PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE
STRESS ON ACHIEVEMENT IN
AMERICAN SOCIETY

Thesis for ”W 'chru OI ph. D,
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
William H... Jarrett

1961

 

 

IHESIQ

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE
STRESS 0N ACHIEVEMENT IN
AMERICAN SOCIETY

presented by

WILLIAM H . JARRETT

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

fldegree in SOCIOIOQY and
Anthropology

   

/ / 7-1/7] W
-' / / . ’/
/./ 2-: M- IlffLJf. [8 ,/4,1 5}

L/ ,7 ‘—T V
Major professor

Date May I9, I96I

0—169

   
 

  

LIBRARY

Michigan State
University

    

  
   
    

  

L I B R A R Y
Michigan State
University

PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE STRESS

ON ACHIEVEMENT IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

By

'William.H..Jarrett

AN ABSTRACT OF A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Sociology and.knthr0pology

19611

ABSTRACT

PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE STRESS
ON ACHIEVEMENT IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

By William H. Jarrett

The problem.concerns the personal effects of the pervasive emphasis_on
achievement in American society, The subjects are 368 seventeenyyear-old
high school boys living in Lenawee County, Michigan. Conceptually, the thesis
builds on Merton's (1957) essay on social structure and anomie wherein variant
role responses are posited as results of a scarcity of means relative to
highly stressed cultural goals.

A review of the literature shows that four variables, social status,
parental stress on achievement, independence, and ability, are associated
with high educational aspirations, a measure of life-goals. All of these,
except independence, are explicitly included in Sewell and Haller's (1959)
post hoc explanation of an observed negative relationship between social
status and personality adjustment. These five variables, called antecedent
variables, are shown to be major sources of means-scarcity relative to
future achievement. The linkage of the literature on anomie and achievement
furnishes the basis for predictions about the effects of lack of means in
individual cases.

Two possible effects of this means~scarcity, localized alienation
and nervous tension, are discussed. The former is interpreted as (objective)

powerlessness relative to possible achievement. Both theoretical and

William H. Jarrett

empirical justification is presented for reinterpreting the results of
Sewell and.Haller to conform.to this view of alienation. Predictions are
made that both alienation and nervous tension will vary inversely with
availability of means.

Fritz Heider's (1958) theorem.that imbalance leads to stress is
applied to the problem. Situational balance is shown to be a function of
the degree to which a person's life-goals, environmental facilitation and
personal power are compatible with the requirements of the social order with
respect to achievement. In this framework, alienation and nervous tension
are hypothesized to be effects of imbalance.

Methodologically, the five antecedents are used to characterize
each subject in terms of a five-dimensional attribute-space. Functional
and pragmatic reduction of the attribute-space yields five achievement-
types and the hypotheses predict the rank-orders of these types on the
indices of alienation and nervous tension.

The hypotheses correctly predicted the rank-orders of the types
on the index of alienation; however, the results suggested that the
hypotheses were someWhat insensitive to particular interaction-effects of
independence and ability. The hypotheses failed to accurately predict the
rank-order of the types on the index of nervous tension, although the
results confirmed previous findings that nervous tension tends to vary
inversely with social status. It follows that localized alienation.may,
but nervous tension.may not, be interpreted as a personal consequence of
imbalance among the success goals of youth and certain specific means

available for their achievement.

'William.H. Jarrett

Suggestions for future research focus on the ways in which stress
may be reduced. One possibility is avoiding those persons and situations
that actively contribute to stress (Festinger, 1957); thus, persons high
on alienation might seek out social relationships that did not involve
achievement-oriented activity, giving rise to differences in social par-
ticipation between persons high and low in alienation. Two personal con-
sequences follow, viz., redefined value-attachments and differences in
personality organization. The major contribution of the study lies in the
linkage of localized alienation in adolescents to the considerable liter-

ature on anemia in adults.

REFERENCES

 

Festinger, Leon (1957), A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, Evanston,
Illinois, Row Peterson and Company.

 

Heider, Fritz (1958), The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations,
New York, Jehn Wiley and Sons.

 

 

Merton, Robert K. (1957), Social Theory and Social Structure, Glencoe,
Illinois. The Free Press.

 

Sewell, William H. and A. o. Haller (1959). Factors in the Relationship
between Social Status and Personality Adjustment of the Child,
American Sociological Review, 2hz783-79l.

 

PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE STRESS

ON ACHIEVEMENT IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

By

'William H. Jarrett

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Sociology and.Anthropology

1961

Cry

"’3

— .’ p I EJJ ’7
' ‘- l / kw 9:94».
I

/?730

‘)

7/.a

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

writing a thesis requires the marshalling of all the resources
at one's command. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly
acknowledge the resources which I have been fortunate enough to have
at my disposal. A. O. Haller made his Lenawee County data available
to me and for this, and for his continued insistence on high standards
of craftsmanship, I am.most grateful. 'Whatever excellence I have
achieved in this work has been largely due to his instruction and she
couragement. I am indebted to the members of my committee, particularly
Jay.Artis and Charles wrigley, for their advice and comments on my work.
I have spent numerous hours in conversation with Eugene Erickson and his
constructive criticism has been most helpful. I. W. Miller patiently
guided me through the initial intricacies of the Lenawee County data
and to him, and to Shailer Thomas, who contributed to my understanding
of the Cattell test, I am.grateful. Finally, I would like to acknowledge
the assistance of the staffs of the Tabulating Service and Computer
Laboratory of Michigan State University for their aid in tabulating the
data used in.this thesis. Throughout the past eighteen months, my wife
has willingly stopped her work and looked and listened to my problems
and to her, and our children, who refused to pay any attention to any-

one's problems, I owe a substantial debt of gratitude.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LISTOFTABIES...............

LIST OF APPENDICES °

CHAPTER

I.

II.

INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . .‘. . . .

Purpose of the thesis . . . . . . .
The prOblem. . . . . . . . . . . .
Contributions of the thesis . . . .
Scope of the thesis . . . . . . . .
Organization of the thesis . . . .

Introduction .. . . . ... . .......
The prOblem . . . . . . . . . . .
The antecedent variables. . . . . .
The consequent variables. . . . . .
The model of balance and imbalance.
Statement of the problem. . . . . .
The hypotheses . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusion

0 O O O O O O O O O 0

III. MEASUREMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction. . . . . . . . . .'. .

CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND OF THE HYPOTHESES .

O O 0 O O Q 0 O

0

O

O O 0 O O O O 9

The site and the sample . . . .'. . - . .
Measurement of the antecedent variables
Measurement of the consequent variables

Reduction of the attribute-space .
Conclusion

0 0 0 O O O O O O C O 9

IV . RESU LTS 0 O O O O O O O O O I O O

Introduction . . . . . . .
The hypotheses . . . . . .
Tests of the hypotheses . .
Conclusion . . . . . . . .

e o O O
O O
0 O 0

iii

0

O O O O

O O O O O O O O

0 O O O O O 0

O O 6 O O O O O

O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O 0

O O O O O

O O O O

O 0 O O ‘0

O O 0 C O O O O

O O C O

Page

ii

caviar :9 \croIAIAIJ I4

'—l
.‘1

Conan>n>
vICDChku

TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

CHAPTER Page

V 0 CONCLUSION O O O O O 0 O O O O O O O O O O 0 0 O O O O an

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . .
Localized alienation and anemia. . .
Consequences of localized alienation
Suggestions for future researdh . .

O O O 0
O O O O
O O O O
O O O 0

00..

.00.
(I)
4:.“

REFERMCES O O O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 92

iv

Table
l.
2.
3.
h.
5.
6.
7.

9.

10.

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Logical combinations of the antecedents . . . . . . . . . 30
Rank-order of types of amount of imbalance . . . . . . . 31
Rank-order of combinations within types . . . . . . . . . 3h
Intercorrelations of the antecedents . . . . . . . . . . Ah
Index of Alienation and correlations with status . . . . A9
Classification of the sample by the antecedent variables. 53
Numerical composition of the five achievement types . . . 55

Means and variances of five types on Index of
Alienation O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 62

Predicted and actual relations among alienation
means of five types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Means and variances of five types on Index of
Alienation under four conditions of power. . . . . . 67

Predicted and actual relations of types I, II and
III on Index of.Alienation under four conditions
of power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Predicted and actual relations of types IV and V
on Index of Alienation under four conditions of
power 0 O O 0 O O O I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 69

12.. Means and variances of five types on Index of

13.

Nervous Tension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Predicted and actual relations among nervous
tension means of five types. . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

LIST OF TABLES (continued)

Table Page

1h. Means and variances of five types on Index of
Nervous Tension under four conditions of
power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

15A. Predicted and actual relations of types I, II and
III on Index of Nervous Tension under four
conditions of power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

15B. Predicted and actual relations of types IV and V
on Index of Nervous Tension under four
conditions of power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Vi

1.

LIST OF APPENDICES

Richland County Matrix of California Test of
Personality Items, Factor Loadings, sis
Linkage -Amlys is O O C . . O C C C O O O 0 I O .

 

 

Description and Loadings of the IQ PE Test Factors
Used to Measure Independence . . . . . . . . . .

Intercorrelations of Lenawee County California Test

 

12f Personality Items Used in Index of Alienation .

 

Linkage-Analysis of Lenawee County Matrix of
California Test 2f Personality Items .

 

 

Means and Standard Deviations of Variables in T-score
Form and Formulas Used in Computations . .

Page

96

. 10h

. 107

. 109

. 112

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the thesis

 

The purpose of this thesis is to develop and test hypotheses

about the personal effects of the emphasis on success in American society.

The Problem.

 

The problem concerns the impact of this emphasis on seventeen-
year-old boys in terms of (a) their own commitments to the success goal
and (b) the interaction of their commitments with given.expectations of
others. Predictions are made with respect to two consequences of (a) and

(b), viz., localized alienation; and nervous tension.

Contributions of the thesis

 

The contributions of this study lie in several spheres. First,
a possible link with "anomie" is forged through the isolation of certain
situational correlates of localized alienation, which correlates have
previously been found to precipitate anomie. These situational factors,
when combined with specified personal orientations, are shown to place
the pepson in an imbalanced situation for which only a limited number
of resolutions are possible. One solution is "anemia" or anomie as sub-
jectively experienced; another solution is localized alienation which

may be the temporal antecedent to anomia in adults.

 

1This concept is fully discussed in Chapter II. Basically,
alienation (as used here) refers to a condition of “self-to-others" dis-
tance (Nettler, 1957) or estrangement. Two particular "others" are
specified, the family and the school, hence the affixing of the adjective,
localized, to distinguish this usage from'the more pervasive sense of
estrangement that is generally indicated by the term in current literature.

-1-

-2-

Second, this study illustrates how the careful application of the
logic of investigation helps in separating antecedent from.consequent
gvariables. Using the organismeenvironment framework, certain.variables
are extracted from.the relevant literature, then placed into a theoreti-
cal relationship with each other through use of Heider's theorem of
cognitive balance. Use of this model facilitates prediction since it
demands a precise statement of a delimited set of variables. Once this
has been done, the various combinations of variables can be considered

and hypotheses for each combination derived. Then and only then are the

 

data categorized. Given this procedure, the so-called "blinding" effect
of theory is minimized. A specific result of this procedure being
employed is the derivation of a set of attributes which are said to
"maximize" commitment to the success-goal and "minimize" the effects of
imbalance. The effects of imbalance are cast in the form of predictions

about localized alienation and nervous tension.

Scope of the thesis

 

Inferentially, the study is limited to 368 seventeen-year-old
boys living in Lenawee County, Michigan in the spring of 1957. Substan-
tively, generalizations are restricted to similar samples in highly
industrialized, open-class societies, though the parameters of these
societies cannot be specified on the basis of present information.
Finally, certain assumptions are made to facilitate analysis and the
scope of the study is limited by the degree to which the assumptions

are valid.

Organization of the thesis

 

Following this introductory chapter, a conceptual statement of
the hypotheses is made in Chapter II. There the relevant literature is
reviewed, the antecedent and consequent variables extracted and placed
in a context which permits deduction, and the final section contains a
derivation of the conceptual hypotheses for each combination of the
antecedents as it bears on localized alienation and nervous tension.
Chapter III presents the description and evaluation of the various
measurement techniques used in the study, and contains a rather extended
description of the selection of items used to measure alienation and
nervous tension. Chapter IV begins with an operational statement of the
hypotheses, then presents the results and analyses of the hypotheses in
terms of their predictive ability. Chapter V summarizes the study and
contains a discussion of the findings viewed in.their capacity to generate

further research.

 

CHAPTER II

CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND OF THE HYPOTHE§E§

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the chapter

 

This chapter lays the groundwork for the hypotheses. Immediately
below there is a brief statement on nomenclature, followed by an enlarged
statement of the problem. This statement leads into a review of the
relevant literature, the result of which is the extraction of the ante-
cedent variables. Then.the cognitive balance model is introduced to
link the antecedents with the consequents. The literature on certain
consequences of imbalance is then summarized and the chapter concludes
with a derivation of hypotheses which are applicable to all combinations

of the antecedents.

Nomenclature

 

Science deals with reality in terms of metaphors or models. The
model employed here is that of organism interacting with environment.
The term £303: is used to denote the abstraction from the organism, and
gbjegt denotes the abstraction from.the environment. Here, actor denotes
a EEEEEE’ while objects are of two kinds, sggial and nonsocial. It is
important to note that interaction occurs only with social objects
(other persons or collectivities) while nonsocial objects may be either
physical or cultural entities. Characteristics predicated of the actor

alone are called person-attributes; all others are termed situational

 

or environmental. The term orientation links persons to relevant

 

objects in their environments; if one wishes, "attitude" may be substi-

in-

-5-

tuted for orientation without any meaning being lost. Finally, frequent

references will be made to cultural systems, which have three important

 

aspects for this study; (1) they are objects of orientation (nonsocial
things that can be cognized by persons), (2) they are institutionalized
in social systems, and (3) after learning occurs, they may be said to

have been internalized.
THE PROBLEM

Background

The empirical concern of this thesis is the area of "social
structure and anomie." Conceived by Durkheim and placed into the main
stream of interest by Merton (1957), the issue involves a situation in
which persons are required to strive for a goal without adequate means
to attain it. In.American society anomie is said to stem from the dis-
crepancy between the pervasive emphasis on success and the fact of
socially structured obstacles to success (Merton, 1957, p. 18h). The
result is a stress which impinges upon nearly every member of the
society, with varying effects. Although the term."anomie“ has been used
to denote normlessness, as well as ambiguous norms, in.this study it
denotes an ambivalence toward norms, such that both conformity and
deviation are accompanied by misgivings (Johnson, 1960, pp. 557-558).
When anomie is predicated of persons rather than social systems it is

called "anomia" (Srole, 1956).

The Problem

 

Given anomie as one effect of what might be called a "means-end"
disjunction, considerable attention has been.given to other effects of
the same condition. Recently, two papers have appeared that address
themselves to the personal effects of the disjunction in a parallel

manner. One of these, Cohen's Delinquent Boys: The Culture gfithg Gangs

 

 

(1955), proceeds from a speculative position and attempts to account for
the development and maintenance of a delinquent sub-culture among
adolescents in terms of psychological mechanisms. The basis of these
mechanisms is a reaction-formation engendered by the discrepancy between
the success-goal and the available means. The other paper (Sewell and
Haller, 1959) begins from an empirical base and presents an inductive
explanation of an Observed negative relationship between socio-economic
status and personality adjustment, independently arriving at the same
set of antecedent conditions as was posited by Cohen. Sewell and
Haller's paper furnishes the point of departure for the present analysis,

an inquiry into the differential personal effects of status-induced

 

 

 

stress on success and achievement in American society. Since their post-
factum.explanation summarizes most of the theory implicit in the litera-
ture on anomie, their digest is quoted below:

1. The early socialization of the lower-status child results
in the internalization of values and the development of
behaviors characteristic of the lower-status family and
neighborhood in which he is reared.

2. When the lower-status child extends his activities into
the larger social environment of the school and the come
munity, he encounters many values and behavior expectations
that are quite different from those of his family and
neighborhood.

-7-

3. He is made to feel that some of these values and behaviors
are superior to those of his own family and neighborhood,
so he tries to adopt them.

h. Since these values and behaviors are in conflict with those
of his family and neighborhood and since the low status
position of his family in many ways inhibits the behavior
dictated by them, he experiences tension states which may
be manifested in (a) concern ever the social status of his
family, (b) concern over his ability to perform up to
expected levels, especially in school, (c) rejection of
his family since its members are perceived by him as
responsible for his inability to behave according to his
higher status values; and finally, (d) a syndrome of
nervous behavior indicative of general anxiety (p. 519).

This digest contains, implicitly and explicitly, the variables

to be utilized in this thesis. Taken from.thcir context, these are
(1) status, (2) parental cultural standards as presented to their
children for adoption, (3) the offspring's life-goals, (h) relevant
means for goal-attainment and (5) a set of reactions on the part of
the persons involved. Methodologically, (l), (2), (3) and (D) will

be treated here as "antecedent variables," while (5) will furnish the
basis for the "consequent variables," localized alienation and nervous
tension.2 The next three sections of this chapter develop these con~

cepts more fully so that hypotheses can be derived to predict the

occurrence of (5).

 

2The terms "antecedent" and "consequent” are used in preference
to the traditional usage, independent and dependent variables, because
we wish to speak of interaction among the antecedents and it seems
illogical to speak of interaction among independent variables (wrigley,
1959). Further, in this thesis, the terms "variable" and "attribute”
are used as synonyms, recognizing that at times the former refers to
a continuous characteristic and the latter to a dichotomous character-
istic, as the terms are used in other works.

The Problem

 

Given anomie as one effect of what might be called a "means-end"
disjunction, considerable attention has been.given to other effects of
the same condition. Recently, two papers have appeared that address
themselves to the personal effects of the disjunction in a parallel

manner. One of these, Cohen's Delinquent qus: The Culture 3fithe_GangL

 

 

(1955), proceeds from a speculative position and attempts to account for
the deve10pment and maintenance of a delinquent sub-culture among
adolescents in terms of psychological mechanisms. The basis of these
mechanisms is a reaction-formation engendered by the discrepancy between
the success-goal and the available means. The other paper (Sewell and
Haller, 1959) begins from an empirical base and presents an inductive
explanation of an Observed negative relationship between socio-economic
status and personality adjustment, independently arriving at the same
set of antecedent conditions as was posited by Cohen. Sewell and
Heller's paper furnishes the point of departure for the present analysis,

an inquiry into the differential personal effects 9: status-induced

 

 

 

 

stress 2n success and achievement in American society. Since their post-
factum.explanation summarizes most of the theory implicit in the litera-
ture on anomie, their digest is quoted below:

1. The early socialization of the lower-status child results
in the internalization of values and the development of
behaviors characteristic of the lower-status family and
neighborhood in which he is reared.

2. When the lower-status child extends his activities into
the larger social environment of the school and the come
munity, he encounters many values and behavior expectations
that are quite different from'those of his family and
neighborhood.

-8-

THE ANTECEDENT VARIABLES

Introduction

 

The first part of this section develops the concept of life-goals,
the fulcrum of the thesis. The second part discusses the situational
variables, socio-economic status and parental expectations; they are
called "situational" because they are "givens" to the person and con-
stitute conditions of his action. The third part is concerned with the
person variables, ability and independence, so-called because they are
predicated of the person alone. Throughout this section the focus is
on the empirical relationships among the antecedents, particularly as
they cluster around life-goals. The remaining sections of this chapter

focus on the effects of this clustering on individuals.

Life-goals

 

Literature on social mobility and social stratification com-
monly points to education as one of the Chief mechanisms of upward
movement in the status hierarchy. Regardless of why this is the case,
the choice of the person with respect to education carries with it a
commitment to one of several life~styles, at least in American society.
Given the societal emphasis on elementary and secondary education for
all new members, it is not until late high school that the person must
make this commitment for himself. Regardless of what thoughts he might
have earlier, at this point he must declare himself with respect to
future education. Depending on the choice, he either signifies his
intention to enter the occupational world immediately at a rather low
level or indicates his desire to enter it at a higher level at a later

date, using post-high school training as a vehicle. For this reason,

-9-

social scientists tend to accept educational aspirations as a crude
indication of the strength of a person's commitment to the success-goal,
recognizing that the indicator itself explains little of the dynamics of
the commitment-process.

The elements of this commitment have been discussed under the
rubric of the "achievement-syndrome" (McClelland, 1953). Rosen (1956)
summarizes much of the literature and suggests that there is indeed a
"dissimilar concern with achievement" (p. 20h) in the various social
classes, which concern involves two elements; (1) a psychological fac-
tor called "achievement-motivation" and \(2) a cultural factor, "value-
orientations" which are seen as "defining and implementing" achievement-
motivated behavior. Rosen's data offer evidence of the imperfection of
educational aspirations as an indicator of achievement-motivation since
ability and aspiration do not go hand in hand with motivation and value
orientations (p. 209):

Value scores . . . proved not to be related to academdc

achievement, although they are associated with a kind of

behavior that is, if not in itself an act of achievement,

at least a factor in social mobility . . . . It was found

that an individual's value score, but ngt his motivation

score, is related to educational aspirations.
This thesis focuses on one aspect of commitment, choice with respect
to college training. Rosen's paper provides evidence that this choice
is (l) empirically relevant to commitment to life-goals and (2) some-
what delimited in its scope, viz., it is related to value-orientations
.but unrelated to motivational components.

Turning from the elements of commitment, it is important to

ascertain the extent to which this commitment is expected.g£ actors

_— m—o— _ —.—- —'-."-—---1 w- .-- H mttrw-‘M.—'A .nn

 

in the social system. Johnson, (1960, p. 558) maintains that the

 

-10-

commitment is preferred for all but not eXpected pf all. Merton (1957)

 

posits anomie as a product of a society in which all are required to
strive for a goal but at least some lack sufficient means. The dif-
ference in their respective positions is whether or not the commitment
is institutionalized, i.e., expected of all persons occupying given
positions. Empirically, the extent of commitment to success (measured
by educational aspirations) is found to be confounded by other factors,
viz., status, parental stress, ability, and indirectly, independence.
The extent and nature of this cluster will become apparent as this
section progresses, but for the moment it is necessary to decide as to
the degree to which the commitment is expected of actors in the society}
Sewell and Haller (1959) handle the issue by a series of assumptions
which should be made eXplicit.

First they assume that the cultural standards (hence value-
orientations with respect to life-goals) of lower-status families differ
from those of middle-status families, and second that the school trans-
mits values coincident with those of the middle-class. Third they assume
that the boys involved at least partially internalize both parental and
school expectations, which in the case of lower-status boys produces a
conflict which somehow must be resolved. An unstated corollary of this
third assumption is that middle-status boys should manifest an absence
of this conflict, if assumptions one and two are valid. Since the
available evidence (to be explored momentarily) suggests the possibility
of a confounded set of relationships, it is difficult to draw a clear-cut
conclusion as to the nature of the expectations involved. Therefore, the
position taken.here is that commitment is required (institutionalized) for

high or middle-status persons but not of those of lower-status. However,

-11-

it is important to remember that societal rewards are conferred only if
a commitment is made, is carried through, and is successful. The issue
of societal expectations is important because violation of institution-
alized expectations is generally held to constitute deviance from the
point of view of the society (Cohen, 1959, p. h63) and the problem of
the thesis is to inquire into the effects of the stress on success,

including strains toward deviance.

The Situational Variables

 

Every beginning student in sociology is told that status effects
are manifested in the actions of some persons toward other persons.
The “others" in this analysis are high school boys; the agents of influ~
ence are their parents. It is via the parents that socio-economic status
first enters the lifespace of the subjects and for this reason status
and parental expectations are often discussed together as though they
were one and the same. When Merton (1957, p. 158) speaks of the family
as being the "major transmission belt for the diffusion of cultural
standards to the oncoming generation" he is pin-pointing the element of
the parental status=role of concern here. Further, the assumptions of
Sewell and Haller focus on the interaction of parent-child as one of the
possible sources of conflicting values.

Status and family. Until recently, research into the influences

 

on educational aspirations have tended to be of a bivariate nature.

Those studies which focused on status-induced effects have assumed that,
given status, parental stress, or the lack of it, followed. Hyman (1953)
reports that while middle-class adults consider post-high school training

necessary for success, lowermclass respondents do not and argues that

commitment to the success—goal is largely a "fiction" in the lower—classes
(p. hOB). Hollingshead (19h?) Supports this view with his investigatiOn
of the effects of the class structure in a small midwestern community.‘ A
recent paper by Bordua (1960) takes as its focus the influence of parental
stress on college aspirations and offers an opportunity to test the wisdom
of treating status and parental expectations as one and the same (empir-
ically). Bordua considers the influence of status and parental stress
separately, commencing with a bivariate relationship between status and
college plans, then introduces parental expectations to see if the original
relationship was spurious and confounded by parental effects. His findings
show that "social status differences are considerably but not completely
accounted for by differences in parental stress“ (p. 268). In fact, more
variance is accounted for with the parental variable than with status;

thus the relationship is multivariate, rather than bivariate. Given this
data, plus the known influence of status on educational plans (Sewell,
Haller and Strauss, 1957), it follows that an inquiry into differential
commitment to success should incorporate both status and parental expecta-
tions into the research design.

Family and school. Earlier (pp. 10-11) the assumptions of Sewell

 

and Haller were shown to involve the influences of both family and
school on the value-orientations of the subjects. Bordua‘s paper attests
to the empirical validity of their assumptions concerning the family,
leaving the influences of the school to be explored. Since the school,
with the famiky, is charged with the socialization function in American
society, any inquiry into the effects of socialization should pay some

attention to the school's contribution to the problem. Fortunately,

 

-13-

two sources are available for examination; a recent paper by Wilson

(1959) suggests that school systems exert influences on educational aspir~
ations which are independent of family effects and a speculative paper

by Parsons (1959) integrates the role of the school system into litera-
ture concerning achievement and life-goals. In the following analysis,
the assumptions made by Sewell and Haller are shown to have partial, but
not complete, theoretical validity.

First, a major difference between the family and the school is
that the latter is an achieved status system Whereas the former is not.
Given this, the emphasis on achievement (thought to be a reflection of
middle-class standards) becomes understandable, since the positive valu-
ation of achievement is a requisite for successful learning in the class
per se. Second, given the positive commitment to achievement, the lesson
learned in school can and must be generalized to higher-order social
systems in which the members of the school class will be involved later.
Thus the emphasis on achievement is necessary at both the school and
Societal level and for obvious reasons (the family cannot emphasize
eachievement) the school is the major collectivity in which this lesson

Inust be learned if it is learned at all. Parsons (1959 p. 309) stresses

'tJie role of the family as one of "cooperation" with the school in
131?ansmitting this "shared valuation of achievement" which places value
both on initial equality ~a_n_d on differential achievement.

Taking society as the point of reference, the primary function

(351? ‘the school is that of "selective allocation of contingents to future
37“:>:lxes" (Parsons, 1959, p. 311), the result of which is to differentiate

1Z6151<3= members of the school class along the axis of achievement. Considering

 

-m-

the problem of the thesis, it is here that the lower-status youth
encounters a means-scarcity in two spheres; ability, which is known to
be distributed along status lines (Sewell, Haller and Strauss, 1957)
and value-orientations, where the middle-class family's standards more
nearly'mirror those presented in the school. The latter statement
follows from the evidence that achievement-orientation is higher in the
middle than lower-class. If it is granted fliat middle-class youth are
likely to evidence more complete socialization for achievement in terms
of ability and values, then it follows that to the extent their lower-
status counterparts seek to compete, they encounter a means-scarcity.
And since the reward-system of the society must logically exclude those
who do not compete, the degree of means-scarcity is for that reason
highest in the lower-classes. It is this state of affairs that Merton
and others have cited as contributing to the occurrence of anomie and as
constituting a strain toward deviance.

Unfortunately the influence of the school system cannot be incor-
porated into the research design of the thesis because of a lack of data.
For this reason the results of the investigation will possibly be con-
founded by school differences such as those reported by Wilson (1959).
Lack of knowledge of school differences is perhaps the main empirical
lacunae in the present study.

§E§E§EZ‘ Evidence has been presented linking socio-economic
status and parental expectations to the differential commitment of youth
to life-goals. The influence of a third factor, the school, has been
incorporated into the conceptual scope of the thesis. Whereas status and
parental stress are situational factors, the following portion of this
section turns to a consideration of attributes predicated of the youth

alone, independence and ability.

-15-

The Person Variables

 

Independence. Thus far three attributes have been shown to be

 

contained in the inductive explanation of Sewell and Haller. Rosen's
paper on the achievement-syndrome suggests that another variable,
independence, be added to the research design. Drawing upon previous
research he reports that independent behavior is a demand made by mothers
of children with high achievement-motivation (1956, p. 211); and Parsons
(1959, p. 300) maintains that the level of independence is "the most
important single predispositional factor with which the child enters
school." By independence is meant "his level of self-sufficiency
relative to guidance from adults, his capacity to take responsibility
and to make his own decisions in coping with new and varying situations“
(Parsons, 1959, p. 300). Douvan and Adelson (1958, p. 38) report that
the upwardly mobile boys in their sample "manifest a drive toward inde»
pendence and responsibility whereas the downwardly mObile do not." The
relevance of this factor to the present problem lies in the fact that
the capacity for independent behavior seems to be one of the requisites
for successful competition in achieved status systems. Although it
emerges from.parent-child interaction, once gained it provides a basis
for generalization to autonomy from reliance on authority figures gen-
erally (Douvan.and Adelson, 1958, p. 38). It is important to note that
this attribute designates a capacity of Which the possessor may be only
dimly aware; youths with high independence will "feel comfortable" in
achieved status systems, whereas their low independence counterparts

will not.

-15..

Ability. The final attribute classified as an antecedent variable
comes to the problem from several sources. Sewell and Haller speculate
that concern over ability leads certain persons to manifest tension-states,
Parsons (1959) feels that ability is the key to the ”differentiation of
the school—class along the achievementnaxis” and several studies have
established the empirical association of ability with other factors in
achievement~orientation (Sewell, Haller and Strauss, 1957), (Rosen, 1956)
and (Douvan and Adelson, 1958). Put succinctly, ability is the answer
to the question."gan the person do so—and-so?"

In this thesis ability is seen as a means to achieving success.
Low ability constitutes a means-scarcity to the youths involved since
the known association of ability and success leads one to label the for-
mer as a requisite for the latter. Given the assumption that high
commitment to the success-goal is expected of middle and upper-status
persons, the lack of ability for such actors becomes a critical problem,
considerably more so than for their lower-status counterparts for whom
the expectation of commitment is weaker. On the other hand, in view of
the positive association between the situational variables and high
life~goals, the low-status youth of high-ability also encounters a means-
scarcity in competing with his higher-status competitors who are more
likely to have undergone socialization of a type emphasizing acquisition

of the attitudes and behaviors associated with success.

Summary
This rather lengthy section has isolated the antecedent variables
from their theoretical and empirical context and indicated the relevance

of the set for the problem of the thesis. This task was accomplished by

.17-

stunning that, with the exception of independence, all of the antecedents
there included in.Sewell and Haller's discussion of the negative associa-
1xion.between status and personality adjustment. Independence was shown
in: be one of the variables typically associated with anticipatory
:socialization for successful achievement. Given the competitive nature
of’success, the necessity of each of the antecedents for attaining success
is suggested by the tendency of the antecedents to occur together. Hence,
the lack of one or more of these can be said to constitute a means-scarcity
of varying dimensions. The delineation of the concept of means-scarcity
illuminates what Merton refers to as an anomie situation, whereby means
are insufficient to preferred goals. From this scarcity comes an ambi-
valence toward the normative structure of the society on the part of the
persons involved. Finally, the extent of the "requiredness" of a positive

commitment to success was said to vary with the social-status of the person.

THE CONSEQUENT VARIABLES

Introduction

 

The purpose of this section is the delineation of the consequent
variables, alienation and nervous tension. 'Whereas the previous section
was concerned with the sources of strain, this section focuses on the
possible effects of strain. Following the procedure used earlier, the
paper of Sewell and Haller furnishes the point of departure, but more
literature is reviewed to develop the concepts. For reasons which become

apparent later, alienation is treated more adequately than is nervous

tension.

-18-

Alienation

 

To develop this concept, it is necessary to go back to the paper
of Sewell and Heller and examine the procedure by which the four tensionp
states resulted from their analysis. These "tensionestates" are actually
four factors derived from a factor analysis of thirty items taken from the

California Test pf Personality - Elementarijorqu. These items were

 

 

 

selected from.the total inventory of test items because they were found to
be more highly associated with social status than any other items. The
factor analysis yielded nine orthogonal factors; however, only the first
four were judged to have “any meaningful content" (p. 513). Consequently
the tension-states which they posit as effects of the structural strain are
actually hypothetical constructs, composed of a number of personality test

items which statistically constitute separate dimensions and substantively

 

 

are interpreted as separate effects.

Given the nature of a factor as a hypothetical construct, there is
not a priori guarantee that its substantive content will be homogeneous.
Of their four factors, only one (nervous tension) is clearly homogeneous
substantively. Another factor (concern over ability) manifests homogeniety
but may be interpreted differently, and will be so interpreted below. The
remaining factors (status concern,and rejection of familyB) are interpreted
as substantively separate only because of fine factor analysis. When the
loadings of these two factors are examined, two things are apparent; first
the manifest content of the loadings of both factors have in common some
kind of a reference to the family (generally conditions which are deriva-
tive of the family's status) and second, one item appears on both factors

("I try to keep boys and girls away from my home because it isn't as nice

A...

3Haller has agreed that this factor might more accurately be called
alienation from.family.

 

-19-

as theirs"). There is no reason why both of these features should not
result, given the nature of factor analysis; rather the point is that they
32 result. Finally, when the original matrix of Sewell and Haller is
analyzed by another technique, the result is a mixture of the items from.
all of the factors except nervous tension.h It should be clear that,
thus far, it is simply a matter of different techniques yielding dif-
ferent results.

The position taken here is that the three item areas may legiti-
mately be subsumed under one rubric, alienation. Leaving the title to
be discussed below, empirical evidence may be adduced to support this
position. Douvan and Adelson (1958) inquired into the behavior patterns
of three “mobilityhcategories" of adolescent boys, and report finat
statistically significant differences were found ammng the three groups
with respect to a number of variables (p. h3). Among these variables
were “achievement-mode" or, criteria for choosing jobs, "autonomy" or
extent of reliance on authority-figures, and "familybmilieu," the sub-
ject's relationship with their parents. Empey (1956, p. 707) presents
findings which link the item areas of "status concern" and "alienation
fromfamily'“S

The itemeareas, alienation and powerlessness._ Given empirical

 

grounds for questioning the substantive separation of the three areas,

the question becomes why they are said to reflect alienation. Seeman

 

hThe matrix of Sewell and Haller, the factor loadings and the
results of the alternative technique are found in.Appendix (l).

SEmpeyreports that "lower-class seniors were significantly more
inclined than upper-class seniors to want a job that had a higher social
standing . . . than the one their father had, to rate their family
income as insufficient for family needs, to think it important that they
have a better income than their father." (p. 707).

 

-20-

(1959) reviews the literature on the concept of alienation and discusses
five different usages of the term; powerlessness, meaninglessness, norm?
lessness, isolation and self-estrangement. Concerning powerlessness, he
casts alienation in an expectancy framework, the feeling held by an
individual that his own behavior cannot determine the outcome of events

which he seeks (p. 78h). In this thesis, alienation is interpreted as

 

powerlessness, not in an expectancy framework, but rather objectively, or

 

 

from.the standpoint pf the conditions in the society, particularly those

 

 

 

 

determining who succeeds and who does not. This conception is similar to

 

 

that of Nettler (1957) who defines an alienated person as "one who has
been estranged from, made unfriendly toward, his society and the culture
it carries" (p. 672). The present conception differs from Nettler's in
that the concern is not with the larger social order but with a delimited
portion of the total society, the relevant objects in the youth's environ-
ment Which bear on his chances for success. Interpreted in this sense,
not only are ability and independence elements of power (means for suc-
cessful competition) but also status and parental expectations may be
similarly interpreted. All of the antecedents constitute means which are
either present or lacking with respect to achievement, and the lack of any
one or combination of them constitutes a condition of powerlessness
(objectively) for that particular person relative to societal stress on
achievement. Consequently, it is appropriate to modify the label of the
itemrareas to conform.to the empirical limits of the analysis and call it
"localized or situational alienation." Hereafter, when the term aliena-

tion is used it should be understood in this restricted sense. If this

-21-

usage is granted as legitimate, then it follows that one who lacks any or
all of the means or elements of power is a likely candidate for alienation

from his immediate environment.6

Alienation as chronologically prior to anomie. Earlier anomie was
defined as involving an ambivalence toward the normative structure and the
suggestion made that alienation might be an earlier state of ambivalence.
'Why'this should be is relatively simple to explain. Anomie (or more
accurately, anemia) is said by Srole (1956, p. 711) to refer to the indi-
vidual's "generalized, pervasive sense of 'self-to-other‘ distance, or
'self-to-other alienation'" and the locus of the difficulty is specified
as the result of three sets of forces:

. . . (1) Reference groups beyond his immediate field of action,

within which acceptance and ultimate integration are sought.

(2) Generalized qualities of the molar society penetrating his

contemporary action field as those affect, (a) his life-goals,

(b) his selection of means toward these goals and (c) his

success or failure in achieving these goals. (3) The socializa-

tion processes of his interpersonal relationships during child-

hood and adolescence, as these have conditioned the interpersonal

expectations, value orientations and behavioral tendencies of his
current personality structure.

 

6No useful purpose would be served by an extended discussion of why
status and parental expectations constitute elements of power. However,
this much may be said: First, there is required the assumption that
all boys would strive for success given the proper set of conditions;
the antecedents are the important conditions. Second, if any boy desires
success, his status (derivative of his family's status) either introduces
him to the appropriate learning and opportunity structures for fulfill-
ment of his goal or to some extent obstructs his access to these
structures. Third, parental stress is generally accompanied by an
emphasis on those behaviors which are perceived by the parents as implement-
ing successful achievement; independence is only one of fliese. However,
the lower their status, the less likely they are to perceive what is
necessary due to a diminishing acquaintance with success; and, to this
extent, the boy is handicapped in his own competition.

Cloward (1959) presents a discussion of learning and opportunity
structures and Rosen (1956) furnishes some references to parental aspire:
tions. Strodback (1958) discusses the dynamics of the parent-child
interaction stemming from.stress on achievement.

-22~

Given the ages of the subjects in this inquiry it is not reasonable to ask
into their reactions to goal-achievement when in some cases they are just
finishing their preparation for commencing goal-attainment, and in other
cases, they are making plans to further prepare themselves for this quest.
However, given the restricted scope of the concept, it seems legitimate to
speculate that a general sense of powerlessness with respect to norms and
goals is precipitated by an early unsuccessful learning experience as this
is reinforced by the spiraling of adult experience. The adult reactions to

this state of affairs is then called anomia.

Nervous Tension

 

‘Whereas the inquiry into the occurrence of alienation can be said
to follow from.numerous sources in the literature, the conceptual back-
ground of nervous tension as an effect of a cultural discontinuity is not
nearly as rich. The inclusion of this variable in the inrestigation is
frankly'exploratory; From the results of Sewell and Haller (1959) the
linkage of a nervous syndrome with the broad effects of strain is estab-
lished and the inquiry is continued in this thesis.

It is assumed that nervous tension is somehow a result of the same
set of circumstances that produces alienation and it is further hypothesized
that nervous tension varies in the same way and under the same circumstances
as alienation. It should be made clear ab initig that the actual cause-
effect relationship will be only slightly advanced ii the predictions that
will be made are found to obtain. Whatever the causal matrix involves, its
telatienship to social stnuctural influende'is'eXtremely complex“andflthis
analysis will, if successful, do little to advance knowledge cencerning

the causabity; rather thelcontributiOn will be to supporting empirical-

-23-

generalizations as to its occurrencO. Thus the relationShip between the“
. . . !
cultural stress and the effect should be<00nstrued as an association.1n LC

the strictest sense of the word.

M
This section has isolated the effects of socially induced strain.
The study of Sewell and Haller furnishes data which is reinterpreted to

form two consequences of strain, alienation and nervous tension, which in

turn, are translated into hypotheses below.
THE MODEL OF BALANCE AND IMBALANCE

Introduction

 

The purpose of this section is to order the antecedents and con-
sequents, using a parsimonious but general model to do so. No additional
material is introduced in this section, other than units of the model.

One methodological point will facilitate understanding. Reference
will be made to two kinds of imbalance, cognitive and situational. Any
condition perceived by a person can be termed cognitive; if perceived it
must somehow be represented in the person's situation, hence may also be
termed situational. Heider speaks of cognitive imbalance because of his
interest in person perception; yet he also considers situations because of
the influence of other persons or nonsocial objects on the person's
behavior. This analysis treats the person and his environment under the
general rubric of “situation," including inferred states of cognitive
balance or imbalance, characterizing the youths who are the subjects of

this thesis.

 

-2h-

Finally, Heider has developed a shorthand system of representing
conditions of balance and imbalance and the elements thereof. The use of
the shorthand system implements the rule of parsimony and for that reason

it will be utilized in this and pertinent sections below.

Balance and Imbalance

 

The issue of cognitive balance or imbalance arises when the fact

of the emphasis on success is viewed phenomenally, i.e., from the person's

 

perspective. The condition may be called situational if viewed objectively

 

or causally (Heider, 1958, p. 166). Given a person, p, and a situation
composed of other persons, 0, and nonsocial objects x and y, p may be said
to be in a state of balance if the situation is relatively favorable to him
or characterized as in a state of imbalance if the situation is relatively
unfavorable to him. Heider (p. 166) pinpoints the logic of situational
analysis using Nurray's concept of the "stimulus~situation":

. . . it is convenient to classify the SS (stimulus-situation)

according to the kind of effect - facilitating or obstructing -

it is exerting or could exert upon the organism.. . . . By

‘effect' here we do not mean the response that is aroused in

the subject . . . rather we mean what is done tonthe subject
before he responds.

 

To Heider, balance is "a situation in which the relations among entities

fit together harmoniously" (p. 201). The entities are p, o, and the like,

and the relations may be of two kinds; sentiment relations and_unit relations.
The former is equivalent to an attitude toward something or somebody, an
"orientation" in other words. Following Heider, the generic symbols to be
used in representing positive and negative sentiments are L (like) and

DL (dislike). Unit relations refer to the fact that certain things tend to

be perceived as belonging together; a "person and his deeds" are an example.

-25-

The symbol U denotes the cognitive unit between two entities and notaU

the fact that the two entities are segregated (Heider, p. 201). For
example, p may be in the same family as o (on) or may dislike o (pDLo).
Or, p may dislike an x (a nonsocial object) that he perceives o to like
(pDszand oUX). Given this, and assuming that p likes o in other respects,
there is imbalance because the two sentiment relations (pLo and pDLx) are
not harmonious with the unit relation (on). The imbalance can be resolved
in three ways:

1. a change in sentiment relations wherein p decides he
really doesn't like 0 after all;

2. a change in the unit relation wherein p decides that
0 doesn't really like x; or

3. pidecides that either 0 or x is not important to him
after all, in which case either the relation pLo or
pDLx is said to "leave the cognitive field."
In the event of any of these three changes, the balanced state is re-
established. If, for whatever reason, the imblance persists, stress

results. If the imbalance persists over time, the stress produced

originally is "multiplied" by the secondary effects of enduring it.

Imbalance and the problem of the thesis

Sewell and Haller's explanation may be reinterpreted in terms of
the model in the following manner: Imbalance exists because the lower»
status boy'"1ikes" the values and behaviors promulgated by the school,
which conflict with those held by his parents whom he also likes. The
tensionpstates found to exist can be said to represent the effects of

13113313110 5 o

 

-26...

Summary

This brief section has introduced the model of imbalance and ax~
plained its effects. The theory holds that given imbalance, some change
will occur so that the balanced state will be restored; however this
latter theorem.is not applied in this thesis since the concern is with
the effects only (alienation and nervous tension). The model is intro~
duced so that the relations between the antecedent and consequent
variables might be ordered and thus clarified.

One point remains to be made. Given the nature of the problem
facing p, he cannot dissociate himself from the imbalance in which he is
said to be involved. In the case which concerned Sewell and Haller, he
has to decide either in favor of the family or in favor of the school if
a rational plan for his future is to develop. If he does not dissociate
himself from one or the other, the tensionsstates will continue and
presumably increase over time. This latter point is, of course, beyond
the scope of the thesis. However, in the final chapter, some suggestions
will be made as to What future states of affairs might come of this

unresolved imbalance.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Introduction

 

The purpose of this section is to state the problem succinctly;
this is accomplished by setting it into the framework of Heider's model.
No additional material is introduced; rather the emphasis is on

clarification.

 

-27-

The Problem

 

In the terms of Heider's model, the concern is with a person p in
a situation composed of other persons 0 and certain nonsocial objects,

w, x, y, z. A basic (ascribed) attribute of p is social status, x, (pUx)
which is properly predicated of his parents (on) but because of his
relationship with them, is also predicated of him.

Depending on the value of.x (whether it is high or low) high come
mitment to achievement, y, is either expected of p or preferred but not
expected of him. That is, if x is high, p ought to like y; if x is low,
p may like y but y'is not an ought for him.

Furthermore, if x is high, then 0 should want y for p and if x
is low, 0 may want y for p. If we assume that in all cases on, (p and o

are a unit, which they are) then given oLy and on+_(high) there is

 

imbalance if pDLy. If oLy and oUX_ (low) there is still imbalance if
pDLy'but the magnitude of the imbalance is mitigated since y is not an
ought (institutionalized) for any pUx_. Yet, even if oLy and pLy where

x is low, there is still some imbalance because only a high x is said to
maximize the probability of achievement and conversely, minimize imbalance.
Thus for all pUx_ the situation is still relatively disadvantageous come
pared to all pUx+.

Now there are two person-attributes (elements of personal power)
which either mitigate or accentuate imbalance, depending on whether they
are available to p, viz., w (independence) and z (ability). From pre-
vious research we know that given pLy, both pr+ and pUz+ can be expected
because w and z have been found to be positively associated with y. Thus,
for all pLy, the lack of w+ and/or z+ and/or z+ precipitates imbalance
since these are elements of the modal pLy and a given p will be competing

with more fortunate counterparts.

-28-

seiner:

Use of Heider‘s theoretical model facilitates statement of the
problem.of the thesis, particularly with respect to identifying degrees
of imbalance and balance. Balance is shown to be a function of the
degree to which p's preferences (pay), his environmental facilitation
(p:x, ozy) and personal power (pzw, pzz) are in accord with the require=

ments of the objective order with respect to achievement.

THE HYPOTHESES

Introduction

 

There are three parts to this section. The first part states the
general hypothesis and specifies the elements of the hypothesis when it
is applied to the problem of the thesis. The second part derives
hypotheses for all combinations of the antecedents; this is done by means
of a multivariate equation for identifying the relative degrees of balance
or imbalance. The final part of the section predicts the effects of
imbalance as these are manifested in the ranks of the combinations on

indexes of alienation and nervous tension.

 

The general hypothesis and the problem

The basic hypothesis is, given imbalance, stress results. The

 

 

elements of imbalance in the problem are low values on any of the antece-
dents. The varieties of stress in the problem are (1) alienation and

(2) nervous tension. Specifically, if it is assumed that all actors would

 

 

strive for success given the proper conditions, then the general hypothesis

 

follows, that to the extent that one or any combination of two or more of

”v m -—.-

 

 

 

 

the antecedents take low values, to that extent imbalance exists, which

 

 

imbalance is manifested in high scores on alienation and nervous tension.

 

 

-29-

The combinations of antecedents

 

A review of the literature suggests that certain combinations of
the antecedents had received considerable attention while others had been
ignored. For example, Merton's classic paper (1957) is primarily con-
cerned with the combination pUx_pLy wherein imbalance results from a means-
scarcity; Merton suggests that innovation stems from this condition. Sewell
and Haller (1959) are also intrigued with this particular situation and
Douvan and Adelson (1958) go further and consider several others.

The possibilities of any one combination notwithstanding, con-
sideration of all possible combinations of the antecedents has consider-
able merit in itself as Dubin (1959) shows with his extension of Merton's
typology; Consideration of all possibilities forces one to isolate all
the implications of a theory, and in so doing, minimizes the blinding
effect of any particular combination.

Table 1 presents all possible combinations of the antecedents,
each of which is labelled a "type." The types are formed on the basis
of the two situational variables, plus life-goals. The procedure to be
followed in deriving the hypotheses will be to consider the implications
of the general hypothesis for each type, then consider what should be
said about conditions within each type. Thus two sets of hypotheses will
be derived predicting values on the consequents; one set which predicts
the ranks of the types, and another which predicts the ranks of the comp

binations within types.

-30-

Table 1. Logical combinations of the antecedents.

 

‘—‘—'~-a—-—~_._- .- '—-.- -q

 

 

Parental A. Life

Type Status Expectation Goals
I Low Low Low
II Low Low High
III Low High Low
IV Low High High
V High Low Low
VI High Low High
VII High High Low
VIII High High High

 

Inspection of the table reveals several obvious parallels. For
example, I and V are similar except for differences in status, as are II
and VI, III and VII, and IV and VIII. Consequently, if the effect of
status differences is specified first, then hypotheses can be derived for
four combinations rather than eight. Similarly if the effect of parental
expectations and life-goals can be specified in like manner, one statement
will suffice rather than four. This can be accomplished with the con-
struction of what might be called a "logical" equation for identifying
imbalance. Given such identification, predictions about effects can be
made.

The equation for identifying betweenstype imbalance is,

 

Eb . h - E[ (x + 03y) + my + pm}

where, BE denotes imbalance between types
x " status
ozy " 0's expectations for p's life-goals
pzy " p's own expectations for his lifeugoals
pzo " balance or imbalance between p and o over"y

 

~31-

Since each of the antecedents is dichotomized, the identification of ime
balance will be facilitated by letting any high score take the value of
“l" and any low score the value of "0". Thus the total imbalance in the
.ith type is the sum of the values of the individual variables subtracted
from.h. (The rationale for subtracting the sum from a constant will be
explained momentarily.)

The discussion of the antecedents in the earlier parts of this
chapter has presented the rationale for the inclusion of these variables,

the lack of which is said to constitute imbalance. The only additional

 

variable introduced above is the balance or imbalance between p and o,
discussed when the imbalance model was explained.

One methodological point remains to be clarified. Derivation of
total imbalance in this manner assumes that each of the antecedents makes
(1) an independent and (2) an equal contribution to the total. This is
assumed in absence of information indicating the prOper weights for each
variable. The validity of the assumption is examined when the hypotheses

are tested and data analyzed.

 

r
Effects of imbalance between types
L
When imbalance is derived in the manner described above, the eight
types are found to be distributed in the following rank—order of amount of

imbalance:

Table 2. Rank-order of types by amount of imbalance.

 

 

 

Type: I II III V VI VII IV VIII
Amit: 3 3 3 2 2 2 l O

 

 

 

 

“’3 .2- -3 3—

Consequently, if each of the types is measured for the effects of imp
balance, the following relations should be found to obtain as the
measured effects of imbalance:

[ < <

< _= < = E J > [ < = g = < ] > E > <
’I II III 3] \VI <VII IV <VIII

where E denotes the effects of imbalance in the ith type.

Effects of imbalance within types

 

The equation for identifying within-type imbalance is,
- < I 1
BW - 3 - <[ (pstpzw + 1922)]

where B denotes withinetype imbalance

10:3; " p ' s life-goals
pzw " p ' s independence
pez " p's ability

Here, as above, high scores are given the value of "l" and low scores "0".
The only departure from the previous procedure is the multiplication of
the sum of prw and p:z by the value of pay. This is done to cancel the
contribution of ability and independence if p has a negative sentiment
toward achievement. That is, ability and independence are only elements
of power for those persons who intend to make use of them; if a given p
has low life-goals, he precludes the possibility of rewards attendant upon
high achievement and thus renders himself powerless in this respect.7
Given pDLy, the sum.of independence and ability are zero since they were
multiplied by zero. In both equations, the use of the constant trans~
forms what would otherwise have been a "balance" score into an "imbalance"

score, facilitating discussion of the effects of imbalance.

 

7Postulation of the environmental effects as additive and the
personal elements in a multiplicative relationship follows the conception
of Heider (1958, p. 82) in his discussion of the "effective forces of
the person and environment in the action outcome.“

 

-3h-

When the'withinntype effects of imbalance are derived in this manner,

the following distribution of effects results:

Table 3. Rank~Order of combinations within the types.

I I a l . . . . . w... ,._.., w
-‘O—‘-n—.‘r .uvm-4. “4-3...45,‘ -.~*.a_g

 

Combinations
. w z w z_ w v w z
Sentiment A p _ + + + .. a“+ _._ a ..
if pEy
if pDLy O O O O

 

Given this distribution, if each of the combinations within~types is
measured for the effects of imbalance, the effects should be found to
obtain as follows:

if pfly, then pr+z+ < pr+z_ = pr_z+ < pr_z_

if pDLy, then pr+z+ = pr+2_ 8 pr;z# a pr;z;

Summary
Building on the general hypothesis that stress results from

imbalance, the hypothesis for between-type imbalance states that the
effects will follow from the additive nature of each of the environmental
variables, whereas the hypothesis for with-types is formulated on the
basis that given high goals, effects will appear as a function of low
scores on independence and ability, but if low-goals are considered,
there is no difference among the various combinations of personal

attributes.

-35-
CONCLUSION

Four things have been accomplished in this chapter. After an
enlarged statement of the problem.was presented, the first major section
of the chapter contained a discussion of the antecedent variables. These
were first taken from Sewell and Haller‘s inductive explanation of a
bivariate relationship between status and personality adjustment, then
shown to be part of the literature on social structure and anomie.

Then the antecedents, which together were shown to be the sources of
strain, were discussed in three groups: (1) Life-goals, the fulcrum of
the thesis; (2) The situational variables, status and parental stress,
were reviewed for their relevance to the problem; and (3) The two per:
son variables, independence and ability,'were considered in the same
manner. The isolation of these five variables as major sources of poten-
tial strain with respect to achievement constitutes a step beyond the
present state of knowledge.

The second section discussed the effects of strain, alienation
and nervous tension. The former was said to stem.from powerlessness
relative to the stress on achievement, and both were shown to have been
contained in the tensionwstates discussed by Sewell and Heller. Con-
cerning alienation, both theoretical and empirical justification was
presented for treating Sewell and Heller's tensionastates differently
than they were originally formulated. Finally, the relationship of the
concept of alienation to the concept of anomie (or anomia) was con-
sidered, and through an examination of these concepts, it was concluded
that alienation might well be considered as the chronological antecedent

of anomie and further that consideration of it as (1) stemming from the

 

-36-

same set of conditions as anomie and (2) causally prior to anomie, offered
heuristic possibilities for future research.

The third major section introduced Heider's model of imbalance,
explained its elements and considered its application to the problem.
Through utilization of the basic theorem that imbalance leads to stress,
it was suggested that implicit in the literature is a particular statement
of this hypothesis, viz., lack of one or all of the antecedents constitutes
states of imbalance of varying degrees.

The final section of the chapter stated the conceptual hypotheses
to be tested. These are derived in such a manner that predictions can
be made with respect to the relative effects of imbalance in eight types
of persons, which types exhaust the possible combinations of the antece-
dents. Given the exhaustive extension of the combinations of antecedents,
the possibility of ignoring implications of the general hypothesis is
minimized.

The general theme of this thesis is that all persons in.American
society would strive for success, given proper conditions or power. The
antecedents constitute these conditions, and the consequents are said to
result from the differential distribution of power throughout the social

system.

CHAPTER III
MEASUREMENT
INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this chapter is three fold; The first part describes
the sample and discusses the site of the original study from which the
present data were obtained. The second part presents a description of the
ways in which the antecedents and consequent variables were measured. The
third part links the hypotheses developed in the last chapter with the
results of classifying the sample according to the empirical distribution
of the antecedents.

Specifically, the antecedents can be construed as characterizing
the subjects in terms of a five dimensional attribute space, which is
empirically reduced to a typology of "achievement-types." The result of
this reduction is the five types on which the two sets of hypotheses are

tested.
THE SITE AND THE SAMPLE

The data used to test the hypotheses were collected as part of a
larger investigation into the occupational aspirations of rural and rurban
youth under the general direction of A. O. Haller. The subjects for the
study are 368 seventeeneyear—old boys of Lenawee County, Michigan, who
were born between July 1, 1939 and June 30, l9hO, and who were in school
during the testing period in the spring of 1957. Ideally, all of the age
group in the county would have been tested; however, about twelve per cent

who were no longer in school were omitted. Followaup studies showed that

-37-

l1

.38-

about five out of six of the latter were sons of farmers. A consequence
of this omission of "drop-outs" is that the group most likely to manifest
alienation are not included in the sample studied.

The original sample of Haller included th boys. Of this group,
fortyhthree were excluded because of missing data, nine were excluded
because of a perceived disagreement between the parents with respect to
their son's life-goals, and twentybtWO'were dropped because they were
located in types with small "n's". The extent to which the exclusion of
about one-sixth of the total sample introduces a bias into the results is
not known. Consequently, the results of the analysis, as descriptive of
boys in Lenawee County, are prejudiced by two sets of factors; (1) the
drop-outs are not described at all, and (2) about one-sixth of the total
sample is not included. Concerning (2), it should be noted that this
exclusion probably introduces little actual bias, since the probability
of their being a homogeneous group with respect to alienation is slight.

Lenawee County was chosen as the site for the original study for
three reasons: (1) It approaches the sociologist's ideal type of rurban
community, having a medium sized city - Adrian, population about 20,000 a
as the geographical, economic and administrative center, having satellite
villages and towns, and an agricultural hinterland. (2) It has an evenly
divided farm, rural nonfarm, and urban population. (3) Because the county
is near the Detroit industrial area and has a fairly well—developed light
industry itself, its youth are provided with a fairly broad occupational
structure to which to orient themselves. Finally, there is a small college
in Adrian, a university in nearby Toledo, a few colleges and universities
in and around Detroit. This affords the youth of the county the possibility

of a high degree of exposure to knowledge about advanced education.

-39...
MEASUREMENT OF THE ANTECEDENT VARIABLES

Life-Goals

The operational definition of this concept is the educational

 

plan of the yputh with respect t2 college training. Obviously, educa=
tional aspirations are not the same as the so=called "achievement syndrome"
(Rosen, 1956), yet the measure employed here inferentially reflects a
commitment to the dominant values of the society to the extent that a per:
son with plans for more education has at least indicated his intention to
qualify himself for competition for the rewards of the larger society.
Similarly, plans for no more schooling reflects a disqualification, by and
large, from reward-competition.
The specific items by which educational aspirations were measured
are,
"REGARDING MY PLANS FOR EDUCATION AFTER I LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL
( ) I plan to get more education after high school
( ) I do not plan to get more education after high school
IF PLANNING TO GET MORE EDUCATION

THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF FURTHER EDUCATION I PLAN TO GET IS:
two years or less

three or four years

five or six years

seven or eight years"

AAAA
vvvv

These questions were followed by others which asked the subjects to spec-
ify the names of the schools they planned to attend, the type of curriculum
they planned to take, and the name of the degrees (if any) they intended

to work toward. Only those whose responses indicated that they planned

to enroll in a program leading to at least a regular four=year college or
university degree were classified as having "high life goals," regardless

of the number of years specified. (Essentially, the youth cannot

 

ago-

realistically indicate the extent of the education he will actually receive
since that factor is determined at least in part by factors over which he
has little control, viz., family finances, academic requirements and his
own ability.) All others were classified as having "low life=goals." As
measured here, life-goals indicates the level at which the person intends
to enter the occupational system. If he chooses not to acquire a college
education, it is assumed that he commits himself to an unspecified but
delimited range of jobs for which higher education is not a requisite,

and in so doing largely shuts off the opportunity for the prestige allo=

cated as a reward for high achievement.

Socio—economic.status

 

Kahl and Davis (1955, p. 323) present an analysis of nineteen
status indices and suggest that two factors contribute most heavily to
indices commonly in use. The two factors are (1) education and occupaa
tion, and (2) a factor which reflects consumption behavior such as home
quality and.residential area. The measure used here, a modified version
of the Sewell Socio-Economic Status Scale, loads heavily on the consumpc
tion behavior of the subjects parents, e.g., home facilities and come
munication facilities, as well as their educational backgrounds. The
NorthnHatt occupational ratings were also available, but experience has
shown that the Nortthatt ratings of the occupation "farmer" are not
accurate. To drOp all youths whose fathers were farmers would have
resulted in reducing the total l“n" by about twenty per cent. Because
the Sewell scale resulted in a larger "n”, it was used as a measure.

Ratings on the Sewell scale were standardized into Tmscore form

(based on an "n" of £33), the result of which is a distribution of

-hl-

8

equivalent scores having a mean of SO and a standard deviation of 10.
The T-score distribution was dichotomized at the mean, with those observe:
tions lying on the mean randomized into the upper and lower portions of

the sample. Thus status can take one of two values, high and low.

Parental stress on life-goals

 

The operational definition of this variable is "Parental Desire
for Future Education." Since the concern is with.the effects of imbalance
on the person, the proper measurement is of his perception of what his
parent's wish, rather than with their actual desire. The specific items
used to measure this variable are,

"AS TO CONTINUING MY”EDUCATION BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL MY FATHER:

( ) has strongly encouraged me to continue

( ) has given me some encouragement to continue

( ) has never said much about it

( ) feels that I would be better off going to work after high school

( ) feelsthat I should quit high school and go to work?
The subjects filled in.the same item regarding the mother's wishes. The
responses were dichotomized into two classes, "high" and "low" parental
stress. Unless both parents were seen as either "strongly encouraging" or
"encouraging" more schooling, they were classified as placing low stress
on achievement. The only exception to this rule was in the case Where one
parent was thought to have "never said much about it," here, that parent

was given the same classification as the other parent who was perceived as

having a definite wish one way or the other. (There were no "pairs" who

 

8

Both the raw and T-score distributions are included in the report,
A. 0. Heller, Basic Data for the Lenawee County Study of Social Structure
and Personality'(n.d.) deposited with the Michigan State University
Library. The report contains this information for all variables used
here as well as considerable additional information on the larger study.

 

 

-hg-

"never said much about it.") If the parents were perceived as "split," one
encouraging and the other discouraging, the subject was dropped from the
sample. Although the number so excluded.was small (nine), this practice

rules out a confounding effect of parental imbalance on the son's reactions.

Independence

 

The considerable evidence pertaining to class differences in
independent behavior has focused almost entirely on what parents have done,
rather than on results found among their offspring. The study of Douvan
and Adelson (1958) is one important exception to this rule. In their study,
subjects who were classified as "high" on autonomy were more likely to inter-
ject their own opinions when asked whether they would follow family or peer
advice on a.range of subjects and were more likely to prefer an adult club
leader who remained in the background and gives advice only when necessary,
(p. 39). This seems essentially the same phenomenon as that to Which
Parsons (1959, p. 22) refers when he speaks of necessary conditions for suc-
cessful accomplishment in an achieved-status system.

The present analysis visualizes independence not in a behavioral or
overt context, but rather as a rather basic, nonspecific tendency toward
self dependency as opposed to dependency on others in the case of low
independence. Independence was measured by a summation of high and low

scores on three factors of the Sixteen Personality Factor Test of Raymond

 

Cattell (1950). The factors are (1) Factor E — Dominance vs. Submission,
(2) Factor G - Superego Strength, and (3) Factor 02 - Independent Self»
Sufficiency. These were selected from the total inventory on fine basis of

itemploadings and descriptions of items in the Handbook for the 16 PF Test

 

(no date). The Cattell test is designed to "give the maximum information

4,3-

in the shortest time about the dimensions of personality" (Handbook, p. 1).
It differs from most such tests in that it was developed and standardized
empirically and is based primarily on normal rather than clinical populations.
The selection of the three factors was intuitive and based on the criterion
of mirroring the ability to make decisions using one's own resources,
relatively independent of passing interpersonal influences.

Since the selection was judgmental, descriptions of the three fac—
tors and the behaviors which constitute the factors are included in
Appendix (2) so that the interested reader may assess the adequacy of this
measure. The index of independence was constructed by dichotomizing each
factor at the mean of the T-score distribution, characterizing each person
as high or low on each factor, then summing the "highs" and "lows." The

9

intercorrelations of the three factors are presented below.

Ability

The measure of ability used here is the grade point average of the
subjects for the school year 1956-57, taken from school records. As such,
it measures ability from.the standpoint of performance; applied to the
problem.it answers the question Egan.the person do so~and-so?" by taking
school performance as an indication. Again the T-score distribution was
dichotomized at the mean, then each person assigned a "high“ or “low"
score. It should be noted here that a "low" ability score is a "below C"
average in school. Generally it would be desirable to trichotomize the
distribution; this was not done in order to keep each sub-"n" as large as
possible. Inferentially, ability may be regarded as reflecting in part,

motivational components as was noted in Rosen (1956).

 

9For a complete summary of the relationships of all 16 factors to
social status, see Thomas (1960).

 

 

Relationships among antecedents

 

The correlations of the antecedents, suggested by the review of
the literature, are'found to hold in the sample on which this study is
based. The following matrix, based on the normalized T—scores of Miller

(1960) shows the intercorrelations of the antecedents:

Table h. Intercorrelations of Antecedents

 

 

Parental Independence

 

 

 

SES EdAsp Stress E G Q2 GPA
SES - L1 39 05 12 06 22
EdAsp - ha 11 2h 15 53
PS - 07 25 08 28
E - —03 -02 -02
G - 10 26
Q2 " 1’4
GPA. .
n -=hh2

decimals are omitted
This matrix is based on the total sample, whereas the thesis is based on
an "n" of 368. The extent to which the omission of about one-fifth of
the sample biases these relationships is unknown; however, since most
were excluded because of incomplete data, the probability of a consistent
bias in one direction is fairly slight.

There is another way in which the relations among the antecedents
can be demonstrated. McQuitty (1957) has developed a "rapid and objective
method for clustering variables into types." This method is an attempt to
provide an alternative to simple structure factor analysis. The principal

difference is that McQuitty's technique results in what are called "typal

-ug-

structures" or categories of items "of such a nature that every item in the
category is more like another item.in the category" than it is like any
other item.not in the category (McQuitty, 1957, p. 227).

- A version of typal analysis, "elementary linkage analysis" was
performed on the matrix of Lenawee data of Miller (1960). or the thirtyb
four variables in the original matrix of Miller, five of the seven items
which comprise the antecedents were found to be members of the same type
with educational aspirations as the "center" of the clustered items. Only
socio-economic status and Factor C were in other types, the former con-
stituting a separate type with the Occupational Aspiration Scale score
(Heller, 1957) While Factor G, Superego Strength, attached itself to the
total score of the California Test of Personality. It should be emphasized
that the variables were selected on the basis of their theoretical relevance,

then the empirical relations were investigated.

Summary

Previous research suggested that positive associations among the
antecedents should be found in the present study. Two techniques have
established the relations of the antecedents to each other. There is both
theoretical and empirical support for the contention that the antecedents

form a cluster.
MEASUREMENT OF THE CONSEQUENT VARIABLES

_Introduction

 

This section introduces the instruments measuring the effects of
imbalance, stress. Two kinds of stress are measured, localized alienation

and nervous tension. The procedure by which alienation is measured is

 

~h6-

someWhat complex and described in detail, and the index of nervous tension
differs from.the one used by Sewell and Haller (1959) for reasons which

are discussed below.

Localized alienation

 

The incorporation of this variable into the research design furthers
the investigation of Sewell and Haller (1959) to a considerable extent.
Because this thesis builds on the empirical base of their study, the pro=
cedure by which individual items were selected parallels their method
insofar as possible.

The itens which constitute the index were taken from the California

 

Test of Personality (1953, Secondary FormAA)lo a paper and pencil test

 

 

consisting of 180 questions requiring a "yes" or "no" answer, the scope of
which covers a broad range of behaviors. The test is divided into two
main sections, personal adjustment and social adjustment, and each main
section is again subdivided into parts dealing with self-reliance, feeling
of belonging, social standards and skills, family, school and community
relations and the like. The test is primarily designed for guidance and
counselling activities. Essentially it provides a rather superficial
measure of the extent to which a person's orientation to selected objects
in his environment is compatible with the social definitions of these
orientations. It is not exceedingly overgeneral to say that the test
provides a crude measure of "personésituation" balance and imbalance.

In the original study of Sewell and Haller in Richland County,

‘Wisconsin, the thirty California test items having the highest association

 

loTwo items in the final index actually come from "Elementary Form A,"
the version used by Sewell and Haller in Wisconsin. These items were in»
corporated by Haller into the material administered to the Lenawee County
subjects and, in this thesis, combined with the other Form AA items to form
the index of localized alienation.

 

-1, 7..

'with social status were selected from the total inventory and interrelated
using phi-coefficients. The resulting matrix was then factor-analyzed and
the four factors described above were derived. Insofar as was feasible,
the selection of items for the alienation index followed this procedure.
The steps by which the items used in this study were selected is as
follows:

1. Thirty-three Californiall test items were selected on
the basis of similarity in substantive content to the
loadings on the four factors of the Wisconsin study,
then correlated with status using the Pearsonian
Product Moment technique; the items were also intercor-
related with each other. The result was a matrix of
thirtybthree items and one status measure.

2. USing the .05 level of significance as a cutting point,
it was found that (a) eight of the nine items measuring
status concern were significantly related to status,

(b) as were six of the seven items th measured concern
over ability. Four of the nine items pertaining to
family alienation were significantly related to status
as was one of eight nervous symptoms items.

 

 

 

 

3. While nineteen of the thirtybthree items showed signi-
ficant association with statusl3, the disproportionate
distribution of these suggested that factors other than
chance had governed selection of items for status
concern and concern over ability only. The other two
item-areas did not appear to be of the same magnitude
of importance as did the first two.

 

At this point situational analysis was invoked to explain the
apparent differences in importance of the itempareas, as this importance

was indicated by correlation with social status. The reasoning here is

 

llMISTIC (Michigan State ILLIAC Computer) has a capacity of only
thirtybfour items for this type of analysis; hence the restriction of the
number.

12Three of the four yielded correlations just exceeding the .05 level.
13The significance level was taken from Table XI (walker and Lev, 1953,

p. h70) "Percentile values of‘E for n df. when rho is zero." Table entered
with 388 degrees of freedom; 3 is .090.

 

~h8-

as follows: Since status is presumed to first enter the person's life»

space in the person of his family, might not status concern and alienation

 

have as their referrents the same events, viz., family relations? Empir-
ical evidence for this view was furnished by the study of Douvan and
Adelson (1958, p. hO) who found differences in family relations among the
three mobility-categories. However, this finding of theirs could furnish
only tentative confirmation; what was needed was direct evidence from.the
Richland and Lenawee data to confirm the hypothesis that both item-areas
were aspects of the same series of events.

h. Elementary linkage analyses of both the Richland and
Lenawee matrices provided a confirmation for the
hypothesis. The Richland matrix items measuring
nervous symptoms were found to cluster in homogeneous
types, while items from the other three factors were
intermixed. One type contained nine items, seven of
which were either status concern or alienation items.
Given this result, there was good reason to treat the
three itemrareas as substantively referring to aspects
of one, rather than three, series of events.

 

 

5. The elementary linkage analysis of the Lenawee matrix
yielded the same picture, viz., the items which were
originally expected to measure three item-areas
actually were mixed in the same types; only the items
measurifig nervous symptoms clustered in homogeneous
types.

 

Since status, family relations and ability are all part of the
person's situation with respect to achievement, and since a linkage
analysis of the Richland and Lenawee matrices yielded types containing
three itempareas mixed together, both theoretical and empirical evidence
justified treating the three as one area, alienation. Therefore, the
fourteen items most highly associated with status were selected to make
up the index of localized alienation. These fourteen items and their

correlations with status are shown in Table 5.

 

1h

matrix.

See Appendix (A) for results of the linear analysis on the Lenawee

 

~h9-

Table 5. Index of alienation and correlations with status

 

 

 

Items urn

Are things difficult for you because your folks are 2hh
usually short of money?

Are you troubled because your folks differ from.you 223
regarding the things you like?

Do you often wish your father (mother or guardian) had 210
a better job in the community?

Do some of those at home seem to feel that they are 183
better than you?

Do people seem to think well of your family's social 180
standing?

Do your folks appear to doubt whether you will be 180
successful?

Do you often wish your father was a more important 172
man in the community?

Do you avoid inviting others to your home because it 168
is not as nice as theirs?

Do your folks seem to think that you are going to 125
amount to something?

Are you considered a failure in many of the things you do? 108

Do your friends and acquaintances seem to have a better 099
time at home than.you do?

Do you usually like to be somewhere else than at home? 096

Are you often discouraged because people fail to 096
recognize your worth?

Have you often wished you had different parents than 091

you have?

 

 

 

 

The intercorrelations of the fourteen items are found in Appendix (3).
Inspection of the matrix suggests that each item makes a unique contribu~
tion to the index, yet also possesses a common element with the others.
Given this picture of a low but positive intercorrelation among the
fourteen items, it may be concluded that the index reflects internal

homogeniety;

Nervous tension

 

The relevance of this variable to the general problem was established
by Sewell and Haller (1959). In their factor analysis, the nervous symptoms
factor had the highest loadings of any of the factors. However, when the

California Test items pertaining to nervous symptoms were correlated with

 

social status in the Lenawee study, only one of nine items was significant
in its association. This was interpreted as suggesting that if there
existed any relationship between the two variables, the chances of it
appearing were small if these items were used. Examination of the items,
pertaining to stuttering, dizzy spells, sonambulism, insomnia due to
worry, fatigue and nightmares, suggested that phenotypic complaints such
as these might be less frequent among adolescents than in grade-school
subjects (used by Sewell anal-Taller)o Also the Richland study included
both males and females, while the present sample covers males onlyo The
exact relevance of this is not clear, but in addition to differences in
age, the sex differences might have some part in precipitating the diam
crepancy between the RiChland and Lenawee findingsa

Another measure of this general dimension was available, Factdr

Qh - Nervous Tension - one of the battery of items in the Cattell test.

Cattell (Handbook, p. 11) describes this factor as indicating,

-51-

. . . nervousness, nervous anxiety and instability, and

sleep difficulties . . . . The general picture is that of

a person who is tense, excited, restless, fretful and imp

patient. The person gets overfatigued but is unable to

remain inactive.

The highest correlation of Qh with any of the antecedents is minus .2h,
with Grade Point Average. Because the California test items failed to
reveal the expected pattern of association with status, and since the
general dimension was felt to be important, the alternative measure,
Factor Qh'waschosen to measure this variable; its association with
status in the total sample is low and negative but nevertheless signi-
ficant (3312).

It is important to clarify two points. First this is not a prima
facie instance of hunting and picking for significant relationships.
Rather it is an effort to find the measure which will maximize the
probability of revealing relations within.and.between the achievement-
types to be described in the next section. Factor Qh is used because it
appears to be the more sensitive instrument. The second point concerns
the general lack of knowledge about the causal matrix underlying nervous
tension. The predictions that will be made are highly tentative because
little is known as to the cause-effect sequence by which status-induced
effects are translated into nervous tension, if in fact they do so at
all. The unexplained but predicted relationship is mediated by an ex-
tremely complex sequence of events, the'nature of Which is perhaps better
explained by psychiatric and biochemical concepts. This variable is
included in the research design because two previous studies, Sewell and

Haller, and Douvan and Adelson, have found it to be involved in the state

of affairs which the concepts of social structure and anomie describes.

 

-52-

REDUCTION OF THE ATTRIBUTE-SPACE

Introduction

 

Chapter II presented hypotheses which could be applied to the
eight types, which types exhaust all possible combinations of the ante-
cedents. This section discusses the actual distribution of high and
low values of the antecedents. Two general trends are evident: high
status is accompanied by high values on the other variables, and the same
trend applies to low status. The operation of these two trends dictate an
exclusion of three of the eight types because each of the types is charac-

terized by an "n“ too small to permit further analysis.

Classification by the antecedents

 

Table 6 contains a classification of the sample by high and low
values of the antecedents. Inspection of the table reveals several
instances in which this sample is characterized by trends contrary to
presumptions found in the literature. These are as follows:

1. There is the suggestion that most parents, regardless
of status, desire more education for their sons. The
influence of status is to accentuate this trend.
Almost all high status youth perceive their parents
as desiring more education for them, whereas about
two-thirds of the lowastatus youth see their parents
as desiring them to continue in school.

2. The effect of status is more direct on the youths
themselves with respect to life-goals. Seventy per
cent of the youths with high status want more educa-
tion compared to thirty~seven per cent of the low
status subjects. Although ability introduces a con-
founding effect, previous studies report a residual
status effect independent of ability.

3. Intuitively, the effect of independence is to accen-
tuate the trend toward a syndrome of high achievement-
orientation, which syndrome is composed of high values
on each of the antecedents.

0mm u o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~53-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oesooaodoqu

 

.moaowfipm> pcoeooopcw can an cadawm mo soameHMflmmmHo any

 

 

 

 

.e .Hnt

 

ma
He mm as a .m HHH>
HN aH on son amH amHm
e q 0H amHm HH> awH emHm
w: seq
mH mN mm son
N H m anm H> mmH eme
o H H 30H a eme
NH 20H
N m m emHm e
w Bog
N H m 30H
eN ON on anm eH
Ho emHm
e a mH 30H
)1 r. . - ma
OH :H 4N aNHm HHH NmH e .m
: Ha 20H
wH aN a: eon
m N m amHm HH HmH 20H
OH eme
N m m 30H
a m NH amHm H mm 30H
NH mN am son a: Son
amHm son apHHHnH mHmoe-oeHg muonpm Hmpaoemm museum

aflaonoomuOHoom

 

 

 

su-

Table 7 presents the results of the reduction of the original
attribute-space of eight types. In Table 7, three types, II, V and VI
15

have been excluded from further consideration. By "reduction" is meant
"any classification as a result of which different combinations fall into
one class" (Lazarsfeld and Barton, 1951, p. 173). There are three kinds
of reduction; functional, arbitrary, and pragmatic. The operation per-
formed here utilized functional reduction Wherein:

. . . there must exist an actual relationship between two

of the attributes which reduces the number of combinations.

The elimination of certain combinations can either be a

complete one, or these combinations may occur so infrequently

that no special class need be established for them.
The reduction in Table 7 is based on the apparent positive association

between'the antecedents whereby a high value on status tends to be accomp

panied by high values on the other antecedents.

The excluded types

 

The only difference between Tables 6 and 7 is the exclusion of
types II, V and VI in the latter. Type II is defined by the combination
pUx_, oDLy, pLy. This was the combination on which Sewell and Haller
based their explanation; it is also the one which occupies the central
focus of Merton's essay. As to why only three per cent of the sample
should lie in this type, it is difficult to say. One explanation is that
low parental stress results in low-lifengoals to a greater degree than
high stress by parents produces high life-goals. This is ostensibly borne
out in types VI and V, although the small number of cases defined by high
status-low stress suggests caution in drawing conclusions. Caution not=

withstanding, one can speculate that high parental stress is a necessary

 

15In Table 7 the types have been renumbered so that future dis:
cussion refers to the types numbered in Table 7.

TafleY.

 

H55-

The numerical composition of five achievement-types.

 

T

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

e 368

Type Parental Stress Life-Goals Ability Independence
Low High

U) i LOW h? Low h9 Low 37 25 12

B

is

53 High 12 8 h

D

a

a II High 71 Low 71 Low h? 29 .18

h.

B High 2h 11h 10

8

U)

E5 Low 15 9 6

*-"III High 61 High 61

Q High he 20 26

E_-'

a

0 IV High ha Low ha LOW 38 23 15

a

a High 10 h 6

5%

E!

g); v High 139 High 139 LOW ho 19 21

:I.‘

8 High 99 38 61

45;

n

 

 

-56-

condition for high life-goals, but that high ability must be had before

the necessary and sufficient conditions obtain. Unfortunately this rela-
tionship cannot be confirmed by previous research since the only study
which includes parental-offspring expectations does not control for ability
(Bordua, 1960). It would seem that high lifewgoals require additional
environmental facilitation in the form of encouragement by significant
others in the school system, though evidence to support this contention

is not available.

Considering types V and VI briefly, the presence of only a few
cases of low parental stress among high status families is certainly to
be expected. Here parental expectations tend to be institutionalized to
an even greater degree than is the subject's choice. It is intriguing
to speculate as to the effects of high status and parental stress on the
subjects involved, but the small "n" in each type precludes further

analysis.

ism

Heretofore the effects of imbalance have been considered for all
the possibilities Which could result. This section has concentrated on
the results of the classification of the sample by the eight major
categories of antecedents. The classification produced three types in
which only a few observations were found. These types included (1) low
status boys whose parents disagreed with their plans for more education,
and (2) two categories of high status boys whose parents did not wish
them.to secure more schooling. All three types were dropped from further

consideration because of the small number of cases.

CONCLUSION

Essential to scientific inquiry is the step between the formulation
of hypotheses and their confirmation, i.e., measurement of the concepts con-
tained in the hypotheses. This chapter has been devoted to a description of
the necessary ingredients of measurement, the site, the sample, the techniques
by Which each of the antecedents and consequents are to be recognized con=
cretely. The operationalization of the antecedents follows standard socio-
logical and social psychological practice. However, the measurement of the
consequents, particularly alienation, departs somewhat from.traditional
practice. The steps by which the index of localized alienation was con-
structed was explained in detail, beginning with a partial replication of
Sewell and Haller's procedure, departing from.their method when unexpected
results were obtained, and concluding with a justification on both conceptual
and empirical levels for this study's reformulation of their tension-states
under the generic rubric of alienation.

The measurement of nervous tension was shown to be suggested by their
results, and its inclusion in the research design was designated as explora—
tory; That is, this study seeks to provide further support for Sewell and
Haller's empirical generalization that differences in personal conditions
that are found to be related to social status are also associated with dif-
ferences in nervous symptoms. ‘Whatever the results of the study, the causal

process by which nervous tension is linked to status differentials will

still remain to be investigated.

 

CHAPTER IV
RESULTS
INTRODUCTION

The model employed in this thesis is that of an organism interact-
ing with its environment. Each of the five types repreSents a person in
situations (or environments) which are either favorable or unfavorable
with respect to his possibilities for achievement. The types are classi-
fied on the basis of situational balance or imbalance. Type V maximizes
p's probability of achievement and Type I minimizes the same probability;
The other types constitute situations which vary between I and V with
respect to the probability of achievement. Thus, a person in type V may
be said to be "relatively gratified" compared to other pi, while a person
in I is "relatively deprived." Localized alienation has been said to be
positively associated with increasing means-end disjunctions. Another
‘way of saying this is that environments vary in the extent to which
cultural values are implemented by socially structured means. Given a
high correspondence between values and means there is balance in the
sense that the environment is favorable for goal-attainment implied by'
the values; given low correspondence, there is imbalance.

Besides the "ascribed attributes," status and parental stress,
there are person-attributes which either implement or impede goal-
attainment. At least some of these are socially derived but are theoret-
ically predicated of the person. For predictive purposes, the most
important feature of this study's focus is the relation between the nature
of the person's life-goals and the condition of his environment relative

to achievement.

 

 

:59.

Prior to stating the hypotheses, one reservation should be made.
In two types (III and V) the relation is described as pLy where y is high
life-goals. In the other three types (I, II and IV) the relation is stated
as pDLy. 'This formulation of the relation may or may not be in accord with

the facts. Actually, the relation is p doesnotL y, not pDLy.l6 The point

 

has both theoretical and methodological implications. In III and v, the
measurement is of a positive choice; there is goal-commitment or positive
cathexis of a goal. In I, II and IV, the measurement captures a logical
negation of a positive goal-commitment, but not necessarily a positive
"dislike" for y. A positive dislike is assumed, not empirically demonstrated.
To the extent that this assumption is in error, the results of the study with

respect to types I, II and IV are cast into question.
THE HYPOTHESES

The hypotheses are derived from Heider's theorem that imbalance leads
to stress. Imbalance is defined by low values on the antecedents. Stress
is of two kinds; localized alienation and nervous tension. To formulate
the hypotheses it is necessary to assume that each of the antecedents makes
an independent and equal contribution to imbalance; if this is so, then the
types will be differentiated on any measure of stress according to their

constituents of antecedents.

 

léThis is the problem of a "zero~point" in attitudes. Saying that

"'pDLy‘ is the same thing as 'p doesnotL' y" is saying that a zero=point
is impossible. Saying that the two may not be the same admits the pos-
sibility of a zero-point. 'wo admit the possibility but assume its
improbability.

-6o-

Hypotheses for relations between types
If imbalance (specified by the Eb equation on page 30)

leads to stress,

 

then the following relationships will exist among the

means of the five types on the indexes 3f alienation

 

 

 

and nervous tension:

gdgl 5fl9l1 ifltlv dflélil >746

Hypotheses for relations within types

 

 

If imbalance (specified by the Ew equation on page 33)
leads to stress,
then the following relationships will exist among the

means of the combinations 9f person-attributes within

 

 

each 2f the five types:

 

 

H'
H)

__ 29y, then ,/¢w+z+ < 0+2“ =,A%w_z+ g/éwuza
if pDLy, then w+z+ =flw+z_ =A~z+ =//(w__z_

Discussion

 

The first set of hypotheses concerns the effects of interaction
between certain life-goals and the situational variables, social status
and parental stress. Given the assumption that all boys would strive
for success given the proper condtions, the hypotheses state that varying
states of environmental forces will lead to degrees of imbalance. If
each of the situational variables makes an independent and equal contri-
bution to imbalance, the hypotheses should be correct as stated. The

research design facilitates the assessment of the contributions of each

~61-

of the antecedents. The logic behind this set of hypotheses is simple;

type V represents a minimum of environmental difficulty relative to success
as it is now experienced by the person, while type I represents the maximum
environmental difficulty. The hypotheses ask whether alienation and nervous
tension are related to varying degrees of this difficulty which stems from.
the cultural emphasis on success.

The second set of hypotheses are concerned with the effects of im-
balance due to lack of necessary personal power. One's success or failure
in an effort is a function both of environmental and personal conditions,
and this thesis has isolated two of the latter, ability and independence to
be set into hypotheses and tested for their effects. It is argued that, to
the person involved, lack of ability and/or independence constitutes imbal-
ance only if he desires to commit himself to high achievement; if he does
not so strive, the presence or lack of personal power should not contribute
to alienation or nervous tension. The multiplicative relation is incor-
porated into the derivation of the hypotheses to take account of the

relevance of choice to the problem.

Criteria for rejection and their consequences

 

An essential attribute of a scientific theory is refutability.
Similarly, the hypotheses deduced from a theory must be stated in such a
manner that they can be disproved. The hypotheses on page 60 do not meet
this requirement because a clear-cut set of alternative hypotheses cannot
be formulated (at least in some cases). The lack of alternatives precludes
a decision as to whether a particular hypothesis is to be accepted or
rejected. To obviate this deficiency it is necessary to consider each

pair of means as a separate problem and formulate alternatives on this

-62-

basis. Since the purpose of the hypotheses is to facilitate the assessment
of the effects of each of the antecedents, comparison of the results of the
statistical tests of the various pairs of means will provide an adequate

method of weighing the accuracy of the predictions.
TESTS OF THE HYPOTHESES
ALIENATION

Situational attributes

 

Table 8. Means and variances of five "types"
on Index of Alienation”

 

 

 

 

Type Mean Variance "n"

I 6.000 1.575 h9

II 11.816 2 .287 71

III 3.803 2.28h 61

IV b.167 2.261 ha

V 3.518 1.537 139
Total sample h.231 2.186 368

 

*In calculating the meanston alienation, the scores were
reflected so that high alienation takes a low score and
low alienation takes a high score. This must be taken
into account when interpreting the computations. How-
ever, to make the directions of the scores consistent
‘with the alienation terminology, all means were sub-
tracted from fourteen, the highest possible score, for
presentation in the text.

:-—
‘

-63-

Table 8 presents the basic data utilized in testing the hypotheses
concerning the "alienation" effects of situational imbalance. Inspection
of the table reveals that (a) differences in stress (alienation) are
apparent between the five types and (b) the relative ranks of the five
types are generally as predicted. Table 9 contains a comparison between
the predicted relations to be found among the types and the actual relations
found to obtain through statistical tests.17

Table 9. Predicted and actual relations among
alienationlmeans‘0f~fi#eétypiss’,’_, '

 

 

Predicted Actual "t“ df Pr<

 

“0/ = “(6/ x4915 flu h .9h7 118 .05*
’1’” >16], //II 5411/ 1.917 117 .05
’4’" >74”! ’4” 5/”! L219 107 new:
«4m >3,“ fl,” >fly 1.300 198 .10
Av :4, /((w 34v 2 .690 185 .05

 

*Two-tailed test. The remainder are one-tailed tests.

*fAccepting the null hypothesis here necessitated the test of
IV against V to ascertain the extent of the equality.

 

 

The equation for identifying the degrees of imbalance is based on
the assumption that each of the antecedents makes an independent and equal
contribution to stress. If imbalance produces stress (of which localized

alienation is one type) and if the independent and equal assumption is well

 

l7Students "t" was employed in all comparisons of means. Unless
otherwise noted, the assumptions for the test were felt to have been
adequately'met.

-6h-

founded, then each of the tests of differences between means should pro-
vide a basis for rejecting the null hypothesis in favor of the predicted
alternative.18 An inspection of Table 9 reveals that in general the null
hypotheses can be rejected and the predicted alternatives accepted. In only
one case (I and II) is the prediction clearly in error and in the other con-
trary case (IV and III) the difference is in the predicted direction and
approaches the rejection region.

The one case in which a predictive error is apodictic (I and II)
involves the issue of whether or not the positive advantage of high parental
stress on more education offsets what is assumed to be stress resulting from
disagreement between parents and son with respect to more training. Since
social status and life-goals are controlled in this comparison, the dif-
ference in means suggests that the imbalance between parents and sons does
not result in stress sufficiently great to overcome or counter-balance the
advantage of parental desires for more schooling. The effect of parental
stress is apparent in the differences in means, and it bears reiteration
that this variable is conceived as a predictor of a rather extended attempt
on the part of the parents to inculcate the cultural value of success into
the child's goal-system.

The remaining instance in which the predicted difference approaches
but does not attain statistical significance (IV and III) suggests that in
at least one instance a personal attribute (life-goals) exerts a stronger
influence than does a situational variable (social status). If the status
effect (stress from lack of means) equalled the personal effect then a

basis for accepting the null hypothesis should be present; such a basis

 

18The adjective "null" is sometimes erroneously understood to

denote a hypothesis of no difference. Correctly used, the null hypothesis
is the hypothesis one desires to reject in favor of an alternative which
has been demonstrated to follow logically from a larger context of theory.

-65-

is present but the fact that the directional prediction was sound and that
the difference approaches statistical significance lends support albeit
tentative to the belief that personal variables exert a stronger effect.
Additional support for this view may be adduced from the comparison of
the means of types IV and V, wherein the types are differentiated on the
basis of different life-goals. In this latter case, the effects of stress
stemming from low life-goals is clearly evident and a solid basis for reject-
ing the null hypothesis is available.

In the remaining comparisons, the effects of social status are mani-
fested in the predicted differences between the means of types II and IV
on the one hand, and between III and V on the other. In this thesis, status
is construed as limiting the portion of the stratification hierarchy (and
its attendant value-orientations) to which the person is exposed. From this,
one may reason that different learning structures are available to persons
in different statuses. These learning structures take the form of non-family
role models, (family friends or occupational cohorts of the father with which
the person comes into contact) as well as a more amorphous but nonetheless
effective environmental milieu which is typified in contact with neighbors,

tradesmen and so forth.

Summary

In general, social status and parental expectations, as well as life-
goals, exert independent effects which are manifested in stress stemming
from situational imbalance with respect to the emphasis on success. What-
ever its effect, imbalance between parents and son over life-goals does
not appear to exert an alienation effect of the same magnitude as that of

the social status and parental stress.

 

~66-

Person attributes

 

Whereas the first set of hypotheses was concerned with the
betweenrtype variation, the second set are focused on variation within
the individual types. Two sets of hypotheses were formulated, one applya
ing to those who planned more schooling. In the former case, the prediction
was that no differences in alienation would result under the four conditions
of power because ability and independence (elements of power) only produced
imbalance if the lack of them coincided with a need for them, viz., high
educational aspirations. Where more training was planned, the hypotheses
predicted least alienation where power was greatest (high values on both
elements) and highest alienation where minimal power was evident. The
third case, where power was "medium” was said to result in no differences
between the two combinations.

The major conclusion.to be drawn.from an inspection of Table 10 is
that the effects of differences in individual power are greatest among
those boys to whom college training is most important, either because of
their individual choice (III and V) or because such training is part of
the institutionalized expectation derivative of high status (type IV). Conn
sidering types I and II in Table 11A, there is only one instance in which
the predicted relations are not found to exist; that is, in type II the
difference between youth with high and low independence (under conditions
of low ability) is statistically significant. Since independence training
is stressed predominantly by middle class mothers, the possibility is
apparent that mothers of high independenceulow ability youth were success-

ful in teaching autonomy, which, when coupled with varying conceptions

-67-

Table 10. Means and varianCesU of five types on Index
of Alienation under four conditions of power.

 

 

Condition of Power

 

 

l 2 3 h
Type Hi GPA Hi GPA Lo GPA Lo GPA.
Hi Ind Lo Ind Hi Ind Lo Ind
I 5.250 h.500 6.33h 6.0h0
(6.250) (7olh3) (10.606) (7.363)
n = h 8 12 25
h.100 b.1hh 5.778 h.825
II (8.h56) (7.363) (5.7h2) (5.58h)
10 1h 18 29
2.8h7 3.300 5.000 5.556
III (8.8h6) (8.537) (7.600) (8.538)
26 20 6 9
3.000 2.250 h.h00 h.6lo
IV (0.800) (0.917) (21.209) (6.567)
6 h 15 23
3.2h6 3.uh7 3.h00 h.h7h
V (2.955) (3.659) (5.002) (5.596)
61 38 21 19
Total Nban 3.688 3.529 b.982 5.100
Sample: Variance (5.h55) (5.6h9) (9.7lh) (6.hh0)
n 107 _, 8h 72 105

 

 

‘1‘

ae' ‘ O O O
Variances are enclosed in parentheSIS.

-68-

Table 11A. Predicted and actual relations among
Alienation means of types I, II, &
III under four conditions of power.

 

 

 

 

 

Type Predicted Actual "t" df Pr<
Mal = A”). A =fla- 0.1179 12 ns
I ,4; =//J «(A = «43 1.371; 20 ns
=//4 ,4, =3“; 0.232 37 ns
=//a. ’4; =//z 0.026 2h ns

=fl7/ ’43 74’4" 3.7013" b? .05
=J03 fl =74! 1.3112 28 n5

1!, 91/, ,4, 3”? 1.791. 16 .05
I, =/; 0,0,, = 3 1.308 6‘” ns
III I} </Z/,/ fl, 3 4 0. 381* 15 ns
fl: <//./4 1, 37/0 1.h07 11 ns
’4, <j/3 ,J/, 9/0 2.1188 87"": .05
J11, 91!.) fl; yaw 1.903 12 .05

areas
it
h
”h

 

*Indicates that failure to predict correct relation necessitated
testing the hypotheses below it (within the type) to ascertain
the extent of the error in prediction.

**Indicates that the degrees of freedom were calculated according to
the method suggested by walker and Lev (1953, p. 157) for use where
samples are small and unequal in size with variances unknown but
presumed unequal. See Appendix (5).

 

 

-69-

 

 

 

 

Table 1113. Predicted and actual relations among

Alienation means of types Iv and 7

under four conditions of power.

Type Predicted Actual “t" or Pr<
x4; = JG X6 7‘ "l 1' 3.939* t“ .05
«16 = We .16 =13 1.t33 599* ha
IV ,4, =/’4 A =J/‘V 0.729 38 ns
)7, =9. AMI: *5...
__ .44) 3451 a“ 74/” * 2.h88‘ . ml" 1.95.
’16 <flt a“ 3.”; 0527* 99 ns
I; aflg /; =fl3 0.081 59 ns
7 ’4, <j4 ,4; 941/ b.6117"? to .05
A <flu ,4, 9%4 * 6.331 80 .05
A <fl, ,4; <34, * 1.617" t? .10

 

*Indicates that failure to predict correct rela ion necessitated
testing the hypotheses below it (indicated by' before the "t")
to ascertain the extent of the error in prediction.

HDegrees of freedom calculated according to method suggested.by
'Walker and Lev (1953, p. 157)

 

 

~70.

of life-goals, results in higher scores for their sons on the alienation
index. Since no differences appear between high and low ability (with high
independence controlled) it appears that differences in independence are the
major factor in the differential occurrence of alienation, at least in this
type.

The results of the comparisons within type III bear special consid-
eration. Since the members of this group are atypical in lower-class goal
structures (post-high school training is typical in the middle, not lower
class) it is here that effects of power-differences should be most apparent.
In the first comparison (1 and 2)19 the predicted relation is accurate and
differences in alienation obtain between high and low independence youth
under conditions of high ability. The predicted relation between 2 and 3
obtains, although the difference approaches the rejection region. A
predictive error is evident in the relation between 3 and h since the dif-
ference in alienation, while directionally accurate, is not sufficiently
large to exceed chance limits. Given the differences between 1 and 2,
and the lack of differences between 3 and h, it was necessary to formulate
and test subsidiary hypotheses to locate the extent of the differences.

Of these (all of which involve differences in ability under varying condi-
tions of independence) two are sufficiently great to indicate nonrandom
variation and the third difference approaches statistical significance.
The importance of the variation within this type should not be overlooked.
First, the groups which possess several elements of power should, ceteris

paribus, enjoy considerably better relationships with their environment

 

19To simplify presentation, the various conditions will be desig-
nated as “l", "2", etc.; the reference in each case is to “Condition 1”
as noted in Table 10.

-71.

than their cohorts who lack one or both of the elements under discussion.
’The analysis of the data bears out this position. Second, it was this
group to which Mbrton (1957) referred in speaking of the effects of lack
0f means commensurate with the cultural goals and it is this group who
presumably'were in the minds of Sewell and Haller when.they formed their
explanation of the relationship between tension-states and social status.
Finally, given the distinct possibility of a beta error when working with
small n's such as these, there is reason to conclude that members of this
group exhibit considerable differences in localized alienation according
to intra-type differences in power. This conclusion adds support to the
general view that power differences are most critical When lack of power
endangers goal-achievement.

The general lack of differences between the means in types I and
II was explained by the multiplicative relation between a positive choice
of high life-goals and the individual elements of power. Since the
numerical value of life-goals in I and II is zero, no differences were
expected. Similarly, no differences were expected in type IV for this
reason. However, Table 11B reveals that the hypothesis of no difference
does not adequately describe the reactions of high status youth who desire
no more training contra their parent's wishes; further it should be re-
called that they are engaging in deviant behavior (using society as the
point of reference) because they are violating what have been posited as
institutionalized expectations. However, it is important to note that in
the comparison of the means of youths with high and low independence (given
high ability) it is low independence youth who manifest least alienation of

any of the groups in the sample. were the observed frequencies in these

 

.72-

two cells larger, there would be reason for questioning the general
hypothesis that power and alienation are inversely related. However, in
view of the small n's involved (six and four respectively) a more cautious
interpretation seems advisable, viz., that the observed results are either
(1) chance results or (2) that the interaction of high ability and low
independence is of a different order in high status families than in low
status groups. In type I, a similar result is observed (2 is less than 1)
but the differences are not statistically significant and in type II there
is virtually no difference between the two means under consideration.

‘The rejection of the null hypothesis between 1 and 2 necessitated
testing two subsidiary hypotheses to ascertain the extent of the withinp
type differences. The results of these two subsidiary comparisons lend
support to the hypothesis that alienation is inversely related to power
but do not explain why the scores of low independence-high ability youth
should be lower than.the other three scores in the type. It Should be
added that in comparing the means of l and 3 there exist large differences
in the variances and for this reason there is some reason to question not
the significance of the difference but rather the exact level of signi-
ficance (Cochran and Cox, 1950, pp. 83-8h).

Generally type IV represents a serendipitous pattern since one
would not expect that about one-seventh of the sample could be defined as
institutionally deviant. The pattern of results within the type suggest
that the hypotheses do not adequately explain the variation between condi-
tionemeans, and that in all probability, the interaction of the variables

is-considerably more complex than is specified in the hypotheses.

-73-

The final set of comparisons within Table llB generally support the
hypothesis that alienation as a function of differences in power is most
likely to occur when a clear choice of goals is evident. In type V, as in
III, there are differences between youth with differing degrees of power.

In the first comparison with type V (l and 2) the prediction of differences

is in error, suggesting that a difference in independence (given high

ability) coupled with high status is not as disturbing as it is when coupled
with low status. Colloquially, the low status youth "needs everything he

can lay his hands on," while the situation of the upper status youth is less
precarious. However, the observed difference between 3 and h suggest that
lack of individual power contributes substantially to alienation as predicted.
Furthermore, the fact that h is statistically different from all other means
within the type is indicative of the somewhat precarious situation of high

goals and little power.

Eugene:

This section has examined the validity of the hypothesis that imp
balance leads to alienation, one variety of stress. Two kinds of imbalance
were incorporated into the testing of the general hypothesis; situational
and individual imbalance. Concerning the former, the analysis of data shows
that differences in alienation exist between each of the five types, which
types are defined by different combinations of the situational variables.
"The differences either exceed or approach statistical significance. When
individual imbalance is examined, the data show that (l) alienation is
inversely related to individual power and that this relation is most apparent
when a positive goal—choice is available, and (2) while the hypotheses gen-

erally predict differences correctly, they are lacking in sensitivity to

-71...

particular interaction effects within some of the types. This lack of sensi~
tivity is especially apparent with type IV, the serendipitous pattern, wherein
a choice of low goals involves institutionally defined deviance for the youth
with high status.

Therefore, considering alienation as a variety of stress, it may be
said that it is a function of the types of imbalance induced by the culu
tural emphasis on success. The imbalance is precipitated by the disjunction
between the cultural goals and a differential supply of means which vary with

social status and related factors.

NERVOUS TENSION

Introduction

 

In this section, the exploratory nature of the hypotheses should be
kept in mind. It is worth repeating again that the dynamics of nervous
tension as a variety of stress are not clear to the degree that are the
factors underlying alienation. Lack of clarity notwithstanding, the find-
ings of Sewell and Haller (1959) as well as those of Douvan and Adelson
(1958) furnish a substantial if nonpspecific base for predictions and the
purpose of this section is to analyze the results of the tests of the

hypothesis that imbalance leads to nervous tension as one kind of stress.

Situational attributes

 

Table 12 presents the basic data utilized in testing the hypothesis
that nervous tension is a function of situational imbalance. Inspection of
the data reveals that the differences between type means on the alienation

index are somewhat larger than on the index of nervous tension. The largest

-75-

Table 12. Means and variances of five types
on Index of Nervous Tension.

 

 

 

 

Type Mean Variance "n"
I 10.506 6.92h h?
II 11.387 7.275 71
III 10.221 8.02h 61
IV 9.792 7.099 h8
V 9.5h3 8.63h 139

Sample 10.190 ‘ 7.205 368

 

 

difference among alienation means was 2.h82, whereas the largest dif-
ference between any two means in Table 12 is 1.8hh, types II and V. The
significance of this smaller range is apparent in Table 13 which presents
the results of the tests of hypotheses concerning situationallybinduced
nervous tension. Because of the exploratory nature of these hypotheses,
the rejection region has been increased from..OS to .10 to permit smaller
differences between means to appear. Despite the larger rejection region
the differences between means were too small to justify rejection of the
null hypothesis in two of the four predictions.

The major conclusion to be drawn from Table 13 is the general lack
of influence 0f life-goals on differences in nervous tension. Rather,
social status seems to exert the major effect. In only one instance (III
and IV) can the hypothesis of no difference be accepted when comparing low
and high status types, whereas the only instance of a statistically signi-
ficant difference between means within the same status is the large difference

between II and I. With low status types the only factor exerting appreciable

 

~76-

Table 13. Predicted and actual relations among
Nervous Tension means of five types.

 

 

Predicted Actual "t" df Pr

 

x”; =/(n x4: 515/0 1.781?" 120 .10
(Ill, >j/w ,4” >/(;v 3.192 110 .05
1V >fl/II fl" 5/”!!! 0.811% 117 ns
,Z/m WV «4M >flv 1.5111 200 .075
.241 ail/I ,1/7 S flu; %O.Sh5 110 ns
,Z/I >///IV ,4; >//v 1.322 97 .10
«in! >¢4V VIA/fflv *0e5h3 . 187 ns

 

*Indicates that failure to predict corrgct relation necessitated testing
the hypotheses below it (indicated by" before the "t") to ascertain the
extent of the error in prediction.

 

 

influence is imbalance between parents and sons, which is responsible for
the high nervous tension score of persons in type II; however in high
status types, parent-son imbalance exerts no evident effect (IV and V are
about equal in nervous tension). It is important to note that the high
score in II, apparently a function of parent-son imbalance among low status
persons, lends considerable support to the explanation of Sewell and Haller
who posited these factors as contributing to their Observed differences in
tension-states. However, the general lack of influence of life-goals upon
nervous tension suggests that the dynamics within type II are an exception
rather than a general tendency characterizing each of the types in one way

or another.20

 

20There is a very real possibility that at least some of the ante-
cedents are not unidimensional. For example, is independent behavior of the
same kind in low and high status families? The existence of what we have
called "exceptionb" characterizing particular types leads one to at least
suspect multidimensionality as one explanation for these exceptions.

-77-

Summarya In general it may be said that the original relationship
reported by Sewell and Haller between social status and nervous tension is
not significantly altered by the introduction of life-goals and parental
stress as intervening variables. The only factor responsible for statistia
cally significant differences between means on the index of nervous tension
(besides status) is parent-son imbalance among low status youth. Considering
situational attributes, there is considerable reason to doubt that nervous
tension and alienation vary in the same manner as separate varieties of stress

produced by imbalance.

Person attributes

 

Table 1h. Means and variances*of five types on Index
of Nervous Tension under four conditions of power.

 

 

Condition'of.Powero

 

 

l 2 3 h
Type Hi GPA Hi GPA Lo GPA Lo GPA
Hi Ind Lo Ind Hi Ind Lo Ind
8.500 8.750 10.000 11.600
I (h6.667) (12.500) (18.39h) (18.3h7)
u 8 12 25
,10.700 10.893 11.9uh 11.h93
II (22.h00) (28.h18) (2h.261) (17.232)
10 1h 18 29
10.038 9.000 15.167 10.351
III (32.599) (23.105) (23.067) (1h.000)
26 20 6 9
6.250 9.500 9.900 10.717
IV (9.200) (2h.000) (21.966) (18.937)
6 h 15 23
,9.100 9.816 9.700 10.616
V (2h.097) (18.813) (21.975) (19.918)
61 38 21 19
Total Mean 9.317 9.678 10.625 10.667
Sample: Variance (16.6h8) (21.081) (21.6h9) (18.078)
n 107 8b 72 105

 

 

%
Variances are enclosed in parenthesis.

-78-

Table 1h presents the basic data for testing the hypotheses con-
cerning the effects of imbalance in producing nervous tension under
varying conditions of individual power. The major tendency of scores on
the index of nervous tension is that of considerable differences in the
variances within each type. Further, the tendency toward wide variation
does not exist among the individual means, which, with two exceptions,
exhibit only small differences.

Tables 15A and 15B present the results of the tests of hypotheses
concerning the differences within-types on the index of nervous tension.
Where the prediction was one of no difference between means under various
conditions of power, the predictions were accurate; in no instance in
types I, II and IV was a difference of sufficient magnitude as to justify
rejecting the hypothesis of no difference. However, in types III and V,
where directional predictions were made, the tests of the hypotheses
indicate that in only one of four cases was the prediction correct; in
type V the mean of condition 1 is less than that of condition 2, indicating
that at least in one instance, less power is accompanied by higher nervousv
tension. In type III the prediction that nervous tension among high-
independence youth would be lower than nervous tension among low-inde-
pendence youth (controlling ability) was in error in both cases; actually
youth with high independence scored higher on nervous tension measures than
did those with low independence. These two deviant cases occurred only in
type III and in View of the inordinate high tension score of high inde-
pendence-low ability youth, there are some grounds for concluding that the
occurrence of nervous tension is, on the whole, not related to imbalance

resulting from differences in individual power with respect to life-goals.

 

Table 15A. Predicted and actual relations among Nervous
Tension means of types I, II & III under
four conditions of power.

 

 

Type Predicted Actual "t" df Pr<

xx, .97.. --
I fl: =/(3 ,4. =54, 0.711 9 ns
«123 =v‘2? ‘199 =94”? 1.063 1h ns

x”! =fl2— .4! J“ 0.093 12 ns
II I; =13 .16 =/3 0.570 27 ns
.16 .fl, «4: =14, 0.327 37 ns

a n..- -—

 

 

 

4 =16. ,4, =16. b0.6711 he us
It =2”! #2 704.3 2.761191. 6*)" .05
III 1/3 a“! .1/3 7! 44 b2.092* 6*” .10
fl; e/é 31/: = .4, "“0.823 11 ns
,4, a4? .4 701/3 652.270 7* .075

 

a . . . . . .
Indicates no test of Significance because of extreme differences in
variances.

bIndicates change from one to two tailed test because of obvious failure
to predict directional difference.

*Indicates that failure to predict corrgct relation necessitated testing
the hypotheses below it (indicated by " before the "t") to ascertain the
extent of the error in prediction.

**Degrees of freedom calculated according to method suggested by Walker
and LeV (1953. p. 157).

 

 

Table 15B .

-80-

Predicted and actual relations among Nervous
Tension means of types IV and V under four
conditions of power.

 

 

 

 

Type Predicted Actual "t" df Pr<
/(/, =//i «[6 =fla 1.171. 5""‘" ns
IV I; =/(3 flz 2443 0.016 5'” ns
#3 ‘3,”1/ fl} =/¢/ 00537 3’4 1'13
fl (flat ”I <1} 20395)". 97 005
V d”; =43 J”? =IJ/3 0.093 59 ns
flj f/(d/ ,[7/3 zfl‘y 0.288 110 ns
fl, <fl3 jl; 3% 61.0.1199 82 ns

0‘

 

*Indicates that failure to predict correct relation necessitated

testing the hypotheses below it (indicated by * before "t") to

ascertain the extent of the error in prediction.

W(Degrees of freedom calculated according to method suggested by

Walker and Lev (1953, p. 157).

 

7'

~81-

The rationale for this conclusion is evident when it is realized that the
validity of the hypothesis of no difference is only confirmed when the
predicted, directional differences do in fact result, as was generally the
case on the index of alienation. ‘Where the directional hypotheses are in
error, little credit can be laid to the theorem.Which predicts no differ-
ences in other cases, even if the latter can be confirmed.

.§EEEE5X‘ .As a general rule, the hypotheses calling for a multi-
plicative relationship between life-goals and the two elements of individual
power (ability and independence) were found to be in error when called upon
to predict differences among means on the index of nervous tension. 'Whatever
the cause of differential nervous tension within each type, differences in
power with respect to life-goals does not appear to be a valid explanation.
Where high life-goals led to a prediction of differences according to
individual power, the prediction was correct in only one of four cases. In
another case, the observed difference was in the opposite direction than
was predicted. Finally, the striking heterogeniety of variances among the
individual condition-means lends support to the conclusion that knowledge
concerning the differential occurrence of nervous tension is advanced but
little through an investigation of the effects of differences in individual

power.

CONCLUSION
This chapter has presented the results of the tests of hypotheses
concerning two effects of imbalance, alienation and nervous tension. The
particular hypotheses tested were derived fromeeider's theorem that imp
balance leads to stress. Imbalance was defined in terms of combinations of

situational and person variables as these combinations occurred with instances

-82-

of high and low life-goals, measured by desire for college training. Since
imbalance was said to exist to the extent that environmental and personal
forces were not compatible with the objective requirement of striving for
success, it was expected that the effects of imbalance would be demonstrated
in differences in scores on the indexes of alienation and nervous tension,
according to the particular combinations of the antecedents. 2

When stress was viewed in terms of localized alienation, the
hypotheses generally mirrored the facts. The environmental forces, social
status and parental expectations, were shown to contribute to alienation
as did life-goals. The only factor which did not contribute substantially
to alienation was imbalance due to parent-son disagreement over life-goals.
‘When individual imbalance was taken as a predictor of alienation, the
results were again generally in accord with the hypotheses, although lack
of statistical significance in some comparisons suggested that the simple
multiplicative relation on which the hypotheses were based was somewhat
insensitive to the interaction of factors within the individual types.

‘When stress was viewed in terms of nervous tension, the hypotheses
generally failed to predict differences. When the impact of environmental
forces was examined in terms of their capacity to generate nervous tension,
the analysis confirmed the original relationship between status and nervous
tension posited by Sewell and Heller, and, in the case of lower status boys,
showed that parent-son imbalance did in fact accentuate nervous tension.
However, the effects of life-goals, apparent when alienation was examined,
were wholly lacking on scores on the index of nervous tension. Furthermore,
when the effects of individual imbalance due to lack of power were examined,
the hypotheses gave little indication of explaining what differences were

found to exist.

~83-

Viewed together, the disparate results demonstrate the general
utility of theory. 'Where considerable theory was available to generate

predictions, and this theory was buttressed by relevant research, the

predictions were accurate. ‘Where little theory was available to aid in

interpreting relevant research, the hypotheses were generally inaccurate.

 

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

 

INTRODUCTION

This final chapter contains three main actions. Following this
brief introduction there is a discussion of the contributions of this study
to knowledge about alienation and anomia. The second section considers the
implications of Heider's theorem that the stress induced by imbalance leads
to "stress-reducing" behavior and speculates on both social and personal
consequences of alienation as a form of stress. Also, this section OOH?
siders the implications of the findings about nervous tension. The final
section broadens the perspective in.Which the results are viewed and
makes a number of suggestions about future research in this general area.

One parenthetical comment is appropriate at this point. Thus far,
the interpretation of the results have been cast into what might be called
a “cautious" mold. In this chapter, the results are viewed somewhat more
optimistically and the emphasis is on the positive contributions of the
thesis to the literature of sociology and social psychology. Thus, should
the‘reader detect a change in "moods,“ he will have been forewarned and

hopefully will be forearmed.
LOCALIZED ALIENATION AND ANOMIA

Throughout this thesis the focus has been on the latent functions
of the pervasive emphasis on success in.American society. The major con:

sequence of this emphasis is called anomie when predicated of a societal

-au-

 

-85-

condition and anomia when applied to a psychological state. ‘Whatever the
object-referrent the concept refers to a lack of "self-to—other-belonging»
ness," either perceived or real. The major consequence of interest in
this study is called localized alienation, which has been shown to be difa
ferentially distributed according to combinations of variables which
cluster around the individual's life-goals. Depending on Whether or not
the particular combinations were favorable or unfavorable to achievement,
alienation has been shown to occur. The consequent variable has been
called "localized" alienation to emphasize that it was measured in terms
of the person's attachment to objects predicated of him or immediately
proximal to him. Thus the sense in Which alienation is used here should
be considered as distinct from the more general environmental scope
generally indicated by the concept. From.the point of view of the person
involved, the lack of each of the antecedents was seen as a lack of power
relative to environmental stresses on success.

"The classic statement about the latent functions of the cultural
stress on success is contained in Merton's typology of role-responses
(1957). If the responses of the high-alienation subjects in this study
are considered as preliminary to a more pervasive disenchantment with
.American society as adults, then the results discussed in the preceding
chapter support Merton's contentions that a differential availability of
means precipitates variant responses, only a few of which bode well for
social integration. This study, along with the findings of DouVan and
Adelson (1958) on the psychodynamics of social mobility, provides con-
siderable support for Merton's thesis that the genesis of at least some

deviant tendencies lies in the means-end scarcity.

 

 

-86-

The major contribution of this study lies in the linkage of
localized alienation in adolescents to the considerable literature on
anomia in adults. The conditions which have been shown to be associated
with the occurrence of anomia by Bell and others, have, in this study,
been shown to be associated with localized alienation. Thus, a diachronic
approach to the problem of anomia has been made, one which, by its nature,
offers a possibility of a more complete explanation of the problem. And,
insofar as localized alienation is a precondition to anomia, the empirical
vacuum.Which previously underlay Merton's thesis is now removed to some
small extent. Therefore, this study adds knowledge of an earlier age
group to the literature on social structure and anomie and offers a basis

on which prediction about anomia in adults may be based.
CONSEQUENCES OF LOCALIZED ALIENATION

Heider's theorem holds that imbalance leads to stress which in turn
is motivating toward activities calculated to reduce the stress. One means
of stress-reduction consists in redefining one's object-attachments in such
a manner that the new Object-attachment (or expectation) either leads to
gratification (balance) or at least minimizes the imbalance. For example,
there is less deprivation attendant upon failure if one believes that
"in spite of what some people say, the lot of the average man is getting
worse,"21 than if one believes that others generally prosper. The con-
tention in this study is that the measurement captures a stage in the
development of what Srole calls "selfuto-other-alienation" in adults. If
in fact localized alienation is a manifestation of situational imbalance,

what are its consequences? That is, how is stress reduced?

 

21One item in Srole's "anomia" scale (1957).

-87-

Social consequences

One strong possibility, suggested but not clearly supported in
current literature is social isolation. Festinger (1957) suggests that
one way in which cognitive dissonance (or imbalance) is reduced is by
actively avoiding situations and information that increases dissonance.
Bell (1957) and Srole (1956) provide support for this proposition,
reporting positive associations between anomia and social isolation,
although Roberts and Rokeach (1956) report negative results in repli-
cating Srole's study. Two recent papers, Meier and Bell (1959) and
Mizruchi (1960) lend considerable support to Srole's original findings
and it is on this basis that the possibility of social isolation as a
consequence of localized alienation is suggested. The probability of this
consequence is further increased by the findings of both Bell (1957) and
Mizruchi (1960) that when social integration is measured in terms of for-
mal participation, the inverse relationship with anomia is particularly
strong. If isolation is seen as stress-reducing, it is apparent that
withdrawal from formal obligations is considerably easier than is with-
drawal from informal social participation, Mizruchi reports that the
latter, while associated with anomia in low income groups, is not as
strongly related in high status groups (1960, p. 6h9). If participation
in formal associations is viewed as more likely to involve commitment to
community norms and sentiments, then the relationship of low formal par-
ticipation and anomia becomes readily understandable since alienation or
anomia among adults is generally construed as having the community as a

general objectureferrent. Furthermore, the adult is more likely to find

-88-

informal groups which support his disenchantment than is the youth whose
choice of reference and membership groups is considerably limited by the
role-commitments exacted of him.

Finally, this study suggests that the occurrence of alienation,
traditionally thought to be characteristic of urban environments, is
considerably more widespread, extending to rurban atmospheres as well.
Mizruchi (1960) and the present study draw upon data gathered in rurban
and small urban locales, and in the light of the results of the two sets
of data, there seems sufficient grounds for concluding that the assumed
differences in social integration between rural and urban populations

have been considerably exaggerated.

Personal consequences

 

Investigation in the area of social structure and personality is
based on the premise that personal correlates of situational differences
are the rule rather than the exception. Had the hypotheses concerning
nervous tension been substantiated rather than rejected, one would be
considerably more inclined to postulate disorganizing personal tendencies
as the result of the kinds of imbalance with which the study is concerned.
However, the failure of the hypotheses to predict differences in nervous
tension can be viewed as partially supporting Nbrton's contentions that
deviant role responses (defined in societal terms) should not ipso facto
imply personal deviance or as it is sometimes called, personal disorganiza-
tion. The point should be made clear that, in view of the supposed tendency
of the self to organize behavior so as to avoid undue anxiety (Sullivan,
1953, p. 169), a variety of personal adaptations are possible as correlates

of imbalance, not all of which would either be socially visible or

~89-

clinically defined as "disorganizing." Consequently, although typical modes
of personality disorganization remain a provocative hypothesis as correlates
of revised social object~attachments (of which social isolation is one imp
portant variety), a firm brake should be applied to tendencies to assume
personal disorganization from instances of imbalance such as those isolated

in the present study.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

There are at least several directions in which future research in
this area might profitably be conducted. Building on the topic of interest
immediately above, an obvious step is an exploratory investigation into
possible differences in personality syndromes between youths classified into
the various types. Hence the question would become, given these situational
differences, what if any differences in personality organizations may be
correlates? ’If it could be demonstrated that different trait-syndromes
characterize the members of the respective types, the state of substantive
know1edge as well as the logic of investigation in the area of social
structure and personality would be advanced. Such an approach as described
here is suggested by Inkeles (1959) who comments on the paucity of such
parallel inquiries, the existence of which are presumably the rationale for
interest in social structure and personality. To the writer's knowledge,
only Spindler (1955) has carried through such an investigation. Hypotheses
could be formulated on an exploratory basis, asking only as to whether
demonstrable personality differences could be found as correlates of situ-

ational differences.

 

.90..

Perhaps a desirable preliminary step to the above is an inquiry into
differences in the value-orientations of the subjects of this study. Rosen
(1956) reports differences in value-orientations related to different achieve-
ment-motivation structures but does not systematically probe into associated
structural differences as does this thesis. Knowledge of such value-
differentials would considerably facilitate prediction of personalityh
differences in the sense that value-commitments may be said to influence the
“organization" of the object-attachments constitutive of personality (Parsons,
1958).

Two related aspects of this general problem could be profitably
investigated. First, data on social participation, coupled with knowledge
of personality and value differentials would conceivably advance knowledge
concerning the relative primacy of social and cultural factors in anomia,
while providing a full description of the variant modes of adaptation‘Which
are so important in Merton's germinal paper. Second, knowledge of commitment
to life-goals would be considerably advanced were it known "how" some per-
sons choose to continue their education. That is, what are the steps of the
decision-making process and who are the influential "others" in the decision-
sequence? The fact that knowledge of parental stress is but a partial aid
in exploring educational aspirations suggests that other, unexplored groups,
play a major role. Parsons (1959) lays the principal emphasis on the school
system but data supporting this position is yet to be published, if in fact
such has been gathered. Inquiries into the decisionemaking process would
also shed light on the factors which lead other youths to decide not to seek
more training. Kahl (1953) suggests that parental stress among lower class
families manifests itself only upon indication of probable success, e.g.,

scholastic achievement, yet the sizable population of type II casts some

 

 

.91-

doubt upon the efficacy of this explanation, at least among rurban fam-
ilies, since most of the youths in type II are found to be characterized
by low ability.

‘The most important single direction in which future research efforts
might be directed is a follow—up study of the subjects on whom the present
data were gathered. Given the positive results of predictions about
alienation, there exists now a detailed and carefully analyzed body of data
upon which to base hypotheses as to (l) anomia and (2) social participaa
tion in both formal and informal groups. The five types analyzed in this
thesis could be utilized much in the same manner as they have been here,
as "situational" bases, from which to predict the occurrence of anomia.
Also, knowledge of the success of individual members of types III and V in
their quest for further training would furnish a "proving grounds" for the
necessity of the elements of power (ability and independence) in striving
for success, even in such a limited context as successful acquisition of
post-high school training. Presumably ability would be crucial in such
contexts, while independence may well manifest its effects in differences
in social participation after high school. Considering the obvious
advantages of longitudinal studies, there seems no more fruitful way in
which to definitively isolate the underlying and precipitating factors
contributing to anomia and its social correlate, anomie, both of which are
said to be the latent functions of the pervasive emphasis on success in

American society.

 

REFERENCES

Bell,'wendell (1957).Anomde, Isolation and the Class Structure,
Sociometry, 20:105-116.

 

Bordua, David J. (1960) Educational Aspirations and Parental Stress
.on College, Social Forces, 38:262-269.

 

California Test 9f Personality - FormHAA (1953) California Test
Bureau, Los Angeles, California.

 

 

Cattell, Raymond B. (1950) The Sixteen ngsonali y Factor Test,
Champaign, Illinois, Institute for Personality and.Ability
Testing.

 

 

, Handbook £25 the Sixteen Personality Factor Questions
naire, Champaign, Illinois, Institute for Personality and
Ability Testing (no date).

 

 

Cloward, Richard A. (1959) Illegitimate Means ,. Anomie , and Deviant
Behavior, American Sociological Review, 2h:16h-l76.

 

Cohen,.Albert K. (1955) Delinquent Boys: The Culture pf the Gang,
Glencoe, Illinois, Free Press.

 

 

(1959)' The Study of Social Disorganization and
Deviant Behavior, Sociology Today: Problems and Prospects
(R. K. Merton, L. Broom and L. S. Cottrell, Jr. Editors),
New York, Basic Books, Chapter 21.

 

 

 

Douvan, Elizabeth and Joseph Adelson (1958) The Psychodynamics of
.Adolescent Boys, Journal 9f Social Psychology, 56:31-h3.

 

Dubin, Robert (1959) Deviant Behavior and Social Structure:
Continuities in Social Theory, American Sociological Review,

2h:lh7-16h.

Empey, Lamar T. (1956) Social Class and Occupational.Aspiration:
A Comparison of Absolute and Relative Measurement, American
Sociological Review, 21:703-709.

 

 

Festinger, Leon (1957) ATheory'gf Cognitive Dissonance, Evanston,
Illinois, Row Peterson and Company.

 

Haller, A. O. (no date) Basic Data for the Lenawee County Study_gf
Social Structure and Personality, available only in the Mich-
igan State University Library, East Lansing, Michigan.

 

 

-92-

-93-
Heider, Fritz (1958) The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations,
New York, Jehn‘Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Hollingshead, A. B. (19119) Elmtown's Youth, New York, John Wiley
and Sons.

 

Hyman, Herbert H. (1953) The Value Systems of the Different Classes,
Class, Status and Power: A Reader in Social Stratification,
(R. Bendix and s. M. Lipso‘o',"‘"Edi'€‘o'r§7 Glencoe, Illinois, Free
Press, pp. h26-hh2.

 

 

Inkeles, Alex (1959) Personality and Social Structure, Sociology
Today: Problems and Prospects, (R. K. Merton, L. Broom and
L. S. Cottrell, Jr., Editors), New York, Basic Books,
Chapter 11.

 

 

Johnson, Harry M. (1960) Sociology: .A Systematic Introduction, New
York, Harcourt, Brace and Company.

Kahl, Joseph A. (1953) Educational and Occupational Aspirations of
'Common Man' Boys, Harvard Educational Review, 20:317-325.

 

and J. A. Davis (1955) A Comparison of Indexes of
Socio-Economic Status, American Sociological Review, 20:317-325.

 

 

Lazarsfeld, Paul F. and A. H. Barton (1951) Qualitative Measurement
in the Social Sciences: Classification, Typologies, and Indices,
The Policy Sciences (D. Lerner and H. D. Lasswell, Editors),
Stanford, California, Stanford University Press.

 

McClelland, D. C. and others (1953) The Achievement Motive, New York,
Appleton-CenturyaCrofts, Inc.

 

McQuitty, Louis L. (1957) Elementary Linkage Analysis for Isolating
Orthogonal and Oblique Types and Typal Relevances, Educational
and Psychological Measurement, 17:207-229.

 

 

Meier, Dorothy L. and Wendell Bell (1959) Anomia and Differential
Access to the Achievement of Life Goals, American Sociological
Review, 2h:189a202.

 

Merton, Robert K. (1957) Social Theory and Social Structure, Glencoe,
Illinois, Free Press.

 

Mizruchi, Ephraim H. (1960) Social Structure and Anomia in a Small
City, American Sociological Review, 25:6h5-65h.

 

Miller, I. W. Jr. (1960) Level 2: Occupational Aspiration: Problems
‘in its Conceptualization and Measurement, Michigan State
University, unpublished Master of Arts Thesis.

 

 

 

 

 

-9h-

Nettler, Gwynn (1957) A Measure of Alienation,.American Sociological
Review, 22:670-677.

 

Parsons, Talcott (1958) Social Structure and the Development of
Personality, Psychiatry, 21:321-3h0.

 

(1959) The School Class as a Social System,
Harvard Educational Review, 29:297-318.

 

 

Roberts, A. H. and M. Rokeach (1956) Anomie, Authoritarianism and
Prejudice, American JOurnal pf Sociology, 62:355-358.

 

Rosen, Bernard 0. (1956) The Achievement Syndrome: A Psycho-
Cultural Dimension of Social Stratification, American
Sociological Review, 21:203-211.

 

Seeman, Melvin (1959) On the Meaning of Alienation, American
Sociological Review, 2h:783~79l.

 

Sewell, William.H. and A. O. Haller (1959) Factors in the Relationship
between Social Status and the Personality Adjustment of the
Child,.American Sociological Review, 2h:511-520.

 

and M. A. Strauss (1957) Social Status and Educational
and Occupational.Aspirations, American Sociological Review,

22 367-73 0

 

 

Spindler, George D. (1955) Socio-Cultural and Psychological Processes
EELMEnomini Acculturation, Berkely, California, University'of"_
California Press.

 

 

Srole, Leo (1956) Social Integration and Certain Corollaries: An
Exploratory Study, American Sociological Review, 21:709-716.

 

Strodbeck, Fred L. (1958) Family Interaction, Values and Achievement,
Talent and Society’(D. C. McClelland and others, Editors),
New York, D. Van Nostrand Company.

 

Sullivan, Harry Stack (1953) The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry
Philadelphia, W. W”. Norton and Company.

 

 

Thomas, Shailer (1960) Socio-Economic Status and Personality Factors
as Measured by Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Test,
Michigan State University, unpublished Master of Arts Thesis.

 

 

-95-

'Walker, Helen M. and Joseph Lev (1953) Statistical Inference, New York,
Henry Holt and Company.

 

Wilson, Alan B. (1959) Residential Segregation of Social Classes and
Aspirations of High School Boys, American Sociological Review,

2hz836-8h5.

wrigley, Charles F. (1959) Towards a Probabilistic and Multivariate
Psychology, Department of Psychology, Muchigan State University,
(Mimeographed).

 

 

 

APPENDIX 1

HIGHLAND COUNTY MATRIX OF CALIFORNIA TEST OF PERSONALITY
ITEMS, FACTOR LOADINGS, AND LINKAGE-ANALYSIS

-97-

INTERCORRELATIONS OF HIGHLAND COUNTY CALIFORNIA TEST OF PERSONALITY
ITEMS ASSOCIATED WITH STATUS

 

 

Item No. 1h 16 21 25 30 39 AS A6 A7 h8 57 61 62 63 66 68

1h _
16 lhO —
21 233 093 ~

25 113 072 117 —

30 lhl 192 106 052 ~

39 2A7 167 229 068 16h ~

15 166 1h0 1h0 10A 177 25h -

A6 037 Oh9 127 058 O77 075 051 _

N7 127 193 120 057 167 170 181 182 -

AB 197 211; 156 100 2R2 212 195 190 216 —

57 225 191 098 060 166 221 229 078 151 2h9 -

61 082 109 032 066 118 097 0A7 105 063 187 202 -

62 1L2 063 0t6 031 108 097 128 068 053 165 259 3N2 —

63 092 072 050 036 097 05t 093 028 053 097 127 127 131 -

66 1ho 085 051-026 072 09h 077 062 078 128 179 210 258 112 -

68 09h 165 062 016 068 1A8 096 062 069 201 206 255 25h 121 257 —
70 139 127 070 065 120 128 112 059 116 183 267 28h 325 129 257 337
71 082 116 059 035 053 152 0A6 111 111 150 199 177 270 093 171 21A
72 08h 126 093 066 050 H9 092 09h 115 1L6 125 162 156 105 171 18A
88 105 08h 11h 07A 055 118 11A 112 092 15h 113 085 076 053 060 126
93 176 11A 123 101 107 1L6 079 089 082 183 211 199 231 139 166 196
10A 177 159 112 052 106 175 179 077 100 213 235 11k 161 128 11h 155
109 163 303 125 082 25h 1A? 107 135 181 319 226 115 113 0A6 055 13h
111 156 191 119 088 135 162 137 1A9 lhh 272 182 13A 128 050 136 175
111 093 083 1h5 102 033 120 06h 133 138 12L 096 062 037 020 009 110
115 162 119 123 069 135 1A6 150 075 127 21A 257 216 197 127 152 221
117 085 113 122 099 108 166 119 098 318 181 100 090 072 070 059 11A
120 131 123 208 156 1A5 177 118 152 130 273 153 153 1b1 oh7 096 150
121 253 16A 227 09A 097 206 172 113 131 252 186 180 215 111 1h0 216
lhh 100 095 111 027 088 199 111 095 135 156 095 062 069 oho 078 095

Status 125 210 118 089 155 170 099 063 111 115 126 122 130 079 107 1A9

 

Decimals are omitted.

-98-

;

 

 

7o 71 72 88 93 10A 109 111 11h 115 117 120 12k 1th Item No.
11
16
21
25
30
39
b5
A6
N?
ha
57
61
62
63
66
68
7o
29 - 71
252 2AA - 72
13h 063 096 — 88
190 172 107 112 - 93
ILL 122 07A 169 186 - lot
136 090 101 125 136 188 - 109
172 179 138 132 127 2th 271 - 111
052 081 10h 138 061 085 115 170 - 11A
208 176 16A 181 21h 231 227 233 115 ~ 115
089 082 088 091 075 117 2&1 170 217 110 ~ 117
1th 133 083 105 128 171 160 260 102 211 152 — 120
189 129 1A6 160 161 193 172 203 083 226 113 22h — 12A
075 102 101 105 113 095 050 152 117 110 127 08h 13h - lhh
1A3 113 118 091 1A8 1N2 168 107 100 107 109 122 155 10h Status

 

 

 

-99-

FACTOR LOADINGS

Factor 1 - Status Concern. The six itens which comprise the first factor

 

in order of magnitude of the loadings are:

 

Content Loading Item No.1
I often have a hard time because it seems that

my folks hardly ever have enough money. .NNS 109
I wish my father (or mother) had a better job. .388 16
I don't have a chance to see many new things. .365 30
I am sorry I live in the place I do. .26h h?
My friends have better times at home than I do. .255 h8

I try to keep boys and girls away from my home
because it isn't as nice as theirs. .229 117

 

Factor 2 - Achievement Concern.

 

Most of my friends and classmates do not think

I'm bright. .373 lb
My folks do not seem to think I'm doing well. .331 21
My classmates think I cannot do well in school. .297 39
School work is so hard I am afraid I will fail. .28h 12h
I have just a few friends. .273 h5

It is hard to make people remember how well I
can do things. .223 10h

lIndicates item number on matrix, enclosed in this appendix.

:lOO—

Factor 3 - Rejection of family.

 

Content

I try to keep boys and girls away from my home
because it is not as nice as theirs.

I like one of my parents more than the other.
I am sorry I live in the place I do.

I often wish I had some other parents.

I dislike many of the people near my home.

I am unhappy because my folks do not care about
the things I like.

My folks do not seem to think I am doing well.

My eyes hurt me often.

Factor h - Nervous Symptoms.

 

H

often feel sick at my stomach.

H

often have bad dreams.

H

often have sneezing spells.

H

often feel tired in the forenoon.

H

often have dizzy spells.

I often find I am not hungry at meal time.
My eyes hurt me often.

I usually forget the names of people I meet.
Someone at home picks on me much of the time.

People often try to cheat me or do mean things
to me.

I bite my fingernails often.

Loading

0395

Item No.

117

A7
A6
1AA

21

72

7o
62
61
68
71
66
72
93

115

57
63

 

-IOl=

LINKAGE ANALYSIS

An elementary linkage analysis, as developed by MbQuitty (1957),
yields "typal structures," a cluster of items in which "each member of the
type is more like some other members of that type (with respect to the
data being analyzed) than he is like any member of any other type" (p. 209).
For example, if a matrix of inter-correlations is being examined, every
person in a type would "have a higher correlation with some other person
in the type than he would with anyone not in the type" (p. 213).

To illustrate the development of a typal structure, assume the

following matrix of correlation coefficients is to be analyzed:

A B 0 D E
A - 6A7 §6_2 629 118
B 61.7 — 299 721 292
C y 299 - 37 6A3

D 629 73}; 727 - _6_5_Z

E 118 292 6A3 657 -
The first step is to pick out the highest entry in each column; in the
illustration these are underlined. Second, find the highest entry in the
matrix and identify the two elements involved; above, these are A and C.
Following McQuitty's technique, these are indicated by reciprocal arrows
(AI:§C). Third, entering row C, find those elements which are "high“ with
C, i.e., finding the underlined entries in row C. In this case, D is
high with C; this is indicated as follows (C‘r-'D); indicating that D is

high with C but not vice versa.

 

—102-

Next repeat the procedure for A; in this case, no element is "high"
with A, except C which is already noted. Then, entering row D, the task
is to find the elements which are "high" with D, in this case, B and E.
This relation is indicated by a single arrow from B to D, and E to D,
as was the case with D and C. The procedure is repeated until every
element in the matrix is a member of one type. The results of this analysis

may be indicated as follows;

B
A‘——__...c(—— D<
E

Where 47—————j5 means a reciprocal pair of variables, and
means that the variable at the tail of the arrow is
6 highest with the one at the head, but the one at
the head is not highest with the one at the tail.

When a linkage-analysis is performed on the Richland County matrix

(enclosed) of Sewell and Haller, the following typal structures result:

61 6i 71 1i5 e— 88*
61:626—93 68‘—:—>7oe——57
Type I
(All Factor A) 72

_\,_ Type II
"(All Factor h except 88)

 

-103-

8. a
25————>12o 16a u7° 4 3 117° Q———— llhc
1119————— h83§333 10 a Type IV
10100 we 30a
1th —-> 39" ¢—— 15"
——>
Type III Type V

where a = status concern
b = achievement concern

c = rejection of family

When the four factors of Sewell and Haller are analyzed in terms of
typal structures, the conclusion follows that with the exception of Factor h -
Nervous S toms, the remainder of the factors are found to be intermixed
throughout the types.2 This was the conclusion which furnished a substantial
basis for reinterpreting their results.
§E§tus concern

Achievement Concern Rejection of familz

 

Item No. 2223 Item No. Type Item No. sze
109 III 1h VI 117 IV
16 III 21 VI 11h IV
30 III 39 V b? IV
h? IV 12h§ VI hé III

h8 III u; V 1th V
117 IV lohfl III .111 III
21 VI

72 II

2

types discussed in the body of the thesis.

The term "types" here refers to the typal structures, not to the

 

APPENDIX 2

DESCRIPTION AND LOADINGS OF THE l_6 E TEST
FACTORS USED TO MEASURE INDEPENDENCE

-105-

The primary consideration to be borne in mind when evaluating the
adequacy of these factors is that the lg PE Test factors are composed of
items taken from (a) ratings in real-life behavior situations, (b)
objective tests and (c) clinical and social performances.l Consequently,
the three factors used to measure independence are, themselves, based on
past behavior and behavior—ratings; as such they furnish an adequate basis
for prediction of the kind of behavior which has been called self-as opposed
to other—determination. The adequacy of the lé BE Test is not at issue
here; rather the question is whether the factors adequately capture the di-

mension which has been shown to be part of the "achievement-syndrome.“

Factor E - Dominance of Ascendance versus Submission

 

Generally, dominance tends to be correlated with status and is some-
what higher in established leaders than in followers. It is not sub-
stantially correlated with obtaining leadership. Groups averaging high on
this tend to show more effective role interaction and democratic procedure.
Among occupations it is most associated with those requiring boldness and
courage. The behaviors with which this factor is most associated are:

Assertive, Self-Assured vs. Submissive
Independent Minded vs. Dependent

Hard, Stern vs. Kindly, Soft-Hearted
Solemn vs. Expressive

Unconventional vs. Conventional

Tough vs. Easily Upset
Attention Getting vs. Self-Sufficient

1A complete discussion of this test is found in Thomas (1960).

 

~106~

Factor G - Character or Super-Ego Strength versus Lack of Internal
Standards.

 

This factor, indicative of self-controlled rather than emotional
behavior and is characterized by energy and persistence. Cattell
(Handbook, p. 8) hypothesizes that this factor corresponds to the super=
ego in psychoanalysis. Several objective tests2 indicate that this factor
involve3“3uccess in a variety of performances which require persistence
and organization of thinking. The behaviors with which this factor is
associated are:

Persevering, Determined vs. Quitting, Fickle
Responsible vs. Frivolous

Emotionally Mature vs. Demanding, Impatient
Consistently Ordered vs. Relaxed, Indolent

Conscientious vs. Undependable
Attentive to People vs. Obstructive

Factor Qo - Independent Self-Sufficiency vs. Lack of Resolution.

 

This is one of the four factors in the lé PF Test which are still
in stage of development; consequently Cattell does not list a set of cor-
related behaviors. However, positive loadings on this factor are.
indicative of a person who is "accustomed to going his own way, but is
not necessarily dominant in his relation to other people" (Handbook,

p. 11). The person low on this factor prefers to work and make decisions
in company with other people, likes social approval and is conventional

and fashionable.3

2See R. B. Cattell, (1951) A Factorization of Tests of Personality
Source-Traits, British Journal 23 Psychology, pp. 165-178.

 

3All of the descriptions of items in this appendix are taken from
Handbook for the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, (no date).

 

 

 

APPENDIX 3

INTERCORRELATIONS OF LENAWEE COUNTY CALIFORNIA TEST
g: PERSONALITY ITEMS USED IN INDEX 0 ION

-108-

INTERCORRELATIONS OF LENAWEE COUNTY CALIFORNIA TEST OF PERSONALITY
ITEMS USED IN INDEX OF ALIENATION

 

 

 

 

061.1 2 h 5 11 12 22 2h 25 27 28 29 30 33 3h
2 - 331 088 199 200 23h 232 156 321 165 167 151 136 050
h 331 — 191 265 306 139 21A 188 262 086 095 173 Inn 121
5 088 191 - 137 1A5 091 207 295 156 087 1h8 1A6 173 136

11 .199 265 137 - 362 101 253 270 379 1A3 290 285 086 139
12 200 306 185 362 — 099 300 282 328 258 288 2A5 180 23b
22 238 139 091 101 099 - lho 1A6 028 036 068 028 078 025
2b 232 21A 207 253 300 180 - 285 333 188 806 225 208 186
25 156 188 295 270 282 1A6 285 - 301 309 278 308 169 186
27 321 262 156 379 328 028 333 301 — 212 279 286 165 071
28 165 086 087 1A3 25A 036 188 309 212 - 185 19h 163 192
29 167 095 1&8 290 2h8 068 h06 27A 279 185 - 217 155 223
30 151 173 1A6 285 285 028 225 308 286 198 217 - 109 103
33 136 1AA 173 086 180 078 208 169 165 163 155 109 - hos

3h 050 121 136 139 23h 025 186 186 071 I92 223 103 h08 -

 

 

Based on n = 390

lIndicates column number on original matrix of thirtyhthree California Test
of Personality items. The complete matrix is on file with the Laboratory
of Social Research, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Michigan State
University.

 

APPENDH h

LINKAGE-ANALYSIS OF LENAWEE COUNTY MATRIX
OF CALIFORNIA TEST OF PERSONALITY ITEMS

__——-——__———————-_._

 

-110—

The "typal structures" found below are the results of an
elementary linkage—analysis of the thirtyhthree California Test of
Personality items (Form AA) originally selected by the writer to
measure the four item-areas of status concern, achievement concern,

alienation from family and nervous tension. In the typal structures,

 

the "area" of each item is indicated by superscripts "a", “b", "c" and
"d", respectively, following the system used in Appendix 1. Thus, an
item which was selected to measure status concern will be designated

by the superscript "a". The item numbers refer to the columns on the

original matrix .

 

33‘EL 4—; 311a 21.a :5 29a
hmel hmeII

8C 26C 31a
11c <___— 2799——__ 13b
\ c

32a—————) 10C 12

a

e— 23°

9

Type III

-111-

28°<-——— 252—— 30‘”

 

---9
5b
Type VI
d d d
15 )21 é—-_--——E 17

Type VIII

APPENDIX 5

 

MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF VARIABLES IN
RNN SCORE FORM AND FORMULAS USED IN COMPUTATIONS

-113-

Means and standard deviations of variables in raw score form

 

 

 

Independence
Social Factors
Status E G Q2
Means 85.081 10.509 12.h95 9.h29
Standard Deviation 6.592 b.137 3.193 3.052
Range 62-99 0-22 0-18 O-18

Formulas used in computations

 

The formula used in conjunction with the "t" test of significance
of difference between means, taken from Walker and Lev (1953, p. 156),
is intended for use in those instances where the standard deviations of

the two populations are unknown but presumed unequal:

35-19-0424.) ,
t = 2 Wlth N1 + N2 - 2 df
S S
_1 +

ml 11

 

I...

N

The formula used for calculating the degrees of freedom when the

samples are small (in this case, arbitrarily set by the standard of one

sample n being less than 10) is taken from.Walker and Lev (1953, p. 157):

 

 

2 2
51+S_2
n
n ‘ n1 2 _ 2
2 2
El 1 + SE 1
n1 n1 1 n2 n2+l

 

mu 832 0“”
RDUM USE 0%th

JAWS-2+:-
W
M

 

 

GA

71TH(“VITAMINHAWAII]!MUNES

0920