " Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ‘ 11, This boy, on at least two occasions, chose off other boys and had fights with them after school. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO ^ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO " 12. This boy says that it is your duty to your school to tell a teacher if you see anyone stealing or destroy ing valuable school property. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO " Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO " 193 13. This boy admitted spitting in the direction of another boy whom he did not like. Are you like this boy? YES_____ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES______ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES______ NO 1*+. This boy gave a teacher, who did not know him, a false name when the teacher caught him shoving at lunch time. Are you like this boy?_____________YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO _ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO 15. This boy often gives up doing things he would enjoy now, in order to prepare better for the future. Are you like this boy? YES_______ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_______ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES______ NO 19*+ 16. This boy is planning for the high school and college courses he will need to become a doctor, lawyer, or scientist. Are you like this boy?_____________YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO ' Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ' 17. This boy, through careful saving, buying, trading, and help from his parents, has built up a coin, stamp, or other collection of value. Are you like this boy?_____________YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would lik: to be? YES NO ‘ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ‘ 18. This boy took some stamped excuses from a school office and passed them out to his friends. Are you like this boy? YES_____ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_____ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES_____ NO 195 19. This boy knows that if he showed signs of laziness about doing his homework, his parents would help him to avoid any distractions that were bothering him. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO _______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES______ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES______ NO ______ 20. This boy says it should not be anyone else's business if some boys want to come to school with long hair, no belts on their jeans, horse shoe taps, three shirt buttons open, and wearing big rings. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES______ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES______ NO ______ 21. This boy is able to speak and write correctly, accord ing to most of the rules of grammar, when he wants to. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_______ NO Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO 196 22. This boy believes that he is liked by his teachers, and by adults in his neighborhoo. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YSS NO " Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO “ 23. This boy has been an officer in one of the school clubs. He also believes in the importance of student government. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO " Would you like to have him for a friend? ' YES NO ‘ 2b. This boy says he and his friend were just "goofing off" in the lunch area and pretending to fight. Then a crowd gathered and a teacher sent the two boys to the vice principal. Are you like this boy? YES_____ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_____ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ‘ 25 • (Item deleted) 197 26. This boy says that very often things will happen that he gets blamed for just because he is close by and certain teachers and other kids happen to know him. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ' 27. This boy was caught matching coins between classes. He has been sent to the vice principal twice for the same kind of activity. Are you like this boy? YES_____ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_____ NO Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ‘ 198 28. This boy’s parents attend PTA meetings and take part in PTA committees, or assist in other school-sponsored activities. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO ' Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO 29. This boy was elected to a student government office. He also hopes to receive an award at school, given by the American Legion, a newspaper, Rotary, Kiwanis, or some other service organization. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO ' Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO 30. This boy says that, in his opinion, the way boys are brought up at home has a lot to do with whether they can stay out of trouble in school. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO " Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ' 199 31. This boy usually tries to have a clean-cut appearance and to be neat and orderly in his work. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO “ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO ' 32. This boy, while talking about his own plans, mentioned that one or both of his parents was a college gradu ate . Are yon like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO “ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO " 33. This boy does not like being told what to do by teach ers. He often does not bring books, paper, or pencil to class. Are you like this boy?_____________YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO ' Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO 200 3*+. This boy bathes regularly and has not had his clothirg or hair style discussed with him by teachers or vice principal. Are you like this boy? YES______ NO Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES NO " Would you like to have him for a friend? YES NO 35. This boy enjoys playing the piano or other musical instrument for himself or friends. Are you like this boy? YES_____ NO ______ Is he the kind of boy you approve of or would like to be? YES_____ NO ______ Would you like to have him for a friend? YES_____ NO ***********************

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Creator Charlap-Hyman, Arthur (author)

Core Title Self Concept And Social Class Correlates Of Contrasting Behavioral Subcultures Among Ninth Grade Boys

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, educational psychology,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format dissertations (aat)

Language English

Advisor Carnes, Earl F. (committee chair), Hamovitch, Maurice B. (committee member), Meyers, Charles Edward (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-339334

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Identifier 6412478.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-339334 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 6412478.pdf

Dmrecord 339334

Document Type Dissertation

Format dissertations (aat)

Rights Charlap-Hyman, Arthur

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA