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Psychological factors associated with aspirations for socio-economic mobility

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Psychological factors associated with aspirations for socio-economic mobility

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Content J PSYCHa..OGICAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBIL ITY A Dissertation Presented to the F culty of the School of Education The Uni rsity of Southern California ----- In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirem ents for the Degree Doctor of Education by Buford Stefflre June 1953 ..... E ) This dtsse1·tation, w1·itten under the direction of the Chairman of the candidate's Guidance Committee and approved by all members of the Committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the Schoo l of Education in partial fu"ifillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. Date ..... Ju,,.. ..,;t!:.7 ... l.f..~-:2t .... .... ~ .. I.A... ~ Dean Guidance Committee .., Chairman . . . .. ~✓~ ...... hr ~ ~ ·· u .t r-· t TA:ELE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY • • • • • • • • • The probl m • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Statement or the probl m. • • • • • • • Importance of the problem . • • • • • Br1et statem nt of the procedure ••• Det1n1t1on oft rm used •••••• • • • • • • PAGE 1 1 l 2 4 8 Organization of th dies rtat1on. • • • • 10 II. REVIE OF THE LITERATURE • • • • • • • • • • 12 Socio- conomic status •••••••• History of the concept of statu •• Present methods ot measuring etatu • • • • • • Previous ua of the Edwards' scale • • Th adolescent' recognition of status • General evaluation of research on socio- economic status ••••••••••• Studies of social class differences ••• Aspiration 1 v 1 •••.••.••••• Intelligenc ••••••••••••• T mperament • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Summary of social class differences Social class mobility •••••••• Amount of mobility ••••••••• • • • • • • 12 13 17 30 33 34 39 40 43 47 50 51 51 -...... 111 CHAPTER PAGE III. IV. ob111ty aspiration • • • • • • • • • • 52 ' thods or· achieving mobility • • • • • 54 Cau at1on and concomitant ot mobility. 62 ob1lity s an aspect or motivation in adolescents ••• Summ ry or the r ie on mobility ••• • • • • • • • • • • of the literature • • • • • • • • • • Summary or the 11teratur DESIG OF THE STUDY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 71 73 75 77 Components or the study • • • • • • • • • 78 Hypoth see • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 78 Presuppositions • • • • • • • • • • • • 79 Procedure ••••••••••••• • • Vocational counseling - catalytic pre- condition ••••••••••••• Test materials used ••••••••• Group studied • • • • • • • • • • • • FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FRO PROFESSIONAL • • • • • • HO ES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 79 80 83 91 V. FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FRO NAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO ES • • • • • • • • • • • 112 VI. FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HOMES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 130 CHAPTER PAGE . . VII. FINDINGS REGARD! G BOYS FRO SKILLED HO S • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • VIII. FINDI GS REGARD! G BOYS FRO SE I-SKILLED HO s . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • IX. FINDINGS REGARD! G BOYS FRO UNSK~LED HO ES •••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • X. FINDINGS REGARD! G HITE ca.,LAR AND NUAL HO BACKGROUNDS A m SP IRATIO S • • • • XI. FINDI GS REGARD! G THE TOTAL S LE • • • • XII. SU ARY OF FIND! GS, CO CLUSIO S AND RECO ENDATIO S ••• • • • • • • • • • • 148 162 176 190 229 251 Summ ry or findings. • • • • • • • • • • 251 Conclusion • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • R commendation BIEL IOGRAP HY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 267 279 282 I .. LIST OF TAELES TABLE I. Total Sample • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • II. L v l of Occup tional Aspiration (Boys from Protea 1onal Hom s) • • • • • • • • • • • III. Ability Factor Associated 1th Aspirations for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boys from P rofeesional Homes • • • • • • • • • • • IV. Inter st Factor A soo1ated 1th A pir t1ons or Socio- conomic ob111ty - Boys from Prot s 1onal Home • • • • • • • • • • • v. Temp rament F ctors Associated 1th Aspiration for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boys from Pro essional Homes • • • • • • VI. L v 1 or Occupational A p1ration (Boys from PAGE 95 100 104 106 107 anag rial nd Official Homes • • • • • • 114 VII. Ability Factors Associated 1th Aspirations for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boys from 1 anagerial and Official Homes • • • • • • 118 VIII. Interest Factor Associated with Aep1rat1one . for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boys from Managerial and Official Homes • • • • • • IX. Temperament Factors Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic Mobility - 122 Boys from Managerial and Official Homes . 123 TABLE x. Level of Occupational Aspiration (Boys from Clerical and Kindred Home • • • • • • • 1~2 XI. Ability F ctors Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic obility - Boys from Clerical and Kindr d Homes • • • • • • • 136 XII. Interest Factor Associated 1th Aspirations for Soc1o-ecnnom1o obil1ty - Boys from Cl r1cal and Kindred Homes • • • • • • • 140 XIII. Temperament Factors Associated 1th A p1rat1ons for Socio- conomic obility - Boys from Clerical and Kindred Homes • • 141 XIV. L v 1 or Occupational Aspiration {Boys from Skilled Homes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • xv. Ability Factors Associated 1th Aspirations for Soc1o-ooonom1c ob111ty - Boys from 150 Skilled Homes. • • • • • • • • • • • • • 154 XVI. Interest Factor Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boys from Skilled Homes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 156 XVII. Temperament Factors Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic ability - Boys from Skilled Homes. • • • • • • • • 157 XVIII. Level or Occupational Aspiration (Boys fro v11 PAGE S mi- kill d Homs. • • • • • • • • • • 164 XIX. Ability Factor Associat d 1th A pir tion for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boys from Semi- kill d Homs • • • • • • • • • • • xx. Interest Factor Associated 1th A pir tion for Soc1o-aoonom1c ob111ty - Boys tram Semi- killed Homs. • • • • • • • • • • XXI. Temp rament Factors A oc1at d 1th A p1rat1ons for Socio- oonom1c obility - 168 170 Boys from Semi-skilled Homes. • • • • • 171 XXII. L v 1 of Occupational Aspiration (Boys from Unskilled Homes • • • • • • • • • • • • XXIII. Ability Factors Associated 1th Aspirations for Socio-economic l obil1ty - Boys from 178 Unskilled-Homes • • • • • • • • • • • • 182 XXIV. Interest Factor Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic obility - Boys from Unskilled- Homes • • • • • • • • • • • • 184 X:XV. Temperament Factors Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boye from Unskilled Homes • • • • • • • 185 TAELE PAGE XXVI. DistributLon of Boys from White Collar - Homes ho Aspire to White Collar Occupations (R lative Stability) • • • XXVII. Distribution of Boys from White Collar Homes who Aspire to anual Occupations (Do nward obllity) • • • • • • • • • • XXVIII. Distribution or Boys from anual Home ho Aspire to Manual Occupations (Relative Stability) • • • • • • • • • XX.DC. Distribution of Boys from anual Homs who Aspire to White Collar Occup tions • (Upward ob1lity) • • • • • • • • • • • x.xx.. Ability Factors Associated 1th Aspirations for Socio-economic obility - Boys from White Collar Homes • • • • • • • • • • XXXI. Ability Factors Associated 1th Aspirations for Socio-economic M obility - Boys from Manual Homes • • • • • • • • • • • • • XXXII. Ability Factors Associated 1th Aspiration for Socio-economic ~ob111ty - Boys from White Collar Homes Compared 1th Boys from Manual Homes • • • ~ • • • • • • • 193 194 195 196 2 ' 206 208 ix TABLE PAGE XXXIII. Interest Factor Associated with Aspirations for Soo1o-econom1c ob111ty - Boys from White Collar Homes. • • • • 212 XXXIV. Interest Factor Associated 1th Aspirations for Soc1o-econom1c ob111ty - Boys from -anua.l Homes. • • • • • • • 213 XXXV. Interest Factor Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic ob111ty - Boys from White Collar Homes Compared 1th Boys from anual Homes • • • • • 214 XXXVI. Temperament Factors Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic 1 ob111ty - Boys from White Collar Homes. • • • • 216 XXXVII. Temperament Factors Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic obil1ty - Boys from Manual Homes. • • • • • • • 219 XXXVIII. Temperament Factors Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic Mobility - Boys from White Collar Homes Compared with Boys from anual Homes • • • • • 221 XXXIX . Distribution of Boys with Aspirations for Up a rd - ob 111 t y • • • • • • • • • • • 2 30 X TABLE PAGE XL. Di tr1but1on or Boys with Aspirations tor Stability. • • • • • • • • • • • • 233 XLI. Di tr1but1on of Boys 1th Aspirations tor Downard obllity. • • • • • • • • 2;4 XLII. Ability Factors Assoo1at d 1th Aspirations for Socio- conom ic ob111ty - Total Sample • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 239 XLIII. Interest Factor Associated with Aspirations for Socio-economic ob111ty - Total Sample • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 243 XLIV. Tem peram nt Factors As oc1ated with Aspirations for Socio-econom ic ability - Total Sample • • • • • • • • • • • • • 244 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1 . ean Scores ot Boy from Prof ss1on 1 Hom 8 • • 101 2 . ean Scor s of Boy rom nag r1 l nd Official Home • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 115 3. ean Scores of Boys from Clerical nd K1ndr d Homes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 133 4. ean Score ot Boy from s 1lle om • • • • 151 5. an Scor s of Boy fro s 1- 111 d Ho • • 165 6. an Scores of Boy fro Unsk1ll Ho s • • • 179 7. ean Scores of Total roup (Ho s D s1gnat d as it Collar or anual) • • • • • • • • • 198 8. ean Scores of Total Sampl • • • • • • • • • • 237 CH.APTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Research on th subJeot or social olass and mov - ment from one status level to another has attracted much attention in educational and psychological circles parti cularly since the reports of th Yanke City Series ere published.1,2,3,4 Such studies hav demonstrat d to many educators that a knowl dge ot socio-economic background opens up a new dim ns1on in th und rstanding or th indi vidual. It 1 1n the hope that on phas of th1 subj ct will lend its lf to quantitative study that the present study ha been attempted. I. THE PROBLE Statement 21: the 2robl~m. The present study is 1 w. Lloyd arner and Paul s. Lunt, Social Life or ~ · odern Community, (Yankee City Series, Vol. l. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1941), 460 pp. 2 • Lloyd arner and Paul s. Lunt, Status System g,! ~ odern Communitf, (Yankee City Series, Vol. 2. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1942), 246 pp. 3 • Lloyd Warner and Leo Srole, Social Sy:stems g,! American Ethnic Groups, (Yankee City Series, Vol. 3. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1945), 318 pp. 4 W. Lloyd Warner and J. 0. Lo , Social §xsteq.i g,! the Modern Factory, {Yankee City Series, Vol. 4. · New Haven: Ya1e·un1vers1ty Press, 1947), 245 pp. designed to l arn ho the adol scent boy who plans to ork at the same occupational level as his father differs from the on who plans to work at a different lev 1. or spe c1t1cally, the study inv st1gat s heth r there ar abil ity, temperament,-and int rest d1ff rence associated 1th aspirations for socio-economic mobility as measured by occupational goals. Further, it atte pts to det rmin hath r uch d1t r nc s v~ry 1th the occupational 1 vel or th boy' hom. n atte pt 111 b ma to charact r1z th boy 1th aspirations for socio-economic eta 11ity, the on 1th aspirations tor oc1o- cono 1c up ard obility, and the one 1th aspirations for socio-economic don ard mobility, int of his ability, temperament and int r- 2 est. In short, the study investigates the relationship of various factor to aspirations for socio-economic mobility . Importanc~ of the 2roblem. A revie of the litera ture indicates that no comparable tudy has been done . Th partial filling of that gap in the kno ledge about mobility should hav several values. It 111 aid in the overall problem of greater understanding of the individual by help ing to determine hat factors are associated with the occu pational level of his home and 1th hie level of occupa tional aspiration. Tot achers dealing with students of various soo1o- eoonom1c levels such a study should be particularly helpful 3 since b tt r und r tanding or the child' adjustment might b expected to com trom being bl to tim t his s1m1- ' lari ty to and d1tter nc s from not only th " verag .. boy but the typical boy of h1 socio- conom1c b ckground. It should help coune lore to understand th kind or person ho express mobility a p1rat1on since it 111 provide norma- tive data h retofore lacking. It 1 hoped that ome light mi ht be thro non th more g n ral problem of und r t nding the natur or voe - tional sp1rat1on. To understand ore completely HO piree to mobility hould be a first step in understanding HY h aspir s to mobility. If it is b 11 v d that 11 b h vier is caue d, the roots of motivation must b found in the ability, t mperament and interest of the roups being considered. By this tudy it may be possible to mak tentativ evaluation of the Job that society in general--and the schools in particular--are oing in sel cting out th most promising for upward mobility and the least promising for . don ard mobility. It 1s not meant that the school are directly making the choices in this study since the cri terion is the boy's stated aspiration but, since it may be assumed that the total environment played some part 1n the boy's development, the achools--and particularly the guidance program--mu t assume some responsibility for the 4 appropriateness of the aspirations of its students . Still more indirectly this study may have value as a partial measure of the worth hileness of the vocational counseling of thee boys . Again it 1s emphasized that the aspirations of the boy and not the Judgements of his coun s lor are being studied, ho ever one purpose of counseling ould seem to b to move aspirations in the direction of realism. If fe or no differences in ability, temperament ... and interest are found among those from a given home statue ho aspire to higher, the same, or lo r occuoational levels, or if the differences found are contrary to hat is assumed to be sensible then certain negative indications regarding the value of counseling are suggested . This study is needed, then, to help assess the influence of socio-economic background on the individual, to help 1n understanding the nature of mobility aspira tions, to aid in understanding the extent to which society is properly screening those changing their socio-economic levels, and to aid in Judging hether counseling can be existing concurrently with patently inappropriate occupa tional aspirations. II. BRIEF STATE ENT OF THE PROCEDURE The procedure used in this study consists of exam ining the counseling records of all of the white , senior, 5 boys couns led by the Advi em nt Service or the Los Angeles City Schools during the school year 1950-51 and t sting the significance of differenc s 1n soor son ability, tempera m nt and inter st t sts of th three groups--those aspiring to up ard mobility, to stability, and to downward mobility . The sample wa further d limit d by u ing only those cas s wh re the boy indicat d a tentativ vocational obj ctive which th reby gave a measure of his occupational aspiration leve15 and as limited to those cases hr sufficient information about th occupation of the boy's "status parent" (usually the father) was obtained to make possible a Judgement ot th occupational level of his present home . High school seniors particularly fit the problem because they are at a point in their educational and voca tional development where they must make certain choices since their planning for post high school activity will be determined, to some extent, by their tentative long range goals. It as thought therefore that their stated voca tional aspirations might have more meaning than those given earlier in their school career. "White" boys were selected since the present culture 5 alter A. Lurie, "Estimating the Level of Voca tional Aspiration," Journal of Social Psychology, X (1939), 467-73. would se m to plac some artificial r strict1ons on the aspirations ot colored peopl and since white boys would better repr sent th majority group. 6 Boys were us d sine practically .all m n ork at Jobs outside the home 6 and since the socio-economic 1 vel of th family 1s u ually det rmined by the occupation of the male rath r than the female.7 Only student who h d xp r1enoed vooatlonal coun s ling were included inc it as assumed that after such an experience the tudent ould hav maximum freedom of choic --tr edo bas don gr at r knowl dg ot hims lf and knowl dg of th br adth and r quir ments of the orld at work. This assumption 1 in ccord with the desirable goals ot coun eling a u ually outlin d. These ca s er tir t divid d according to the occupational level of the father and then further separated according to th vocational objective of the son. In this way, for each level or parent occupation those boys ere select d who stated aspirations for upward mobility into a higher level than their father, those who aspired to .. 6 Gunnar yrdal, An American Dilemma - The Negro Pr9blem and pd rn Democracy (Ne York: Harper and Brothers, 1947), 1024 pp. 7 arner and Lunt, 2,2. cit., Vol. 1, 422. stability at the same lev 1 and those who aspired to down ward mobility to occupations at a low r 1 v 1. Th s thr e groups at each level were then examined with r gard to scores on tests measuring eight ab111ty factors, t n temperament factors, and one inter st factor. T sts re made of the significance of d1tt rences 1n these factor among the three groups at eaoh parent occupation 1 v 1. Further comparisons were made by grouping c rtain 1 vel to divide all occupations into to cat gor1es - 11 hit collar 0 Jobs and "manual" Jobs. Fin lly, all boys re combined into their major 1nclus1 e categories, up ard mobile, stable, and do nward mobile. Findings are interpreted in such a ay that both 7 the scores found and the s1gnif1canc of the d1ff reno in scores are used to characterize the various groups. By this method an attempt 1s made to picture the relation or mobility aspiration to ability, temperament and interest. The instruments used are all widely used standard ized tests which will be described at a greater length in Chapter III h1ch will also give more details about the vocational counseling process which preceeded the statement by the boys of their vocational aspirations and 111 en large this brief statement of the procedure followed. III. DEFINITION OF TE S USED T rms 1n this study h1ch call for clarification 1nolud "raotors, 11 "aspiration, .. "socio-economic," "mo- .. . . bility," "white collar," "manual" and" hite." 8 Factors. "Factors" is used 1th to meanings. For the most part it ref rs to "elements" and of course has no implication or causation necessarily involved. B caus or the nature of some of the instruments used, ho v r, the term "tactors" on occasion r fere to relatively ind pendent and pure measures or ability and temperament hich hav been isolated through factor analy 1s. The context m k clear h1ch use 1s intended. Aspiration. "Aspiration" is defined operationally in terms of the stated vocational objectives given by students after counseling. It is assumed that the stated vocational goal represents the occupational 1 vel of the student. This assumption 1s in accord with Hills 18 and Lurie's9 ork 1n measuring the level of aspiration. Socio-economic. The term 11 soc1o-eoonom1c 11 refers to - --- ................ iiii,iiiiio, ... 8 John Roy Hills, "The Exploration of an Inventory Technique for M asuring the Level of Aspiration," (unpub lished aster's thesis, The University of Southern Califor nia, Los Angeles, 1951J, P• 73. 9 Lurie, loo. cit. 9 tho combination ot social and economic taetors which d 1g te th t tus 1 1 ot individuals. In this study occupations r divided into the six point seal d vised by Alba Ed ard lO nd the umpt1on is mad that th1 is u tul though rough aaure ot OO10-economic status. Fur th r Juet1f1o tion of th1 a sumpt1on is pr s nted 1n the n xt ch pt r in th ection b ginning on page • For now 1t i sutt1c to a y that h n boy indicate th th spir s to a gi n occup tion 1t 1 assum d that h al o pir s to a 0010- conomic lev 1 charact r1 tic ot mot m mbere ot that occup t1on. It is turth r awned that an individual's socio- conomic status prov1d ea wor abl in dex ot his social cla po 1t1on. The limitations ot uch an assumption are developed later. ob111ty. 1 obil1ty 11 r ters to movement up or down the scale of occupations referr d to pr v1ously ash ving been developed by Ed ards. 11 11 Up ard mobility" refers to movement to a higher level, "tab111ty" to remaining at the same level, and "down ard mobility" to movement to a lower level. 10 Alba · • Edwards, ~opulation - Comp,.rative Occupa tion Statistics for the United States, !8701Q !24Q (Wash ington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1943), 206 pp. 11 Loe. cit. 10 White collar and anual. "White collar" occupations are occupations in the first thr levels or the Edwards' scale, which he designat s as professional, manag rial and ofticial, and clerical and kindred orkers. " anual" occu pations are those in the lat three lev le of the Ed ards' scale which he d eignates as skilled, semi~ illed, and un-skilled. This us ge 1s in accord 1th Cent r 1 2 and is further justified in the next cha.pt r. IV. ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATIO This chapter ha 1ntroduc d the study by di cu sing th nature or the probl m, establishing its importance, briefly tat1ng th procedure follo ed, and defining om ot th terms to be used. Chapter II r vi s the literature on socio-economic status particularly as it thro slight on th phenomena of mobility. Chapter III describes the vocational counseling process hich preceeded the statement of occupational as piration and details the instruments used and the design of the study. 12 Richard Centers, The fsychology 21. Social Classe~ (Princeton, Ne Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1949), p. 102. 11 Chapter IV through IX discuss th findings regard ing th ability, t mperament and int r t differ noes for the upward mobil, stable, and don ard mobile from ach or th six ocoupat1onal 1 v l of th Edwards' sc le, i.e. prot ssional, managerial and official, cl rical and kin dr d, skill d, semi-skilled, and un- kill d. Chapter X similarly discusses th differeno sap parent when th ix ola s ar grouped into to cat gor- 1 s--whit coll rand manual. Chapt r XI pr sents overall finding regarding th upward mobile, th stable, and th don rd mobil. Chapter XII ummar1z s the findings, states th conclusions and m akes r comm ndations bas don the study. CHAPTER II REV IE OF THE LITERATURE This chapter revie s the literature dealing with oc1o-econom1c tatus 1th particular reference to movement from on status position to another. Special attention is paid to studi s bearing on the us of occupation as an . indicator ot status and on mobility aspirations of adol s cents. I. SOCI O-ECO O IC STATUS St tus refers to the relation, primarily social and conom1c, of man to pecif1c group, of groups to other group, and ot populations to populations. It is a func tion of social space which has both vertical and horizontal dimensions. Thie space, ithin hich status is found, may be thought of as being stratified into classes definable in social, economic, political, or occupational terms. 1 Class is defined as "to or more orders of people who are believed to be, and are accordingly ranked by the members of the community, in socially superior and inferior pos1- 1 Pitrim Sorokin, Social obility (New York: Harper and Brother, 1927), 559 pp. 13 tions."2 The concept of socio-economic status, then refers to position within society which may b determined by a variety of factors of hich occupation is usually thought to be the most important and which itself determines how the individ ual will be thought about, treated, and behaved to ard.. Like 1s, status will, to some extent, determine his be- havior and his self-concept. History of the concept of status. The realization that a man's status is a dimension hich needs to be under stood it his behavior 1s to make sense is not a ne 1dea, although its educational and psychological implications are but recently being explored. Among earlier philosophers who dealt with the problem of status Plato and arx are out standing. Plato planned a differential education and ex pected differences in attitudes and behavior among his three classes--the common people, guardians, and soldiers.3 This seems to be an early recognition of the importance of occupation to the individual's self-concept and civic vision. Marx 1s another for whom class position is a key 2 W. Lloyd Warner and Paul s. Lunt, Social Life of ~ odern Community, (Yankee City Series, Vol. 1. New Haven: Ya.le University Press, 1941), p. 82. 3 Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy ( New York: Simon and Schus· ter, 1945), p. 109. 14 concept. H s emed to believe that occupation inevitably ould be accompanied by status-tinged attitudes and behav ior of so predictabl a nature that the future ot class interaction s certain as to its kind and its results. 4 Thee earlier think rs are mentioned to show that the con cept of status has roots d ep in our philosophical past and 1t r mains to s American thought. ho this idea has been manifested in American concepts. In America the concept of clas se ms to have gone through the following stages: {l) Early approaches, particularly (a) arxian, which detined status in rigidly and exclusively economic terms, and (b) the thinking stimulat d by Sorokin which broadened the concept to 1nolud political and social determinants, and (2) pr s ent approaches such as, (a) ideas stemming from the 1ddle to n studies h1ch tested preconceptions against car ful examination uf status realities in a particular community, (b) the approach through cultural anthropology of the Uni- versity of Chicago group under Warner which defines statue largely in terms of reputation, (c) other community studies such as Hollingshead's whose differences with arner seem largely in terms of more individual research and greater 4 Loo. cit. 15 integration of field ork and interpretation, and (d) cla studies based on occupation and more measurable symbols of socio- conomic status.5 In discussing the early approaches the work or Vebl n and Sorokin need particular mention. Veblen, 6 like rx, saw dangers in a money-oriented society. He dist1n gu1 hed between "practical men" li~e engineers and crafts men hose oooupations focused their attention on production and business men hose occupations focused their attention on conspicuous consumption. The former had a "radical" viewpoint regarding socio-economic problems; the latter upported the status guo. Sorokin. Sorokin attempted to trace the action ot mobility through societies from the earliest to the present . He visioned the economic, political, and economic strata as three cones hose shapes shifted as their bases broad ened or narro ed and as their vertical dimension lengthened or shortened. By and large any individual's position in one cone ould correspond roughly with his position 1n another although there is not always a direct relationship . 5 M ilton M . Gordon, "social Class in American Soci ology," American Journal of Sociology, LV (November, 1949) , 262-266. 6 Harold J. Laski, The American Democrac1 (New York: Viking Press, 1948), p. 43S. 16 He found that the d gr or social strat1fioat1on as a tunct1on or th 1z of the group and its increasing hater- og n 1ty. ob1lity, ioh might occur with individuals or groups, s emed to follo no observable pattern but 1ncr as ed or diminish d according to many variables. No long range trend 1th regard to mobility is apparent though it appeared that different factors made for mobility at dif fer nt period 1n history. Sorokin's contribution to the cone pt of tatus was to give an historical perspective by an xamination ot many societies throughout history. Be cause of the grandeur or his attempt his conclusions seem, on occasion, to be less rigorously supported than that of present day orkers who attempt less but achieve, 1th1n their limited trame of endeavor, more.7 These earlier riters ere more concerned 1th hypo thesizing class differences than in measurement of the actual presence or class phenomena. In discussing present approaches to the concept of social class it seems noteworthy that the differences are largely in terms of specific techniques of measurement. Agreement is general that there are status levels which are associated with occupation, income level and style of 7 Sorokin, 2!2.• c1t. I 17 living. For the most part the multi-dim n 1onal natur of status is assumed although one det rminant may be us d as an indioator of the class position. The ex1 tenoe or social class seems no longer controversial but th 1nd1c - tors and implications are still being explored. From Lynd, to arner, to Centers the trend has been one of con tantly more exact and scientifically defensible ma ure of class characteri tics. ft r this bri f overv1 worth concept ot tatu sit has changed over the years it i no tim to xam1n various m thods of measuring st tus curr ntly employed. uripg status. Present m th- ode of measuring class status may be divided into fiv groups: (1) those dependent upon specific scales usually d signed to measure 'style of life', (2) those dependent upon variations 1n the social population of hich the indi- . v1dual 1s a part, (3) those dependent upon the reputation of the individual and the concomitants found to be associ ated with that reputation, (4) those dependent upon the individual's self-ooncept, and (5) those dependent upon th individual's occupation. In revie ing specific scales designed to measure socio-economic status it 1s found that many investigators have approached this problem in various ways, all of which 18 rely on m asuring factors associated 1th the home. Finch and Ho hn 8 mention Engel's weighting system which arrives at ttet'fective family income" which in turn is the basis . . used to dete- rmine status, Perry' e mann r of living index hich concerns itself less with how much can be spent and more with ho it 1s spent, the h1tt1er Hom Scale hich also considers manner of living but includes a consid ra tion of material items, Chapin's Social Statue Scale h1ch arrive at statue by a consideration of possessions only, Skodak's Home Practises Inventory hich again 1s a manner of' living approach, K rr-Rem er's American Home Scale hich gives scores in the aesthetic, cultural, and economic ar as and combines them to arrive at th family's status, and Sim's Score Card hich is primarily a tool to measure economic factors as a clue to status. These scales have in common fairly specific methods of arriving at status but may be measuring factors from which it might be difficult to generalize since they ee m to take little account of the civic and occupational life of the individual. A very short (21 item) scale for the measurement of social status hich correlates highly with previously men- 8 F. H. Finch and A. J. Hoehn, "Measuring Socio Economic or Cultural Status: A Comparison of ethods," Journal Qf §oc1al Ps1cholpg1, XX.XIII (1951), 51-67. I 19 t1oned scales has b n d veloped by Gough.9 thod or social areas. The Haynes Foundation study or social ar as . in Los AngeleslO 1s primarily concern d 1th th ma urement ot th rank or various neighborhoods and cons qu ntly consid rs not only the social status of th inhabitants but th area's degr or urbanization (as me surd by age tructure. physical character ot th ar a, differ nee inf rti11ty of the inhabitants and the pr cent ge of women employ d) and its d gree or segr gation ( s hon by th presence ot minority group memb r ). It is enough to note that in measuring the social rank or the individual it consid rs their income 1 vel, amount ot schooling, nd occupations. This is an xample of a multi factor approach to status possible in ell-supported soci ological research. ethod or the Ch1~ago school. arner is the leader of the group hich detines status in terms of reputation and consequently is most vulnerable to attack on the basis of the need for proper sampling hich 1s necessary in all 9 Harrison G. Gough, "A Short Social Status Inven tory," Journ~}. 2f Educational Psychology, XL (January, 1949), 52-5b. 10 Eehref Shevky and ~ ar1lyn 1111ams, The Social Areas of Los Angel~s (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1949), 121 pp. 20 opinion surveys. At the beginning or his field work in Yankee City he used the following techniqu s to arrive at an stimate or status: 1nterv1 s, observation, question naires, cas histories, geneolog1 s, ne paper ocount, and surveys.11 From an analysis of his data the Chicago school ha dev lop d to some hat interrelated m thods or ma uring status. 12 The method or Evalu ted Participation i depend ent upon hat 1 said about the individual by informants. Status placement is arrived at through th follo ing ix thod: (1) matched agreements hich tit n individual into a completely described over-all class sy tam, (2) symbolic placements which may b (a) symbolism by tructure such as refer nee to membership 1n a particular family or church, ( b) regional symbolism such as reference to "Nob Hill" or "the wrong side of the tracks," or (c) trait sym bolism such as .reference to "the 400, 11 (3) status reputa tion hich is dependent upon direct placement rather than more indirect symbolic placement, (4) rating by comparison with those hose position is already known, (5) simple 11 Warner and Lunt, 522. cit., p. 45. 12 w. Lloyd Warner, March1a eeker, and Kenneth Eells, Social Class in America (Chicago: Science Research Associates, Inc., 1949), 261 pp. 21 class assignment, (6) rating by institutional membership. By a combination or the above methods the over-all class structure of the community 1s determ1n d and the status ot various 1nd1v1duals 1s made known. The exact layers of this class structure vary from community to com munity but mayo made up of the upper-uppers (aristocracy), lower-uppers (then wly rich), upper-middles (very well otf), lo r-m1 dles (respectable craftsmen and clerical workers), upper-lo rs (respectable manual orkere), lo er lo rs ( 11 rift-raff"). This structure provides a basis for a simpler method of tatu determination. This other method, which is also traceable to arner, 1s the Ind.ex o! Status Characteristics. This index arrives at a person's status by consid ring his occupation, source of income, house type, and d ell1ng area. These factors are weighted 1th the occupation being considered most im portant. While these two methods of Warner's have the ad vantage of recognizing the multi-dimensional nature of status they are difficult to apply and may suffer from the evils of any opinion poll method since the reliability of a reputation is no better than the sampling which produced it. Method of Centers. Another approach to status de- -------- termination which 1s particularly used by sociologists is / 22 the method ot self assignment to class. This technique, which would seem to have its roots 1n th arxian id a ot class consciousness, 1s best exemplified by the ork ot Centers. 1 3 This m thod con ists in careful polling pro cedures wher people are first asked directly to indicat which ot four class a they belong to. The meaning of mem bership 1n one or these four class s (upper, middle, ork ing, and lo r) is then further examined by studying the individual's att1tud sand behavior. Cent r' ork 1s distinguished by caretul ampling t chn1qu sand by his gathering of data to test the hypothesis that attitude and values differ at the various class level • He found, as did Warner, that occupation as the most important single indicator of status. Centers reserves the term class for groups unified by 'cla s consciousness' and says, Social and economic groupings and categories of people dist1ngu1 had on the basis of occupation, po er, income, standard of living, education, function, intelligence or other criteria are 14 easily and properly denoted by the term strata. If this definition is accepted practically all of the class research becomes 'strata' research since most investigators 13 Richard Centers, I~e Peycholpgy .2..f. Social Claese@ (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1949) , 219 pp. 14 Ibid., P• 27. ,., have explored ditferences on a material level and not in terms ot feelings and attitudes. 23 ethod of occupation. The thread which runs through most or the mentioned methods is the consid ration given to occupation. It 1s apparent to all th t hat a man do a for a living deter.mines to some extent the pre pt1on that others have of him and the on hich h h ot hims lf. 1th the exception of the us rs of status cales, all rec- ognize the importance of occupation as statu d t in nt which 1s quite direct and which 1 mor important than any other item. Occupations, hen used a indicator ot socio-eco nomic statu, may be clas 1f1 din various ay. Classifi cations based on occupation r ard may consid r only money re ards but usually combine money and other re ards by scaling based on people's opinion of the pr 1g of vari- ous Jobs. Counts did early ork in this area hile more recent scales have been developed by Sims 1 5 and Hatt. 16 orking conditions may also be oonsid rd an a pct of 15 Verner M. Sims, "A Technique for easuring Social Class Identification." Educational and Psijhological eae urement, XI, Part I, ( inter, 1951), 541- • 16 Paul K. Hatt, "Occupation and Social Stratifica tion," American Journal of Sociology, LV ( ay, 1950), 533. 24 reward and classifications bas don this variabl • 17 Classitioation mploying occupation l rer qu1s1t s are exampl1t1ed by the one d veloped by Goodenough and Anderson. 18 ethod gt Edward. Class1t1cation mploying occu pational duties have been most carefully and syst matically developed. The system embodied in the Dict1onarx .2! Qccu pational Titles 1s the most inclu 1ve or all but has th disadvantage of be- ing prepared for pl c ent or er nd hence 1s not concerned 1th the relative tatus of th occu pations considered. 1 9 Thi defect 1 rem did by th lba Edwards' scale which alters the cla 1f1cat1on of th Die- tionary 2! Occupational Titl 1n such aw y that it forms a scale of occupations which can be validated by ret r nee to the income and educational level of the orkers at th various levels. Although Edwards' grouping is based on the United States Employment Service categories he points out the need for the changes he made: 17 St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Clayton, Black Metropolis (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1945), p. 217. 18 Hatt, 22• cit. 19 Dictionary 2! qccupation~l Titles, Vol. 1, Pre pared by Division of Ocoupat1onal Analysis - United States Employment S rv1c, ( ash1ngton, D.C.: United States Gov ernment Printing Off1c , 1949), 1518 pp. In the Standard Occupational Classit1cat1on which, w1th some modifications, was adopted for use at the 1940 census, 9 maJor occupation groups re place the large industrial divisions which since 1870 had formed the main industrial framework or the census occupation class1t1cation. These 9 major occupation groups--increased to 11 in the census olass1f1cat1on--represent a real scientific ad vance in occupation classitioation. Several of them are really social-economic groups, since the occupations claesifi d under each of them are pur sued by workers in the same social-economic class. Unfortunately, others or the major occupation groups are not really social-economic groups, since, in the case of each of them, the orkers in the occupations included do not form a homogeneous social- conom1c class. This is particularly true of each of the threes rvice group --"Domestic service work rs," '?rotective serv1c orkers," and "service workers, except domestic and protec tive. •20 ~ Edward' Scale is best described in his own ords: The occupations of the orkers in the labor force of the United States have been arranged in the following groups: 1. Professional persons 2. Proprietors, managers, and ott1c1ale: 2-a. Farmers (0 ners and tenants) 2-b. holesale and retail dealers 2-c. Other proprietors, managers, and officials 3. Clerks and kindred orkers 4. Skilled workers and foremen 5. Semiskilled workers 6. Unskilled workers: 6-a. Farm laborers 6-b,c. Laborers, except farm 6-d. Servant classes 20 Alba M . Ed ards, Population - Comparative Ocou eat1on Statistics for the United States, 187012 1240 ( ashington: United States Government Printing Offic, 1943), pp. 175-76. 25 The compo 1t1on ot groups 1 and 2, above, probably is uftio1ently clear. Clerks and kindred work rs--group 3--a the so-called h1te-collar wor r • Th y ar th clerical assistant to ex· ecutiv s, ott1o1 le, and business and prore sional men. They do the otfic ork, typ the letters, ep the record and accounts, and ans r the t 1 - phone. They t nd th stores and the shop, s 11 commoditi s, 1n ur nee, r ale tat, and secur1t1 s, coll ct bill, carry the mail, and transmit mes sag by t l gr_ph, telephone, n radio. In fact, they do all th variou typ of cl r1cal and kin dred ork. Group 4- cludes tor uch a blac m chini ts, Skill d orker n and the follo 1th , carp nt tc. and foremen"--in- rs of s 111 d trades, re, electricians, S mi kill d ork rs--group 5--includ appr n tic s, machin teoo. r, or ere 1n th ne dl trades, chauff urs, motormen, del1v en, etc. Unskill d work r --group 6- includ the labor ers a the diff r nt e M r,t clas e • A cl a 1f1cat1on of all ork rs by kill, if it could be mad, ould be v ry us ful; but a com plete clase1t1oat1on by skill is impossible, 1nce many occup tions do not lend themselves to such a class1f1cat1on. Inda d, none or the strictly pro fee ional, proprietary, oft1c1al, managerial, or cl r1cal pursuits lends itself readily to a class1- r1cation by skill; and it is doubtful whether any of them may b properly so clas itied, s1noe 1n none of them is skill or manual d xter1ty the chief characteristic. In fact, it 1s believed that only those occupations in hich the expenditure of mus cular force 1s an important character1st1o can be properly classified by skill. h1le it 1s plainly impossible to draw a hard and fast line between those occupations characterized principally by the exercise of muscular torce or manual dexterity and those characterized chiefly by the exercise ot mental force or ingenuity--or bet een hand workers and head workers--1t is believed that such a line of demarcation may be drawn sutf1c1ently exact for the distribution of the orkers into the broad 26 social-economic groups named above. The grouping hr present dis not bas don skill, exc pt in the case of th manual pursuits- groups 4, 5, and 6--most or which pursuits my be mor or less r dily cla s1ti d by skill. Thos manual pursu1ts--usually not routine-- re considered 111 d for the pursuance of hich a long period of training or an appr ntio ship u u lly is nee sary, and hich in their pursuance call for a high degr ot Judgment and of manual dexterity, on or both, and tor ability to work with a minimum of sup rvision and to ex rc1 er sponsibil1ty for v lu ble product and equipment. Thoe manual pur u1ts--u ually routin -- r con aid rd semiskilled tor the pur uance of hich only a short period or no p r1od of pr liminary training usually is nee s ary, and hich in their pursuanc usu lly call for the exerc1s or only a mod rat d gree of Judgment or of manual d xterity, and hich usually call for the expenditure of only a mod rate degre ot muscular fore. Un killed occupations are oonsid red to in clude those manual pursuits--usually routin --for the pursuance ot which no special training, Judg ment, or manual d xter1ty usually is necessary, and in which the ork rs u ually supply mainly muscular force for the p~rtormance of coarse, heavy ork, or 1 for the performance of services--usually persona1. 2 · 27 Justification for his breakdown of occupations is given in supporting tables which sho th income and education or members or the six groups. 22 Summary of present methods. Before discussing in mor detail the uses to which Ed ards' scale has b en put 21 Ibid., p. 176. 22 Ibid., p. 181. 28 it may be well to summarize this section or th r view or the literature. Five methods ourr ntly 1n use ot class1- fying individuals a to their socio-economic status have b n review d. The first consisted ot m thods d p nd nt upon soal s applied to the possession ot material goods and general style of living. Thea systems suffer from ig noring that part ot lite ·repr sented by the man at ork. Th second as a method exemplified by th technique used in the Haynes Foundation study and 1s mor appropriat in cl ssitying the status of an area than an individual. The third, arner's m thod of Evaluated Participation and In dex of Status Characteristics, calls ror careful techniques or cultural anthropology nd systematic sampling and hence is applicable only in a fe commun1t1 s. The fourth, Cen ters' method, depends on a concept or class consciousness hich calls for opinion polling techniques but suggests that occupation by itself is a reasonably good measure of strata. The fifth method consisted of various class1f1oa t1ons based on the occupation of the individual. Since nearly all of the pr vious methods gav most weight to occupation it is in this group that the most promising ap proach lies. It as found that the Ed ards' scale has the advantage of being validated against th education and in come ot the members of the various occupational levels. Apparently it makes no gr at differ nc wh t index io socio-economic strat1f1cat1on one mplo7s-- hether it 1s occupational, economic, or pow r stra t1f'icat1on--th r eul ting relation hips to · · cla att111at1on and politico- conom1c attitude ar 1n all respects quite slmilar.23 29 Because it has b en tound th t various paths all lad to the same goal ot t tus 1dentif1oat1on C nters s ms right in saying Occupation m g n rally agr ed upon as th most satisfactory ingle ind x of trata, probably be cau it 1 mor obJ ctive than conom1c st tu (which dep n s to a c rtain xtent on a rat r's Judgm nt) and i mor easily and reliably asc r tain d than 1ncome. 2 It but remains to det in h1ch cla 1f1cation or occu- pat1ons is th b st to use in det rmining t tu and trom an examination of the alternatives it appears that the Edwards' scale has th advantage of being r lated to the method used 1n the D1ct1onar1 of Occupational Titles, h1ch is most widely kno n, and has the additional advantage of D 1ng validated in terms of income and education h1ch themselves are 1dely used as determinants of socio-econo mic status. Another ay to test the value of the Edwards' scale 1s to examine the purposes to which it has been put. 23 Centers, 22• cit., p. 109. 24 Centers, 2.2.• cit., p. 15. I f r1viou1 __ u_s ___ or. .... t ... h ... e Ed_a __ r_d_s' .§.2.ale. Edwards him- self makes reference to some early uses of his scale. Among the agencies and individuals that have us d the grouping, either directly or in a modified form, are the following: Agencies: Works Progress Ad.ministration. United States Employment Service. National Resources Committee. Central Statistical Board (since July 25, 1940, Division of Statistical Standard, Bureau of the Budget). Department of the Interior. Public Health Service. National Unemployment Census. National Industrial Conference Board. National Tuberculous Association. Individuals: Anderson and Davidson-- Occupational ob111ty in an American Community. Occupational Trends in the United States • . Young, Gillin, and Dedrick- The Madison Community. Lorimer and Osborn- Dynamics of Population. Truesdell-- The Canadian Born in the United States. Woytinsky-- Labor in the United States. 2 5 30 The best known of these is the Davidson and Anderson study which examines the amount and kind of social mobility in small California community. The authors conclude that the scale provides a useful though rough index of socio-econom- 25 Edwards,~• cit., p. 182 I . 1c st tus. 26 ore recent users include Centers ho also x mine mobility and uses as partial Justification for hi . mploym nt ot Ed ards' cale the fact that the pioneer work ot Davidson and Anderson in mobility w a based on thi cla -sification. 2 7 ulligan examined the influence of the G.I. Bill on c· ~1eg enrollment by classification ot tu- d nt and gen r l population in the state of Indiana ac cord.1ng to Edwards' cale. 28 Lipset and B nd1x used the Ed rd' seal in studying the mobility of about a thousand work rs in th Oakland area 1n to recent articlee. 2 9, 30 Their ork cast some doubt on the advisability ot using occupation as a class determinant if certain attitud sand behavior from the various classes ar assumed sine thy 26 Percy E. Davidson and H. De ey Anderson, Occup~ t1onal ob1i1ty .!,n fill American Community (Palo Alto, Cal if.: Stanford University Press, 1937), p. 9. 27 Richard Centers, "Occupational ob111 ty of Urban Occupational Strata," American Sociological Rev1e , XIII (April, 1948), 198. 28 Raymond A. Mulligan, "socio-Economic Background and College Enrollment," American Sociological R view, XVI (April, 1951), 188-96. 29 Seymour M. L1pset and Reinhard Bendix, "Social obility and Occupational Career Patterns--!. Stability ot Jobholding," Amer19~D Journ~l Q.f. Sociology, LVII (January, 1952), 366-74. 30 Seymour M. Lipset and Reinhard Bendix, "Social obilitJ and Occupational Career Patterns--!!. Social Mo bility, Amer1can Journal Q!. s021oios1, LVII ( arch, 1952), 494-504. 32 d1scov rd much mobility and hence concluded that it was unlikely that the present Job ot any individual could be used as a relatively permanent measure of his position in th social heirarohy.~ 1 The most recently noted use ot the Edward' scale is in a study which finds a relation between the occupational level of the home and the intelligence ot the childr n.3 2 These uses have in common the beli f of th 1r authors that the Edwards' scale is a useful tool which indicates in a general ay the eoc1o-eoonom1c status ot family me bers when they are classified according to the occup tion ot the tatue parent. In the light or this evidence it would seem that Ed ards as right in concluding: Th for going discussion indicates that, as a rule, th social-economic groups as here presented may be used safely as a scale for the approximate measurement of census occupation data. It is plain, ho ever, that when over 52,000,000 workers are grouped into only 6 groups the groups will not be perfectly clear-cut and distinct. The groups will, at b st, be somewhat general, with some overlapping of groups, and with a considerable range in the social-economic status of the workers included in each group. And it is quite evident that statistics. 31 Lipset and Bendix, QI?.• cit., Part I, p. 367. 32 il11am H. Sewell and Bertram L. Ellenbogen, "Soc t 1 Status and the easured Intel 11gence of Small City and Rural Children," American Sociological Review, XVII (October, 1952), 612-16. .- r sulting from this, or trom any similar grouping, will in vitably b ffect d by any inaccuracies and by any lack of homogen ity in th original d ta.33 The adole recognition of statu. In estab- 33 11sh1ng th pr a nee ot social olass one of the important qu tions was to explore its recognition by young rm mb r of the community. Stendl r3 4 seems to hav made the mot yet matic study of the stages in awareness of ocial cla • She found thre stags 1n thi proces: stage of pr -aw r ness which continued up to ag (2) th stag of b ginnings of awareness trom ag (1) the ight, nin to t elve, and (3) th stag ot acceptance or adult st reo types trom ages twelve on. Although hr inv stigation as confined to children in the first eight grad a of school he found some recognition of individual diff reno s con tradicting the stereotypes. In general, her findings sup- port thos ho have re-done the Counts' study on the rela- tive status of occupations, in that adolescents indicate rather complete a aren es that different occupations carry with them different soc1o-eoonom1c positions. 33 Edwards, .Q.2• cit., p. 182. 34 C 11a Burns Stendler, "Children of Brassto n," Un1v~rs1tI 2.f Illinois Bulletin, XLVI, #59, (Urbana, Illi nois: University of Illinois Press, April, 1949), 101 pp. 34 C nt rs35 studied high school students to learn that in general their class 1dentit1cat1on relat d to th 1r fathers' occupation much as 1t does tor the adults th m- selves except that the lo er class children and th girls were somewhat inclined to upgrade their tatus. The class students working 1th arn r hav us d adolescents a informants and oGuir 36 throughout mak plain that these youths recognize difference in socio economic status as they relate to oocupations and similar factors. General evaluation of research on socio- conom1o ---- ____ .......,_ - ----------- - ------ ---------- status. arner's scheme of arriving at class level has it been most penetratingly criticized particularly by sociolo gists who believe that the methods or cultural anthropology are not suitable for dealing with what they fe 1 is pri marily a soo1olog1cal probl m. Centers voices the most common complaint that if arner considers statue as a public opinion phenomena then his sampling must be adequate to measure public opinion. 35 Richard Centers, "social Class Identifications of American Youth," Journal of ~ersonality, XVIII (1950), 290-302. 36 Carson McGuire, "Adolescent Society and Social ob111ty," (unpublished Doctor' a dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1949), 457 pp. 35 In the past, Centers believes, it has been inadequate in thi regara..37 Goldschmidt points out that America 1s not primarily orient d to ard the c~mmunity--the center of Warner's study--but to ard occupation and, therefore, the conclu sions dra n from a specific area may not be applicable be yond that place.38 Pfautz Joins in the above objections and adds more sp c1f1o reservations. He points out that the reliability of the method of Evaluated Participation is not kno n. 1th regard to the Index of Status Characteristics, he be lieves that conclusions about the house type and d ell1ng area must be based on subjective judgments. Further, h says that the us of housing for a criteria of status is class biased since the great concern with the appearance of a dwelling is primarily a middle class obsession. He Joins others in pointing out Warner's inadequate sampling and adds that while status 1s based on denotative properties arner used the results to connote attitudes and value sys- 37 Richard Centers, "Four Studies in Psychological and Social Status," Psycholot31cal Bullet1n..i XL VII ( ay, 1950), 263-71. 38 a.l ter Golds chm id t, tt Soc 1al Class in America - A Critical Review," American !nthropology, LII (October - December, 1950), 483-98. tems which hav not been demonstrated to parallel the ma terial tactors.39 L1pset 40 emphas1z s the po s1b111ty of class bias 1n studies based on reputation sine opinion regarding • person will vary 1th the frame of reference or the r port- er. It 1 likely, he beli ves, that the up ard mobile observer may be particularly concerned 1th status and thu - be most usable as a reporter but at the sam time most apt to eke results. L 1pe t re ls that "po er" r th r than "conspicuous consumption" 1s the root of status hich 1s perhaps a comment on the "managerial revolution" hich Veb- . len did not foresee. Centers' ork he sees as merely a study of national stereotypes. Goldschmidt 41 rites that claesif1cat1ons are bet made on economic bases-- 11 groups having basically differ entiable economic activities or differentiable relationship to the instruments of production"- but·po1nts out that th correlations derived by Centers between status and attitudes 39 Harold • Pfautz and Otis D. Duncan, "A Critical Evaluation of arner's ork in Community Stratification," American Sociological Rev1e, XV (April, 1950), 205-15. 40 Seymour • Lipset and Rhe1nhard Bendix, nsocial Status and Social Structure - A Re-examination of Data and Interpretations. l," British Journal of Sociology, II (June, 1951), 150-68. 41 Goldschmidt, .21?• cit., p. 486. 37 ar low. Gross42 says that most res arch on class status rrs· in not cl arly distinguishing between a concept of class which is "substantive• and one hich 1 11 cla sificatory." t•substant1ve 11 usage implies that class attributes are qual ities h1ch are either present or absent, that class its lt is a collection of uch attributes constituting a compo nent ot a heterogeneous totality. 11 Classif1catory" usage . implies that class attributes are variabl s hich may pre- sent to a degree and· are mea urable, that a . so411 class is a eubdiv1s1on of a larger variable and as a class interval it is a part of a homogeneous totality. The arner studies are particularly remiss in that they arrive at status by classificatory methods and then attribute to the results substantive attributes. uch of present research embodies this same fallacy 1th Centers doing the moat to test the extent to which values and attitudes follow socio-economic class lines. Gordon 4 3 after a review of class studies sets up criteria which should be followed. The definition of class 42 Lle ellyn Gross, "The Use of Class Concepts 1n Soo1olog1cal Research," American Journal of Sociology, LIV (March, 1949), 409-21. 43 Gordon, .22• cit. should be clear and hould indicate whether it basis ts (l) conomic power as me ured by 1nco e or occupation, (2) tatus ascription as m asured by class consc1ousnes, (3) group lite with ~ts attendant social interaction, (4) cultural attr1but or th individual or hied 111ng, (5) political pow r, or (6) some combination of thee ractora. Them thod ot ascertaining the tatus level which was used by the r rch stud nt should b made clear. Cla dit- ferenc s, as um d or d1scov red, should be evident and th 1r r 1 tion to reality disco rabl by subsequent stu dents. The techniqu sand concomitant ot social mobility should be included and th r lat1on of ethnic status ta the total cl as atructur considered. 1th all of it shortcomings it is app rent that re search on status h led to a uff1ciently larg ar a ot agreement that it provides work ble tools for further study ot this dimension ot personality. The naming or the vari ou strata and the method or th ir id ntification are not always uniform but 1th regard to th ir pres nc and gener al nature there seems to be agr em ent. Differences 1n values, att1tud s, behavior, and frames or reference m somewhat r lated to a number of variables among h1ch occu pation 1s most prominent. It seems plausible that if a man's occupation is known it provides a good clue to his manner of living nd, 1t the occup tion h hop 39 to follow is known 1t prov1d s vid nee ot his aspiration 1n soo11 and conom1c ti ld . Becaus ot this th u o the Ed ard' c 1 p - pears Just1t1ed 1t properly c1rcu ecr1b 1th c ution 1 - though Goldschmidt s ems right in saying th coding of occupational tatus by Alba d ard has prove mot us ful because ot it gen r1c conv n1 nc rather th nit tran~ scendent v rity ••• • 4 II. STUDIES OF SOCIAL CLASS DIFFERE CES Since the hi tory and pr nt tatus of the concept or social claa hav b n x mind and the t chnique used in measuring status and the limitations or such techniqu s discussed, it is appropriate to assess ome of the appli cations of the class cone pt 1n practical research . Since this report 1s cone rned with differ noes in interest level , intelligence and. temperament as they are related to aspira tions for socio-economic status it seems fitting to examine some of the literature which relates to oc1al class differ ences. Studies have been done on the relationship of social class to such diverse elements as color and eight but for 44 Goldschmidt, .2.2 • oit., p . 487 • . I 40 the purpose ot this report 1t woulds em sutf1c1 nt to com ment only on some ot the res arch baring on class differ ence associat d with aspiration level, personality, and int llig nc • 4 5, 46 (In aetual _ tact 1t will bes en that 1n ome oases the distinction betw n r search on person ality and on pir tion 1 v 1 can b d1st1ngu1she only of categorizing studi s.) rb1trarily for th purpo 4 piration lev l. ong the tudies hich indicate that ditter nee in a p1rat1on are associated 1th social class lev l are tho which relat P rhap the b t known ot the r to due tional tatus. arn r' 4 7 and Hollings- h ad's.48 Both report that the upp rand middle classes are mor pt than th lo r cl s to tak high chool courses prep ring th m tor coll g. cGuir 4 9 found a s1m- 45 • Lloyd arner, Buford H. Junker and • A. Adams, Color and Human N ture - Negro ~,rsona 1ty Dev log m~nt in! orthern City ( shington: Am r1can Council on Education, 1941) , · 301 pp. 46 s •• Stoke, Ocoup tional Groups and Child Devel opment (Harvard onograph in Education, No.T. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1927), 92 pp. 47 • Lloyd arner, Robert J. Havighurst, and art1n B. Loeb, Who Shall be Educated - The C allenge 21 Uneaual O'portuni~ies (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1944), · 1 2 pp. 48 August B. Hollingshead, Elmtown's Youth - Th pact of Social Class son Adolescents (New York: John ileya'nd Sons, 1949), 453 PP• 49 McGuire, 212.• cit. Im- - I 41 11 r situation nd lso 1 rn d that th upper class s are mor apt to be in cliqu s which ett ctiv ly control student body otf1o • attair, nd pol1c1 • u rou tudies have shown soci 1 cla s ditt r nc mong rly chool le v r 1nd1eat1ng that th 1 dl cl tud nt 1 mor apt to continue in chool than 1 hi lo r cl counterpart.SO Whether this situ t1on hold b caue ot d1tf reno 1n ability or motivat1 n 1 not lw cl r though Havig- hurst5 1 estimate th th l of th tud nt 1n the lo r . middl and lower cl hav th bility tor coll g and that half of this group would h v th otivation to tt nd, if it were made fin nci&lly po 1bl for th m. Thi writer clearly envi ion ocial cl d1ft r no in oti• vation when he st tea th t coll g attendanc 1s a product of mental ability, ocial xpectat1on, individual motiva tion, financial ability, and propinquity.5 2 Th se studies ------- 50 Wilma T. Donahu, Clyd H. Coombs, and Robert • w. Travers, editors,_ The easurement 2! Stud nt Adjustm nt and Achievement (Ann Arbor, ichigan: University of h1- ga.n Press, 1949), p . 191 . 51 Robert J. Havighurst, Social Implications or the Report of the President's Commission on Higher Education,• School and ~ociety, LXVII (April 3, 1948), 257-61 . 52 Robert J. Havighurst, 11 Sociological and Psycho logical Factors Affecting the Supply of Talent, tt Proceed !D,s!.: 1951 Invitational Cont rence 2.!l 'feating Problems (Princeton, New J rsey and Los Angeles: Educational Test~ · 1ng Service, 1952), pp. 24-31 . 42 have 1n common the recognition that th r are class ditfer noes 1n educational aspiration. Vocational! ~irat1on. Differences 1n vocation 1 aspiration are shown by Handley53 who found that oharac ter1stio deviations from reasonable goals were more apt to consist of under-aspiration in th low r class childr n and ov r-aspiration in the middle clas. Holling head5 4 r ports that the vocational aspirations of th lo r cla childr n are more apt to be bizarre or unformulat d th n are those of the middle class. Samson and Stefflre55 tound that there is a discoverable tendency for the vocational aspiration of the child to vary directly with the statu of the parent. ot1vation for ~spiration. Some explanation of these re ults may be made in the light of a study of Dou van56 who found th t lower class children react to pecific 53 Ieab l Handley, "A Study of Factors Related to Occupational Objectives," (unpublished aster' th 1 , Occidental College, Los Angels, California, 1949), 109 pp. 54 Hollingshead, .QR• cit., p. 469. 55 Ruth Samson and Buford Stefflre, '1L1ke Father ••• Like Son?, 11 Personnel and Guidance Journal, XXXI (October, 1952), 35-40. 56 Elizabeth Ann alcolm Douvan, "The Influenc of Social Class embership on Reactions tc Failure," 1cro film Abstra~, XI (1951), 731-32. mat rial rewards whereas middle class ch1ldr n are 1ntlu~ enc d by ymbolic reward~ such as statements r gard1ns succ es. It seems that long range rewards represented by high le el aspiration goals do not infiuenoe the lower cl sea a much s they do the middle class. It may be true that th m1ddl cla sis work ori nted and the lo er class pl asure oriented.57 The lo er cla s rejects the middl class goals of gentility ach1ev d through individual etfort for an orientation to ard collective action for soc1 l gaina.5 8 A statement of this same conclusion 1n analytic terminology i made by cGu1r 59 who says that the upper class is ego-oriented, the middle class orient d to- ard the super-ego, and the lower class impulse oriented. Intelligence. In examining differences in intelli gence as they relate to social class it is ell to take note of recent protests that mental ability tests are class biased and hence give faulty impressions regarding the presence of differences. The argument rests upon the con t ntion that test constructors are overly concerned 1th 57 Eli Ginzberg, et al, Oc9~Bational Choice: !!l Approach~~ General 1h~pr1 (New York: Columbia Univer sity Press, 1951), p. 245. 58 Goldschmidt, 22 • cit., p. 493. 59 Car;on McGuire "Social Stratification and Qb11 - 1ty Patt rns, American ~ociological Review, XV, (1950), 195-204. - ·- ._ I I , vocabulary and kinds ot problems more meaningtul to the middle than to the lo er claes. 60 , 61 • 62 • 63 , 64 Current validation praotia a, which ott n rest on correlations with school marks, ar 11k wise dismissed a1noe the school, too, ar bis d 1n favor ot middle class standards. These argum nt would dem nd more attention it they led to alter nativ methods ot 11dat1on superior to thos now 1n use. So tar, how v r, the dvocate ot th se obJect1ona have cont nt d th ms lv with the c1rcul r argument that, since no g net1c lly pr diet ble cla a ditt rence hav been prov n, it mu t follow th t th rear no d1tference . in int 111g nc ong the ar1ou social cl s a and, th re- tor, he only fir t st is th one which indicates an ab nc of ditt r nc a. They ar orking to ard a test 60 Alli on D vis and Robert J. Havighurst, "The ea urement ot ntal Syat ma (Can Int lligence by eae ured)," Sci ntitic onthly, LXVI (1948), 301-16. 61 Allison Davis and Robert Hess, "How Fair is an I.Q. Te t," The University 21. Qh).caso _agaz1ne, XLIII (Janu ry, 1951), 5. 62 Allison Davis, "socio-Economic Infiuence on Learning," I> hi Del ta l{appap, XXXII (January, 1951) , 253-6 • . 63 Kenn th Eella, Intellectual and Cultural ~iffer ences ( Chicago: University ot Chicago Press, 1952), 3iso pp •. 64 Rob rt Haggard, Allison Davis, and Robert J. Hav1ghurst, "Some Factors Which Influence Performance or Ch1ldr n On Intelligence Tests," American PsycpQlog.1e~, III (1948), 265-6. · I which will NOT show alas d1tter nces 1n int lligence but what it Il,L show thy do · not ay. It has b en previously point d out that the r la tiv ly low corr lat1on betwe n int ll1gence nd social cla 1a probably du to the tact that the distribution ot social statu 1s kewed right. It ha b en round that the int lligence l v lot am ture individu l c n be pr dieted better from his parent's occupation hen h 1a t n than rrom his on int 111g no scor at the ag oft o. It 1 o g ne lly a swned that socio- conomic 1 vel plays som p rt in int 111g nee scor that it has b n sugg std that the intelligence quoti nt be divid d by an nv1ronmental index to get coefficient or innate intelligence. 11 65 Bet known among th stud1 s ho ing relation b - tw en int lligenc and socio-economic status re tho e using the data from the Army Alpha and the Army General Classification Te t. Both showed that workers in occupa tion with higher social status wer more apt to get better test scores although there as much overlapping betw n groups . 6 6 Typ1ca1 lstudi s making use of th ne methods ot 65 L onard Carmichael, editor, anual of Child Psx chology (New York: John 1ley and Sons, 19461, p. 594. 66 Irving Lorge and Raphael D. Blau, "Broad Occupa tional Grouping by Intell ig nee Levels," Occupa t1ons, XX ( arch, 1942), 419-23. -- stimating social tatus and relating the r sul ts to in- t llig nee re those by the arner school-- cGu1re 67 and Havighurst and Taba. 68 Ot particular concern tor the pre- nt tudy bee us ot th tests used w s an 1nv st1gat1on by Havighur t 6 9 where h found low po 1t1 e relations be- tween tactors on the Primary ntal Abilities test and soci 1 tatus hen investigating a group ot 91 thirteen year old • In ummar1z1ng research on social class differ noes in intelligence it appe rs that the lit ratur disclos s no disagre m nts as to the facts for it seems appar nt that there 1a low positiv correlation bet en status and in- telligence. The di gr ement comes 1n th explanation tor th se findings with some saying that the present tests give a spuriously high correlation because of the middle class bias of test makers. The suggested remedies for this situ ation do not seem promising. It seems safe to say that 67 Carson cGuire, 'Adolescent Society and Social obility," (unpublished Doctor' e dissertation, The Univer sity of Chicago, Chicago, 1949), 457 pp. 68 Robert J. Havighurst and Hilda Taba, Adolescent Character and Personality (New York: John iley and Sons, 1949), 315 pp.-·. 69 Robert J. Hav1ghurst and F. H. Breese, "Relation Between Ability and Social Status in a Mid astern Commu nity; P •• A.," Journal of Educational P!yohologY, XXXVIII (April, 1947), 241-7. d1ff reno a are rev aled and to agree th tit the lo er claa child had a differ nt environment not only would 47 th re be a change 1n his test scores but also in his 1n tell1g nee since most would agree that 1ntell1g no is d - p nd nt upon both h T d1ty and environm nt. In non ot th research on intelligence a it r - lat to status has an attempt b en made to mea ure th differ noes betw en groups 1th differing spiration lev la ho come from the m tatu lev 1. That, of cours, 1 one of the purposes of this dis ertation. T mEeram n~ . In r ie 1ng th lit r tur on th r - lation of social tatus tot m perament it seems n cess ry to consider ome related aspects ot the problems such a child rearing, valu sy tems, and p rsonality. F mily aspect!) 2f temperament. Lower clas children seem more apt to secure their recreation commercially or through informal groups rather than in such institutions as the church or th scouting movem nt.7° Havighurst7 1 re ports that the husband and 1fe are more nearly partners in 70 • acdonald, Carson hurst, "Leisure Activities and Ch1ldr n, 11 Am ricag ~purnal 2!: 505-19. cGuire and Robert J. Havig the Socio-economic Status of Sociology. LIV (May, 1949), 71 Robert J. Jiavighurst, "Social Cla s Differences and Family L 1fe Education at the Secondary Lev 1," Marriage and Family L1v1ne;, XII (Fall, 1950), 133-5. th m1ddl class home but that in the low r class the it 1 subordinate. In th middle cla s the rather is at ach- r of the young both by precept and exampl and also serves as th provider, hereas 1n the lo er class th relation b teen tath rand child is apt to b 1 ss structur d and, conv rsely, the moth r plays a more central rol in th lo r class. Davie and Hav1ghurst7 2 r port similar find ings as ell as the fact that the middle clas 1s much mor rigid in its child rearing practises as thy r lat to t ding, toilet training, and sex pract1 e. It pp are, too, that the training or the lo er clas child 1 mor apt to be on the basis of punishment wherea the mid l class child r ceiv s both pun1 hment and re arda and h nee l rns his roles more completely.73 Dollard believ s that middl class training in soo1al1zat1on is built around a rath r systematic attempt to give the child anxi ty about hi ag - sex role hich 1s reduced only by learning the proper re sponses. It seems likely that the above differences 1n family life patterns would lead to differences in temp ra- 72 Allison Davie and Robert J. Havighurst, Father or the M an - How Your Child Gets Hie Personality (Boston: Houghton itflin Company, 1947),214 pp. 73 Allison Davis and John Dollard, Children 2t Bond ~ - The PersonalitI Develo~ment Q.! Negro Youth !n the Uroan South (Washington: American Council on Education, 1940), 229 pp. ment by adoleso nee but this hypothesis seems not to ha been previously tested. ·- 49 Attitudes and temp rament. Centers has don a thor- ough Job ot relating d1trerences in social status to ditter enoes in values and attitudes. He round a substantial pos itive correlation betw en status and political cons rva t1sm. 7 4 He also reports that whereas the II bite collar' worker is most apt to value self-expression as an import nt a pect of a Job the "manual" worker 1s more cone rned 1th security.75 P rsonality and temperamen!,. Little ork ha b n done relating social status to personality through th u ot tests though Gough7 6 and Phillips 77 both show low posi tive correlations between these two variables. A more 74 Arthur Kornhauser, "Public Opinion and Social Class," American Journal of Sociology, LV (January, 1950), 333. 75 Richard Centers, "Motivational Aspects of Occu pational Strat1f1cat1on," Journal of Social Psycholog:y, XXVIII (November, 1948), 197-217. 76 Harrison G. Gough, 0 The Relationship or Socio Economic Status to Personality Inventory and Achievement Test Scores, 11 Journal of Educational Psychology, XX.XVII (December, 1946), 527-40. 77 Lakin E. Phillips, "Intellectual and Personality Factors Associated 1th Social Class Attitudes Among Junior High School Children, 11 P eda~ogical .§eminary and Journal 21 Genetic isychology, LXXVII September, 1950):-01-72. 50 intensive study w1tn thirty low r middle class early ado- 1 acent children found som support tor Dollard'& conten tion that this class lev 1 uses 'socialized anxi ty" to t ach behavior.7 8 In summarizing cla a differences in personality no work was tound which attempted to relat temperament d1t- tereno e to class levels. oat emphasis has be n plod on hypothesizing differ nos of personality, valu systems, and outlook among the class s but little has been don to test the hypoth se. Summarx of social class dlff rences. Som vid no ot diff rences 1n a pirat1on by class 1 found, consid r able evidence of int lligenoe differences (though 11ttl agreement as to the reason for these differences) and con vers ly little evidence of personality differences but con siderable belief that such differences must be present and many speculations as to their nature. In none of these areas have differences been measured when present statu was held level and aspiration var1 d. In other words the attempt made in this dissertation seems not to have been duplicated previously. 78 Esther 1lner, uEffects of Sex Role and Social Statue on the Early Adolescent's Personality," Genetic Psychology onograph, XL (1949), 231-325. III. SOCIAL CLASS OBILITY ovement trom one socio-eoonomio l v 1 to another constitutes mobility and it is the aspiration for such movement that this report is d 1gn d to xamine. Soro kin79 seems to have be n the first to focu att ntion on this phenomena. 51 Since mobility constitutes them thod by hich a democracy assur s itself of the bet us of its abilit1 s and is at the am time the technique by hich the p rpet uat1on of unearned family po er is challenged, it i mot important that this phenomenan be studied. Particular attention needs to be sho n to three aspects of mobility- amount, methods, and causation or concomitants. The lit erature on these three aspects 111 be examined in order. Amount .Q! mobility. Havighurst has calculated on the basis of differential reproductive rates among the various socio-economic strata that an overall up ard mo bility of 14 percent would be needed to keep the social classes at their present ratio. 80 cGuire from a similar premise figures that approxi- 79 Sorokin, .2£• cit. 80 Robert J. _ Havighurst, "United States of America," Year Book of Education, (London: Evans Brothers, 1950), p. 280. - . 52 mat ly 5 percent are down ard mobil and 25 percent upward , 81 mobile each g n ration. In a more empirical study C nters 82 found that among a cross section of urban men 35 p rcent had b n up ard mobile, 36 percent stable, and 29 percent down ard mobil. He found, however, that less than half of ach group had fathers in the same level while David on and And rson 8 3 concluded that from -two-thirds to three-fourths have fa- th rs in the same or adJac nt 1 vela. obilitJ spirat1on. A bridg bet n tud1 of actual mobility arn those involving a piration for mobility is that of cGu1re 8 4 hich compar s the socio-economic level for the individual's parental home 1th his "Ind x of Initial Adult Status." This Index is d rived from th individual's aspiration level regarding occupation, educa- 81 Carson cGuire, "social Stratification and o bility Patterns," American Sociological Revie , XV (1950), 195-204. 82 Richard Centers, "Occupational obil1ty of Urban Occupational Strata," American Sociological Rev1e , XIII (April, 1948), 197-203. 83 Percy E. Davidson and H. De ey Anderson, Occu pational Mobility 1n J!!l American Community (Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Preas, 1937), 203 pp. 84 Carson cGuire, "Adolescent Society and Social ob111ty," (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The Univer sity of Chicago, Chlcago, 1949), 457 pp . I 53 t1on, and source of income but includes his actual reli gion. In thus combining present status and aspiration c Guire found that 23 p roent of his sample er upward mo bile and 5 percent do nward mobile. Studies dealing 1th aspiration for mobility 1nclud one here less than 2 percent of th tamili s re at th professional level and over 50 pre nt of th children as pired to professional Joba. 8 5 Hollingshead finds le s dif- fer nee in the dir ction of aspiration from cla • . l vel to class level than he dos in the clarity of goal . In n eral, th lo er class youth is apt to hav no xpre able occupational aspiration or if he does expres one it is apt to be bizarr • 86 In an article sho 1ng the influence of par ntal occupation on stw.ent's vocational goals sev ral studies are revie ed hich indicate that aspiration lev 1 is char acteristically higher than the parents' • 87 This article reveals a strong secondary tendency for the student to select goals at the same level as his father's. 85 Charles s. Johnson, Growing Y2, in the Black Belt - Negro Youth in the Rural South (Washington: Ameri can Council on Educition, 1941), 360 pp. 86 Hollingshead, Elmtown's Youth, .QI?.• cit., p. 469. 87 Samson and Stetflre, .QI?.• cit. In summarizing the present thinking on the amount ot mobility 1t appears that more upward than downward mobility occurs. It furth r seems that there 1s a ~endency tor sons to remain at or near .. the occupational level or their fa thers. ethods ot achieving mobility. Literature deal1~ with methods or socio-economic mobility may be divided into tour categori s. (1) Studies emphasizing the element ot imitation involved in mobility, (2) studies asserting the importance of peer contacts in formal or informal assoc1- at1ons, (3) studies pointing out the role ot economic in- titutions in mobility, and (4) studies h1ch stress the importance of education in mobility. Imitation!!~ method. The r1ter ho most clearly stresses the factor of i mitation of social roles as a meth od of mobility is Dollard. In three books 88 , 8 9, 90 he develops a clearly defined rationale of the learning in volved in mobility. Those who are successful in learning the age-grade behavior of the class above may attempt mo- 88 Davis and Dollard, 22• cit. 89 John Dollard, et al, Frustration and Aggression (New Haven: Yale University Press, 19391, 209 PP• 90 Neal E. M iller and John Dollard, Social Learn1ns and Imitation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1941), 314 pp. • 55 Such an at~empt must be m de in the tac o ho - tility trom the goal class 1ch do not ant to oh ap n its class symbols bJ sharing them and therefor 11 us Q r1d1cul to punish the striver tor mobility. At the same time the base class will make evident its annoyance that the individual thinks so little ot his present status that tries to change 1t.9l Such a situation may otten lead trustrat1ons 1n the course ot mobility attempts.9 2 This mobility by imitation 1e sen operating particularly plain ly in ethnic groups whose mobility pace seems to be a tunc t1on ot their resemblance to the maJority group in such matters as religion and language. Both factors ould attect the ease with which imitation ot social roles could be achieved.93 / Peer contacts!:.!~ method. Another group ot studi a attempts to account for mobility 1n terms ot the peer con tacts which must be made 1f imitation can occur. In moat cases it appears that marriages are between persons or the same or contiguous socio-economic strata. Marriage as a 91 Ibid., p. 190. 92 J. Dollard, et al, .sm,. cit., p. 73. 93 W. Lloyd Warner and Leo Srole, §oc~al ~y~~ems 2( American Ethnic Group!, (Yankee City Series, Vol. 3. Ne Haven: Yale University Press, 1945), 318 pp. I 56 mob111ty technique would seem to be r served for less than a majority ot cases and is probably accompanied by any other tactors. Social contacts leading to marriage and the consequent importance ot physical. beauty has b en etr es ed.94, 95 embership in rath r rormal associations seems to be a method tor mobility particularly utilized by such ethnic groups as shar similar r lig1ou backgrounda.9 6 Contact through.leisur time aotivities97 and through peer groupa9 8 hav be n previou ly mentioned. cGu1re has sho n that a discrepancy b teen ramily social status and an In dex ot Peer Status (popularity eight d by the social ta tus ot its source) 1s a good indicator or potential mobil ity.99 Th importance of contacts in determining mobility is b st summarized by Hollingshead who in discussing the 94 Richard · Cent rs, " arital Selection and Occupa tional Strata, 11 American Journal of Sociology, LIV {May, 1949), 530-5. . 95 J. H. Atwood, et al, Thus~ Their Destiny - Per sonality Development of Negro Youth in Three Comm unities, ( ashington: Amer1ca0Counc11 on EdUCation, i941), 96 pp. 96 arner and Lunt, 22• cit., Vol. 2, p. 79. 97 acdonald, cGuire, and Havighurst, 22• cit. 98 Carson cGuire, "Adolescent Society and Social ob111ty, tt (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The Univer sity or Chicago, Chicago, 1949), 457 pp. 99 Ibid., p. 126. 57 interrelation of culture, learning, and social behavior says (1) social behavior is learned by ir1dividuals in asso ciation with other individuals, (2) the form and content ot social 1 arning is provided the individual by his society's culture, and (3) hat the individual learns 1s determined by his participation in society. It is in this context th t best understand the role of the family, the class- room group, the gang, and the formal association in shaping the goals or the 1nd1v1dua1. 100 These studies as ell as those in the preceed1ng paragraph leave unanswered the question raised by cGuire who wonders if a basic person ality pattern 1s associated with people who make these con tacts hich s em to be the first step in m obility. Taussig believed that there ·as little evidence that environment inhibited mobility and felt that ability in busines led to success and consequent social mobility. 101 Lipset and Bendix found that mobility occured largely with in, rather than between, the 0 manual 0 and 0 white collar" groups. When manual workers were mobile across the line 100 Augustus B. Hollingshead, "social Background: Its Impact on Learning, 11 Guidance orkshop, Summer 1951, Pub. #543, Advisement Servic~, Los Angeles City Schools, (June, 1952), 8-16. 101 F. w. Taussig and c. s. Joslyn, American Business Leaders (New York: acmillan Company, 1932), 317 PP• 58 into hite collar ·Jobs they usually opened their own busi ness. Sorokin widened the consideration or mobility meth od beyon business to include th army, church, school, government, professions, and the tamily. 1 0 2 H further points out that these channels are themselves testing and selecting agencies hioh determine ho is mobile. By par celing out r ards 1n terms of promotions, school marks, and other honor they re ardor frustrate mobility at- t mpts. This would seem to be particularly important in America for Sorokin rites, In society hr the family is eak and unstable, here marriages mix strata, here education 1s largely outeid the home, the testing (for mobility) is largelI done by institutions other than the family.103 Education as a method. The most discussed method ot _.......,,__......., ..... - - --- achieving mobility has been education. arner finds that as the craftsman's skill plays less part in his mobility because of Job simplification his education plays more. 104 He rites, too, that although the factors making for mobil ity are difficult to isolate upward mobility seems to be 102 Sorokin, .22• cit., p. 160. 103 Ibid., p. 185. 104 w. Lloyd Warner and J. o. Low, Social Systems of the Modern Factory, {Yankee City Series, Vol. 4. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1947), 245 pp. 59 associated with education hile downward mobility 1s asso ciated with its laok. 1 05 It has be n said, 11 Colleg edu cation is not an absolute prerequisite tor upward mobility, but 1 t is a very important infl u no • " 1 06 It s ems appar ent that a college ducation hich is a step to ard upward mobility forte lower classes may merely be a method ot assuring stability for th upper classes. Therefore, the role of education regarding mobility 1s diff rent at d1t- terent socio-economic 1 v ls. 107 Since 1t seems 11 es- tablished that higher education is one fr quently used method of achieving up ard mobility and since it is so im portant that such mobility be mad possible to deserving lower class youths, several riters have investigated the extent to hich equal opportunities for education are pres ent tor those 1th similar ab111t1es but varying socio- economic statuses. yrdal highlights the discrepancy be- teen the American Dream of equal opportunity for all and the facts of Negro educational opportunity. This great 105 arner, Havighurst, and Loeb, .22• cit., p. 44. 106 Burleigh B. Gardner, ary L. Gardner and Martin B. LoebA ttsocial Status and Education . in a Southern Com munity, School Review, L ( arch, 1942), p. 185. 107 Raymond A. ulligan, "Social obility and Higher Education," The Journal of Educational Sociology, XXV (April, 1952).476-87. - 60 discr pancy ~e characteriz s as the "American Dilemma. 11 108 Similar findings regarding the practical unavailability or ducation at higher levels tor lower class Southern Negro s is contained in such books as Johneon's. 10 9 ithin the majority racial group similar 1nequal1tie or opportunity for mobility through ducation exist. Even at th point of selecting a high school cour there seem to be ola s ditferences a was previously men tioned • •••• in any case, the socio-economic level of th home gr atly conditions the choice (of major). The choice, in turn, directly affects the future occupational position hich the child 111 attain and the ft8nomic resources he 111 be able to command. Roperlll has shown that admission to college, even among those taking the step of applying, is positively related to the father's occupation and the presence of alumni among relatives. Reeves summarizes socio-economic barriers to 108 Gunnar yrdal, An American Dilemma - The Negro Problem and odern Democracy (New York: Harper and Bro thers, 1944), pp. 667-8. 109 Charles s. Johnson, .Q.12.• c1t. 110 Richard Stephenson, "Education and Stratifica tion," Journal 2.f Educational Psychology, X:X.V (September, 1951), 38. 111 Elmo Roper, Factors Affecting the Admission of High School Seniors to College (Washington: American Coun cil on Education, 1949), 312 pp. 61 th use ot ducation as a method or upward mobility by say ing that an ind1v1du 1 is more apt to go to college if he is in th bottom half of hi high school class scholasti cally but in a family hose inco e 1s above 9,000 a year than if h is in th top fourth ot hi high school class but in a tamily hose income is belo ·5,000. 112 them thod of achieving mobility there is agre ment that 1m1t tion of clas rol a is a nee sary step to class mov - ment. Such imitation mu t come from contact 1th the mem- b rs of th clas into which the individual hopes to mov . By contact in a soc1ations, busin s, recr ation, and p r groups such imitation become po sibl. That opportunity tor education as am thod of upward mobility is not equally available to all seems apparent. Although most of the ork has been done on the problem of up ard mobility there is agreement that the reverse of the forces which are associ ated 1th up ard mobility make for down ard mobility, that is, lack of education, "poor" marriage , failure in busi ness, and association with lo ·er class members . As yet no attempt has been reported to characterize those who have passed the first test of mob111ty--that is, who have reached 112 Floyd • Reeves, "Barriers to Higher Education," The Phi Delta KaEpan, XX.XI (January, 1950), 214-225. 62 the end or their high school course possessing aspirations tor mobility . know, then, that education is a commonly used method ot mobility but e do not kno the type of p rson ho so use it and heno are in no position to as se th valu of th job our schools are doing As selec ting an er ning agenc1 s for th mobility process . Causation and concomitants of mobility. A body of rs rch h s att mpted to get tad ep r lev 1 of und r standing of th d nam1c of mobility by inv tigat1ng the motivation an oirc tanc s of such movement . Th sere- ports, s 111 b seen, ar 1 rgely p cul ti ve and more valuabl as provoc tion than as fact . ob1l1ty AD ethnics. Th dynamic of mobility in thnic groups is particularly explored by Al xander1 1 3 and arner1 14 ho agre that mobility in such a setting as that of the second generation American repr sents not only a .... "getting ah ad" process but is a symbol of Americanization and a shift in value systems from those of the Old Country to those of America. In such a shift the individual must reject the values of his parents . For such an upward mo - 113 Ernest • Burgees, et al, Environment and Educa tion (Supplementary Educational onographs , No . 54. Chi cago: University of Chicago Press , ~arch, 1942) , p . 43 . 114 arner and Srole, .Q.2. • cit., p . 77 . I bile person the process of class movement calls for rather complete renunciation of his cultural roots. The process may result 1n considerable ambivalence regarding the family and a feeling of guilt at the giving up of the viewpoint or the home. In such cases the pattern of mobility is often from occupational mobility, to residence mobility, to class mobility. Each step further strains the family ties hioh originally bound the individual to his kin. The specula tion of Alexander and arner in this matter is some hat confirmed by Adams 11 5 who accounts for greater mobility in New England than in ne er sections of the country by the tact that many of his Ne England sample constituted second generation Americans hose mobility was a part of their acculteration process. It ould seem that the dynamics of mobility 1n ethnic stock merely makes more dramatic and acceptable a process which is essentially the same henever an individual leaves the values of his childhood home for those of a different strata. Downward mobility . Downward mobility runs so coun ter to the values almost officially sanctioned in our so ciety that few writers have done much to explain it. Al- 115 Stuart Adams, "Regional Differences in Vertical - ob11ity 1n a Hig!-1 Status Occupation," American ~oc1ologi cal Revie, XV (April, 1950), 228-35. I 64 brecht 11 6 found that down ard mobility was mor apt to occur after fifty than before in her investigation of a stratified sampl of 100 older people. Roth and Peck 11 7 studi d cross-class marriages and found that the r sulting adjustment as generally poorer than in arriage her both partners re of the same class. hen the 1fe ar- r1ed "beneath h rn the adjustment as not as good as hen the husband as in the higher original status. (Appar ntly our tradition of marrying the boa's daught r has less to recommend it than marrying the boes's son.) They found that the don ard mobile made particularly poor adjustments to marriage and conclude: The strong social disapproval of don ard mobility may make the intimate relation hip of marriage lees stable. ore likely, perhaps, the don ard mobile person is apt to be a rebel against convention and to be a person ho rejects responsibilities. His don ard mobility ould then be a symptom of diffi cul•ties in maintaining stable emotional relation ships 1th others. In this case, the unsatisfactory marital relationship ould be only Qne reflection of a general personality pattern.lle Characterizing the upward mobile . Research is lack- 116 Ruth Albrecht, "Social Class in Old Age, n Social Forces, XX.IX ( ay, 1951), 400-5. 117 Julius Roth and Robert F. Peck, "Social Class and Social · vrob111ty Factors Related to arital Adjustment," American Sociological Review, XVI (August , 1951), 478-87. 118 Ibid., p. 483. 65 ing hich describes the kind of person who ib mobile and we again must fall back largely on speculation. Johnson believes that there may often be conflict bet een the edu cational symbols of status and the more i mmediately avail able symbols of material worth. It is the ability to put off gratification until tomorrow which characterizes the up ard mobile. 119 Davis also believes that the middle class forgoes "immediate" for "long term" gratification and explains this behavior in the middle class child by the fact that in daily life he observes that this policy does eventually lead to a firm social position and a con sequent reduction of status anxiety . In a home here the parents have different status orientations the necessity for the child to choose one set of values and abandon the other may lead to confiict and estrangement. 120 Hav1g hurst121 points out that the mobile ust have not only so cial and occupational skill but sufficient ambition to sac rifice present for future gratification. He also needs emotional coldness hich 111 enable him to give up old 119 Johnson, 2l!• cit., p. 90 . 120 Davis and Dollard, .22• cit., p. 252. 121 Robert J. Havighurst, "United States of America," Yearbook of ~ducation, 1250 (London: Evans Brothers, 1950), 211-30S. 66 tr1ends as he learns to move in ne c1rcl s. For this rea son the up ard mobile 1s o ten admired but seldom lov d. These articl shave 1n common their speculation and their absence of data sufficient to ans er th question raised by Kaufman who writes: obility depends not only on opportunity available but also on personality organization and motiva tion ••• How does the level of aspiration and the level of achievement vary from on stratum to n other? What part does temperament, social exp r ience, accident and group pressure play 1n in lu encing one's ambitions and goals?l22 Learning 1!l mobility. Several r1ters have dealt with the problem of how status roles are learned by both the mobile and the stable. L intonl 2 3 believes that a bas ic personality type for varying strata is learned through the interaction of specific rewards and the value attitude systems which are expressed by status linked behavior. When these rewards support and express the value-attitude system held by the individual a feeling of security and integration results. The reverse of this situation applies with the mobile for by and large his experience of rewards has not matched his emerging attitudes if e assume that 122 Harold F. Kaufman, "An Approach to the Study of Urban Strat1ficat1op., 0 American Sociological Rev1e, XVII (August, 1952), 437. (Ne 123 Ralph Linton, Cultural Background of Personality York: D. Appleton-CenturyCompany, 1945), p. 129. - . th se vary with different socio-economic levels. Since ad justment or ways of acting which ere originally rewarded 1s needed 1f status is to change it is assumed that chang ing status levels 111 be accompanied by considerable anx- 1ety.1~4 The use of anxiety as a socializing instrument itself seems to be status linked for anxiety regarding ag gression and sex is normal in the middle class but may be evidence or revolt and mobility in the lo er class. 1th regard to up ard status mobility ••• anxiety motivation is entirely realistic in our kind of a society. It is experienced both as an urge to flee from the deprivations of lo status and as a pull to ard the greater biological and social se- - curity of a high status pe~son.125 That the status anxiety accompanying mobility ould be manifest in vocational choice seems self evident and may account for unrealistic goals hich are selected as symbols of status rather than as ends in themselves. 126 Analytic interpretation of mobility. The deepest levels of interpretation of mobility are offered by those with analytic orientations. Davis speculates that an only 124 Dollard, et al, .22• cit., p. 74. 125 Allison Davis, "Socialization and Adolescent Personality," ~dolescence, Part I (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1944), p. 213. 126 Max • Levin, "Status Anxiety and Occupational Choice, 11 Educational and Psychological Measurement, IX ( Spring, 1949), 34. - ·- .. .. . .... child or child six or more years younger than his sib- lings often s ta hi goals at the par nt level and hence is res ntful of age-grade controls. 12 7 Because of this striving for privil g he may especially resent the sub adult status of adolesc nee and therefore is particularly apt to b up ard mobile since his higher status goal 1th its attendant symbols may be hi method of overcoming his parent' up r1or1ty. An alternative int rpretation is 68 al o offer d by Davis h n he rites that a reject d child may look outside the family for someone to identify 1th. "This may b th psychodyna le of social cl1mb1ng ••• name- •• • • ly, the inability to mak 1dent1f1cat1on 1th members of one's on group. 11 128 Another explanation of mobility 1s adv~nced by Bal1nt 12 9 ho believ s that very strict educa tional methods may lead to identification 1th the command instead of the parent giving the command and this will re sult 1n great self-control and at the same time contempt for the parents and their status. This hypothesis ties in 127 Allison Davis, "American Status Systems and the Socialization of the Child, 11 American Sociological Review, VI (June, 1941), 348. 128 Davis and Havighurst, .2I2.• cit., p. 166. 129 Alice Balint, 11 Identificat1on, u The Yearbook of Psychoanalisie, I (New York: International Un1vers1t1ee Press, 1945), p. 335. 69 with the previous speculation that the mobile child must possess sufficient re traint to put ort immediate grat1f1- cat1on for delay d~gratif1cat1on if he 1s to move away from lo er class status. The only test of an analytic interpr tation of mo bility causation is found in an article by Ellis. 1 30 Sh examined K ren Horney's hypoth i th t mobility 1s cau ed by unsatisfactory primary grou. relation hips an that the process of mobility it lf 1 ad to urth rd t r1orat1on ot such relationship and con equent n urot1c ymptoms. In an exa inat1on or the d v lo ntal hi tory and pr sent adjustment of 60 unmarried career omen he found a r family relation during the childhood of th tabl than of the upward mobile and bett r adult adjustment among the stable. Her research is marred, ho ever, by the fact that the stable began li· fe in higher strata than the up ard mo bile and the difference she found may be functions of sta tus itself rather- than mobility . A better comparison ould be the stable against the mobile from the same home level. These speculations are most provocative but like many ana lytic theories largely untested. An examination of the 1:30 Evely:q Ellis, "Upward Social Mobility Among Un married Career · omen," American Sociological Revie, XVII (October, 1952), 558-63. temperament and ability of those aspiring to mobility may be b ginning to a Judgment of the adequacy or these spec ulations. gi e ev1d nee that changes in behavior and personality pr c ed actual movem nt out of one statu and that th s chang ar in th d1r ot1on of the clas h1ch 1s the p rson's ventual goal. Ph1111pal3l found that deviations fro the child's hom tatus group ere in the direction ot th go l group h n h mea ured her lation of 1ntelli- gence and personality to status. cGuire 1 3 2 found the mobil adole cent s associating 1th those of the status l vel he had set as his goal. H1eronymual33 found a strong positive corr lat1on bet een expected status (occupational aspiration level) and attitude toward education from h1ch it can be concluded that the up ard. mobile thinks of schools as does his goal class rather than his base class. The most careful documentation of the fact that the mobile 131 Phillips, 2£• cit. 132 Carson · cGuire, "Adolescent Society and Social ob111ty," (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The Univer sity of Chicago, Chicago, 1949), P~ 54. 133 A. N. Hieronymus, "A Study of Social Class Moti vation: Relationships Between Anxiety for Education and Certain Socio-Economic and Intellectual Variables," Journal .2! Educational Psychology, XLII (1951), 193-205. adopts the behavior of his goal class at a very early age is r ported by Kinsey. In general, it will be seen that the sexual history of the individual accords with the pattern or the social group into which he ultimately moves, rather than 1th the pattern of the social group to which th parent belongs and in hich the subject was placed hen he lived in the parental home. Indi viduals originating from different parental classes have much the same histories, if they ultimately arrive at the same occupational rating. A half dozen persons who come from the same parental occu pational class may have a half dozen different sort ot histories 1t they finally locate in that many dift rent clasees.134 71 Thi body of vidence lends some support to the process ot xamining mobility in terms of mobility aspiration for it appears that the mobility orientation of an individual may be well establish d at an early age and preoeeds rather than tollows the actual change in status. :ob111ty ll !!l aspect of motivation in adolescents. To understand the meaning of mobility aspiration for ado lescents it might be ell to rev1e some of the articles hich deal 1th related aspects of this problem. The best summary of theories of social1zat1on--of which vocational 1s one aspect at the adolescent level--seems to be H ~vig hurst and Davis'. They point out that Dollard believes 134 Alfred C. Kinsey, ardell B. Pomeroy, and Clyde E . _ artin, Sexual Behavior in the Human 1: ale (Philadelphia: • B. Saunders Company, 1948Y, p. 419:- I 72 that the frustration or sub-adult status leads to aggr s s1on hose control and proper channeling 1s the aim ot so cialization.135 From this point of vie th selection of an occupational goal 1s motivated by the des1r to chann 1 aggressive impulses gro ing out of frustration. 111 rand Dollard think of the major tool of socialization as the rewards coming from successful imitation and therefore thy see the selection of an occupational obJect1v as a method used by the adolescent to achieve re ards for prop r 1m1ta- tion of the adults. o rer believes that the eel ction of an occupational objective reduc the anxiety resulting from the sub-adult status of adolescents. Havighurst, him self, explains the selection of occupational objectives as the fulfillment of a developmental task hich is re arded. These theories have in common their belief that to under stand the meaning hich a selection of an occupation must have for the individual adolescent e must understand the forces which lead him to behave in a socially approved fashion. In whatever way e explain socialization we might expect differences among the various social classes since different methods of socialization were likely used by 135 Robert Havighurst and Allison Davis, "Child Socialization and the School," Review Qf Educational E! search, XIII (February, 1943), 29-37. I I I 73 th m. In one of the f w careful approaches to the problem of occupational cho1ce 1 3 6 the conclusion is drawn that it 1s 1mpo sible to learn why individuals select the occupa tions they do and that the investigator must content him s lf 1th learning ho they make such selections. This study gos on to distinguish among the fantasy selections of childhood, the tentative selections or adolescence, and the realistic selections of adulthood. ile it appears that motivations are too complex to make this matter wholly clear it may be possible to und r stand more of the dynamics of occupational selection as learn more about the kind of person ho makes a certain choice in terms of his status, ability, and temper ment. Summary of the review of the literature .Q.!l mobility. The concept of mobility is in accord 1th our American Dream that every boy has a chance to be president. Keeping such a chance reasonably equal for all is part of the re sponsibility of a successful democracy. The schools are among the institutions especially charged with such respon sibility • . - That mobility does take place and largely in an up- 136 Ginzberg, et al, 22· cit. J 74 ward direction can be demonstrated from birth rate differ entials among the various status levels . That aspirations for upward mobility are common is sho n in several studies , fe of hich, however, give the individual a chance to tes t his aspiration through the facts hich are made available during vocational counseling. Various methods seem to be utilized for mobility and the most common is thought to be education. It is for this reason that it is most important to kno the kind of person ho leaves our high schools with aspirations for mobility . By knowing this e begin to kno the kind of Job our schools are doing as selecting and testing agencies . At the deeper levels of understanding the dynamics of mobility it is believed that lack of identification with the parent and the absence of primary group warmth may lead to mobility. The explanation here is that II hat makes Sammy run?" 1s not a goal at all--Sammy is not running toward anything; he is running away from something . This interpretation may suffer from the usual analyst's bias in that it comes from clinical experience with the maladjusted mobile rather than the happy and successful mobile . Cer tainly an unhappy childhood would seem to be poor ground for the development of the ego strength needed to discard one set of values and behavior patterns and learn another I as the mobile must do if he is to change hie status. In any event, such a hypothesis can be checked by examining the actual test scores on temperament tests of those ho aspire to mobility. IV. RY OF THE LITERATURE 75 As background for the present study th current thinking on the problems of socio-economic statu and move ment from one status level to another has been examin d. It appears that one of the most used methods ot determining the present social class level of an adolescent is by reference to the occupation of his "status parent. 1 Such is the method used in this study. Although speculation about mobility dynamics has occupied many there seems little evidence of investigation of the measurable traits which distinguish the adolescent boy with mobility aspirations from the boy without them. This dissertation devotee itself particularly to that prob lem. It would seem that quantitative evidence about psy chological factors of ability, temperament, and interest for the mobile and the stable at the various status levels is one of the most conspicuously lacking aspects of re search in the whole area of social class. It is for this I reason that the present study .h~s been considered worth attempting. 76 This chapter has revie ed the literature relevant to socio-economic status, differences among social classes, and mobility. 1th regard to socio-economic status there as a discussion of a history of the concept, methods of measuring status, previous uses of the Alba Ed ards' scale, and the adolescent's recognition of status. Concerning social class diff rences special attention as given to studies dealing 1th aspiration level, intelligence and temperament. Finally, there as consideration ot mobility 1th particular reference to amount, methods, causation, and motivation in adolescents. Chapter III concerns itself 1th a more detail d discussion of the design of the study than was given in the first chapter. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE S UDY Th method used in this study se ms best d scr1b d as causal-compar tive and hence has th design and 11 1ta t1ons • character! tic of that method . Causal-comparative research is cone rn d 1th the study o 1nterrelat1onsh1ps of factors as they exist under natural conditions and such a situation does not 1 nd itself to experimental proce dures. Thi method 1s particularly applicable in learning more abou the relation of various factors to the asp1ra t1ons for mobility, for such aspirations develop not in a laboratory but 1n life situations. Al though strictly caus al relationships are most complex in any human problem, like aspiration, a survey pointing up relationships may lead to interpretations hich give valuable insights into the phenomena being studied. 1 The general nature of the study was discussed 1n Chapter I and the relevant literature on the subject re viewed in Chapter II. In this chapter the procedures fol lowed are given 1n more detail. 1 Carter V. Good, A. s. Barr, and Douglas E. Scates, The Method9logy of Educational Research (New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, Inc., 1935), p. 533. 78 I. CO 0 S OF THE STUDY On th bas i s of the general purpose of the study hich is to investigate r 1 t1onsh1pe between various fac tors and aspirations for . socio-economic mobility several hypotheses may be formulated . Hypothe es. 1- Boys 1th aspirations for up ard mobility 111 be superior in m ental ability factors to those who aspire to stability ho 111 in turn be superior to those ho aspire to don ard obil1ty. 2- Factors important in school ork such as verbal meaning and reasoning will r veal greater differences among the three groups mentioned th n 111 such factors as number ability and space. 3- 1th regard to level of interest as measured by testing, the upward m obile will have higher scores than the stable who in turn 111 have hi gher scores than the down ward mobile. 4- In temperam ent the upward mobile 111 differ from the stable who 1n turn ill differ from the do nward mo bile . 5- Temperament of the stable 111 be more generally desirable than either the upward or downward mobile . 6- The above hypotheses will apply to each socio economic level as well as to the combined groups . 19 7- These difterenoes 111 permit the description of the 11 typioal 11 up ard mobile, stable, and downward mobile boy. Presuppositions. 1- The Science Research Associat s Primary ental Abilities test, the Progressive atr1ces (Raven), the Factored Aptitude Series emory Test (Indus trial Psychology) and the Guilford Zimmerman Perceptual Speed Test provide valid measures of intellectual factors. 2- The Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey pro vides valid measures of temperament factors. 3- The Alba Ed ards' Scale provides a valid measure of soo1o-econom1c status. 4- The student's designation of his parent's occu pation is accurate. 5- The student's designation, after a vocational counseling experience, of his vocational objective is a valid m easure of his level of vocational aspiration. Procedure. 1- Vocational counseling, described in more detail in the next section, was given to seniors in various Los Angeles City Schools during the school year 1950-51. 2- The sample for this study was selected from this group and consists of all of those seniors ho are white males and whose counseling provided {a) the mental ability and t mp rament test ecor s mentioned abov, (b) 1ntorma t1on on the occupation of th status parent, (c) a voca tional obj ctive select d by the student. 3- Tests or significance re made ( here numb rs 80 permitted) on the intellectual a~d temperament factors previously m ntioned as ell as on the Level of Interest of the Occupational Int rest Inventory 1th regard to the tollo 1ng variables: (a) between the up ard mobile aspir- nt and the stable 1th .socio-economic level of the home h ld constant, (b) bet een the upward mobile and the down ard mobile with socio-economic level of the home held constant, (c) between the stable and the down ard mobile 1th the socio-economic level of the home held constant, (d) among the stable and the mobile hen grouped into only two levels--"white collar" and nmanual," (e) among the up ard mobile, stable, and down ard mobile for the total eample. 2 II. VOCATIONAL COUNSEL ING--A CAT.AL YTIC PRE-CONDIT ION Since reports of students' vocational aspirations are too frequently obtained by merely asking the student 2 Henry E. Garrett, Statistics in Psychology and Education (third edition; New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1949), pp. 190-3; 198-200. I L . 81 what he planned to do tor a living, it would seem advisable to give a few details about the vooational advisement which in this ease preoeeded the expression of vocational asp1r t1on level and was an easential ·part of the· design. Coun seling in this study· aots as . catalytic pre-condition which is assumed to make for somewhat more realism in the stu dent's choice than wo~d-exist without such counseling. The vocational counseling of these students was done by the staff of the Advisement Service of the Los Angeles City Schools ·which does · educational and vocational coun seling of high school students, veterans, and adults of the city or Los Angeles. In the year 1950-51 the unit counseled the seniors at twelve high schools. (To of these schools were made up almost entirely of non-Cauca sians and consequently are not included in the sample studied.) These schools are distributed throughout the school d1str1ot and from inspection of the data in Social Areas of Los Angeles would seem to represent a wide range of socio-economic areas.3 In providing this advisement process, counselors I and psychologists from the Advisement Service ent to the 3 Eshref Shevky and arilyn 1lliams, The Social Areas Qf.. ~os Angeles, Analysis and Typology (Berkeley and Los Angles: University of California Press, 1949), pp. 125-49. 82 schools as tams to work with members of the senior class. At an initial meeting Advis ment Service counselors ex plained to the seniors the purpose of the counseling and mad it plain that the seniors might accept or reject the counseling program. After the beginning meeting, counseling resolved it self into a highlJ personalized 10 to 12 hours of vocation al advisement. Briefly, the procedure was as follows: (1) initial structuring meeting; (2) tests meas1 1ring capacity, interest, p rsonality; (3) first intarvia to relate tests and personal-social background to tentative vocational ob jectives; (4) study in the Advisement Service's Vocational Library; (5) further testing as needed; (6) final intervie to plan objectives and training; (7) invitation to the parents to come to the school or the Center for an inter vie regarding the student's plans. During counseling, use was made of the cumulative records in the school and conferences were held with school personnel as needed. The counseling philosophy of this service is predi cated on the necessity of the s.tudent's making his own decisions after he has had maximum opportunity to be pro vided with facts about himself, facts about various occu pations, and a chance to discuss the implications of this material in a non-Judgmental and non-threatening atmos- 83 phere. As a result of this philosophy 1t is quite possible that many students -will select vocational goals that ar patently inappropriate. In this study the decision of the student as used as the measure of his vo·cational aspi - tion even hen it seemed evident vhat hie aspiration level had little hope of fulfillment. It is believed, ho ever, that the choices made by students after counseling ould tend to be more considered and closer to th possibility of fulfillment than if counseling had not occurred. This assumption, as previously noted, is in agreement 1th the literature in the field. Counseling, ther fore, is treat d here as an integral part of the design of this study. III. TEST 4 vlATERIALS USED For the most part the tests used in this study are based on the technique of factor analysis. Previously, intelligence and temperament were usually considered as unitary traits h1ch could be measured by single tests and described by single scores. Research has indicated to the satisfaction of many psychologists, however, that intelligence and temperament can be b tter described in terms of relatively independent factors. 1th the exception of the Level of Interest Sec tion of the Occupational Interest Inventory and the Pro- 84 gressive atrices, the tests used in this study have been developed through factor analysis . Their construct rs ub scribe to the belief that intelligence and temperament are bet understood in terms of a small number or broad group factors. This approach is particularly helpful both for voca tional counseling and for a study like this one . T eta constructed by factor analysis have been found useful in guidance because they enable the counselor to point out the student's areas of strength and weakness wher.eas older tests "pool d 11 these factors and thereby concealed the very information hich the student needed to help him understand himself. Factor ana~ysis is most useful in a causal-com- parative study because it makes possible the isolation ot m ore independent factors relating to the phenomena being studied. Since, with minor exceptions, all previous stud ies of intelligence and temperament as related to social cl ass have used 11 pooled 11 tests this attempt to relate rel atively independent factors to socio-economic mobility as pirations is unique. The SRA Primary ental Abilities for ~ges 11 !.Q. ll are designed to measure several of the mental abilities that have been found through the method of factor analysis. They are the latest develop ment in a series of researches carried on for many years at the Psychometric Laboratory of The Uni versity of Ch1oago . Scores on five separate men tal abilities may be obtained from the tests ••• The I ) t 1ve separate abilities are: (1) Verbal-meaning, ( 2 ) Space , ( 3 ) R asoning , (4) Number, nd (5) ord nuency . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Until rather recently intelligence has been considered a unitary trait . esearch done during the past several years has demonstrat d that intelli gence can be better d scribed int rm of everal different abilities . y use of a statistical t ch nique called "factor analysis," s veral different abilities have been found and described. These abilit1 shave b en given the name, "primary men- tal abiliti s . 11 A person may be high 1n one primary mental ability and lo in another. All of u kno people who are specially good at some kinds of activity and relatively poor at others . The nu nt, highly v rbal person ho has troubl 1th arithmetic 1s a common exa ple . oat teachers, also, haves en children 1n their cla sea hose total intelligence score are the same but ho differ idely in their specific intellectual abilities. Th factor anal ysis studies have made it possible to m asure th se separate abilities . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • VERBAI,-• EANING (V) is the ability to under stand ideas expressed 1n ords. It is used in any activities 1n hich inform ation is obtained by reading or listening to words. SPACE (S) is the ability to think about ob jects in two or three dimensions . It is difficult to describe verbally, for it has nothing to do 1th ord.s . It is perhaps best described as the ability t o imagine how an object or figure will look hen it 1s rotated, to visualize objects in two or three dimensions, and to see the relations of an arrange ment or objects in space . REASONING (R) is the ability to solve logical problems--to foresee and plan. It 1e probably the most i mportant of the mental abilities . The person with good reasoning ability can solve problems , fo r esee consequences , analyze a situation on the I I 85 basis of past experience, and make and carry out plans according to recognizable facts • ............ B ..... E .... R (NJ 1s the ability to work 1th f1g ures--to handle simple quant1tat1ve problems rap idly and accurately . It is one of the abilities easiest to explain and demonstrate since it in volves primarily speed and accuracy in handling numbers. ORD-FLUE CY ( ) is the ability to rite and talk easily. It differs from Verbal-meaning be cause it cone rns the speed and ease with hich words can be used, rather than with the degr e of understanding of v rbal cone pts.4 86 Tb Factored Aptitude Series emory Test - This series m asuree eight different factors but the only one ut111z din the pr ant stu y is the test of memory. em ory is the aptitude for recognizing and recalling assoc1- ations.5 This instrument involved memory for names and fac s but is thought to have more general applicability and therefore its use seem s desirable to sample this basic psychological function. The Guilford-Zimmerman Perceptual Speed Test - This series measures seven different factors the only one of 4 L. L. Thurstone and Thelm a Gwinn Thurstone, Ex aminer anual for the SRA Primary ental Abilities, Inter mediate--Ases 11 to u-rchicago: Scieiice Research Associ ates, Inc., Revised, August, 1949), pp. 1-2. 5 Handbook For Use of the Factored Aptitude Series of Business and IndustrialTests (Chicago: Industrial Psychology, i948), p. 3. 87 which as used in this study is perceptual speed. This 1s the ability to perceive detailed visual objects quickly and accurately. 6 Any activities requiring the rapid distinc tion of similari~iee and differences such as clerical work and inspection, would use this ability. Progr~ssive atrices - This is a test which was in cluded not because it measures an independent factor but because it fulfills a function not covered by the other tests. The Progressive M atrices is a test of a person's capacity at the time of the test to apprehend m ean ingless figures presented for his observation, see the relations between them, conceive the nature of the figure completing each system of relations presented, and, by so doing, develop a systematic method of reason1ng.7 Factor analysis has indicated that reasoning is the chief factor involved although perception and space were also identified . Since no words are used in the problems the test can be particularly useful with students suffering from verbal handicaps as a result of foreign language back grounds or culturally impoverished homes. The Progressive 6 J.P. Guilford and ayne s. Zim merman, The Guil ford-Zimmerman Aptitude §urvey - ! anual of Instructions and ~nterpret~tions (Beverly Hills: Sheridan Supply Com pany, 1947), p. 4. 7 J.C. Raven, Guide to Using Progressive 1 atrices (London: H. K. Lewis and Company, 1950) , p. 1. 88 atrioes served as the classification test for the British military services during the last war and did not seem t o discriminate against any particular language background. It is included here as a measure of non-verbal reasoning ability in a further attempt to isolate the nature of the relation of mobility aspiration to intellectual factors . The Guilford-Zimmer a.n Temperament Survey - Thie is a personality inventory hich measures ten temperament var iabl s which hav~ been isolated by factor analysis . General Activity - A high score indicates str ong drive, energy, and activity . A lo score indicates slo - ness and fatigability . Restraint - A high score indicates self-control , serious mindedness, and persistent effort . A low score in dicates impulsiveness and a carefree attitude . Ascendance - A high score indicates leadership habits and a liking for being conspicuous . A low score i n dicates subm1ssi7eness and a dislike for being conspicuous . Sociability - The high and low scores indicate the contrast between the person who is at ease 1th others , enjoys their company and readily establishes intimate rap port, versus the withdrawn , reserved person who is hard to get to know. Emotional StabilitI - A high score indicates 89 optimism and cheerfulness, on the one hand, and emotional stability on the other. A very low score is a sign of poor mental health in general; in other words, a neurotic ten dency. ObJect1vitI - High scores mean less egoism; lo scores mean touchiness or hypersensitivity. Friendliness - A high score may mean lack of fighting tendencies to the point of pacifism, or it may mean a healthy, realistic handling of frustrations and in juries. It may also mean an urge to please others; a de sire to be liked. A low score means hostility 1n one form or another. Thoughtfulnes.s - A high score indicates reflec tiveness and mental poise . A low score indicates an inter est in overt activity . Personal Relations - A high score means tolerance and understanding of other people and their human weakness es. A low score indicates fault-finding and criticalness of other people and institutions generally . This factor seems to represent the core of "getting along with others." asculinity - A high score indicates an interest in "masculine" activities and vocations, inhibition in emo tional expressions, resistance to fear and "hardboiled" attitude. A low score indicates an interest in "feminine" 90 act1v1t1 sand voe tions, emotional expressiveness , and ast1diouene a. 8 Occupational Interest InveptorI - Level pf Interest , · as measur d by this section or the inventory , perports to distinguish bet en those ho have interest in occupations hich are i ple, routine, and unskilled and those which involve ori inality, 1nv ntiveness, careful planning and prof ional 111.9 It should be noted that no presuppo- sition as made that this test as a valid measure of level ot aspiration. Since the vocational objective selected by the tud nt 1s us din this tudy as a criterion of the level of vocational aspiration the Level of Interest Sec tion of the Occupational Interest Inventory is included to test the belief or its authors that it 1s in fact a measure of level of interest. Scores on this test are compared in this study with the actual level of interest as disclosed by the selection of a vocational objective. 8 J . P . Guilford and Wayne S. Zimmerman, The Guil ford-Zimmerman Temierament Survll (Beverly Hills: Sheridan Supply Company, 19 91, 12 pp . 9 Edwin A. Lee and Louis P . Thorpe, Manual of D1rec tiop~ - Occupatiop~! Interest Inventory - Advanced Series (Hollywood: California Test Bureau, 1943), 6 pp . III. GROUP STUDIED In selecting a sample to test the hypotheses tormu lated it was necessary to consider certain developmental aspects to make the study mean1ngtul. It seemed that stu dents at the point or graduating from high school are at that stage or their maturity where planning for vocations is an expected task. Choices made prior to this may have little meaning since, to many, the completion or high school 1s such an expected part ot growing up that the in dividual merely carries out the imposed tasks set by fam ily, peers, and school. At the stage where high school graduation 1s near, however, the individual must choose among the alternatives offered. o matter ho tentative his decisions he mu t decide among going to work, attending college, attending some other poet-high school institu tions, and other possible choices. It 1s recognized that these choices and the individual's control of them are a matter of degree and many times the student's decision to attend college is no more his to make than was his decision to continue high school. Ho ever, it was felt that if one, and only one, stage as to be selected to study aspiration, it might be best examined at the senior in high school level since our society looks at that period as a choice point for most adolescents regarding future vocations. 92 The careful , thorough, case study approach to interest development done by Ginzberg verifies the belief that boys of this age are characteristically in a transitional per iod passing from t ntative to realistic vocational choic a. By this time the selection of vocational objectives is bas d not only on interest and capacity but on the value system of the individual adolescent. No more realistic choices will be made llll:til the boy has actually tried out the occupations he is considering. For those aspiring to high level occupations this may not occur until several years have gone by.lO This stage ould seem to offer the maximum of self understanding through educatio nal back ground and the minimum or limiting factors engendered by family r sponsibilities. Additional reasons for electing boys at this age of developm ent lie in the general assump tion of stability of intellectual developm ent by late ado- lescence . oat psychologists agree that by this age the learning curve has completely, or nearly, leveled off. Because of this, any differences found among groups might be expected to remain stable to a greater extent than if they had been found in a younger group, Interest, too, is 10 Eli G1nzberg, et al, Oocupation~l Choice: An Approach~~ General Ipeory (Ne York: Columbia Univer sity Press, 1951) , p. 250 93 more apt to be stable when measured in late adolesc nee than wh n measured earlier. From a consideration of all these factors it as concluded that the senior year in high school as the best t1m to study the phenomena in question. Among these high school seniors further limitation was felt nee ssary in terms of sex and race . The status level of a family is usually determined in terms of the father's occupation rather than the mother's, even h n she works outside the hom. For this reason, the sampl as restricted to males . Boys ould seem to have fe er sex restrictions placed on them and consequently have the max imum degree of freedom in vocational selection. Boys, too , might be more xpected to equate vocational choice 1th its attendant socio-economic privileges hereas girls might be more apt to think of m aTriage as their method of establish ing an adult status level . The sample as restricted to hite boys because of many of the same reasons as ere discussed with regard to sex. Limitations in occupational choice seem greater for members of minority racial groups than for the majority group . Because of this thinking the boys who ere negroes , orientals, or who lived in homes where Spanish as spoken ( exican-Amer1can background) were excluded from the sam- 94 ple. An additional reason for this limitation 1s the pos sibility that int 11 ctual and t mperament factors associ ated with one group's mobility aspirations might not b common to other group • It a tel t more prof itabl to rule out these variables than to have them obscure the in terpretation of the findings. To test the formulated hypotheses large numbers were needed. Consequently, a hundred percent sample a ob tain d of the high school senior boys counsel d by the Ad visement Service during the school year 1950-51 ho er hite and ho complet d th coun el1ng process sufficient ly to have taken the intelligence and temperament testing previously d scribed and ho stated the occupation of their status parent and selected a vocational objective ror them selves. This sample is described 1th regard to the status level of the home and the direction of the child's aspir ation in Tabla I. Of the 1,349 boys included in the total group studied, 1,232 had also taken the Level of Interest Section of the Occupational Interest Inventory and, there fore, the relation of Level of Interest scores and voca tional aspiration level was also examined. In spite of the large total number involved some of the groups were too small to permit the calculation of 11 t" ratios ithout further grouping and, as a consequence, boys I I 95 TAELE I TOTAL SAMPLE ( h1te ale Seniors in Los Angeles High Schools Counseled by the Advisement Service During the School Year 1950-51- Grouped according to the Alba Edwards' Scale by Their Home Status and Their Direction of Vocational Aspiration) HOE STATUS Professional DIRECTION OF ASP !RATION Stable Downward Total Professional 17_ ----~------------------------- anagerial and Official Clerical and Kindred Skilled Semi-skilled Unskilled Total of Sample Upward 200 Stable Downward 10 - Total M anagerial and Official 391 Upward Stable Downward Total Clerical and Kindred Upward Stable Do nward Total Skilled Up ard Stable Downward Total Semi-skilled Upward Stable 189 5 288 291 2 164 36 . . 1 .... T .... o __ ta ..... 1 __ u_.n .... s __ k __ i __ l __ l ..... e __ d _______ ~ ______ 3z * 1349 96 from semi-skilled hom a ere grouped into (1) those with aspirations for upward mobility and (2) others. Boys from unskilled homes ere grouped into (1) those 1th aspira tions for mobility to white collar Jobs and (2) those as piring to manual Jobs. This latter group was itself up ard mobile 1th the exception of one boy but the dichotomy is based on the degree of mobility aspiration, rather than the kind, in this case. Because of the 11 itations imposed and in view of the fact that the sample as large and dra n from ten dif ferent schools in various sections of a large and diverse school district, it is believed that the representativeness sought 1s likely to have been achieved. Chapter III has described the components of the study, which is considered to be causal-comparative, the vocational counseling which the subjects received and which was considered a catalytic precondition to the examination of relationships, the test materials used, and the group studied. Vocational counseling was given to 1,349 white high school senior boys attending ten high schools in the Los Angeles School District. Their vocational objectives were considered a measure of their level of vocational aspiration. This level of vocational aspiration indicated a desire to move up ard from their present home status, I stay at that same status level, or move downward from it. Boys falling into these three groups 1th regard to their mobility aspirations ere then compared with regard to their scores on tests of intelligence, temperament, and interest. Chapter IV discusses the findings regarding boys from professional homes. 97 CHAPTER IV FINDI GS REGARD! G BOYS FRO P OFESSIONAL HO ES T 1 ch pt rd orib s hat ism ant by the sooio- economic class designat as prof ss1onal. It then indi- cates the vocational aspiration pattern of boys from homes of this level {Table II). Aft r r port on th psyoholog- 1cal findings regarding th stable and do ward mobile from professional homes (Figure 1), an xamination is made of the significance of differences in these to groups (Tables III, r.v and V). The sum mary is in th form of a descrip tion of the stable and don ard mobile aspirant from thi level. Ed ards' description of the professional group indi cates the kind of home background possessed by boys from this socio-econom ic level. The first of the social-econom ic groups--Pro fessional persons--is composed of the professionally trained workers. These, more than most other work ers, are engaged in purely intellectual pursuits, as contrasted with other service pursuits and pur suits directly related to the production, exchange, or distribution of material goods. Professional persons, perhaps more than the workers in any other social-economic group, are pursuing their occupa tions primarily because of true professional inter est in their chosen fields of work, rather than be cause of monetary or other considerations. Artists, authors, teachers, preachers, physicians, musicians, together with the other professional workers, plain- 99 ly form a distinct social-economic class. 1 In examining the vocational aspirations, as they are summarized in Table II, of boys from this group it must be remembered that upw~rd mobility is, by definition, impos sible for these boys since their homes are at the top level of Ed ards' scale • . i ore than two-thirds express a desire to remain at- this level, that is, they aspire to stability. Of tho e aspiring to down ard mobil ity more than half want to work at the managerial and official level hile very fe aspire to manual occupations. It is interesting to note that none aspire to unskilled occupations. The most ready conclusion to be drawn from Figure 1 is that the abilities of this group , regardless of aspira tion level, are generally better than that of most high school seniors . Ability in verbal meaning , reasoning, and number facility particularly demonstrate this observation with means of the stable group above the seventieth per centile. Level of interest scores also are higher than the average. With regard to temperament scores looking at Figure 1 shows that all scores tend to be in the middle area although scores in restraint and in personal rela- 1 Alba • Edwards, Popula~ion - C9mparative Occupa tion Statistics for the United States, 187Q ,!& 1940 (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943) t P • 1 79 • TAH..,E II LEVEL OF OCCUPATIO AL ASPIRATION ( BOYS FRO PROFESS IO AL HO ES) A p1rat1on Level Number Prof es s1onal 12:3 - Total Stable 123 -- anagerial and Off19ial g7 Clerical and Kindred 15 Skilled 11 Sem1-ak1lled 2 Unskilled 0 - - Total Downward obile ~5 - GRAND TOTAL 178 - 100 Pere nt 69.1 - 69 15.2 8.4 6.2 1.1 . o,o j1. 100 - 101 ABILITIES Percentiles 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 I Verbal ean1ng D .. s Space I I a D s _R_ea __ s_o __ n __ i_n_g _____ , ____ D ________________ _ Number Facility Word Fluency Perceptual Speed • D Progress iv atric s M mory INTEREST Level of Interest 40 s D D - s D • •• s D s Percentiles 50 60 • 70 80 s D Advisement Service, Los Angeles City Schools Strati fied Norms. Key: S = Stable; D = Downward M obile FIGURE l M EAN SCORES OF BOYS FROi PROFESSIONAL HO ES - ENT Percentil s Gen ral Activity R traint Ase ndanc Soci b111t Emotional Stability_ ObJ ct1v1ty Fri ndliness 30 40 • s D D D Thoughtfulness D Personal S Relations D s D D s s ~o s D D s asculinity of S Interest D s • s Published Norms - College Students Key: S: Stable; D = Downward obile FIGURE 1 (continued) 60 EAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO PROFESSIO AL HO ES - 103 t1ons, with means at the fortieth percentile or below, are lo er than those ot college students. To learnt~~ significance of the differences in ability scores between the group which aspires to profes sional occupations and that which indicates aspirations for other occupations e examine Table III. This table shows that the boy 1th aspirations for stability at the profes sional level is significantly higher in verbal meaning, in reasoning and in the Progressive atrices than is the boy from the same home background level who aspires to down ward mobility. These differences are significant at the one percent level of confidence. He also exceeds the down- ard mobile in memory at the five percent level of confi dence. All other ability factors m easured show a tendency for the boy 1th aspirations for stability to make better scores than the boy with aspirations for down ard mobility. With the exceptions mentioned, however, these tendencies are not statistically significant. Table IV sho a that there is no significant differ ence in the scores in level of interest although the direc tion of superiority is toward the stable. Table V hich examines the nature and significance of temperament differences between the stable and the down ward mobile shows no differences significant at the one 104 TAB.,E III ABILITY FAC ..ASSOCIATED I H ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBil...ITY--BOYS FRO PROFESSIONAL HO ES Aspiration level Stable 123 Downward gbile 55 Stable-Downward SPACE Aspiration level Stable Do n ard obile Comparison N · 123 55 Stable-Downward ob1le REASONING A p1rat1on level N Stable 123 Do n.,ard obile, .. 55 Coipparison Aspiration level Stable Downward obile I Comparison ., N 123 55 Stable-Do nward Mobile I I ORD FLUENCY Asl)1rat1on level Stable Downward Mobile - Comparison N 123 55 an 36.211 3 an 2 1. ean 19.1i4 15.564 3,550 Mean Mean 46.138 43.091 3.227 ** - One percent level S.D. 9.0S2 8::•7~. - s.E.airr 1.446 S.D. 16.574 _8.694 s .. a,rr. 1.~22 S.D. 5.551 1 5~,217 S.D. 9.818 7.866 s.E.a1rr 1.391 S.D. 10.7aB 11.835 s.E.a1rr 1.884 .822 1.189 t .957 1.183 S.E. an .502 .724 t 4.030** S.E. ean .889 1.070 t 1.034 S.E. Mean • .977 1.611 t 1.713 105 TA1LE III (continued) ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR .... SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY-•BOYS FRO PROFESSIONAL HO ES PERCEPTUAL SPEED As21rat1on 1 vel N an S.D. S.E. ean Stable 123 4 .325 9.657 .874 Do n ard ob1le 55 4 82 10.117 1,,11 • Com:ear1 on 2 S.E•d1ft t Sta.bl -Downward obile .7. ~ l.~~l 145~ PROGRESS IVE TRICES As21rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Stable 123 5 .837 6.970 .631 Downward - obile 55 48 . 82 5.26~ .116 Com2arison 2 s.E.a1ti t Stable-Downward • ~ -2~4 2.1s~ ... E" ORY As21rat1on level N an S.D. S.E. ean Stable 123 3 .398 9.558 .805 Do nward obile ~~ ~ • 4~ 8.42~ 1.146 ComEarison 2 S.E.dJ:t:t t 2.20~* - Stable-Down ard 2.25~ l .4~E> *Five percent 1 vel **One percent level . • T B.., E IV INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED I H ASPIRATION S FOR SOCIO-COO IC O BILITY--BOYS FRO PROFESSIO AL HO ES LEVEL OF INTEREST - As21rat1on level N ean s. o. S.E. Stable 118 71.000 9.213 Downward ~ obile 5~ 6 '1 a.22~ Com12arison : 2 S.E.djff 106 ean .852 1.222 t Stable-Do nward. obile 1. 2~ l.~04 1.012 107 TAS:..E V TEMPERA ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO. IC r·oBil.J ITY--BOYS FRO PROFESSION.AL HOMES GENERAL ACTIVITY Aspiration level Stable Downward obile N 123 55 Comparison Stable-Downward obile RESTRAINT Aspiration level Stable Do nward ob1le N 123 55 ean 17.049 17.073 .. ean 15.415 14.400 S.D. 5.852 5.845 S.E.dif;t: S.D. 5.126 5.726 S.E.dif'f S.E. ean .530 .795 t -.025 S.E. ean .464 .779 t Stable-Downward oblle 1~015 .907 1.119 ASCENDANCE _Asp1ra~1on level Stable Do n ard obile • Comparison N 123 55 Stable-Downward obile SOCIABILITY ean 16.545 16.273 S.D. 5.976 5.712 .947 S.E. ean .54i .777 t .287 -·-----·------------------ _Aspiration level N M ean S.D. S.E. M ean Stable 123 18.228 6.815 .617 Do nward .Mobile 55 ___ 1_8_._2 __ 5_4 ___ 6_.4_1_0____ .872 _Co_m_p_a_r_i_s_o_n ________ ~ ~1~-- M ~2t--___ S_.E.g_1_ff __ , __ t __ _ Stable-Downward M obile -.020 1.ooS -.024 EMOTION AL STABILITY - _Aspiration level Stable Downward M obile Com parison N 123 55 Stable-Downard M obile ------------------------------- M ean 17 .114 16.164 S.D. 5.839 4.930 S.E•d1ff S.E. ean .529 .671 t 1.112 108 TAH.,E V (continued) T ERAMENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-EC. ONO IC OBIL ITY--BOYS FRO PROFESSIONAL HO ES OBJECTIVITY A E1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. an Stable 123 17.163 5.810 .526 Don ard obile 55 14.764 5.662 .770 _Aspiration level N ean S.D. Stable 123 12.910 5.422 Downard obile 5~ 1 • 45 4.775 THOUGHTFULNESS .491 .650 t Aspir tion leyel N ean S.D. S.E. ean Stable-Do nward obile 1.3?0 .§35 1.653 PERSONAL RELATIO NS Aspiration level N ean . S.D. Stable 123 15.114 5.501 Downward qb1le 55 14. 82 4.4§7 ASCULINITY OF INTEREST s. E. ean .49S .611 t Aspiration level N .___,e~ap_n _____ ~s~.D_. _______ s_.E_. ___ e~a~n - Stable 123 -20.805 ~.118 .373 Downward ·1obile 55 19.582 3.370 .459 _Qomparison M1-M ~ S.E.diff t Stable-Downard obile 1.223 .592 2.066 *Five percent level . ... 109 percent level. It does sho, ho ever, that the stable is more objective and more masculine in his interests than 1s the down ard mobile. This difference is significant at the five percent level of confidence. This chapter has been concerned 1th the relation of mobility aspirations to various intelligenc, interest, and temperament factors in boys from professional homes. Ed ards' conception of this socio-econo ic level has been quoted to describe their home status. oat boys from pro fessional homes aspire to professional occupations and or those ho aspire to down ard mobility oat ant to ork at occupations at the managerial and official level hile very fe aspire to manual occupations. The group as a hole is above average in the abilities tested and above average in their level of interest scores. Their temperament scores tend to be in the middle area when compared with college students except that they are somewhat more impulsive and more intolerant in personal relations. The boy from a professional home who aspires to stability is superior in verbal meaning, reasoning, Pro gressive 1 atrices and in memory to the boy from the same home level ho aspires to downward mobility . All other abilities measured as well as level of interest indicate a tendency which was not statistically significant for him 110 to be superior to the do nward mobile . He 18 very bright, b 1ng above the fiftieth percentile on every ability meas ured except perceptual speed. In temperament he is more obJ ctive and more ma culine in hie interests than is the downward mobile and 1s characterized by somewhat more than av rage aecendance and thoughtfulness. His ability, inter est, and temperament seem uch like hat ould be expected in college students. The boy from a professional home ho aspires to don ard mobility is generally strong in his ability pat- t rn though inferior in verbal meaning, reasoning, Progres sive atrices, and memory to the boy from the same home level ho aspires to stability. In all other abilities tested there 18 a tendency, hich is not statistically significant, for him to be inferior to the boy with aspir ations for stability. This boy's weakest abilities are perceptual speed and memory; his strongest, number facility. In temperament he is more subjective and more feminine in his interests than is the boy with aspirations for stabil ity. His temperament is also characterized by impulsive ness, subjectivity, hostility and intolerance in personal relations when compared with the college student norm group . His level of interest is above the average. Al though generally inferior to his peers with aspirations for 111 stability his abilit1 s, level of interest, and temperament scores compare rather favorably with other high school seniors. Chapter IV has discussed the findings regarding boys from professional homes. Chapter V discusses the findings regarding boys from managerial and official homes. CHAPTER V FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FRO AND OFFICIAL HO ES NAGERIAL This chapter describes hat ism ant by th socio economic class designated as managerial and official. It indicates the vocational aspiration pattern of boy from homes ot this level (Table VI). After a report on the psychological findings regarding those with aspirations for upward mobility, for stability and tor downward mobil ity (Figure 2), an examination is made ot significance ot differences among these three groups (Tables VII, VIII and IX). The summary is in the form of a description of the upward mobile, stable and don ard mobile aspirant from this level. Edwards' description of the managerial and official group indicates the kind of home background possessed by boys from this socio-economic level. Proprietors, managers, and officials form a very important and in many respects a very distinct social-economic ~roup. They do most of the hiring and the "firing, they pay a relatively large pro portion of the taxes, they largely control capital, they largely det~rmine (in normal times) what the lines and the extent of production shall be, and, 1th their assistants, they direct the work of a large portion of the other workers. It is evident that the standard ot living of the proprietors, and their views on social and economic questions, fre quently 111 be quite different from those of their 113 employees. 1 Table VI sho s the vocational asp1rat1on pattern ot the boys from th1e level. It can be seen that half a.spire to upward mobility which would place th m 1n the profes sional class. About a fifth aspire to stability while the remainder indicate aspirations for downward mobility. Of those aspiring to downward mobility most hope to ork at the skilled level. The entire range of occupational levels is represented by the selections of th se boys but hr as more than half select the top level 1 es than on percent select the bottom level. In examining Figure 2 the most apparent conclusion is that the groups from this level sho a wide range in their mean scores in both ability and temperament. Ex amples of this conclusion are found in the abilities ar a in the high scores made by the up ard mobile in verbal meaning, reasoning, number facility and the Progressive atrices (all above the sixty-fifth percentile), the low scores made in perceptual speed and memory by both the stable and the don ard mobile, and the lo scores of the do nward mobile in word fluency (all belo the fortieth 1 Alba • Edwards, Populat1QD - Comparative QC9!J2! tion Statistics for the United States, 1870 to 1940 ( ash- 1ngton: United States Government Printing Office, 1943), p. 179. 114 TAaE VI LEVEL OF OCCUPATI NAL ASPIRATION ( BOYS FRO AGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO ES) ~s121rat19n L Number • Percent P rotessional 200 ~1.2 I Total Upward obile 200 :>l - a & I - Managerial and Oft1c1al 87 22.2 Total Stable 87 22 - Clerical and Kindred 42 10.7 a Skilled ~5. 14.1 • Semi-skilled 4 1.0 Unskilled 3 o.a ., I - • ■ - ~otal. ~ownward M obile_ 104 27 GRAND TOTAL ,21 100 • 115 ABil..ITIES . . . - 2~ Verbal Mean,1ne; Space Reasoning Number Facility: Word Fluency p r. Speed D Prog. Majirices Memory IN'r EREST 25 - 2~ - • • s - Percentiles 45 ~~ s D u s D s D D u s D - u s D - u s D - Percentiles 45 55 __ Level ot S Interest D §~ 1~ u - u a u s u 75 u Advisement S rvice, Los Angeles City Schools Strati fied Norms. Key: U a Upward Mobile; S = Stable; D =Don ard Mobile. FIGURE 2 EAN SCORES OF BOYS FROM MANAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO ES T G n ral Activity R traint D Ase ns7tano S901abil1ty Emotional Stability: ObJect1v1ty Fr1~ndliness Thoughtfulness_ Personal Relations 20 • s • Percentiles . :,o 40 s D D D D u D s s u u u u ascul1n1ty s s or Interest I I D Published Norms - College Students D D 50 D u s u u 116 u 60 s u s I s Key: U: Up ard Mobile; S: Stable; D: Don ard. Mobile. FIGURE 2 (continued) MEAN SCORES OF BOYS FROM MANAGERIAL AND OFF IC I.AL HO ES 117 percentile). Examples in the temperament area are found in th high soor s or the up ard mobile and stable in gen eral activity, ascendance, and soo1ab111ty and the low score ot the atabl and downward mobile 1n restraint. An ov rall conclusion drawn from 1nsp ction of this figur is that the average of th s boys' abilities and temperament are 1th a fe xceptions much like that or the norm groups. As a group th se boys have a higher level of in ter t than most. The sup riority of the up ard mobile in the ab111t1 s m asured ems vident a doe the simi larity of the stabl nd downward mob11. Table VII indicates the s1gn1t1cance ot the d1tt r eno sin ab111t1 s among the upward mobile, stable and downward mobile from this home level. The up ard mobile ar sup rior to the stable in every ability measured ex cept number facility and superior to the down ard mobile in every ability except space. All of these differences are significant at the one percent level except the com parisons 1th the stable 1n space and perceptual speed hich are significant at the five percent level. The superiority of the upward mobile is especially great in verbal meaning, reasoning, and the Progressive · atriees. The stable in turn are superior to the downward mobile only in number facility and that at the five percent level. All 118 TAaE VII ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO ANAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO ES y:ERBAL Upward 200 Stable 87 Do 104 Comp Up b1l -stable Up ar bile-Down- ard bile Stabl -Downward obile SPACE Upward obil 200 Stabl 87 Downward obile 104 Comparison Upward obile-Stable Up ard obile-Down ward ob1le Stable-Don ard obile REASONING Aspiration level N Upward ob1le 200 Stable 87 Downward obile 104 Comparison Upward Mobile-Stable Upward Mobile-Down ard Mobile Stable-Downward ob11E! *Five percent level **One percent level ean ean 2.078 -.556 ean 18.625 14.977 14.510 3.628 4.115 .461 - S.D. 8.860 I 8.932 9.24I S.E.d1,ft 1.149 1.106 l.J26 S.D. 10.551 9.901 10.162 S.E.d1tf 1.304 1.250 1.464 S.D. 5.982 5.308 5.615 S.E.diff .712 .697 .796 IP .628 .963 .911 t 5.298** 6.890N'* 1,157 1 .748 1.068 1.001 t 2.020* 1.662 -.380 - .424 .572 .553 t 5.096** 5.904** .587 119 TAELE VII ( continued) ABil., ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC KOBILITY--BOYS FRO MANAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL . HO ES yt}MBER FAC~ ITY I · Aspiration level N Up ard o b11 e 200 Stable 87 Do w rd obile 104 Comparison Up ard obile-Stable Upward obile-Down ard obile Stable-Downward ob1le I ORD FLUENCY Up ard ob1le 200 Stable 87 Do nward ob1le 104 Upward ob11 -stable Upward obile-Down ward obile Stable-Downward Mobile PERCEPTUAL SPEED ean 25.545 24.598 21.308 .947 4.237 3.290 ean _Aspiration level N Mean Upward ·obile 200 44.255 Stable 87 41.690 1 Downward ob1le 104 32-?98 Comparison , Ml-.L~2 Upward ob1le-Stable 2.565 Upward obile-Down- ward ~ob1le 4.957 Stable-Downward Mgb11Ef r ■I = 2.392 *Five percent level **One percent level S.D. 10.255 9.224 2-312 - S.E.dift 1.232 1.171 1.3~4 S.D. 11.529 10.446 10.55:z S.E.diff 1.391 1.322 1.~33 S.D. 9.615 9.684 10.264 S.E.ditf 1.247 1.219 :)..452 .727 .995 .918 t -.769 3.618** 2.430* :a11 1.126 1.040 t 3.457** 4.967** 1.147 s.E. ean .. .682 1.044 1.011 t 2.057* 4.066** 1.646 120 TAELE VII (cont1nu d) ABll..ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO ·re OBlLITY--BOYS FRO NAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO ES PROGRESSIVE ATRICES A Eiration 1 vel N ean S.D. S.E. an Upward ob11 200 50.425 4.847 .344 Stable 87 47 .161 6.902 .744 Downward obil! 104 46.012 6.44~ .6~~ Comparison 1- 2 S.E.dift t • 3.264 .820 3.980** Upward ob1le-Stable Upward obile-Do n- ward obile 4.406 .722 6.102** Stable-Down ard Mobil 1.142 ·218 1.168 ORY ASE1rat1on leyel N ean S.D. S.Es ean Upward obile 200 37.870 8.959 .635 Stable 87 34.747 10.959 1.182 Downward obile 104 24.62~ 2-2~~ ·212 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.Q;ift t Up ard obile-Stable 3.123 1.342 2.327* Up ard ~ obile-Down- ward Mobile 3.245 1.167 2.781** Stable-Downward ob1le .122 1.52~ .o:z2 *Five percent level **One percent level 121 of the differences are 1n the xpeot d direction--that is, upward mobile followed by stable followed by do nward mob1le--except in the case of spaoe where th downward mobile exceed the stable by a light and not 1gn1f1cant margin. Table VIII indicates that d1ff renc in level ot interest are significant at the on perc nt level b t en the upward and downward mobile and at th tiv pre nt level between the stable and down rd mob11. Th ditf r anee betw en the ~ upward mobile and th tabl 1 not sig nificant but is 1n the xpeoted direction. Table IX deals with the 1gn1t1cano oft mpera nt differences of boys from this hom l vel. Th up ard mobile are significantly mor restrain d and or thought ful than the other groups. These conclusion are 1gn1f1- cant at the one percent level with the exception of th comparison with the stable 1th regard tor traint h1oh is significant at the five percent level. Th up ard mobile are also more ascendant and more aociabl than th downward mobile at the one percent level of confid nee and more objective and more emotionally stable than th down ward mobile at the five percent lev 1. Th stable in turn are more ascendant, more sociabl, and more emotionally stable than the do nward mobile. The last named difference I 122 TABLE VIII INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO NAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO S LEVEL OF INTEREST Aspiration level N Upward obile 185 Stable 82 Downward o bile 97 Comparison Upward obile-Stable Upward obile-Do n ard obile Stable-Downward M obile *Five percent level **One percent level ... ean 09.870 68.280 64 8 2 1.590 4.932 3.342 •• S.D. S.E. an 8.650 -~38 9.092 1.010 2-973 1.018 S.E.dltt t 1.191i 1.332 1.201 4.106** 1.434 2.320* I 123 TABLE IX TE. iPERAMENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONOD IC . OBILITY--BOYS FRO MANAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO ES GENERAL ACTIVITY As21r tion level N r ean S.D. S.E. ean Up ard obile 200 17.565 5.142 .364 Stable 87 18.276 4.820 .520 Downward obile 104 1 O 6 ~ ~25 .5~2 Comparison ~ S.E.d1!t: t I Upward obile-Stable -.711 .634 -1.121 Upward obile-Down- ard obile .469 .644 .728 Stable-Downward obile 1.180 .:z44 l.~86 RESTRAINT As~1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward obile 200 15.050 I 4. 763 .338 Stable 87 13.563 5.038 .543 Down ard obile 104 12 65 5.122 .5Q~ F Comparison 2 S.E•dlt! t Upward obile-Stable 1. 7 .640 2.323* Upward obile-Do n- ward obile 2.685 .608 4.416** Stable-Down ard Mobile 1.198 .742 1.614 • ASCENDANCE _Aspiration level N Mean S.D. S.E. ean 5.334 - .378 Upward ob1le 200 17.230 Stable 87 17.046 5.360 .578 Downward Mobile 104 1 .202 5.703 .562 - - Comparison .1 t S.E.diff t I . - .691 .266 - Upward Mobile-Stable Upward obile-Down- ard Mobile 2.028 .678 2.991** Stable-Downward obile 1.844 .806 2.288* - - *Five percent level **One percent level .., 124 TAlLE IX ( continued) T E -.. .......... NT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBll.,ITY--BOYS FRO GERI.AL AND OFFICIAL HOMES SOCIABll., ITY Up Stabl Dow Comp N .. 206' 87 .. 04 Up ~e Upwa e- own- ward b11 Stable-Downward I - an i .660 I 20.425 1 4 2 2 - Up 200. i .915 Stable 87 17.115 Dgwn ob1le 104. l .163 Up bil ble -. 0 Upwa bile-Down- ward bil Stable-Downward obile a - Upward le Stable Downward ob1le I I - & Comparison . - N 200- I 87 104 II 1.752 1.952 - ean S.D. ~-451 ■I 5.884 6.0 S.D. 5.342 4.939 ;.972 .653 .620 .72J S.D. 5.94S 5.487 ~.415 • - Upward obile-Stable Upward obile-Down ard obile Stable-Downward M obile • • 727' a 1.542 .680 ' ' I. £ 2 a : == : rs 5 • • *Five percent level **One percent level a t -.978 1.587 2.246* I .379 .532 ,,490 t • - · · 306 2.826** • 2 .592 ,;,; t 1.553. 2.268* 125 TA!LE IX (cont1nu d) / TE ERAMENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO NAGERIAL AND OFFICIAL HO S FRIENDLINESS -· Up rd obile 200 Stable 87 Downward obile 104 Upward ob1le-Stabl Upward obile-Down ward obile Stable-Do nward obil THOUGHTFUL NESS Up ard obile 200 Stable 87 Downward obile 104 Comparison • Upward ob1le-Stable Upward ob1le-Down ward obile Stable-Downward Mobile PERSONAL RELATION S II Upward ob1le 200 Stable .87 Downward ob1le 104 • • Comparison I Upward ob1le-Stable Upward ob1le-Down ward obile Stable-Do nward obile *Five percent level **One percent -level an i .850 12.080 1 5 . 2 .110 1.465 .695 - an 2 1. 92 2.687 .12~ . ean 2 -.200 1.054 13.254 5.207 ••■ I .369 5.613 .605 4.787 I 1472 S.E.41t'f t .709 • ·1.686 .599 2.446 .768. 905 S.D. 4:851 4.737 5.026 S.E.gJ,ft .61~ .602 .n1 S.D. 4.723 5.249 ~-038 _ .657· .598 .752_ I .34Ji: .511 1495 t 3-071** 4.463** 1.118 I t -.306 1.762 1.668 - TAILE IX (cont1nu d) T E ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP IRATIO S FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OB1LITY--BOYS FRO NAGERIAL A OFFICIAL HO S NTEREST - - l N n S.D. S.E. n - ·3. 99~ I • .28; 200 19. 35 Stabl 87 19.621 4.090 .441 Do nward 104 l 865 4.226 .416 I - Comparison 2 S.E•d1ft t - Upward obile-Stable .01 .523 .027 Up ard ob1le-Down- ward ob1le -.230 .503 -.457 Stable-Down ard ob1le -.244 .606 -.40< : fl g git ==: :: = ' = - • • 12il , is signiticant at the one percent level and the others at the five percent level. D1ft reno s which are not 1n the xp cted direction are general activity, soc1ab111ty, emo tional stability, and personal relations in hich the stable made higher scores than the upward mobile but the differences ere not significant and masculinity of inter est in which a non-significant diff rence tavor d the down ward mobile over the stable. This chapt r has b n cone rned 1th the relation ot mobility a p1rat1on to various 1ntell1genc, int r t, and t mp rament factors in boys from manag rial and official homes. Edwards' conception of this socio-economic 1 vel h s be n quoted to describe their home status. About halt of these boys a pire to up ard mobility to the professional level, about a fifth aspire to stability, and the remaind r to downward mobility particularly to the skilled level occupations. The group as a whole is characterized by a wid range in ability and temperament means 1th the up ard mobile generally superior to the other two groups . The up ard mobile boy from a managerial and official home has an aspiration level like that or about half or his peers from the same background. Hie abilities are gener ally high and he exceeds others from the same home level who have different aspirations in nearly all abilities 128 studied. These difterences are esp oially significant in verbal meaning and reasoning. Hia level ot int r st 1 higher than the other two groups rrom his home lev 1 and his temperament differs from theirs in bing mor r str in ad and more thoughtful. He is also mor ascendant, more emotionally stable, more objective, and more friendly than the downward mobile boy but these differences do not hold when he is compared with the stable. He is ch racteriz d by superior abilities and lack of temperam nt d v1ation. The boy from a managerial and official home who a pir s to remain at that 1 vel has the vocational aspira tion pattern of about a fifth of his p rs 1th th same background. His abilities are 1 ss than th up ard mobile in practically all factors studied, whereas he axe eds the downward mobile in all factors except space but only his superiority in num ber facility is significant statisti cally. Another way to describe his ability pattern is to say that it resembles that of the downward mobile much more than that of the upward mobile. He is more impulsive and and more concerned with overt activity than the up ard mobile, more ascendant, sociable, and emotionally stable than the downward mobile. His level of interest falls be tween the other to groups. The downward mobile boy from a managerial and off1- 129 cial home has the aspir~tion pattern of about a fourth of his peers from thi level. He 1s most apt to be aspiring to a skilled occupation. He 1s apt to be some hat below average in the abilities measured and coneid rably below in perceptual speed, word nuency and memory. His abil1- t1 s are significantly lower than the upward mobile's 1n everything but space. He more closely resembles the stable 1n ability but is significantly inferior to him in number facility. H ls lo er than either of the other groups in his level or intere t scores. In temperament he 1s more submissive and 1 s emotionally stable than the other groups. He le also more impulsive, more subjective, more hostile, aoo. more concerned 1th overt activity than the upward mobile and more shy than the stable. He is characterized by an ability and temperament pattern much more si!llilar to that of the stable aspirant than to that of the upward mobile. Chapter V has discussed the findings regarding the boys from managerial and official homes. Chapter VI dis cusses the findinss regarding the boys from clerical and kindred homes. CHAPTER VI FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HO ES This chapter deecr1b hat 1 m ant by th socio- economic olass designated as clerical and 1ndr • It indicates the vocational aspiration p ttern or boys from homes of this level (Table X). Att r a report on th p y cholog1cal findings regarding those 1th aspirations tor upward mobility, for stability, and tor don ard mobility (Figure 3), an examination is made or th sign1t1oance ot differences among these three groups (Tables XI, XII, and XIII). The summary is in the form or a description or th upward mobile, stable, and do nward. mobile aspirant from this level. Ed ards' d scr1pt1on of the clerical and kindred group indicates the kind of home background possessed by boys from this socio-economic level . Clerks and kindred workers, frequently referred to as "white-collar workers," form a large and rapidly growing olass--a class between the usually better-educated and better-paid professional work ers and the less well-educated but better-paid skilled workers . The skilled workers often belong to unions, and many of the professional person$ belong to professional soc1eti a, but only a small proportion of the clerical workers are organized. As a class, they are not yet fully group conscious . Until recent years, and 1n many cases until the present, the relation of clerical workers to their employers has been largely a personal relation . But the clerical class is becoming group conscious, it is beginning to organize. When it becomes thor oughly group conscious and completely organized, it can exert a great infiuence on social and econo mic questions. The clerical orker, like many other work rs, is dependent on others for his Job--for the chance to earn a living. The average salary is only enough to meet the demand of a very moderate stand ard of living. Little is left for savings. He lives, all too frequently--as do many other work ers--face to race with the hazard of unemployment and with the ri k or dependency 1n his old age. It is quite evident that his outlook on life and his stand on many of the social and economic problems of the day will be quite different from that of the proprietor and may be considerably ditf rent trom that of the professional man. 131 From Table X e learn the vocational aspiration pattern of these boys. Two-thirds aspire to upward mobil ity and three-fourths of thee want occupations at the professiona.l level. Of the one-fifth ho aspire to down ward mobility the gr at majority select occupations at the skilled level. The remainder, of course, express aspira tions for stability. The entire range of occupational ..... levels is represented by the selections of these boys but whereas more than half select the top level less than one percent select the bottom level. In examining Figure 3 we learn that the mean scores 1 Alba • Edwards, Population - Comparative Occupa tion Statistics for the United States, 1870 !& 194Q (Wash ington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943), pp. 179-80. I 132 TAFLE X LEVEL OF OCCUPATIONAL ASP !RATION ( BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HOMES) Aspiration Le 1 umber Percent P rotes 1onal 146 50.7 I ■ a rial and Ott1o1al 4) 14.9 - Total Upward obile 189 66 Clerical and Kindred 43 14.9 Total Stable 43 1~ Skilled 51 17.7 II Semi-skilled 4 1.4 Unskilled 1 0.3 I F I Total Downward obile 56 12 - GRAND TOTAL ,. 288 100 · · - 133 ABll., !TIES P re ntiles -25 ~~ 45 ~~ 6~f. u V rbal s aning D u s Spac D u s R aeon1ng D F u Numb r s Fac111t1 D u ord s Fluenc1 D u Per. s s2 d D - u Prog. s atr1ces D u s emor? D INTEREST P ercent11 es 2~ 2~ 4~ ~~ 6~ u Level of s Interest D Advisement s rvice of Loe Angeles City Schools Stra- t1f1ed Norms. Key: U • Upward ob11e; S : Stable; D = Downward obile. FIGURE 3 EAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO· CLERICAL AND KINDRED HOMES Percentiles g~ 2~ 4~ 2~ 65 u General s AotJ.vitI D u s Restr int D u s Ascendanc D u s Soc1ab111 tx D u ,., .,,, Emotional s St b111ty D a I • ■ u s ObJ ct1v1ty D - u s Fri ndliness D u s Tho\lsb~fulness D u Personal s Relations D u ascul1n1ty s of Interest D Published Norms - College Students Key: u = Upward -obile; S : Stable; D - Downward - obile. FIGURE 3 (continued) EAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HO ES 135 of the sub-groups from this level indicate a ide range or achievement in ability • . eans range from around the seven tieth percentile in number facility and the Progr ss1ve atricee to below the thirtieth in ord fluency and p rcep tual speed. The means or all three groups are above the fiftieth percentile in number facility and all are below in perceptual speed and memory . Another observation would be that the up ard mobile and stable resemble each other much more closely in their ability, temperament, and level or · . _..,. · - · · ·- __ ., ______ .., rn rest pa1;~terr-, than ett er resembles tne do·· ii ard. ··uro- b1le. en these boy ar compar d 1th the college stu- d nte norm group on the temperament test, we find that they are more activ, more impulsive, more subj ctive, more hostile, nd more concerned 1th overt activity. Table XI indicates the significance of the dift r ences in abilities among the up ard mobile, stable, and downward mobile from this home level. None of the differ ences between the upward mobile and the stable are statis tically significant and three--reason1ng, number facility, and word fluency--are not in the expected direction. Both the upward mobile and the stable exceed the downward. mobile in nearly every ability measured by significant margins . For the upward mobile over the downward mobile these dif ferences are all significant at the one percent level of TAELE XI ABn..ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR .... SOCIO-ECONO IC OB~ITY--BOYS FROK . CI.ERICA!; AND KINDRED HOMES VERBAL MEANING A p1rat1on .l~vel Upward obile Stable Downward o b11 - ■ - - Up ard ob1le-Stable Upward ob1le-Down ,_.,ard ob1le Stable-Do nward obile an 33.460 32.326 7 2 1.134 6.103 • SPACE - I ■ ~-969 Upward obile ·189 Stable 43 _ Do nward obile 56, Compari on A I P Upward obile-Stable Upward ob1le-Down ward ob1le Stable-Down ward ob1le - REASONING Aspiration l~vel ~ N Upward Mobile · i89 Stable 43 Downward ob1le ~6 Comparison Upward obile-Stable Upward ob1le-Down ward obile Stable-Do nward · obile £ I J \ T : ! : *Five percent level **One percent level • • ean -·2. 93 3.368 .87~ -· Mean 2 -.237 4.300 4;1J7 S.D. S.E.ditt 1.619 1.282 1.a:,e S.D. 10.$17 10.376 10.n.2 I A S.E.ditt 1. 778 •.. 1.638 2.156 S.D. I s .6~8 5.982 4.760 1.010 .762 1.120 S.E. - .700 2,703*!! . - 3 .774 1.601 1.444 t I 1.462 2.056* .406 I S.E. Mean .Zi-10 .923 l .642 t -.235 5.643** _ /t.O~l*!f' 137 TAILE XI (continued) ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO _ a.,ERICAL AND KINDRED HOMES BER FACILITY As21ra~ion lev 1 N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward ob1le 189 24.053 .. e;229 .600 Stable 43 25.023 8.310 1.282 Downward obile ~6 21. 1 1!522 1.025 Compar1 on 2 S.E•d1ff t Upward obile-St ble -.970 1 .4lb - -.685 Upward obil -Down- ward ob1le 2.696 1.188 2.269 Stable-Downward ob1le 3.666 1,642 2.23~*. ■ ORD FLUENCY .. As;e1rat19n lev l N an S.D. S.E. ean Upward ob1le i89 45.037 10.435 .761 Stable 43 45.116 10.388 1.603 Downward ob11 ~6 ~ .8 5 8.617 1.162 - - Comparison 2 S.E.ditt t I • 1.774 -.044 Upward ob1le~Stable -.079 Upward ob11e-Do n- ward ob11 7.172 1.389 5.156** Stable-Downward obile 1.241 • 1.280 ~-6~7* PERCEPTUAL SPEED . Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E • ean 1S9 4 .153 9.362 • .683 Upward ob1le Stabl 43 43.605 12.142 1.873 Downward ob11 ~6 38 7 9.239 1.246 I ■ Comparison 2 S.E.d1rr t • L A - Upward obile-Stable 1.5 1.993 .777 Upward obile-Down- ward ob1le 7.046 1.420 4.962** Stable-Downward Mobile I ~-428 2.242 2.445~. - Five percent level **One percent level 0 ) 138 TA1LE XI (continued) ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OB~ITY--BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HO S PROGRESSIVE ATRICES . Aspiration !evel N ean S.D. S.E • ean 189 50.116 a 5 .1iS2 .400 Upward obile Stable 43 48.674 6.056 .934 Downward obile ~6 44 601 6.j~~ .85~ Comparison 2 S.E.d1tt t • 1.016 1.419 Upward Mobile-Stable 1. 2 Upward Mobile-Down- ward Mobile 5.509 .943 5.842* Sta bl a-Downward Mobile 4.067 1.26~ 2-21~*! MEMORY Af21rat1on,level N Mean S.D. S.E. ean Upward Mo b11 e 189 38.751 9.52i5 ·.690 Stable 43 36.744 9.723 1.500 Downward .Mobile ,6 31.5~4 . 2-540 1.286 I • • Comparison l-M2 S.E.diff t - 1.653 1. 214 . Upward Mobile-Stable 2.007 Upward Mobile-Down- ard Mobile 7 .197 1.462 4.923** Stable-Downward Mobile 5 ·\20 1.216 2.626** ■ **One p rcent level 139 confidence except for spac and number facility which ar s1gni!1cant at the f1ve percent level. The stable exceed the downward mobile in all abilities except space and all of these differences are significant at the one percent level except that of number facility and perceptual speed hich are significant at the five percent level. This table bears out the observation suggested by Figure 3 that the up ard mobile and stable resemble each other much more closely than either does the down ard mobile. Table XII hich indicates the significance of dif ferences regarding the level of interest repeats the above findings. The differences bet een the up ard mobile and the stable are not stat1st1eally significant and both ex ceed the downward mobile by a margin which is significant at the one percent level of confidence. Table XIII examines the significance or the differ ences 1n temperament among the three groups from this home level. Again none of the differences between the up ard mobile and the stable are significant. Seven of these dif ferences tend to give the stable higher scores and three- restraint, friendliness, and thoughtfulness--show higher scores for the up ard mobile. The upward obile 1s more thoughtful than the downward mobile by a margin which 1s significant at the one percent level of confidence and more 140 TAELE XII INTEREST FA CTOR ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO. IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HO ES LEVEL OF INTEREST Up ard obile 1 n Stable 39 Downward , .. obile 49 Comparison Upward Mobile-Stable Upward ob1le-Down ward obile Stable-Do n ard obile **One percent level 68.228 8.974 .68S 68.128 9.355 1.518 61. t 8_4 ___ 7_. 5_48 _____ 1 _. 0_8_2 1-M 2 S.E.ditf t :100 1.666 .060 7.044 1.288 5.469** 6.944 1.868 3.717*~ 141 TAH.,E XIII TEMPE ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBll.,ITY-•BOYS FRO CL RICAL AND KINDRED HO S GENERAL ACTIVITY Upward. ob11 -stabl -1.7 O .915 -1.923 Upward ob1le-Down- ward ob1le -.518 .763 -.679 St bl -Down rd gb11 1.242 1.054 l. 78 RESTRAI Upward obil Stable Downward o bil 189" 43 56 Up ard obile-Stabl Upward ob1le-Do n ward ob1le Stable-Do n ard obile ean 1 .566 13.070 12 804 2 S.D. 4.910 5.186 5.106 .872 .770 lt055 .358 .800 .688 t 1.n6 2.288* .252 ASCENDANCE ........,.........,____,.......,. ____ ~~-------------------- _Asp1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Up ard obile 189 i5.889 5.616 .409 Stable 43 16.744 4.576 .706 Do n ard · obile 56 14 1 5.790 .781 Comparison 2 S.E.ditf t __ U_p_a_rd __ o_b_i_l_e_-S_t_a_b_l_e ____ ...... _-55-----. 8 ... l._.6~ ........ --_1-.-0-4 .... S- Upward Mobile-Don- ard obile 1.728 .882 1.959 Stable-Downard l~obi}e , 2.383 1.053 2.45'* *Five percent level 142 TAELE XIII (continued) TEMPE ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBil.,ITY--BOYS FRO CL ERIC.AL AND KINDRED HO ES SOCIAB~ITY A 91rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean 189 .868 o.403 • .467 Upward obile 1 Stabl 43 19.814 5.239 .808 Downward ob1le ~6 1 8 6.~21 .872 Compari on 2 S.E.ditt t Upward oblle-Stable -.9 .933 -1.014 Upward obile-Do n- ard obll .690 .995 .693 Stable-Downward ob11 1.636 1.124 1.370 - E OTIONAL STAB~ ITY As~1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. an Upward obile 189 16.931 5.774 .421 Stable 43 17.860 5.502 .849 Do nward Mobile ~6 16.64~ ~-2~8 .709 Comparison Ml- 2 S.E.d1ff t 9 .947 -.9S1 Upward obile-Stable -.929 Upward obile-Down- ward ob1le .288 .822 .350 Stable-Do n ard obile 1.211 1.104 1.102 OBJECTIVITY Aa~1rat1on level N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean Upward ob1le 189 ·io.612 6.171 .450 Stable -43 17.349 5.334 .823 D2wnward oblle !26 16.2~2 6.118 .82~ Comparison Ml- 2 S.E.ditf t I • -.677 .93S Upward Mobile-Stable -.722 Upward Mobile-Down- ard obile .440 .940 .468 Stable-Down ard Mobile 1.\11 1.16~ •2!22 · 143 TAl:LE XIII (continued) TEMPERAMENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HO ES FRIENIL INESS As21ration l~vel N ean S.D. S.E. an Up ard obile 189 12.270 s:462 .398 Stable 43 12.256 5.607 .865 Down ard ob!le ~6 12 4 6.141 .828 Comparison 2 S.E.ditf t Up ard ob1le-Stable .014 . 952 .015 Up ard ob1le-Do n- ard obile .056 .919 .061 Stable-Downward ob1le .042 + .128 .0~!2 THOUGHTFUL NESS A ~1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward ob1le 189 17.868 5.351 .390 Stable 43 16.698 4.535 .700 Downard Mobile ~6 l~.14~ ~.422 •1~l Comparison 1- 2 S.E.ditf t Upward obile-Stable 1.170 .801 1.461 Upward obile-Down- ward ob1le 2.725 .828 3.291 * Stable-Downward Mobile l.~~~ 1.012 1-~~6 PERSONAL RELATIONS Asp1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean 189 l 15.05S Upward obile 5.092 .371 Stable 43 15.465 4.906 .757 Down ard ~ obile ~6 I 14 8 ~ 4.8;?~ .65~ Comparison 2 S.E.diff t - I .843 -.483 Up ard Mobile-St.able -. 07 Upward obile-Down- ward obile .183 .753 .243 Stable-Do nward Mobile .520 1.001 •!282 **One percent level . - • 144 TAELE XIII (continued) TE ER.AMENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC O Il., ITY--BOYS FRO CLERICAL AND KINDRED HO ES SCULINITY OF INTEREST - Ase1rat1on level N ean S.D . S.E. Man Up rd obile· 189 - · 20.111 4.227 .308 Stable 43 20.163 3.808 . 588 Do n ard Mobile ~6 21.018 4.012 . 542 Comparison l-M2 S.E.diff t Upward · obile-Stable -.052 .664 -.078 Upward ~~obile-Down- ward M obile -.907 .624 -1. 454 Stable-Downward M obile --~~~ .800 =1.062 = - : = - -- 145 restrained by a margin significant at the five percent level. The stable 1s more ascendant than the down ard mobile by a margin significant at the five percent level of confidence. The downward mobile exceeds both groups in masculinity of inter st but the difference is not statisti cally significant. This chapter has been concerned 1th the relation ot mobility aspirations to various intelligence, interest, and temperament factors in boys from clerical and kindred homes. Ed ards' conception of this socio-economic level has been quoted to describe their home status. T o-th1rds of these boys aspir to upward mobility, largely to th p ofe ·sional level. Do n ard mobility aspiration is con fined almost exclusively to Jobs at the skilled level. The group as a hole has a 1de range in ability scores and seems particularly high in number facility and particularly low in memory and perceptual speed. T mperament scores are generally lower than the norm group . The chief exception to this generalization is in general activity where the scores are some hat higher . The up ard mobile and stable seem to resemble each other and differ from the downward mobile. The upward mobile boy from a clerical and kindred home is following the vocational aspiration pattern ot most • 146 of his peers and 1s likely to indicate that he plans to work at a professional occupation. He is characterized by generally above average abilities especially 1n number facility and in the Progressive ~ atric s. He 1 signifi cantly stronger in all abilities than is the don ard mobile from this level but does not differ statistically from the stable. This is also true of his level of inter est. In temperament he 1s more restrained and thoughtful than the down ard mobile and does not differ from the stable. In short, he closely resembles the stable aspirant with the same home background but is brighter than the don ard mobile. The boy from a clerical and kindred soc1o-econom1c level who aspires to remain at that level is follo ing the vocational aspiration pattern of a minority of his peers. His abilities are generally above average and are particu larly strong in num-ber facility. Hie abilities are not different statistically from those of the upward mobile but he exceeds the downward mobile in all abilities except space. A similar situation holds for his level of inter est. In temperament when his scores are compared with the upward mobile none is significantly different but he is more ascendant than the downward mobile. The downward mobile boy from this level is follo ing 147 the vocational aspiration pattern of about a firth of his peers and is most ap·t to have selected a skilled occupa tion. He is characterized by below average abilities and he is especially lo in perceptual speed, word fluency, and memory. He 1s inferior to both of the other groups in practically all of the abilities measured and in level of interest. He is more impulsive and more concerned with overt action than the up ard mobile and more shy than the stable. The one area where he makes higher scores than the others is in masculinity of interest. He 1s quite dif ferent from both of the other to groups. Chapter VI has discussed the findings regarding boys from clerical and kindred homes. Chapter VII discusses the findings regarding boys from skilled ho, mes. CHAPTER VII FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FRO SKil,LED HO ES This chapter d scribes what is meant by the socio economic class designated as skilled. It indicates th vocational aspiration pattern of boys trom this home level (Tabl XIV). After a report on the psychological findings regarding tho e with aspirations for up ard mobility and for stability (Figure 4), an examination is made of the significance of differences in these to groups with r - gard to their abilities, temperament, and int re t (Tables XV, XVI, and XVII). The summary 1s in the fonn of ads cr1ption of the up ard mobile and the stable aspirant from this level. Ed ards' description of the skilled group indicates the kind of home background possessed by boys trom this socio-economic level. The next group-- 11 Sk1lled workers and foremen"- is composed of the most highly skilled of the manual workers--of craftsmen who have undergone an appren ticeship or ho have become proficient 1n their trades through extensive training on the Job. They, perhaps, are more fully group conscious and are more fully organized than are the workers 1n any other social-economic group . Their work calls for higher qualifications, and they are more highly paid than are the persons in the next lo er group of manual workers--the semiskilled--and, as a group, they are better paid, though less well educated than are the clerical workers. They constitute a very important 149 social- conom1c ,group . 1 From Tabl XIV w 1 arn the voe t1onal aspiration pattern of these boys. N rly t o-thirde aspire to upw rd mobility and it 111 b s n that nearly half of the total group aspire to profs 1onal occupations. One-third aspire to remain at the skill d level. So fe aspire to down ard mob111ty--a total ot eight boys--that 1t a impractical to use this group for purpo ot co pari on 1th the oth r and co quently th1 chapt r conf1n s itself to a di cu - s1on of only th up rd mob11 and table . Th ntir range ot occupational 1 vel is repr s nted by the sel c t1ons of th s boys b t hr a n arly half s 1 ct the top level only one percents 1 ct the bottom level. In exam1n1ns Figure 4 it becomes evident that there is considerable difference in the abilities of th upward mobile and the stable since the lo est means for the up ard mobile are at about the forty-fifth p rcentile-•perceptual speed and memory-- hile the highest means for the stable are at about the fiftieth percentile--spaoe and number facility . The range of means 1s great, being as high as sixty ninth percentile for the upward mobile in number 1 Alba M . Edwards, Population - Comparative Occupa tion Statistics for the United .§1ates, 1870 .!& 1940 (Wash ington: United States Government Printing Office , 1943), p . 180 . 150 TAELE XIV LEVEL OF OCCUPATIONAL ASP !RATION ( BOYS FRO" SKILLED HO ES) A E1rat1on L vel Number p rcent Pro saional 143 49.1 - anageria1 and Official 20 6.9_ I •• . - Cl rical and Kindred 25 • 8.6 Total Upward obile 188 65 M I Skilled ~5 32.6 ■ Total Stable 9~ 3, I Semi-skilled ~ 1.7 • - Unskilled 2. 1.0 Total Downward ] obile 8 2 GRAND TOTAL 288 100 ABil., !TIES . .. . ' Verbal eaning Space Rea.onips Number Faci}-1 ty Word Flu~noy Perceptual Speed Progressive Matrices Memory INTEREST Level of Interest ~Q .. - •• • - - s s s s - - - s 151 Percentiles 40 50 60 70 • u s u s u s - • - u s • - u • u u u 6 • •• Percentiles 40 50 60 - 70 u Advisement Service of Los Angeles City Schools Stra tified Norms. Key: U: Up ard obile; S: Stable. FIGURE 4 MEAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO!~ SKILLED HO ES 152 T EN.r Percentiles 1~ 2~ - ~5 I 4~ ~2 Gen ral u Act1v1t1 - s u R straint s u Ascendanc s u Soc1ab111tI s • Emotional u Stab111ty • s -■ - u ObJect1v~tI s u Friendl ines s - u Thoughtfulness s • Personal u Relations s ascul1n1ty u of Interest s Published Norms - College Students Key: u = Upward Mobile; S : Stable. FIGURE 4 (continued) EAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO SKILLED HO ES I 153 facility and below the thirtieth for the stable in word fluency. A con iderable margin of superiority for the upward mobile is also evident in the scores on level ot inter st. In xamining the temperament mean scores it is noted that they are generally lo er than the college stud- ' ents on hom the norms re developed. These boys are especi lly subjective, hostile, intolerant 1n personal relations, and abov all 1mpulsiv, for the mean of the stable group in thi factor i at the fifteenth percentile of the publish d norms. This figure also indicates that in none of the nin t n r ctor m asured do the stable aspirants exc d the score ot th up ard mobile. Table XV indicates the statistical significance of the observ d differ nc sin abilities of the to groups. The up ard mobile are superior to the stable by statisti cally significant margins in every ability except space. These conclusions are at the one percent level of confi dence except for perceptual speed hich is at the five per cent level. Generally spe king the margins are far greater than needed for the one percent level. Table XVI sho s that the up ard mobile exceed the stable by a margin hich is significant at the one percent level 1n level of interest. Table XVII indicates that the upward mobile are more 154 TAR,E XV ABil.,ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC . OBILITY--BOYS FRO SKlLLED HO ES Upward obile 3 .351 8.598 .~29 __ s_t_a_b_ll._e ________ 2_. _0_5 ____ 8 __ ._07_5 ______ ._8_3_3 Comparison 2 S.E.d1tt t Upward obile-Stable 4.846 1.044 4.642** SPACE As 1rat1on level Upward ob1le Stabl Comparison N 1 95 Upward obile-stable REASONING • Upward Mobile Stable Comparison N 188 . 25 Upward Mobile-Stable NUMBER FACll.. ITY As121ration level · Upward obile Stable Comparison N 188 95 _ Upward ob1le-Stable WORD FLUENCY Aspiration level Upward obile Stable Comparison I N 188 95 Upward Mobile-Stable **One percent level ean 2 2.292 Mean 2 ean 43.30S 37.305 6.003 - S.D. 1.119 S.D. 5.547 4.982 S.E.diff S.D. 9.240 7.222 S.E.diff 1.006 S.D. 10.402 11.075 S.E.diff 1.372 • 97 .876 t S.E. ean .406 .514 t S.E. ean t S.E. Mean . .761 1.142 t 155 TABLE XV ( continued) ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO SKILLED HOM ES P ERCEP TU.AL S? EED - Aspiration level Upward obile Stable Comparison N 188 9;) UBward ob1le-Stable PROGRESSIVE MATRICES Aspiration level N Upward ob1le 188 Stable 95 Comparison I U12ward .. obile-Stable EMORY Aspiration level Upward obile Stable Comparison Upwar,d obile-Stabl *Five percent level **One percent level Mean ean M ean 37 .261 I 34.074 S.D. 9.187 8.483 " S.E.ditf 1.104 S.D. S.E.diff .844 S.D. 8.946 9.275 S.E•diff - 1.159 S.E. ean .672 .875 t S.E. Mean .415 .735 t 4.842** S.E • .Mean t _2.75~* TA E XVI INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO SKILLED HO ES LEVEL OF INTEREST 156 AsE!ration level. N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward obile lbS -66.946 S.659 · .670 Stable ~5 61.153 8.442 .922 **One percent level 157 TABLE XVII TE E iE T FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIO S FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY-- OYS FRO SKILLED HO S GENERAL ACTIVITY 188 -1 • 94 · 5.587 · · .Z.oS __ s_ta __ b ____ . _____ ._9_5 _ _ 1 __ , 6 ............. 6 ...... 84 ______ 5 __ ._07.._.3..._ ____ • ~-2_3 Compa 2 S.E.diff t RESTRAINT Comp ASCENDANCE N 1ae - 9~. ·- an - 2 -- S.D. 5.093 4.602 - S.E.diff' .603 S.D. t • ean 188 - 1 .042 I .. 2~ II•• - 18 .o 2 6~307 • 5. 80:} a■ I • e-Stable Aep1r~t1on level Upward obile Stable Comparison ■I - N 198 95 Yeward obile-Stable **One percent level 2 S.E.ditf t .010 .755_ ean S.D. S.E. ean lo.6 ... 44 _____ 5~.· 0_,_6,...l--~----------.4 ...... 1-..-4 16. 7 4.912 .507 2 S.E.diff t 158 .... TAELE XVII (continued) TE ERAMENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH Afi' !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONOM IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO SKil.,LED HO ES OBJECTIVITY S.E. Upward o b11 l l 22 • 202 • St ble ,95 ! 2 6.085 ,628 t .so, Asp1r!t1on l~vel N ean S.D. s.E. ean Upward opi1 -stable .~25 .665 .t.489 THOUGHTFUL NESS Aspiration level N Mean S.D. S.E. ean Upward ob1le 1se 17.542 . 4.852· .• 355 Stable. 95 _l 6 2 5.192 .~36 Upward oblle-Stable · 1.910 - .643 · · PERSONAL RELATIONS As2iratiop leve¼ i~S Upward ob1le Stable 95 Comparison V A - ■ Upward Mobile-S~aple MASCULINITY OF INTEREST Aspiration level N Upward obile 188 Stable . 95 Comparison I II **One percent level Mean I 15.122 14.926 Mean 20.213 12.726 S.D. 4.592 4.886 .600. S.D. 3.606 4.108 S.E.diff' •• IF & - t S.E. Man .264 .424 t .974 i 159 restrained and more thoughtful than the stable . All 0th r ' temperament traits measur dare in the direction of higher scores for the upward mobile but the only significant d1t f renoes ar in the to trai s mention d . This chapter has been concerned with the relation of mobility aspirations to various intelligenc, interest , and temperament factors in boys trom skilled home . Edwards' conception or this sooio-economio level has been quoted to describe their hom ·~ status. To-thirds of these boys a - pire to up rd mobility, largely to the prof ssional level . A p1rat1on for don ard mobility occurs so eldom that the number wer 1nsutt1o1ent for tatist1cal manipulation and th r for only comp risons bet en the upward mobile and the stable re us d. The group as a hole has a wide range of ability scores. The te mperament scores are generally lo er than that of the college norm group. Boys from this level seem to be especially impulsive, subjective, hostile, and intolerant in their personal relations. The upward mobile boy from a skilled home is follo - ing the aspiration pattern of the large majority of his peers. He is most apt to be selecting a professional occu pation. His ability scores are highest in verbal meaning , number facility, and Progressive Matrices ; lowest in per ceptual speed and memory . His level of interest is about 160 av rage. His temperam nt 1e ch ract r1zed by 1mpuls1v - n as, ubJeotivity, ho t111ty, and lntol ranc in personal relations. He 1s superior in all ab111ti s except space to his per from the sam hom level who aspir to stabil ity. Hi 1 v 1 of inter st is also higher. In temperament he is more thoughtful and more restrained and this in spite of the tact that h is neither very restrained nor very thoughtful hen compared 1th the coll ge stud nts on hom the temp rament mea ure as standardized. The boy from the killed level ho aspires to remain at that 1 vel is follo ing the vocational aspiration level or a minority of his pe rs. He is characterized by below averag abiliti s, 1th his relative strength being in space and number facility and his greatest weaknesses in word nuenoy and perceptual speed. He is inferior by sig nificant margins to his peers who aspire to upward mobility in all abilities except space, and his level of interest is also lower. His temperament 1s characterized by impulsive ness, subj ct1v1ty, hostility, concern with overt activity, and intolerance 1n personal relations. He differs from his upward mobile peer particularly in being more impulsive and more concerned with overt activity. His impulsiveness 1s his most outstanding trait since his mean for this trait is at the fifteenth percentile when plotted on the d1str1bu- 1~ t1on of coll g students. In no trait does this boy exceed his upward mobile peer. He is, 1n summary, duller, inter ested in lo er level activities, more concerned with aot1ng rather than planning, and , above all, more impulsive. Chapter VII has discussed the findings regarding boys from skilled homes. Chapter VIII discusses the find ings regarding boys from semi-skilled homes . CHAPTER VIII FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FRO SD I-SK~LED HO ES Th1 chapt rd cribe hat 1s meant by the socio- economic class designated as semi-skilled. It indicates the vocational a p1ration pattern of boys from this home lev 1 (Table XVIII). Arter a report on the psychological t1ndings r garding those with aspirations for upward mobil ity and others (Figur 5), an xamination is made of the significance of differences in these to groups (Tables XIX, XX, and XXI). The summary is in the form of a des cription of the up ard mobile aspirant and others from this level. Ed ards' de oription of the semi-skilled group indi cates the kind of home background possessed by these boys. The semiskilled form a group of manual workers between the better trained and more highly paid skilled orkers above and the less well trained and less ell paid unskilled workers below. Their work oalls for leas initiat1ve and ingenuity than does the ork of the skilled, and usually for more Judgment and manual dexterity--though for less mus- cular force--than does the work of the unskilled. Because of its characteristics and because of its present large size and its prospective growth, this is, and doubtless will continue to be, a really significant group.l 1 Alba M. Ed ards, Population - Comparative Occupa tion Statistics for the United States, fS70 to 1940 ( ash- 1ngton: Onlted States Government Print ng Office, 1943), p. 180. From Table XVIII e learn the vocational aspiration pattern of these boys. The vast majority aspire to upward mobility, for the most part either to prof ssional or skilled occupations. Only about one 1n twenty aspires to .... stability and only a little over one percent to downward mobility. So re have aspirations for tability and down ward mobility that it as necessary to merge thee to groups and compare them with the up ard mobile. Through- ... out the chapter, then, there will be comparisons of the up ard mobile and "others"--that is, a group compo ed or the stable plus the don ard mobile. The entire range of occupational levels is represented by the selections of these boys but hereas large numbers select professional and skilled occupations only two selected unskilled occu pations. In examining Figure 5, it 1s evident that the abil ity scores of these boys are largely below average. Spe cial weakness is shown in the means of the .. others" group in reasoning, perceptual speed, and Progressive Matrices where they are at the seventeenth pe"cent1le. Relative strength is seen in the means of the upward mobile group 1th mean scores above the sixty-fifth percentile in number facility and Progressive Matrices. The only reversal of expected direction 1n the abilities area is in word flu- TA XVIII LEVEL OF OCCUPATION.AL ASP !RATION ( BOYS FRO S I-SKlLLED HO ES) Aspiration Level Number P rot ssional 69 - anagerial and Official 21 Clerical and Kindred 14 Skilled 50 • Total Up~ard obile _154 Semi-skilled 8 Total Stable 8 Un killed 2 Total Down ob1le 2 GRAND TOTAL 164 164 nt 42.l 12.8 8.5 :,0.5 94 4.9 5 1.2 1 100 - ABil., IT IES 15 V rbal ning S~ac r 1litI d rog. atrio mor1 INTEREST Level of Intere t 0 0 1 2~ 0 165 p rcentile ~5 45 55 65 u 0 • u u u 0 u 0 - u u u 0 P ercent1les ,~ 45 55 65 u 0 Advisement Service of Los Angeles City Schools Stra tified Norms. Key: U = Up ard obile; 0: Others. FIGURE 5 ~ EAN SCORES OF BOYS FROj!1 SEMI-SKILLED HO.MES NT Gener 1 Activity _ -20 -- - Restraint O A cendance Sociability Emotional Percentiles 30_ 40 u 166 0 60 u 0 u 0 u 0 u _S_t_ab_1_1_1_t_y ___ __________ o ____________ _ u ObJeot1v1ty __ o ________ _ __ _ u Friendliness O Thoughtft.4ness. _ Personal Relations asculinity of Interest 0 u 0 u . -- -. 0 Published Norms - College Students Key: U = Upward Mobile; O = Others . FIGURE 5 (continued) u EAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO S I-SK~LED HO ES 167 ency. Thie rev real also occurs 1n the level of interest, for there too the "others" group exceeds the up ard mobile . In temperament e again find scores generally lo er than the norm group . These boys are especially impulsive and intolerant in their personal relations and they are also some hat more subjective, m ore active, and more concerned 1th overt aoti ity than as the norm group. Table XIX indicates the stati tical significance of th observed differences in ab111ti s bet en the up ard mobile and others. The up ard mobile exceed the others by statistically s1gn1t1oant margins in reasoning, Progr ssive atrioes, space and perceptual speed. The first two dif ferences are at the one percent level of confidence and the latt rt oat the five percent level. The other differ ences, hil e not statistically significant, are all in the expected direction except for ord fluency in hich the upward mobile are inferior to the others. Table XX shows that the up ard mobile are exceeded by the others in their level of interest although the mar gin is not statistically significant. The only significant temperament differences found in Table XXI sho that the up ard mobile exceed the others in objectivity and friendliness . The former difference is at the one percent level of confidence, the latter at the 168 TABLE XIX ABll.aITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBil.,ITY--BOYS FRO SE I-SKll.,LED HO ES Asp1rat,.on level N ean S.D. Up ard obile 154 29.So5 10.134 S.E. ean Others 10 24.800 9.621 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.d1ff t SPACE . 1.~12 Aspiration leyel N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward obile ·154 27:084 9.207 .749 __ o __ t_h_e_rs _________ 1_0 __ 2_0 ______ 0_0 __ ., ___ 8 ..... • 2 ..... 2 ...... 2 _____ 2 ........... 2 .... 2.-7 Comparison 2 S.E.d1ff t REASONING Up ard ob1le 154 15 .156 · 5. 722 · • Others 10 2.300 3.318 Comparison M1 - M2 S.E.diff Upward M9pile-Others_: ~-856 · ·1.129 · NUMBER FACILITY Asp1rat~on level Upward Mobile Others Comparison ORD FLUENCY N 154 10 Mean 22.623 20.400 S.D. 9.277 . 5 .426 _ S.E.diff . - .463 1,106 t .750 1.809 t Aspiration level N ea~n _______ s~.D~·-----~s~.E~•---~e~a~n Upward · obile 154 41.643 11.28b · · • .912 , 9thers 10 42.200 9.914 2•)05 Comparison M1- M2 S.E.diff t *Five percent level **One percent level TABLE XIX ( continued) ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC OBILITY--BOYS FR01 SEMI-SKll.,LED HOMES PERCEPTUAL SPEED 169 Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E. Mean Up ard 'obile 154 ·42.961 8.985 .72b 0th r@ 10 37.100 7.24~ _ 2.415 Comparison M1 - M2 S.E.d1ff t Up ard o bil e-Oth_e_r_s _____ -a51ooai ..... 9_6,...1 ___ 2 __ • ..s;.~-2 .... 1 ____ 2 __ • ....,36_4_* __ PROGRESSIVE MATRICE5 ------------------ A s-e 1 rs. t ion 1 ev el ~~.......---~M!'-e .... a~n ____ _..,..s ...... -"!"D"""'!'._ S. E. ean Upward obile 154 47 .630 6.313 .510 Others l_Q ____ 2_2_.8_0_0 ____ 5_._2,~_0 _____ 1_._7~5_0 Comparison M1-M2 S.E.ditf t - Up ard ob1le-Others "7.830 1.823 I _4.2§-5*-~ E ORY ................. ----------·---------·-------- Aspiration level · N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean Upward obile 154 36.591 9.590 .775 Others 10 34.300 10.872.. . 3.624 Comparison Ml - 2 S.E.diff t Upward obile-Others 2.291 .. 3~705 -~18 ================================!====~======= *Five percent level **One percent level 170 TAH.,E XX INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO SE I-SKILLED HO ES LEVEL OF INTEREST Aspiration level Up ard obile Others Comparison N I 137 ■ 9 Upward obile-Others Mean 04.672 . 67.3;2:, -2 .661 S.D. 9.112 7-327 2.730 S.E. Mean .781 2.616 - t --915 _ 171 TAB...E XXI TEMPERA ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO S I-SKILLED HO S - GENERAL ACTIVITY Aspiration level Upward Mobile Others Comparison 154 10 Upward obile-Others RESTRAINT Aspiratiop level Upward obile Others Comparison N 154 10 Upward obile-Others ASCENDANCE Aae1rat1on level Upward M obile Others Comparison N 154 10 Upward, obile-Othera SOCIABILITY ean 2 a -2 • 023 • ean 13.273 10.600 Mean 15.084 17.500 -2.416 S.D. 5.267 6.406 S.E.ditf 2.177 S.D. 4.962. 4.454 S.E.ditf 1.538 S.D. 5.014 4.985 S.E.d1ff 1.710 - .426 2.135 t t 1.738 S.E. an .405 1.662 ■ t -1.413 - Aspiration level N Mean s.D. S.E. Mean Upward Mobile 154 18.149 6.190 .500 Others ______ .1_0 __ 1_9_.~7_0_0 ___ 6,_._00_0 ______ 2_._o_o_o Comparison M1 - M2 S.E.diff t .. Up ard Mobile-Others -1.551 _g.062 "· · -.752 _: E OT ION.AL STAB~ ITY Aspiration level Upward i\llobile Others Comparison - N 154 10 Up ard Mobile-Others Mean 16.402 1;3.600 2.802 - S.D. 4.912 4.224 S.E.diff S.E. Mean -- _397 1.408 t 1.915 - .., 172 TA~E XXI (cont1nu d) TENLPERA ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO SE I-SKil.,LED HO ES OBJECTIVITY Up ard ob1le 154 1 .734 5.523 • 6 Others 10 11 200 3-92~ _ 1.3,2 ___ U__.p.._w .... a ..... r ..... d _____ o ...... b .... 11;...e .... - ... o .... t ... ' h;;;;;.;;e ... r __ s __ ___,;•_.5.,.3 ..... 4~ __ 1 ___ • 4_o .... ~.,__ ____ 3.......,. 2 ... 2 ..... 7 .... *_* FRIENDLINESS Upward ~ obile 154 11.773 5.094 .412 Others 10 8 100 5.328 1.776 Comparison 2 S.E.ditt t THOUGHTFUL NESS --------------------------- Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E. an Up ard obile 154 1 .S ...... 31 ___ 5 ........ l ..... 47-------.......... ----.4 .... 1 .... 6 Others 10 16 200 3.868 1.282 PERSONAL R.El.:!!T ..... I ..... O ..... N __ S ___ , _________________ _ Aspiration level N Mean S.D. Upward ob11e 154 13.779 4.b4S Others 10 1 400 4.625 __ u,..p_a __ r_d_ M _o b_1_l_e __ -_o_t_h __ e_rs ____ • -.37 .... 9.._ __ l • 609 MASCULINITY OF INTEREST Aspiration level N Upward Mobile 154 Others 10 • Comparison Upward MoQile~Others. *Five percent level **One percent level ean S.D. 3.817 2.088 S.E.diff s. E. an .376 1.565 t .230 - S.E. ean .}OS" .696 t 1.07~ 173 five p rcent level . Reversals of expected direction occur 1n general activity, ascendanc, and sociability where the up ard mobile make lower scores than the others . Thie chapter has been oonoerned with the relation of obility aspirations to various intelligence , interest, and temp ram nt !actors 1n·boys fro semi-skilled homes . Ed- ard' cone ption of this socio-economic level has been quoted to d scrib their hoe statu. The great majority a pir to upward mobility particularly to profe sional or skilled Jobs. The group is generally lo in abilities, 1 1 ot int re t, and int mperament scores. Relative strength 1s shown 1n number facility and general activity and gr atest eakness in perceptual speed, impulsiveness, nd intolerance in personal relations. The upward mobile boy from a semi-skilled home 1s follo ing the aspiration pattern of the vast majority of his peers and is most apt to be aiming at a professional or skilled occupation. His abilities are strongest in num ber facility and Progressive Matrices--above the fifty fifth percentile, lowest 1n perceptual speed- -~elow the fortieth percentile. His level of interest is a little below average . He is significantly superior to others from his home level in space, reasoning, perceptual speed , and the Progressive Matrices . This 1s true in spite of 174 the fact that his r a oning and perceptual sped scores are , well belo average. In temperament he makes generally lo er soores than the college student norm group . H 1s rather active, quite impulsive, and quite intolerant 1n hie personal relations. He 1s more objective and more friendly than others from his home level although his scores are not high in thes factors . The boy from this soc1o-eoonom1c level ho aspires either to remain at this level or move don ard from it 1s in the extreme minority of hie p ere regarding hi aspira tions . He is characterized by lo abilities especially in reasoning, perceptual speed, and Progressive · atrices h re he 1s in the bottom fifth of the population. He has rela tive strength in number facility and ord fluency. He is significantly inferior to the upward mobile in space, rea soning, perceptual speed, and Progressive M atrices. The one area where he is slightly superior to the upward mobile in ability is in word fluency. His level of interest is also higher than the upward mobile but neither of these differences is significant. In temperament he is somewhat ascendant, sociable, and generally active; he is exceed ingly impulsive, subjective, and hostile. He 1s charac terized by low abilities and extremes in temperament . Chapter VIII has · discussed the findings regarding 175 the boys trom semi-skilled homes. Chapter IX disousse the findings regarding boys from unskilled homes. --, CHAPTER IX FINDINGS REGARDING BOYS FROM UNSKILLED HO ES Thie chapter t1rst describes hat 1s meant by the socio-economic class designated as unskilled. It indicates the vocational aspiration pattern of boys from this home level {Table XX.II). After a report on the psychological findings regarding those with aspirations for hite collar Jobs and those 1th aspirations for manual Jobe (Figure 6), an examination is made of the significance of differences 1n these to groups (Tables XXIII , XXIV, and XXV). The summary is 1n the form of a description of the aspirant tor hite collar occupations and the aspirant for manual occu pations. Edwards' description of the unskilled group indi- cates the kind of home background possesPed by these boys. The ttunskilled workers 11 form a particularly significant group ••• The group ranks lowest, both in the social and in the economic status of the workers included. The workers in this group are less ell educated and more poorly paid than are the orkers in any other group; and being lower in economic status than the workers 1n any other group, they more frequently suffer from unemployment and become the subjects of relief. Inevitably, their views on social and economic questions are influenced by their form of life and labor.l 1 Alba • Ed ards, Population - Qomparative Occup! tion Statistics for the United States, 1870 to 1940 (Waeh- 1ng_£on: United States Government Printing Office, 1943), p. JJjQ. 177 From Table XXII we learn that practically all of th boys from this level aspire to up ard mobility. Th most frequently chosen occupations were professional and skilled. Only one boy from the group aspired to remain at the un skilled level. For purpo es of comparison a dichotomy b - tween" h1te collar" and "manual" aspirants as assumed. ~ Those aspiring to occupations in Edwards' first thr e categor1es--profess1onal, managerial and official, am clerical and kindred--were designated as having h1te col lar aspirations; those aspiring to occupations in Ed ards' last three categories--ekilled, semi-skilled, and un skilled--were designated as having m anual aspirations. As can be seen from Table XXII about two-thirds of the group can thus be classified as having white collar aspirations- largely for professional occupations, while about one-third can be classified as having manual aapirations--largely for skilled occupations. By an examination of Figure 6 we find that practi cally all of the mean ability scores of these groups were belo average. The only ability means above the fiftieth percentile were those of the white collar group in space and number facility. The other means went down as lo as those of the manual group in verbal meaning and word flu ency both of which were belo the thirtieth percentile . TABLE XXII LEVEL OF OCCUPATIONAL ASP !RATION ( BOYS FRO~ UNSKILLED HOMES) Aspiration Level Number - Professional 13 • anager1~! and Official 6 - Clerical and Kindred - r I 5 . -- Skilled 9 ■ - - Semi-skilled 3 ---- 1 Total Up obile ~6 . Unskilled 1 - • Total Stable 1 I GRAND TOTAL 37 - 178 Percent 35.1 ■ 16.2 13.~ 24.3 - 8.1 97 • 2 .7 .2 100 ABILITIES Verbal eaning Space . Jteasonipg_ Number Fac1}.1ty ord Fluency Perceptual 20 - - • • ... 179 Percentiles . 30 40 WWWLW ~o 60 - - Sp ed _____________________ ~----- Progressive atrices emory INTEREST Level of Interest 20 • - L Percentiles ~o 40 . - • 50 60 Advisement Service of Los Angeles City Schools Stra tified Norms . Key: = hite Collar Aspiration; M = Manual Aspiration. FIGURE 6 MEAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO UNSKILLED HO ES 180 T NT Percentiles 2~ -~~----4-5~-:-- General Activity Restraint .................................. __ , _______________________ _ A cendance Soc1ab111 ty E otional ... s .... t_a_b_11_1_ty _____ , ___________________________ ~ ObJeotivity Fr1endl ine s Thoughtfulne a Personal Relations ascul1n1ty of Interest - - Published Norms - College Students Key: = ,hite Collar Aspirations; Aspirations. FIGURE 6 (continued) = anual EAN SCORES OF BOYS FRO~ UNSKILLED HO ES 181 Th 1 v l of interest sho s a spr ad of about thirty pr cent1les between the to groups with the hite collar group having the h1ghe ecor s. Again in temperament it 1s plain that by and large the mean scores are very low. Th mean of the manual group in emotional stability is the only one above the mid-point while the lo est score indicate great 1mpuls1venes and hostility in the white collar group and intoleranc in personal relations in both groups. The overall 1mpr salon given by this figure is that boys fro this home level--regardless of their vocational aspira- tions--are not bright and have very lo scor on the t m- perament traits measured. Table XXIII indicates the statistical significance of the differences in ability in the two groups. All of the differences are in favor of the hite collar group x cept in p rceptual speed, where the manual group is upe rior, but none of the differences are statistically sig nificant. Table XXIV indicates that the white collar group has a higher level of interest than the manual group by a mar gin hich is significant at the five percent level. Table X.XV examines the significance of the tempera ment differences. _ Only one difference is statistically significant. The white collar group 1s more active than 182 TAELE XXIII ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH SPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBil.,ITY--BOYS FROM UNSKILLED HOMES VERBAL MEANING hite Collar anual I Comparison SPACE N 24 13 ean S.D. 10. 291 10.209 3.645 • S.E. Mean 2.146 2.941 t 1.622 Aspiration l vel N ean S.D. S.E. an bite Collar 24 · 27.758 11.499 2.398 1 nual 13_ 2 4 12.199 3.521 Comp ri on 2 s.E.ditf t hit Collar=-_!n~ua ......... 1 _____ 2~•~5~5~4 __ ._4~ .2~5~2 ___ 1 ______ .~60~0---~ REASONING ........;........,........,.......,.. _________________________ _ Aspiration level White Collar anual Comparison • N 24 13 White Collar-• anual I BER FAC ~ ITY a ean 14.625 14.154 .471 S.D. 5.146 5.894 g S.E.diff 2.012 1.073 1.102 t A p1rat19n level N Mean S.D. S.E. ean --,jlgWh __ i_t_e_C~o-l-!""l_a_r--~24.---21. 875 7. 656 1 • 590 ---- · ___ a_n __ ua ___ 1 _____ 1_3 __ 1_._8_46_. ---~_._4_1_2 _ ____ l_._5_6_4 Comparison 2 S.E.dift t __ Wh.,.._..1__,;t;...e ___ C __ ol~l~a;;..;.,,,r .... -- ■----.a ..-n;;.;;;;.;ua...;;.;.l_._. ___ _..;.. •--0 ..... 29 ______ 2 ~ .... :,4 _____ 1_._ 8_0_3_- 0RD FLUENCY _As21rat1on 1 vel N Mean S.D. S.E. ean White Collar 24 40.26S 11.167 · 2.328 _...,;:;;;;.;;a ___ n_,;;;u;;.;.a ... 1 _______ 1 ... ~'---~35~•--8_4~6 ___ 1_0 ....... _0_92 _____ 2- ■-!._9_1_3 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t 183 TAlLE XXIII (continued) ABTI.,ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FROM UNSKILLED HO S - PERCEPTUAL SPEED A p1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. Mean 24 10.833 • Wh1 te Collar 2 . 042 2 . 259 anual 1~ 42. 8.646 2.426 Comparison 2 S.E.d1rr t White Collar- 1 anual --426 2-206 - .147 PROGRESSIVE TRICES AsE1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. Mean White Collar 24 46.792 7.266 1 . 515 Manual 12 4~.846 6.468 1 . 861. Comparison M1-M2 S.E.diff t hite Collar- anual ·246 2.404 •224 E ORY Aa~1rat1on level N Mean S.D. S.E . ean hite Collar 24 36. 417 9.728 2. 028 Manual 1~ ~2-!228 2-520 2. 76~ Comparison Ml- 2 S.E.diff t 2-4~1 - White Collar-Manual ..2!,812 1.1~0 - TAELE XXIV INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC O Bil.,ITY--BOYS FRO UNSKILLED HO ES LEVEL OF INTEREST - 184 Asp1;a~1on level N an S.D. S.E. ean White Collar 22 6 .364 g.812 2.141 Manual 10 58. 00 10.J45 3.448 __ Wh_i __ t_e_C __ o....,l_l_a __ r-_M __ a_n __ u_a.....,l ____ • __ 6 ___ 6_4 ___ 4_. __ o ..... 5 .... 8 ____ 2 __ • __ 1_3...,5_ *Five percent level TAJLE XXV TE ERA NT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBll..,ITY--BOYS FRO GENERAL ACTIVITY Aspiration 1 vel N White Collar 24 _____ a~n~u~al 13 Comparison hite Collar- anual RESTRAINT Aspiration level N hite Collar 24 anual 13 Comparison I White Collar- anual ASCENDANCE Aspiratioq level N White Collar 24 anual 13 Comparison . White Collar- anual SOCIABILITY Aspiration leve:}. N White Collar 24 Manual 13 Comparison White Collar-Manual EMOTIONAL STABil.,ITY Aspiration level N "hite Collar 24 Manual 13 Comparison White Collar- anual UNSKlLLED HOMES ean 3.625 ean ean 15.500 12.154 3.346 Mean 17.875 15.846 2.029 Mean 14.333 17.538 -3.205 *Five percent level S.D. 4.750 4.188 S.E•ditt .990 1.209 t S • D • S • E • ea n 5.209 1.680 3.411 .2§5 S.E.ditf t 1.466 -:----1-.-6-70- S.D. 5.744 5.274 S.E.diff S.D. 6.540 4.330 1.850 I S.D. 5.460 4.146 1.652 S.E. Man 1.19S 1.522 t 1.727 S.E. Mean 1.364 1.250 t 1.097 S.E. ean 1.13S 1.197 t -1.940 - 186 TA.ELE XXV (continued) TEMPERA ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO UNSKil.,LED HOMES OBJECTIVITY Aspiration level N Mean S.D. White Collar 24 14.333 4.121 anual 13 16.462 4.98~ hite Collar- anual -2.129_ 1.676 FRIENDLINESS S.E. ean .859 1.439 t -1.270 Aspiration ~eve!. N ean S.D. S.E. ean White Collar 24. 8.458 4.164 .S6S anual 13 11.000 5.512 1.522 __ h~i~t~e ........ C~o~l~l~a~r~-~a~n~u~a~l _____ -_2~·~5~4~2---____ 1~•~8~1~4 ____ ::1~401 THOUGHTFUL NESS _Aspiration level •• hite Collar anual Comparison N 24 1~ White Collar-Manual PERSONAL RELATIONS ean 2 .477 __ A.......,_sp~i~r~a~t~i~o~n~l~e~v~a~l ____ ~N. ___ --=ean White Collar 24 13.125 . anual . 13 1 • 08 hite Collar~M anual -.1 ~ MASCULINITY OF INTEREST S.D. 5.225 5.9~0 S.D. 4.558 5,.688 S.E.d1ff 1.897 1.089 1.n§ t .234: .950 1.642 t - • 09b ... ---------------------------- Aspiration level N Mean 1 White Collar ·- 24 . -19.583 S.D. S.E. ean 3.939----------.~9~2~1 - ---~pual, 13 i7~846 --- 4.240 1.224 I - Comparison 1- 2 hite Collar-•anual 1.727 J 187 the manual group by a margin significant at the five per cent level . This chapter has been concerned with the relation ot mobility aspirations to various intelligence, interest, and temperament factors- in boys from unskilled homes. Edwards' conception of this socio-economic level has been quoted to . describe their home status. Practically all of them a pire to up ard mobility particularly to professional and skilled Jobs. The group is generally quite lo in abilities and temperament scores. Its relative strengths are in space and number facility; its greatest eaknesses in word flu ency. In temperament it is especially intolerant in per sonal relations. The boy from this level ho aspires to white collar occupations is following the vocational aspiration pattern of a majority of his peers. He is most apt to be selecting a professional Job. His abilities which are in general quite low are highest in number facility and space, in which he is slightly above average. He is eakest in per ceptual speed and word fluency. He exceeds boys from his home level who aspire to manual oocupat1ons 1n all abili ties except perceptual speed, but these differences are not statistically significant. His level of interest is a little above average and is statistically higher than that 188 ot the manual aspirant . His temperament scores are gener ally much lo er than that of the college students on whom the measure was standardized . He is relatively high 1n gen ral ctivity 1n which he exceeds the manual aspirant by a significant margin and in ascendanoe . He 1s impul sive, hostile, and intolerant in his personal relations to a considerable degree. In summ ary, it may be said that hi abilities and temperament are not like that of college stud nts and he differs from manual aspirants only .in se lecting high r level occupations both in counseling and on the 1 vel of int erest measurement . The boy from the unskilled level ho aspire to manual occupations is follo ing the vocational aspiration pattern of a large minority of his peers. He is most apt to eel ct a skilled occupation. His abilities are all be lo average and he is particularly weak in verbal meaning and ord fluency. He exceeds the white collar aspirant from the same home level only in perceptual speed, but none of the ability differences are significant . His level of interest 1s very low and is significantly inferior to that of the white collar aspirant . In temperament all of hie scores are below the average of the college student norm group . He is especially intolerant in his personal rela tions . He is significantly less active than the boy with 189 aspirations for h1te collar occupations. In general, he resembles the h1te collar aspirant very closely except that hes lecte lo er level aot1v1t1es, for both are char acterized by quite lo ability and temperam nt scores. Chapter IX has diecu sed the findings regarding boys from unskilled homes. Chapter X discusses the findings regarding the total sample 1th their home backgrounds and aspiration levels classified by the dichotomy " hite collar" or "manual. 11 CHAPTER X FINDINGS REGARDING HITE CCLLAR AND NUAL - HOME BACKGROUNDS AND ASP !RATIONS This chapter elaborates on the dichotomy II hite collar" - 0 manual" by explanation and reference to other uses of this division. It indicates the vocational aspir ation pattern of boys from h1te collar homes ho aspire to white collar occupations (Table XXVI), of boys from hite collar homes ho aspire to manual occupations (Table XX.VII), of boys from manual homes who aspire to manual occupations (Table XXVIII), and of boys from manual homes ho aspire to white collar occupations (Table XXIX). There is reported the psychological findings regarding the abil ities, level of interest, and temperament of these four groups (Figure 7). This report is followed by an examina tion of the statistical significance of differences found (Tables XXX through XXXVIII). The chapter is summarized by a characterization of each of these four groups. The division of Ed ards' six occupational levels into two categories has been accomplished by grouping pro fessional, managerial and official, and clerical and kin dred occupations into the "white collar" level and grouping skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled occupations into the "manual" level. The logic of this division is particularly .... - 191 supported by Centers 1 ho has done most to prove that these two groups ditf r not only 1n the kind or ork they do but also 1n their att1tud s, value systems, backgrounds, and . many other factors associated 1th socio-economic 1 vel. This division is being mad in this chapter to explore the findings attendant upon a grouping hich defines stability as remaining in one of these to levels and mobility as moving across the line from one level to another. It is exp cted that this view of mobility will sharpen our under- ..... standing of the phenom na by allo ing us to measure its concomitants as they occur in its most dramatic form. An other reason for this division is that it permits the as sumption of more credence in the findings forLipset and Bendix 2 in their careful study of Job mobility found that the main cleavage in our heirarchy of occupations as be tween the manual and white collar workers. Job shifts usually occurred within, rather than between, these groups. If we assume that shifts in vocational objectives might follow somewhat the same pattern, it 1s then wiser to con- 1 Richard Centers, The Psychology of Social Classes (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton -University Press, 1949), p. 102. 2 Seymour .M. L1pset and Reinhard Bendix, "Social obility and Occupational Career Patterns - I. Stability of Jobhold1ng, n American Journal 2f Sociolosr, LVII (Janu ary, 1952), 366-74. 192 sid r the goals of students in terms of thee two levels . From Table XX.VI we learn the composition of the group from white collar homes ho aspire to remain at the white collar level. Nearly two thirds of these boys ar hoping to work at professional occupations, a little over a fifth at managerial ones, and the remainder at clerical ones. The largest portion of these boys come from mana gerial homes and the next largest from clerical homes. Table XXVII shows·· the aspiration pattern of bo_ ys from these same home levels ho aspire to work at manual occupations. Nearly nine out of ten of these boys aspire to work at the skilled level. Very few have a professional home background. For all practical purposes it appears that the white collar boy who desires manual work will se lect a skilled Job. From Table XXVIII we learn the aspiration pattern of boys from manual homes who aspire to ork at manual occupa tions. Again, nearly a-ine out of ten hope to work at the skilled 1 evel • Table XXIX is concerned 1th the distribution of boys from manual homes ho aspire to white collar occupa tions. About four out of five of these boys aspire to work at professional occupations. The remainder are very evenly divided between managerial and clerical aspirations. ost 193 TAELE XX.VI • , DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS FRO WHITE COLLAR HO ES WHO ASPIRE TO HITE CCLLAR OCCUPATIONS (RELATIVE STABILITY) 1 ional A 121ration Level Professional a T anager1al and Off 1cial • Clerical Total from Professional Homes - -- .a~gerial and Official Professional • anagerial and Official Clerical - Total from anagerial and Official Ho~es Clerical Professional ¢> anagerial and Official • ..... Clerical - Total from Clerical and Kindred Homes - - . GRAND TOTAL --- -· T - Number Percent - 123 16.9 - a 27 3.7 15 2.1 - 165 23 200 _27.5 §1 12.0 42 5.8 329 4~ 146 20.1 43 5.9 43 5.9 232 32 726 100 - 194 TA1:LE XXVII DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS FRO HITE CCLLAR HO ES HO ASP IRE TO MANUAL OCCUPATIONS (DO ARD OBil..ITY) Home Level Aspiration Level Number Percent Professional Skilled 11 8 .4 Semi-skilled 2 1.5 Unskilled 0 o.o Total from Professional Homes 13 10 • anagerial and Official Skilled ~~ 42.0 - Semi-skilled 4 3.0 Unskilled 3 2.3 • Total from Managerial and orr1c1a1 Homes 62 47. Clerical Skilled 51 38.9 Semi-skilled 4 ) • O Unskilled 1 o.8 Total from Clerical Homes 56 4; GRAND TOTAL 131 100 - -- - -- 195 TAI:LE XXVIII DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS FRO 1 ANUAL HOMES WHO ASP IRE TO . NUAL OCCUPATIONS (RELATIVE STABILITY) Home Level Aspiration Level Numb r Percent Skilled Skilled. 95 54.0 Semi-skilled 5 2.8 I - Unskilled 3 1.7 Total from Skilled Homes .103 52 I Semi-skilled Skilled 50 28.4 Semi-skilled 8 4.5 Unskilled 2 1.1 Total from Semi-skilled Homes 60 34 2 Unskilled Skilled 2 5.1 Semi-skilled 3 1.7 Unskilled 1 o.6 Total from Unskilled Homes 13 7 GRAND TOTAL 176 100 - 196 TABLE XXIX DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS FRO . ANUAL HOMES HO ASP IRE TO WHITE COLLAR OCCUPATIONS (UP ARD OBILITY) Home L vel Skilled - - Aspiration Level Professional anagerial and Official Number Percent a 143 45.2 20 6.3 Cler1c!!_ ______ 2~~~-7 ........ •2--- Total from Skilled Homes Semi-skilled Professional anagerial and Official Clerical Total from Semi-skilled Homes Unskilled Professional Managerial and Official Clerical Total from Unskilled Homes GRAND TOTAL 188 104 - - 24 316 59 69 21.8 21 6.6 14 4.4 33 4.1 6 1.9 5 1.6 8 100 197 ot these boys com from the skilled 1 vel . Thee four tables may be summarized by saying that there seems to be two vocational levels to which boys as - ~ p1re - -profe sional and skilled. This seems to be true re- gardless of the home level of th aspirant . Figure 7 hos the psychological findings of the four groups as they ere revealed by testing. The most obvious overall impres ion 1s t hat the stable white collar boy and the aspirant for up ard mobility from a manual home are much alike, as are the other to groups--the stable manual boy and the aspirant for down ard mobility from the hite collar home. Related to this observation is the fact that in abilities and interest the former two groups se m clearly superior to the latter two . This superiority a ems to hold less for space than it does for the oth r abilities and it 1@ interesting to note that space ability would seem to be particularly relevant to skilled occupations.•· · In most abilities, the groups as piring to white collar occupations have mean scores above the fiftieth percentile and the other groups have means below the fiftieth percentile. In temperament , the divi sion noted with regard to abilities and interest 1s most apparent in restraint and thoughtfulness, for in these two factors e find the two groups hich aspire to hite collar ABILITIES 20 Verbal Percentiles 40 50 m 198 60 70 w ;;;;;;...e_,a,.;;n_i_n_,,jsi,.. _____________________________ _ Space Reasoning Nwnber Facility m m m M m w ord w Fluency Advisement Service, Loe Angeles City Schools Strati fied Norms. Key: W = Boys from white collar homes who aspire to white collar occupations. m = Boys from white collar homes who aspire to manual occupations. w = Boys from manual homes who aspire to white collar occupations. = Boys from manual homes who aspire to manual occupations. FIGURE 7 EAN SCORES OF TOTAL GROUPS ( HO ES DESIGNATED AS WHITE COLLAR OR MANUAL) ABILITIES 20 m Percept . .§2.eed Frog. Matrices ¥,emorI __ INTEREST 20 Level of Interest 30 M m M 30_ m M 199 - --- Percentiles 40 50 60 70 w w m w M w w Percentiles 4o 2Q_ ___ 6_0. ____ 7_0 w w Advisement Service, Los Angeles City Schools Strati fied Norms. FIGURE 7 (continued) EAN SCORES OF TOTAL GROUPS ( HO ES DESIGNATED AS HITE COLLAR OR M ANUAL) 200 TEMPERAMENT P ercent1les ..... 1~ _______ 2..&,.~---3.,.5 _____ !! .... ~ --~5~~ General m w _A_c_t_1v_1t_.y...,_ _____________________________ _ w m w Restraint M m Ascendance m w Soc1~b111ty M ------------------------- Emotional §tab111tf " = Published Norms - College Students FIGURE 7 (continued) m w M w MEA N SCORES OF TOTAL GROUPS (HOMES DESIGNATED AS WHITE CCLLAR OR VIANUAL) 201 TEMPERAMENT Percentiles 15 25 35 ,45 w m w ObJeotivity w m w Friendliness m w .... Th __ o_u __ gg_t_f_u_l_n_e_s_s _______________________ _ m w Personal Relations .......;;;;;;;;.;.... ....... .......,...,_.. ___________________________ _ Masculinity of Interest Published Norms - College Students FIGURE 7 (continued) w w MEAN SCORES OF TOTAL GROUPS (H0 1 ~ES DESIGNATED AS VvHITE COLLAR OR UNUAL ) m 202 occupations ar cl arly superior in means to the groups aspiring to manual ocoupat1ons. In the other temperament traits the picture is not as cl ar, but in all traits, ex c pt masculinity ot interest, the boys from white collar homes ho aspire to remain at that level are superior to the other groups. In general, the mean scores of these boys are below the fiftieth percentile of the college stu dents ho constituted the norm group. Figure 7 may be summarized by saying that it appears that the aspiration level 1s more important than the home status in establish ing the ability, interest, restraint, and thoughtfulness level, for in these factors the two groups aspiring to white collar occupations are much alike and superior to the two groups, also much alike, who are aspiring to manual occupations. The next series of tables deals with the signifi cance of the differences in scores among the four groups. Table XXX is concerned with ability factors and compares boys from white collar homes who aspire to white collar occupations with those from the same home level who aspire to manual occupations. The boys who aspire to white collar occupations make scores significantly better than the others in all abilities except space. These margins are all significant at the one percent level and the "t" ratios TAaE XXX ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBlLITY--BOYS FRO HITE COLLAR HOMES 203 Aspiration level ean S.D. s. E. ean hite Collar nual Comparison White Collar- anual SPACE 9.230 8.715 S.E.diff • t AsEi tion 1 vel N e n S.D. s. E. ean White Collar 726 .. 27 .321 10.556 .392 anual . _l}l _26,3!2 __ 9.774 .857 Comparison Ml - 2 S.E.diff t 1 te Collar- anu_a __ l ______ l __ • ___ 0 __ 0_8 ______ • ...,9_4~~-·----l_. 0_6_9_- REASONING _Aspiration }. yel N ean S.D. White Collar 726 wwwl7~671 5.783" ____ a~n~u~a~l ______ ~l~~-----~l..«.......~88 ___ __2.482 Comparison 2 S.E.diff hite CoITar- anµai· • .o 2 ·- · -:~26. BER FACILITY .215 .481 t Asp1r~~ion level N ean S.D. S.E. ean .......... ........,.h __ i_t....,e --C~o~l~l._..a ..... r -----~72~6.,,...-~2 ..... ~. 5~i--s-· - -9: 40 3--- - I • 349 ___ M_a_n_u_a1 _______ 1~_1 _____ 2_0_._404 ___ 7. 552_ • 662 Comparison 2 S.E.diff t WORD FLUENCY Aspiration level hite Collar anual Comparison **One percent level ean s.D. s.E. ean TABLE XXX (continued) ABil.,ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC ·oBILITY--BOYS FRO HITE COLLAR HO ES P ERCEP TU.AL SPEED 204 _h.spiration level N ean S.D. S.E. ean White Collar 725 43.916 · 9.940 .369 ____ a __ n __ u __ a1 ______ 1 .... :,""'-1 ___ ~38;;...; ....... 7&..33..._ __ 9......,.. 5 ..... 7 ... 5,_ _______ • 8 .... 4 ......... 0 Comparison Ml- 2 S.E.ditf t PROGRESSIVE TRICES Aspiration ~evel N ean S.D. S.E. ean hite Collar 726 49.640 5.952 .221 Ma~ual .131 45.046 6.490 .562 Comparison 1-M 2 S.E•diff t __ Wii ■i,,,iih __ 1;;;;;.;t .... e ........ C __ o __ l __ l ..... !1r .... - ____ a __ n __ u .... a __ l ___ 4 __ , ._.5_.9__,;4 __ • _·· __ • __ 6 __ 1 __ i:...---, __ 7: 512** E ORY ~.;;;;...,;;;..;;.;.. _________________________ _ Asp i rat 10 n 1 e_v __ e l ______ N _______ ....,;e ..... a __ n __________ s __ . __ D ..... ~----s ..... • E_. _____ e_a ....... n White Collar 725 37.538 9.608 ~357 Manual 131 2?•§~? _ 9.802 .860 Comparison M1-M 2 S.E.diff t **One percent level are far beyond what 1s needed for this level of signifi cance . Table XX.XI is the comparable table for the manual level, that is, it examines the significance of ability diff ranees in boys from manual homes by comparing those aspiring to h1ta collar occupations with those aspiring 205 to manual occupations. The first group is clearly superior and the difference is statistically significant in all abilities tested. The significance is at the one percent level of confidence except for space where it is at the five percent level. The "t 0 ratios are particularly high for verbal meaning and reasoning. Four additional comparisons are made for abilities in Table XXXII: (1) boys from white collar homes who as pire to white collar occupations with boys from manual homes who aspire to manual occupations, (2) boys from man ual homes who aspire to white collar occupations with boys from white collar homes who aspire to manual occupations, (3) boys from white collar homes who aspire to manual occu- pations with boys from manual homes who aspire to manual occupations, and (4) boys from manual homes who aspire to hite collar occupations with boys from white collar homes who aspire to white collar occupations. The first set of comparisons indicates that the group from white collar 206 TAELE XX.XI ABil.. ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO MANUAL HO S Aspiration.level N ean S.D. S.E. ean hite Collar 316 31.753· 8.888 _____________ 5_0_1 .anual !76 26.688 ~.647 .654 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.d1rr t __ Wh ___ i_t_e_C_o_i l_a_r ___ a_n_u_a_l __ , ___ 5 _____ 0_6p,.;5;.._. ___ .!. 824 I - L 6 .147** SPACE Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E. ean White Collar 316 27.652 -§:624 · .542 _ anual 176 25.443 9.105, _ .688 Comparison 1- 2 S.E.diff t hi te Co-l!""""l_a_r ___ a_n_u_al _____ 2_._2_0_9 _______ B_7...,6-----·--2- .• -5-22_*_ REASONING ------------------------- Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E. Mean White Collar - -316 16.411 5.482 .309 anual . 17~ 13!119 5.282 _ .399 Comparison M 1- 2 S.E.diff t Wh! ~e Collar- . 'anu~l 3. g_92_-______ • ....,50_4 ____ 6_._5_3_2_*_* NUMBER FACILITY Asp~ration +evel N Mean S.D. White Collar 316. 23:722 9.096 M anual 176 19.864 __ 1~658 Comparison M 1- 2 S.E.diff White Coll ar- anual 2.858 _.7i3 WORD FLUENCY S.E. Mean .512 .579 t _!sp1rat1Qn level N M ean S.D. S.E. Mean hite Collar 316 43.07_9 ___ 1_0-;:f7 __ 2 ____________ ~.6.._o~t M anual 176 37.~17 10~878 .822 Comparison M 1-M2 S.E.diff t ~Five percent level **One percent level 207 TAH.,E XXXI (continued) ABILITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO- ECONO IC OBIL ITY--BOYS FROM MANUAL HO ES - PERCEPTUAL SPEED Aspiration level N ean S.D . S.E. ean 316. 44.051 • 9 9.404 White Collar .530 Iianual 176 40.846 8.22~ .627 Comparison 1- 2 S.E.diff t - .821 3.904** White Collar-Manual 3.205 4 PROGRESSIVE ATRICES Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E. Mean White Collar 316 48:ii94 6.056 .341 Manual 17q 44.881 6.771 .512 - • Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t White Collar-~anual 3._613 .615 5.875** I ME ORY -- Aseiration level N ean S.D. S.E. Mean White Collar 316 37 .481 9.113 .513 Manual _176 33.682 2.662 .73q ,. -· Comparison 1- 2 S.E.ditf t - • 4.25~*~ White Collar-' anual 2•122 .822 _ **One percent level 208 TA!LE XXXII ABll.,ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBil.,ITY--BOYS FRO- HITE COLLAR HO S CO ARED ITH BOYS FRO ANUAL HO ES - VERBAL MEANING Comparison WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual-MANO&.. white collar- HITE CCLLAR SPACE Comparison HITE COLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual -MANUAL hite collar- HITE Ca..LAR REASONING Comparison WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual -MANUAL white collar-WHITE COLLAR NUMBER FACILITY Coxnparison WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual-MANUAL white collar-WHITE C<LLAR *Five percent level **One percent level KEY: - 1- 2 7.169 4.959 .106 -2.104 2 1. 78 1.339 .870 • 2~l- 1- 2 4.552 2.823 .469 -1.260 - 2 .654 3.318 .540 - -·126 S.E.diff t ,. .739 9-701** .914 5.426** 1.006 .105 .608 -3.460** - S.E.diff t - .792 2.371* 1.014 1.320 1.099 .792 .662 .425 S.E•d1ff t - .453 10.048** .571 4.944** .624 .752 .376 -3.3~1** - S.E.diff t .676 6.885** .837 3.964** .879 .614 .620 -1.284 Home Status Aspiration Level HITE COLLAR---White Collar---- hite Collar NUAL---------Manual---------- anual hite collar---· anual----------White Collar manual---------White Collar---- anual TAl:LE XXXII (continued) ABll.,ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONOM IC OBILITY--BOYS FROM WHITE COLLAR HOMES COMPARED WITH BOYS FRO MANUAL HO ES WORD FLUENCY Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t 209 WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL 7.691 .918 8.~78** white collar-manual 5.133 1.036 4.955** manual-MANUAL .429 1.176 .365 white collar- HITE COLLAR -2.122 .731 -2.912** p ERCEP TUAL SPEED I ----------------- Comparison 1- 2 S.E.diff t WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL 3.070 .727 4.223** white collar-manual 5.318 .993 5-355** manual-MANUAL -2.113 1.048 -2.016* __ w_h_1_t __ e _____ c ___ o_l l __ a __ r __ -_ W __ H __ I ___ T....,E_C __ OL.........,L __ A __ R__ .13~ • 646 • 2P2 , PROGRESSIVE MATRICES Comparison M 1-M 2 S.E.diff t WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL 4.759 .558 S.529** white collar-manual 3.448 .663 5.201** manual-MANUAL .165 .766 .215 hite collar-WHITE COLLAR -1.146 .406 -2.823** MEM ORY Comparison 1-M 2 S.E.diff t __ W_H_I-TE_C_OL __ L_AR---MA- · -NU-AL---· -·--·-3---.8-5-6----.813 4.743** white collar-manual 4.619 1.002 4.610** manual-MANUAL -.820 1.128 -.727 white collar-WHITE CCLLAR -.057 .624 -.09~, *Five percent level **One perce~t level ~o homes who aspire to remain at that level are significantly superior 1n all abilities to those ho come from manual homes and ho aspire to manual occupations. These margins are all significant at the one percent level except for space hich is significant at the five percent level. The second set of comparisons indicates that the group from manual homes ho aspire to hite collar occupations 1s significantly superior at the one percent level in all abilities except space to the group from white collar homes ho aspire to manual occupations. The third set of com parisons indicates that the boys from hite collar homes ho aspire to manual occupations differ only in being in ferior in perceptual speed to the boys from manual homes who aspire to remain at that level. This difference is significant at the five percent level. The fourth set of comparisons indicates that the group from manual homes who aspire to white collar occupations is significantly in ferior in verbal meaning, reasoning, word fluency, and Pro gressive atrices to the boys from white collar homes who aspire to remain at that level. These differences are significant at the one percent level. This set of tables on abilities tends to confirm the observation made with regard to Figure 7 which was that aspiration level, more than home status, seems related to 211 ability scores , for , in general , those aspiring to the higher level exceed those ho aspire to the lower level regardless of status origin, and , again in general , there ar relatively f differences bet een groups aspiring to the same occupational level . Table XXXIII indicates that boys from white collar homes ho aspire to remain at that level have significantly higher scores in level of interest than do boys from hite collar homes who aspire to manual occupations. This sig nificance is at the one percent level. Table XX.XIV indicates that boys from manual homes who aspire to white collar occupations have significantly higher scores in level of interest than do those boys from manual homes ho aspire to remain at that level . This dif ference is significant at the one percent level of confi dence. Table XXXV indicates that (1) the level of interest of boys from white collar homes who aspire to remain at that level is significantly higher (at the one percent level of confidence) than that of the boys from manual homes ho aspire to remain at that level, (2) the level of interest of boys from manual homes who aspire to move into white collar occupations is significantly higher (at the one percent level of confidence) than that of boys from 212 TAELE XXXIII INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED iITH AeP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO HITE COLLAR HOMES LEVEL OF IHTE~ST • _ • - ■ S.D. S.E. ean hite Collar 676 b9.254 • 9.081 .. .350 anual .. J.18 . 62. ~85 . 8.8~~ ■ I .a12 Comparison M1- 2 S.E.diff t I **One percent level 213 .... TAILE XXXIV INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONOiIC i OBILITY--BOYS FRO LEVEL OF INTEREST Asp1ra~1on level White Collar Manual .. - Comparison - ■ • N hite Collar- anus.l . - I • I g I I A I I • I = I === **One percent level NUAL HOMES Mean S.D. 2 S.E.ditf I ■ .8~1 - z £ :t 2 Z ■ f S.E. ean a I■-• - .529 .680 - t ... TAH...E XXXV INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FROM WHITE CCLLAR HO ES COMPARED ITH BOYS FROM MANUAL HO ES LEVEL OF INTEREST Comparison WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual-MANUAL white collar- HITE COLLAR In 1 J I J r = ?I • 1 i I J **One percent level S.E•diff t I L 214 r-- - ---, I 215 white collar homes who aspire to manual occupations, (3) there is no significant difference in the level of interest 1 of boys from h1te collar homes who aspire to manual occu pations and that of boys from manual homes who aspire to remain at that level, and (4) that the level of interest of boys from white collar homes who aspire to remain at that level is significantly higher (at the one percent level of confidence) than that of boys from manual homes who aspire to move into white collar occupations. This set of tables on level of interest tends to confirm the observation from Figure 7 and the results of the tables on abilities, for we find that the level of aspiration seems to be a more important determinant of scores than does the home back ground level. There remain, however, differences between the hite collar aspirants ·who are stable at that level and those ho are upward mobile to that level. Temperament scores of boys from white collar homes are analyzed in Table XX.XVI by a comparison between those from hite collar homes who are aspiring to white collar occupations and those aspiring to move do nward to manual occupations. The group aspiring to stability at the white collar level 1s significantly more restrained, more ascen dant, more sociable, more friendly and more thoughtful than the group aspiring to manual occupations. These margins 216 TAELE XXXVI TEMPE ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ·rTH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OB~ITY--BOYS FRO HITE COLLAR HO~ES GENERAL ACTIVITY · Asp1r tion level White Collar anual Comparison hite Collar-~anual RESTRAINT - As21ration l!Vel White Collar anual Comparison N 726 131 White Collar-Manual ASCENDANCE Aspiration level hite Collar anual - . Comp rison N 726 131 I White Collar- anual • SOCIABILITY N - Aspiration ~evel 1te Collar Manual 726 _ 131 Comparison .. hite Collar-Manual EMOTIONAL STABILITY ean .1Q7 ean 14.515. 12.656 Mean 16.696 14.008 2.688 ean 19.2as· 17.618 Aspiration level N Mean White Collar 726 16.847 .Manual 131 16.122 Comparison M1-M2 !hite 1 Coll~r-. anual 5 , •7~5 **One percent level S.D. S.E.ditf .479 S.D. 5.682 5.139 S.E.dift .489 S.D. 5.563 5.425 S.E.diff • S.D. 6.344 6.431 S.E.diff .012 S.D. 5.457 ~.362 S.E. ean .202 .434 t S.E. ean t :,.802** .207 .476 t . 5.172:-:* ..• 236 .564 t 2.729** s. E. ean .203 .470 t 1.416 I ii 217 TAELE XXXVI (continued) TEMPERA] ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC 1 OBILITY--BOYS FRO W HITE COLLAR Ho· ES OBJECTIVITY As21rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. an Wh1 te Colla.r 726 16.472 5.881 .21S Manual 121 l~.626 s~e66 -~14 Comparison Ml- 2 S.E.dit't t • • Siio • hite Collar- anual -~52 1.~13 FRIENDL !NESS As~1rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean White Collar 726 12.540 5.364 .199 anual 131 l 0 9 ~-258 .461 - Comparison 2 S.E.ditf t White Collar-M anual 1. 1 .502 2.S70** .. THOUGHTFUL NESS Aspiration level N ;lean S.D. S.E. ean 726 18.303 5.065 • • 1aS hite Collar Manual 131 15.~~o ~-275 .463 Comparison Ml- 2 S.E.diff t .422 - h1te Collar-M anual 2.7!23 2-517** PERSONAL RELATIONS ASQ1rat1on level N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean Wh1 te Collar. 726 15.271 5.113 .190 Manual 131 14.841 4.575 .401 Comparison M1-M 2 S.E.diff t - • .422i - .444 White Collar-M anual -255 ASCUL INITY OF INTEREST Aseiration level N M ean S.D. S.E. ean Wh1 te Collar· 726 19.910 4.094 .152 anual l~l 20.802 ~-2Z6 .~42 Comparison 1- 2 S.E.d1ff t bite Collar-Manual -- 8 29 .38i -2.36~ - Ml L f 1 I I *Five percent level **One percent level 218 are at the one percent level of confidence. The group of manual aspirants is significantly more masculine in its interests at the five percent level. Table XX.XVII is concerned with the temperament dif ferences in boys from manual homes. The group aspiring to move up ard to hite collar occupations is significantly more restrained, more thoughtful, and more objective than the group aspiring to stability at this level. The first to of these differences are at the one percent level and the last at the five percent level. Additional temperament comparisons are sho n 1n Table XX.XVIII. The group aspiring to stability at the white collar level is first compared with the group as piring to stability at the manual level. The former group makes significantly higher scores in all traits except emotional stability and masculinity of interest. The mar gins for general activity and personal relations are at the five percent level and for the other traits are at the one percent level. The second comparison is between the group from manual homes who aspire to white collar occupations and those from white collar homes who aspire to manual occupations. The former significantly exceeds the latter in restraint, thoughtfulness, and ascendance. The first two margins are significant at the one percent level and ., ,--- . • TAH.,E XX.XVII --, 219 TEMPERA ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBlLITY--BOYS FRO ANUAL HO ES GENERAL ACTIVITY Aspiration level ean S.D. S.E. ean hite Collar 316 17.180 5.419 . .305 anual 176 16.602 5.282 .39~ N Aspiration level Wh1 te Collar anual 316 F 176 Comparison White Collar- anual ASCENDANCE Aspiration level White Collar anual I L Comparison - N 316 176 bite Collar- anual SOCIAB~ITY Aspiration level White Collar anual I RI - - Comparison N 316 176 White Collar-Manual OT IONAL STABlL ITY - ean 14.275 12.273 2.002 ean 15.3So 14.750 ~ean 18.101 18.017 Asp+rat1on lave]. N ean White Collar 3i~ lb.424 · anual 176. _16.37~ _ Comparison M1 - M2 **One percent level S.D. 5.197 4.405 S.E.ditf .444 - S.D. 5.140 4.758 S.E.diff .463 S.D. 0.311 5.657_ S.E.diff . -. - - .• 557 S.D. 5.475 4.801 .293 .333 t 4.509** S.E. ean .290 .360 t 1.361 S.E. ean .356 .428 t L .151 - t r-- - --- ----- ~- 220 TAR,E XXXVII (continued) TE ERA NT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--BOYS FRO OBJECTIVITY White Collar ~ anual • Comparison N 3i6 176 White Collar- anual • Q • FRIENIL !NESS hite Collar anual Comparison u a White Collar- anual THOUGHTFUL NESS NU.AL HO S ean ean 11.690 11.222 2 ■ S.D. 5.836 5-757 . S.E.diff' S.D. • .329 _. .435 t 2.024* I S.E. ean _A........isB ... 1iiiiii,iir...,.a __ tiii.iiiiii1 ..... £> .. P;-■-,.l ... ev __ e,.;.;;;l _____ N ________ -... e .... a ... n _______ s. D. S. E. ean White Collar 31~· 17. 380 5. 020 · · • 283 . anµal . !76 15.864 _ s~o:,7 . . . .;§1 Comparison M1- 2 S.E.diff t White Collar- anual -. 1.516 .474. . ~-128** PERSONAL RELATIONS Ase1rat1on lev~l N ean S.D. S.E. ean Comparison 2 S.E.diff t -----------------------......,..,._.-·---- __ 'h_i_t_e ........ c_ol_l __ a_r_-_M __ a_n __ u_a_l~------•-2-2 .... 3_. _ _.443 . -· .:752 .. MASCULINITY OF INTEREST -- As21ration level N ean S.D. S.E. Mean White Col la __ r _______ 3l ...... b--·--20--.--0··9--2-----3--. 7 ■-"!1 8__..2 _____ ....._,., ...... 2 .... 1 ......... 3 ~pual 176 12.704 _3.792 .287 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t --Wh-ii -, ~-t-e_p_o_t_¼_~-r-_M_a_r_~-a·}---= ---;-: d ... ~!"'R~-. --. ·---.-2-~--7---~l-!~0 ... 8~i-· *Five percent level **One percent level 221 TABLE XXXVIII TEMPER.Al ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RAT IONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO !°C . OBll., ITY--BOYS FRO WHITE COLLAR HO ES COMPARED WITH BOYS FRO ANUAL HO ES GENERAL ACTIVITY Comparison WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual-MANUAL - . white collar-WHITE COLLAR RESTRAINT Comparison WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual -MANUAL white collar-WHITE ca.,LAR ASCENDANCE m - M1 - ~ 2 - .917 -.232 .810 _-:- .339 1-M2 2.242 1.619 .383 -.240 - =t S.E.diff • 447 • .530 .589 .366 S.E.diff - ~383 .538 .560 - .349 . ' ,. t 2 .051* -.438 1.375 -.926 t 5·.854** 3.009** .684 -.688 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t WHITE ca..lAR-MANUAL 1. 946· • 416 -4. 678** white collar-manual 1.372 .557 2.463* manual-MANUAL -.742 .597 -1.243 __ w_h_i_t __ e ____ c ___ o_ ]. __ l_a_r-_W_H_I.....,T_E ___ C __ CL __ L....,A_R ____ - __ J.;...;;.•~3 ..... 1 _6 _______ • ..,.3 .. 5 ...... 6 ___ -_2_• 6_9_7_*_* SOCIABILITY Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t WHITE COLLAR-MANUAL 1.271 .489 . 2.599** white collar-manual .483 .667 .724 manual- ANUAL - • 399 • 708 - • 564 -· hite 9ollar-WHITE C<LLAR_ -1.187 .428 -2.77)** E· OTIONAL STABll.., ITY Comparison ~1-M2 S.E.diff t __ W_H_I_T_E-CO_L_L_A_R ___ r _A_NU_AL ________ ..... 47""!""""2~--. 4 ..... l--■!6..---1 ....... ~1~3--5 __ hite collar-manual .302 .562 .537 manual-MANUAL -.253 .594 -.426 !P~t~ collar~W¥I*~=C~L~~ =--~2i .,9~ ·= -}.146 = *Five percent level **One percent level 222 TABLE XXXVIII (continued) TEMPERA ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH AP£ !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO~ IC OBILITY--BOYS FROM WHITE COLLAR HO ES COMPARED WITH BOYS FRO MANUAL HO ES OBJECTIVITY ■ Comparison a HITE COLLAR- NUAL white collar-manual manual-MANUAL white collar- HITE ca.,LAR FRIENDL !NESS Comparison WHITE CCLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual - ANUAL white collar-WHITE COLLAR THOUGHTFUL NESS Comparison I HITE CCLLAR-MANUAL white collar-manual manual - MANUAL white collar-WHITE CC:...LAR PERSONAL RELATIONS Comparison WHITE CCLLAR- ANUAL white collar-manual manual - ANUAL white collar-WHITE COLLAR - MASCULINITY OF INTEREST Comparison HITE COLLAR- ANUAL white collar-manual manual- . ANU.AL white collar-WHITE COLLAR *Five percent level **One percent level • 1.733 .216 .887 -.630 S.E.ditf .487 .610 .673 .J95. 1.318 .591 -.123 I E .444 .548 -.8~0 _ 2 2. 39 I 1.830 -.314 -.923 1.015 -.258 . 591 -.682 .206 -.717 1.105 .182 .607 .:358 S.E.diff .424 .542 .599 • 332 .. I S.E.diff .399 .484 .533 .330 S.E.ditf .324 .409 .452 .261 t 3.558** .354 1.318 :1-52~ t 2'.968* 1.078 -.203 -s.3I4* t 5-752** 3-376** -.524 -2.723** t 2.544* -.533 1.109 -2.067* t .636 -1.753 2.445* .697 r--- -- 223 the last at th five perc nt. The third ser1 e of oompar- , 1sons 1s between the manual group aspiring to stability and the hite collar group aspiring to do_ n ard mobility as represented by manual occupations. It 1s found that there are no statiettcally significant temperament diff r enoes between these two groups. The last eerie of com- ,. - parisons is between the boys from manual homes who aspir to white collar occupations and those from hite collar homes who aspire to remain at that level. The latter group is significantly more ascendant, more sociable, more thoughtful, more friendly, and more tolerant 1n personal relations. These last two margins are at the five percent level and the others at the one percent. The set of tables on temperament has shown that re straint and thoughtfulness especially are functions of goal levels rather than hom e status with white collar aspirants getting higher scores in these f actors, while high scores in ascendance, soci~b111ty, and friendliness seem particu larly characteristic of the boys from white collar homes who aspire to stability at that level. This chapter has first discussed the rationale be hind the division of occupations into two categor1es--wh1te collar and m anual. B y an inspection of aspiration patterns it then established that most boys who aspired to stability 224 at the white collar level chose professional occupations while most who aspired to manual occupations from this level sought skilled occupations. Among boys from manual ' homes much the same pattern existed, that is , the stable largely chose skilled occupations and the upward mobile aspired to professional occupations . The series of figures plotting the mean scores of the four groups indicated that the stable aspirants from the hite collar group tended to make the best scores and most closely resem bled the aspir ants for white collar occupations who came from manual homes . The other two groups--stable aspirants from manual homes and boys from white collar homes ho chose manual obJectives--tended to resemble each other and to make scores inferior to those of the first two groups . In gen eral, the tests of significance bore out these observa tions. The boy from a w hite collar home who selects a white collar vocational objective, and hence is aspiring to sta bility at the white collar level, has the vocational as piration pattern of the large majority of his peers and 1s most likely to choose a professional objective . Practi cally all of his abilities are above average as is his level of interest score. His temperament scores , however, tend to be lo er than that of college students . His abil - 225 1ti s are s1gnit1oantly higher than the other three groups in verbal meaning, reasoning, ord fluency, and Progressive atrices. In most other abilities he is also significantly higher than the two groups aspiring to manual occupations. His level of interest 1s significantly higher than the other three groups. In temperament he is more ascendant, more sociable, more friendly, and more thoughtful than the other boys. He is also more restrained than the boys as piring to manual occupations. In summary, he is clearly superior in ability and is characterized by a temperament hich is restrained, thoughtful, ascendant, and sociable. The boy from a white collar home who aspires to a manual objective 1s following the vocational aspiration pattern of a small minority of his peers. He is most apt to have selected a skilled occupation. His abilities are all belo average except for number facility. His level of interest score is also quite low. His temperament is char acterized by relatively high scores in masculinity of in terest and by impulsiveness and concern with overt activ ity. He 1s significantly inferior to the two groups as piring to white collar occupations in every ability except space as well as in level of interest scores. He is very much like the boy from the manual home who aspires to re main at that level since he differs from him significantly 226 only in being inferior 1n space. In temperament, he 1s s1gn1f1cantly more impulsive, submissive, and concerned with overt activity than are the boys aspiring to white collar occupations. He 1s also more interested in masculine ac tivities, more shy, ar:d more hostile than the boy from his same home level who aspires to remain at that level. In summary, this boy is characterized by lo abilities, a lo level of interest score, and by impulsiveness and concern 1th overt activity. ~ The boy from a manual home ho aspires to remain at that level 1s follo ing the aspiration pattern of a minor ity of hie pe rs and is most apt to have selected a skilled objective. None of his scores 1n ability, level of inter est, or temperament is above the fiftieth percentile . He differs from the boys aspiring to hite collar occupations in being significantly inferior in all abilities, in level of interest, and more concerned with overt activity . He is very much like the boy from a white collar home who aspires to manual occupations differing only in that he exceeds him 1n space. He 1s also more phlegmatic, more submissive, more shy, more hostile, and more intolerant in personal re lations than the boy from a white collar home who aspires to stability. In summary, he is most like the boy from a white collar home who aspires to a manual occupation and 227 least like the boy from a hite collar home who aspires to a hite collar occupation. He is characterized by very l ow ability, by a low level of interest score , by impulsive ness, and by concern with overt activity . The boy from a manual home who aspires to a hite collar occupation is following the aspiration pattern ·or 1 majority of hie peers and is most apt to have selected a professional occupation. In practically all factors he falls between the white collar stable aspirant and the boys selecting manual objectives. He is superior to the latter in ability but he is inferior to the former in verbal mean ing, reasoning, word fluency, and Progressive atrices. He occupies this same mid-position in level of interest and in his concern for overt activity. He is more restrained than the manual aspirants, more submissive and shy than the boy from a white collar home who aspires to stability at that level . In summary, this boy is generally strong 1n ability and his temperament is characterized by restraint and .. thoughtfulness. He occupies a position mid ay bet een the manual aspirants and the stable hite collar aspirant, since he is brighter than the former but duller than the latter, has a level of interest higher than the former but lo er than the latter, and 1s rnore thoughtful than the for mer but more concerned with overt activity than the latter. 228 Chapter X has discussed the findings regarding hite collar and manual home backgrounds and aspirations. This chapter dealt 1th the total sample dichotomized into "white collar" and "manual." Chapter XI discusses the findings regarding the total sam ple by comparing the upward mobile, the stable, ~nd the down ard m obile. CHAPTER XI FINDINGS REGARDING THE TOTAL SAMPLE This chapt r redefines hat 1s intended by the terms up ard mobile, stable, and do nward mobile. It indicates the vocational aspiration pattern of these three groups by listing the level from which they come and the levels to hich they aspire (Tables XXXIX, XL, and XLI). After a report on the psychological findings regarding those 1th aspirations for up ard mobility , for stability, and for do nward mobility (Figure 8), an examination 1s made of the significance of differences in these three groups (Tables XLII, XLIII, and XLIV). The summary is in the form of a description of the upward mobile aspirant, the stable as pirant, and the downward mobile aspirant. In this discussion of the total sample, the upward mobile aspirant is any boy from any level who aspires to a higher occupational level than that of his home . The stable aspirant is any boy who aspires to the same occupa tional level as that of his home. The downward mobile as pirant 1s a boy from any level who aspires to a lower occupational level than that of his home. In examining Table XXXIX to ascertain the vocational aspiration pattern of the up ard mobile group, it should be TAlLE XXXIX DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS W ITH ASPIRATIO N S FOR UPWARD OBIL ITY Home Level - Aspiration Level Number anagerial and O:ftic1al P rofes eional 200 Total from anagerial and Of:f 1c1al Homes 200 Clerical P rofes s1onal 146 anager1al and Official 43 Total from Clerical Homes 189 - ~ Skilled P rofee eional I 142 M anagerial and Official 20 Clerical 2~ .... Total fro m Skil led Homes 188 230 Percent 26.1 26 12.0 5.6 25 18.6 2.6 3.2 24 Home Level Semi-skilled Total from Unskilled TAH...E XX.XIX (continued) DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS WITH ASP !RATIONS FOR UPWARD M OBILITY Aspiration Level Number Professional anager1al and Official Clerical Skilled Semi-skilled Homes . . - Professional anage rial and Official Clerical --------------- 69 21 14 __ 50 - 1~4 - -- 6 231 Percent 2.0 - 2_.7 1.8 6.5 _____ 20 1.7 o.a o.6 1.2 • • _ S_k_il_l_e_d _____ , ____ 2..__._......._, Semi-skilled o.4 F-... -.... 2 _T_o_ta_l_f_r_o_m_U_n_s_k_l_l_ l __ e_d_H_o_m_e_s __ ~-------3_ 6 _ _ _ _ 5 100 _GRA_ND __ T,.,O_T_AL _____________ _ __1_61 ........ _ . ___ __ I ■ JI Ci • - i ¥ = , ____,.: I I I I f £ r a # : ± =- t : I I i [ - - 232 kept 1n mind that no boys from the professional level are in this category since, by definition, it is impossible for them to aspire to upward mobility. In this sample, it will be seen that the home background of these boys is divided rather equally among managerial, clerical, skilled and semi-skilled with very few from the unskilled level. Near ly three-fourths of these boys aspire to professional occu pations. Table XL shows the distribution of boys who aspire to stability. Over a third of these are from professional homes. The next largest group is skilled, and the next 1s managerial. Very fe are from the other three categories. In examining Table XLI which shows the distribution of the downward mobile, it is necessary to keep in mind that downward mobility for the unskilled is, by definition, impossible. Nearly one half of these boys are from mana gerial homes, with about one fourth from professional, and one fourth from clerical homes. Very few come from the other two possible levels. A maJority of this group aspire to skilled occupations. It is interesting to note that, although downward mobility to the unskilled level is a theoretical possibility for all of the five top levels, only nine boys from the total sample expressed a desire to work at that level. TA1LE XL DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR STAB~ ITY Level Number Professional 123 •• I - anageriaJ. .. and Official ~1 V I Clerical ~, - Skilled . 25 - Semi-skilled 8 - Unskilled 1 TOTAL 357 •• • - • I-• --- • .. 233 : ' Percent _34 24 12 • 27 2 1 100 • ·aa ... TAaE XLI DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR DOWNWARD OBILITY Home Level Aspiration .Level Number • I Managerial and Professional Official 27 Clerical 1~ • Skilled 11 Semi-skilled 2 Unskilled 0 Total from Professional Homes 55 Manaserial and Official Clerical 42 • • Skilled 55 - • . Semi-skilled 4 - Unskilled 2 - • Total from M anagerial and Official Homes 104 234 Percent 12.0 6.7 4.2 o.a o.o 24 18.7 •• 24.4 1.8 - 1.3 46 - Home Level Clerical TA:ELE XLI (continued) DISTRIBUTION OF BOYS WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR DO NWARD OBIL ITY. Aspiration L!vel Number Skilled 51 - Semi-skilled 4 Unskilled 1 Total from Clerical Homes 56 Skilled Semi-skilled 5 Unskilled 3 Total from Skilled Homes 8 Semi-skilled Unskilled 2 Total from Semi-skilled Homes 2 GRAND TOTAL ,?25 235 Percent 22.7 1.8 o.4 - 25 2.2 1.:, - 4 o.s - l 100 236 This series of tables seems to bear out previous observations that, by and large, boys aspire to profession al or skill d occupations only, regardless of their home The most striking observation to be made from the ability and interest sections of Figure 8 is that in each . . factor there is a regular sequence of mean scores with the upward mobile highest, stable next, and the downward mobile least. Although most mean scores cluster around the fif tieth percentile of the group, the means in number facility are all high and the means in perceptual speed are all low. · In temperament it can be seen that the stable group is higher than, or as high as, the other to groups in every trait except restraint and thoughtfulness. The downward mobile, on the other hand, have lower scores than the others in every trait except masculinity of interest and general activity. The upward mobile, although we saw that they were consistently superior in all abilities and in level of interest scores, exceed the others 1n only two temperament traits--restraint and thoughtfulness. Table XLII examines the statistical significance of ability differences among the three groups. The up ard mobile exceed the down ard mobile in all abilities by mar gins significant at the one percent level of confidence. ABILITIES 20 Verbal Meaning Space Reasoning Number Fao~lity ord Fluency Perceptual Speed Prog. atrices emory_ INTEREST 20 - Level of Interest 30 - - D s D n - 30 Percentiles 40 50 D I s D -. s D - u s • u D u s Percentiles 40 50_ D • u u s s 60 u u D s 60 - 237 - • 19 u s - - u - 70 Advisement Service, Los Angeles City Schools Stra- tified Norms. Key: U = Upward obile; S = Stable; D = Downward ~ obile. FIGURE 8 EAN SCORES OF TOTAL SA- 1PLE 238 TEMPERAMENT Percentiles 1~ 2~ ~!2 4~ ~~ u General s ActivitI D u s Restraint D - u s Asoendance D - u s Soc1ab111 tI D .. • u Emotional s Stab111tI D u s ObJectivi~Y D - u s Friendliness D u s thoughtfulness D u Personal s Relations D u asculinity s of Interest D - Published Norms - College Students FIGURE 8 (continued) EAN SCORES OF TOTAL SA:J!FLE 239 TAELE XLII ABil.,ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC -~ OBILITY--TOTAL SAMPLE VERBAL MEANING As~1ration level N Upward obile 767 Stable 357 Downward obile 225 Comparison Upward M obile-Stable Upward obile-Down ward · obile Stable-Downward obile El - SPACE Mean 32.772 31.594 2a.4n 1.178 4.301 3.123 S.D. 9.299 9.570 9.113 S.E.diff .609 .696 •723 As-airat1on level N ean S.D. Upward ob11e 767 27.645 10.l~O Stable 357 26.765 9.943 Downward obile 225 25.507 10.037 Com parison 1-M 2 S.E.diff Upward - obile-Stable .8SO .643 Up ard ~ . ob1le-Down- S.E. Mean t i.934 S.E. ean t 1.368 ward obile 2.138 ~765 2.795** Stable-Downard ______ M ~9b~1~l~e _______ ~l~~25~8---~•-8~52._ ___ l_._47_5 __ REASONI N G Aspiration 1,evel N M ean S.D. Upward obile 767 17.034 5.872 Stable 357 16.305 5.900 Downward M obile 225 14.302 5-~36 Com parison .. M l- 2 S.E.diff Upward ob1le-Stable .729 .378 Up ard 'obile-Down- ard obile 2.732 .421 Stable-Downward M obile 2.003 .480 **One percent level S.E. ean t 1.928 II 6.489** 4.173** 240 TAH.,E XLII (continued) ABll.,ITY FACTORS ASSOCIAT D WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR . . SOCIO-ECONO . IC OBil., ITY--TOTAL SAMPLE NUMBER FACILITY Aspiration level ?~ ean S.D. Upward x ob1le 767 23.944 9.297 Stable 357 23.207 8.953 Downward obil 22~ 21.400 ~-538 Upward 10bile-Stable .737 . .581 Upward Mobile-Down- _ ward ob1le 2.544 .662 Stable-Downward obile 1.807 .742 .336 .474 .57Q t 1.2~8 3.843 * 2.;35* WORD FLUENCY ---------------------------- Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Up ard Mobile 707 44.0o2 11.146 .403 Stable 357 42.630 11.287 .598 Downward obile 225 39.969 10.652 .• 712 Comparison M1- 2 s.E•diff t __ U_p_w_a_rd--o-b-il_e ___ S_t_a_b_l __ e __ ■■-!1-.-4 .... 3""'"""'2"'----. ■-"!!7!!""'!2!'■!!!""'1----,1-. 9_8_6_*_ Upward Mobile-Down- ward Mobile 4.633 .818 5.664** Stable-Downward __ ..--■ iiiio __ b __ 11 __ e __________ 2 __ • ___ 6 ...... 6 __ 1 ____ .... 93 .... 0 _____ 2_._8_6_1_*_* PERCEPTUAL SPEED ................................. __,_,..._........., ________________________ _ _ Aspiration level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward Mobile 707 44.130 9.392 .339 Stable 357 42.639 9.776 .518 __ D_o __ w_n_w_a_rd_] __ \11o __ b_1_+ __ e ___ ?...,.25_. __ 3_2.!.2_82 _____ 1,_0_. _04_0 ______ ._6_7_1 Comparison M1-M2 S.E.diff t Upward~ ob1le-Stable · 1.491 .619 - 2.409* Upward Mobile-Down- ward Mobile 4.148 • 752 5. 516** Stable-Downward obi le AL 2. 6~7 .848 .l!,.133** *Five percent level **One percent level 241 TABLE XLII (continued) ' AB~ITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO "IC OB~ ITY--TOTAL SAMPLE PROGRESSIVE TRICES A e1ration level -N Mean S.D. S.E. ean Up ard ob11.e 767 49 .199 5.771 ,._ · . 20S Stable 357 47.782 7.381 . 391 Do nward obile 22~ 46.084 6.211 .412 Comparison . 1- 2 S.E.d1ft t Upward ob1le-Stable 1.417 . 443 3.199** Upward oblle-Down- ard oblle 3.115 .468 6. 656** Stable-Downard obile 1.6528 -~74 2-2!28** ORY isEiration level N Mean S.D. S.E. ean Up ard obile 767 37. 551 9.330 . 337 Stable 357 36.053 10.091 . 535 Downward obile 22~ ~4.0~l ■ 2.68~ .647 Comparison M1-A12 S.E.diff t Upward Mobile-Stable 1.498 .633 2.366* Upward o bile-Down- ward Mobile 3.520 .730 4.822** Stable-Downward ob1le 2.022 .840 2.40:Z* *Five percent level **One percent level 242 They also significantly exceed the stable in word fluency , perceptual speed, memory, and Progressive atrio a . The last difference 1s significant at the one percent level , the others at the five percent . The stable exoeed the don ard mobile by significant margins in every ability except space. Except for number facility and memory , which are significant at the five percent level, the margins are all at the one percent level of confidence . This table tends to bear out the observation from Figure 8 that there is a regular progression from upward mobile, to stable, to don ard mobile. The significance of differences among the level of interest scores in these three groups 1s examined in Table XLIII . The upward mobile are superior to the downward mobile at the one percent level of confidence and the stable to the downward mobile at the five percent level . There is no significant difference between the upward mobile and the stable in this factor. In temperament, Tabla XLIV indicates that the upward mobile are significantly more restrained than the other groups. The confidence level is at five percent in regard to the stable and at one percent for the downward mobile . The upward mobile are also more objective, more emotionally stable, and more thoughtful than the down ard mobile . The 243 TAH..E XL III INTEREST FACTOR ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC , OBIL ITY--TOTAL SAMPLE LEVEL OF INTEREST Aspirat~on level N Upward obile 692 Stable 332 Do nward : obile 208 Upward obile-Stable Up ard Mobile-Down ard Mobile Stable-Downward Mobile Five percent level **One percent level ean (;7.507 -- 67.334 6 .2 1 I 2 - .173 2.276 2.103 S.D. S.E. ean 9.128 - a e347 9.286 .510 9.482 .6~2 S.E•diff t .• 610· a .281 .744 3.059** .8~2 =2-222~~ 244 TAH.,E XLIV TEMPE ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBIL ITY--TOTAL SAMPLE -- GENERAL ACTIVITY AsE1rat1on +evel .. N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean Upward obile 707' 17.190 5.351 .193 Stable 357 17.543 5.452 .289 Do nward obile 225 17.347 I 5. 228 .35§ - • Comparison M1- 2 S.E.diff t Upward obile-Stable -.353 .348 -1 .014 Upward Mobile-Do n- ard · obile -.157 .405 -.388 Stable-Downward • ob!le - .129 .452 .42:Z: _ RESTRAINT As21ration lev,1 N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean Upward Mobile 767 . 14.435 4.§67 .179 Stable 357 13.678 5.146 .273 Downward. Mobile 225 J.2.242 5 • .20~ .3~4 - - - Comparison 1- 2 S.E.diff t Upward obile-Stable .757 . 320 2.322* Upward Mobile-Down- ward obile 1.493 .396 3. 770** Stable-Downward Mobile _:136 .446 1.650 • - ASCENDANCE AsR!_ration level N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean 707 15.879 5.349 - Upward Mobile .193 Stable 357 16.252 5.374 .285 Downward Mobile 22~ 15.2;2 ~. :r:z:s .386 Comparison 1-M 2 S.E.diff t - .344 -1. 084 Upward obile-Sta.ble --373 Upward obile-Down- ard Mobile .630 .431 1.462 Stable-Down ard obile 1.00~ .480 2.020* - -- *Five p rcent level **One percent level 245 TAILE XLIV (c ntinued) TEMPERAMENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECO NO IC . OBIL ITY--TOTAL SA IPLE SOCIABn.. ITY is~1rat1on ~evel N Mean S .D. S.E. ean Upward Mobile 767 18.649 0.374 .230 Stable 357 18.938 6.221 .330 Downward Mobile 22~ 18.281 6.256 .418 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t -.2B9 • .403 Upward ,. obile-Stable -.717 Upward Mobile-Down- ward obile .262 .478 .548 Stable-Downward Mobile .5~1 .5~~ 1.0~4 EMOTIONAL STABILITY - As21rat1on level N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean Upward Mobile 767 16.683 5.459 .197 Stable 357 16.961 5.357 .284 Do n ard Mobile 225 1~.840 ~.042 •221 Comparison . 1- 2 S.E.diff t Up ard obile-Stable -.278 :347 -.801 Up ard obile-Down- ward obile .843 .391 2.156* Stable-Downard ob1le 1.121 • 442 2.~26* . OBJECTIVITY As;e1rat1on level N Mean S.D . S.E. Mean Upward ob1le 767 16.160 5.954 .215 Stable 357 16.151 5.831 .309 Do n ard · obile 22~ 1~.g22 ~.658 •278 Comparison 1-M2 S.E.diff t Upward Mobile-Stab e .015 .376 .040 Up ard Mobile-Down~ .435 ard Mobile .873 2.007* Stable-Do nward ob1le .8~8 .488 1.758 I *Five percent level 246 TAILE XLIV (continued) TEMPERA ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH ASP !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONO IC OBILITY--TOTAL SAMPLE FRI INESS Ae121rat1on level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward ob11 767 12.096 5.278 .191 Stable 357 12.123 5.550 .294 Downward ob1le 22~ 11.642 ~.208 .]48 Comp r1son 1-M2 S.E.diff t Upward obile-Stable -.027 .349 -.077 Upward obile-Do n- ward obile .447 .396 1.129 Stabl -Downward ob1le .474 .4~~ 1.042 THOUGHTFUL NESS - ABE1rat1on level N Mean S.D. S.E. Mean Up ard . obile 767 11 .ae6 5.150 .186 Stable 357 17 .347 5.137 .272 Do nward obile 225 16.~02 ~.185 .~46 Comparison 1- 2 S.E•dif'f t I 1.578 Upward obile-Stable .519 .329 Up ard ~ obile-Down- ward Mobile 1.364 .393 3.471** Stable-Downward Mobile .845 .441 1.916 I •• PERSONAL RELATIONS As21ration level N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward ob11e 767 14.893 4.834 .175 Stable 357 15.216 5.239 .278 Downward Mobile 225 14.642 4.801 -221 Comparison M1- 2 S.E.diff t -.982 - Upward obile-Stable -.323 .329 Upward Mobile-Down- ward Mobile .244 .366 .667 Stable-Down ard obile .567 .424 1.337 I■ **One percent level ) 247 ... TAELE XLIV (cont1ntued) TEMPE ENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED ITH A&' !RATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECON01-rc OBILITY--TOTAL SAMPLE MASCULINITY OF INTEREST AsQ1rat1on ievel N ean S.D. S.E. ean Upward obile 767 19.937 3.951 .143 Stable 357 20.120 4.072 .216 Downward obile 225 20.102 ,.946 !264 I Comparison M1-M2 S.E.diff t • -.183 .260 -.704 Upward obile-Stable Upward obile-Down- ward Mobile -.165 .300 -.550 Stable-Do nward Mobile .018 .~42 -!.0~2 - 0 0 248 last margin 1s at the on perc nt level, the other two at the five perc nt l vel. The stable in turn are more as cendant and more emotionally stable than the downward mo bile. Both margins are at the five percent level of confi dence. Out oft enty possibilities, the direction or superiority is in favor of the stable in seventeen cases in this tabl • Out of a like number of possibilities, the direction of superiority is against the do nward mobile in eighte n cases. This.chapter has been concerned with the relation of mobility aspiration and various intelligence, interest, and temperament factors in the total sample. A restatement was given of the use of the terms upward mobile aspirant, stable aspirant, and do nward mobile aspirant . The major ity of the upward mobile aspire to professional occupa tions, the stable to professional or skilled occupations, and the downward mobile to skilled occupations. Ability and level of interest scores were around the midpoint of the norm group with a tendency for there to be a regular decrease in scores from the upward mobile, to the stable, to the down ard mobile. Temperament scores were generally lo er than the college student norm group. The upward mobile boy is most apt to be aspiring to a professional occupation. It 1s impossible, by def1n1- -- - - 249 t1on, for his home level to be prof saional and it is most unlikely that 1t 111 be unskilled. His ab111t1es ar generally above average and sup r1or to the aspirant for stability or don &rd mobility. These differ nc s are all statistically significant hen he is compared 1th the do nward mobile and, when he is compar d with the stable, they are significant in the case of ord fluency, p rcep tual speed, m mory, and Progressive atr1ces. His level of interest score is above average and significantly superior to that of the do nward mobile but not significantly sup r ior to the stable aspirant. In temperament he is signifi cantly more restrained than the other two groups . He is also more emotionally stable, more objective, and more thoughtful than the down ard mobile boy. In most cases hie temperament scores are lower than that of the stable aspir ant. In summary, he is brighter than the others, seeks a higher level occupation both in counseling and as disclosed by his level of interest score, and has a temperament char acterized by restraint and thoughtfulness. The boy who aspires to socio-economic stability is most apt to be selecting a professional or skilled occupa tion. His abilities tend to fall between the upward mobile and the downward mobile as does his level of interest. These margins are generally, but not al aye, significant 250 statistically. In temperament he practically al aye makes higher scores than either of the other groups. He is sig nificantly more impulsive than the up ard mobile, more ascendant and more emotionally stable than the downward mobile. He can be characterized as being average in abil ity and level of interest, and as making higher temperament scores than either of the other groups. The downward mobile aspirant is most apt to be from the managerial level and very unlikely to be from the manual levels. He is probably selecting a skilled occupa tion. Hie abilities and level of interest are inferior to the other boys by margins which are statistically signifi cant in practically all factors. His temperament scores tend to be lower than the others. He is more unstable than either of the others as well as more shy than the stable, and more impulsive, more subjective, and more concerned 1th overt activity than the upward mobile. He can be charac terized as being low in abilities, as selecting lower level Jobs both in counseling and in interest testing, and as being impulsive, unstable, concerned with overt activities, subjective, and shy. Chapter XI has discussed the findings of the total sample. Chapter XII includes the summary of the findings, the conclusions, and the recomm endations for further study. CHAPTER XII SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECO ENDATIONS This chapter summarizes the findings which ere re ported in detail in Chapters IV through XI, dra s conclu sions based on these findings, and makes recommendations for further research in this area. I. RY OF FINDINGS Findings for boys from Erofessional homes. The boy from a professional home who aspires to stability ls su perior in verbal meaning, reasoning, Progre~s1ve Matrices and in memory to the boy from the same home level who as pires to downward mobility . All other abilities measured as well as level of interest indicate a tendency which was not statistically significant for him to be superior to the downward mobile. He is very bright, being above the fif tieth percentile on every ability measured except percep tual speed. In temperament he is more objective and more masculine in his interests than is the downward mobile and is characterized by somewhat more than average ascendance and thoughtfulness. His ability, interest, and temperament seem much like what would be expected in college students. The boy from a professional home who aspires to 252 downward mobility 1s generally strong in his ability pat tern though 1nferio~ in verbal meaning, reasoning, Pro gressive atr1ces, and memory to the boy from the same home level who aspires to stability. In all other abilities tested there is a tendency, h1ch is not statistically significant, for him to be inferior to the boy with aspira tions for stability~ This boy's weakest abilities are perceptual speed and emery; his strongest, number facil ity. In temperament he is more subjective and more femi nine in his interests than is the boy with aspirations for stability. His temperament is also characterized by im pulsiveness, subjectivity, hostility and intolerance in personal relations when compared with the college student norm group. Hie level of interest is above the average. Although generally inferior to his peers with aspirations for stability his abilities, level of interest, and tempera ment scores compare rather favorably with other high school seniors. Findings for p9ys from managerial and official homes. The upward mobile boy from a managerial and offi cial home has an aspiration level like that of about half of his peers from the same background. Hie abilities are generally high and he exceeds others from the same home level ho have different aspirations in nearly all abi11- 253 ties etud1 d. Th se dift rences are esp cially significant in verbal m aning and reasoning. His level ot interest is higher than the oth rt o groups from his hom level and his temperament differs from theirs in being more restrain ed and more thoughtful. He is also ore ascendant, more emotionally stable, more objective, and more friendly than the downward mobile boy, but these differences do not hold hen he is compared with the stable. He is characterized by superior abilities and lack of temperament deviations. The boy from a managerial and official home who as pires to remain at that level has the vocational aspiration pattern of about a fifth of his peers 1th the same back ground. His abilities are less than the upward mobile in practically all factors studied whereas he exceeds the downward mobile in all factors except space but only his superiority in number facility is significant statisti cally. Another way to describe his ability pattern is to say that it resembles that of the downward mobile much more than that of the upward mobile. He is more impulsive and more concerned with overt activity than the upward mobile, more ascendant, sociable, and emotionally stable than the downward mobile. His level of interest falls bet een the other two groups. The downward mobile boy from a managerial and offi- 254 c1al home has the aspiration pattern of about a fourth or his peers from this level . He 1s most apt to be aspiring to a skilled occupation. He 1s apt to be some hat below average in the abilities measured and considerably below in perceptual speed, word fluency and memory . His abilities are significantly lo er than the upward mobile's in every thing but space . He more closely resembles the stable in ability but is significantly inferior to him in number facility. He is lower than either of the other groups in his level of interest scores . In temperament he is more submissive and less emotionally stable than the other groups. He is also more impulsive, m ore subjective, more hostile, and more concerned with overt activity than the upward mobile and more shy than the stable . He is char acterized by an ability and temperament pattern much more similar to that of the stable aspirant than to that of the upward mobile. Findings for boy~ from clerical and kindred homes . The up ard m obile boy from a clerical and kindred home is following the vocational aspiration pattern of most of his peers and is likely to indicate that he plans to work at a professional occupation. He is characterized by generally above average abilities especially in number facility and in the Progressive x atrices . He is s1gn1f1 - • " 255 - cantly strong r 1n all abilities than is the downward mo bile from this level but does not differ statistically from the stabl. This is also true of his level of interest. In temperament he is more restrained and thoughtful than the down ard mob11 and does not differ from the stable. In short , he closely resembles the stable aspirant 1th the same home background but is brighter than the downward mo bile . The boy from a clerical and kindred socio-aconomic level who aspires to remain at that level is follo ing the vocational aspiration pattern of a minority of his peers . Hie abilities are generally above average and are particu larly strong 1n number facility . H1s abilities are not different statistically from those of the upward mob lle but he exceeds the downward mobile in all abilities except epaoe. A similar situation holds for his level of interest. In temperament when his scores are compared with the upward mobile none are significantly different but he is more ascendant than the downward mobile. The do nward mobile boy from this level 1s following the vocational aspiration pattern of about a fifth of his peers and is most apt to have selected a skilled occupation. He is characterized by belo average abilities and he is especially low 1n perceptual speed, word fluency , and mem- 256 ory . He 1s inferior to both of the other groups in practi cally allot the abilities measured and in level of inter est . He is more 1mpuloive and more concerned with overt action than the upward mobile and mor shy than the stable . The one area where he makes higher scores than the others 1s in masculinity of interest. He is quite different from both of the other to groups . Findings for boys from skilled homes . The up ard mobile boy from a skilled home ls following the aspiration pattern of the large aJority of his peers . He is most apt to be selecting a professional occupation. His ability scores are highest in verbal meaning, number facility, and Progressive r atrices; lo est in perceptual speed and memory. Hie level of interest is about average. His temperament is characterized by impulsiveness, subjectivity, hostility , and intolerance in personal relations. He is superior in all abilities except space to hie peers from the same home level ho aspire to stabil ity. His level of interest is also higher. In temperament he is more thoughtful and more restrained and this in spite of the fact that he 1s neither very restrained nor very thoughtful when compared with the college students on whom the tem perament measure was stand ardized . The boy from the skilled level ho aspires to remain 257 ~t that level 1s following the vocational aspiration 1 v 1 ot a minority ot his pe rs. He is characterized by blow average abilities,. 1th his relative strength being in space and number tao111ty and his great st w akn sses in word fluency and perceptual speed. He is inferior by sig nificant margins to his peers ho aspire to upward mobility 1n all abilities except space, and his level of interest 1s also lo er. Hi temperament is characterized by impul s1ven es, subJect1v1ty, hostility, concern 1th overt ac tivity, and intoleranc in personal relations. He differs from his upward mobile peer particularly in bing more impulsive and more concerned 1th o ert activity. His impulsiveness is his most outstanding trait since his mean for this trait ls at the fifteenth percentile hen plotted on the distribution of college students. In no trait does this boy exceed hie upward mobil peer. He is, in summary, duller, interested in lo er level activities, more con cerned with acting rather than planning, and, above all, more impulsive. Findings fox boys from ~em1-sk1lled homes. The up ward mobile boy from a semi-skilled home is following the aspiration pattern of the vast majority of his peers and is most apt to be aiming at a professional ors illed occupa tion. His abilities are strongest in number facility and .. 258 Progressive atrio e--above the fifty-fifth percentile, lowest in perceptual sp ed--b lo the fort1 th percentile. His level of interest 1s a little below average. He is significantly superior to others from his home level in space, reasoning, perceptual speed, and the Progre sive atrices. This is ~rue in spite of the fact that his rea soning and perceptual speed scores are well below average. In temperam nt he makes generally lower scores than the college student norm group. He is rather active, quite impulsive, and quite intolerant in his personal relations. He is more objective and more friendly than others from his home level although his scores are not high in these fac tors. The boy from this socio-economic level who aspires either to remain at this level or move downward from it is in the extreme minority of his peers regarding his aspira tions. He is chara~terized by low abilities especially in reasoning, perceptual speed, and Progressive Matrices where he 1s in the bottom fifth of the populat1on. He has rela tive strength in number facility and ord nuency. He is significantly inferior to the upward ~obile in space, rea soning, perceptual speed, and Progressive atrices. The one area where he is slightly superior to the upward mobile in ability is in ord fluency. His level of interest is 259 also higher than the up ard mobile but neither of these differences 1s significant . In temperament he is somewhat ascendant, soo~able, and generally active ; he i s xceed ingly impulsive; subjective, and hostile . He is char cter- 1zed by low ab111t1es and extremes in temperament . Findings for boy~ from unskilled homes . The boy from this level who aspires to white collar occupations 1s follo ing the vocational aspiration pattern of a majority of his peers. He is most apt to be selecting a profession al Job. His abilities which are 1n general quite low are highest in number facility and space in which he is slight ly above average. He is weakest in perceptual speed and word fluency. He exceeds boys from his home level ho as pire to manual occupations in all abilities except percep tual speed but these differences are not statistically significant. His level of interest is a little above aver age and is statistically higher than that of the manual aspirant. His temperament scores are generally much lo er than that of the college students on whom the measure was standardized. He 1s relatively high in general activity in which he exceeds the manual aspirant by a significant margin and in ascendance . He is impulsive, hostile, and intolerant in his personal relations to a considerable degree. In summary, it may be said that his abilities and 260 t mperament are not like that of colleg student nd he differs from manual aspirants only in lect1ng high r level occupations both in counseling and on th 1 vel of interest measurement. The boy from the unskilled 1 vel ho a pir e to manual occupations is follo ing the vocational aspiration pattern of a large minority or his peers. He is most apt to select a skilled occupation. His abilities ar all be low average and he is particularly eak in v rbal meaning and word fluency. - He exceeds the hite collar aspirant from the same home level only in perceptual speed but none of the ability differences are significant. His level of interest 1s very lo and is significantly inferior to that of the white collar aspirant. In temperament all of his scores are below the average of the college student norm group . He is especially intolerant in his personal rela tions. He is significantly less active t nan the boy with aspirations for white collar occupations. In general, he resembles the white collar aspirant very closely except that he selects lower level activities, for both are char acterized by quite lo ability and temperament scores. Findings fQ..t hite collar and manual home ~ackgrounds and aspi~ations. Most boys who aspired to stability at the white collar level chose professional occupations h1le 261 most ho aspired to manual occupations from this level sought skilled occupations. Among boys from manual homes, muoh the same pattern existed, that is, the stable largely chose skilled occupations and the upward mobile aspired to professional occupations. The series of figures plotting the mean scores of the four groups indicated that the stable aspirants from the white collar group tended to make the best scores and most closely resembled the aspirants for hite collar oocupat1ons who came from manual homes. The other two groups--stable aspirants from manual homes and boys from white collar homes who chose manual obJec tives--tended to resemble each other and to make scores inferior to those of the first two groups . In general, the tests of significance bore out these observations. The boy from a white collar home who selects a hite collar vocational objective, and hence is aspiring to sta bility at the white collar level, has the vocational aspir ation pattern of the large majority of his peers and is most likely to choose a professional objective. Practi cally all of his abilities are above average as is his level of interest score. His temperament scores, however, tend to be lower than that of college students. His abili ties are significantly higher than the other three groups in verbal meaning, reasoning, word fluency, and Progressive 262 atrices. In most other abilities he is also significantly higher than the two groups aspiring to manual occupations . His lev l of interest is signifioantly higher than the other three groups . In temperament he is more ascendant, more sociable, more friendly, and more thoughtful than the other boys . He is also more restrained than the boys as piring to manual occupations. In summary, he is clearly superior in ability and is characterized by a temperament which is restrained, thoughtful, ascendant, and sociable . The boy from a white collar home who aspires to a manual objective 1s following the vocation aspiration pat tern of a small minority of his peers . He is moat apt to have selected a skilled occupation. His abilities are all below average except for number facility . His level of interest score is also quite low. His temperament is char acterized by relatively high scores in masculinity of interest and by impulsiveness and concern with overt activ ity. He 1s significantly inferior to the two groups as piring to white collar occupations in every ability except space as well as in level of interest scores. He 1s very much like the boy from the manual home who aspires to re main at that level since he differs from him significantly only in being inferior in sp~ce . In temperament, he is significantly more impulsive, submissive, and concerned ' with overt activity than are the boys aspiring to h1te collar occupations. He is also more int rested in mascu line activities, more shy, and more hostile th.an the boy from his same home lev 1 who aspires to remain at that level. In summary, th1 boy is characterized by low abili ties, a lo level or interest soor, and by impulsiveness and concern 1th overt activity~ The boy from a manual hom ho aspire to remain at that level 1s follo ing the aspiration pattern of a minor ity of his peers and is most apt to have selected a skilled objective. None of his scores in ability, level of inter est, or temperament are above the fiftieth percentile. He differs from the boys aspiring to hite collar occupations in being significantly inferior in all ab111t1es, in level of interest, and more concerned 1th overt activity. He is very much like the boy from a white collar home who as pires to manual occupations differing only in that he ex ceeds him in space. He is also more phlegmatic, more sub missive, more shy, more hostile, and more intolerant 1n personal relations than the boy from a white collar home who aspires to stability. In summary, he 1s most like the boy from a h1te collar home who aspires to a manual occu pation and least like the boy from a white collar home who aspires to a white collar occupation. He is characterized I 264 by very low ability, by a lo level or interest scor , by impuls1vene , and by concern with overt activity. The boy from a manual hom ho aspires to a whit collar occupation is follo ing the aspiration pattern or a majority of his peers and 1s most apt to have selected a professional occupation. In practically all factors h falls between the h1te collar stable aspirant and the boys selecting manual objectives. He is superior to the latter in ability but he is inf rior to the former in v rbal mean ing, reasoning, ord fluency, and Progressive atrioes. He occupies this same mid-position in level of interest and in his concern for overt activity. He is more restrained than the manual aspirants, more submissive and shy than the boy from a hite collar home who aspires to stability at that level. In summary, this boy is generally strong in ability and his temperament is characterized by restraint and thoughtfulness. He occupies a position midway between the manual aspirants and the stable white aspirants, since he is brighter than the former but duller than the latter, has a level of interest higher than the former but lower than the latter, and 1s more thoughtful than the former but more concerned with overt activity than the latter. Findings for the total sample. The majority of the upward mobile aspire to professional occupations, the 265 stable to profe s1onal or skilled occupat1ons, and the don ard mobile to skilled occupations. Ability and level or interest scores re around the mid-point of the norm group with a tendency for there to be a regular decrease in scores from the up ard mobile, to the stable, to the downward mobile. Temperament scores were generally lo er than the college student norm group. The up ard mobile boy is most apt to be aspiring to a profe sional occupation. It is impossible, by defini tion, for his home level to be professional and it 1s most unlikely that it 111 be unskilled. His abilities are generally above average and suoer1or to the aspirants for stability or down ard mobility. These differences are all statistically significant when he is compared 1th the downward mobile and, when he is compared with the stable, they are significant in the case of word nuency, percep- - tual speed, memory, and Progressive atrices. His level of interest score is above average and significantly superior to that of the do nward mobile but not significantly su perior to the stable aspirant. In temperament he is sig nificantly more restrained than the other two groups. He is also more emotionally stable, more objective, and more thoughtful than the downward mobile boy. In most cases his temperament scores are lo er than that of the stable aspir- 266 ant. In summary, he 1s brighter than the others, s eks a higher level occupation both in counseling and as disclosed by his lev ,l of 1ntere t score, and has a temperament char acterized by restra·1nt and thoughtfulness. The boy who aspires to socio-economic stability is most apt to be selecting a professional or skilled occupa tion. His abilities tend to fall bet een the upward mobile and the don ard mobile as does his level of inter st. These m argins are generally, but not al ays, significant statistically. In temperam ent he practically always makes higher scores than either of the other groups. He 1e sig nificantly more impulsive than the upward mobile, more ascendant and more em otionally stable than the don ard mobile. He can be characterized as being average in abili ty and level of interest, and as making higher temperament scores than either of the other groups. The downward mobile aspirant is most apt to be from the managerial level and very unlikely to be from the man ual levels. He is probably selecting a skilled occupation. His abilities and level of interest are inferior to the other boys by m argins w hich are statistically significant in practically all factors. His te mperam ent scores tend to be lo er than the others. He is more unstable than either of the oth rs as ell as m ore shy than the stable, and I 267 more impulsive, more subjective, and more concerned with overt activity than the upward mobile . He can be charac terized as being low in abilities, as selecting lower level ... Jobs both in counseling and in interest testing, and as being impulsive, unstable~ concerned with overt activities, subjective, and shy. I I. CONCLUSIONS In drawing conclusions on the basis of the findings of this study it may be well to return to the hypotheses with hich the study was begun. Hypothesis. 1. ~oys with aspirations for up!ard mobility will be superior in mental ab1li1I, factors to those who aspire to stability who will, in turn, be super ior to those ~ho aspire!~ downward mop1lity. Conclusions regarding hypothesis lf1_. This hypothe- sis holds in general but some exceptions must be noted. At the managerial level the stable do not seem to be super ior to the downward mobile. At the clerical level the upward mobile do not seem to be superior to the stable. In considering the total group it must be remembered that the nature of the categorizing placed stable aspirants from professional homes in the "stable" groun and this minimized differences between the upward mobile and the 268 st ble . It 1 apparent , ho ever, that both groups exceed the do nward mob11 1n ability . The most positive support of this hypothesis comes from the grouping into hite collar and manual levels . Clar cut and s1gn1t1cant evidence is found that the upward mobile are superior to the stable and the stable to the don ard mobile hen home level is held constant . By and large this hypothesis is supported but the conclusion vari s some hat 1th the home level considered and the method of grouping used . Hypothes1~. 2 . Facto!:!_ important in school work such!!. verbal meaning and ~easoping will reveal greater differences among!~ three groups mentioned than will such factors!!. number abilftY and ~pac~. Conclusions regarding ~yppth~sis fg . The findings indicate that significant differences 1n the expected di rection were found most often in Progressive Matrices and then in descending order in reasoning, verbal meaning , word fluency, memory, perceptual speed, number facility, and space. While it generally holds then that verbal meaning and reasoning distinguish among the aspirants for mobility better than do number ability and space, it can be seen that the non-verbal reasoning measured by the Progressive 269 atrices is most often significant 1n this regard . The differences in Progressive atrices scores were significant a t the one percent level in every situation except in the comparison of the stable and don ard. mobile from the mana gerial level, the up ard. and stable from the clerical level, and the white collar and manual aspirants from the unskilled level . At the other extreme, space as signifi cant only between the up ard and do nward mobile in the total sample. It appeared that the abilities hich are most often rewarded in school are those possessed by boys attempting up ard mobility . From this the conclusion may be drawn that school success is very instrumental in determining the goals of adolescent boys . Hypothesis. 3. 1th regard to level Q.f interest g measured~ ~es~ing, th~ upward mobile _111 have h1ghe£ scores than the stable ~ho will, in turn, have Disher scores than the downward mobile. Conclusions regard~ng pypothe~is /D._. The Level of Interest section of the Occupational Interest Inventory is shown to distinguish among the various aspiration levels in practically all cases where grouping permitted such a difference to be expected. It does not distinguish between the upward mobile and the stable in the total group but 270 that may well be because of the large number of stable as pirants from the prof esional level who in fact are a p1r- 1ng to a very high occupational level. In a few oth r situations the differences are not significant but 1n gen eral it has been shown to be an instrument hich agrees 1th the stated aspiration level of boys in counseling. This instrument would seem to prov1d a good clu to the occupational 1 vel hich 111 be chosen and hence is probably a worth hile tool in the early stages of counsel ing. Hyppth~ei~. 4. In temperament, the up ard mobile will differ from the ~table who 111, in turn, differ rom the downward mobile. Conclusions regarding hypothesis fi!!.. Although fe er differences were found regarding temperament than ere found with regard to ability there are many indications that this hypothesis 1s tenable. As in abilities, some factors seem much more impor tant than others in distinguishing among the three groups . If we arrange the factors in descending order according to the number of significant margins found, we have the follow ing 11st: thoughtfulness, restraint, ascendance, objectiv ity, friendliness, sociability, emotional stability, gener al activity, personal relations, and masculinity or inter- 271 est. Temperament diff renoes seem to particularly concern restraint and thoughtfulness although in the total sample emotional stability also 1s important. This hypothesi 1s not supported as clearly as were those regarding ability and level of interest. 5. _ Iemperament 2f. the stable 111 be --- mor~ generally desirable than !hat of either the ~p ard .Q.£ do nward mobile. Conclusions regarding hypo~he~is tf2. This hypoth - sis is borne out largely because of the nature of the grouping. In the total sample it does appear that the more desirable scores in temperament are those of the stable but this may well be because of the large number of stable as pirants at the professional level. Of course, the assumption that temperament scores near the mid-point of the distribution rather than at the extremes are more desirable is a purely arbitrary one. If, however, we accept this assumption we find that, generally speaking, the downward mobile have the more undesirable traits and that in the total sample the stable make the better scores. Hypothesis. 6. The above hypotheses 111 ~pplz .!& each socio-economic level as well as to the combined -- --- ----- --- -- --- - - -- - 2!72 groupfi. Conclusions regarding hypothesi! Ii§.. This oonolu eion must be rejected because of the few differenoes found at some levels. The stable and down ard mobile from the managerial level and the upward mobile and stable from the clerical level particularly indicate that these differences do not operate independently of the home level. While a great number of differences ere found in this study the significance was not so consistent that this hypothesis can be held on the basis of this study. Hypothesis. 7. These differences --------- 111 permi!, the descriEtion of the 11 ,t,ypical" upward mobile , stable, and ____ a_rd_ mobile boy. Conclusions regarding hypothesis li1• The findings indicate that this conclusion is tenable but that in many instances there are variations from level to level so that while the direction of superiority may be constant the actual ability and temperament levels will vary. It ap pears that the observed typicalness is more ~losely associ ated with the goal level than with the direction of aspira tion. In other words, there is a typical white collar aspirant and a typical manual aspirant but great differ ences are apparent among the stable aspirants at these two levels. 273 Gener 1 conclusions. It can be concluded that th ---- ------ Edwards'l scale is a worthwhile instrument in this context since it permitted groupings hich resulted in many signi- fioant differences. uch the same oan be said for Cen- ters•2 distinction between the white collar and m anual occupations. Categorizing on either of these two bases makes for quite distinc. t groups in ability and temperament in most instances. The great number of statistically significant differences clearly indicates that the grouping resulted in populations with rather distinct ability and temperament patterns. One of the interesting lesser conclusions is that these boys selected professional and skilled occupations almost exclusively. This may have been a function of their counseling or their ac~uaintance with the world of work, but an alternative explanation is that such occupations are the desirable ones .1thin the white collar and manual levels. If this 1s true we could expect that boys would seek to work at one of these two levels. 1 Alba • Edwards, Population - Comparallve Qccupa t1on Statistics for the !!.giteg States, 1870 !& 1§40 (Wash ington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943), 206 pp. 2 Richard Centers, The Psychology of Social Classes (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1949), 219 pp. There 1s ev1deno that the norms published for the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey are 1n no sense general population norms. Stratification for eocio-eco nomic status ould need to be done before these norms ould be representative or the general population. The authors tested for age differen~es but neglected to measure varia tion among the social levels. At this point e may examine some previously men tioned work in this field to 1 arn how these findings agree with previous writers' reports • . With regard to class differences 1n intelligence it can be concluded that boys fro the same social level ho have different aspirations are apt to differ in intelli gence. From this it follows that the influence of social class works differentially on children. Dollard'a3 belief that the middle class established socialization by socially inculcated anxiety and the obser vation of Davis and Hav1ghurst 4 that the middle class are more strict in their child training, gain indirect support from this study since we find that the temperament of thos (Ne 3 John Dollard, et al, Frustration and Aggression Haven: Yale University Press, 1939), p. 90. 4 Allison Davis and Robert J. Havighuret, Father of · the an - Ho Your Child Gets His Personality (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1947),2i4 pp: 275 aspiring to move up ard--u ually into tha middle class--1s apt to b mor r train d and less concerned 1th overt activity than that of other children. - cGuire' 5 hypoth si that the lo er class 1s im pulse oriented is found to be most reasonable in the light of the findings for, throughout, the boy aspiring to the upper levels as found to be m ore restrained and the others more imoulsive • . The amount of aspiration for up ard mobility found in this study 1s higher than previous studies indicate actually takes place. Among t h e factors which account for this is the fact that e are dealing here with aspiration rather than movement and it is reasonable to believe that many of these children 111 not actually be able to make the moves they desire. An alternative explanation lies in the fact that these are seniors in high school and hence are not a random group of their age level. It may well be that the non-mobile and downward mobile, especially from the lower classes, drop out of school before high school graduation and so we are dealing with a group which is much more apt to be upward m obile than an unselected group would 5 Carson M cGuire, 11 Social Stratification and Mob11- i ty Pat terns, 11 American Sociological ~view, XV (1950) , 195-204. · 276 be. Sines there is a relation bet een desire to move upward and abilities recognized and valued in school it may be concluded that education is b 1ng us d as av ry common method of achieving mobility. This situation also indi cates that the scr enlng and selecting process is operating in the schools, as well as the fact that guidance ls prob ably effect1v 1n pointing out to these brighter children that they may reasonably aspire to higher occupations. By and large e see that the duller from each social level aspire to down ard mobility, the brighter to up ard mobil ity. Of course, this might well occur without guidance but it is a situation which guidance would aim at achiev ing. A previous study of personality and its relation to mobility concluded that the analytic concept that coldness in the primary group in childhood made for mobility was defensible. 6 Ellie' study, however, compared professional women ho were stable at that level and those who had moved up ard to it. From the findings on white collar and manual aspirants we find that these temperament differences are 6 Evelyn Ellis 11 Upward Social tob111ty Among Un married Career omen," American Soolologica~ Rev1e, XVII (October, 1952), 558-63. 277 no mor a function of mobility than they are of the hom level itself . The stable at the hite coll r 1 velar muoh more ditferent from the stable manual than they are from the up ard mobile aspirants from the manu 1 level . Furthermore, the up ard m obile from the manual levels m to make much better temperament scores than do the stabl manual . Ther is little in these findings to sugg st that the up ard mobile is being driven by failure to establish adjustment in his home, since in emotional stability h does not differ significantly from the stable . There is much evidence, ho ever, that the don ard mobile 1s less stable than others and that his temperam ent is 1 ss desir able . The analytic concept that poor adjustment leads to mobility is more probable with regard to the down ard mo bile than it 1s with the upward m obile. Several writers, am ong them Kinsey,? have speculated that children very early in life take on the coloration of the social level they are moving toward. This concept 1s rather well supported by these findings. The downward mo bile from the hite collar level and the stable from the manual level illustrate this, since they are seeking to 7 Alfred C. Kinsey, ardell B. Pomeroy, and Clyde E • . artin, Sexual Behavior in the Human M ale (Philadelphia : • B. Saunders Company, 1948), 735 pp . 278 ork at similar occupations while coming from quite differ ent homes and the indications are that they do NOT differ from each other 1n ability, interest level nor temperament. To a lesser extent this is true of the resemblance bet een the stable hite collar boy and the upward mobile aspirant from a manual home . What differences are found in these two groups may be a function of the fact that many boys aspiring to this level are doomed to disappointment and 111 not actually achieve mobility . The findings regarding ability differences are neither startling nor unexpected but the study seems to have thrown new light on the temperament of the striver for mobility. He is above all restrained and thoughtful . The boy who is stable at a lower level or moving downward to a lower level is conversely impulsive and concerned with overt activity. The middle class, or white collar, temper ament is restrained and thoughtful and it is sensible that this finding shoulCl occur, for the middle class demands putting off immediate gratifications for eventual status security. The ~oat important conclusion to be drawn from the study seems to be that it is less accurate to talk of an upward mobile type, a stable type, and a downward mobile type than it is to talk of white collar and manual types . • 279 Ability and temperament seem as closely associated 1th the level the boy is hoping to reach as they do with the direc tion of his movement . III. RECO MENDATIONS Additional research on the relation of mobility striving to intelligence and temperament in girls would thro more light on this area of study. Findings on tem perament would be particularly useful in establishing the expectancies regarding sex roles in our present society. A study, similar to this, sampling a cross section at a given age ould be useful since the large percentage of early school leavers among the lower levels has left us with little data regarding these boys. Longitudinal studies starting at an earlier age and continuing to the point of actual entry into adult occupa tions would be useful in determining the extent to which factors, which seem important in this study, actually operate in mobility . Such research would also disclose the age at which aspiration and ability and temperament differ ences begin to bear the relationship we found here . Such - studies would also fill gaps in our kno ledge of the devel- opment and stability of temperament factors. Other factors might be studied to show their rela- I 280 t ion to mobility aspirations . Among these ould be school marks , tests other' than those used in thie study , problem check lists which explore such areas as home and family adjustment , and sibling position. Research of this kind might indicate the extant to hich teachers have unduly rewarded the traits of restraint and thoughtfulness and hence perhaps discouraged bright but impulsive youngsters from continuing in school . Since these temperament traits ould seem especially common among teachers, it 1s possible that screening by temperament at the expense of intelli gence occurs frequently . Still another interesting extension of research in this area would be a study of mobility in other cultures . Is it possible that the premium on restraint is a carry over of the Puritan tradition in America and that other countries reward other traits which have particular meaning to them? Now that comparative data is available on the in telligence and temperament of the mobile, it might be valu able to do a more intensive study of a few students who are aspiring to mobility to explore the dynamics of the family relationship which is associated with mobility . A final possibility of further exploration would be an investigation of the temperament of those achieving 281 mobility as a result of such recent developments as the GI Bill. It is possible that with proper government en couragement, society can salvage some students who are bright but not middle class oriented to the extent that they will forego immediate gratifications for eventual status symbols, such as higher education. Does the GI Bill enable such students to have their cake and eat it too? This chapter has summarized the findings, drawn conclusions, and made recommendations for further research. BIEL IOGRAPHY 283 A. BOOKS Atwood, J. H., et al., Thus Be Their ~eetin!• Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1941. 96 pp. Carmichael, Leonard, editor, Manual£! Child Psyghology. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1946. 1068 pp. Centers, Richard, The ~sychology of Social Class!§_. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Pres , 1949. 219 pp. Davidson, Percy E., and H. Dewey Anderson, Occupational ¥obil1ty ~p fil'l American Communiti. Palo Alto, Califor nia: Stanford University Press, 1937. 203 pp. Davis, Allison, and John Dollard, The ~~rsonality Develo2- ment of Negro You_!ill in the Urban South. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1940. 329 pp. ____ , and Robert J. Havighurst, Father of the Mfill - Ho Your Child Gets His ~ersonality. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1947. 214 pp. Dictionary of pccupational ·r1t1~, Volume I, Definition of Titles, Second Edition. ashington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1949. 1518 pp. Dollard, John, et al., Frustration and ~gg.ression. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1939. 209 pp. Donahue, Wilma T., Clyde H. Coombs, and Robert M . W. Travers, The M easurement of _s_t_u_d_e_n_t Adjustment ~nd Achievement. Ann Harbor, ~1ch1gan: University of [1ch1gan Press, 1949. 256 pp. Drake, St. Clair, and Horace R. Clayton, Black · etroi-011s. Ne York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1945. S 3 pp. Edwards, Alba M .;· Popul~~ion - Comparatiy~ Occupation Statistics for the United States , ~1Q .!& 1940. Wash ington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1943. 206 pp . • 284 Eells, Kenneth, et al., Ipte111gence and ~ltural Differ ences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951. 3b0 PP• Garrett, Henry E., Statistics !n Psycho!og1 and Education. Third edition; New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1949. 458 pp. Ginzberg, Eli, et al., Occupational Choice: !Il Approach to~ General Theor~. Ne York: Columbia University Press, 1951. 271 pp. Good, Carter v., A. s. Barr, and Douglas E. Seate, The ethodology of Educational Research. Ne York: D. Appleton - Century Company, Inc., 1935. 775 pp. Havighuret, Robert J., and Bilda Taba, Adolescent Character and Personality. New York: John iley and Sons, 1949·~ 315 pp. -- Henry, Nelson B., Adolescence. 43rd. Yearbook, Part I, National Society for Study of Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949. 358 pp. Hollingshead, August B., Elmto~n•a Youth. New York: John iley and Sons, 1949. 453 pp. Johnson, Charles S., Growing !:!I!, ln the Black Belt . ash ington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1941. 360 PP• Kinsey, Alfred c., Wardell B. Pomeroy, and Clyde E. M artin, Sexual Behavior in the Human ~ale. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1948. 735 pp. Laski, Harold J., The American Qemocracy . New York: Viking Press, 1948 . 785 pp . Linton, Ralph, Cultural Backgroung of Personality . New York: D. Appleton - Century Company , 1945. 157 pp. ~ vliller, Neal E., and John Dollard, Socia!_ Learning and Imitation. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1941. 314 pp . 1 yrdal, Gunnar, A ·n American Dilemma - 1_he Negro Problem and ~ odern Democracy. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1944. 1024 pp. 285 Roper, Elmo, Factors ~ffecting the Admission of High School Seniors to College. Washington, D.C.: American Couno11 on Education, 1949. 312 pp. Russell, Bertrand, Histori of Western PhilosophI• New York: Simon and Schuste'r, 1945. S36 pp. Shevky, Eshref, and arilyn Williams, !he Social Areas gf Los Angeles. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1949. 121 pp. Sorokin, Pitrim, Social ob1lity. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1927. 559 pp. ' · Taussig, F. w., and c. s. Joslyn, American Business Leaders. Ne York: acmillan Company, 1932. 319 pp. Warner, w. Lloyd, Robert J. Havighurst, and artin B. Loeb, ho Shall Be Educated. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1944. 172p'p. ____ , Buford H. Junker, and W . A. Adame, Color an~ Human Nature. ashington, D.C.: American Council on Educa tion, 1941. 301 pp. ____ , and J. o. Low, Social §!stem .Q.f the i odern Fac tor!, Yankee City Series, Vol. 4. New Haven, Connecti cut: Yale University Press, 1947. 245 pp. ___ ,_, and Paul s. Lunt, Social 't-!_1f~ of a Modern Commu pi ty, Yankee City Series , Vol. 1. New-Haven, Connecti cut: Yale University Press, 1941. 460 pp. ____ , and Paul s. Lunt, Social Life of ~ odern Commu nit~, Yankee City Series, Vol. 2. New Haven, Connecti cut: Yale University Press, 1942. 246 pp. ____ , 1archia eeker, and Kenneth Eells, Social Class in America. Chicago: Science Research Associates, Inc., 1949. 261 pp. ____ , and Leo Srole, Social System~ of American Ethnic Groups, Yankee City Series, Vol. 3. New Haven: Con necticut: Yale University Press, 1945. 318 PP• 286 B. PERIODICAL ARTICLES Adams, Stuart, "Regional Differences in Vertical obility in a. High Status Occupation," American Sociological Revie, XV (April, 1950), 228-35. Albrecht, Ruth, "Social Class in Old Age," Social Forces, XXIX (May, 1951), 400-405. Centers, Richard, "Four Studies in Psychology and Social Statue," Psychological Bulletin, XLVII ( ay, 1950), 263-71. ____ , " arital Selection and Occupational Strata," American Journal 21. Sociology, LIV (1 ay, 1949), 530-35. , " otivational Aspects of Occupational Strat1fi ___ c_a_t1on," Journal 21. Social Psychology, XXVIII ( Novem- ber, 1948), 187-217. , "Occupational ob111ty of Urban Occupational ---S-t-rata," American .§ociological Review , XIII (April, 1948), 197-203. ____ , "social Class Identifications of American Youth," Journal Qf Personality, XVIII (1950), 290-302. Davis, Allison, "American Status Systems and the Sociali zation of the Child:" American Sociological Review, VI (June, 1941), 345-56. , "Socio-Economic Influence upon Children's Learn ---i-n-g," Phi Delta Kappa_g, XXXII (January, 1951), 253-56. ____ , and Robert J. Havighurst, "The M easurement of M ental Systems (Can Intelligence be i~easured)," Scien tific Monthly, LXVI (1948), 301-16. , and Robert Hess, 0 How Fair is an I.Q. Test?," ---- University of Chicago M agazin~, XLIII (January, 1951), 5-9. Douvan, Elizabeth, and Ann alcolm, "The Influence of Social Class embership on Reactions to Failure,• Microfilm Abstracll, XI (1951), 731-32. Ellis, Evelyn, "Of.ward Social Mobility Among Unmarried Career omen,.• American Sociological Review, XVII (Octuber, 1952), 558-63. - 287 Finoh, F. H., and A. J. Hoehn, "Measuring Socio-Econom1o or Cultural Status: A Comparison of Methods , 11 Journal 2f Soc1& Psychology. XXXIII (February, 1951), 51-67. Gardner, Burleigh B., Mary R. Gardner, and Martin B. Loeb, "Social Status and Education in a Southern Community," School Revie, L ( arch, 1942), 179-91. Goldschmidt, Walter, "Social Class in America - A Critical Revie , " American Anthropologist, LII (October-Decem ber, 1950), 483-98. Gordon, ilton M., nsocial Class in American Sociology," American Journal of Sociology, LV (November, 1949), 262-66. I - - Gough, Harrison G., 0 A Short Social Status Inventory," Journal of Educational Psychology, XL (January, 1949), 52-5b. , "The Relationship of Socio-Economic Status to Per ---s-o-nal i ty Inventory and Achievement Test Scores, 11 Journal of Educational Psycholo~, XXXVII (December, 1946), 527-40. Gross, Llewellyn, "The Use of Class Concepts in Sociologi cal Research," American Journal of .§ociology, LIV ( arch, 1949), 409-21.,. - Haggard, Robert, Allison Davis, and Robert J. Havighurst, 11 Some Factors Which Influence Performance of Children on Intelligence Tests," American Psychologist, III (1948), 265-66. Hatt, Paul K., "Occupation and Soc 1al Stratification," American Journal Q.f §ociolo~, LV (M ay, 1950), 533. Havighurst, Robert J., .. Social Class Differences and Family Life Education at the Secondary Level," l~arriage and Family Living, XII (Fall, 1950), 133-35. , "Social Implications of the Report of the Presi ---d-e-nt' a Commission on Higher Education," School ~ll9; Society, LXVII (April 3, 1948), 257-61. 288 , and F. H. Breese, "Relation Bet een Ability and ---S-o-cial Status in a 1d stern Community; P •• A.," Journal of Educational Psychology. XX.XVIII (April, 1947~, 241-47. , and Allison Davis, "Child Socialization and the ---S-c-hool," Review of Educational Research, XIII (Febru- ary, 1943}, 29-377 - Hieronymus, A. N., "A Study of Social Class M otivation: Relationship Bet een Anxiety for Education and Certain Socio-Economic and Intellectual Variables," Journal of Educational Psychology, XLII (1951), 193-205. Kaufman, Harold F., "An Approach to the Study of Urban Stratification, ti American Sociological Review, XVII (August, 1952), 430-37. Kornhauser, Arthur, nPublic Opinion and Social Class," Am~rican Journal of Sociology. LV (January, 1950), 333-45. Levin, ax M., "Status Anxiety and Occupational Choice," Educational and Psychological easurement, IX (Spring, 1949), 29-37. Lipset, Seymour iVl., and Reinhard Bendix, "Social obility and Occupati onal Career Patterns--!. Stability of Jobholding," American Journal of §ociology, LVII (January, 1952~, 366-74. , and ____ , " Social Jiob111t y and Occupation ---C-a-reer Patterns--II. Social 1 ob111ty, tt American Journal of. ~ociologi, LVII (r arch, 1952), 494-504. , and ___ , "Social Status and Social Structure-- ---A-Re-examina.tion of Data and Interpretations. l.," British Journ2!_ Q.f 9ociologi, II (June, 1951), 150-68. Lorge, Irving, and Raphael D. Blau, "Broad Occupational Grouping by Intelligen0eLevels," Occuoations, XX ( M arch, 1942), 419-23. Lurie, W alter, A., "Estimating the Level of Vocational Aspiration, u Journal of Social Psychologi, X (1939), 467-73. 289 cGu1re, Carson, "social Stratification and ob111ty Pat terns," American Sooiological Rev1e, XV (1950), 195- 204. Macdonald, M., Carson McGuire, and Robert J. Havighurst, "Leisure Activities and the Soc1o-Econom1o Status of Children," American Journal 2,f S09~ology, LIV ( ay, 1949), 505-19. ilner, Esther, "Effects or Sex Role and Social Status on the Early Adolescent Personality," Genetic Psychology M onograph, XL (November, 1949), 231-325. Mulligan, Raymond A., ttsoc1al ob111ty and Higher Educa tion," Journ~1 2f Edu~a£1onal Soc1o!osy, X.:XV (April, 1952), 476-87. ____ , "Socio-Economic Background and College Enroll ment," American Sociological_ Review, XVI (April, 1951.), 188-96. Pfautz, Harold ., and Otis D. Duncan, 'A Critical Evalua tion of Warner's Work in Community Stratification," Americ!ill Sociological Revie, XV (April, 1950), 205-15. Phillips, E. Lakin, "Intellectual and Personality Factors Associated with Social Class Attitudes Among Junior High School Children," ~ed~gogical, ;;eminary and Journal of Genetic Psycpologi, LXX~III ( September, 1950), 61-72. Reeves, Floyd W., 11 Barriers to Higher Education," Phi Del ta Kappan, XXXI (January, 1950), 214-25. Roth, Julius, and Robert F. Peck, "Social Class and Social M obility Factors Related to M arital Adjustment," Amer ican Sociologic~l Revie~, XVI (August, 1951), 478-87. Samso n, Ruth, and Buford Stefflre, "Like Father ••• Like Son?, n Personnel and Guidance Journal, XXXI ( October, 1952), 35-40. Sewell, ill lam H., and Bertram L. Ellenbogen, "social Status and the easured Intelligence of Small City and Rural Children, tt American Soc1olo g1c~ Revie , XVII (October, 1952), 612-lb. - 290 Sims, Verner ., "A Technique for easuring Social Class Identification," Educational and Psychological easure- ment, XI (Winter, 1951)~ 541-48. ·· · Stephenson, ·Richard, "Education and Stratification, 11 Journal of Educational Sociology, XXV (September, 1951), 34-41. C. PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED ORGANIZATIONS Balint, Alice, "Identification," pp. 317-38. The Yearbook of Psyopoana1Is1~, Vol. 1. New York: International Universities Press, 1945. 370 pp. Burgess, Ernest ., et al., Environment and Education. Supplementary Educational I onographs, Human Development Series, Vol. 1. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1942. 66 pp. Havighurst, Robert J., "sooiological and Psichological Factors Affecting the Supply of Talent,' pp. 24-34. Proceedi~ge: i~s~ Invitational Conference sm I!stipg Problems. Princeton, Ne Jersey and Los Angeles: Educational T~sting Service, 1952. 113 pp. ____ , "United States of America," pp. 271-308. of Education. London: Evans Brothers, 1950. Yearbook 652 pp. Stendler, Celia Burns, Children of Brasstown. University of Illinois Bulletin, Vol. 4b. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Preas, April, 1949. 101 pp. Stoke, s. M., Occupational Groups and Child Deyelopment. Harvard onograph in Education, No . S, 1927. 92 pp. D. TEST IVIANUAL S Handbook for Use of the Factored Aptitude Series of Busi ness and Industrial Tests. Chicago: Industrial Psychology, 1948. 16 pp. 291 Le , Edwin A., and Louis P. Thorpe, anual of Dir ctior1s - Occupat19nal Int rest Inventory - Agvanced Seri s. Hollywood, California: California Teet Bureau, 1943. 6 pp. Guilford, J.P., and ayne s. Zimmerman, The Guilford Zimmerman A~tityg§_ Surve1 - ! anual of Instructions and Inte;rpretat1ons. Beverly Hills, California: Sheridan Supply Company, 1947. 8 pp. ____ ,and ____ , Ipe Guilford-Zimmerman Tem2eramen~ Survey. Beverly Hills, California: Sheridan Supply Company, 1949. 12 pp. atr1ces. London: Raven, J. c., Guide to UsingPr9gre~si-ye H. K. Le is and Company, Ltd , 1950. 16 pp. Thurstone, L. L., and Thelma G inn Thurstone, Examiner anual for SRA Primar1 ental Abilities - Intermed iat§ - Ages 11 1Q ll• Chicago: Science Research Associates, Inc., 1949. 19 pp. E. UNPUBLISHED ATERIALS Handley, Isabel, t1A Study of Factors Related to Occupa tional Objectives. u Unpublished aster's Thesis, Occidental College, Eagle Rock, Cal ifornia, 1949. 109 pp. Hills, John Roy, uThe Exploration of an Inventory Technique for easuring the Level of Aspiration." Unpublished aster's Thesis, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1951. 132 pp. Hollingshead, Au~ust B., "social Background: Its Impact on Learning. pp. 8-16. Guidance ~orksp92 - .§.ymmer 1951, Advisement Service, Los Angeles City Schools, Publication No. 543. Division of Extension and Higher Education. Los Angeles: Los Angeles City School District, 1952. 185 pp. cGuire, Carson, "Adolescent Society and Social ob111ty," Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University or Chicago, Chicago, 1949. 457 pp.

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Creator Stefflre, Buford (author)

Core Title Psychological factors associated with aspirations for socio-economic mobility

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Degree Conferral Date 1953-06

Publication Date 05/25/1953

Defense Date 05/25/1953

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