“was $09 We Degree of M. A. MICHIGAN STATE UNWERSYYY ndley Winifred Sue Hu 1967 5 Michigan Stu. E \‘i‘l. \.. “iris! .I..\\|\\\_ \\ \ \I‘I‘u\l .|\\\.\|. .|\\u\\.| \\ 8 9 6 2 $1M JL . \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 31 vv.‘ A.‘(~«‘ ABSTRACT THE RELATIONSHIP OF CLOTHING TO SOCIAL CLASS, HIGH SCHOOL POSITION AND STATUS INCONSISTBNCY OF ADOLESCENT BOYS AND GIRLS by Winifred Sue Hundley The concern of this study was to investigate the ways specific clothing was related to a student's social class position, his high school position, and the incon- sistency or discrepancy between social class and high school status. Respondents in the study included 251 boys and 270 girls, grades ten through twelve, from a midwestern high school. The school was the only one in the county and represented a community having a variety of occupations closely representative of the United States. The data were obtained by a questionnaire adminis- tered on two consecutive Mondays in the Fall of 1966. The questionnaire, designed for a larger project of which this analysis is a part, consisted of questions concerning (1) biographical background of the student and family, (2) social participation in the school, (3) acceptance by peers, (4) concern for the body, (5) self concept and self esteem, and (6) appearance and clothing uses. Additional informa- tion was obtained from the high school honor roll. The Winifred Sue Hundley present study was concerned with the variables of social class background of the family, the social participation in the high school, peer acceptance in school, academic achievement, and specific clothing uses and concerns. The data revealed that girls had higher mean scores on each of the eight aspects of clothing which indicates that boys were less concerned than girls in the use of clothing and that attitudes toward clothing vary with sex. However, the clothing measure may have been culturally biased in favor of girls. Comparison of mean scores on the clothing aspects revealed that concern for aesthetics in dress ranked first for both boys and girls. This find- ing supports the results of other investigators using older populations. For girls, the interest, management and mod- esty aspects ranked second, third, and fourth respectively. The use of clothing to gain special attention ranked last in importance for the girls. The use of clothing to achieve comfort and social approval was fifth and sixth in impor- tance while psychological dependence, not used in the pres- ent study, ranked fifth in importance for both boys and girls. For boys the concern for management and comfort in clothing and use of clothing to achieve social approval ranked second, third,and fourth respectively. Interest in clothing was last in importance, while modesty and clothing to gain special attention were sixth and seventh. Winifred Sue Hundley Social class using the Hollingshead's method was significantly related to a student's high school position. This finding supports Hollingshead's hypothesis that the social behavior of high school students appears to be func- tionally related to social positions occupied by the family. However, social class was significantly related only to the concern for management in clothing for girls and no significant relationships existed between social class and clothing for boys. This study, therefore, indicates that social class was not functionally related directly to most aspects of clothing in the high school. The high school position obtained by a composite index of social participation in school activities, peer acceptance scores, and academic achievement, was related significantly with more clothing variables than social class position. Significant positive relationships exist- ed between high school position and aesthetics in dress for both boys and girls and between high school position and concern for modesty, interest, and management in cloth— ing, and use of clothing to achieve comfort for girls. These findings indicate that the adolescent subculture in the school influenced clothing more than the family's so- cial class position. Status inconsistency was the discrepancy between social class position and high school position. The find— ings revealed that boys and girls who have a social class Winifred Sue Hundley position higher than their high school position were less concerned with modesty in dress. Furthermore, girls were less concerned with interest and aesthetics in dress and the use of clothing to achieve comfort if their social class position was higher than their high school position. And conversely, those inconsistent people whose social class was lower than their position in the high school were more concerned with the aesthetics, comfort, modesty, and inter- est aspects of clothing. The findings indicate that clothing was more cru- cial in attaining and keeping a high school position but of little apparent value in maintaining the social class position of the family. The results also show that the importance of family social class position was not very great, if at all important, in determining the specific use of clothing of adolescent boys and girls. A much more important variable useful in predicting clothing concerns of adolescents was the student's position in the high school. Although only three of the 21 hypotheses were sup— ported in the present study, many of the predictions were logically made since no previous studies existed to provide a foundation from which to hypothesize. This study should serve as a foundation for further research. THE RELATIONSHIP OF CLOTHING TO SOCIAL CLASS, HIGH SCHOOL POSITION AND STATUS INCONSISTENCY OF ADOLESCENT BOYS AND GIRLS BY Winifred Sue Hundley A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Textiles, Clothing and Related Arts 1967 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express her gratitude and ap- preciation to her advisor, Dr. Anna Creekmore, for her guidance, encouragement,and interest throughout the re- search project; to Dr. Mary Gephart, Dr. Joanne Eicher,and Dr. Elinor Nugent, members of her committee, for their constructive criticisms and interest; to Dr. Francis Magrabi for her assistance with programming; to other researchers of the larger project, Carolyn Andree Humphrey, Mary Klaasen, and Mary Jane Young, for their enthusiasm and moral support; to the superintendent, principal, and especially the vice- principal and students of the research site for their co- operation and participation; but most of all to my devoted husband, Jim, for his criticisms, suggestions, patience, and loving encouragement. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES O O O O O O O O O 0 Chapter I. II. III. IV. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . REVIEW OF LITERATURE. . . Social Stratification . Subculture Status Inconsistency. . Social Class and Clothing Clothing. . . . . . . . STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM. Definition of Terms . . Assumptions . . . . . . Hypotheses. . . . . . . PROCEDURE 0 O O O O O O 0 Description of Community. Selection of Subjects . in a High School. Development of the Instruments. Collection of Data. . . Analysis of Data. . . . Limitations of the Study. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION . Description of Subjects Social Class. . . . High School Position. ClOthingo O O O O O O 0 Status Inconsistency. . O O O O 0 Social Class and High School Position Social Class and Clothing . High School Position and Clothing . Status Inconsistency and Clothing iii 0 0 O O O Page ii 12 13 22 25 25 27 27 29 29 31 31 39 39 4O 41 41 43 45 48 54 55 57 59 63 Chapter VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Recommendations for Future Research BIBLIOGRAPHY. APPENDIX APPENDIX A. B. iv Page 66 75 78 85 9O 10. LIST OF TABLES Distribution of Boys and Girls According to Grade Level 0 C O O O O O O O O O O I O O I 0 Distribution of Boys and Girls by Age . . . . . Distribution of Boys and Girls According to Educational Level of Main Financial Con- tribu tor O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Distribution of Boys and Girls According to Social Class Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Boys and Girls on Indices of Honor Roll, Peer Acceptance, Social Partici— pation,and High School Position . . . . . . . Distribution of Boys and Girls According to High School Position. . . . . . . . . . . . . Comparison of Mean Score Ranks for the Clothing Aspects for Boys and Girls. . . . . . . . . . The Relationship of Status Inconsistency to Social Class and High School Position for Adolescent Boys and Girls . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Boys and Girls by Social Class and High School Position. . . . . . . . . . . The Relationships of Social Class, High School Position,and Status Inconsistency to Specific Clothing Behaviors of Adolescent Boys and Girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 42 42 44 45 46 47 49 55 56 S9 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Sociologists studying social structures in our society have classified the family's social class posi- tion on the basis of uniformity of background and expe— riences. Families in a given stratification level tend to share similar values, attitudes, and styles of life and are differentiated from other levels in their ways of perceiving things, consumption patterns, and posses- sions.l’2 Clothing, one of the most visible and personal of man's possessions, has been found to reflect social 1Harold M. Hodges, Social Stratification: Class in America (Massachusetts: Schenkman Publishing Co., Inc., 19647, p. 441. 2From Max Weber, Essays in Sociology, trans. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (New York: Oxford University Press, 1946), pp. 186-93. class position and its differentiating life styles.l’2’3’4 Several studies investigating the general importance of clothing have related clothing and social class position for teenagers as well. The teenager today is placed by sociologists in the social class level of his parents. But there are in- dications that adolescents construct their own status sys- tem in which there are distinct norms, values, attitudes, 5’6 Because of technological developments and expectations. and specialization in a modern society, the adolescent spends a longer training period in school with members lBernard Barber and Lyle S. Lobel, “Fashion in Women's Clothes and the American Social System,“ Class, Status, Power, ed. Reinhard Bendix and Seymour M. Lipset (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1963), pp. 323-32. 2Gregory P. Stone and William H. Form, Clothing Inventories and Preferences Amonngural and Urban Families ‘(Michigan State College, Agricultural Experiment Station, 246, 1955). 3Mary L. Rosencranz, "The Application of a Projec- tive Technique for Analyzing Clothing Awareness, Clothing Symbols, and Range of Themes Associated with Clothing Be- havior" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1960). 4Mary L. Rosencranz, "A Study of Interest of Cloth- ing Among Selected Groups of Married and Unmarried Young Women” (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State Col— lege, 1948 . 5James 3. Coleman, The Adolescent Society (The Free Press of Glencoe, 19617? 6C. Wayne Gordon, The Social System of the High, School (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1957). of his own youth group. From interaction within the youth group, the adolescent finds himself in a status system of his peers where acceptance is of great importance. Social acceptability by peers is influenced by the degree of con- formity the adolescent makes to the patterns and value sys— tem of the group with which he wishes to identify.1 Studies of high school systems have shown that the position in the high school system is multi—dimensional and that certain behaviors are expected by different positions in this sys- tem.2’3’4 An individual's rank on status dimensions, whether social class or high school status, control, in part, a person's expectation of others, of himself, and what others expect of him. Although the adolescent is more peer-ori- ented, he is still dependent upon his family. He may find a conflict between the family's expectations, actions ap- propriate to social class position and peer expectations, those appropriate for his high school position. Such a conflict of expectations or inconsistency of statuses may 1Elizabeth Hurlock, Develo mental Ps cholo (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 2d Ed., 1959), pp. 285, 290. 2 Coleman. 3Gordon. 4Noel S. Moore, "Status Criteria and Status Vari- ables in an Adolescent Group" (unpublished Ph.D. disserta- tion, Wayne State University, 1967). J a. _-.~W.Q”Mum - ‘ M . van-‘1‘” W M K‘ I... AVA—3 a“... . ...-. ," iaffect the adolescent's clothing behaviors. L, of specific uses of clothing behaviors to social class for Very few studies have investigated the relationship adolescents. The concerns of this study are with the ways clothing is related to students' social class position, high school position, and inconsistency of statuses between the social class position and the high school position. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE The socio-psychological theories and research per— tinent to the study will be discussed under the following topics: (1) social stratification, (2) sub-culture in a high school, and (3) status inconsistency. The review will also include clothing and its relationship to social class and other sociological variables. Social Stratification Social stratification has been conceptualized in many ways, but sociologists have yet to agree upon the ex- act nature of the social class system in America. However, most writers do agree that the concept of social stratifi- cation involves a relative ordering of people along some value hierarchy1 and that all complex societies are lHarold Pfautz, "The Current Literature on Social Stratification: Critique and Bibliography," American Journal of Sociology, LVIII (Jan., 1953), pp. 391-41 . stratified.l’2’3’4 Max Weber explained the intricacies of stratifica- tion as a multidimensional conceptualization of class, stat- us, and power.5 The term social class, used by many cur- rent social scientists, fuses two of Weber's dimensions into a single concept.6 Hodges states, These 1evels--socia1 c1asses—-are the blended prod- uct of shared and analogous occupational orienta- tions, educational backgrounds, economic wherewithal, and life experiences. Persons occupying a given level need not be conscious of their class identity. But because of their approximate uniform backgrounds and experiences, and because they grew up perceiving or "looking at things" in similar ways, they will share comparable values, attitudes, and life styles. Each of these likenesses will be reinforced in turn by cliques, work, and friendship ties which are lim- ited, in the main, to persons occupying the same class level. According to Weber, status groups become associated with lBernard Barber, Social Stratification (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1957), p. 12. 2Joseph A. Kahl, The American Class Structure (New York: Rinehart Co., 19577: p. 12. 3W. Lloyd Warner et al., Social Class in America (Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith, 19577, p. 3. 4Harold M. Hodges, Social Stratification: Class in America (Massachusetts: Schenkman Publishing Co., Inc., 1964), p. 1. 5From Max Weber, Essays in Sociology, trans. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (New York: Oxford University Press, 1946), pp. 186-93. 6Don Martindale, American Social Structure (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 19607, p. 450. 7Hodges, p. 2. differentiating styles of life.1 Similarly, Parsons stresses the dimension of symbolic activities or possessions as an indicator of social class position. He says, A fundamental part is played in stratification sys— tems by the expressive "style of life" symbolism which is integrated with the various status cate- gories, and this is one of the most important fields of the functions of possessions. It is implicit in the whole theory of action that objects of con— summatory gratification shade into symbols of status. The theory of a meaningful correspondence between the esti- mated class status and social behavior was supported by Hollingshead who has characterized the American social structure by a two factor index of occupation and educa- tion.3’4 Subculture in a High School. The family is the primary agent of socialization in early childhood by virtue of close contact and interac- tion among its members. Today, in a more complex urban society, much of the socialization of children and lWeber, pp. 186-93. 2Talcott Parsons, “Revised Analytical Approach to the Theory of Social Stratification," Class, Status, Power, ed. Reinhard Bendix and Seymour Lipset7TGlencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1963), p. 105. 3August B. Hollingshead and Fredrich C. Redlich, Social Class and Mental Illness (New York: John Wiley and sons, Inc. , 195m , pp. 66-67. 4August B. Hollingshead, Two Factor Index of Social Position (New Haven, Connecticut: c-l957). adolescents is being supplemented by other institutions, particularly the school. With emphasis upon individual initiative and vertical mobility, an occupational choice is made by the individual rather than his taking the same I job as parents. New technological advances and speciali— zation require longer training periods, resulting in the individual being in school for a longer period of time. The adolescent thus finds himself in more interactional situations outside the home which influence his values, attitudes, activities,and norms. His reference groups broaden; there is a shift from adult-centered to peer- centered frames of reference. Thus, the adolescent finds himself redefining roles to the norm of a new reference group-—the peer group. The adolescent forms intimate ties with friends and seeks to gain independence from parents during this period of physiological and emotional transi- tion. Being socially accepted or "popular" by the peer group is one of the strongest desires of adolescence. Social acceptability by peers is influenced by the degree of conformity the adolescent makes to the patterns and value system of the group with which he wishes to identify.2 lHurlock,‘pp. 285, 290. 2Ibid., p. 292. Coleman found that those who were regarded highly by others were more peer—oriented and were committed to the adoles- cent group.1 Based on the fact that adolescents are "set apart" in high schools, Coleman says, Adolescent social climates have their own norms and values--ones that may differ radically from those governing adult society. As a result, adolescents immersed in these social climates of their own mak— ing--as most young people in our society are-—find themselves in a status system which may affect their whole future in a quite capricious manner. The components of the status of an adolescent within the peer group is still somewhat exploratory. Gordon, in his study of the social system of a single high school, found that the adolescent's status was based on a multi-value system which included achievement, organizational activity, clique membership, and socio-economic status of family. He found that position was determined by successful achieve- ment within a complex of patterns of social expectations: (1) the formal organization which included grades, (2) the semi-formal organization which included expectations of voluntary student organizations, and (3) the informal ac— tions of cliques or personal interrelationships.3 lColeman, p. 6. 21bid., p. 331. 3Gordon, pp. 2, 22-24, 54-55, 59, 62—67, 101, 115-20, 130-33. 10 These findings were substantiated by Moore in a study of a small rural high school. He found that school activity involvement and the acceptance or rejection of an individual in relationship to preferred roles ranked high, although not the highest, in status criteria of adolescents. Other high ranking status criteria were personality items and appearance and dress categories. His findings indi— catedthat academic achievement was among the most influ- ential criteria in the status of the student.1 Grade achievement in Gordon's 1957 study was a central prestige value of the formal organization,2 but Coleman's results showed that the importance of good grades ranked low among the values of the school culture.3 These differences per— haps can be explained by increased emphasis upon academic achievement in different schools or regions in order to meet stiffening requirements of colleges or perhaps by the subjects themselves used in the sample. Although Gordon's student status criteria did not include personality items per se, these items were inherent in the prestige values of the semi-formal and informal or- ganizations. These prestige values included friendships, lMoore,_pp. 63-84, 134. 2Gordon, pp. 22, 130. 3Coleman, pp. 68-83. ll dress, grade level, clique incorporation, dating,and ap- proved behavior.1 Coleman found the following attributes most important in order to be looked up to by other girls: (1) "being in the leading crowd," (2) activities leader, (3) clothes, (4) family background, (5) being a cheerlead- er.2 “Good looks," having a "good personality” and being well dressed were attributes found to be most important in order to be a member of the leading crowd.3 Important attributes for boys to gain membership in the leading crowd were athletic achievement, good personality,and good looks.4 In order for boys to be popular, athletic achievement and a member of the leading crowd were important factors. Hurlock pointed out in 1953 that good appearance, well groomed, nice looking, above average in academic achieve- ment were qualities that adolescents expect their leaders to possess.6 It becomes apparent that a reliable measure of pres— tige within the high school social system includes activity involvement, academic achievement, and peer ratings. Gordon, p. 133. Coleman, p. 47. Ibid., p. 37. Ibid., pp. 39-41. WubWNI-J Ibido , p. 440 (h Hurlock, p. 295. 12 Membership and involvement in these three areas tend to influence the behavior and expectations of its members who may possess other characteristics important to status place- ment in the high school subculture. Status Inconsistency The classification of a family's social class posi- 7 tion is based on a multi-dimensional view of social strat- ification. The different status indicators are combined to place the individual above or below others on a single status hierarchy. However, an individual's rank may vary on the status dimensions (for example, a person may be high on education but low on occupation). Since an individual's rank in the status hierarchy affects his expectations of himself, of others, and what others expect of him, an in- dividual may face the problem of conflicting expectations,l especially if his position on the various dimensions of status do not match. This conflict, in turn, can influence behavior. People who have inconsistencies of status have been found to be social isolates,2 politically more liberalij lElton Jackson, "Status Consistency and Symptoms of Stress,” American Sociological Review, 27 (1962), pp. 2Gerhard E. Lenski, ”Social Participation and Status Crystallization," American Sociological Review, 21 (August, 1965), pp. 458-64. 3Gerhard E. Lenski, “Status Crystallization: A Non-Vertical Dimension of Social Status," American Socio- logical Review, 19 (August, 1954), pp. 405-13. . .. ____.__..-._....._ J _.. ”hp. r...“ «mp-v.” h..- .... .—.‘.‘— _. w..m,. “q“... M...— 9- "‘ l3 and to exhibit more symptoms of stress.1 As was stated before, the adolescent is in a stage of tremendous physiological and emotional change and may become more peer oriented than family oriented, although he is still dependent upon his family. The adolescent can be "caught" sometimes between the demands and expectations of the peer group and the family. Since expectations of the adolescent depend upon his relative status position, there may be a conflict between the family's status posi- tion expectations and the student's high school position expectations. This conflict may have significant conse- quences for the individual and affect his behavior, includ— ing his use of clothing. From the above review, clothing has been shown to be an important element in the status criteria of the ado- lescent peer culture. A conflict of expectations, or in- consistency, may affect the way clothing is used. The pur— pose of this study is to investigate the relationship be~ tween specific use of and concern for clothing and social class, high school position, and status inconsistency. Social Class and Clothigg Clothing has been an indicator of social class posi- tion as shown by the existence of sumptuary laws in a number 1Jackson, pp. 469-80. 14 of European countries prior to the mid-Eighteenth Century These sumptuary laws enabled the traditional elites and aristocrats to continue to show their elevated position of prominence by regulating clothing use.l f Although today mass production, technological de- velopments,and rapid communication have enabled all social classes to dress similarly, Barber states there are subtle and noticeable differences in materials, taste, and work- manship of the different social classes.2 From an analysis ' of various women's fashion magazines over a period of 20 years, Barber and Lobel concluded.that consumption is a function of the social class position, that there are dif- ferences among social classes in definitions of "fashion,” and that words and phrasings used in fashion copy advertise- ments vary directly with social class position.3 Martineau agreed that different social backgroundsor styles of life tend to mold communication skill as well as content into a different form.4 lHerman Freudenberger, “Fashion, Sumptuary Laws, and Business," Business History Review (Spring/Summer, 1963), pp. 37-470 2Bernard Barber, Social Stratification (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1957), p. 150. 3Barber and Lobel, pp. 323-32. 4Pierre Martineau, “Social Classes and Spending Behavior," Dimension of Consumer Behavior, ed. James U. McNeal (New York: Appleton—Century-Crofts, 1965), p. 169. 15 Other factors representing differentiating styles of life have been related to clothing. Urban dwellers, particularly high social participators, showed greater tendency to use clothing to gain acceptance and approval rig from others while the locally oriented, low participators t emphasized comfort and wearability.1 Factors of age, rural or urban background, organizational membership, presence or absence of children in the family, verbal intelligence, and magazine readership used by Rosencranz were associated with clothing interest and clothing awareness scores.2"3 Vener also found a relationship of social participation and clothing awareness and clothing importance.4 Kittles' findings reveal that the size of town was significantly related to clothing importance as she measured it for both the white and Negro subjects.5 Hamilton and Warden found that students with acceptable clothing behavior participated 1Stone and Form, 1955, pp. 5-6, 34-35. 2Rosencranz, "A Study of Interest of Clothing. . . .," 1948, pp. 33-44, 157-61. 3Rosencranz, "The Application of a Projective Tech- nique. . . .," 1960. 4Arthur Vener, "Adolescent Orientations to Cloth— ing: A Socio-Psychological Interpretation" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1957), p. 77. ,' 5Emma Kittles, "The Importance of Clothing as a Status Symbol Among College Students" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1961), p. 122. 16 in more activities and held more offices than those with unacceptable clothing behavior. Boys who had acceptable clothing behavior also had a higher grade point average. Occupation of head of family, employment status of mother, number of siblings, and family mobility was significantly re- lated to types of clothing behavior of boys. But the oc— cupation of the head of the family and the family's mobil- ity were significantly related to types of clothing behavior for girls.1 Form and Stone report that the clothing worn by women while shopping for clothes was conditioned by the position in the stratification structure. The higher the social class position, (1) the more likely she would shop in larger cities outside of local community, (2) the more likely she was to perceive the role as requiring "dressing up" when shopping, (3) the more likely the customer clerk relationship would be more impersonal.2 With increasing urbanism and impersonal contacts, many characteristics used in identifying an individual are lJanice Hamilton and Jessie Warden, "The Student's Role in a High School Community and His Clothing Behavior," Journal of Home Economics, Vol.58, No. 10 (December, 1966), pp. 789- 91. 2Gregory P. Stone and William H. Form, The Local Community Clothing Market: A Study_of the Social and So- cial Psychological Context of Shopping (Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station, 262,1957), pp. 3- 5, 8- -16, 29- 32, 37-52. 17 unknown, and judgments and acceptances are made by visible symbols. Clothing-~a dimension of appearance--is one way of permitting others to make such judgments or to define the situation.1 Goffman says that once a situation has been defined, an obligation is made to maintain it.2 These 5 and ideas are supported by Alexander,3 Godfrey,4 Hoult, Douty6 who have found that clothing and appearance have some significance as influential factors in the perception of others. Stone and Form found white collar workers viewed dress as a symbol to influence or impress others. They attached a higher importance to clothing, felt that fail- ure to meet dress expectations of occupations would affect 1Erving Goffman, Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1959), p. 22. 2Ibid. 3Olive Ness Alexander, ”A Pilot Investigation of the Motives Underlying the Desire to Feel Well-Dressed at Various Age Levels" (unpublished Master's thesis, Cornell University, 1965), pp. 34-47. 4Lina Godfrey, "The Importance of Clothing and Ap- pearance as Influential Factors in an Interviewing Situa- tion for a Secretarial Position" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1965). 5Thomas Ford Hoult, "Clothing and the Status Rat— ings of Men: An Experiment," Dress, Adornmengtand the Social Order, ed. Mary Ellen Roach and Joanne Bubolz Eicher (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1965), pp. 250-57. 6Helen I. Douty, "Influence of Clothing on Percep- tion of Others," Journal of Home Economics, 55 (1963), pp. 197-202. 18 occupational mobility, purchased more and paid more per item than men in lower social class levels.1 Support for these findings was offered by Alexander who reported that men and women of various age levels used clothing as a means of influencing others' opinions for gaining acceptance or maintaining acceptance.2 Lasswell and Parshall's findings indicate that cloth- ing behavior does reflect social class position.3 Rosen— cranz' respondents indicated that clothing awareness scores, measured by a modified projective technique, were positive- ly related to social class.4 Vener demonstrated a positive relationship between placing importance on clothing and social class, except for the highest status individuals who tended to place less emphasis on clothing importance. 1William H. Form and Gregory P. Stone, The Social Significance of Clothing in Occupgtional Life (Michigan State College Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 247, June, 1955), pp. 1-6, 13, 16, 23-33. 2Alexander, pp. 34-47. 3Thomas E. Lasswell and Peter Parshall, "The Per- ception of Social Class from Photographs," Sociology and Social Research, 45 (July, 1961), pp. 407-14. 4Rosencranz, "The Application of a Projective Tech- nique. . . .,” 1960, pp. 75, 82-85, 89, 102-104, 108. SArthur Vener, "Stratification Aspects of Clothing Importance" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State College, 1953). 19 When Vener1 and Roach2 related social class variables to clothing awareness, no significant relationships were found. But Rosencranz in an earlier study used somewhat analogous questions in measuring clothing interest and found that the higher the social class, the higher the clothing inter- est.3 Stone and Form used the same scale as Vener to measure clothing awareness but they called it clothing importance.4 Results of studies are difficult to assess because of vari- ation in measures used by the different researchers. In addition to the relationships of clothing impor- tance, awareness, interest,and perception to social class, other clothing concerns have been related to social class. Warning, in a study of acquisition, use,and care of cloth- ing of seven, eight, and nine year olds, found that the number of garments owned, budgeting practices, and concern of opinion of others were related to social class lVener, "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing:. . . .,“ 1957, p. 77. 2Mary Ellen Roach, “The Influence of Social Class on Clothing Practices and Orientations at Early Adolescence: A Study of Clothing Related Behavior of Seventh Grade Girls" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1960), pp. 79-82. 3Rosencranz, "A Study of Interest in Clothing. . . .," 1948, p. 157. 4Form and Stone, 1955, p. 10. 20 position.1 Roach's data dealing with home sewing, borrow- ing of clothing, use of clothing as gifts, awareness of clothing costs, and clothing deprivation revealed no sig- nificant relationships with social class position although there was significance between place of purchasing clothing and social class.2 Vener's findings about adolescents and Stone and Form's findings about women indicatedthat indi- viduals in the higher status positions statedless frequent 3’4 However, Form and Stone found clothing deprivation. feelings of clothing deprivation as far as clothing for work is concerned were more prevalent among white collar workers than manual laborers.S In a study of adolescents, Bjorngaard found no sig- nificant differences between upper and lower social class members and upper and lower social class isolates and their opinions about clothing and appearance. A positive inter- relationship existed between girls referred to as "popular" lMargaret C. Warning, "The Implications of Social Class for Clothing Behavior: The Acquisition and Use of Apparel for Girls Seven, Eight, and Nine Years of Age in Three Social Classes in Des Moines, Iowa" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1956), pp. 140-42, 30-43, 92-97. 2Roach, pp. 79-82. 3Vener, "Stratification Aspects. . . .," 1953. 4Stone and Form, The Local Community Market:. . . ., 1957, pp. 23-250 5Form and Stone, 1955, pp. 5, 21. 21 and girls referred to as "best dressed" and their position in the social structure for Bjorngaardl and for Silverman. Upper social class group members seemed more aware of cloth- ing and placed greater emphasis on conformity than did the lower class isolates.3 A high school counselor in Hamilton and Warden's study indicated that girls who wore extreme clothing were ignored by their peers.4 Williams' data sup- ported the idea that members-of the same group have opinions on clothing, appearance,and group acceptance which are sim- ilar and which differ from those of non-group members or members of other groups.5 However, the findings of Hendricks, who used the same subjects as twelfth graders, did not sup- port Williams' data. But Hendricks did find a positive relationship between group cohesion and the extent of sim- ilar opinions regarding clothing, appearance,and group lArlene Louise Bjorngaard, "The Relationship of Social Class and Social Acceptance to Clothing and Appear— ance of a Selected Group of Ninth Grade Girls" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1962), p. 146. 2Sylvia S. Silverman, Clothi_gyand Appearance: Their Psychological Implications for Teenage Girls (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1945), pp. 72-75, 118. 3Bjorngaard, pp. 146-47. 4Hamilton and Warden, p. 790. 5Madelyn Claire Williams, "Opinions on Clothing, Appearance and Social Acceptance as Factors in Group Co- hesion of Ninth Grade Girls" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1963), pp. 80, 132. 22 acceptance of members of individual reciprocal friendship structures.1 Clothing, Individuals place varying emphasis upon different aspects of clothing. Barr and Silverman found the desire for conformity was the most significant factor in clothing 2’3 Creekmore, in a predominantly lower middle choices. class population of college students, found conformity was inversely related to social position and ranked fifth in importance when mean scores were compared.4 Barr also found comfort was considered a major factor while it ranked sixth 5,6 in Creekmore's results. Little importance was placed on the economic aspect in Silverman's sample7 while this lSuzanne H. Hendricks, "Opinions on Clothing, Ap- pearance as Related to Group and Non-group Membership of Twelfth Grade Girls" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1965), pp. 113-14. 2Estelle de Young Barr, "A Psychological Analysis of Fashion Motivation," Archives of Psychology, XXVI, No. 171 (June, 1934), pp. 46, 81, 98. 3Silverman, pp. 114-15. 4Anna Mary Creekmore, "Clothing Behaviors and Their Relations to General Values and to the Striving for Basic Needs” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1965), p. 71. SBarr, p. 100. 61bid., p. 65. 7Silverman, pp. 48-49. 23 was a major concern for the respondents in Hurlock's and 1’2 The concern for aesthetics in dress Lapitsky's studies. was the most significant result of Lapitsky's investiga- tion.3 Creekmore found that concern for appearance, sim- ilar to Lapitsky's aesthetic value, also had the highest mean.4 Bjorngaard's findings reveal that "looks," "clothes" and neatness were most frequently referred to by upper so- cial classes. These categories are somewhat analogous to Lapitsky's and Creekmore's aesthetic aspect.5 Creekmore also found that clothing used as a means to gain status ranked second while emphasis on the management aspect of clothing ranked third. She found that the second and sixth levels of social position using Hollingshead's method had a higher score on aesthetic concern and status symbol use of clothing. The Social Class III level was high on use of clothing as a tool to achieve personal goals and ranked high on status use of clothing along with the semiskilled workers.6 lElizabeth Hurlock, "Motivation in Fashion,“ Archives of Psychology, XVII, No. 3 (September, 1929). 2Mary Lapitsky, ”Clothing Values" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1961), p. 72. 31bid. 4Creekmore, p. 65. 5Bjorngaard, p. 48. 6 Creekmore, pp. 66, 146. 24 Support has been shown to the proposition that clothing is a reflection of social class position and in- fluences the perception of others. Some findings show that social class position influences customer-clerk relation- ships, place where shopping is done, and what is worn in a shopping context. Studies indicate that life styles, urban-nonurban location, social participation, and number of children in the family can influence the use of cloth- ing. Several researchers have attempted to investigate the relationship of social class variables to clothing awareness, interest, and importance. The findings, how- ever, are inconsistent. This may be due partially to the lack of clear-cut definitions. Discrepancies may also be a result of different types of data collection devices used or by the administration of the instruments to different age levels and different sexes. Little work has been done in relating specific uses of clothing to sociological variables. The literature in- dicates a weakness particularly in specific use of clothes by adolescent boys and girls. CHAPTER III STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The purposes of this research were to investigate the relationship of specific clothing aspects to social class, high school position, and status inconsistency of adolescent boys and girls. The following definitions, assumptions, and hy- potheses were used to help guide the research. The lim- itations of the study are also stated. Definition of Terms 1. clothing consists of the behavior reported in the use of and attitudes toward clothing included in the fol- lowing eight aspects: Aesthetic--refers to use of clothing to achieve a pleasing or beautiful appearance. Included as a part of appearance is neatness in dress. Comfort—-means the use of clothing to achieve com— fort whether this relates to temperature, physical response to certain textures, or the acceptance of tightness or looseness in garments. Interest--in clothing refers to willingness to give attention, to investigate, manipulate, or experiment with putting together the parts of a costume. Management-~refers to the thoughtful and careful use of resources, including the use of time, money, and energy in planning, buying,and using clothing; thus, it can be an economic aspect of clothing usage. 25 26 Modesty—-refers to use of inconspicuous clothing wh ch is conservative in design, fit, color, and body exposure. Psychological Dependence--is used to indicate a person's sensitivity to the influence of clothing on how he feels,which includes general good feel- ings, protection of well being,and changing of moods. ' Social Approval--is the use of clothing to attain a feeling of belongingness or the acceptance by others in a particular role and in this study in- dicates conformity to the group norm. Special Attention--is the seeking of prestige and status through the use of clothes. The attention that is sought may be either socially approved or not approved depending on the reference group. 2. Social Class is the socio-economic status of the family as determined by Hollingshead's two factor measure-- occupation and education.l: 3. High School Position: position obtained by a compos— ite score of social participation, measure by a mod- ified Chapin's Social Participation Scale; peer ac-' ceptance, measured by a modified Dillon, Lundberg and Dickson technique34: and grade achievement, obtained from honor roll list of two consecutive grading periods. It may also be referred to as a student's status. lHollingshead and Redlich, pp. 66-67. 2August B. Hollingshead, Two Factor Index of So- cial Position (New Haven, Connecticut: c-l957). 3Delbert Miller, Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement (New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1964), pp. 208-12. 4G. A. Lundberg and L. Dickson, "Selective Associa- tion Among Ethnic Groups in a High School Population," American Sociological Review, XVII (February, 1952), p. 23. 5Mary Louise Dillon, "The Modal Pattern of Dress and Its Relationship to Peer Acceptance Among Eighth Grade Boys" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State Univer- sity, 1963). II. III. IV. 27 Status Inconsistency: discrepancy between social class and high school social position. Assumptions An adolescent peer culture does exist. Peer acceptance is of great importance to the teenager. The peer acceptance score will be a measure of one's acceptance by his peers. Specific clothing behaviors reflect values placed on clothing. Hypotheses There will be a positive relationship between social class and A. concern for interest aspect of clothing. B. concern for aesthetic aspect of clothing. C. use of clothing to gain social approval. D. use of clothing to gain special attention. There will be a negative relationship between social class and A. clothing scores on modesty clothing behavior. B. clothing scores on comfort clothing behavior. C. clothing scores on management clothing behavior. There will be a positive relationship between high school position and A. concern for interest of clothing. B. concern for aesthetic aspect of clothing. There will be a negative relationship between high school position and A. the use of clothing to gain social approval. B. the use of clothing to gain special attention. C. the use of clothing to gain comfort. D. concern for modesty aspects of clothing. E. concern for management aspects of clothing. There will be a positive relationship between the amount of status inconsistency and A. the concern for interest of clothing. B. the concern for modesty aspect of clothing. C. the concern for aesthetic aspect of clothing. D. the concern for management aspect of clothing. E. the use of clothing to gain social approval. 28 VI. There will be a negative relationship between status inconsistency and A. use of clothing to gain special attention. VII. There will be no relationship between status incon- sistency and A. use of clothing to achieve comfort._ CHAPTER IV PROCEDURE Methodological considerations in this chapter in- clude: (1) description of local community, (2) selection of subjects, (3) development of instruments, (4) collection of data, (5) methods of data analysis. Description of Community A midwestern city with a population of about 15,000 was chosen as the location for the study. The four cri- teria for selection of a community were: (1) a range of family socio-economic positions; (2) a school which had a large enough enrollment to obtain a sample of sufficient size to test the hypotheses; (3) a school which had both urban and rural students; (4) a one-county high school to lessen the chance of biasing social class representations. The county high school obtained contained rural and urban students and had an enrollment of approximately 1,850 for grades 9-12. From information obtained from the 1960 Census, there was no reason to feel that the selected community was greatly different from many other communities in the State or in the United States. The median years of schooling 29 30 for persons 25 years or over for the selected site were 9.5, for the State 10.8, and for the United States 10.6. Residents of the community had a median age of 27.1, while for the State and the United States the median age was 28.3 and 29.5 respectively. The community had 37.9 per cent in manufacturing industries while 35.6 per cent held white collar positions. The percentage of manufacturing indus— tries for the State was 38.0 and 27.1 for the United States; there were 40.1 per cent white collar workers for the State, while the United States had 41.1 per cent. The median in- come for the county in which the data were collected was $5,575 as compared with $6,256 for the State and $5,660 for the United States. While 14.9 per cent of the sample had incomes under $3,000, 11.6 per cent had incomes of $10,000 or over. The percentages of income for the State were 15.7 for under $3,000 and 17.4 for $10,000 or over as compared to the United States' 21.4 per cent for under $3,000 and 15-1 Per cent for $10,000 or over.]"2’3'4 1U.S. Bureau of the Census, Michigan General Popu- 1ation Characteristics, 1960, p. 41. 2U.S. Bureau of the Census, Michigan General Social and Economic Characteristics, 1960, pp. 179, 184, I91, 232, 185, 18I. 3U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Summary, General Population Characteristics, 1960, p. 146. 4U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Summary, General Social and Economic Characteristics, 1960, pp. 287, 227, 249. 31 Selection of Subjects Attempts were made to obtain a random sample of the high school, but it was impossible in this school sit- uation. Students were on a staggered schedule; some stu- dents began school classes at 7:00 a.m»,whi1e other students completed their school day at 5:00 p.m. Many students were transported by bus. There were no vacant rooms during the day in which students in a random sample could come to an- swer the questionnaire. Therefore, the subjects included all students in study halls on two consecutive Mondays. The respondents included 251 boys and 270 girls in grades 10, 11, and 12. The final sample included only those stu- dents who were present for both administrations of the questionnaire. The students in the school according to school policy are requested to "wear appropriate dress" which was considered to be wash or dress trousers with shirts buttoned and tucked into the trousers for the boys and skirts and blouses or dresses for the girls. Development of the Instruments The questionnaire ,is considered the appropriate method of obtaining information from a large number of stu- dents. It is easily and quickly administered and allows the respondents to express their ideas, attitudes, and opinions freely. I The questionnaire devised consisted of questions 32 concerning (1) social background of the student and family, (2) social participation in the school, (3) peer acceptance,1 (4) concern for the body, (5) self conceptz’3 4,5 and self es- teem, and (6) appearance and clothing behaviors. Addi- tional information was obtained from the high school honor roll. The present study, a part of a larger project, was concerned only with questions concerning social background, social participation in the school, peer acceptance, cloth- ing behaviors, and academic achievement measured by the respondent's name appearing on one of two honor roll lists.6 Social Class Hollingshead's two factor index of social position 1Mary Jane Young, ”The:Relationship of Clothing to Peer Acceptance and to Personal Appearance of Adolescents" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1967). 2Thomas P. McGehee, "The Stability of the Self- Concept and Self-Esteem" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1956). 3Carolyn Andree Humphrey, "The Relationship of Stability of Self-Concept to Clothing Behavior of Adoles- cents” (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State Uni- versity, 1968). 4McGehee. 5Mary_Green Klaasen, "Self Esteem and Its Rela- tionship to Clothing" (unpublished Master's thesis, Mich- igan State University, 1967). 6Anna Mary Creekmore, "The Relationship of Cloth— ing to Self Concept and to Attitudes toward Clothing” (un- published research in progress for Michigan State Univer- sity Agricultural Experiment Station, Project M—784). 33 was used to obtain the student's socio-economic class. The two factors used to determine social position are the occupational role of the head of the household and the amount of education obtained by this person. This compos- ite measure assumes that occupations have different values placed on them and the amount of formal training reflects tastes and behavior patterns of the family. The occupa- tional index was based on a seven point scale with one in- dicating a high occupational position and seven indicating a low occupational position. The educational index was also divided into seven positions with one indicating the most formal training and seven indicating the least formal training. The two factors of education and occupation were integrated by weighting the scores on the individual in— dices. Weights were determined by Hollingshead by multiple correlation techniques. Occupation was weighted by seven and education weighted by four. The composite score of these two factors givesam.Index of Social Position. A low numerical score indicated a high social class position.1’2 Student's High School Position and Status Inconsistency The student's high school position was obtained by a composite score of social participation, peer acceptance, lHollingshead and Redlich, pp. 66-67. 2August B. Hollingshead, Two Factor Index of Social Position (New Haven, Connecticut: c-l957). 34 and academic achievement. These factors are the same as those used by Gordon to study the social system in the high school,1 but the measures were modified to fit the present research situation. In order to make status comparisons of high school position and social class position, it was necessary to reduce the high school position scores (a composite score of peer acceptance, academic achievement, and social partic- ipation) into five categories. The following formula was used: (11 = C1 - Si + 6 di = discrepancy index or status inconsistency S1 = student's high school position C1 = social class Status inconsistency is defined as the discrepancy between social class and high school position.‘ Social Participation.--To obtain the student's par- ticipation in the school a modified Chapin's Social Partic- ipation Score was used. The original scale, constructed for adult social participation, is composed of (l) organi— zation's name, (2) attendance, (3) payment of dues, (4) committee participation, (5) offices held.~ The scale was weighted one to five according to intensity of participa- tion. Being a unidimensional scale, the categories were lC. Wayne Gordon, The Social System of the High School (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1957). 35 added to obtain a social participation score.l Since the subjects were adolescents, the wording of Chapin's cate- gories was simplified for faster comprehension by all levels of achievement (see Appendix A). The weighting of attend- ance was changed from two to one to help eliminate high scores obtained by "joiners" and since many organizations have unlimited memberships. Because of the nature of high school organizations, complete unidimensionality was not assumed. Some students paid dues but did not attend regu- larly; some organizations did not have dues; some students held offices but because of the nature of the activity had not been on committees. However, if a student worked on committees and held an office, he was given credit for reg— ular attendance. Raw scores were ordered into eight cate- gories by equating total scores with the component scores of the scale. Chapin's original scale had reliability and validity established; however, there might be a question of the validity and reliability of the modified scale in the present study. It should be noted that the changes from the original scale were minor. Peer Acceptance.--Peer acceptance was measured by a modified Dillon, Lundberg and Dickson sociometric lMiller, pp. 208-12. 36 1'2 All students in the school were asked by technique. their teachers to answer the questions during third period-- the period when most students were in school. The total number of times an individual in the sample was chosen by others in his grade for reasons of friendship, work, lead- ership, and popularity became the raw score. Raw scores were then ordered into seven categories. Although the us— ual methods of testing reliability and validity are not applicable to sociometric questions, evidence has shown that individuals tend to maintain their social status even though the group varies in composition, and is tested over a long period of time. Academic Achievement.--Grade point averages for each individual were not available. Therefore, an alter- native means to academic achievement was chosen. Honor roll lists, in which A's and B's and satisfactory citi- zenship points were essential, for the second semester of 1965—1966 and for the first six weeks of Fall, 1967, were used to receive students' status on academic performance. If a student's name appeared on either list, he was given a score of three. If a student's name did not appear on 1Lundberg and Dickson, XVII, p. 23. 2Mary Louise Dillon, "The Modal Pattern of Dress and Its Relationship to Peer Acceptance Among Eighth Grade Boys“ (unpublished Master's thesis, 1963). 37 the honor roll sheets, he received a score of zero. From previous studies which indicated the importance of grades 1,2 as a criterion of status in a high school, it appeared logical that a weighting of three was appropriate to dis- criminate between high academic achievers and the average. ClothingiMeasure The clothing behavior measure was developed over a period of six months by five researchers.3 Statements and ideas from many sources were considered. New statements were created and others were adapted from previous studies 4 S and Sharpe.6 The clothing measuring by Creekmore, Brady, instrument evolved consisted of eight scales of eleven statements each. Aspects of clothing measured by the five lGordon, pp. 22, 130. 2Moore, pp. 63-84, 134. 3Carolyn Andree Humphrey, Mary Green Klaasen, Mary Jane Young, Karen Engel, and Sue Hundley working under the direction of Dr. Anna Creekmore. 4Anna Mary Creekmore, "Clothing Behaviors and Their Relation to General Values and to the Striving for Basic Needs" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1963). 5Elizabeth Brady, "Clothing Behavior--Refinement of a Measure and Relationship with Social Security and In- security“ (unpublished Master's thesis, Pennsylvania State University, 1963). 6Elizabeth S. Sharpe, "Development of a Clothing Interest and Importance Scale" (unpublished Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 1963). 38 point rating scales were the concern for aesthetics in dress, interest in clothing, management of clothing, mod- esty, psychological dependence on clothing, and the use of clothing to gain social approval, special attention, or comfort. One hundred seventy questions were pretested in a university textiles and clothing class by 28 education and retailing majors. Likert item analysis was made, and a selection of 123 statements was made on the basis of the item's ability to discriminate between the high and the low scoring groups. Some of the remaining questions were revised for further pretests. Pretests were administered to four boys and 17 girls who represented adolescents on a Junior Human Relations Council representing each school in the Lansing School System and to 68 graduate and under- graduate students in an education course at Pennsylvania State University. From the results of the item an— alysis of these pretests, some questions were further mod- ified. The final clothing behavior measure consisted of 89 questions of which the first question was an introduc- tory question and was not computed in any of the clothing scores. The student's clothing scores were obtained on each of the eight clothing aspects by the summation of the number value used in answering the questions pertaining to that behavior. Each student had eight clothing scores. 39 Collection of Data The questionnaire was administered in two parts on two consecutive Mondays to a sample of 251 boys and 270 girls in grades 10, 11, and 12 who were in study hall. To avoid bias, the instructions and introductions were memorized and presented at both administrations by the same person in each study hall. To insure accurate information from the respondents, the students were guaranteed anonymity. The students were asked to place their birthdate, sex, and initials on the questionnaire to enable the researchers to match the data for each individual for two administrations. Analysis of Data A code was established for each of the variables and the data were coded, punched,and placed on IBM cards. Accuracy was determined by rechecking by members of the larger project. Analysis of the descriptive data was used in determining the social-demographic characteristics of the sample.“ In order to test the relationship of the dependent and independent variables, Pearson r correlation coeffici- ents were computed. The 2-tail test was used to establish the level of confidence when testing the null hypotheses. If the level of confidence was at the .05 level, the out- come of the data was considered significant. 40 Limitations The subjects could not be randomly selected. Precau- tions should be made in generalizing to a larger popu- lation. Many college preparatory students or "above average" students may not be represented in the sample since many of them did not have free periods for study halls. Academic achievement was determined by the student's name appearing on the honor roll list for the second semester of 1965-66, or on the first six weeks of Fall, 1967. A's or B's were necessary to make the honor roll. Grade point average, a more refined indicator of aca- demic achievement, was not available. School administrators strongly recommended that the number of school activities be limited. This may have influenced the results of the research, and caution should be made in comparing the findings about school participation to other studies. High school position may be influenced by the varying prestige of organizations or officerships. Arranging school organizations on a prestige hierarchy was beyond the sc0pe of this study. The peer acceptance measure does not give actual social behavior of respondents. Since the data were collected during the first month of school, membership and participation in organiza- tions may have been affected. Since all measures were crude, an attempt was made to minimize discrepancies by using rank orders. CHAPTER V RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The data which described the sample of high school students will be presented and discussed first; then the relationship between social class, high school position, status inconsistency, and the various clothing aspects will be discussed. Description of Subjects The accidentally selected sample of 270 girls and ~251 boys was composed of students from grades 10, 11, and 12. The data indicated there was a comparable number of boys and girls in the study within each grade (Table 1). However, there were proportionately more boys and girls in grade 10 than in any of the other grades, as would be expected. Students in the higher grades might have been more involved with activities or delegated more responsi- bility and thus excused from study halls. Some students in the upper grades who were on a work program took courses while in school and spent the remainder of the day on the job. The ages ranged from 13-18 for girls and 13-19 for boys. However, over 80 per cent of the students in the 41 42 Table 1. Distribution of boys and girls according to grade level Girls Boys Grade No. % No. % 10 106 39.3 91 36.3 11 67 24.8 60 23.9 12 60 22.2 56 22.3 Unknown 37 13.7 44 17.5 Total 270 100 251 100 sample were 15-17 years old. 15.9 years and 15.3 years for girls (Table 2). The mean age for boys was Table 2. Distribution of boys and girls by age Age No .9215. % No . E115. % 13 l 0.4 4 1.6 14 22 8.2 18 7.2 15 106 39.3 76 30.3 16 72 26.7 71 28.3 17 64 23.7 64 25.5 18 4 1.5 11 4.4 19 - - 2 .8 Unknown 1 .4 5 2.0 Total 270 251 Mean 15.3 15.9 43 Social Class As stated in the procedure chapter,1 social class position was determined for each subject according to Hollingshead's method which uses occupation and education of the family's main wage earner to determine the index position. The father provided the main financial support in at least 84 per cent of the cases. The mother was the main wage earner in less than three per cent of the families, and the main wage earner was unknown for 13 per cent. How- ever, the mother contributed to the financial support of the family for approximately 28 per cent of the male sub- jects and 31 per cent of the female subjects. Approximately 27 per cent of the main wage earners completed their education in grade school while nearly 25 per cent had completed high school. Over five per cent had a college education or had taken some graduate work (Table 3). By using a median figure2 for each of the edu- cational levels, an estimate of the grade average for the parent population was obtained. The estimated average educational level of the main wage earner for the present sample was 10.0 years. lSupra, p. 32. 2Sixth grade was used as the median year completed for grade school. 44 Table 3. Distribution of boys and girls according to educational level of main financial contributor EELS. 1322 Educational Level No. % No. % Grade school 81 30.0 67 26.7 Some high school 50 18.5 46 18.3 Completed high school 71 26.3 62 24.7 Some college 17 6.3 20 8.0 Completed college 8 3.0 9 3.6 Graduate work 7 2.6 8 3.2 Unknown 36 13.3 39 15.5 Total 270 100 251 100 Students could occupy a social class position accord- ing to the education and occupation of the main wage earner. The data indicated that the mean social class position for boys was 3.88 and for girls 3.84. This figure indicated that the sample was predominantly composed of subjects in Classes III, IV, or V (Table 4). Classes IV and V included occupations of clerical, sales workers and technicians, skilled, semiskilled or unskilled workers, and owners of small businesses. Over 50 per cent of the main wage earn- ers had occupations in the above categories. Table 4 sum- marizes the social class characteristics of the sample. 45 Table 4. Distribution of boys and girls according to social class level Social Class Position No EEElE % No. §21§- % I 7 2.6 8 3.2 II 6 2.2 10 4.0 III 39 14.4 32 12.8 IV 136 50.4 102 40.6 V 44 16.3 44 17.5 Unknown 38 14.1 55 21.9 Total 270 100 251 100 Mean 3.84 — 3.88 — Standard Deviation 0.85 - 0.97 - Range I-V — I-V - High School Position A composite index made up of honor roll, peer ac— ceptance,and social participation comprised the student's high school position.l Over 25 per cent of the girls in the sample made the honor roll while only 16 per cent of the boys were on the honor roll list (Table 5). This find- ing indicated that grades or academic achievement were more important to girls than to_boys. It also indicated that boys must use other channels to achieve a high student lSupra, p. 41. 46 status. However, the finding agreed with the results of Keisler who found social acceptability was awarded more frequently to boys with just average grades.l Gordon's findings revealed that girls in his study met grade expec- tations better than boys.2 Table 5. Distribution of boys and girls on indices of honor roll, peer acceptance, social participa- tion, and high school position Indices Girls Boys Honor Roll % No 70.4 82.5 % Yes 26.3 16.3 Unknown 3.3 1.2 Peer Acceptance Mean 1.6 1.4 Standard Deviation 1.1 1.2 Range 0-202 0-202 Social Participation Mean 1.0 0.7 Standard Deviation 1.4 1.0 High School Position Mean 3.3 2.5 Standard Deviation 2.8 2.5 Range 1-5 1-5 The mean peer acceptance score was slightly higher for girls than boys (Table 5). The data revealed that lEvan R. Keisler, "Group Ratings of High School Pupils with High and Low School Marks," Journal of Experi- mental Education, 23 (June, 1955), 375-78. 2Gordon, p. 22. 47 twice the number of boys as girls were not chosen at all. More girls than boys were chosen from 11 to 20 times. However, both boys and girls were chosen by one to ten friends in the majority of the cases. The actual range indicating peer acceptance was zero to 212 choices for one popular girl. The means for social participation score were higher for the girls than for the boys. The mean indi- cated that a score of one to three on the social partici- pation scale is average for girls, while the mean for boys did not achieve a score of one as an average (Table 5). The large number of students who did not belong to any organizations forced the mean down for both sexes. Six per cent of the girls and 16 per cent of the boys did not belong to any organizations (Table 6). Table 6. Distribution of boys and girls according to high school position Categories of High School Position Sex (10-17); (8-9) (4-7) <1—3) <0) % % % % % Girls 2.22 7.78 14.08 47.41 6.30 Boys 1.99 2.79 15.33 50.19 15.94 ‘Figures in parentheses indicate the raw score on high school position. 48 Since the girls averaged higher scores on each of the high school position indices, their mean for high school position would be expected to be higher (Table 5). Approx— imately 16 per cent of the boys had the lowest student status possible while only six per cent of the girls held as low a position (Table 6). However, around two per cent of both boys and girls held the highest school position possible. Approximately one-half the students fell into the fourth category of high school position which indicated a raw student status score of one to three (Table 6). The significant intercorrelations of the three indices of high school position indicated that these three factors can be put together to obtain a general social status in the high school. Clothing The clothing measure included eight aspects of clothing and provided eight clothing scores for each sub— ject. The present study is concerned with only seven of these aspects. The data for psychological dependence is reported; however, the implications will not be discussed since this scale was not properly pretested. When the means of the various uses of clothing were compared for the boys and girls, the findings indi- cated that boys and girls placed varying emphasis upon the different aspects of clothing (Table 7). 49 Table 7. Comparison of mean score ranks and distribution for the clothing aspects for boys and girls —7 Standard Actual Clothing, Rank Mean Deviation, Range Aesthetic Girls 1 42.2 4.2 29-53 Boys 1 36.1 5.9 19-50 Interest Girls 2 38.9 6.6 19—54 Boys 8 25.0 7.5 11-49 Management Girls 3 38.6 5.5 21-52 Boys 2 32.4 5.8 17-48 Modesty Psychological Dependence Girls 5 36.4 6.1 15-52 Boys 5 30.6 6.7 15—46 Comfort Boys 3 31.8 5.6 15—47 Social Approval Girls 7 33.8 5.8 17-47 Special Attention Concern for aesthetic use of clothing ranked first with the highest mean for both boys and girls. This find- ing agreed with the results of Creekmore and Lapitsky who 50 1’2 Willingness to give used women college populations. attention, to investigate, manipulate, or experiment with putting together the parts of a costume (interest aspect) ranked second in importance for girls but ranked lowest for boys. Since both sexes ranked concern for aesthetics first in importance, the difference in emphasis on the in- terest aspect might be explained by the contention that boys were satisfied when they felt they had achieved a pleasing appearance while girls continually strived for still a more beautiful appearance. This finding also in- dicated that shopping behaviors might have been different for boys and girls. Boys might look at other boys and decide what to buy and then go to one place to buy it, while girls "shop around” to decide what clothing to pur- chase. An alternative explanation would consider the fact that girls might be more thoughtful and creative in their use of resources (the management aspect of clothing) than boys and thus pay more attention to appearance. The man- agement aspect of clothing ranked third in importance for the girls in this study. In the acceptable dating struc- ture of the United States, the male usually plays the more aggressive role; the difference in emphasis might be the way girls use clothing to make themselves more appealing lCreekmore, p. 65. 2Lapitsky, p. 72. 51 and attractive to the opposite sex. Girls must go "on display" more than boys. The concern for management in clothing ranked second in importance for boys. This sup- ported the findings of Hurlock who found the economic fac- tor important to both boys and girls but to a greater de- gree for the men.1 Emphasis on the management aspect of clothing rated among the top three for other investigat- ors.2’3’4 The use of clothing for comfort ranked third in importance among the boys while it ranked sixth for the girls (Table 7). These results are contradictory to Barr's findings which indicatedthe concern for comfort was of major importance for her population of women aged 17 to 50.5 Perhaps the concern for comfort increases with age. However, the findings of this study substantiated the re- sults of Creekmore's population of college girls who ranked use of clothing for comfort sixth in importance.6 The concern for modesty in clothing ranked fourth for girls,but boys rated it sixth. The female subjects 1Hurlock. 2Creekmore, pp. 66, 146. 3Barr, p. 77. 4Lapitsky, p. 72. SBarr, pp. 46, 81, 98. 6 Creekmore, p. 65. 52 in this sample tended to place greater importance on mod- esty than the subjects in the studies of Barr and Creekmore who considered it of little importance.l’2 Hurlock in 1929 found the concern for modesty very high for the entire group and slightly more important to men than to women.3 The difference in emphasis on modesty in clothing, if not the result of differences in definition, might be related to the fashion of the times. The fashion of the 1920's and mid 1960's has shorter hemlines for women than other periods in costume history. Those fashions which are flamboyant may cause people to be more concerned with modesty in cloth— ing. The differences between boys and girls concerning clothing may again be explained in terms of the fashion of the times. Girl's clothing, in the 1920's as well as 1960's, showed less conservatism and more body exposure than the clothing of boys of the same period. Differences also were seen between the sexes in the use of clothing to attain a feeling of belongingness or the approval of others in a particular role situation. Clothing used as a means of securing social approval ranked fourth among the boys and seventh in importance among the girls when mean scores were compared. Although these lIbid., p. 66. 2Barr, p. 100. 3Hurlock. 53 results were in contradiction with Barr and Silverman who found the desire for conformity the most significant fac- 1’2 the findings were quite simi- tor in clothing choices, 1ar to Creekmore's findings which showed conformity ranked fifth in importance.3 These differences may be explained by the growing emphasis placed upon individuality and free- dom at the time of the present study; however, the respond— ents in the sample might have felt it was not socially de— sirable to admit to using clothes to gain social approval. Differences in size of towns and regions of the United States may have also affected the emphasis placed on cloth- ing. Clothing used to be different from others (special attention) ranked low for both boys and girls. Although this finding is in agreement with the results of Hurlock 4’5 it is contradictory to the findings of a more and Barr, recent study by Creekmore who found it ranked second in importance.$“ Although the subjects in the sample were Barr, pp. 46, 81, 98. Silverman, pp. 114-15. Creekmore, p. 71. Hurlock, p. 68. Barr, p. 98. 01011:.me Creekmore, p. 66. 54 urged to give their ”true" feelings regarding clothing, they may have felt that admitting to use of clothing to gain prestige was not a socially accepted behavior. Table 7 summarizes and compares the mean scores on clothing for boys and girls. The mean rank for girls in the present sample was identical to the mean rank for girls in Engel's study, except concern for comfort and modesty were inter— changed. Her clothing measure was a pretest for the pres- ent study and her population was primarily in Social Classes I, II, and III.1 Status Inconsistency The status inconsistency measure was derived from the discrepancy between social class and high school posi- tion. The formula used (see page 34) to determine status inconsistency gave high social class inconsistent respond- ents a larger score than the high student status respond- ents.2 The possible range for discrepancy score was two to 10 with two to five having higher high school position than social class and seven to 11 having the opposite. The status inconsistency mean for girls was 4.9 and 4.6 for boys. The data of mean scores indicatedthat there were 1Karen E. Engel, “A Pilot Study of the Relationship of Clothing to the Stability of the Self Concept" (unpub- lished Master's problem, Michigan State University, 1967), p. 32. 2Supra, p. 34. 55 more students with a low social class position and high student status than high social class students with low student statuses. Status inconsistency was significantly related at the .01 level to social class and high school position for both boys and girls, with high school position negatively related (see Table 8). However, one should note that such significant relationships were expected or built into the measure of inconsistency. The variables must correlate. Therefore, the degree of relationship is not a real find- ing since social class and high school position made up the discrepancy score. Table 8. The relationship of status inconsistency to social class and high school position for adolescent boys and girls Status Inconsistency Social Class High School Position Girls 059. "062‘ BOYS 069. -052. *Significant at .01 level of confidence. Social Class and High School Position The relationship of social class to student status was significant at the .01 level (r = .26, boys; .27, girls) for both boys and girls. This finding indicated that the higher the social class position, the higher the student's status in the high school (Table 9). 56 Table 9. Distribution of boys and girls by social class position and high school position . Categories of High School Position Soc1al Class Position (10-17)' (8-9) (4-7) (1-3) (0) % .% % % % I Girls 0.0 0.4 1.1 0.4 0.0 Boys 0.0 0.4 1.2 1.2 0.0 II Girls 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.0 Boys 0.8 0.0 1.2 1.6 0.4 III Girls 0.7 3.0 3.3 4.4 0.7 Boys 0.4 0.8 1.6 6.4 1.2 IV Girls 1.1 3.3 13.0 26.3 1.5 Boys 0.8 1.2 7.6 21.9 4.4 V Girls 0.0 0.7 3.0 10.0 0.7 Boys 0.0 0.0 2.4 9.6 3.6 Unknown Girls 0.0 0.0 3.0 5.9 3.3 Boys 0.0 0.4 1.6 9.6 6.4 Total Girls 2.2 7.8 24.1 47.4 6.2 Boys 2.0 2.8 15. 50.3 16.0 ‘Figures in parentheses indicate raw scores on high school position. According to the literature, families in Classes I and II tended to place a higher value on education and expected their Students to achieve good grades to meet requirements of a higher education and a position appro- priate for their present social class position. Parents 57 in Class III may have been interested in having their child- ren achieve more in life than they had and, therefore, exerted pressures or expectations to obtain a higher school status and perhaps go on to college. According to Hollingshead the cultural character- istics of Classes I, II, and III include the training of children to respond positively to competitive situations.l Families in Classes IV and V, according to Hollingshead, tend to have little appreciation of what the school is do- ing or what the student may learn from it and often take the attitude that good grades are dependent upon the posi- tion occupied by parents in the social structure.2 With the above reasoning, the fact that a relationship existed between student status and social class was not surprising. The data of the present study tended to strengthen Hollings— head's theory: the social behavior of high school students appears to be functionally related to the social positions occupied by the family3 (Table 9). Social Class and Clothing_ Social class for girls was significantly related to concern for management aspect of clothing only, but no 1August B. Hollingshead, Elmtown's Youth (New York: John B. Wiley and Sons, Inc., 19497, p. 175. 2Ibid., pp. 177-81. 3Ibid., p. 9. 58 relationship existed between concern for management and social class for boys. Social class was not significantly related to any of the other clothing aspects for boys (Table 10). No relationship existed for boys between use of cloth- ing to gain social approval and family's position in the social structure. Although not significant, concern for aesthetics in dress exhibited a stronger positive relation- ship to social class for boys than for girls. Negative coefficients lacking the appropriate significance level indicated inverse relationships between social position and concern for modesty, interest, and comfort in clothing for boys and use of clothing to achieve comfort and social approval for girls. The latter uses of clothing substan- tiated Creekmore's findings of an inverse relationship between social class position and conformity.l For girls, the concern for‘hesthetics, Modesty, and interest in dress and the use of clothing to achieve prestige and social class were related, although not significantly, in a pos— itive direction. The data revealed that social class posi- tion did not significantly affect the use of clothing. A future analysis of the data could reveal whether indi— viduals in one social class differ significantly from in- dividuals in another specific class in their use of cloth- ing even though social class as a variable was not related to clothing. lCreekmore, p. 71. 59 Table 10. The relationships of social class, high school position, and status inconsistency of adolescent boys and girls to specific clothing aspects Dependent Variables: Clothing Aspects Independent Variables Aes. Mod. Int. Comf. Sp. Att. Mgt. Soc. Appr. Social Class a Girls 001 008 001 -002 007 015 “.02 BOYS all "013 -003 "'008 .01 '00]. -000 High School Position Girls 025b 026b 014a .15a .08 021b 'olO BOYS 015a 002 009 001 010 011 -006 Status Inconsistency b b a a Girls -021-018 -017 “-015 ‘008 "007 .04 BOYS -003-016a-007 "008 -.07 "oll ‘003 aSignificant at .05 level of confidence. bSignificant at .01 level of confidence. High School Position and Clothing The data showed that student status was signifi- cantly related to the various uses of clothing for girls. However, only one significant relationship existed between the clothing and high school position of boys (Table 10). Although for girls some relationships were significant at the .01 level, the relationships were still not strong enough for student status to be the major predictor of the clothing variables. Apparently, other factors must be used to completely explain the variation in clothing behaviors. The high school position for girls was significantly 60 related at the .01 level to concern for aesthetics, modesty, and management in dress (Table 10). This finding means that girls with high student status scores were concerned with neatness in dress and in achieving a pleasing appear- ance. They also used clothing which was inconspicuous and conservative, and gave careful thought to use of time, money, and energy in planning, buying, and using clothing. Gor- don's findings showed that the way an individual dressed affected what crowd he belonged to, and to belong to the most popular crdwd one was expected to dress above average.1 If his finding holds true for this sample, then thoughtful and careful use of resources (management aspect) and a conservative appearance would be necessary in order to be above average in dress (Table 10). A girl of high status in the school might not need to call attention to herself since status was already an ascribed attribute; therefore, concern for inconspicuous- ness and conservatism in dress could be important. However, this was contradictory to the findings of Gordon who speci- fied that a leader could wear something out of the ordinary since his status was already clear.2 Moore found that ap- pearance and dress ranked fifth in importance as a status 1Gordon, p. 115. 2Gordon, p. 1. 61 criterion in a high school,1 and if Moore's rankings were true for this sample, the concern for the aesthetic, mod- esty, and management aspects of clothing were the more important aspects of clothing used in achieving a higher student position. But further analysis of the data for girls revealed that interest in and concern for comfort were also significantly related to high school position,— although not as highly correlated as the above mentioned clothing. The relationship of high school position and prestige use of clothing (special attention) was in the positive direction. Concern for aesthetics in dress was the only cloth- ing variable significantly related to high school position for boys. Negative coefficients for both boys and girls indicated an inverse relationship between high school po- sition and use of clothing to be like others, although the relationships were not significant. This finding was con- tradictory to the findings of Gordon, Barr, and Silverman who found desire for conformity to be the most significant 2,3,4 factor. Perhaps to the student who has been in high school two, three, or four years the norms of clothing have Moore, p. 63. Gordon, pp. 115-20. Barr, pp. 46, 81, 98. 5%me Silverman, pp. 114-15. 62 become so automatic that he is not aware that conformity still plays a part in his use of clothing. As previously mentioned, the student may have felt that he would not gain social approval if he admitted that he used clothing to gain social approval. Table 10 also indicated that the adolescent sub- culture in the school affects the clothing of both boys and girls more than the family's social class position. This gives support to Gordon's proposition that adolescent social behavior is functional to the social status of the person in the social system.1 The data also substantiated Hamilton and Warden's conclusion that clothing of girls was influenced by their peers more than boys', but negated the idea that clothing of boys was influenced more by their families.2 From these data, we cannot add,support to Hollingshead's hypothesis that the social behavior of adolescents is functionally related to positions occupied by families in the community's social structure.3 The present data showed that high school position was more important than family class position in relation to cloth- ing. lGordon, p. 130. 2Hamilton and Warden, p. 790. 3Hollingshead, Elmtown's Youth, p. 9. 63 Status Inconsistency and Clothing Concern for modesty in dress was inversely related to status inconsistency for both boys and girls at a sig- nificant level (Table 10, p. 59). In addition, for girls, negative coefficients indicated inverse relationships be- tween status inconsistency and concern for aesthetics, in— terest, and comfort in dress. These findings indicated that those individuals whose social class position was greater than student status were less concerned in using clothing to achieve a pleasing, neat appearance (aesthetic aspect), less inclined to be modest in dress (modesty as- pect), less concerned with comfort, and less likely to experiment with costuming (interest aspect). And converse- ly, those inconsistent people whose social class was lower than their position in the high school placed greater im— portance upon achieving aesthetics and comfort in dress and were more concerned with modesty and interest aspects in clothing. Perhaps students in the higher social classes felt secure with the family's position and were not con- cerned in using clothing to obtain a high school position comparable to their social class level. Whereas, for lower social class students, certain uses and concerns for cloth- ing might have been a means to achieve a higher school po— sition. The data also indicated that the expectations con- cerning clothing of the peer culture for lower classes was more important than family position expectations, and that 64 clothing was a dimension in achieving a high student status (Table 10). This idea was supported by Moore who found dress and appearance ranked fifth in importance as a status criterion in a high school} and by Gordon who discovered leaders were expected to dress above average. The results revealed that no significant relation— ships existed for boys between status inconsistency and concern for aesthetic, interest, and management aspects of clothing (Table 10). The use of clothing to achieve comfort, prestige, and social approval for boys was not related to status inconsistency. Likewise, status incon- sistency was not related to concern for management of cloth- ing and use of clothing to gain prestige and social approval for girls. However, the relationship between status incon- sistency and clothing to be like others (social approval), although not significant, revealed some concern of girls with a higher social class rating than high school position to dress like others (Table 10). In summary, the girls had a higher mean score on each of the clothing variables than boys which indicated that girls placed greater importance on clothing than did boys or that the measure might have been biased in favor of the girls. Concern for the management of clothing was lMoore, p. 63. 2Gordon, pp. 114-20. 65 the only aspect significantly related to social class po- sition for girls. There were no significant relationships between social class and clothing variables for boys. However, more clothing variables were significantly re- lated to student's status in the high school indicating that clothing was more influenced by peers than by the family. Those individuals whose social class was higher than student status used clothing differently than those whose social class position was lower than student status. CHAPTER VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The concern of this study was to investigate the ways specific aspects of clothing were related to a stu- ; dent's social class position, his high school position, and the inconsistency or discrepancy between social class and high'school status. Respondents in the study includedfi 251 boys and 270 girls in grades 10 through 12 from a mid- western high school; the community represented a variety of occupations closely representative of those in the United States- The data were obtained by a questionnaire admin- istered in the Fall of 1966. _Since a random sample was not possible in the crowded school situation, the subjects included all students in six study halls on two consecu- tive Mondays. However, the final sample included only those students who were present for both administrations of the questionnaire. The questionnaire, designed for a larger project of which this analysis is a part, consisted of questions concerning (1) biographical background of the student and family, (2) social participation in the school, (3) accept- ance by peers, (4) concern for the body, (5) self concept 66 67 and self esteem, and (6) appearance and clothing behaviors. \Additional information was obtained from the high school honor roll.1 The socio-economic position of the family was ob- tained from the biographical data by using Hollingshead's two factor index of occupation and education. The majority of the students were in Classes IV and V. The status of the student in the high school was obtained by a composite index of social participation, peer acceptance, and academic achievement. The social participation index was a modified Chapin's Social Participation Scale; the peer acceptance measure was a modified Dillon, Lundberg and Dickson socio-y metric technique; and academic achievement was obtained by the student's name appearing on the honor roll lists. The discrepancy between the family's social position and the student's high school position yielded the status incon- sistency measure. The clothing instrument, a five point rating scale, consisted of 89 questions and provided each subject with a clothing score on each of the following aspects: aes- thetic, comfort, interest, management, modesty, psycholog- ical dependence, social approval, and special attention. 1Supra, see Chapter IV for descriptions of sample site and measures. 2Supra, for discussion of measures see Chapter IV. 68 The data revealed that girls had higher mean scores on each aspect of clothing which indicated that boys were less concerned than girls in the use of clothing,and that attitudes toward clothing vary with sex. However, the clothing measure might have been culturally biased in favor m ~«w—o “—- of girls. Comparison of mean scores on the clothing be— ~ ._ .~ .Mo‘“-__ q- -.~ ___.-....o-v ' ‘ .~. -4.-- i 1 haviors revealed that concern for aesthetics in dress rankedi first for both boys and girls. This finding supports the results of other investigators using older populations. For girls, the interest, management,and modesty aspects ranked second, third, and fourth respectively. The use of clothing to gain special attention ranked least impor- tant for the girls. The use of clothing to achieve comfort and social approval was fifth and sixth in importance while psychological dependence, not used in the present study, ranked fifth in importance for both boys and girls. For boys,the concern for management and comfort in clothing and use of clothing to achieve social approval ranked second, third,and fourth, respectively. Interest in clothing ranked least important, while modesty and clothing to gain special attention were sixth and seventh in importance. The hypotheses concerning social class and clothé/ ing behaviors predicted a positive relationship between social class and (1) concern for interest aspect of cloth- ing, (2) concern for aesthetic aspect, (3) use of clothing 69 to gain social approval, and (4) use of clothing to gain special attention. Negative relationships were hypothesized between social class and concern for modesty in clothing, use of clothing to achieve comfort, and concern for manage- ment aspect of clothing. None of the above positive or negative hypotheses were fully supported. However, a sig- nificant relationship between social class and concern for management in clothing existed for girls, but in the pos- itive direction rather than the predicted negative direc- tion. This finding agrees with Engel's results.1 For boys, the relationship between aesthetics in dress and social class approaches significance in the positive direction which slightly supported the hypothesis. In summary, Hypothesis I: there will be a positive relationship between social class and A. concern for interest aspect of clothing was not supported, B. concern for aesthetic aspect of clothing was not supported but the relationship approached significance for boys, C. use of clothing to gain social approval was not supported, D. use of clothing to gain Special attention was not supported. lSupra, p. 54. 7O Hypothesis II: there will be a negative relation- ship between social class and A. clothing scores on modesty aspect of clothing was not supported but the relationship approached significance for the boys, B. clothing scores on comfort clothing behavior was not supported, C. clothing scores on management clothing behavior was not supported. Positive relationships were hypothesized between high school position and concern for interest in clothing and concern for aesthetics in dress. Both hypotheses were supported at significant levels for girls,but only the hypotheses concerning high school position and concern for aesthetics in dress was significantly related for boys. Other investigations support the finding that appearance and dress serve as a status dimension in the high school. None of the negative relationships which were hypothesized between high school status and use of clothing to gain social approval, use of clothing to gain special attention, use of clothing for comfort, concern for modesty,and con- cern for the management aspects of clothing were supported. Rather than significant negative relationships, positive relationships were found for girls between high school position and concern for modesty in dress, the use of clothing to achieve comfort, and concern for the management 71 aspects of clothing. There were no significant relation- ships for boys between the above clothing behaviors and high school position. It appeared that the boys and girls used clothing in different ways and future studies should consider different hypotheses for the sexes. Hypothesis III: there will be a positive relation- ship between high school position and A. concern for interest in clothing was partially supported. It was significant at the .01 level for girls and in the positive direction, although not significant, for boys. B. concern for aesthetic aspect of clothing was supported at the .01 level for girls and the .05 level for boys. Hypothesis IV: there will be a negative relation— ship between high school position and A. the use of clothing to gain social approval was not supported, although the prediction was in the hypoth- esized direction for both boys and girls. B. the use of clothing to gain special attention was not supported. C. the use of clothing to gain comfort was not supported. D. concern for modesty aspects of clothing was not supported. E. concern for management aspects of clothing was not supported. 72 The high school position was related significantly to more clothing variables than was social class which in— dicated that the adolescent subculture in the school influ- enced clothing behaviors more than the family's social class position. Significant positive relationships ex- isted between high school position and aesthetics in dress for both boys and girls and between high school position and concern for modesty, interest, and management in cloth- ing and use of clothing to achieve comfort for girls. High school position was also significantly related to social class position. This finding supports Hollingshead's hy- pothesis that the social behavior of high school students appears to be functionally related to social positions oc— cupied by the family. However, social class was signifi- cantly related to none of the aspects of clothing except the concern for management for girls only. No significant relationships existed between social class and clothing for boys. This study, therefore, indicated that social class is not functionally related directly to most cloth- ing behaviors in the high school. The positive relationships hypothesized between status inconsistency and concern for interest in clothing, concern for modesty, concern for the management aspects of clothing, use of clothing to achieve aesthetics in dress, and to gain social approval were not supported. But sig- nificant inverse relationships did exist between status 73 inconsistency and modesty in dress for both boys and girls and between status inconsistency and concern for aesthetic and interest aspects of clothing for girls. Although the relationship between status inconsistency and use of cloth- ing to gain social approval was not significant, it was in the predicted direction for girls. The hypothesis that there would be a negative re- lationship between status inconsistency and use of cloth— ing to gain special attention was in the expected direction, but not significant. The hypothesis concerning status in- consistency and use of clothing to achieve comfort stated no relationship would exist between the two variables. The hypothesis was supported by data from the boys but rejected by data from the girls who showed a significant inverse relationship between the variables. The findings on status inconsistency revealed that boys and girls who have a social class position higher than their high school position were less concerned with modesty in dress. Furthermore, girls were less concerned with in- terest and aesthetic aspects of clothing,and used clothing less to achieve comfort if their social class position was higher than their high school position since the above clothing aspects were inversely related to status incon- sistency. In summary, Hypothesis V: there will be a positive relationship between status inconsistency and 74 A. the concern for interest of clothing was not supported. B. the concern for modesty aspect of clothing was not supported. C. the concern for aesthetic aspect of clothing was not supported. D. the concern for management aspect of clothing was not supported. However, the relationship approached significance for boys. E. the use of clothing to gain social approval was not supported. Hypothesis VI: there will be a negative relation- ship between status inconsistency and A. the use of clothing to gain special attention was not supported. Finally, Hypothesis VII: there will be no rela— tionship between status inconsistency and A. use of clothing to achieve comfort was partially supported. Only boys gave support to this predicted rela- tionship. Although many of the hypotheses were not supported in the present study, many of the predictions were logic- ally made since no previous studies existed to provide a foundation from which to hypothesize. This study may be able to serve as a foundation for further research. These findings show that the high school student 75 whose high school status is relatively higher than the fame' ily social class position is more likely to be interested ( in clothing, to be concerned with the aesthetic aspects . of clothing, and to be more modest in clothing behaviora 1 We can conclude, then, that clothing is crucial in attain7/ I 1 ing and keeping a high school position but is of little ; apparent value in maintaining the social class position 75 of the family. The results also showed that the importance of family social class position was not very great, if at all important, in determining the specific clothing behav- iors of adolescent boys and girls. A much more important variable useful in predicting these clothing behaviors is the student's position in the high school. Recommendationsyfor Future Research Due to the magnitude and complexity of the present research data, much of the data remain to be explored. The following ideas have emerged as recommendations for future research: (1) Additional analysis of present data could be made by relating clothing behaviors of boys and girls to their social participation such as membership, committee work, and offices in organizations. (2) The relationship of social participation vari- ables to honor roll, social class, and peer acceptance as well as its relationship to specific clothing aspects of adolescents and college students could be investigated. 76 (3) An analysis could be made of the components of high school position to determine which aspect is more important, e.g., acceptance by peers, being on the honor roll, or social participation in organizations relative to clothing use. (4) A finer measure of high school position could be developed by obtaining grade point average and by hier- archically ranking organizations in terms of their relative prestige in the school. (5) An analysis of the relationship of education of parents and number of brothers and sisters to clothing of high school students could be made. To better determine the role of family in student's clothing behavior, measures of parents' clothing behavior could be compared to their children's. (6) Replication of the study would be fruitful by gathering data from various ethnic groups and populations of more diverse social classes. (7) A more detailed analysis of clothing use within each class position in the social structure might reveal a pattern in the use of clothing. This could be accom- plished by comparing the various classes with each other on various clothing dimensions. (8) An analysis of the magnitude of status incon- sistency and its effect on clothing behaviors could be made. 77 (9) Further refinement of the clothing question— naire, especially for boys, would be proper. Revision of questions on different clothing aspects could be made by using various methods of scale analysis. (10) A participant observation method could be em— ployed in a school over a long period of time to determine if dress does help a student to move up in high school po- sition. This method would give reliability to the present research and would enable a researcher to obtain data in terms of the student's frame of reference rather than in terms of the researcherksas a questionnaire often does. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Barber, Bernard. Social Stratification. New York: Har- court, Brace, and World, Inc., 1957. Coleman, James S. The Adolescent Society. The Free Press of Glencoe, 1961. Goffman, Erving. Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1959. Gordon, C. Wayne. The Social System of the High School. Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1957. Hodges, Harold M. Social Stratification: Class in America. Massachusetts: Schenkman Publishing Co., Inc., 1964. Hollingshead, August B., and Fredrich C. Redlich. Social Class and Mental Illness. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1958. Hollingshead, August B. Elmtown's Youth. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1949. Hurlock, Elizabeth. Developmental Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 2d Ed., 1959. Kahl, Joseph A. The American Class Structure. New York: Rinehart Co., 1957. Martindale, Don. American Social Structure. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1960. Miller, Delbert. Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1964. Silverman, Sylvia S. Clothing and Appearance: Their Psychological Implicgpions for Teenagngirls. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers Col- lege, Columbia University, 1945. 79 80 Warner, W. Lloyd, et a1. Social Class in America. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith, 1957. Weber, Max. Essays in Sociology, trans. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. New York: Oxford University Press, 1946. Articles Barber, Bernard, and Lyles S. Lobel. "Fashion in Women's Clothes and the American Social System," Class, Status, Power, ed. Reinhard Bendix and Seymour M. Lipset, Glencoe,Illinois: The Free Press, 1963, 323-32. Barr, Estelle de Young. "A Psychological Analysis of Fashion Motivation," Archives of Psychology (1934), XXVI, No. 171. Douty, Helen I. "Influence of Clothing on Perception of Others," Journal of Home Economics (1963), 55, 197-202. Form, William H., and Gregory P. Stone. The Social Sig- nificancggof Clothing in Occupational Life. Michigan State College Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 247, 1955. Freudenberger, Herman. "Fashion, Sumptuary Laws, and Business," Business Histopy Review (1963). Hamilton, Janice, and Jessie Warden. "The Student's Role in a High School Community and His Clothing Be- havior," Journal of Home Economics (1966), 58, Hoult, Thomas Ford. "Clothing and the Status Ratings of Men: An Experiment," Dresppfiggrnment and the Social Order, ed. Mary Ellen Roach and Joanne Bubolz Eicher, New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1965, 250—57. Hurlock, Elizabeth. "Motivation in Fashion," Archives of Psychology (1929), XVII, No. 3. Jackson, Elton. "Status Consistency and Symptoms of Stress," American Sociological Review (1962), 27, 469—80. Kaisler, Evan T. "Group Ratings of High School Pupils with High and Low School Marks," Journal of Experimental Education (1955), 23, 375—78. 81 Lasswell, Thomas E., and Peter Parshall. "The Perception of Social Class from Photographs,” Sociology and Social Research (1962), 45, 407-14. Lenski, Gerhard E. "Status Crystallization: A Non-Vertical Dimension of Social Status," American Sociological Review (1954), 19, 405-13. Lenski, Gerhard E. "Social Participation and Status Crys- tallization," American Sociological Review (1956), 21, 458-64. Lundberg, G. A., and L. Dickson. "Selective Association Among Ethnic Groups in a High School Population," American Sociolggical Review (1952), XVII, 23. Martineau, Pierre. "Social Classes and Spending Behavior," Dimension of Consumer Behavigg, ed. James U. McNeal, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1965. Pfautz, Harold. "The Current Literature on Social Strat- ification: Critique and Bibliography," American Journal of Sociology (1953), LVIII, 391-418. Stone, Gregory P., and William H. Form. The Local Com- munity Clothing Market: A Study of the Social and Social ngchological Contextpggf Shopping, Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 262, 1957. Stone, Gregory P., and William H. Form. Clothing Inven- tories and Preferences Among Rural and Urban Fami- lies, Michigan State College Agricultural Experi- ment Station, Technical Bulletin 246, 1955. Other Sources Alexander, Olive Ness. "A Pilot Investigation of the Motives Underlying the Desire to Feel Well-Dressed at Various Age Levels." Unpublished Master's thesis, Cornell University, 1961. Bjorngaard, Arlene Louise. ”The Relationship of Social Class and Social Acceptance to Clothing and Ap- pearance of a Selected Group of Ninth Grade Girls.” Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State Uni- versity, 1962. 82 Brady, Elizabeth. "Clothing Behavior--Refinement of a Measure and Relationship with Social Security and Insecurity." Unpublished Master's thesis, Penn- sylvania State University, 1963. Creekmore, Anna Mary. "Clothing Behaviors and Their Rela— tion to General Values and to the Striving for Basic Needs.“ Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1960. Dillon, Mary Louise. "The Modal Pattern of Dress and Its Relationship to Peer Acceptance Among Eighth Grade Boys." Unpublished Master's thesis, 1963. Engel, Karen. "A Pilot Study of the Relationship of Cloth- ing to Self Concept." Unpublished Master's problem, Michigan State University, 1967. Godfrey, Lina. "The Importance of Clothing and Appearance as Influential Factors in an Interviewing Situation for a Secretarial Position." Unpublished Master's problem, Michigan State University, 1965. Hendricks, Suzanne H. "Opinions of Clothing and Appearance as Related to Group and Non-Group Membership of Twelfth Grade Girls." Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1965. Hollingshead, August B. "Two Factor Index of Social Posi- tion," New Haven, Connecticut: c-l957. Humphrey, Carolyn Andree. "The Relationship of Stability of Self—Concept to Clothing Behavior of Adolescents." Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State Univer- sity, 1968. Klaasen, Mary Green. "Self Esteem and Its Relationship to Clothing." Unpublished Master's thesis, Mich- igan State University, 1967. Kittles, Emma. "The Importance of Clothing as a Status Symbol Among College Students." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1961. Lapitsky, Mary. "Clothing Values." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1961. McGehee, Thomas P. "The Stability of the Self—Concept and Self-Esteem." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1956. 83 Moore, Noel 5. "Status Criteria and Status Variables in an Adolescent Group." Unpublished Ph.D. disserta- tion, Wayne State University, 1967. Parsons, Talcott. "Revised Analytical Approach to the Theory of Social Stratification," Class, Status, Power, ed. Reinhard Bendix and Seymour Lipset, Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1963. Roach, Mary Ellen. "The Influence of Social Class on Cloth— ing Practices and Orientations at Early Adolescence: A Study of Clothing Related Behavior of Seventh Grade Girls." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1960. Rosencranz, Mary L. "A Study of Interest of Clothing Among Selected Groups of Married and Unmarried Young Women." Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State College, 1948. Rosencranz, Mary L. "The Application of a Projective Tech- nique for Analyzing Clothing Awareness, Clothing Symbols, and Range of Themes Associated with Cloth— ing Behavior." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1960. Sharpe, Elizabeth 3. "Development of a Clothing Interest— and-Importance Scale." Unpublished Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 1963. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Michigan General Population Characteristics, 1960. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Michigan General Social and Economic Characteristics, 1960. U.S. Bureau of the Census. U.S. Summapyy General ngula- tion CharacteristicsL 1960. U.S. Bureau of the Census. U.S. Summary, General Social and Economic Characteristics, 1960. Vener, Arthur. "Stratification Aspects of Clothing Impor— tance." Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State College, 1953. Vener, Arthur. "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Socio-Psychological Interpretation." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1957. 84 Warning, Margaret C. "The Implications of Social Class for Clothing Behavior: The Acquisition and Use of Apparel for Girls Seven, Eight, and Nine Years of Age in Three Social Classes in Des Moines, Iowa.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State Uni— versity, 1956. Williams, Madelyn Claire. "Opinions on Clothing, Appear- ance and Social Acceptance as Factors in Group Co— hesion of Ninth Grade Girls." Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1965. Young, Mary Jane. "The Relationship of Clothing to Peer Acceptance and to Personal Appearance of Adoles— cents." Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1967. APPENDIX A Your initials: Your birthday: Month Sex: _Day Year Male 86 Female 87 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Age (at last birthday) Grade Sex How many living brothers and sisters do you have? (Circle the correct number on each line, the 0 if none.) Brothers 0 l 2 3 4 More Sisters 0 1 2 3 4 More Who is the main wage earner where you live? father stepfather mother other (specify) For example: “my uncle," "guardian" Draw a circle around the one number representing the highest grade the main wage earner completed in school. Note: the main wage earner is the person checked in question number 3. Grade School 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 High School 9 10 ll 12 College or University 1 2 3 4 Graduate School 1 or more years If the main wage earner is a college graduate, what is the highest degree he holds? What kind of work does the main wage earner do? Please describe his or her work as specifically as you can; we need to know the type of work done but not the name of the company or business. FOR EXAMPLE: sawyer in a lumber mill, teacher in a high school, chemical en— gineer in chemical plant, salesman for a book company, waitress, operates farm of 160 acres, retired college professor, unemployed. 10. ll. 88 Which of the following statements best describes the working situation of the person you named main wage earner? (Check the one which applies to your situa- tion.) works for someone; does not manage the business (or farm) works for someone; does manage the business or a main part or section of it owns a business (or farm) but hires someone else to manage it owns and manages his or her own business (or farm) retired Please estimate the yearly income which the main wage earner receives. less than 55999 $10,000 - 24,999 $6000 - 9999 over $25,000 Does any other person or source contribute to the financial support of your family? Yes No If yes, explain who (mother, brother, social security, pension, etc.). What is the type of work done by this person? Please estimate the income which this person or source contributes. less than $5999 . $10,000 - 24,999 $6000 - 9999 over $25,000 89 SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS List below the school organizations or activities in which you are presentiy participating. Name of group or Do you Have you What com- Offices organization of attend paid mittee do now which you are a regu— dues? you work holding? member larly? on? EXAMPLES: Y-teens yes yes Program Secretary committee ~ Queen's Court Homecoming queen APPENDIX B EXPLANATION OF CLOTHING MEASURE The clothing questionnaire completed by the sub- jects consisted of preliminary instructions and the eighty— nine statements. Additional information about the final pre-test and scoring of the questionnaire are included in this appendix. Moreover, the statements of the question- naire have been divided into the clothing aspects that they measure, but this information did not appear on the form given to the subjects. Key for Pre-test and Scoring Information 1. ‘Negative statement for which the scoring was reversed. 2. "Wording changed slightly after third pre-test. 3. Index of Discrimination determined by Likert Scaling Technique for Pre—test III (69 subjects). 91 92 IMPORTANCE OF CLOTHING Read the following statements and rate each according to the scale given below. Place the number corresponding to your choice in front of each statement.> The statements generally refer to a school situation. Not analyzed .92' .74 .43 .70‘ .78 .78 1.35“ .21‘I Scale: 1. 5. Almost Always-—very few exceptions 4. Usually-—majority of the time 3. Sometimes 2. Seldom—-not very often 1. Almost Never-—very few exceptions The way I look in my clothes is important to me. Aesthetic 2. 3. 8. 9. 10. 11. When I am shopping I choose clothes that I like even if they do not look best on me. It bothers me when my shirt tail keeps coming out. I consider the fabric texture with the line of the garment when choosing my clothes. I use clothing as a means of disguising physical problems and imperfections through skillful use of color, line, and texture. I wear clothes which have buttons or snaps missing. I pay a lot of attention to pleasing color combinations. I keep my shoes clean and neat. I carefully coordinate the accessories that I wear with each outfit. I wear the clothing fads that are popular in our school even though they may not be as becoming to me. I spend more time than others coordinating the colors in my clothes. 93 S.A1most Always 4.Usually_3.Sometimes 2.Seldom 1.Almost Never Theoretical 1.13 .56 .47 .92 Theoretical 1.39 12. I try to figure out why some people's clothes look better on them than others. Modesty 13. Unlined sheer dresses or blouses reveal too much of the body. 14. I select clothes that are conservative in style. 15. I feel uncomfortable when someone has for- gotten to close their zipper. 16. The first time in the season that I go to a public beach or pool I feel exposed in my bathing suit. 17. I choose clothing with small prints, even though a larger design looks equally well on me. 18. I feel embarrassed when I see someone in too low cut a dress. 19. I select clothes which do not call atten- tion to myself in any way. 20. I feel embarrassed when I see someone in clothes that are too tight. 21. I like dark or muted colors rather than bright ones for my clothes. 22. I hesitate to associate with those whose clothes seem to reveal too much of their body. 23. I wonder why some people wear clothes that are immodest. Interest 24. My friends and I try each other's clothes to see how we look in them. 25. I enjoy trying shoes of different styles or colors. 94 5.A1most Always 4.Usua11y 3.Sometimes 2.Seldom 1.Almost Never 1.69""I 2.35"‘l 1.44" Not pretested .92 .93“ .49 l.74*‘ .69 26. I study collections of accessories in the stores to see what I might combine attrac- tively. 27. I try on some of the newest clothes each season to see how I look in the styles. 28. I read magazines and newspapers to find out what is new in clothing. 29. It's fun to try on different garments and accessories to see how they look together. 30. I experiment with new or different "hair do's" to see how I will look. 31. I like to know what is new in clothing even if none of my friends care and I probably would not want to wear it anyway. 32. I try on clothes in shops just to see how I will look in them without really plan- ning to buy. 33. When I buy a new garment I try many dif- ferent accessories before I wear it. 34. I am curious about why people wear the clothes they do. Comfort 35. The way my clothes feel to my body is important to me. 36. There are certain textures in fabrics that I like and especially try to buy, for ex- ample, soft, fuzzy, sturdy, smooth. 37. I am more sensitive to temperature changes than others and I have difficulty being comfortable in my clothes as a result. 38. I wear my pants or slacks with an easy fit even when tight ones are fashionable. 39. I get rid of garments I like because they are not comfortable. 95 5.A1most Always 4.Usually 3.Sometimes 2.Seldom 1.Almost Never .43 Theoretical 1.12 Not pretested 1.09 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. I find it difficult to buy clothes suit— able to the temperature. I would buy a very comfortable bathing suit even if it were not the current style. I avoid garments that bind the upper arm. I am irritable if my clothes are uncomfort- able. I am extremely sensitive to the texture of the fabrics in my clothing, I wonder what makes some clothes more com- fortable than others. Special Attention 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. When new fashions appear on the market, I am one of the first to own them. I have clothes that I don't wear because everyone else has them. I like to be considered an outstanding dresser by my friends. I try to keep my wardrobe in line with the latest styles. I go to nearby cities to shop for better fashions. I try to buy clothes which are very un- usual. I avoid wearing certain clothes because they do not make me feel distinctive. I enjoy wearing very different clothing even though I attract attention. (Two good questions combined.) I try to buy clothes with the best labels. I wear different clothes to impress people. 96 5.A1most Always 4.Usually 3.Sometimes 2.Seldom 1.Almost Never Theoretical .70 .75" 1.57" .52’ .24 .67 .37“ 1.31“ 1.39" 1.28“ Theoretical .46 1.42'”I 56. I am interested in why some people choose to wear such unusual clothes. Manggement 57. I plan for and prepare clothes to wear several days in advance. 58. I see that my out—of-season clothing is cleaned and stored. 59. I look over the clothing in my wardrobe before each season so that I know what I have. 60. I am enticed into buying garments I like without having anything to go with them. 61. I enjoy trying to get the most for my money in clothing purchases. 62. I wear a raincoat or carry an umbrella to protect my clothes in rainy weather. 63. I have something to wear for any occasion that occurs. 64. I have a long-term idea for purchasing more expensive items of clothing such as coats or suits. 65. I carefully plan every purchase so that I know what I need when I get to a store. 66. I am more concerned about the care of my clothing than my friends are about theirs. 67. I try to find out how I can save as much time, energy, and money as possible with my clothes. Social Approval 68. 69. I check my friends about what they are wearing to a gathering before I decide what to wear. I would rather miss something than wear clothes which are not really appropriate. 97 5.A1most Always 4.Usua1iy 3.Sometimes 2.Seldom 1.Almost Never .53 Theoretical .29 Not pretested Not pretested Not pretested Not pretested Not pretested 70. 71. 72. 73. 75. 76. 77. 78. I feel more a part of the group if I am dressed like my friends. I wear clothes that everyone is wearing even though they may not look as good on me. I am uncomfortable when my clothes are different from all others at a party. I try to dress like others in my group so that people will know we are friends. I get new clothes for a special occasion if the clothes I have are not the type my friends will be wearing. I have gone places and then wished after I got there that I had not gone because my clothes were not suitable. I wear what I like even though some of my friends do not approve. When I buy a new article of clothing I try to buy something similar to what my friends are wearing. When someone comes to school dressed un- suitable, I try to figure out why he is dressed as he is. Psychological Dependence 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. Certain clothes make me feel more sure of myself. I decide on the clothes to wear according to the mood I'm in that day. Days when I feel low I wear my gayest clothes. I "dress-up" to make an ordinary occasion seem more exciting. I am aware of being more friendly and out- going when I wear particular clothes. 98 5.A1most Alwgys 4.Usua11y 3.Sometimes 2.Seldom 1.Almost Never Not pretested Not pretested Not pretested Not pretested Not pretested 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. Theoretical 89. I feel and act differently according to whether I am wearing my best school clothes or not. I buy clothing to boost my morale. I get bored with wearing the same kind of clothes all the time. I have more self-confidence when I wear my best school clothes. When things are not going well I like to wear brighter colors. I wonder why some clothes make me feel better than others. MICHIGAN STRTE UNIV. LIBRQRIES 31293103782698