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STRATIFICATION ASPECTS OF CLOTHING IMPORTANCE

By

Arthur M. Vener

A THESIS

Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan
State College of Agriculture and Applied Science
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Sociology and AnthrOpology

1953

311565;.)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study represents one phase of the "Clothing Project,"
sponsored by the Michigan State College Agricultural Experi-
‘ment Station and is a Joint undertaking of the Department of
Textiles, Clothing, and Related Arts and the Department of
Sociology and Anthropology. The project was initiated largely
through the efforts of Dr, Charles P. Loomis, Head of the
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Professor Hazel
B. Strahan, Head of the Department of Textiles, Clothing,.and
Related Arts, and has been conducted under the general super-
vision of Professor Gregory P. Stone.

v/ The writer wishes to express his sincerest gratitude to
Dr. Duane L. Gibson and Professor Gregory P. Stone for the
time and effort they expended in the guidance and supervision
of this thesis.

The writer also wishes to acknowledge his appreciation
to Dr, William H. Form for his many suggestions in respect to
the occupational aspects of stratification and to Dr. Arnold
L. Form for his aid in the development of the Guttman-type
scale.

Finally, the writer wishes to express his everlasting
gratitude to his wife, Madeline Robins Vener, for her patience,
understanding, and general helpfulness without which this
study could not have been accomplished.

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*******
sssss

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAC

if]

I. INTRODUCTION0.0.0.0.0000....0.0.0.0.0.0000...

H

Review of Related Literature.............. 3
Problem and Hypotheses.................... 12
ProcedurGOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIOOOOOOOCOO... 11+

II. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE..................... 16

The Trial Scale........................... 18
The Final scale...................00...... 19
Limitations of the Scale.................. 28

III. CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND SOCIAL STATUS........ 30

Clothing Importance and the Index of
Status Characteristics................. 3h
Occupational Status and Source of
IncomeOCOC.00...0......OOOOOOOCCCCOO LL]-
House Types............................ NA
Summary................................ MS
Other Status Indicators................... A7
Amount of Income....................... #7
Grade Completed........................ 51
Occupational Groups.................... 5
Summaryeoeeeeooeeooeooeoeoeeooeoeeoeeeoooe 5

IV. CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND SOCIAL MOBILITY...... 59

V. CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION. 65
Membership in Organizations............ 68

Officerships in Voluntary Organizations 71

Church Attendance...................... 73

ChuI'Ch ACtiVityoeooeeoeooeeooeooeeooeeo 7S
summaryOOOOOOOOOOOO00.0.00...OOOOOOOOOOOOO 79

VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS...................... 81
BIBLIOGRAPIiYOOOOOOOOO000.......00....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 88

APPEIQDIXOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.00.00.00.00... 93

TABLE
I.
II.
III.

IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

XI.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

LIST OF TABLES

Questions Used in First Trial Scale Development.
Combinations and Re-weighting of Categories.....
Questions Used in Second Trial Scale DeveIOpment

Association Between Clothing Importance and
Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristics..

Association Between Clothing Importance and
Occupational Status.............................

Association Between Clothing Importance and
source Of IncomSOOOOOOOOOO0.00.0.0...0.0.0.0....

Association Between Clothing Importance and
House TypeOO0.0....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0......

Association Between Clothing Importance and

IncomGOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.0000000000000IOOOOOOO0.0...

Association Between Ratings on the Index of
Status Characteristics and Income...............

Association Between Clothing Importance and
Grade completed-0.0.0.0000...OOOOCOOOOO0.0.0...O.

Association Between Ratings on the Index of
Status Characteristics and Grade Completed......

Association Between Clothing Importance and
occupational GroupSOOOOO0.0000000000000000.0....

Association Between Clothing Importance and
occupational MObilityeoooeoeeeeeeeeeoeeoeoo

Association Between Clothing Importance and
Membership in Organizations.....................

Association Between Clothing Importance and
Officerships in Voluntary Organizations.........

iv

PAGE
22
23
2h

37
he
A3
A5
us
So
52
S 3
SS
63
69

72

LIST OF TABLES -- Continued

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

XXI.

XXII.

XXIII.

XXIV.

XXV.

XXVI.

Association Between Clothing Importance and
Church Attendance...............................

Association Between Clothing Importance and
Extent or Chlerh ActivityOOOOOOOOOOOO0.0.0.0..O.

Association Between Ratings on the Index of
Status Characteristics and Occupational Groups..

Association Between Ratings on the Index of
Status Characteristics and Occupational Mobility

Association Between Ratings on the Index of

Status Characteristics and Membership in Organi-.

zationSOOOOOOOOOOO00.0.0.0...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0..

Association Between Ratings on the Index of
Status Characteristics and Officerships in
Voluntary Organizations.........................

Association Between Ratings on the Index of
Status Characteristics and Church Attendance....

Association Between Ratings on the Index of
Status Characteristics and Extent of Church
ActiV1ty0000000......0.00......0.000.000.0000...

Association Between Occupational Status and
source or IncomeOOOOOO000.00.00.00.0.0.0.0.00...

Association Between Occupational Status and
Amount Of IncomGOOIOOO....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Association Between Source of Income and Amount
Of IncomGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

95

96

97

98
99
100

101

CHAPTER I

I.||\ If‘ .II «II x

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A universal characteristic of social life is the phe-
nomenon of cooperative activity based upon the integration
and differentiation of statuses.1 In order that individuals
might function harmoniously in group activity, an adequate
appraisal of the statuses of others is an indispensible re-
quirement. It is essential that the "occupant of each status
act toward others in a manner which conveys the impression
that his conception of himself and of them is the same as
their conception of themselves and him."2 Numerous symbols
exist such as differences in speech patterns, dialect, de-
portment, social etiquette, clothing, living quarters,

general interests, etc., which facilitate accurate appraisals

1"Status" as used here refers to "any institutionally
defined position of an individual in the social structure."
Quote by Talcott Parsons, Essays in Sociological Theory Pure
and A lied (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 19&9) p.
, footnote 11. See also Ralph Linton, The Study of Man
(New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, l9367chap. vii.

2Erving Goffman, "Symbols of Class Status," British
JournalgpfSociology, II (December, 1951), 29h-3OE. Quote on
p. 29A. The theoretical conceptualization of this thesis has
been strongly influenced by Gregory P. Stone, "Clothing and
Social Structure: A Study of Expressive Symbols in Community
Life," Unpublished Manuscript, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology, Michigan State College, 1953.

 

 

1 In this respect, one of these symbols,

of others' statuses.
clothing, is extremely important in the initial appraisal of
others when interacting with unknown persons. "It makes it
possible for a stranger to determine at once the social cate-
gory to which the wearer belongs and thus avoid acts or atti-
tudes toward him which would be social errors."2 This function
of the initial appraisal of clothing in the placement of
strangers in the "correct" social categories is important to
those 1) who interact in‘impersonal relationships a good per—
centage of the time, 2) who are in an occupational position

in which people, rather than things, are manipulated, and 3)
who are highly mobile in a physical or territorial sense.

It is those persons with relatively high social class status,
the professionals, proprietors, managers, officials, etc.

who are likely to be more involved in these three kinds of
activities. Consequently, these persons would probably be

more sensitive to subtle differences in dress and might also

be expected to emphasize the importance of clothing in their

social interaction.

 

1For a general approach to the study of status symbols
see Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Sociolqu (New York:
D, Appleton and Company, 1895), Vol. II, Part IV "Ceremonial
Institutions". See also Erving Goffman, 2p, git. The author
closes with a "plea for empirical studies which trace out
the social career of particular status symbols." (p. 30A).

2Ralph Linton, pp. cit., p. 61A.

In this thesis, we shall attempt to explain variations
in personal estimates of clothing importance within a socio-
logical frame of reference. More specifically, we shall
attempt to explain differences in personal estimates of cloth-
ing importance in terms of differences of positions in a

1 and also in.terms of two

scale of social stratification,
other aspects of stratification--differences in vertical
social mobility, and differences in the degree of social

participation.

Review of Related Literature
In general, there has been a dearth of relevant substan-
tive literature dealing with the sociological aspects of
clothing. It would seem as if past researchers and thinkers
considered such an area as being too obvious, or too trite a
subject matter to be studied scientifically. With few ex-
ceptions, much of the relevant sociological information con-

sists of a limited number of passing observations and

 

1Position in a scale of social stratification is only
one aspect of status. Social stratification refers to the
"differential ranking of the human individuals who compose a
given social system and their treatment as superior and in-
ferior relative to one another in certain socially important
respects." See Parsons, 22. cit., "An Analytical A proach
to the Theory of Social Stratification " pp. 18 Quote
on p. 166. Henceforth, when the term 'status"6 is employed
in this thesis it will refer to positions in our scale of
stratification (see Chap. III), and not in the more general
sense of the term.

speculations.1 The associated substantive studies which do
exist are to be found in other disciplinary areas, especially
psychology. However, some of this material contains pertinent
sociological information which can be employed in the develOp-
ment of relevant concepts and hypotheses. Since the number
of these studies is too limited to Justify categbrization of
any sort, the different empirical studies will be presented
in chronological order. A critical evaluation of these
studies will follow.

In 1898, G, S. Hall2 developed the first questionnaire
on clothing in order to investigate the relationships between
clothes and the development of the sense of the self. About
80 per cent of over 500 returned questionnaires were answered
by teachers or students of psychology. The material reported
.came from their observations of children's behavior over
several years' time. Hall concluded that the ornamental

aspect of clothing was most important for children, and that

 

1Possible exceptions here are the theoretical contribu-
tions of Tarde, Veblen, Simmel, and Rose to an understanding
of the dynamics involved in clothing fashion. In this respect,
Kroeber's empirical study of fashion changes should also be
mentioned. These, along with the theoretical contributions in
the field of psychology which predominantly deal with the
origins of clothing and the emotional value of dress, will be
omitted in this review of literature, since they are of little
relevance to our present study.

2G. Stanley Hall, "Some Aspects of the Early Sense of
Self," American Journal of Psychology, IX (1897-1898),

351-395. Note especially pp. 3bA-Eb7.

articles of clothing played an important part in the develop-
ment of the self. He states:

The child who is habitually well dressed learns to

avoid acts and environments Which tend to soil his

clothes and may become dainty, finical, fastidious

and effeminate. The child who is rudely and poorly

dressed, on the other hand, comes in closer contact

with the world about him and acquires a knowledge

more real and substantial ... Cleanliness of body

like clean dress has a prodigious moral effect upon

children, who change manners, temper, conduct and

put on a better self after being washed.1
Hall also demonstrated that even at an early age children
will dress for others rather than for self comfort. He empha-
sized that for children, and especially girls, the main
criteria for the wearing of specific garments was not how it
felt, but how it appeared to others._fl

In 1905, Hall developed another clothing questionnaire
which was sent to a normal school in New York State and 181
replies from the girl students were received. Among other

things, the subjects were asked how being well-dressed or

the Opposite affected them and how they were impressed by
the dress of others. The material was turned over to Flaccus,2
who analyzed the replies and presented the findings.

In respect to being well dressed, the girls reported a

feeling of being more sociable, a feeling of having met the

 

lIbid., p. 367.

2Louis W. Flaccus, ”Remarks On the Psychology of Clothes,"
Pedagpgical Seminary, XIII (1906), 61-83.

approval of others, a sense of power, and a sense of worth.
On the other hand, in respect to being ill-dressed, the girls
reported feelings leading to unsociableness, unpleasant feel-
ings of being depressed, distressed, cross, or disagreeable
self-consciousness, excessive sensitivity of being ridiculed
by people, envy of others, and a general lowering of self
esteem. Also, it was evident from the replies that clothing
was a strong element in the appraisal of individuals by each
other.

In 1918, G. Van Ness Dearborn,l influenced by the find-
.ings of Flaccus, investigated the relationship between cloth-
ing and success. He obtained statements bearing on this
relationship from 2A men and women psychology students at
Harvard. The replies emphasized the value of clothing in
impressing one's social worth upon others, and the value of
clothing in inspiring self confidence. Some of these replies
were summarized as follows:

A well-dressed person more easily gains the con—
fidence of peeple in the business world.

Consciousness of good personal appearance frees
the individual from the fear of the most common
form of adverse criticism.

The personality of an individual is judged, first
of all, by his external appearance.

First impressions are lasting with many individuals.

 

1George Van Ness Dearborn, The Psychology_of Clothes
(Princeton, New Jersey and Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Psycho-
logical Review Company), 1918.

Being well-dressed has an effect upon the emotions
of the individual, such as joy, ecstasy, etc.1

In 1929, Hurlock,2 published the results of a comprehen-
sive study of motivation in fashion. Her schedule was answer-
ed by approximately l,500 pe0ple ranging in age from 16 to
51 years, and including both university men and women, and

high school and normal school boys and girls. Along with
Hall and Flaccus, Hurlock emphasized the effect of clothing
upon children's behavior and happiness. The relationship of
clothing and success upon which Dearborn placed so much em-
phasis was also corroborated. That individuals constantly
consider the effect their clothing has on others is also
emphatically acknowledged by Hurlock:

All of these results show that the social value of

clothes is very great. The presence of others,

especially if they are not members of one's imme-

diate family, seems to be a great incentive to

carefulness about appearance. ... people of mature

experience realize that the first impression of

others count for much in life, while when one is

with friends, other factors than appearance receive

great consideration.3
As for the sex of the others for which persons dress, she demon-

strated that more peOple dress for their own sex and for both

sexes than for the opposite sex alone. Both sexes attempt to

 

11bid., p. 56.

2Elizabeth B. Hurlock, "Motivation in Fashion," Archives
of Psychology, No. 111 (1929).

3Ibid., p. 5A.

 

avoid the criticism of both their own and the opposite sex
in their selection of clothing.

In 193A, Barr,l studied the psychology of choice in
relation to clothing. Her questionnaire was presented to
groups for which such facts as age, height and weight, edu-
cational background, reading interests, and professional or
technical interests in fashion were known. The sample, all
women from 17 to 50 years of age, included dressmakers and
designers, Pratt Institute home economicsstudents, Brooklyn
College psychology students, and Y. W; H. A. counsellors.
Among the fundamental attitudes involved in the psychology
of choice of dress, thp desire to conform was the most
significant and diffuse single item. Two other items, de-
sire for comfort with respect to temperature and tactual
sensations, and desire for economy were also found to be wide-
spread in all groups. Desire to conform was found to be a
more effective motive in determining the time of buying of
specific items of dress than the desire for economy.

In l9h5, Silverman,2 published an excellent study deal-

ing with the psychological aspects of clothing and appearance

 

lEstelle De Young Barr, "A Psychological Analysis of
Fashion Motivation," Archives of Psychology, XXVI, No. 171
(June: 1934)-

2Sylvia S. Silverman, Clothin and Appearance: Their
Psychological Implications for Teen-Age Girls (New YorE:
Bureau of Puincations, Teachers College, Columbia University),

1915

for teen-age girls. Approximately 370 girls, ranging in age
from 12 to 18 in grades 7 to 12 of a suburban six-year high
school, responded to the authorg questionnaire. In general,
Silverman's methodological techniques are much more sophisti-
cated than the above mentioned researchers, but her findings
closely parallel theirs. The main elements Operating in the
choice of clothing were desire for approval, self confidence,
and happiness, and "the belief in advantages in vocational
and social areas to be achieved from good clothing and an
attractive appearance."1
A group ranking highest in appearance and a group rank-
ing lowest in appearance was established on the basis of
teachers' ratings and were compared in respect to personality
characteristics, intelligence, age, economic status, partici-
pation in school activities, and prominence as leaders. The
personality differences between the two groups as measured
by the responses to Sheviakov and Friedberg "Interests and
Activities" scales were summed up by the author as follows:
As compared with the good-appearing group, the poor-
appearing group tended to show a greater dislike for
companionship with other girls, for boy-girl rela-
tionships, and for social contacts in group activities
both at school and in the community. They also tended
to dislike being in situations which gave them promi-
nence in the group. On the Whole they tended to be
negativistic in their responses, to dislike giving

free play to their imaginative powers, and to show a
relatively smaller capacity for establishing

 

lIbid., p. 116.

lO

friendships. They also gave indications of lack
of self-love and of feelings of self-effacement.1

Good-appearing girls tended to be brighter, tended to have a
slightly higher economic background (low correlation of
.103), tended to participate to a greater degree in school
activities, and were more often sought as leaders than the
poor-appearing girls.

More recently, Rosencranz,2 in studying differences in
clothing interest of 180 married and unmarried women, de-
veloped a questionnaire Which attempted to ascertain differ-
ences in degree of clothing interest through.reported
differences in amount of "time, energy, money, thought, and
attention given to clothing." The author found that rural
or urban background, age, occupation, and income were related
to total scores on the interest in clothing questionnaire.
Other elements, education, marital status, children in the
family, and membership in organizations were related to a
person's interest in clothing to a lesser degree. In general,
urban (cities of 10,000 or more) persons had higher clothing
interest than rural people, people in higher income brackets

also had more clothing interest, younger women had higher

 

11bid., p. 118.

2Mary Lou Rosencranz, "A Study of Interest in Clothing
Among Selected Groups of Married and Unmarried Young Women,"
Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Textiles, Clothing,
and Related Arts, Michigan State College, 19A8.

11

clothing interest than older persons, single women had more
interest in clOthing than married women, and childless,
married women had higher clothing interest than married
women with children. The group of college students was found
to have a higher interest in clothing than the group which
consisted largely of factory workers and business woman.
Criticism. The sample population of most of the above
summarized studies were heavily biased in the direction of
middle status persons. Hall's study was based upon the inter-
pretations of children's clothing behavior by college teachers
and students, Flaccus' study was based upon the responses of
normal school students, Dearborn's sample consisted of 2A
Harvard psychology students, Hurlock's sample consisted largely
of college students and private secondary school students, and
Barr's sample consisted of college teachers and students and
Y. W. H. A. counsellors. The two more recent researchers,
Silverman and Rosencranz, seem to have made a serious attempt
at representative sampling. However, even.Silverman's ex-
cellent study was not completely free of this middle status
bias. Her sample was selected from a coeducational, suburban,
New Jersey high school located in the greater metrOpolitan
area of New York City. Since a large portion of the 13,500
persons living in the community were employed or were in
business in New York and commuted daily, we might assume that
this community is typical of the many middle status living

areas which surround a large metropolis.

12

In short, when these above studies are examined in
totality, they contribute mainly to an understanding of the
clothing attitudes of middle status persons, and we cannot
assume that upper and lower status individuals would have

identical attitudes.

Problem and Hypotheses

Many of the researchers in the past have attempted to
explain differences in clothing attitudes in terms of dif-
ferences in individual personality systems. Within this con-
ceptual scheme, their studies ignore the vital symbolic func-
tion of clothing in social life, which has been previously
mentioned.1 In contrast to this, the symbolic function of
clothing in facilitating the communication of others' statuses,
will be a prime element in our attempt to explain differences
in personal estimates of clothing importance.

Three focal hypotheses guided the study. Since each has
been deve10ped in some detail throughout the text, they will
only be briefly stated here.

1) Personal estimates of clothing importance will be re-
lated to social status.

The function of clothing in facilitating accurate ap-
praisals of others' statuses is important to those who deal

with strangers a good percentage of the time, to those who

 

1See supra, pp. 1-2.

13

are in occupational positions in which peOple, rather than
things are manipulated, and to those Who are highly mobile
in a territorial sense. It is those persons with relatively
high social status who are likely to be more involved in
these kinds of social activities, and therefore, might be
expected to emphasize the importance of clothing in their
social interaction.

2) Personal estimates of clothing importance will be re-
lated to vertical social mobility.

Persons who are striving toward higher status goals are
more likely to become sensitive to the symbols which differ-
entiate the social strata. These persons are probably anxious
to sever ties with peers and establish new ties with super-
ordinates. In order to be identified as a higher status mem-
ber, it is necessary to manipulate and incorporate the symbols
which distinguish this strata. In this respect, clothing,
especially in impersonal relationships, is an important
manipulative device which can be employed in impressing one's
social worth upon others.

3) Personal estimates of clothing importance will be re-
lated to socialgparticipation.

'Those persons who are more active in social life are
also more apt to become aware of the necessity of correctly
appraising the statuses of others in order to avoid making

social errors. These persons are more likely to realize the

11L

symbolic importance of subtle differences in dress in the
determination of an individual's social category, especially

when interacting in anonymous situations.

Procedure

The testing of these above hypotheses has been made .
possible through the use of data Which was collected over a
three year period in Goldwater, a Michigan city of 10,000
residents and the county seat.1

A Guttman type attitude scale was developed in order to
measure the dependent variable-~variations in personal esti-
mates of clothing importance. Chapter II will describe the
scale construction method, and will discuss some limitations
of the scale.

In Chapter III, we shall consider the first hypothesis
that personal estimates of clothing importance will be related
to social status. A modified version of W. L. Warner's Index
of Status Characteristics will be employed as an indicator of
social status and will be correlated with the scores on the
Guttman type clothing importance scale deve10ped in Chapter II.

Each component of the Index--occupational status, source of

 

1The study, known as the "Clothing Project", has been
sponsored by the Michigan State College Agricultural Experi-
ment Station and conducted under the general supervision of
Gregory P. Stone. The writer has been involved in the study
for about two years. In the text of this dissertation, we
shall refer to this project as the "larger study". In this
thesis, the Guttman type attitude scale, developed in Chapter
II, represents the writers major independent contribution.

15

income, and house type, along with two other conventional
indices of status--amount of income and amount of education--
will alSo be correlated with scores on the clothing import-
ance scale. The Chi square test will be employed to determine
the statistical significance between clothing importance scores
and a final indicator of status Which was based upon Alba
Edwards' Occupational Groups.

In Chapter IV, we shall consider the second hypothesis
that personal estimates of clothing importance will be related
to vertical social mobility. Social mobility will be defined
in terms of a single dimension-~occupational mobility. A Chi
square test will be used to determine the statistical signifi-
cance between occupational mobility and our prime indicator
of status, the Index of Status Characteristics.

In Chapter V, we shall consider the third hypothesis,
that personal estimates of clothing importance will be related
to social participation. We shall consider four social
participation factors-dmembership in associations, officerships
in voluntary organizations, church attendance, and church
activity--and their relationship to the clothing importance
scale.

Finally, Chapter VI will summarize the findings of the

study and present some of its conclusions.

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER II

DEVELOPMENT OF'THE SCALE

Since our aim in this thesis is to explain differences
in personal estimates of clothing importance, it was neces-
sary to arrange the available data in some sociological
meaningful way. A number of alternative categorization tech-
niques were possible, i.e., a qualitative typology, subjective
ratings of responses by a group of qualified judges, or some
scaling device. Since we are interested in a single attitude
dimension--clothing importance--the most desirable categori-
zation could be accomplished through the use of some objective
scaling technique. Upon examination, the data demonstrated
an amenability by treatment to a known scaling-method--the

1 one of the several

Cornell Technique for Scalogram Analysis,
alternative devices developed by Louis Guttman. The Cornell

Technique was selected because it was the most facile to

 

1Louis Guttman "The Cornell Technique for Scale and
Intensity Analysis,‘ Educational and Psychological Measurement,
XII (l9h7), 2A7-279. The ensuing discussion closely follows
the steps for Scalogram Analysis as outlined in this article.
All statements of fact made concerning this technique were
abstracted from its text, unless otherwise noted. For an
excellent introduction to Scale Analysis see Louis Guttman,
"A Basis for Scaling Qualitative Data," American Sociological

Review, IX (1941;), 139-150.

1?

manipulate and has proved to be very useful for general re-
search purposes. In this chapter, we shall describe how
the available data were utilized to develop this unidimen-
sional, Guttman type scale. There is, however, one major
deviation from the procedures cited which requires some
explanation.

One of the initial steps of the Cornell Technique re-
quires that the universe of content be defined; that is, the
general content of the questions to be asked must be decided
upon. A small sample of these questions is then used to test
the universe for scalability. Another requirement is that

the questions be of the categorized, five point scale type

of "strongly agree", "agree", "undecided", "disagree", and
"Strongly disagree".1 Since the larger study, of which this
is a small part, had already been completed before the present
study was specifically planned, the choice of questions to be
included in the scale were limited to those included in the
original schedules. Hence, there was no large pre-defined
universe of questions from which a small sample could be
drawn. Furthermore, none of the questions were of the cate-

gorized, five point scale type. A few were completely

 

1The items need not be of this type. See examples of
several different types of questions in Samuel A. Stouffer
et al., Measurement and Prediction, Vol. IV of Studies in
SEcIEl Psychology in WorId War II, ed. Frederick 0§born et 31.,
A vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, l9h9-507—

Pp- 125-1A9-

18

open-ended, while others were a combination of the two.

This necessitated a modification of the Cornell Technique.
Since all of the questions were in some degree open—ended,
it was necessary to evaluate an individual's response in
terms of the importance he placed upon clothing. Therefore,
to reduce the element of subjectivity which might result if
the research alone determined the assessment of responses,

a qualified group of judges was selected.

The Trial Scale
In order to establish the amenability of the material
to a Guttman type scale, a trial scale was attempted. Four
questions were selected because they seemed to aim at the
same universe, the importance of clothing. The questions
selected were:
Ala. In general, how important a part do clothes
play in your job?
Why?
Alb. Do you think clothes are more, or less im-
portant in.making a good impression than~
say; a car, or the way our house looks?
More ( ) Less ( Same ( ) Other ( )
If other: VSpecify.
A2. Which bothers you most when it doesn't look
the way you really want it to?
Clothes ( ) Car ( ) House ( ) Other ( )
If other: Specify.

A3. In general, how important would you say cloth-
ing 3nd appearance is to you?

Three professional sociologists in the Department of

Sociology and AnthrOpology who were connected with the larger

."

19

study, were asked to evaluate the responses to each of the
questions on the basis Of high or low importance of clothing
to the individual. The criterion for the final rating
selected was a majority Opinion, that is, two out of three.
The reproducibility for the four items was 8A per cent.

When item Ala, which had a low reproducibility Of 76 per
cent, was drOpped from the scale, the over-all reproducibility
was increased to 87 per cent. Since the reproducibility
closely approximated the required 90 per cent, and some other
criteria for scalability were met1 when the technique for
Content Scale Analysis was applied, a more rigorous scale was
attempted. This was accomplished by: 1) increasing the
number of items, 2) increasing the number Of judges, and 3)

increasing the gradations of the evaluation scale.

The Final Scale

After a rather intensive re-examination Of all the items
included in the original study, only two more were found (in
addition to the four indicated above) Which might conceivably
be a part of the same universe of content. The six items
which became the basis for an attempt to deveIOp a final
satisfactory scale were as follows:

Ala. In general, how important a part do clothes

play in your job?
Why ?

 

1To be discussed later, in the section "Test for Scala-
bility".

1-5-- nit-1' 1'-

20

Alb. DO you think clothes are more, or less im-
portant in making a good impression than
say; a car, or the way your house looks?

More ( ) Less ( ) Same ( ) Other ( )
If other: Specify.

A2. Which bothers you most when it doesn't look
the way you really want it to? .
Clothes ( ) Car ( ) House ( ) Other ( ) 1

If other: Specify.

A3. In general, how important would you say cloth-
ing and appearance is to you?

 

1. Do you like to have people notice your clothes?
Yes ( ) NO ( ) Other (
Specify for other:
Why? (Why not?)

(1“ "a s“. 7" .~‘-‘F= .. _

7. What kind of a judge of clothes are you?

TO help increase objectivity in the interpretation of
the responses, thirteen judges were selected. Eleven of the
thfrteen judges were graduate assistants in the Department
of Sociology and Anthropology, and the others were graduate
students in related departments. The verbatim responses of
each respondent to all of the items were reproduced and a
c0py was given to each judge. The judges were asked to evalu-
ate the responses to the questions on the basis Of how im-
portant they felt clothing was to the respondent. Ratings
based upon a three point scale-- "high importance", "medium
importance", and "low importance"--were requested of the
judges. Importance Of clothing was not to be considered in
the practical sense of keeping the body warm, or best clothes
for the job, but rather, the effect clothing had in inter-

personal relationships. Modal ratings were employed in.the

21

final catergorization Of each response. From this point on,
the Cornell Technique for Scalogram Analysis was followed
rather closely.

Initial steps. Arbitrary weights of l to 3 were
assigned to each type of response to the questions used.

A weight of 3 was assigned to the most favorable statement,
high importance of clothing, a weight Of 2 was assigned to
statements connoting medium importance of clothing, and a
weight of l was given to those connoting low importance.

A total score was Obtained for each person by totaling the
weights assigned to the responses he made to the relevant
questions. Then the scores were arranged in a rank order,
according to total scores. The results are presented in
Table I, where the ratings of the responses of each person
to each question is indicated by an "x".

Test for scalabilit . Four main criteria are used to
determine scalability: l) the coefficient of reproducibility,
2) the number of items and response categories, 3) the range
of marginal frequencies, and A) the pattern of error.1

1) Coefficient of reproducibilipy. In Table I, an

 

intensive examination of the overlapping of the X's within
the columns of each question was made to determine which cate-
gories could be combined in order to minimize the error of

reproducibility for each of the questions. As a result, six

 

lSamuel A. Stouffer pp g_1_., pp. cit., pp. 78-80, 117-119.

 

 

QUESTIONS

USED

(INFANT? "‘1'! I
‘J . 11;...11‘; .4

 

 

 

 

 

Total
Score

AHA
o

1

Weights*

_3 2 l

N N><N ><N N><N ><N:N><N

N

X

N N><

N

N N

N>4Ntflb< N

N

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N

N

N N

N Ntfihd N

>¢N

N

l
l’

N><N N N

N N

X
X

Weights

3

Ntfi>4N N§4>4N

N N

N N§N><N N

P4P4N¢N><N Ntfi >1 NtdbiN

N

N

>4N N

Alb

2

N NtN

X

X

N§<N

><N N

N N:#

(0

N
l—’

N N

<><N

Y

x><xta x>4s
a54x:x a:a><x *

N N><

N N
tfi><N N ><N

N N

N
N #:N N

Ntfl>4N N

N§4><
N Nbfi

N N§4>4N N

N NifibfiN Ntfi

>¢N N

K»

N NiN><N N§N><N

<><N

k
V

N

X

N

N N><Nifi

N N

rd

N Ntfi N

N N§N>< N

N N§N>¢N N

><N NbdN N><N

N >1N NiN>4 NPA N N N¢N>¢

‘ N§4>¢N N

r4N N

N>4N

X
X

w

N Ntfl><N N

N¢4><N Nifi><N N

N Ntfi

N N

N Nbfl

N N:x N NiN ><N N N N

N N

N N

N N

X

N N N NtN

k;

1’“

N Ntfi>4NiN>4N Ntfl><N N

>4N

NiN><N N><N§N

N NiN>4N

N

N N$4>4N Nt4><N N

N ><N Ntfl N

N1N>4N N54

N

N:N><N Nbd

N><N N

><N N

X
X
X

 

 

lg

’15
(D

to o\o\mc0@\0\o\oo\oo© o o

237

 

 

.3125

AB 33.

26 so 12 28

* All weights based upon modal ratings Of judges.

53 7

“V—‘m

3o 32 26

10 58 20

See text.

 

 

88

23

of the questions were dichotomized, while a seventh, question
7, which demonstrated a complete lack of patterning, was
eliminated from the scale.1

By reassigning weights, a second trial rank order was
established on the basis of the combined categories.
Dichotomous, arbitrary weights of 2 for high clothing im-
portance and 0 for low clothing importance were used. These
combinations, together with the weights assigned, are presented

in Table II.

TABLE II
COMBINATIONS AND RE-WEIGHTING OF CATEGORIES

 

 

 

 

Question Combinations
Alb (l 2)“. (3)
(1) (2.3)
A3 (1.2) (3)
l (1.2) (3)
Re-weighting ' o 2

 

Each person was given a new score, and then shifted into a
new rank order. Table III was prepared from these re-combined
data, using the same procedure as in Table I.

2

Cutting points were established in the new rank order

to separate the ratings for each question into groupings they

 

lThis will be clarified further later.
2Horizontal red lines in Table III.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_
a
. S
m t3 X X X XXXXXXXXX 2 .
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LNME MC
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..L 11% ammv llL ”raw.
.L ”)M--1._
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... 1
C _ a
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. m
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T. _ : +1.0 X X XX X XXXXXX XX XXXXXXX X XXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mme/d
1 .x “Inca m
- at. cw-_‘
.... . m 62 XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX X X XX XX X XX X X «me/Hm.
....» .7. _ m...
by ix“... 0
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.. 3.9.8 .
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. f lamina. XX ..XXXXX XX X XXXX XX XXXXXX XXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX mos/Mom
T I time 38
“wee :L I . . 3 Wt
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18
AND
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WW KERNNm88888888886666666666666666666666666AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA2222222222222222222222OOOOOOCOO M
... ..

 

 

 

 
 

25

would assume if the scale were perfect. Those ratings
which fall out of place are considered errors. The total
number of errors found for the entire scale is 56. Since
there are AAO responses for the entire scale, this means a

13 per cent error, or a reproducibility of 87 per cent. In

' 7772‘s. .11

19AA, Guttman set the lower acceptible ideal limit for the

coefficient of reproducibility at 85 per cent or better,1

and more recently at "about 90 per cent".2 It is therefore

ir-u-“n‘u. Anna-9's. Aifii'o-

feasible to accept this scale as included within the outer
limits of acceptibility determined by the criterion of re-
producibility.

2) The number of items and response categoripp.
Guttman states that if items are dichotomized, at least ten
items should be used, with a lesser number being satisfactory
if the marginal frequencies of several items are in the range
of 30 to 70 per cent.3 This scale contains five items in its
final form, all of which have been dichotomized. Three of
the five items (A3,1,Alb) have marginal frequencies within
the 30 to 70 per cent range, while a fourth (Ala) has 26 per
cent in one category and 7A per cent in the other. Only item
A2, with marginal frequencies of 1A per cent and 86 per cent,
are extreme. Our scale, therefore, adequately meets this

criterion.

 

1Louis Guttman, "A basis for Scaling Qualitative Data",
American Sociological Review, IX (19AA), p. 1A0.

2Quotations and underlining ours.

3Samuel A. Stouffer, pp pl., pp. cit., p. 779.

26

3) Range Of marginal frequencies. Reproducibility
might be spuriously high if the items have extreme frequen-
cies. Therefore, Guttman emphasizes that the reproducibility
Of an item should never be less than the largest frequency
Of its categories, regardless of whether the area is scalable
or not. As was mentioned above, this criterion is fairly
well met. However, some items with extreme frequencies, such
as question A2, are needed in order to get differentiated
scale types.

A) Pattern of error. The pattern of error should be
inspected to see whether or not there are a large number of
nonscale types Of persons. Since errors should be randomly
distributed, nonscale types can be recognized by solid seg-
ments ("five or more") in one column which fall outside the
cutting points.1 NO items in this scale have such cluster-
ings. Yet, the errors of items A3 and Alb do not seem to be
completely random. Item A3 especially, seems to fit the
gradient quasi--scale error pattern, since the errors that
do occur decrease as one moves further and further away in
either direction from the cutting point. Despite these minor
variations, it appears logical to conclude that the scale
meets this criterion adequately, since no extreme clusterings

exist.

 

1Ibid., pp. 159-163. Note especially the differences
between random scale, grouped nonscale, and gradient quasi-
scale errors.

 

QF‘T‘Tm—t—T‘; 213‘

um"

27

And finally, as a rule, no category should have more
errors in it than non-errors. The five items of the scale
as shown in Table III, meet this requirement.1

Conclusion. There are serious weaknesses which exist
in the development of our scale in terms of the theory Of
construction of ideal scales. First, the universe of con-
tent was not defined in advance of the data gathering: and
secondly, no large number Of items was available from Which
to sample the content area. Nevertheless, this does not
prevent a judgment about the unidimensionality of the five
scale items alone. In this respect, Festinger, after estab-
lishing the futility of insisting on unidimensional universes
in the social sciences, except for the most simple variables,
asserts:

Scale analysis still provides the investigator with

a good technique for scale construction and a means

for determining quantitatively the extent to which

his data depart from the ideal of unidimensionality.

Such knowledge should help the investigator con-

siderably in interpreting his data.2

Since the criteria for scalability are satisfied here,
it is feasible to assume, for the purposes Of this study,
that there is only one dominant variable involved in the

\

scale: the importance of clothing to the individual.

 

1The lack of patterning noted by inspection, which re-
sulted in dropping question 7 immediately following the first
trial, was found to be particularly deficient in this respect.
Also, question 7 did not conform to the error pattern of
either the "true" scale or the quasi-scale.

2Leon Festinger, "The Treatment of Qualitative Data by
Scale Analysis," Psychological Bulletin, XLIV (19A7), p. 159.

28

Intensity analysis. The main purpose of performing an
intensity analysis is to establish an invariant and unbiased
zero point for attitude and opinion scales, where all people
to the right of the point are "favorable" and all people to
the left are "unfavorable". The socialization process has
so imbued the average individual with the necessity of cloth-
ing, that it would be extremely difficult to elicit "unfavor-
able" feelings toward clothing without the use of depth
interviewing. Since this type of data was not available, our
scale can only ascertain the degree of "favorableness" towards
clothing, and hence, it is pointless to perform an Intensity

Analysis to obtain an absolute zero point.

Limitations of the Scale

In dealing with unidimensional scales of this kind, there
is the possibility of overlooking or losing pertinent socio-
logical information which might have contributed to a more
comprehensive interpretation of empirical findings.

In the analysis of the items used in the scale, it was
observed that the responses of individuals from higher status
levels were often based upon specific projected situations,
i.e., parties, business meetings, picnics etc., and conse-
quently, were given medium, or even low ratings by the judges.
For example, the following response to question file ("In
general, how important a part do clothes play in your job?")

by a livestock broker of fairly high status was given a modal

29

rating of only 2 (medium importance) by the thirteen judges:

At times it plays an important part, especially
when you're going to the packing houses on
business, or when you're attending social affairs.
At other times it doesn't make any difference.

I wouldn't get dressed up for an average days
work in buying from the farmers. It might not
settle too good with them if I got all dressed up.
The way you dress is determined a lot by who you
are dealing with. It's human nature. You're not
going to dress your best in order to sell a farmer,
but I wouldn't meet ... at the Books-Cadillac in
Detroit wearing overalls. That's common sense.

It is also interesting to note that the judges demon-
strated a large amount of agreement in rating this response:
eleven gave it a rating of medium importance (2), while only
two rated it high importance (3).1

Since our scale was designed to discriminate in terms
of a single dimension, the phenomenon discussed above, Which
was useful in interpreting some of the findings of this re-
search,2 could only have been detected through a qualitative
analysis of the data.

 

1If in some way the roles which are involved in clothing
importance could have been scaled, this situational fadtor
would have been taken into consideration.

2See Chapter III.

CHAPTER I I I

CHAPTER III.

CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND SOCIAL STATUS

The central hypothesis of this thesis is that the de-
gree of importance which a person places upon clothing will
be related to that individual's social status.1 An attempt
shall be made to validate the hypothesis in this chapter. .
Although this hypothesis has been anticipated by a number
of sociologists and psychologists, they have presented little
empirical evidence to demonstrate its validity. Our major
consideration is empirical verification. Consequently, only
a limited number of the relevant contributions are reviewed
here. -

Thorstein Veblen, in his presentation of the principle

of conspicuous consumption,2

convincingly demonstrates the
relationship between clothing and status. He states that in
a highly industrialized, mobile society the individual is
exposed:

... to the observation of many persons who have no

other means of judging of his reputability than
the displgy of goods (and perhaps breeding) which

 

 

1"Status" in the sense of social honor, or prestige.

2Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class
(New York: The Modern Library, Inc., 193M). OriginalIg
published in 1899; the new edition was published in 191 .

31

he is able to make while he is under their direct
observation.1

He further emphasizes that there are a number of methods of
"putting ones pecuniary standing in evidence", but:

... expenditure on dress has this advantage over

most other methods, that our apparel is always in

evidence and affords an indication of our pecun-
iary standing to all observers at the first glance.

2

George Van Ness Dearborn, writing on the psychological
psychology of clothes,3 states that the clothes a man wears
are part of his Whole personality and that they should "fit
into it as well as on it." He further states:

Fine, expensive clothing implies wealth of the

wearer or else the having of wealthy friends; and

well-fitting clothes in like degree imply taste

and culture. Therefore, to the cultured and the

wealthy, fi e and well-fitting clothing is right

and normal.
Consequently, the individual cannot have a complete sense of
"well-being", unless he is wearing clothing which is appro-
priate to his station in life.

And finally, the authors of Deep South, When listing

the criteriam used in the stratification of Old City state:

 

1Ibid., p. 86. Underlining added.

2Ibid., p. 167. In Veblen's day the importance of the
automobIIe as a display items was not yet in evidence.

3George Van Ness Dearborn, gp. cit.

uIbid., p. 66. Underlining added.

32

There are many clews to assist in the "placing"

of people within broad limits, some easily observ-

able, such as peculiarities of speech, type of

clothing worn, the manner of drinking and carry-

ing" liquor, or occupation.1

The above citations give considerable weight to a focal
postulate of the larger study, namely, that "clothing func-
tions in social life as a symbol of social status."2
A further assumption of the larger study was that individuals
of different social status would use this symbol, clothing,
differentially. This can be corroborated in part by repro-

ducing some of the responses to the question:

 

1A. Davis, B. B. Gardner, and M. R. Gardner, Deop South;

A Social Anthropological Study of Caste and Class (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, l9ul)fip. 60. UndeFIining added.
For other citations in the same vein see C. H. Cooley, Social
Organization (New York: C. Scribner and Sons, 1909) p. 303,
and Milton M. Gordon, "Kitty Foyle and the Concept of Class
as Culture", gmerican Journal of Sociology, LIII (November,
19h7), 210-217. The assumption that status differences in
the type of clothing worn are discernible in social life is
implicit in the arguments of those writers Who see the pro-
cesses of imitation--inferiors cOpying the dress of superiors,
and differentiation--superiors in turn, attempting to differ-
entiate themselves from the dress of inferiors, as an element
of fashion changes. See E. A. Ross, Social Psychology (New
York: The Macmillan Company, 1929) pp. 99-101; E. Sapir,
"Fashion," Enc clopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. V and VI
combined (1937); L. L. Bernard, An Introduction to Social
Ps cholo (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1926) pp. 547-

; E. S. Bogardgs, Egndamentals of Social Psychology (New
York and London: The Century Company, 192E) chap. xiii.

2G. P. Stone and W. H, Form, "Instabilities in Status;
The Problem of Hierarchy in the Community Study of Status
Arrangements", American Sociological Review, XVIII (April,
1953), lug-162. Quote on p.—1§3.

 

33

Do you think that pe0ple dress in different ways
for different reasons?

Yes ( ) No ( ) Other ( )
If other: Specify.

If yes or appropriate other: What reason can you
think of?

Many individuals in the higher status levels seemed to
emphasize the "impression-on-others" aspect of clothing.

For example:

Yes. They wish to create a better impression for
the purpose of getting a job they want higher up.

Yes. They want to be noticed, to accomplish some-
thing like a deal.

Yes. ... One type is always trying to be the height
of fashion, regardless of their ability to pay for

it. (Interviewer's probe.) They're just trying to
attract attention.

Yes. I guess they want to look their best in front
of some and are indifferent to others.

Those in the lower status levels emphasized either the cate-
gorical or the functional aspects of clothing. For example:

Yes. A guy wouldn't go to church or his wedding
in overalls.

Yes. Different jobs call for differences in dress.
Yes. If they go to a lodge meeting they dress up.
Yes. If you wear a tie it'll get caught in the ma-
chines and you're liable to get your face smashed
up.
Finally, directly bearing on the assumption that individuals
of different social status use clothing differentially, is

the respondent of low status who looked askance at the "odd"

clothing behavior of his employer. He states:

3h

I don't know. I worked for a guy last summer at

the lake. He'd get all dressed up just to go to

town and when he'd get back he'd strip down to

shorts and run around the house that way the rest

of the day. '

It is the position of this thesis that clothing not
only functions as a symbol of social status and that it is
looked upon by different social classes as performing dif-
ferent social functions, but also, that social classes will
vary in the general degree of importance they place upon
the social function of clothing in facilitating accurate
appraisals of others' statuses. Previously, it was hypothe-
sized that this function of clothing would be important to
those who deal with strangers a good percentage of the time,
to those who are in occupational positions in which people,
rather than things are manipulated, and to those who are
highly mobile in a territorial sense.1 It was also stated
that it is those persons with relatively high social status
who are likely to be more involved in these kinds of social
activities, and therefore, might be expected to emphasize
the importance of clothing in their social interaction.

Clothing Importance and the Index of
Status Characteristics

If the hypothesis that the degree of importance placed
upon clothing would be related to social status is to be

 

1See Chapter I.

) 'ul‘ll'l’" 1"]

35

tested, we need, in addition to the scale measuring cloth-
ing importance (described in Chapter II), some adequate
measure of social status. [A‘mcdified version of Warner's
revised Index of Status Characteristics was employed as an
indicator of social status.1
Warner acknowledges the possibility that one of the
four characteristics of the revised scale--occupational
status, source of income, house type, and dwelling area--
may not be obtainable. He states that the Index is effective
if only three of the characteristics are available, but that
certain alterations are needed in.the weighting scheme.2
In obtaining the data for this study, it was found that
one of the four characteristics was unobtainable. Since
there was no clear-cut ecological pattern Which Could be used
as a basis for obtaining dwelling area ratings, it was neces-
sary to drop this element of the Index.

One further modification involved the assignment of

ratings to different occupations along a seven-point scale.

 

1W. L. Warner, M. Meeker, and L. Eells, Social Class
In America (Chicago: Science Research Associates, l9u97}
For a highly critical appraisal of Warner's work in community
stratification, see H. W. Pfautz and O. D. Duncan, "A Criti-
cal Evaluation of Warner's Work in Community Stratification,"
American Sociological Review, XV (April, 1950) 205-215. For
a more constructive evaluation, see Paul K. Hatt, "Stratifi-
cation in Mass Society," American Sociological Review, XV
(April, 1950) 216-227. Note especially his discussion of
"The Relationship Between Community Reputational Analysis and
Solution by Correlation," pp. 221-222.
85 2W. L. Warner, M. Meeker, and L. Eells, _p, gi§., p.
1 . '

36

It was felt that some of the occupational ratings developed
by Warner did not adequately reflect the relative status of
those occupations in this particular community. This was
particularly true of the "trucker group", who made up a
relatively high percentage of the populationland whose level
in the community was thought to be somewhat higher than
those in the communities on which the Warner Index was vali-

dated. Therefore, 13 long-term residents from all occu-

 

pational levels of the city were selected to rate the 88 E
different occupations of the larger sample on a seven point
scale.2 These ratings were averaged and used to correct
Warner's occupational scores for the Goldwater universe.
Through the use of this modification of the Warner
social status index and our clothing importance scale, Table
IV, summarizes the relationship between clothing importance
and status ratings. VThe probability that clothing importance
was not associated with ratings in the Index was less than
2 per cent, but greater than 1 per cent. The probability
3

is small enough to consider the null hypothesis untenable.

 

1
About 5 per cent of the approximately 2700 employed
males in Goldwater were truckers.

2G. P. Stone and W. H. Form, _p, cit., p. 15h. The
authors use "Vansburg" as a pseudonym for Goldwater.

3The following qualifying adjectives shall be used in
this thesis to denote the following probability ranges:

.05> p > .01 - moderately significant

.Ol:>.p ;>.001 - highly significant

.001>p - extremely significant

37

TABLE IV

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND RATINGS
ON THE INDEX OF STATUS CHARACTERISTICS

 

 

Clothing Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristicsa

 

 

 

 

a

b

was” a: a; a a a; 2; 3:
10 l l 3 1 .. .. .. 8
8 1 .. 1 3 1 3 1 10
6 2 3 5 2 8 3 2 25
11 1 1 2 ll 2 S 1 16
2 1 3 1 3 6 5 3 22
o .. .. .. 3 11 1 1 9
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 12 8 88

.__;g_5 .25c (pgé; .02

 

Computed from Warner's Index of Status Characteristics.
Low numerals represent high ratings.

Scores obtained from the second trial rank order. See
supra, p. 21.

The method used in the computation of the product-moment
correlation coefficient followed the procedure outlined
in Allen L. Edwards, Statistical Analysis for Students in
Poychology and Educationi(New York: Rinehart and Company,
Inc., 19A8), pp. 9fl-99, 187-188. In this thesis, all
other computations involving the product-moment correla-
tion coefficient will follow this procedure.

 

 

(3 Cont'd) Originally used by George W. Snedecor, Statistical
Methods: Applied to Experiments in Agriculture and Biology
(Ames, Iowa State College Press, ch ed., 19H6). Reproduced
in Margaret J. Hagood, Statistics for Sociologists (New York:
Henry Holt and Company, 1952), p. 3252

 

‘1. III I‘lt‘ I‘J‘I.l

It I cll ll I.Vl

38

A positive correlation of .25 indicates a relatively low
degree of relationship between the two variables. Several
factors might have affected the lowness of the correlation.

First, it became increasingly apparent in the analysis
of the occupational ratings by the 13 residents selected,1
that there was much agreement in the ratings of the very
high and very low occupations, but little agreement in the
ratings of the occupations in the middle range.2 This factor
is of greater consequence when we consider that the occu-
pational characteristic is given the highest weight in the
computation of the Index. Furthermore, the problem of the
differentiation of ratings in the middle range became even
more evident when the house types were rated by'a research
team. Since the "juxtaposition of 'good' and 'bad' housing
... [was] ... the dominant pattern in.the town",3 it was
difficult to maintain consistency in the ratings of houses.
For this reason, the general opinion of the research staff
was that the ratings on house type were the least reliable
of the three characteristics used in the Index.

We might conclude, from the foregoing discussion, that

the extreme ratings are more reliable than those in the

 

18cc supra, p. 36.
20. P. Stone and W. H. Form, op. cit., p. 15h.

3Loc. cit.

'1' III]! III! 11"! Ill

39

middle range. In Table IV, for example, no individual

with a total score of 10 on the clothing importance scale
received an Index rating of more than 51, and no individual
with a low score of 0 received an Index rating of less than
113.

Another possible explanation of the low correlation
has been anticipated in the discussion of the limitations
of the clothing importance scale.1 In the analysis of the.
items used in the scale, it was observed that the responses
of individuals from higher status levels were often based
upon specific projected situations, i.e., parties, picnics,
etc., and consequently, were given medium, or even low
ratings by the judges. This may account for the fact that
in Table IV, individuals with high Index ratings of from
16 to 33 were almost equally distributed along the entire
range of the scale.

This observation, that those individuals with Index
ratings of 16 to 33 were almost equally distributed along
the entire range of the scale, takes on added significance
when we consider that out of a total of 12 persons with
Index ratings of 3b to A2, only 3 received low clothing im-
portance scores (scores of h to 0), While three times as

many, 9, had high clothing importance scores (scores of 10 to 6).

 

1See su ra, pp. 28-29.

It appears that clothing decreases in importance in the
highest status categories. A possible explanation of this
phenomenon may lie in the fact that these high status
individuals either may have already attained their status
goals, or, more likely, have inherited their high status
positions. As a result, clothing as a symbol of success or
as a means to a higher status goal is of little consequence
in the social life of these people. On the other hand,
those individuals of slightly lower status may not have
reached their status goals. They are more conscious of
those "above"--their superiors with greater social status--
and those presently considered "below"--their inferiors
with less social status. This follows, since they probably
are anxious to sever ties with former peers and establish
new ties with superordinates. Clothing here is employed as
a means of impressing one's social worth upon others.1
It is also probable that the mass production of cloth-
ing has decreased its value as a status symbol for persons
of high status, and that more emphasis has been placed upon
such symbols as birth, inheritance, and "culture" for com-
municating their status to others. In this respect, Barber

and Lobel,2 analyzing the advertising "copy" of a number of

 

1See Chapter IV. A positive relationship exists be-
tween social mobility and clothing importance.

2B. Barber and L. S. Lobel, "'Fashion' in Women's
Clothes and the American Social System," Social Forces, XXXI,
No. 6 (December, 1952), 128-131.

111

woman's fashion magazines, observe that "old money families"
with a long established social position do not compete for
status by the conspicuous consumption of "high fashion"
clothing, but stress esthetic values and usually are more
concerned with birth distinctions and heredity. The authors
state, furthermore, that those persons of slightly lower
status show great concern for "high fashion" in clothing

and are usually the Paris conscious style leaders.

It was possible, of course, that a single character-
istic of the Index might have been associated with clothing
importance at a higher level of significance than the total
Index.' Therefore, each component of the Index was correlated
separately with the clothing importance scores.

Occupational status and source of income. It is evi-
dent from Table V that a substantially higher level of
statistical significance exists in the relationship between
clothing importance and occupational status than with cloth-
ing importance and the total Index. Since the probability
that the variables were not associated was less than 1 per
cent, but greater than 0.1 per cent, the null hypothesis
can be rejected. Also, with a positive correlation of .32,
there is a slightly higher degree of association between
occupational status and clothing importance than that of

.25 between the total Index and clothing importance.

112

TABLE V

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND OCCUPATIONAL STATUS

 

 

Ratings on Occupational Statusa

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing
Importance l 2 3 4h 5* 6 7 Totals
Scale
10 1 3 1 1 .. .. .. 6
8 l .. 2 2 3 l l 10
6 2 5 1 8 5 2 2 25
A 2 ..‘ 2 3 5 2 2 16
2 1 2 2 LL 5 5 3 22
o .. .. .. 2 5 1 1 9
Totals 7, 10 8 20 23 ll 9 88
r = .32 pp¢£1.01
a

Based upon the ratings by 13 residents of Coldwater of
the 88 different occupations in the larger sample. A
seven point scale was used. Low numerals represent high
ratings.

Table VI, demonstrates that the same high level of
significance exists in the relationship between clothing
importance and source of income as did with clothing im-
portance and occupational status. The same degree of
association, a positive correlation of .32, also exists

between the variables.

I. 'I’
(I .

A3

TABLE VI

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND SOURCE OF INCOME

 

 

 

 

Clothing Ratings on Source of Incomea
Imp§22§§°° ~2 2.5 3 3.5 A A.5 5 5.5 Totals
10 .. .. 1 3 2 .. .. .. 6
8 .. 1 2 .. 2 .. A 1 1o
6 A .. A 2 6 .. 9 .. 25
A .. 1 1 1 7 1 5 .. 16
_2 2 1 1 .. A .. 13 1 22
o .. .. .. .. 3 .. 6 .. 9

 

Totals 6 3 9 6 2A 1 37 2 88

 

I‘ 3 .32 9.4.00].
a One of the indices from Warner's Index of Status Character-
istics. In the computation of the product-moment co-
efficient, the first two, second two, third two, and fourth

two columns were combined. Low numerals represent high
ratings.

The fact that occupational status and its highly re-
lated variable, source of income, show the greatest degree
of relationship to clothing importance, increases in conse-
quence when we consider that many students of stratification
hold that occupational status is a major, if not the prime,
element in social status. Anderson and Davidson express

this view rather vividly:

The occupation one follows fills most of one's
waking time. It assigns the individual a
particular place in society, which can be
changed only by most exceptional circumstances.
It has much to do with determining the location
and kind of residence of the family, and there-
by the schooling, playmates, social contacts,
and leisure--time activities of its various
members. ... it forms the range of his conversa-
tion and intellectual interest, fastens upon him
habits of dress and conduct, and defines the
circle of his friends and acquaintances, who in
turn have a powerful effect on his thoughts and
actions.

House type. Table VII, summarizes the relationship
between clothing importance and ratings on house type.
Although the direction of the relationship is positive,
there is a lack of statistical significance. Since the
probability that the two variables were not associated was
less than 30 per cent and no less than 20 per cent, the null
hypotheses cannot be considered untenable. Furthermore,
the low correlation of .12 between clothing importance and
house type represents a substantially lower correlation
than that between clothing importance and the total Index,
and between clothing importance and its other two components,

occupational status and source of income, Which were .25,

 

1D. Anderson and P. B. Davidson, Ballots and the Demo—
cratic Class Struggle (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press,
19A3) p. 82. For others who point out the significance of
occupation as a major element in social status see D. C.
Miller and W. H. Form, Industrial Sociology (New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1951), Talcott Parsons, ”An Analytical
Approach to the Theory of Sociological Stratification,"
American Journal of Sociology, XLV, No. 6 (May, 19A0), 8A1-
862, and Paul K. Hatt, "Occupation and Social Stratification",
American Journal of Sociology, LV, No. 6 (May, 1950).

 

1+5

TABLE VII

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND HOUSE TYPE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing Ratings on House Typea
Imggziince 1 2 3 h p 5 6 7 Totals
10 1 l 1 3 .. .. .. 6
8 -- 1 .. 3 2 3 1 10
6 2 2 3 7 5 3 3 25
A .. 2 2 5 2 A 1 16
2 1 l 3 5 5 6 1 22
O .. .. 2 3 2 1 1 9
Totals A z. 11 26 16 11, 7 88
...—115. ~12 p430

 

a One of the indices from Warner's Index of Status Character-
istics. Low numerals represent high ratings.

.32, and .32 respectively. This low correlation between
clothing importance and house type has been anticipated in
the discussion of the difficulties encountered in the attempt
to maintain consistency in the rating of houses.1

Summary. Since it has been shown that a large amount

of agreement exists on the prestige value of occupations,

 

1See supra, p. 38.

A6

regardless of region or size of community,1 and that "we
have commonsense agreement that source of income is a con-
stant value throughout our society",2 the value of both of
these indices is generalizable, and therefore, inferences
which might be drawn on a cross-community basis from the
above empirical findings, would have greater foundation.

0n the other hand, the employment of house type as a cross-
community index is limited, since its value is expressed in
terms of the local community only.3 These considerations
seem to enhance the empirical finding that both occupational
status and source of income demonstrate a substantially
higher degree of relationship to clothing importance than
does house type (occupational status and clothing importance,
r = .32; source of income and clothing importance, r a .32;
house type and clothing importance, r u .12). In turn, this
low degree of relationship between house type and clothing

importance, which was of no statistical significance (p21..30),

 

1C. C. North and P. K. Hatt, "Jobs and Occupations: A
Popular Evaluation," in L. Wilson and W. A. Kolb, Sociological
Anal sis (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 19A9), pp.

- 73-

2Paul K. Hatt, "Stratification in the Mass Society,"
American Sociological Review, XV (April, 1950), 216-222.
Quote from p. 222.

3Ibid. Houses are rated on a comparative basis with
others in the community being studied. It is for this reason
that Hatt recommends that both house type and dwelling area,
the two other components of Warner's revised Index, be replaced
by a more generalizable value, such as a simple rental index
which he claims would be a more reliable value of both the
quality of housing and the quality of the neighborhood.

 

 

A7

served to lower the over-all degree of relationship between

the total Index and clothing importance (r a .25).

Other Status Indicators
Two other indices of status, education and amount of
' income, employed in Warner's original Index of Status
Characteristics,1 have also been considered. In addition
another conventionally employed status indicator, based upon
Alba Edwards' Occupational Groups, was considered.

Amount of income. Table VIII, summarizes the relation-

 

ship between amount of income and clothing importance. The
low, but positive correlation of .17 is not statistically
significant. Since the probability that the two variables
were not significantly associated was less than 20 per cent
and no less than 10 per cent, the null hypothesis cannot be
rejected. Two possible explanations of this low correlation
between amount of income and clothing importance are con-
sidered below.

Certain phenomena were observed, both during the inter-
viewing process and in the analysis of the schedules, which
might have effected the over-all reliability of the income

data. It was apparent that many individuals in the higher

 

1W. L. Warner, M. Meeker, and L. Eells, pp. cit., chap.

x. The original Index was developed for use in JOHESville,
the latest town studied in the Warner tradition. See W.
Lloyd Warner and Associates, Democracy in Jonesville

(New York: Harper and Brothers, 19A9).

 

all-I... . ..
4" '1' III!"- III" 'Iu'.' II Ill‘lla‘Il {I‘ll-l. ‘1

 

 

A8

TABLE VIII

ASSOCIATION BET .EEN CLOTHING INPORTANCE
AND INCOME

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing Incomea
”33:3?” .;;133330 333 33333331333 33:333 3333 Totals
10 2 l 2 1 .. .. 6
8 l l 6 1 .. l 10
6 3 2 12 A 3 1 25
A l '3 6 6 .. .. 16
2 2 5 6 5 A .. 22
O .. .. 7 .. 2 .. ‘ 9
Totals 9 12 39 17 9 2 88
r . .17 p A .20

 

a In the computation of the product-moment coefficient, the

mid-point for the first column was set at S15, 000, and the
mid-point for the last Column was set at S500.

income brackets were consistently underestimating their
yearly incomes, while those in the lower brackets (not the
extremely low) tended to overstate their yearly earnings.
And still others, especially those who were not steadily
employed, found it extremely difficult to give accurate
estimates of their yearly income. Also, in the analysis of

the schedules, a considerable amount of disagreement existed

1+9

between the Spouses as to the total amount of family income.1
These observations cast serious doubts upon the reliability
of the income data. Would this variable then, be a useful
indicator of social status? In order to test the empirical
usefulness of amount of income as an indicator of status,

it was necessary to ascertain its degree of relationship
with our standard of social status, the Index of Status
Characteristics.

It is evident from the figures summarized in Table IX,
that with a correlation of .70, a relatively high degree of
association exists between amount of income and the Index
of Status Characteristics. Moreover, since the probability
that these two variables were not associated was less than
0.1 per cent, the null hypothesis must certainly be rejected,
For the purposes of this thesis, therefore, we can conclude
that amount of income is a fairly reliable index of social
status. We have already demonstrated that occupational
status and source of income are significantly aSsociated
with clothing importance. We know also, that occupational
status, source of income, and amount of income are highly

2
interrelated. There is, then, only one remaining

 

1Generally, the husband and wife were questioned simul-
taneously, and if possible, in a different physical area of
the residence. In the final analysis, and as a working rule,
the husband's estimate of the total yearly income of the
family was used in instances of disagreement.

2We have demonstrated a .6A correlation between occu-
pational status and amount of income, a .58 correlation

50

TABLE IX

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RATINGS ON THE INDEX OF
STATUS CHARACTERISTICS AND INCOME

 

 

Ratings on_the Index of Status Characteristics

 

 

 

 

Incomea 6 5 A A 5 6
1 2 3 2 l 70
2A 33 A2 51 6O 69 78 Totals
plus 3
$10,000 6 3 .. .. .. .. .. 9
39.999
35,000 .. 2 5 1 2 2 .. l2
Shsggg
S3,000 .. 3 5 11 13 7 .. 39
32.999
S2,000 .. .. .. 3 5 A 5 17
31.999
£1,000 .. .. l 1 1 A 2 9
$999
less .. .. l .. .. .. 1 2
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 17 8 88
P i.70 p 434001

 

 

a In the computation of the product-moment coefficient,
the mid-point for the first row was set at $15,000, and
the mid-point for the last row was set at S500.

 

(2 Cont'd) between amount of income and source of income,
and a .76 correlation between occupational status and source
of income. See Appendix, Tables XXIV, XXV and XXVI.

51

explanation of the low correlation between amount of income
and clothing importance--the possibility that the income
categories themselves are inadequate for discriminating
differences in clothing importance. However, this cannot be
verified, for the class limits of the income categories had
been established in the larger study, and the data had al-
ready been gathered before this smaller study was initiated.
Grade completed. As was mentioned above, grade com-
pleted and amount of imCOme were both employed in Warner's
original Index of Status Characteristics. Table X, sum-
marizes the relationship between grade completed and cloth-
ing importance. It is evident that the rather low positive
correlation of .12 between the variables is not statistically
significant. Since the probability that grade completed and
clothing importance were not associated in fine universe
studied was less than 30 per cent and no less than 20 per
cent, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. As in the case
of amount of income, grade completed was correlated with the
Index to ascertain its usefulness as an indicator of status.
Table XI demonstrates a statistically significant associ-
ation between grade completed (education) and the Index of
Status Characteristics. Since the probability that the vari-
ables were not associated in the universe studied was less
than 0.1 per cent, we can consider the null hypothesis un-

tenable. However, the correlation of .57 between grade

5.2

TABLE X

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND GRADE COMPLETED

 

 

 

 

Clothing Grade Completed8 [1
Imgggfgnce 0 l 5 8 9 l2 1 15 16 17 Totals E
A 7 11 IN plus i
10 .. 1 .. .. 3 .. .. .. 2 .. 6 i
8 .. l .. 2 2 2 l .. 1 1 10 A
6 1 .. 2 6 6 5 2 .. 3 .. 25 1
A . .. .. A l 8 1 .. .. 2 l6
2 .. 1 3 5 3 5 2 1 2 .. 22
0 .. 1 2 1 3 2 .. .. .. .. 9

 

Totals 1 A, 7, 18 18 22 6 1 8 3 88
r = .12 394;L.3O

a In the computation of the product-moment coefficient,
the mid-point for the last row was set at 18.5.

completed and the Index is substantially lower than the .70'
correlation between amount of income and the Index. The re-
liability of grade completed as an indicatOr of status,
therefore, is somewhat lower than that of amount of income.
This relatively lower dependibility of grade completed may
have been a factor in the low degree of relationship demon-
strated between grade completed and the Index of Status

Characteristics. In this respect, it is interesting to note

53

that in Table X, the one individual who had no formal edu-
cation but who had received a relatively high rating of 6
on the clothing importance scale, also had received the
relatively high status rating of 3A-A2 on the Index. In
addition, in Table XI, the individual who had received the

TABLE XI

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RATINGS ON THE INDEX OF STATUS
CHARACTERISTICS AND GRADE COMPLETED

.

 

 

Grade Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristics

 

 

 

 

a
Completed 2: 3% fig %i ii 2% 3% Totals
0 .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. 1
1-A .. .. .. 1 .. l 1 3
5-7 1 .. .. .. 3 2 2 8
8 .. .. 2 3 A 6 A 19
9-11 .. 2 1 3 7 3 1 '17
12 1 .. A S 7 5 .. 22
l3-1A .. 2 2 2 .. .. .. 6
l5 .. .. l .. .. .. .. 1
16 2 3 l 2 .. .. .. 8
17-plus 2 l .. .. .. .. .. 3
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 17, 8 88
r_§_t57 ‘ p,g;:,001

 

 

a In the computation of the product-moment coefficient,
the mid-point of the last row was set at 18.5.

...".I

‘4‘ nm‘é 57-. int!

171-" ‘

51+

high status rating of 16-2A on the Index but had only com-
pleted the 5-7 grade, also had received the relatively high
score of 6 on the clothing importance scale.

Occupational Groups. We have seen that occupational

 

status, along with source of income, demonstrated the high-
est degree of relationship to clothing importance (.32).
Would another occupational ranking, such as Alba Edwards'
social-economic groups,1 not primarily based upon status,
although closely related to it,2 also show this same degree
of association with the clothing importance scale? Table
XII, summarizes the relationship between occupational groups
and clothing importance, and presents the lack of statisti-
cal significance. Since the probability that the two vari-
able were not associated was less than 20 per cent and no
less than 10 per cent, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected.
Although the degree of relationship is relatively low, the
over-all association between the variables is positive.
Thirteen of the Professionals, PrOprietors, Officials,
Managers group have scores of 10 to 6 on the clothing imp

portance scale, while only 7 have scores of A to 2 and none

 

1Alba M. Edwards, Alphabetical Index Of Occupations
(Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1937).

2Table XVIII in the appendix summarizes the relation-
ship between occupational groups and the Index of Status
Characteristics. It is evident, that with a T of .62
(ILAC-001): a fairly high degree of relationship exists be-
tween the two variables.

55

TABLE XII

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing Occupational Groupsa
Importance
Scaleb Professionals
Proprietors Clerks a
Officials Kindred Manual Totals
Managers Workers
10 3 3 .. 6
8 2 l 7 10
6 8 3 1A 25
A 2 3 11 16
2 5 5 12 22
0 .. l 8 9
Totals 20 16 52 88
’17}. 3.60° p4.20 T = ~17d
a

Based upon the social-economic groups classification
found in Alba M. Edwards, Alphabetical Index of Occu-
pations (Washington: United States Government Printing
Office, 1937), p. 3. The first column includes groups
0, l, and 2; the second column includes group 3; and the
last column includes groups A, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

The first three and last three rows were collapsed in
the computation of the chi square.

The method used in the computation of the chi square fol-
lowed the procedure outlined in Allen L. Edwards, Statis-
tical Analysis for Students in Psychology and Education
'TNew York: Rinehart and Company, Inc., 19A8), pp. 239-
253. In this thesis, all other computations involving
chi square shall follow this procedure.

The method used in the computation of Tschuprow's "co-
efficient of contingency" (T) followed the procedure out-
lined in Margaret J. Hagood and Price, Statistics for
Sbciologists (New York: Henry Holt and Company, ReVIsed,

1952) pp. 370-371.

 

 

56

have a score of 0. Those in the Clerks and Kindred Workers
group are fairly evenly divided, with only 7 having scores

of 10 to 6, and while 9 have scores of A to 0. At the

other extreme, only 21 in the Manual group have scores of

8 to 6, While none have a score of 10 and 31 have scores of
A to 0. However, the T of .17 between occupational groups
and clothing importance represents a substantially lower
degree of relationship than the r of .32 between occupational

status and importance of clothing.1

Status, therefore, seems
to be a strong element in this greater degree of relationship
between occupational status and clothing importance, since

the occupations were rated solely on the basis of prestige2

by the thirteen long term residents of Coldwater.

Summary
Before summarizing the findings of this chapter, it
might be well to indicate the perspective on the meaning of
statistical significance, as it will be considered in this

dissertation.

 

1Tschuprow's "coefficient of contingency" (T) has an
upper limit of 1.0 no matter how many cells there are in the
table. In light of the discussions by Margaret J. Hagood and
Price, Statistics for Sociologists (New York: Henry Holt and
Company, Revised 1952) pp. 370-371, and G. Udny Yule and M.
G. Kendall, An Introduction to the Theopy of Statistics
(London: Charles Griffin and Company, Limited, Thirteenth
Ed., Revised 19 9) pp. 68-71, Tschuprow's "coefficient of
contingency" (T shall be considered as the equivalent of the
product moment correlation (r) for the purposes of this thesis.

2

 

Status and prestige are here used synonymously.

57

Charles Peters, writing on the misconceptions of statis-
tical significance, sees a strong element of magic in the
drawing of a hard and steadfast line at a particular level
in ascertaining the statistical significance of a relation-
ship.I He demonstrates that small differences Which are
consistently in the same direction are of statistical conse—
quence, and can be considered more reliable than occasional
large differences which are not prevailingly in the same
direction.

In this same vein, Stuart Chapin, in analyzing the
findings of a research project states:

None of these findings are statistically significant
as single differences. The important point is that
they are consistent and in the same direction. ...
Our opinion is unequivocally that small differences
in the same direction may be as important as one
large difference that is statistically significant.

Chapin presents two reasons for this assertion:

First, social phenomena are complex and not likely
to show large differences because of the configura-
tional character of the social situation. The
separate factors in a social situation are usually
functionally related. Second, the conventional tests
of the significance of sampling are based upon the
theory of random samples, and in the present stage

of experimental work, as we have attempted to show,
it is the terminal homogeneity and purity in the
sample, rather than initial representativeness of

 

1Charles C. Peters, "Note on a Misconception of Statis-
tical Significance." American Journal of Sociology, XXXIX
(July, 1933-M3Y 1934) 231-236-

 

2F. Stuart Chapin, Experimental Designs in Sociologi-
cal Research (New York: Harper and Brothers, 19E7), p. 10A.

58

heterogeneity, that is important in demonstrating
the real relationship between two variable factors.

In our findings, all of the indices of status used,
i.e., the Index of Status Characteristics, occupational
status, source of income, house type, amount of income,
grade completed, and occupational groups, demonstrated a
positive relationship with the clothing importance scale.
Occupational status and source of income showed the greatest
degree of relationship with the clothing importance scale
(r = .32, p14;.OOl). The Index of Status Characteristics,
which includes source of income, occupational status, and
house type, demonstrated a slightly lower degree of relation-
ship with the clothing importance scale (r = .25, p‘fil.02).
The low degree of relationship between house type (believed
to be the least reliable of all the indices of status em-
ployed) and the clothing importance scale (r = .12, p.(;.30)
served to lower the over-all degree of relationship between
the total Index and the clothing importance scale. Income
demonstrated a .17 (p‘:;.20) correlation with the clothing
importance scale, occupational groups a T of .17 (p<:;.20),
and grade completed an r of .12 (p<::.30).

In light of these empirical findings, and considering
the assertions of Peters and Chapin, the hypothesis that the
degree of importance which a person places upon clothing will

be related to that individual's social status can be accepted.

 

1Ibid., p. 10h. Underlining added. "Real" originally
italicized.

CHAP ER IV

CHAPTER IV

CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND SOCIAL MOBILITY

In dealing with stratification aspects of clothing
importance, our study cannot be complete without a consider-
ation of the effect of status mobility upon relative cloth-
ing importance.

A person who is striving towards higher status goals
is more likely to become sensitive to the symbols which dif-
ferentiate the social strata. In order to be identified as
a higher status member, it is necessary to manipulate and
incorporate the symbols Which distinguish this strata. In
impersonal or secondary group relationships, clothing is an
important symbol in influencing in a desired direction
"others" initial Judgment of one's social status.

Evelyn Ellis, studying the social psychological aspects
of occupational mobility among unmarried career women, shows
that upward mobile persons are likely to be more socially
isolated than non-mobile persons. They were also found to
have less intimate friends and their length of friendships
lasted over a shorter period of time than the non-mobile
persons. She states:

The evidence is consistent with the theory that up-

ward social mobility is likely to be an outgrowth
of basically neurotic drives resulting from

60

unsatisfactory early primary group relations, and

that mobility leads to a continuation of super-

ficial, impermanent primary group relations and

other overt manifestations of emotional maladjust-

ment.1

Within this vein, upwardly mobile persons would most
likely demonstrate a greater dependence upon impersonal,
secondary group relationships in social life in which, as
we have mentioned above, clothing plays an important func-
tion as an indicator of social status.

In "The Theory of Social Stratification,"2 Parsons
states that, in our society, a large component of standards
of living is to be found in the symbolic significance of
many of its items in relation to status. One type of situ-
ation where this component becomes important is in:

... the case of a group who are involved in a high-

ly competitive struggle for achieved status, where

the status of a large proportion of them at any

given time is either newly acquired or relatively

insecure or both.3 '

The upwardly mobile person is more likely, therefore, to

place a great deal of emphasis upon the various status

symbols.

 

1Evelyn Ellis, "Social Psychological Correlates of Up-
ward Social Mobility Among Unmarried Career Women," American
Sociological Review, XVII, No. 5 (October, 1952), 558-553.
Quote on page 563.

2Talcott Parsons, Essays in Sociological Theory Pure
and Applied (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 19kg),
pp. 165-1811..

 

3Ibid., p. 180.

61

Considering the above discussion, we would hypothesize
(that those who have been upwardly mobile will demonstrate
a higher degree of clothing importance than those who have
either been non-mobile, or downwardly mobile.

Although we are interested in over-all social mobility,
we shall define mobility in terms of a single dimension--
occupation--which is considered by many leading students of
stratification as the most valid single index of social

1 As our measure of occupational status, we shall

status.
employ the seven-point occupational prestige scale deve10ped
in Goldwater, and used in the Index of Status Characteris-
tics (see Chapter III).

A job history was obtained from each individual and
each was categorized in respect toLsix_mpbility patterns:

1. None; 2. Continuously upward;3. Continuously?

downward; h. Irregularly upward; 5.;Irregularly
downward} 6. Irregularities--no mobility.2

Since there were relatively few individuals in several
of the mobility patterns, it was necessary to amalgamate
the six mobility patterns into three in order to compute

the statistical significance between clothing importance

 

1This point has been previously discussed. See supra,
pp- 43-uu.

2Ong individual's occupational history was incomplete
and was classified as "indeterminate".

62

and occupational mobility. Nobility patterns 1 and 6 were
combined into a "non-mobile" category; 2 and h into an
"upward mobile" category; andg3 and Sfinto a "downward
mobile" category (no individual fell into the third mobility
pattern).

Table XIII, summarizes the relationship between the
clothing importance scale and occupational mobility, and
presents a statistically significant relationship. Since
the probability that the two variables were not associated
was less than 1 per cent, but greater than 0.1 per cent,
the null hypothesis can be rejected. Although the degree
of association is fairly low (T = .28), the over-all re-
lationship between the variables is positive. Those in the
upward mobile group had the largest proportion of persons
in the high clothing importance range (scores of 10 to 6).
Out of a total of 53 Persons in this group, 31 had high
clothing importance scores and only 22 had low clothing im-
portance scores (scores of h to 0), While only 10 of the 27
persons in the non-mobile group had high clothing importance
scores and 17 had low clothing importance scores. All 7
persons in the downward mobile group had low clothing im-
portance scores.

The reader will recall our previous note that the group
with Index ratings of 3h to A2 had the greatest prOportion

" e ‘
of persons who received high clothing importance scores

“’1

 

TABLE XIII

ASSOCIATION BETHEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing Occupational Mobilitya
Imgnggnce Upward No Downward
Mobile Mobility Mobile Totals
10 6 .. .. 6
8 8 2 .. lO
6 17 8 .. 2s
A 8 S 3 16
2 IO 8 3 21
0 A h 1 9
Totals 53 27 7 87b
SK?E 7°00 p AC..01 T = .28

 

 

a The first three rows and the last three rows, and the
second and third columns were collapsed in the compu-
tation of the chi square.

b One individual's occupational history was incomplete.

(9 received high scores, while only 3 received low scores).1
If this is considered, along with the fact that all 12 of

the persons in this group were upwardly mobile,2 we have a

 

1See su re, p. 39.

2See Appendix, Table XIX. Occupational mobility demon-
stratesra fair degree of association with the Index of Status
Characteristics (T = .h9, p,fi;.OOl).

6A

further corroboration of our hypothesis that those who have
been upwardly mobile will demonstrate a higher degree of
clothing importance than those who have either been non-

mobile or downwardly mobile.

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER V

CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION

Since status is said to be fundamentally a matter of
evaluative participation in local community life,1 no at-
tempt to explain clothing importance in terms of social
status differentials can be complete without some concrete
consideration of the range of social participation on the
part of the members of the community and some interpreta-
tion of the influence of that range on their estimates of
clothing importance.

Home economists at the Mississippi Agricultural Experi-
ment Station have employed social participation as a cri-
uterion for determining scientific minimum standards in
clothing.2 In this respect, clothing is considered as a
type of consumer-good "which is not primarily used for

3

'physical welfare', but rather for 'psycho-social welfare'".

 

1This is implicit in the employment of the Evaluated
Participation technique for investigating and measuring
social status. See W. L. Warner, M. Meeker, and K. Eells,

_2,2i£.. pp- 47-117.

2Dorothy Dickins, "Social Participation as a Criterion
for Determining Scientific Minimum Standards in Clothing,"
Rural Sociology, IX (December, 1944), 3Al-3A9. In this study,
the definition for a socially participating family was "at-
tendance at daytime preaching at least once a quarter during
the schedule year." (p. 3&5).

31bid., p. 3L8.

66

In demonstrating the utility of social participation as a
basis for setting clothing standards, these home economists
show that in their investigations, the majority of those
families with the lowest social participation were in the
group whose clothing supplies were ranked as minimum, While
those families with above average social participation were
also in the group Whose clothing supplies were ranked as
above average.1 In relation to this, Rosencranz, studying
the clothing interests of 180 women, demonstrates that the
range of the types of garments in an individual's wardrobe
is a sensitive indicator of that individual's interest in

2

clothing. The same study revealed a significant associ-

ation between degree of clothing interest and number of
associational memberships.
Warner and associates have demonstrated the relation-

3

ship between social status and the number of organizations

 

11bid., p. 3A5.

2Mary Lou Rosencranz, "A Study of Interest in Clothing
Among Selected Groups of Married and Unmarried Young Women,"
Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Textiles, Cloth-
ing, and Related Arts, Michigan State College. Interest in
clothing was defined "in terms of interest evidenced by time,
energ , money, thought, and attention given to clothing."

(p. 3 -

3For the purposes of exposition, social status will here
be considered as being synonomous with social class. Warner
has demonstrated that on the basis of the Index of Status
Characteristics alone (our measure of social status), the
social class of an individual can accurately be predicted.
See W. L. Warner, M. Meeker, and K. Eells, _p, git. Note
especially chapter xiii.

to which an individual belongs:

As the class rank increases, the proportion of its

members who belong to associations also increases;

and as the position of a class decreases the per-

centage if those who belong to associations de-

creases.
The relationship of social status with types of association-
al memberships and religious affiliation has also been veri-
fied.2 And finally, the initial analysis of the data of the
larger study seems to overwhelmingly corroborate the fact
that the number and variety of clothes possessed is related
to social status.

Since we have demonstrated the existence of a positive
relationship between social status and clothing importance
(third chapter), and since we know that social participation
is related to social class,3 we might also anticipate the
existence of a positive relationship between social partici-
pation and clothing importance.

In this thesis, we shall consider four social partici-

pation factors--membership in associations, officerships in

 

1W. L. Warner and Paul S. Lunt, The Social Life of a
Modern Community (New Haven: Yale University Press,—I9hl),

p. 329.

2Ibid., pp. 301-365. See also W. Lloyd Warner and Paul
S. Lunt, The Status System of a Modern Community (New Haven:
Yale University Press, I9h2).

 

3In this thesis, when.the four social participation
factors employed were associated with our measure of status,
the I.S.C., a statistically significant relationship was
demonstrated in each case. See Appendix, Tables XX, XXI,
XXII, and XXIII.

68

voluntary organizations, church attendance, and church
activity--and their relationship to our clothing importance
scale.

Memberships in organizations. Table XIV, summarizes
the relationship between scores received on the clothing
importance scale and the number of organizational member-
ships. The extremely low correlation of .08 is not statis-
tically significant. Since the probability that the two
variables were not significantly associated was less than
50 per cent and no less than to per cent, the null hypothesis
cannot be rejected. We wish here, to present a number of
pertinent observations concerning the relationship of the
two variables, but first, in order to simplify exposition,
it will be necessary to dichotomize the scale. Scores of
10 to 6 shall be referred to as high clothing importance,
while scores of h to 0 shall be referred to as low clothing
importance.

It is interesting to note that up to a point, the over-
all relationship between clothing importance and number of
organizational memberships is positive. Only 15 of those
individuals with either 0 or 1 organizational memberships
have scores within the high clothing importance range, while
nearly twice as many, 29, have scores which lie within the
low clothing importance range. On the other hand, 22 of

those individuals with 2 to h organizational memberships

69

TABLE XIV

ASSOCIATION BETUEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND MEMBERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS

 

 

 

 

Clothing Number of Organizational Memberships
Importance
Scale 0 1 2 3 u S 6 7 8 Totals
10 1 .. 3 .. 1 1 .. .. .. 6
8 2 3 3 1 .. .. .. l .. lO
6 6 3 Li 7 3 1 .. 1 .. 25’
A S S 1 1 .. 1 2 .. 1 16
2 5 8 2 l l 3 .. 1 l 22
o L; 2 1 1 1 .. .. .. .. 9

 

6 O 2 3 2 88
r u .08 p4fi_.50

Totals 23 21

i;

 

have scores within the high clothing importance range, while
only 9 have scores within the low clothing importance range.
However, from memberships in 5 or more organizations, the
relationship between the variables becomes negative. Only A
individuals with 5 to 8 organizational memberships have
scores which lie within the high clothing importance range,
whereas, more than twice as many, 9, have scores within the

1

low clothing importance range. Since we have seen that

 

1In Table XV, When the scale is collapsed into high
clothing importance and low clothing importance, and the

70

many high status individuals received medium, or even low
scores on the clothing importance scale,1 and since we know
that number of organizational memberships exhibits a fairly
high relationship to ratings on the Index of Status Char-
acteristics (r = .59,‘p‘fi_.OOl),2 this negative relationship
between 5 or more organizational memberships and clothing .
importance might have been anticipated.

We have observed, both in Goldwater and in other com-
munities of equivalent size, a tendency for persons of very
high status to avoid prominence in.respect to community
activity. These individuals can usually be relied upon to
help initiate community projects, such as welfare drives,
hospital funds, etc., but usually gravitate to an"honorary
membership" type of position, rather than participate in the
actual organization of these projects. On the other hand,
those individuals of slightly lower status, seem to be the
ones who not only initiate, but also organize and direct
such community activities. Furthermore, it would seem that
these "actives" are more often the office holders of the

medium to medium-high status associations of the community.

 

(l cont'd) number of organizational memberships is tri-
chotomized into 0, 1, and 2 or more organizational member-
ships, a statistically significant correlation of .23
(p4.05) is demonstrated.

1See p. 39.

2See Appendix, Table XX.

Or '10 (Ill! I'll-Ill all i! I .III I l

71

In this respect, social participation is looked upon as a
means of enhancing one's social honor, or prestige.l
Within the framework of the preceding empirical find-
ings and considerations, then, we anticipate the existence
of a higher degree of association between number of officer-
ships in voluntary organizations and clothing importance
than between number of organizational memberships and cloth-

ing importance.

Officerships in voluntary organizations. It is evident

 

from Table XV, that a substantially higher level of statis-
tical significance does exist in the relationship between
clothing importance and number of officerships in voluntary
organizations than.with clothing importance and number of
organizational memberships. Since the probability that the
variables were not associated was less than 5 per cent, but
greater than 2 per cent, the null hypothesis can be rejected.
Also, as anticipated above, with a positive correlation of
.27, there is a greater degree of association between number
of officerships in voluntary associations and clothing im-
portance than that of .08 between number of organizational

memberships and clothing importance.

 

1The above observation seems to be partially corroborat-
ed in view of our empirical finding that number of officer-
ships in voluntary organizations and ratings on the Index
demonstrate a statistically significant, but substantially
lower degree of relationship (r - .h7, p Afi_.001) than number
of organizational memberships and ratings on the Index
(r = .59,jp¢:_.001). See Appendix, Tables XX and XXI.

i. ll)!!! ..IIII III!!! i) 11". .Il'l. ll) ‘1. .l

72

TABLE XV

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE AND
OFFICERSHIPS IN VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing Number of Officerships
“ESE?” o 1 2 3 Not a
Member* Totals
10 2 2 l .. 1 6
8 5 l 2 .. 2 10
6 l7 .. 2 1 5 25
A ’ 5 S .. 1 5 16
2 13 3 1 .. S 22
o h .. 1 .. A 9
Totals A6 11 7 2 22 88

r = .27 ‘p‘fi_,05

* This column was not included in the computation of the
product-moment coefficient.

The medium-high status group has the greatest percentage
1
of persons who lie within the high clothing importance range,

and also has the greatest percentage of persons who have 1 or.

2

more officerships in voluntary organizations. Since a

 

1See Table IV. or the 12 individuals with ratings of
3A to #2 on the I.S.C., 9 have scores which lie within the
high clothing importance range, while only 3 have scores
which lie within the low clothing importance range.

2See Ap endix, Table XXI. or the 12 individuals with
ratings of 3 to A2 on the 150., only A have no officerships,
while 6 have officerships in l or more organizations. (Two
persons do not belong to any organizations).

all! ll .‘Ill! I'll! It.

73

statistically significant association exists between cloth-
ing importance and number of officerships in voluntary
organizations, it would seem that those who play an active
role in community life are also those who place a high

value upon clothing. In this respect, in Table XV, of the
22 individuals who have no organizational memberships, only
8 have scores which lie within the high clothing range,
while almost twice as many, 1h, have scores which lie within
the low clothing importance range.

Church attendance. Table XVI summarizes the relation-

 

ship between clothing importance and frequency of church
attendance. The persons placed in the occasional church
attendance category are those who attended church at least
once and less than 80 per cent of the Sundays within the
last six months immediately preceding the time of the inter-
view, while those placed in the regular church attendance
category attended church 80 per cent or more of the Sundays
during this period.

The association between the two variables is statis-
tically significant. Since the probability that the two
variables were not significantly associated was less than
5 per cent and no less than 2 per cent, the null hypothesis
can be rejected. Although the degree of relationship be-
tween the two variables is fairly low (T = .22), the over-
all relationship is positive. The regular church attendance

Y

group has the greatest percentage of persons who lie within

7h

TABLE XVI

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND CHURCH ATTENDANCE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing Frequency of Church Attendance
Imggifggce None Occasional Regular Totals
10 3 2 1 6
8 3 3 3 9
6 12 3 10 25
1L 9 S 2 16
2 13 6 3 22
0 5 3 1 9
Totals us 22 20 87b

in»: 6.13 p z. .05 T = .22

 

a In the computation of the chi square, the first three
and last three rows were collapsed.

b One individual failed to respond to this item.

the high clothing importance range. Of the 20 persons in
this group, 1h received high clothing importance scores,
while only 6 have scores Which lie within the low clothing
range. On the other hand, of the 67 persons in the none and
occasional church attendance groups, only 26 have scores
which lie within the high clothing importance range, while
kl have scores which lie within the low clothing importance

75

range. In general, then, persons who attend church services
rather regularly, are more likely to receive high scores on
the clothing importance scale.

These findings augment the previously cited work of
the Home Economists at the Mississippi Experiment Station
in their employment of social participation as a criterion
for determining scientific minimum standards in clothing,
since social participation was defined in terms of frequency
of church attendance.1 Furthermore, since these Home Econo-
mists demonstrate a positive relationship between frequency
of church attendance and clothing supplies, these "high
clothing importance" regular church goers are probably also
the ones who possess the greatest number and variety of
clothing.

Church Activity. Table XVII, summarizes the relation-

 

ship between clothing importance and our final social
participation factor, extent of church activity. The persons
placed in the nominal church activity category are those who
belonged to a church, but who demonstrated little partici-
pation in church activities. Those persons placed in the
active church activity category are those Who actively
participated in church activities (at least regular church
goers), and those who usually had some official position in

the church.

 

1See suora, p. 65.

*

76

TABLE XVII

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLOTHING IMPORTANCE
AND EXTENT OF CHURCH ACTIVITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing Extent of Church Activity
Importance
Scalea NO Church Nominal
Activity Activity Active Totals
10 .. 5 1 6
8 3 3 3 9
6 10 S 10 25
u 8 6 2 16
2 10 8 22
0 u 1+ 1 9
Totals 35 31 21 87b
1’: 14.083 IDA-10 T = 020

 

a In the computation of the chi square, the first three
and last three rows were collapsed.

b One individual failed to respond to this item.

The association between clothing importance and extent
of church activity is not statistically significant. Since
the probability that the two variables were not significantly
associated was less than 10 per cent and no less than 5 per
cent, we cannot reject the null hypothesis. Although the
degree of relationship between.the variables is fairly low

(T = .20), the over-all relationship is positive. Of the 21

77

persons in the active church activity group, 14 received
high clothing importance scores, while half as many, 7,
received low clothing importance scores. However, only 26
of the 66 persons in the no church activity and nominal
church activity groups received high clothing importance
scores, while ho received low clothing importance scores.

The degree of relationship between the extent of church
activity and clothing importance (T = .20) is about the same
as that between frequency of church attendance and clothing
importance (T : .22). This might have been anticipated,
since frequency of church attendance and extent of church
activity are not mutually exclusive items. An individual
who holds some official church position is usually one Who
attends church regularly. Moreover, both frequency of
church attendance and extent of church activity demonstrate
close to the same degree of association with ratings on the
Index of Status Characteristics (T = .28, p;fiL.Ol, and
T : .32, p‘fi;.01 reapectively).l

It would be of interest to compare the clothing im-
portance scores of those who were active church members and

who usually had some official church position, with those

who were active, but who did not usually hold some official

 

1See Appendix, Tables XXII and XXIII. Number of organi-
zational memberships and number of officerships in voluntary
organizations both, demonstrate a considerably greater de-
gree of relationshi with ratings on the I.S.C. (r s .59,
p4fi..OOl, and r 3 .EB, p‘fi;.OOl, respectively).

78

church position. The implication here being that the

former group, demonstrating the greatest degree of partici-
pation, would also have the greatest percentage of individuals
with high clothing importance scores. Sines there were
relatively few individuals in either one of these two groups,
it was necessary to amalgamate both of them in an "active
church activity" category in order to compute the statisti-
cal significance of the variables. If we set aside consider-
ation of statistical significance, an examination of the two
groups before amalgamation reveals a relationship which is

in the direction of our hypothesis that those who demonstrate
a greater degree of social participation will also demon-
strate a higher degree of clothing importance. Of those ll
individuals who were active church members and who usually
held some official position in the church, 8 had high cloth-
ing importance scores, while nearly a third as many, 3, had
low clothing importance scores. In comparison with this,

of the 10 individuals Who were active church members, but

who did not usually hold some official church position, 6
had high clothing importance scores, While u had low clothing
importance scores. The former group, the officials of the
church, has the greater proportion of individuals with high

clothing importance scores.

79

Summary

The intimate association between social status and
social participation was established.

In our findings, all of the social participation factors
employed, number of organizational memberships, number of
officerships in voluntary organizations, frequency of church
attendance, and extent of church activity, demonstrated a
positive relationship with.the clothing importance scale.
Number of officerships in voluntary organizations exhibited
the greatest degree of association with the clothing im-
portance scale (r s .27, p‘g;.05). Frequency of church
attendance demonstrated a slightly lower degree of associ-
ation with the clothing importance scale (T = .22, p,¢;.OS).
Extent of church activity demonstrated a T of .20 (pzfi;.lO)
with clothing importance, and number of organizational
memberships exhibited a low r of .08 (pԤ;.SO) with clothing
importance.

A number of interrelated observations were made which
may aid in the explanation of the substantially lower degree
of association which existed between number of organizational
memberships and clothing importance (r = .08, péfi;.SO) than
between clothing importance and number of officerships in
voluntary organizations (r = .27, p¢fi:.OS). We observed
that the highest status individuals tended to avoid active

officerships, whereas, those of slightly lower status seemed

80

to "pursue" officerships. We observed also that the
individuals with the highest status ratings received medium,
or even low clothing importance scores, while individuals
with slightly lower status ratings tended to receive high
clothing importance scores. In the light of these observa-
tions and findings, we decided that a lower degree of re-
lationship between number of organizational memberships and
clothing importance could be anticipated than that between
number of officerships in voluntary organizations and cloth-
ing importance.

In conclusion, and with our perspective on the meaning
of statistical significance in mind,1 the hypothesis that
those who demonstrate a greater degree of social participa-
tion will also demonstrate a higher degree of clothing im-

portance, can be accepted.

 

lSee supra, pp. 56-57.

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VI

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

In this thesis, we have attempted to explain differ-
ences in a clothing attitude--the importance of clothing--
within a sociological frame of reference. More specifi-
cally, we have attempted to explain differences in personal
estimates of clothing importance in terms of differences of
positions in a scale of social stratification, and also in
terms of two other aspects of stratification, differences
in vertical social mobility, and differences in.the degree
of social participation.

Three focal hypotheses guided the study:

1) Personal estimates of clothing importance will be

related to social status.

2) Personal estimates of clothing importance will be

related to vertical social mObility.

3) Personal estimates of clothing importance will be

related to social participation.

A Guttman type, unidimensional attitude scale was de-
veloped in order to measure the dependent variable, vari-
ations in personal estimates of clothing importance. A

limitation of this type of scale, i.e., the possibility of

82

overlooking or losing pertinent qualitative sociological
information was recognized.

The hypothesis that personal estimates of clothing im-
portance will be related to social status was considered
first. A modified version of Warner's Index of Status
Characteristics was employed as an indicator of social status
and correlated with the scores on the Guttman type clothing
importance scale. Each component of the Index, occupational
status, source of income, and house type along with two
other conventional indices of status, amount of income and
amount of education, were also correlated with scores on
the clothing importance scale. The chi square test was em-
ployed to determine the statistical significance between
clothing importance scores and a final indicator of status
based upon Alba Edwards' Occupational Groups.

In our findings, all of the above indices of status
demonstrated a positive relationship with the clothing im-

portance scale. Occupational status and source of income

Hfi—fl «4————‘-‘~~-—-——~— __.
fl. ...- _._ -—._._.... _—- ._,‘_———-_..___.. _.______

showed the greatest degree of relationship with the clothing

”Xv

 

 

__ h“ __’I. “M‘— k

\_importangg\§calenLrggx.}2 p‘4;.001). The Index of Status

 

Characteristics demonstrated a slightly lower degree of re-
lationship with the clothing importance scale (r u .25,
p‘<;.02). The low degree of relationship between house
type (believed to be the least reliable of all the indices

of status employed) and the clothing importance scale

83

(r z .12, p‘é:.30) served to lower the over-all degree of
relationship between the total Index and the clothing im-
portance scale.l Income demonstrated a .17 (p4fi:.2O) cor-
‘relation with the clothing importance scale, occupational
groups a T of .17 (pgfi;.20), and grade completed an r of .12
(p430).

In the light of our empirical findings, and considering
our perspective on the meaning of statistical significance,
i.e., that small differences which are prevailingly in the
same direction are of statistical consequence, the hypothe-
sis that the degree of importance which a person places upon
clothing will be related to that individual's social status.
was accepted.

One exception to this general hypothesis was evident.
We observed that those in the medium-high status group had
the greatest proportion of persons who had received high
clothing importance scores, While clothing seemed to decrease
in importance for those in the highest status categories.
Several explanations for this phenomenon were offered:

1) The responses of individuals from the highest status
levels were often based upon specific projected
situations, i.e., parties, picnics, business meet-
ings, etc., and consequently, were given medium, or

even low ratings by the judges.

8L1

2) These high status individuals may have already
attained their status goals, or more likely, may
have inherited their high status positions. There-
fore, clothing as a symbol of success or as a means
to a higher status goal is of little consequence in
the social life of these people. On the other hand,
those individuals of slightly lower status may not
have reached their status goals. These persons are
probably anxious to sever ties with peers and estab-
lish new ties with superordinates. In order to be
identified as a higher status member, it is neces-
sary to manipulate and incorporate the symbols which
differentiate this Strata. In this respect, cloth-
ing is an important manipulative device which can
be employed in impressing one's social worth upon

others.

3) The mass production of clothing has probably decreas-
ed its value as a status symbol for persons of high
status, and that more emphasis has been placed upon
such symbols as birth, inheritance, and "culture"
for communicating their status to others.

The second hypothesis, that personal estimates of cloth-

ing importance will be related to vertical social mobility,
was then considered. Social mobility was defined in terms

of a single dimension--occupational mobility. A chi square

85

test was employed to determine the statistical significance
between occupational mobility and our prime indicator of
status, the Index of Status Characteristics.

The over-all relationship between occupational mobility
and the Index was positive and the variables demonstrated
a T of .28 (p4.01). The hypothesis that those who have
been upwardly mobile will demonstrate a higher degree of
clothing importance than those Who have either been non-
mobile or downwardly mobile was corroborated.

The third hypothesis, that personal estimates of cloth-
ing importance will be related to social participation, was
considered next. Four social participation factors--member-
ship in associations, officerships in voluntary organiza-
tions, church attendance, and church activity-~and their
relationship to the clothing importance scale were examined.

In our findings, all of the social participation factors
employed demonstrated a positive relationship with the cloth-
ing importance scale. Number of officerships in voluntary
organizations exhibited the greatest degree of association
with the clothing importance scale (r a .27, p4fi_.05).
Frequency of church attendance demonstrated a slightly lower
degree of association with the clothing importance scale
(T : .22, p‘4:.05). Extent of church activity demonstrated
a T of .20 (p‘fi;.10) with clothing importance, and number of

organizational memberships exhibited a low r of .08 (pzfi;.SO).

86

We observed that there was a tendency for persons of
very high status to avoid prominence in respect to community
activity. On the other hand, the strivers, those with slight-
ly less status seemed to "pursue" active officerships. We
observed also that these medium-high status persons tended
to receive high clothing importance scores, while those with
the highest status ratings received medium or even low cloth-
ing importance scores. We decided, therefore, that a lower
degree of relationship between number of organizational
.memberships and clothing importance could have been antici-
pated than that between number of officerships in voluntary
organizations and clothing importance. The hypothesis, that
those who demonstrate a greater degree of social partici-
pation will also demonstrate a higher degree of clothing im-
portance, was accepted.

The three focal hypotheses mentioned above were treated
individually to facilitate testing and presentation. They
were not meant to be considered mutually independent, since
we have demonstrated that both social participation and
social mobility are related to social status and actually
might be considered aspects of social status. Since the
first hypothesis that personal estimates of clothing im-
portance would be related to social status was corroborated,
we might have anticipated the positive relationship of cloth-

ing importance to social mobility and social participation.

87

The fact that social mobility and social participation did
demonstrate an empiric relationship to clothing importance

reinforces the finding that clothing importance is positive-
ly related to social status.

LI TERATURE CI TED

LITERATURE CITED

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Bogardus, E. S.
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Chaoin, F. Stuart
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Cooley, C. H.
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Davis, A., Gardner, B. B., and Gardner, M. R.

 

 

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Linton, Ralph
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89

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Parsons, Talcott
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1929 Social Psychology, New York: The Macmillan
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Silverman, Sylvia S.
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19kt Statistical Methods: Applied to EXperiments in
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Spencer, Herbert

 

1895 The Principles of Sociology, New York: D. Appleton
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90

Warner, W. Lloyd and Associates
1919 Democracy in Jonesville, New York: Harper and
Brothers.

 

Yule, G. Udny and Kendall, M. G.
l9h9 An Introduction to the Theory of Statistics,
London: Charles Griffin and Company, Limited,
thirteenth Ed. Revised.

Articles

 

"Barber, B. and Lobel, L. S.
1952 "'Fashion' in Women's Clothes and the American
Social System," Social Forces, Vol. XXXI, No. 6,
December, 1952, pp. 124-131.

 

Barr E.
193a“ D"A Psychological Analysis of Fashion Motivation,"
Archives of Psychology, Vol. XXVI, No. 171, June,

 

— Dickins, Dorothy
l9hh "Social Participation as a Criterion For Determin-
ing Scientific Minimum Standards in Clothing,"
Rural Sociology, Vol. IX, December, pp. 3hl-3h9.

 

“Ellis, Evelyn
1952

V

'Social Psychological Correlates of Upward Social
Mobility Among Unmarried Career F.0men, " American
Sociological Review, Vol. XVII, No. 5, October,

pp. 558-563-

Festinger, Leon
19h? "The Treatment of Qualitative Data by Scale
Analysis," Psychological Bulletin, Vol. XLIV

 

“'Flaccus, Louis W.
1906 "Remarks on the Psychology of Clothes
Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. XIII, pp. 61-83.

«Goffman, Erving
1951 "Symbols of ClaSs Status," British Journal of I
Sociology, Vol. II, December, pp. 29h- 30h.

 

Gordon, Milton M.

19k? "Kitty Foyle and the Concept of Class as Culture,"
American qurnal of Sociology, Vol. LIII, November,
pp. 210-2170

91

Guttman, Louis

19th

"A Basis for Scaling Qualitative Data," American
Sociological Review, Vol. IX, pp. 139-1 0.

 

 

lth

"The Cornell Technique for Scale and Intensity
Analysis," Educational and Psychological Measure-
ment, Vol. XII, pp. 2&7-279

 

- Hall, G. Stanley

1897-98

"Some Aspects of the Early Sense of Self,"
American Journal of Ppychology, Vol. IX, pp. 351-

395-

'Hatt, Paul K.

 

 

 

1950 "Stratification in Mass Society," American Socio-
logical Review, Vol. XV, April, 1950, pp. 216-227.
‘ 1950 "w"Occupation and Social Stratification," American

Journal of Sociology, Vol. LV, No. 6, May.

‘ Hurlock, Elizabeth B.

1929

"Motivation in Fashion," Archives of Psychology,
No. 111.

 

‘ North, C. C. and Hatt, P. K.

19A9

"Jobs and Occupations: A Popular Evaluation," in
L. Wilson and W. A. Kolb, SociologicaI Analysis,
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.

 

‘ Parsons, Talcott

194A

"An Analytical Approach to the Theory of Socio-
logical Stratification," American Journal of
Sociology Vol. XLV, No. 6, May, pp. 841-862.

 

Peters, Charles C.

1933-3u

Pfautz, H.
1950

Sapir, E.

1937

"Note on a Misconception of Statistical Signifi-
cance," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. XXXIX,
JUly-May, pp. 231-2360

 

T. and Duncan, 0. D.

"A Critical Evaluation of Warner's Work in Com-
munity Stratification," American Sociological
Review, Vol. XV, April, pp. 205:215.

 

"Fashion," Enoyclopedia of the Social Sciences,
Vol. V and VI combined, pp. 139-1AH.

 

 

92

Stone, G. P. and Form, W. H.
"Instabilities in Status; The Problem of

1953
Hierarchy in the Community Study of Status
Arrangements," American Sociological Review,

Vol. XVIII, April, pp. 1h9-162.

Public Documents

Edwards, Alba M.
Alphabetical Index of Occupations, Washington:

1937
United States Government Printing Office.

Unpublished Material

Rosencranz, Mary Lou
19h8 "A Study of Interest in Clothing Among Selected
Groups of Married and Unmarried Young Women,"
Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Textiles,
Clothing, and Related Arts, Michigan State College.

L/

Stone, Gregory P.
1953 "Clothing and Social Structure: A Study of
Expressive Symbols in Community Life," Unpublished

Manuscript, Department of Sociology and Anthro-
pology, Michigan State College.

APPENDIX

TABLES REFERRED TO,
BUT NOT INCLUDED, IN TEXT

9A

TABLE XIX

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RATINGS ON THE INDEX OF STATUS
CHARACTERISTICS AND OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Occupa- Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristicsa
tional
16 25 A A3 52 61 70 Totals
Mobility 2A 33 i2 51 60 69 78
Upward
Mobile 5 7 12 12 12 5 .. 53
No
Mobility 1 1 .. 2 9 9 S 27
Downward
Ito-bile o o o o o o 2 o o 2 3 7
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 lo 8 87b
”)~
:{,= 20.93 pgfi_.OOl T 3 .A9

 

a The second and third rows, and the first four columns
and the last three columns were collapsed in the com-
putation of the chi square.

h One individual's occupational history was incomplete.

95

TABLE XX

)
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RATINGS ON THE INDEX OF STATUS
CHARACTERISTICS AND MEMBERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

Number of Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristics
Ofigigiigiiggal g: 3% fig 5T £3 2; 38 Totals
0 .. 1 2 3 9 7 l 23
l .. .. .. 3 o 8 A 21
2 .. l A A 3 .. 2 1A
3 l 2 2 2 2 2 .. 11
A .. 1 3 2 .. .. .. o
5 l 3 .. l .. .. 1 o
o .. .. 1 .. 1 .. .. 2
7 2 .. .. l .. .. .. 3
8 2 .. .. .. .. .. .. 2
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 1] 8 88

 

 

r = .59 ‘p¢fi_.001

 

TABLE XXI

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RATINGS ON THE INDEX OF STATUS
NARACTERISTICS AND OFFICERSHIPS IN
VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS

__

 

Number Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristics

0f 16 25 52 61 7o
Officerships 24 33 fig 5T 60 69 78 Totals

 

 

 

o A A A 7 10 11 o A6
1 1 1 A 3 2 .. .. 11
2 l 2 l 2 .. .. 1 7
3 .. .. 1 1 .. .. .. 2
Not a member" .w 1 2 3 9 6 1 22
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 17 8 88
r = .A7 p4£;.001

 

‘X

- This row was not included in the computation of the
product-moment coefficient.

 

97

TABLE XXII

ASSOCIATION BETJEEN RATINGS ON THE INDEX OF STATUS
CHARACTERISTICS AND CHURCH ATTENDANCE

 

 

ChUPCh Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristicsa

 

 

 

 

Attendance :3 g; 3% %% a3 2% $8 Tetals
None 1 2 6 6 12 13 5 A5
Occasional A 2 3 7 A 2 .. 22
Regular 1 A 3 3 5 2 2 20
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 17 7 87b
1°2- 9.6A pL.Ol T = .28-

 

a In the computation of the chi square, the first four
columns and the last three columns were collapsed.

b One individual failed to respond to the church attend-
ance item.

 

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RATINGS

TABLE XXIII

ON’THE

98

INDEX OF STATUS

CHARACTERISTICS AND EXTENT OF CHURCH ACTIVITY

 

 

Extent Ratings on the Index of Status Characteristicsa

 

of Church

 

 

 

16 25 3A A3 52 61 70
Activity 2A 33 #2 51 60 69 78 Totals
No Church
Activity .. .. A 5 10 11 5 35
Nominal
Activity 5 A A 8 6 .. 31
Active 1 A A 3 5 2 2 21
Totals 6 8 12 16 21 17 7 87b
1"; 12.51 p4.01 T 3 .32

 

a In the computation of the chi square, the first four
columns and the last three columns were collapsed.

b One individual failed to respond to the church activity

items

 

TABLE XXIV

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL STATUS
AND SOURCE OF INCOME

 

 

Occupa- Ratings on Source of Income

 

tional
Ratings 2 2.5 3 3.5 A A.5 5 5.5 Totals

 

1 1 3 1 2 .. .. .. .. 7
2 2 .. 3 2 3 .. .. .. 10
3 2 .. 2 .. .. .. .. 8
A 1 .. 3 1 10 .. 5 .. 2o
5 .. .. .. 1 5 1 16 .. 23
6 .. .. .. .. l .. 10 .. 11
7 .. .. .. .. 1 .. 6 2 9

 

Totals 6 3 9 6 2A 1 37 2 88

 

r = 076 IDA-.001

 

TABLE XXV

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL STATUS
AND AMOUNT OF INCOME

lOO

 

 

Amount of Income

 

 

 

Occupa-
thifizi 1183330 332333111332 999 A1282 i222
l 5 . . 2 . . . . . . 7
2 A 3 . . . . 1 10
3 . . 2 . . . . . . 8
A . . 3 10 5 2 . . 2o
5 . . A 1A A 1 . . 23
6 . . . . 5 2 A . . 11
7 . . . . . . 6 2 1 9
Totals 9 12 39 17 9 2 88

 

.611 p4 .001

1"

 

 

101

TABLE XXVI

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SOURCE OF INCOME
AND AMOUNT OF INCOME

 

 

Source of Amount of Income

Income Plus ‘“9 999 MA 999 >2: 999 $1,999 T9999 T t 1
Ratings 310, 000 35,000 33,000 32, 000 31,000 less 0 a 3

 

 

2 3 2 .. .. .1 .. 6
2.5 3 .. .. .. .. .. 3
3 2 2 3 1 1 .. 9
3.5 l l .. .. .. 6
A .. 3 15 5 .. 1 2A
A.5 .. 1 .. .. .. .. 1
_5 .. 3 17 11 6 .. 37
5.5 .. .. .. .. 1 1 2
Totals 9 12 39 17 9 2 88

 

I' I 058 134.001

 

A“ Mi D‘R‘Ih.-