........ ‘v>-‘ THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS ON CLOTHING PRACTICES AND ORIENTATION AT EARLY ADOLESCENCE: A STUDY OF CLOTHING-RELATED BEHAVIOR OF SEVENTH GRADE GIRLS Thesis far the Degree bi Ph D. MICHIGAN sure UNIVERSITY : Mary Ellen Reach V 1960 ' « «--;:;:g~mv-mri-.W‘ ma . 3 -. :“ I'Iijifi; 07‘ This is to certify that the l thesis entitled The Influence of Social Class on Clothing Practices and Orientation at Early Adolescence: A Study of Clothing-Related Behavior of Seventh Grade Girls presented by Mary Ellen Roach has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degree in_S.Q.Li_QJ_Qg.y 8 Anthropology | Major professor Date August 10, I960 0-169 LIBRARY Michigan State University THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS ON CLOTHING PRACTICES AND ORIENTATION AT EARLY ADOLESCENCE: A STUDY OF CLOTHING-RELATED BEHAVIOR OF SEVENTH GRADE GIRLS BY Mary Ellen Roach AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the School for Advanced Graduate Studies of Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Sociology and Anthr0pology _,._.. if 1960 ApprovieoiZ/Z’nggu’i/ gMW ABSTRACT In this study the investigator undertook to evaluate relationships between social class position and clothing practices and orientations of girls at early adolescence. Hypotheses formulated were concerned with: (1) sources of clothing, (2) patterns of decision making related to clothing, (3) training practices related to clothing, (4) attitudes toward clothing, and (5) self-other concepts related to clothing. Although social class was the main independent variable considered, the closely related variables of career and generational mobility were handled in an exploratory way. An interview schedule containing both structured and Open-end questions was used as an instrument for obtaining information suitable for testing the hypotheses formulated. One hundred and eight seventh grade girls, ages twelve and thirteen, in Lansing, Michigan, comprised the sample. The indicators used in determining social class were: (1) occupational rankings made according to a Warner scale, and CM“... Iva-Maw (2) educational rankings made according to an eight-point scale of edu- cational level. Changes in occupational ranks, measured on a Warner scale, were used in determining career and generational mobility. In the testing of hypotheses no clearly significant relationships were demonstrated between career mobility and any of the variables tested, even when social class was held constant. A limited number of tests of generational mobility yielded the same results. It was also true, as shown in the summary which follows, that few clear-cut associations with social class were demonstrated. ii Tests of hypotheses concerning sources of clothing showed no sig- nificant relationships between social class and the following practices: home sewing, borrowing clothing, utilization of used clothing, and use of clothing as gifts. Significantassociations obtained between social _ glassandplace of (clothing purchase, and internalization of differential class patterns was indicated by significant associations between preferred place of purchase and social class. Tests of hypotheses related to patterns of decision making indicated some association between social class and the manner of making choices in the retail store. Functions of clothing considered in the decision making process and maturity of choice, however, were not significantly associated with social class. In the consideration of training practices no significant social class associations with (1) independence of choice making, (2) permissiveness in situations of disagreement, and (3) awareness of clothing costs were revealed. Findings concerning training for clothing care were inconclu- sive since there was equal evidence for association and no association. In the total examination the weight of evidence was cast on the side of no relationships between social class and training practices. '2' Since no associations between social class and feelings of clothing deprivation were shown and only one of the three indicators of clothing awareness was significantly associated with class, the hypothesized relationships between class and these two attitudinal measures were not supported. In the exploration of self-other concepts no significant associations were found between social class and either girls' descriptions of ideal clothing or their expressed desires for conformity to peer group norms for clothing behavior. Both self-imagery, revealed through identification iii of girls with certain types of clothes, and concepts of mothers' clothing showed trends for associations with social class, but no definitive statements could be made. Results of the study suggested that/{.s'ogc'ial‘classandsocial.mobility ‘arwgngtvwhighlyHreleyant variables in the socialization of adolescent girls _. _formalothingmrelatedbehavior, They supported the proposal that there needs to be a reconsideration of the importance of social class status in adolescent life since there are indications that social class patterning may not be so pervasive as once thought. Although several studies have given strong evidence of patterning of adult clothing behavior along social class lines, studies of adolescents so far have failed to yield the same sort of evidence. iv THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS ON CLOTHING PRACTICES AND ORIENTATION AT EARLY ADOLESCENCE: A STUDY OF CLOTHING-RELATED BEHAVIOR OF SEVENTH GRADE GIRLS BY Mary Ellen Roach A THESIS Submitted to the School for Advanced Graduate Studies of Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOC TOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Sociology and Anthropology 1960 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express her gratitude to her thesis director Dr. Wilbur Brookover for his help and encouragement at all stages of the study; to the other members of her guidance committee, Dr. Charles R. Hoffer, Dr. Charles P. Loomis, Miss Hazel B. Strahan, and Dr. John Useem, for their counsel; to Dr. Joseph Mills for his advice in the early phases of research design and investigation; and to Mr. John Paterson for his assistance with statistical procedures. The author also wishes to acknowledge the following financial assistance given her during her graduate work: a Michigan State Graduate Council Tuition Scholarship, the American Home Economics Association Doctoral Research Fellowship, and a General Foods Fund Fellowship. *************** TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER Page I. INTRODUCTION ....... . ........... 1 TheProblem.......... ...... 1 Orientationto‘Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Review of Related Research . .......... 12 Variables, Assumptions, Hypotheses ...... 26 II. PROCEDURE ..... . ...... . ....... 40 The Interview Schedule .............. 40 The smple O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O C O 41 Operational Definitions of Variables . . . . . . . 43 'Statistical Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 111. PRESENTATION or FINDINGS . . . . . ...... 47 ’SourcesofClothing................ 48 Patterns of Decision Making Related to Clothing. 53 Training Practices Related to Clothing. . . . . . 59 Attitudes toward Clothing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Self-Other Concepts Related to Clothing . . . . . 72 IV.- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . 79 LITERATURE CITED . O I O O O O O O O C O O O O O O O O O O 84 APPENDIX A. TABLES REFERRED TO BUT NOT INCLUD- EDINTEXT................. 90 APPENDIX B. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INDEPENDENT VARIABLES C O O O O O C O C C C O C O O O O 137 APPENDIX C. THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . 139 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1. Summary of associations between selected social class variables and Specific clothing practices. . . . 49 2. Summary of associations between selected social class variables and stated preference for having clothesmadeathome................. 49 3. Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes having specified garments made by mother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 4. Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes receiving speci- fiedgarmentsasgifts................. 52 5. Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes that usually buy clothes in specified types of stores. . . . . . . . . . 52 6. Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three differentially mobile groups that usually buy clothes in specified types of stores . 54 7. Summary of associations between selected social class variables and types of stores in which girls like to Shop best. 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 54 8. Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes that use speci- fied ways of arriving at clothing choices. . . . . . . 55 9. Functions of clothing stressed by seventh grade girls when giving reasons for making choices among dresses. 0 O I O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O I O O O O 57 viii LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE Page 10. Summary of associations between functions of cloth- ing emphasized in reasons given for making choices among dresses and selected social class variables. . 58 11. Maturity levels of choices of dresses by seventh grade girlsO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 60 12. - Summary of associations between maturity of choice in dresses and selected social class variables . . . . 61 13. - Summary of associations between selected social class variables and independence of choice of cloth- ing worn for certain occasions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 14. Summary of associations between independence in choosing certain garments and selected social class variablesO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 62 15. Independence of choices of selected garments by seventhgradegirls.................. 64 16. Summary of associations between selected social class variables and preference for independent or dependent mode of choice making. . . . . . . . . . . 65 17. Summary of associations between selected social class variables and permissiveness in situations of disagreementO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 65 18. Summary of associations between selected social class variables and girls' clothing care practices. . 67 19. Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes that did not know the cost of one or'more garments. . . . . . . . . . 69 20. Summary of associations between selected social class variables and feelings of clothing deprivation. 69 ix 'LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. Types of occasions on which seventh grade girls have felt their clothes were not right. . . . . . . . . . . . ' Summary of associations between selected social class variables and clothing awareness. . . . . . . . Summary of associations between selected social class variables and reference models for clothing. . Personal reference models for clothing of seventh grade girlsO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Summary of associations between selected social class variables and functions stressed in describing ideal dressO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Summary of associations between selected social class variables and desire for conformity or non- conformity to peer group norms for clothing. . . . . Summary of associations between selected social class variables and self-imagery revealed by desig- nations of most comfortable clothing. . . . . . . . . Summary of associations between selected social class variables and degree of expressed approval of mother's interest in clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Does your mother make any clothes for you? " and social class. Association of responses to the question, "Does your mother make any clothes for you?" and career mObilitYO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ' Association of responses to the question, "Does your mother-make any clothes for you?" and career Inability for Class IO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Page 71 71 74 74 75 75 77 77 91 91 91 'LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. ’ Association of responses to the question, "Does your mother‘make any clothes for you?" and career mobil- ity for Class II. O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of responses to the'question, "Does your mother make any clothes for you?" and career mobil- ity for Class III. O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O i O t. O Association of responses to the question, "Do you ever borrow clothing from someone else?" and social class. Association of responses to the question, "Do you ever borrow clothing from someone else?" and career mObilitYO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of responses to the question, "Do you ever borrow clothing from someone else?" and career mobilityforC1assI.................. Association of re8ponses to the question, "Do you ever borrow clothing from someone else?" and career mobilityforfflassll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Do you ever borrow clothing from someone else?" and career mobilityforClassIII.... .............. Association of reaponses to the question, "Do you have any clothes right now that someone gave you because she was through with them or had outgrown them?"andsocia1c1ass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . Association of responses to the question, "Do you have any clothes right now that someone gave you because she was through with them or had outgrown them?" and career'mobility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Do you have any clothes right now that someone gave youibe- cause she was through with them or had outgrown ’. them?" and career mobility for Class I. . . . . . . . . xi Page 92 92 92 93 93 93 94 94 94 95 LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49O 50. Association of responses to the question, "Do you have any clothes right now that someone gave you because she was through with them or had outgrown them?" and career mobility for Class II. . . . . . . . Association of reSponses to the question, "Do you have any clothes right now that someone gave you because she was through with them or had outgrown them?" and career mobility for Class III. . . . . . . Association of re5ponses to the question, "Are there any clothes that you prefer to have made at home rather than bought at the store?" and social class . . Association of re3ponses to the question, ”Are there any clothes that you prefer to have made at home rather than bought at the store? " and career mobility. Association of responses to the question, "Are there any clothes that you prefer to have made at home rather than bought at the store? " and career mobility forClassI...................... . Association of responses to the question, ”Are there any clothes that you prefer to have made at home rather than bought at the store? ” and career mobility forClassII....................... Association of responses to the question, "Are there any clothes that you prefer to have made at home rather than bought at the store? " and career mobility forClassIII....................... A. Proportions of social classes having coats made bymother.................... .. B. Significances of differences between proportions A. Pr0portions of social classes having school dresses made bymother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . B. Significances of differences between pr0portions . xii Page 95 95 96 96 96 97 97 97 98 98 98 LIST OF TABLES - Continued TAB LE 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. Proportions of social classes having play clothes made by motherO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Significances of differences between proportions . Proportions of social classes having skirts made made by motherO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Significances of differences between proportions . Proportions of social classes having blouses made bymother..................... . Significances of differences between proportions . Proportions of social classes that receive coats andjacketsasgifts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Significances of differences between proportions . Pr0portions of social classes that receive dresses as giftSO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Significances of differences between proportions . Proportions of social classes that receive skirts as giftSO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Significances of differences between proportions . Pr0portions of social classes that usually buy clothes in independent departn'nent stores . . . . . Significances of differences between proportions . Proportions of social classes that usually buy clothes in large chain department stores . . . . . Significances of differences between prOportions . Proportions of differentially mobile groups that usually buy clothes in independent department stores........................ Significances of differences between proportions . PrOportions of differentially mobile groups that usually buy clothes in large chain department StoresO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ‘ Significances of differences between proportions . xiii Page 99 99 99 99 100 100 100 100 101 101 101 101 102 102 102 102 103 103 103 103 LIST OF TABLES -' Continued TABLE 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69O 70. 71. Assodiation of types of stores in which girls like to shop best and social class. . . . . . . . . . ..... ' Association of types of stores in which girls like to shop best and career mobility. . . . . . . . . . . . . ' Association oftypes of stores in which girls like to sh0p best and career mobility for Class I . . . . . . Association of types of stores in which girls like to shop best and career mobility for Class II. . . . . . Association of types of stores in which girls like to shop best and career mobility for Class III . . . . . A. Proportions of social classes that try on dresses beforebuying............... . Significances of differences between proportions. Proportions of social classes that buy dresses withouttryingthemon. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Significances of differences between proportions. ' Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you usually go about deciding what you will wear each day?" and social class. . . . . . . . . . . ‘ Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you usually go about deciding what you will wear each day?" and career mobility. . . . . . . . . ' Association of types of responses to the question, "How doyou usually go about deciding what you will wear each day? " and career mobility for Class I. . . - Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you usually go about deciding what you will wear each day? " and career mobility for Class II. . Page 104 104 104 105 105 106 r 106 106 106 107 107 107 108 LIST OF TABLES -' Continued TABLE Page 72. Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you usually go about deciding what you will wear each day? " and career mobility for Class III. . 109 73. Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you go about deciding what to wear for a special occasion like a party?" and social class. . . 109 74. ' Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you go about deciding what to wear for a special occasion like a party?" and career mobility. 109 75. ' Association of types of reSponses to the question, "How do yougo about deciding what to wear for a special occasion like a party?" and career mobility forClassI.......................109 76. Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you go about deciding what to wear for a special occasion like a party? " and career mobility forClassII...................... 110 77. Association of types of responses to the question, "How do you go about deciding what to wear for a special occasion like a party? " and career mobility forClasslll...................... 110 78. ’ Association of types of responses to the question, "What way of getting clothes do you like best? " and Boeial ClassO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 110 79. ’ AssOciation of types of responses to the question, "What way of getting clothes do you like best?" and career mObilitYO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 111 80. Association of responses to the question, "If you and your mother disagree on what you should buy, what do you usually do about it? " and social class . 111 XV LIST OF TABLES -‘Continued TABLE 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. Association of responses to the question, "If you and your mother disagree on what you should buy, what do you usually do about it? " and career‘mobility. ' Association of responses to the question, "If you and your mother disagree on what you should buy, what do you usually do about it? " and career mobility for Class IO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of responses to the question, "If you and your mother disagree on what you should buy, what do you usually do about it? " and career'mobility for ClassII......................... Association of responses to the question, "If you and your mother disagree on what you should buy, what do you usually do about it? " and career mobility for ClassIII......................... Responses to the question, "Do you wash any of your own clothing?" by social class. . . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Do you wash any of your own clothing?" and career-mobility. Association of responses to the question, "Do you wash any of your own clothing? " and career-mobility for Class IO O O O O O O O 'O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of responses to the question, "Do you wash any of your own clothing? " and career'mobility for Class HO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ‘ Association of responses to the question, "Do you wash any of your own clothing?" and career-mobility for ClassmO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ' Association of responses to-the‘question, "Do you iron-any of your own clothing?" and social class. . . xvi Page 111 -112 112 113 113 113 114 114 114 115 LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE Page 91. Association of responses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing? " and career mobility. 115 92. Association of responses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing? " and career mobility for Class IO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 115 93. ' Association of responses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing?" and career mobility for Class IIO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 116 94. ' Association of re5ponses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing? " and career mobility for Class 111. O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 116 95. Association of reSponses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room ?" and SOCial ClassO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 116 96. Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room? " and career mObilitYO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 117 97. ‘ Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room? " and career mobility for Class I. . . . . . . . . . . . 117 98. ' Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room? " and career mobility for Class II. . . . . . . . . . . . 117 99. ‘ Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room? " and career-mobility for Class III. . . . . . . . . . . 118 100. ' A. Proportions of social classes that did not know the cost of one or more garments. . . . . . . . . 118 B. Significances of differences between proportions . 118 xvii LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE Page 91. Association of responses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing?" and career mobility. 115 92. Association of responses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing?" and career mobility for Class IO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 115 93. ‘ Association of responses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing?" and career mobility for Class 11. O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 116 94. ' Association of re5ponses to the question, "Do you iron any of your own clothing?" and career mobility for Class 111. O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 116 95. Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room ?" and SOCial ClassO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 116 96. Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room?" andcareermobility.................. 117 97. ' Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room? " and career mobility for Class I. . . . . . . . . . . . 117 98. ‘ Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room? " and career mobility for Class II. . . . . . . . . . . . 117 99. Association of responses to the question, "Do you pick up and put away your clothing in your own room? " and career mobility for Class III. . . . . . . . . . . 118 100. ' A. Proportions of social classes that did not know the cost of one or more garments. . . . . . . . . 118 B. Significances of differences between proportions . 118 xvii LIST OF TABLES -‘ Continued TABLE 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. Association of responses to the question, "Have you ever felt your clothes weren't right, or wished you hadn't gone some place because your clothes weren't right?" and social class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Have you ever felt your clothes weren't right, or wished you hadn't gone some place because your clothes weren't right?" and career mobility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Association of responses to the question, "Have you ever felt your clothes weren't right, or wished you hadn't gone some place because your clothes weren't right?" and career mobility for Class I. . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Have you ever felt your clothes weren't right, or wished you hadn't gone some place because your clothes weren't right?" and career mobility for Class II. . . . . . . ' Association of responses to the question, "Have you ever felt your clothes weren't right, or wished you hadn't gone some place because your clothes weren't right?" and career mobility for Class III. . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Do you think that girls of your age who dress very well are more or less likely to be popular than those who do not dress so well?" and social class. . . . . . . . . Association of reSponses to the question, "Do you think that girls of your age who dress very well are more or less likely to be popular than those who do not dress so well?" and career mobility. . . . . . . ' Association of responses to the question, "Do you think that girls of your age who dress very well are more or less likely to be p0pu1ar than those who do not dress so well?" and career mobility for Class I. xviii Page 119 119 119 120 120 120 121 121 LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE 109, 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 1150 116. ‘ Association of responses to the question, "Do you think that girls of your age who dress very well are more or less likely to be popular than those who do not dress so well?" and career mobility for Class II. ‘ Association of responses to the question, "Do you think that girls of your age who dress very well are more or less likely to be popular than those who do not dress so well? " and career mobility for Class III. ' Association of re8ponses to the question, "Do you think boys pay any attention to the kind of clothes girls your age wear?" and social class. . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "Do you think boys pay any attention to the kind of clothes girls your age wear?" and career mobility. . . . . . ' Association of responses to the question, "Do you think boys pay any attention to the kind of «clothes girls your age wear?" and career mobility for Class IO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of responses to the question, "Do you think boys pay any attention to the kind of clothes girls your age wear?" and career mobility for ClassII......................... ' Association of responses to the question, "Do you think boys pay any attention to the kind of clothes girls your age wear?" and career mobility for Class IIIO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of re3ponses to the question, "When you are at a party with boys and girls your age, do you ever think much about your clothing when you are with them?" and social class. . . . . . . . . . . . . xix Page 121 122 122 122 123 123 123 124 LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. Association of responses to the question, "When you are at a party with boys and girls your age, do you ever think much about your clothing when you are with them?" and career mobility. . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "When you are at a party with boys and girls your age, do you ever think much about your clothing when you are with them?" and career mobility for Class I. . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "When you are at a party with boys and girls your age, do you ever think much about your clothing when you are with them?" and career mobility for Class II. . . . . Association of responses to the question, ”When you are at a party with boys and girls your age, do you ever think much about your clothing when you are with them?" and career mobility for Class III. . . . . ReSponses to the question, "If you could dress like any one person you have known or heard of, who would it be?" by social class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘ Association of responses to the question, ”If you could dress like any one person you have known or heard of, who would it be?" and career mobility. . . Association of types of re8ponses to the question, "How would you describe the dress that you think would look best on you?" and social class. . . . . . Association of types of responses to the question, "How would you describe the dress that you think would look best on you?" and career mobility. . . . Association of types of responses to the question, "How would you describe the dress that you think would look best on you? " and career mobility for Classl......................... Page 124 124 125 125 126 126 127 127 128 LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 1310 132. 133. 134. Association of types of responses to the question, "How would you describe the dress that you think would look best on you? " and career mobility for C1assll................ ........ . Association of types of responses to the question, "How would you describe the dress that you think would look best on you? ” and career mobility for I Class IIIO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of reSponses to the question, "Are there any particular kinds of clothes that you want to have like other girls are wearing?" and social class. . . . Association of responses to the question, " Are there any particular kinds of clothes that you want to have like other girls are wearing?" and career mobility. . Association of responses to the question, "Are there any particular kinds of clothes that you want to have like other girls are wearing?" and career mobility forClassI....................... Association of re8ponses to the question, "Are there any particular kinds of clothes that you want to have like other girls are wearing?" and career mobility forClassII........................ ' Association of responses to the question, ”Are there any particular kind of clothes that you want to have like other girls are wearing?" and career mobility for Class IIIO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of responses to the question, "Are there some kinds of clothes that you want different from those the other girls are wearing?" and social class. Association of responses to the question, "Are there some kinds of clothes that you want different from those the other girls are wearing? " and career mObilitYO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Page 128 129 129 129 130 130 130 131 131 LIST OF TABLES - Continued TABLE 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. Page Association of responses to the question, "Are there ‘ some kinds of clothes that you want different from those the other girls are wearing?" and career mobilityforClassI................... Association of re5ponses to the question, "Are there some kinds of clothes that you want different from those the other girls are wearing? " and career mobilityforClassII... ............... Association of responses to the question, "Are there some kinds of clothes that you want different from those the other girls are wearing ?" and career mobilityforClassIII. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "In general what kind of clothes do you feel most comfortable in? " and SOCial ClaSSO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Association of responses to the question, "In general what kind of clothes do you feel most comfortable in?" andcareer'mobility.. ... ... .. .... . . ‘ Association of responses to the question, "In general what kind of clothes do you feel most comfortable in?" and career mobility for Class I. . . . . . . . . . . . . Association of re5ponses to the question, "In general what kind of clothes do you feel most comfortable in?" and career mobility for Class II. . . . . . . . . . . .- Association of responses to the question, "In general what kind of clothes do you feel most comfortable in? " and career mobility for Class III. . . . . . . . . . . . Association of responses to the question, "What do you think about your mother's interest in clothes ? " and SOCial ClassO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O xxii 131 132 132 133 133 133 134 134 134 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Throughout sociological literature there are references to the social symbolism of various material possessions to which human beings have access, and not infrequently clothing is referred to as one of the most obvious and historically most often recognized symbols l Despite a recognition of the class symbolism of of social class. clothing, even in American society where class differences have been played down, ignored, or even denied, until recently there has been relatively little interest in empirical study of the relationship between clothing behavior and social class. THE PROBLEM Since there has been as yet only a modest accumulation of research concerning the association between social class and clothing behavior, the present study undertook to make a contribution in this area. It was the purpose of this study to examine the complex of behavior patterns associated with the acquisition, use, and interpre- tation of clothing by girls at early adolescence. The general hypothesis that clothing behavior is related to certain social variables has been tested in a series of studies sponsored by the Michigan State University ‘Unless otherwise indicated the term "social class" will be interpreted in this study as equivalent to Weber's "status group, " i. e. , as the unit of stratification that lies within the social order. See Max ‘Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, trans. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (New York: Oxford University Press, 1946), pp. 180-95. Experiment Station since 1950.2 These studies have shown relationships between clothing orientation and use and such social factors as age, sex, occupation, associational membership, and social class. Data used so far have been gathered from adult married couples and high school boys and girls. The present study was designed to contribute information on a still younger group. Specifically" it sought to investi— gate the extent to which clothing behavior of seventh grade girls is associated with the social class positions of their farnilies.3 ORIENTATION TO STUDY Social Class in the United States Although there have been a number of studies of social class in the United States, sociologists have not yet agreed as to the nature of the class system. At one extreme are those who see the stratification system as a continuum with no clearly visible divisions.‘ For them social class is reduced to a statistical concept, convenient for 2"This research was undertaken as an interdisciplinary project under the joint auspices of the Department of Textiles, Clothing, and Related Arts and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. References to completed phases of this study have been made in the review of related research and in other citations. 3The assumption is being made that unmarried girls share the social class positions of their families; therefore, further references to the social class of seventh grade girls will imply that their class positions have been derived from their family positions. ‘For discussion of the social stratification system as a continuum see: John F. Cuber and William Kenkel, Social Stratification in the United States (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. , 1954), pp. 12-13, 150-51; and GerhardE. Lenski, "American Social Classes: Statistical Strata or Social Groups?" American Journal of Sociology, 58: 139-44, September 1952. classifying data, but otherwise not a realistic term to use in describing the American class system. At the other extreme are those who have found social classes readily distinguishable realities that can be easily observed by ordinary individuals within their communities.5 Although this study assumes that there is a reality to class, it does not propose that the American social class system is as sharply delineated as implied in the above statement. Instead, it holds to the point of view that there is a vagueness and fluidity in the social class system that make it relatively difficult to discern. Statements by Gordon and Parsons support this position. Gordon feels that the American status order can most accurately be characterized by what he calls a "generalized class awareness. " In such a system he says: .7 . Groups on the status dimension exist in only semi- crystallized form with somewhat indistinct and highly permeable boundaries, feelings of status- g—roup identification are general and diffuse, hostility is low, and vocalized articulations or admissions of the status order and one's position in it are oblique and somewhat reluctantly offered.6 Parsons is in agreement with the idea that there is a certain what he calls "looseness" in the American social system. He states: . It is only in the broadest sense that this class com- plex can in American society be made to yield a single unequivo- cal scale of classes. ‘ Some such broad classification as "upper"-- 5Hollingshead and the "Warner School" have been commonly associated with this point of view. For a discussion of the Warner method of arriving at social class groupings see W. Lloyd Warner, Marchia Meeker, and Kenneth Eells, Social Class in America (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1949). For Hollingshead's latest methods for determining social class see August B. Hollingshead and Fredrich Redlich, Social Class and Mental Illness: a Community Study (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1958), pp. 387-97. iMilton M. Gordon, Social Class in American Sociology (Durham, N. C.: Duke University Press, 1958), pp. 247-48. carefully defined--"middle" and "lower" makes sense. Furthermore it is often useful to sub-divide these for Specific purposes. . . . But care should be taken not to imply that the finer differentiations are even nearly uniform "across the board" or that the lines between adjacent classes are very clear-cut.7 The social class system in the United States differs in kind from the more clearly discernible modern European systems which have evolved in an orderly fashion from medieval estates. According to Reissman: . America began the modern era without the hindrances of a long-held tradition of hard social divisions tied into land ownership and into a belief in the nobility. In one stroke, rather than in the slow pace with which social change usually moves, the American Revolution cut the ties of aristocracy and set the stage for a system of social stratification dissociated for the most part from the fixity of landed wealth as the dominant criterion of social position. 8 Since there was little historical base on which American social classes could grow and the equalitarian ideal denied ideologically the place of social classes within the society, a much more amorphous and variable class structure evolved than in Europe. Social Class and Style of Life According to Weber status groups, or social classes as they are being called in this study, arise with differential bestowal of honor, and normally there become associated with the class levels specific Styles, of life which are symbolic of the classes themselves.9 7Ta1cott Parsons, "Revised Analytical Approach to the Theory of Social Stratification, " Class, Status, and Power, Reinhard Bendix and Seymour M. Lipset, editors (Glencoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1953), p. 121. ,sLeonard Reissman, Class in American Society (Glencoe, Ill. : The Free Press, 1959). p. 11. 9Weber, pp. cit., pp. 186-93. Since the way in which one consumes goods is a reflection of style of life, consumption of goods can be said, with some oversimplification, to be a basis for social stratification. Similar stress on the social symbolism of patterns of consumption can be found in a quotation from Parsons. In his words: A fundamental part is played in stratfiication systems by the expressive "style of life" symbolism. which is integrated with the various status categories, and this is one of the most important fields of the functions of possessions. It is implicit in the whole theory of action that objects of. consurnmatory gratification shade into symbols of status. 10 Privileges accrue to social classes according to their social honor or prestige; and, as a consequence, the classes enjoy differential access to both material possessions and non-material possessions or oppor- tunities. Clothing, as a material possession, is part of the style of life symbolism; and history has shown it an important symbol. At times even formal legal sanctions in the form of suinptuary laws have been brought to bear in maintaining class differences in dress. During the reign of Richard II of England, for instance, laws regulated costume according to the rank or wealth of the wearer. No person of lower estate than a knight banneret was by these enactments permitted to wear cloth of gold or velvet, or to appear in a gown that reached to the ground, or to wear large sleeves, or use upon his dress the furs of either ermine or marten; white gold and silver ornaments were strictly for- bidden to all who were not possessed of two hundred pounds in goods and chattels, or twenty pounds per annurn. Gowns and garments cut into the form of leaves and other figures at their edges, or ornamented with letters or devices, were altogether condemned, and declared forfeit to the king. 11 10Parsons, _o_p. cit., p. 105. 11Frederick W. Fairholt, Costume in England, enlarged and re- vised by H. A. Dillon (London: George Bell and Sons, 1885), 1, 179-80. Although in American society, with its “generalized class aware—- ness, " only informal sanctions ordinarily reinforce class distinctions on the basis of clothing, and although distinctions may not be sharply apparent, even in women's dress which shows much less uniformity than men's, there are, as Barber points out, subtle differences in dress, such as quality of material or workm.ans“r.ip and up—to-dateness of style, that can serve as symbols of social class. 12 In America, it is usually agreed, the woman plays a prominent part in the manipulation of symbols of class. She derives her social class position from men, the unmarried girl from her father and the married woman from her husband; and in turn she finds it is her particular duty to put into evi- dence through clothing and household furnishings the social class position of her father or husband, whichever is the head of her household. In Veblen' 5 terms: . . . It has . . . become the office of the woman to con- sume vicariously for the head of the household, and her apparel is contrived with this object in View. . . . Our social system makes it the woman's function in an especial degree to put in evidence her household's ability to pay. 13 Socialization If, as has been suggested in the foregoing discussion, clothing behavior is structured along the dimension of social class, it is of concern how social class patterns are established or developed in human behavior. The general interactional process through which an individual learns to conform to group standards of behavior, whether it is clothing lzBernard Barber, Social Stratification (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1957), p. 150. 13Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1899), pp. 179-80. related or otherwise oriented, and hence comes to feel himself a member of a group is called socialization. '4 Since life for the individual ordi— _ narily begins within the family and since he is in very close contact with this family during his formative and most receptive years, the family exists as a major agent of socialization. It is within the social setting of this primary group that the world begins to take. on meanings that are likely to have lasting influence on the individual. With family members a main source of reference during his early years, a child's interpre- tations of the social situation will reflect those of the family group, particularly those of family figures whose positions are enhanced by age, size, or recognized authority. Parents necessarily stand as figures of greatest influence; but other family members, especially older ones, are also sources of reference. Socialization within the family serves not only as a means of increasing solidarity within the family group but also within the larger society. In other words, since the family is a subdivision of a larger society, its system of values, norms, and sentiments will include those of the larger group, and it will act as a socializing agent for that larger group. Therefore, if the behavior of parents is patterned according to a dimension of the greater society like social class, it is anticipated that their children's activities and attitudes will be likewise patterned. Mead describes the manner in which the individual acquires the attitude of the whole community, that is, the generalized other, in this way: If the given human individual is to deve10p a self in the fullest sense, it is not sufficient for him merely to take the MFor definitions from current social psychological literature that are in general agreement with this interpretation of socialization see: Eugene L. Hartley and Ruth E. Hartley, Fundamentals of Social Psys- chology (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955), p. 202; or Irving L. Child, "Socialization, " Handbook of Social Psychology, Gardner Lindzey, editor (Cambridge, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., 1954), II, p. 655. attitudes of other human individuals toward himself and toward one another within the human social process, and to firing that social process as a whole into his individual experience merely in these terms: he must also, in the same way that he takes the attitudes of other individuals toward himself and toward one another, take their attitudes toward the various phases or aSpects of the common social activity or set of social underu takings in which, as members of an org-3.11;.zed society or social group, they are all engaged. ‘5 Of course there are differences in the degree to which a family persuades the individual to conform to the ways of the general society. Sometimes non-conformity itself may be a value and the individual in some families will be taught "to think more for himself" or "to be creative. " In other cases, particularly among somewhat isolated sub- groupings such as ethnic groups, perceptions of the world may be at odds with those of the general culture and socialization for general cultural values will be rejected for more acceptable sub-group values. 16 Although the family is widely recognized as a strong social influ- ence on the individual, a number of factors may modify the socializing effects of the family. In the first place the fact that each individual is a unique organization of capacities rules out any complete uniformity in conditioning of individuals within the family group. Moreover, as a child grows and begins to be part of interactional situations outside the home, he comes into contact with an increasing number of influences. School mates, members of play groups, teachers or other adults may act as socializing agents and may exert varying amounts of influence. 15George H. Mead, Mind, Self, and Society, Charles W. Morris, editor (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1934), pp. 154-55. 16For an insightful discussion of non-conformity as a type of reference group behavior see Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure (revised edition; Glencoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1957), pp. 357-68. In addition, in American society an individual may find on achieving a certain age that group expectations for him have changed and that he must redefine his roles in order to maintain. social acceptance. These new definitions may even mean shifts in loyalty and the redefining of roles in the light of norms of a new reference group. Such an age is adolescence. At this time group expectations change, behavior once sanctioned or rewarded is no longer appropriate, and new behavior patterns must be learned and internalized. It has frequently been assumed that the trend in America is for these new patterns to be acquired less within the family group and more within peer groups. If this assumption is accurate, quite discernible shifts in reference groups may be evident among twelve-and thirteen-year-old girls who are at the threshold of adolescence. Certain data from research re- ported by Bowerman and Kinch indicate that this is true. ‘7 They found for girls in grades four to ten that the greatest shift from family to peer orientation took place between the sixth and seventh grades. By the eighth grade there were more peer oriented than family oriented children in the sample they studied. Further examination of their findings reveals, however, that a lowered orientation to family was not an inevitable change that took place in all adolescents. Instead it occurred only under certain circumstances, in this case when there was poor adjustment by a child to family members. In addition, their research suggested, although it did not explicitly make the point, that orientation to families or peers is not merely an either/or proposition but actually involves a rather complex system of identification whereby certain segments of behavior may be referred to one group and other segments to another. l.ICharles'E. Bowerman and John W. Kinch, "Changes in Family and Peer Orientation of Children Between the Fourth and Tenth Grades, " Social Forces, 36:206-11, March 1959. 10 When commenting on the nature of this dual identification with peer and family groups by adolescents, another researcher, Rosen, emphasized that "significant others are not necessarily referents for all areas of the individual's behavior. "‘8 In light of the preceding discussion it may be concluded that strong identification with peer groups may occur among adolescents, but it should not be assumed that strong shifts away from the family of reference are inevitable. In addition, although identification with peer groups may imply blurring of social class patterns of behavior, it may, on the other hand, simply mean reinforcement of class patterns since clique mates are quite likely to share the same social class. Finally, it is possible that differential socialization within various reference groups may result in certain aspects of the behavior of adolescent girls being patterned according to the social class orientation of their families while other aspects may be more in harmony with peer grbup norms. Speaking to the latter point, Newcomb asserts that actual membership groups may serve as both positive and negative reference groups for the same person. He uses the adolescent to illustrate his View in this way: An American adolescent, for example, may share most of his family's common attitudes and may want his family to treat him as one who belongs and shares those attitudes. In such respects the family serves as positive reference group for him. But he may repudiate some of their common attitudes--toward church attendance, for example, or tobacco. With respect to these common objects his family serves as a negative reference group for him. 19 ”Bernard C.» Rosen, "The Reference Group Approach to the Parental Factor in Attitude and Behavior Formation, " Social Forces, 34:139-40, December 1955. ”Theodore M. Newcomb, Social Psychology (New York: The Dryden Press, 1950), p. 227. 11 Most commonly, Newcomb makes clear, negative reference implies positive reference to some other group, in the case of adolescents usually to peers.20 Since there are possibilities of social mobility“ within the American class system, it is not contrary to reason that families which are mobile will exhibit behavior that does not conform to their nominal social classes. There are two plausible reasons for this non- conformity. On the one hand, the families may not have fully as simil- lated the norms of the classes into which they have moved and still refer to their former social classes as significant others. On the other hand they may be involved in what Merton calls ”anticipatory socializa- tion. " They may, in his words, ”take on the values of the non-member- ship group to which they aspire. “22 Thus to ease their anticipated movement into higher classes, families may forsake the security of adopting ”within class” behavior and symbols and adopt the behavior and status symbols of the class levels to which they aspire. Warner emphasizes the part symbols can play in status rising in this way: The "right" kind of house, the “right" neighborhood, the "right" furniture, the pr0per behavior-~all are symbols that can ultimately be translated into social acceptance by those who have sufficient money to a5pire to higher levels than they presently enjoy. 7‘3 Membership in a particular social class, therefore, may not be as significant in determining behavior in mobile families as in those zolbid. 21Social mobility is being used "to mean movement, either upward or downward, between higher and lower social classes. " Quotation from Barber, 93. cit., p. 365. zzMerton, gp. cit., p. 254. 23Warner, _o_p_. cit., p. 21. 12 of more stable position. Girls in families which are nominally classified with one social class level but which are also socially mobile may be socialized to the type of clothing behavior character- istic of the class level from which they have risen or to which they asPire. REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH Since the early 1900's there has been sporadic interest in research concerning clothing behavior and attitudes. Early studies were done by psychologists with an individual orientation and were concerned with such matters as motivation for various kinds of clothing behavior and the effects of clothing on personality, temperament, or feelings of personal adjustment. Only since the 1940's have a growing number of studies been concerned, wholly or in part, with the social symbolism of clothing and the relationship between clothing behavior and various socio-economic factors ordinarily associated with social class. The psychological studies that have been done are useful for gaining insights; however, since the socially oriented group of studies, particularly those concerned with social class, hold greater relevance for the present study, the review of literature will, with one exception, be restricted to their consideration. 7'4 *1 2"For studies that have used primarily the psychological approach to clothing behavior see: Louis W. Flaccus, "Remarks on the Psy- chology of Clothes, " Pedagogical Seminary, 13:61-83, 1906; George _ Van Ness Dearborn, The Psychology of Clothes (Princeton, New Jersey: Psychological Review Co. , 1918); Elizabeth B. Hurlock, "Motivations in Fashion, " Archives of Psychology, no. 111, 1929; J. C. Flugel, "On the Mental Attitudes to Present-Day Clothes, " British Journal Of Medical Psychology, 9:97-149, 1929; E. Macaulay, "Some Notes on the Attitude of Children to Dress, " British Journal of Medical Psychology, 9: 150-58, 1929; Estelle D. Barr, ”A PsychologicalAnalysis of Fa:hibn Motivation, " Archives of Psychology, no. 171, 1934; Mary S. Ryan, Psychological Effects of Clothing, parts I, II, III, and IV (Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletins 882, September 1952; 898, July 1953; 900, August 1953; and 905, August 1954). 13 The exception is Silverman's study made in 1945. 25 Silveriman was concerned with: (1) girls' actual clothing and grooming behavior; (2) motivating factors influencing girls' choices of clothing and their attention to appearance; (3) the influence of the economic factor in relation to. clothing and grooming behavior; and (4) the relationship between care of appearance and aspects of personality. In questionnaires responded to by 373 New Jersey adolescent girls in grades seven, eight, nine, and ten, information was collected on attitudes toward clothing and appearance, on clothing and grooming practices, and on the individual's background. The latter information, designated as personal data, was used in arriving at an index of socio-economic status and was called the economic factor in the study. * An examination of data showed that there was close conformity in the style of dress used for daily wear by all ages. For week-end wear, however, differences in age were associated with variations in style of dress; older girls wore more adult clothing. Desire for approval, and feelings of poise, self-confidence, and happiness motivated clothing choices. Older girls showed more desire for greater independence in choice of clothing than the younger ones. All the girls tended to agree with their mothers in the choice and suitability of clothing. No relation- ship was established between either choices of dress or grooming practices and the economic factor. Girls judged as ”good appearing" were socially more active, tended to be more intelligent, and tended to come from higher socio-economic background. In order to measure clothing interest Ros encranz constructed a questionnaire which she administered to a sample of 180 women of ”Sylvia s. Silverman, Clothing and Appearance: Their Psycho- _lp_gica1 Implications for Teen-Age Girls (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1945). 14 13;; 1 ‘ - p. “'° She found that. age, rural or urban back» varying social background. ground, occupation, income, education, marital status, presence or absence of children in the family, and membership in organizations were significantly associated with scores on the index of clothing interest which she had devised. The range of types of garments in a wardrobe was the most sensitive single measurement of a. woman's interest in clothing. Findings from a. 1958 study of Rosencr :DZ showed significant relationships between the status variables occupation and income and practices related to the buying and use of clothes for ten~ to twelve-- year-old girls. 7'7 Ninety mothers were interviewed in Lansing, Michigan. Economic considerations were of more concern to wives of manual workers than to wives of white collar workers. Manual. workers' wives and those in the low income bracket were more likely to select clothes fer daughters while selection of clothes was more a cooperative project for mother and daughter in higher brackets. Sh0pping in high prestige stores was a more prevalent pattern for white collar and high income groups than for manual or low income groups. In 1960 Rosencranz reported on the use of a new technique for studying clothing behavior. 7‘8 A Clothing Thematic Apperception Test was devised for assessing clothing awareness of respondents and their use of different clothing themes in describing situations shown in “Mary Lou Rosencranz, "A Study of Interest in Clothing Among Selected Groups of Married and Unmarried Young Women" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State College, East Lansing, 1948). 27Mary Lou Rosencranz, Relevance of Occupation and Income to Mothers' Selection of Clothing for Daughters (Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 268, August 1958). “Mary Lou Rosencranz, "The Application of a Projective Technique for Analyzing Clothing Awareness, Clothing Symbols, and the Range of Themes Associated with Clothing Behavior" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 1960). 15 specially drawn pictures. The factors of social class and related variables, age, rural-urban background, and verbal intelligence were utilized in analyzing data. Eightymtwo women from a Michigan town of 10,000 comprisedthe sample. In the analysis social class and related variables and verbal intelligence showed association with clothing awareness while age and rural-urban background did not. In the use of clothing themes significant relationships were shown between social class and the use of social class themes, and also between education and the use of clothing of another culture theme. Significance was approached in the relationship between occupation of informants and the use of occupational clothing themes. Barber and Lobel sought to show that fashion in American women's clothes is not socially irrational when seen in relation to the American class structure, age-sex roles, and economic system.” In their analysis they examined the fashion content of women's magazines intended to reach two social class levels, the upper middle and upper, and the middle and lower middle. They also examined magazines that appealed to two younger age groups, college age girls and pre-college teen-agers. Proceeding under the assumption that in all societies the clothes people wear have at least three (mixed latent and manifest) functions, utilitarian, esthetic, and role-symbolic, they examined the symbolic meanings that clothing, as represented by magazine copy, had for two social class levels. At the upper class level clothing symbols were a means of putting in evidence one's distinction by birth or family, while at the upper middle level symbols were related to wealth and high living and were described by such terms as sophisticated and "chic. " Z9Bernard Barber and Lyle S. Lobel, "Fashion in Women's Clothes and the American Social System, " Social Forces, 31:124-31, December 1952. 16 The middle and lower middle class clothes were conservative but "smart, " and ”smart" seemed to be defined as "what everyone else was wearing. " Magazine copy showed that clothing styles for teeneagers and college girls did not follow fashion per se but emphasized character- istics considered appropriate for a girl's age-sex role. Accordingly, clothing for the college girl should bring out her femininity, intelligence, and good companion qualities whereas innocence, sweetness, and youth should be characteristic of clothing for the younger teen-ager. From responses to interview questions on clothing by ninety- eight women in the same Michigan town studied by Rosencranz, 3° Grays“ isolated four orientations to fashion which she examined in the light of a number of social factors. The types of women representing these four orientations were described in the following ways: (1) the mimetic type who desired to be like others or to escape being con- spicuous, (2) the individualizing type who wished to wear clothing that was becoming, individualistic, and likely to attract attention, (3) the condition inhibited who felt she could not achieve her fashion goals due to physical, economic, or other limitation, and (4) the non-rationalizing type who followed fashion but offered no reason for her fashion oriented behavior. The types showed significant association or trends toward association with the variables of social class position, social mobility or social class identification, and localite-cosmopolite orientation. The means oriented mimetic and individualizing types were more likely to be upper and middle class, have more education and income, and 30Rosencranz, 1960. See p. 14 of this thesis. 31Corinne Gray, "Orientations to Fashion" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State College, East Lansing, 1953). 17 show greater occupational mobility, while the condition-inhibited were of the lower social classes, had less education and income, and showed less occupational mobility. In a 1953 study Vener developed a five-item scale for measuring personal estimates of clothing importance.” Responses to questions on clothing by eighty-eight men from the same Michigan town which provided subjects for Rosencranz's33 and Gray'si'4 studies were ranked according to this scale. Significant relationships between ranks on the clothing importance scale and the variables of status rating, vertical mobility, and social participation were demonstrated. Adolescent clothing orientations were the subject for a later study made by Vener in 1957.35 Seven hundred eighty-two eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade boys and girls answered a questionnaire on clothing attitudes. Their clothing awareness, sentiments of clothing deprivation, and salient clothing referents were determined and examined in relation to all or part of the following variables: sex status, age-grade status, social class status and related: variables, and conceptions of self. Although significant relationships were shown between clothing aware- ness and sex, social participation, social confidence, and other- directedness, no relationship or even a trend toward relationship could ”Arthur M. Vener, "Stratification A8pects of Clothing Importance" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State College, East Lansing, 1953). 33Rosencranz, 1960. _‘ See p. 14 of this thesis. 3‘Gray, 1953. See pp. 16-17 of this thesis. 35Arthur M. Vener, "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Social-Psychological Interpretation" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 195?). For a publication based on this thesis see: Arthur M. Vener and Charles R. Hoffer, Adolescent Orientations to Clothing (Michigan State University Agri- cultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 270, 1959). 18 be demonstrated between clothing awareness and social class. Sentiments of clothing deprivation were associated with age-grade status, occupational status of father, social participation, social confidence, and clothing awareness. Mothers and peers were salient referents in dress selection for both boys and girls. Peers were the individuals that the adolescents wanted to emulate most often in their manner of dress. Thomas Hoult36 conducted in 1954 two simply conceived tests of the symbolic nature of clothing. In the first, forty-six students were asked to make the following selections from a group of thirteen men with whom they had at least some acquaintance: the best looking man, the man I'd like to date ( or double date with), the man I'd like to have as my class president, the man who has the best personality, the man most likely to succeed after college, and the most intelligent man. The first time selections were made the subjects being evaluated had given no Special thought to the clothing they were wearing. At a later time when the same group were re-evaluated, changes were made in the clothing they were wearing. Those who had rated low the first time "dressed up"; those who had rated high "dressed down"; as a control, one group dressed in the same way as originally. Results showed the judges were not affected by type of clothing in evaluating known individuals. It was noted, however, that those in higher status income-occupational groups made the greatest changes in their ratings. In a. second experiment 254 students at ”two colleges judged for attractiveness at two different times pictures of ten unknown young men. The same faces were used in composite pictures each time, but 3"Thomas F. Hoult, "Experimental Measurement of Clothing as a Factor in Some Social Ratings of Selected American Men, " American Sociological Review, 19: 324-28, June 1954. 19 the pictures were altered so that the young men were dressed in dif- ferent outfits. Ratings for the figures shifted considerably when the manner of dress was changed. The data from the two tests by Hoult indicated that clothing symbols became relatively unimportant in a situation of intimate social contact; personal evaluations were on a basis of social closeness. On the other hand, in a situation of relative anonymity clothing became a basis for making evaluation. Between 1955 and 1957 Form and Stone published a series of reports on various aspects of adult clothing behavior observed in the same community used for study by Rosencranz, 37 Vener, 38 and Gray. 39 In the first of these reports the number of wardrobe items owned, prices of garments, preferences for various types of clothing, and attitudes toward clothing were examined in relation to the variables of rural-urban residence, age, social participation, social stratifi- cation, urbanization, and residential mobility.“ Data from 104 urban married couples and 50 farm couples showed that a greater number of clothing items were owned by urban dwellers. While no differences in preferences for line and cut of garments were found between rural and urban women, there were differences in men's preferences. For both farm and urban women and men the variables of mobility, social participation, and status group or class were rfiore significant in ”Rosencranz, 1960. See p. 14 of this thesis. 3"Vener, 1953. See p. 17 of this thesis. 3"Gray, 1953. ‘ See p. 16 of this thesis. “Gregory P. Stone and William H. Form, Clothing Inventories and Preferences Amcfig Rural and Urban Families (Michigan State College Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 246, March 1955). 20 relation to garments "most preferred for wear" than the rural-u.rban differentiation. Urban dwellers, particularly high social participators and upper status groups, showed greater sensitivity to the symbolic value of clothing. They were motivated in their choices more by expectations of social approval. On the other hand locally oriented, low participators emphasized comfort and wearability. The second of the Form and Stone studies evaluated the social significance of clothing in occupational life."1 The social factors of occupational affiliation, clothing importance, occupational mobility, situs mobility, class identification, and localite-cosmopolite orientation were used in evaluating answers to questions concerning the importance of clothing in the work situation. Among the 108 men studied the white collar workers and workers in occupations given high social standing attached higher importance to clothing than did manual workers and workers employed in occupations of lower prestige. Meanings attached to clothing differed for the two occupational groups. Manual workers were concerned with the durability of work clothing and its usefulness in facilitating job activities while white collar workers viewed dress as a symbol that could be manipulated in the work situation to influence others. Feelings of clothing deprivation, as far as clothing for work was concerned,were more prevalent among white collar workers than manual workers. A third study by Form and Stone reported on shopping behavior “William H. Form and Gregory P. Stone, The Social Significance of ClothinLin Occupational Life (Michigan State College Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 247, June 1955). 21 and clothing preferences of 115 women.“ Independent variables used in the analysis were age, education, income, social class, class identification, social mobility, community orientation, associational membership, and magazine readership. Findings of some relevance to the present study were: dress while shopping for clothes was con- ditioned by position within the social stratification system; the higher the income and social class, the less frequent were expressions of deprivation; budgeting for clothing was more frequent in the middle social classes. A An additional report by Form and Stone evaluated variations in symbolism employed by persons in different socio-economic levels when they were asked to bestow status and observe the status of anonymous others."3 This research was done in Lansing, Michigan, a city of approximately 100, 000. The asPect of this study having relevance for the present study was the consideration of the way in which individuals assess the status of others. Respondents were asked how they would recognize members of four social categories ("high society, " "middle class, " "working class, " and "down-andeouters”) in the anonymity of the central business district either on the street or in a department store. Style or mode of dress and display of clothing as possessions were the symbols most frequently mentioned by three socio-economic strata. Although differences were not significant, there was a trend for informants in the middle strata to emphasize the stylization of 42Gregory P. Stone and William H. Form, The Local Community Market: A Study of the Social Psychological Contexts of Shopping (Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 262, November 1957). “William H. Form and Gregory P. Stone, "Urbanism, Anonymity, and Status Symbolism, " American Journal of Sociology, 62:504-14, March 1957. 22 appearance in evaluating while the lower strata tended to emphasize the substance of appearance and the objects displayed. In the foregoing studies asPects of the clothing behavior of adoles- cents or adults were evaluated. Research by Warning in 1956 was concerned with a younger age group.“ She investigated practices in the acquisition and use of garments for seven-, eight-, and nine-year- old girls. Consideration of differences in number of garments owned, cost of garments, budgeting practices, differential concern for high style, and practices in acquisition, care, and discard of clothing showed that family patterns of behavior, related to the clothing of seven-, eight-, and nine-year-old daughters, were associated with social class. In an exploratory study made in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, and Hellertown, Pennsylvania, Jacobi and Walters interviewed a small sample of women concerning value judgments made in choosing appro- priate dresses.45 When in a preliminary survey they found that the three functions of clothing as pr0posed by Barber and Lobel46 (utilitarian, esthetic, and role-symbolic) were all being considered by the middle income group when they made choices, they concluded that choices on the basis of functions would not be patterned along social class lines. They proposed that it would be more accurate to Speak of three types of dress buyers in each socio-economic group. Their sug- gested typology of style according to which buyers could be classified “Margaret C. Warning, "The Implications of Social Class for Clothing Behavior: The’Acquisition and Use of Apparel for Girls Seven, Eight, and Nine Years of Age in Three Social Classes in Des Moines, Iowa, " (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 1956). “John E. Jacobi and‘S. George Walters, "Social Status and Consumer Choice, " Social Forces, 36:209-14, March 1958. “Barber and Lobel, 2p. c_:_i_t., p. 125. 23 was based on what they called the "symbol acceptance concept. "m Type 1 included women who had assimilated style status symbols for their group. They were not overly concerned with labels or store names and in choice making placed greatest reliance upon the subtle aspects of material quality, or uniqueness of garments. Type 2 had not fully assimilated style status symbols, were experimenting and trying to learn the symbols. They placed emphasis on store name, labels, and recommendations of friends and acquaintances. Type 3 were little concerned with style. They showed little aspiration for mobility, utility was often of concern, and a high per cent of them were elderly. In a longitudinal study in the city of Minneapolis48 Deno analyzed a wide range of home activities participated in by seventh, eighth, and ninth grade girls.49 Since the activities studied included certain clothing practices, a selected part of the data is of interest to the present study. Comparisons were made among data gathered from samples of over 2, 000 in number in 1929, 1934, and 1956. Only the 1934 and 1956 data carried information on social class. In the analysis, comparisons of different social class levels were confined mainly to two distinct strata; these strata were ranked 11 and VI on a scale of seven positions . "The Jacobi and Walter typology can be compared with that of Gray. Type lresembles Gray's individuating type, Type 2 her mimetic type, and Type 3 her non-rationalizing type. See Gray, 93. git” pp. 41-52. 4“Although the major portion of the data was collected in Minneapolis, there was also drawn in 1956 a sample of 85 rural Wisconsin girls. 49Evelyn Dreier Deno, "Changes in the Home Activities of Junior High School Girls Over a Twenty—Seven Year Period" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1958). 24 In home construction of garments the two socio-economic levels compared had become more unlike between 1934 and 1956, with the higher class (II) having a significantly higher prOportion of homes in which sewing was being done in 1956. Both in 1934 and 1956 the lower class (VI) girls reported greater independence than the higher class (11) girls in selecting ready-made garments. However, both classes showed greater independence in 1956 than in 1934. No social class differences were shown in the practice of having clothing allowances. The significance of girls' participation in care of clothing was not determined in isolation from other home activities; however, visual examination of data suggests that the lower the social class the more self-sufficient a girl was in the care of her clothing, that is, she was more likely to care for it without the help of others. The research reviewed has given support to the hypothesis that clothing is a criterion or symbol frequently employed by individuals in determining the status of others, particularly when the status place- ment or determination being made is for anonymous others. Findings have also indicated that at least for adult men and women there are significant relationships between social class position and both general orientation toward clothing and practices associated with the acquisition and use of clothing. From the research conducted so far, however, it is difficult to obtain a very clear-cut or complete picture of the rela- tionships between clothing behavior and social class positions of young children and adolescents. Some reports even appear to be contradictory, but it is possible that these contradictions in reality only represent gaps in knowledge. The brief summary of the contributions of studies Specifically concerned with children and adolescents which follows will indicate 25 wherein there are already accumulations of information and where there are apparent gaps in knowledge. Warning50 and Rosencranz, 5‘ in their separate studies, Showed association between social class variables and practices involved in the acquisition and use of clothing for girls in middle childhood or pre-adolescent years. The data employed came from mothers; hence there was no tapping of infor- mation on the orientations to clothing of the girls themselves. For seventh, eighth, and ninth grade girls Denosz found relationships between a very limited number of clothing practices and social class. Silverman' SS3 earlier study of adolescent girls touched only briefly on the relationship between clothing behavior and social class variables, but in the sample she used she did determine that there was no associ- ation between socio-economic status and choices of clothing. Vener's 1957 work, which was not concerned with clothing practices but con— centrated on orientations toward clothing, showed that feelings of deprivation among adolescents of high school age were associated with social class while expressions of clothing awareness were not. On the basis of his findings he hypothesized that strong peer group orientation might have considerable influence on the clothing behavior of adolescents. Since the nature of the relationship between the clothing behavior of adolescents and social class had so far been only partly explored, it appeared to the present researcher that this area was one in which useful investigation could be done. Furthermore, when an examination 50Warning, op. cit. 51Rosencranz, 1958. 5"'Deno, op. cit. 53Silverman, op. cit. 26 of studies already done showed the possibility that there is at least a partial shift away from social class patterning in clothing behavior some time between childhood and adolescence, a study of children at the threshold of adolescence seemed appropriate. Strong associations with social class position would imply that families of orientation remain as Significant reference groups at this transitional age, while no associations or partial associations would imply that other reference groups may be wielding influence. In order to add to knowledge in an area not completely explored, the present study prOposed to contribute information on the influence of social class on clothing behavior at early adolescence, an assumed crucial time in the socialization of children, by examining both clothing practices and orientations of s eventh g rade girls . VARIABLES, ASSUMPTIONS, AND HYPOTHESES Variable s In the evaluation of the associations between social class position and clothing practices and orientation a number of Specific aspects of clothing behavior were treated as dependent variables. They were classified in the following categories: (1) sources of clothing, (2) patterns of decision making related to clothing, (3) training practices related to clothing, (4) attitudes toward clothing, and (5) self-other concepts related to clothing. Social class was handled as the main independent variable. In order to give added dimension to the evaluation of the impact of social class on clothing behavior, however, associations between the closely related factor of social mobility and various aspects of clothing behavior were also examined. This latter factor, that is, social mobility, was 27 used in an exploratory way to see if there was evidence that mobility served as an intervening variable modifying the influence of social , class. Assumptions It is probably accurate to say that the hypotheses formulated were based on at least three assumptions that have been implied in previous discussion. It was assumed: (I) that American society is characterized by a social class system and that estimates of individual ranks within the system can be made, (2) that associated with social classes are styles of life which pattern modes of consumption and are symbolic of the classes, (3) that clothing is an element of the style of life and behavior associated with it cannot only be identified but measured. Hypothe s e s The two general hypotheses considered in the study may be stated as follows: 1. Clothing practices and orientations of seventh grade girls are associated with their social class positions. 54 11. Clothing practices and orientations of seventh grade girls are associated with the social mobility of their families of reference. Social class position and clothing behavior. In order to make a detailed examination of clothing behavior and its association with social class a number of explicit hypotheses were drawn up. Rationales for these hypotheses were based on various theoretical formulations and 54Classes I, II, and III are being used to designate the three operationally derived social classes utilized for analysis in this study. Class I occupies the highest position. 28 empirical findings. When the literature suggested the direction of relationship, direction was predicted. In cases where no predictions of direction could be logically deduced the hypotheses were more exploratory in nature and predicted only association. Statements of the Specific hypotheses tested, along with a restatement of the general hypothesis concerning association between social class position and clothing behavior, follow: General Hypothesis 1: Clothing practices and orientations of seventh grade girls are associated with their social class positions. A. Sources of clothing for seventh grade girls of three social class levels will vary in the following ways: 1. The incidence of the practice of home sewing will differ among the three social classes. Motivation to do home sewing has been found differentially associated with social class, according to whether empha- sis is placed upon the practice as an economic measure or as a means to feelings of pleasure derived from the demonstration of taste and creative skills.55 However, the relative intensity among the social classes of this motivation to make clothing at home has not been made clear. Although Rosencranz's56 study showed no differences between manual and white collar workers in the actual practice of home sewing, Warning, 57 when using a more finely differentiated stratification system, found a trend for association with class, with more lower-middle class mothers doing home sewing for daughters than either upper—middle or 55Warning, _o_p. c_it., pp. 101-3. “Rosencranz, 1958, p. 10. 5"Warning, _c_>_p_. cit., pp. 99-100. 29 upper-lower class. The upper-lower did slightly more than the upper.- middle. In contrast to the trend found by Warning, Deno found that more girls from families that could be roughly equated with Warning's upper-middle class reported the practice of home sewing than did girls from families in a status level roughly equivalent to Warning's upper- 1ower class.58 In order to take a further measure of the extent to which the practice of home sewing is associated with social class it was hypothesized that association would exist. 2. The higher a girl's social class, the lower the probability she will borrow clothing. The suppositions were, first, that higher social class implies greater economic resources and correspondingly greater access to a quantity of and variety of clothing items and, second, that lower class girls' invidious comparisons of their wardrobes with those of higher class girls will motivate them to borrow clothing so that they can acquire--at least temporarily---the symbols of status they desire. 3. Girls in the three social classes will differ in the amount of used clothing given to them for wear. Crucial to the acceptance and use of clothing which has been worn by someone else are the meanings attached to this clothing. For the lower class economic necessity is probably the foremost consideration in accepting used clothing. For the higher classes, under less economic stress, other meanings for clothing may come to the forefront and encourage the acceptance of used clothing, particularly if the clothing received is in good condition. For them used garments added to the wardrobe may serve as a means for displaying material goods in a manner that will enhance prestige and secure one's social position. In other words, for higher classes 58Deno, 52. cit., pp. 99-100. 30 quantity may become more important in clothing symbolism than newness. Although no data secured were useful for ascertaining reasons for accepting clothing, it might be assumed, if the lower class showed a significantly greater utilization of used clothing, that economic pressures were important factors in the acceptance of used clothing. No associations, on the other hand would suggest that other than pure economic forces were at work. 4. The lower the social class the higher the probability that clothing will be:given togirls as gi_fts. Since greater income ordinarily becomes available with higher class, it was proposed that there is less constraint among higher classes to make clothing serve multiple functions. The more liberal clothing allowances of higher classes allow purchases of clothing at any time as well as gifts of many different kinds for special occasions. Since lower class incomes are more restricting, lower classes may be obliged to treat clothing both as a necessity and a means of affective expression. Research findings of Rosencranz supported the prediction that the relationship would be in the direction stated.” She found a Significantly greater percentage of girls in a low income group receiving gifts of dresses than in a high group and a trend for manual workers to give more dresses as gifts than white collar workers. 5. The higher the social class the higher the probability a girl's clothing will be purchased in high prestige stores. Rosencranz has reported a strong trend for white collar families and high income families to purchase dresses in high prestige specialty sh0ps or better ”Rosencranz, 1958, pp. 11-12. 31 department stores and for manual workers to make purchases in chain stores.60 This patterning is no doubt highly motivated by economic reasons. On the other hand, in cases where clothing prices for gar- ments in the high prestige and low prestige stores are very similar or overlap, social-psychological conditioning probably influences individuals to shop where there is little opportunity for feelings of social insecurity or discomfort.61 On the basis of both economic and social-psychological factors it was predicted there would be a direct relationship between class and prestige of stores in which clothing is purchased. B. Patterns of decision makifl related to clothing behavior of seventh ggadefigirls of three social class levels will vary in the following ways: 1. The higher the social class level the higher the probability that girls will try on clothing before buying. Weber has suggested that those who would belong to a social class are expected to exhibit a certain style of life.62 It would be anticipated then that those of the higher classes on whom the most status honor is bestowed would wish to reinforce their positions by showing high levels of sensitivity to the symbolic elements that are part of their style of life. As an element of style of life, clothing would be of concern; and individuals of higher classes would be expected to pay attention to details such as becoming- ness and perfection of fit in clothing. Thus trying on of clothing would be an essential part of the buying process. Stone andForm"3 found in 60Rosencranz, 1958, pp. 10-11. “Stone and Form, The Local Community Clothinfldarket: A Study of the Social and Social Psychological Contexts of Shoppin , pp. 14-15, 51-55. “Weber, pp. 213., p. 187. 6,’Stone and Form, Clothing Inventories and Preferences Amopg Rural and Urban-Farnilies, p. 35. 32 one of their studies that high social class membership seemed to sensitize individuals to the symbolic quality of clothes. In view of these theoretical and empirical considerations it was suggested that relationships would be in the direction stated. 2. When choosing clothing girls in the three classes will differ in the emphasis they place on different functions of clothing. In an 64 exploratory survey Jacobi and Walters concluded that Barber and Lobel's‘>5 classification of the functions which clothing serves, the utilitarian, esthetic, and role-asymbolic, could not be used to point out social class differences. This study proposed to retest the hypothesis using a larger sample, and adolescents rather than women. 3. Girls in the three social classes will differ in their choices W made between clothing designed for different maturity levels. This hypothesis was formulated to explore if clothing symbolic of greater youth or maturity, as defined by manufacturers of ready-to-wear clothing, would be differentially chosen by social classes. More simply, the fact that manufacturers produce clothing which they designate for different age categories provoked the following question: ("At a given age do girls in various class levels differ in their preferences for clothing intended for younger or older age groups?" C. Training practices related to clothingof seventh gradegirls of three social class levels will vary in the following ways: l. The lower the social class the higher the probability girls will make independent choices when selecting clothing. An examination of 64Jacobi and Walters, 2p. 9.1.3" p. 211. 65Barber and Lobel, 2p. git” p. 125. 33 evidence accumulated suggested that lower class adolescents have more physical and social freedom than those of higher class.66 Parental controls tend to be less pervasive in the lower than in the higher classes; but, when discipline occurs, it is apt to be rigid and sharp. Parents are authoritarian in their relationships with children and correspondingly relatively inaccessible to communication from their children. Higher class parents, particularly in the middle class are closer to their children, pay more attention to them, and exhibit much concern with training for the "proper" kind of behavior. In their train— ing they guide and limit behavior within a fairly open, cooperative relationship. In the light of these differing kinds of family interaction systems it was proposed that lower class girls would be left more to their own resources in choosing clothing while higher class would be supervised more closely in their selections. Such findings would corroborate those of Deno.67 2. The higher the social class the higher the probability girls will be treated permissively68 in situations where disagreements over clothirg choice occur. As indicated in the previous paragraph, research points to the existence of a more authoritarian home 66Leonard G. Benson, "Family Social Status and Parental Author- ity Evaluations Among Adolescents, " Northwestern Social Science Quarterly, 36:46-54, June 1955; Allison Davis, "Socialization and Adolescent Personality, " Readings in Social Psychology, Guy E. Swan- son, Theodore M. Newcomb, and Eugene L. Hartley, editors (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1952), pp. 520-31; August B. Hollingshead, Elmtown's Youth: The Impact of Social Classes on Adolescents (New York: JOhn Wiley and Sons, 1949), pp. 83-120, 444-47; Henry 8. Mass, "Some Social Class Differences in the Family System and Group Rela- tions of Pre- and Early Adolescents, " Child Development, 22: 147-48, June 1951. “Deno, 2. 91., pp. 211-22. 68The term ”permissive" is'used here to describe an equalitarian, cooperative approach to decision making and settling of differences, as versus an authoritarian approach. 34 environment for lower class adolescents and a more equalitarian parental authority pattern in higher classes. Kohn found a reflection of such patterns in the values held by mothers of ten- and eleven-year- old children of different social classes.69 The higher a mother's status the higher the probability she would choose consideration, curiosity, and self-control as values she would like to see embodied in her child's behavior. The lower her status the higher in priority obedience was held. On the basis of evidence of differing patterns of authority in families of different social class levels, it was believed higher class children would be treated more permissively when cloth- ing was being chosen. 3. Training for care of clothing will differ among the three social classes. The middle class have been generally attributed with a con- cern for training children to assume responsibility. Davis, 7° for instance, contends that the middle class parents teach their offspring pride in and care of property as important values. Warning's study" gave some support to this view by showing a trend for this greater concern to hold true for lower middle class girls of ages seven to nine in the Special area of clothing. On the basis of this suggested class emphasis it was proposed that differences would be apparent among the three social classes of seventh grade girls. 4. Girls in the three social classes will differ in their awareness of clothing costs. (If the middle class is concerned with pride in ”Melvin L. Kohn, "Social Class and Parental Values, " American Journal of Sociology, 64:344, January 1959. "Davis, 2p. gi_t_.. p. 530. “Warning, 2p. c_:_i_t_., pp. 120-24. 35 material goods, it follows that teaching the value of money is one way in which training for responsibility in the use and care of highly valued material goods can be accomplished. Allowances have been pointed out by Westley and Elkin as one means that middle class parents use to teach the "value of money" to adolescents.72 The possibility of heightened sensitivity to the value of money in the middle class suggested that greater awareness of clothing costs might also follow and that the three social classes under study might display varying degrees of awareness of clothing costs . D. Attitudes toward clothing of seventh grade girls of three social class levels will vary in the following ways: 1. The lower the social class the higher the probability thaLgirls will have experienced feelings of clothing deprivation. Vener found that high school boys and girls whose fathers were in high status levels tended to express sentiments of high clothing deprivation less frequently than those whose fathers were of lower status.73 It was anticipated that the same sort of relationship would hold in this study. 2. The higher the social class of girls the greater the degee of 75 clothingawareness. Studies by Rosencranz, 7‘ Form and Stone, and Vener76 indicated there is association between attitudes of clothing importance or awareness held by adults and variables associated with "William A. Westley and Frederick Elkin, "The Protective Environment and Adolescent Socialization," Social Forces, 35: 248, March 1957. 73Vener, 1957, p. 60. 74Rosenc ranz, 1948 . 75Form and Stone, The Social Significance of Clothing in Occu- pational Life. 36 social class. A more recent research by Vener77 has indicated that this relationship does not hold with high school students, the possible explanation being that peer group identifications obviate the influence of social class. It was the task of the present study to evaluate the association between social class and awareness of clothing for seventh grade girls who might not yet be as strongly socialized to peer group norms as eighth to twelfth grade students.78 E. Self-other concepts of seventhgrade girls of three social class levels will vary in the following ways: 1. Girls in the three social classes will differ in their choices of personal reference models for clothing. Havighurst and others found that socio-economic status influenced the descriptions given by children of the ideal person each would like to be when he grew up.79 Among the several status levels the trend was for lower status children to choose glamorous adults more often as their models. To explore the area of ideal referents for clothing,Vener asked a question concerning model emulation in clothing but his results were only insightful Since only slightly more than one-third of the total sample responded to the ques- tion.80 In this restricted sample he found peers were the most frequently Chosen models for clothing and mass-media celebrities were next in importance. This study intended to explore further the area of model referents for clothing among early adolescents. “Vener, 1953. "Vener, 1957. 78Bowerman and Kinch, loc. cit. 7"Robert J. Havighurst, Myra Z. Robinson, and Mildred Dorr, "The Development of the Ideal Self in Childhood and Adolescence, " Journal of Educational Research, 40:248, December 1946. 80Vener, 1957, pp. 64-76. 37 2. When describing ideal clothing, girls in the three social classes will differ in the emphasis they place on different functions ofclothing. This hypothesis was designed to explore associations that might obtain between social class and girls' conceptions of themselves as revealed through their descriptions of ideal clothing. Barber and Lobel's classi- fication of clothing functions as esthetic, role-symbolic, and utilitarian was used in order to see if one class might emphasize one functionmore than another in the ideal descriptions. 81 3. Girls in the three classes will differ in their desire to conform to peergroup norms for appropriate clothing_behavior. ' Since the girls included in this study had already come under considerable socializing influence outside the home, it was conceivable that they might have internalized patterns of clothing behavior reflecting peer group identifi- cation as versus family allegiance. The possibility of strong shifts in allegiance at early adolescence posed the problem of whether there would be different patterns of identification or dependence shown at different class levels. In other words, did social weaning progress at different rates in different social class levels? Of particular concern was whether or not differences in identification would be reflected in the clothing behavior of different social classes. 4. Girls in the three classes will differ in the type of clothing in which they feel most comfortable. This hypothesis was exploratory in nature and simply intended to test if different types of self images would be suggested by responses of the three social classes. Stone and Form” “Barber and Lobel, 3p. C_i_t_., p. 125. ”Stone‘and Form, Clothing Inventories and Preferences Amorgg Rural and Urban Families, pp. 33-35. 38 asked men and women the somewhat related question, "Which of your garments do you feel especially good in?" and found some patterning along the line of social class; consequently it was anticipated that patterning in responses of seventh grade girls to a similar question might occur . 5. Girls in the three social classes will differ in their degree of expressed approval of their mothers' clothing. This hypothesis, which was also exploratory in nature, was intended to probe the nature of the daughter's image of her mother and to test if there were differences in the imagery held by girls in the three social classes. Social mobility and clothing behavior. It was the purpose of this part of the study to examine, in so far as the data allowed, the effects of patterns of social mobility on selected aspects of clothing behavior. Since the investigation proposed to be exploratory, the hypotheses were somewhat generally stated. However an effort was made to shape the hypotheses so that it would be possible to explore several a8pects of social mobility that it was felt might be highly related to the symbolic aspects of clothing. In the first place, associations with general career mobility were tested. As a further refinement, certain tests of relationships with career mobility were run with class held constant. With class held constant, it was felt that it would be possible to explore the extent to which socially mobile families attempt to ease their transitional movements into higher classes by ad0pting the status symbols of the classes they aspire to. It was anticipated that clothing behavior would show evidence of this sort of anticipatory socialization and that families' patterns of acquisition and use of clothing and their orientations might be more in harmony with the classes they aspired to than their own social classes. It was thought especially possible 39 that heightened sensitivity to the symbolic nature of clothing might accompany their anticipated mobility and be manifested in attitudes of greater clothing awareness or greater interest in the role-symbolic aspects of clothing. Since certain data were also available on generational mobility, an exploration of the association between generational mobility and clothing behavior was made. It was felt that the mother was the family member who would be the most significant role model for a girl's clothing. Certain clothing practices and orientations of girls were therefore examined in relation to generational mobility which had been determined by comparing fathers' occupations with those of the mothers' fathers. The restatement of the general hypothesis concerning the associ- ation between social mobility and clothing behavior which follows will introduce several exploratory hypotheses concerning social mobility. General Hypothesis II: Clothing practices and orientations of seventh gpade girls are associated with the social mobility of their families of reference. A. Career Mobility: 1. Clothing practices and orientations of seventh grade girls are associated with the career mobility of their families of reference. 2. Clothing practices and orientations of seventh grade girls in upwardly mobile families may be more like those of _Lirls of the next higher class than the classes to which they nominally belflg. B. Generational Mobility: 1. Clothing practices and orientations of seventh grade girls in families which are upwardly mobile from the mothers' families may be more like those of girls in the mothers' former social classes than the class-E: to which they nominally belong. CHAPTER II PROCEDURE Since this study was set up with the primary purpose of learning in a systematic way about clothing practices and orientations of girls at early adolescence, it seemed best for the investigator to secure information directly from girls of an appropriate age through personal interviews. Accordingly, plans were set up for interviewing in their homes approximately one hundred seventh grade girls in Lansing, Michigan, a city of about 100, 000. THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE The interview schedule devised consisted of a series of questions 1 These questions were about actual clothing practices and orientations. phrased to secure information that would be suitable for testing a number of hypotheses concerned with sources of clothing, patterns of decision making related to clothing, training practices related to clothing, attitudes toward clothing, and self-other concepts related to clothing. Both structured and open- end questions were used. Structured questions were of either the dichotomous or multiple choice type. . A considerable .‘A questionnaire by Vener and an interview schedule by Rosencranz were important source materials referred to in devising the schedule. Since the present study was set up partly as a companion study to that of Rosencranz, a portion of the Rosencranz schedule concerned with choices of actual clothing was duplicated in its original form so that comparisons could bemade. Arthur M. Vener, "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Social-Psychological Interpretation" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 195?); Mary Louflosencranz, Relevance of Occupation and Income to Mothers' Selection of Clothing for Daughters (Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station Technical bulletin 268, August 1958). 40 41 number of open-end questions were also used since it was felt they would be useful for probing and for gaining insights that forced answers might not provide. As a stimulus for choice making actual garments (dresses) were used for reference during part of the interview. Since information on social factors that could be used in interpret- ing clothing behavior was also needed, certain questions on social participation, exposure to mass media, and miscellaneous other factors were asked of the girls; and questions on social class variables and social mobility were asked of the mothers. Only selected ones of these social variables have been used in the final analysis. /It was decided to obtain the data on social class and mobility by using a short schedule that could be administered to the mothers after a pretest revealed the girls could not give all the information needed. Other minor changes, such as, in wording and structure of questions on the schedule, were also made after pretesting of the schedule was done with seventh grade girls in the city of East Lansing, Michigan. THE SAMPLE It was decided that what has been called an analytic samplez would be used in this study. To obtain this sample an effort was made to draw ,zFor a brief discussion of the fruitfulness of the use of such sam- ples in certain types of comparative studies see: H. J. Eysenck, "Social Attitude and Social Class, " British Journal of SociologL 1:57-58, March 1950. Although such samples cannot claim to be representative of the community populations from which they are drawn, the possibility is not ruled out that the sample used might be as representative of the commun- ity as a randomly drawn sample. For other uses of such samples see: William H. Form and Gregory A. Stone, "Urbanism, Anonymity, and Status Symbolism, " American Journal of Sociology, 62:504-14, March 1957; and Neal Gross, "Social Class Identification in the Urban Commun- ity, " American Sociological Review, 18:398-404. August 1953. 42 a nearly equal nuInber of cases from two kinds of socio-economic areas in Lansing, Michigan, one judged to be of high isocio-(economic level and one judged low. - Such sub-areas had been worked out in an earlier studyflbgymwmfleflrnfibers of the Sociology and Anthr0pology Department from - 1950 census and other data.3 Since interviewing would be done in only high and low areas, it was anticipated that girls would be drawn who would represent two distinct social class levels, one clearly high and one clearly low. Plans were made to interview all white seventh grade girls of ages twelve and thirteen in the selected areas by making a door- to-door canvass. In the canvassing, not all houses, but several up and down each block, were contacted in order to inquire about and find all seventh grade girls within the selected areas. Since it was felt that the girls would know others in their age group well, a constant check was made with girls interviewed to ascertain if all "eligible" girls in their neighborhood had been reached. The final sample contained fl :—;1dé””g1n“g;;; ‘ lthen certain data from the schedules were examined, it was found that the socio-economic sub-areas were not as homogeneous in social class character as had been expected. There were cases that were clearly of high or low status, but there was also a group of cases from a definite middle social strata. Plans for analysis were subsequently adjusted so that there were three social class groups, instead of two, that would be treated as independent populations. The Operational techniques used in defining the three strata are described in the next section. 3For a partial report on the method used for locating boundaries of urban sub-areas in Lansing, Michigan, see William H. Form and others, "Approaches to the Delimitation of Sub-Areas, " American Sociological Review, 19:434-40, August 1954. 43 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES Before clothing behavior exhibited by several social class levels could be compared some operational definition of social class had to _be made. At the outset three objective indicators of social class had been obtained when mothers of the girls were interviewed. These were occupation of father, educational level of father, and family income level. The additional indicator of socio-economic level of the sub-area of residence was also available. The assumption was made that the daughter shared the class position of her father and that information on the social class position of the father could be used in determining the daughter's. As has been indicated before, the relatively large number of cases of middle rank that were included in the sample suggested that the socio-economic level of the sub-area was not a valid criterion for dif- ferentiating social class level. As a consequence its use was abandoned. A second indicator, level of income, did not prove usable either. Not only was there a high loss of cases through failure of mothers to be able to or willing to reSpond, but also reports from the interviewers left doubts as to the accuracy with which mothers reported yearly income levels. Of the two remaining indicators, occupation has generally been accepted as a valid indicator of social class position. Acceptance of other indicators has not been as consistent, but a recent study by Hollingshead and Redlich gives strong support to the use of educational level.‘ They demonstrated that a combination of occupation and edu- cation had high correlation with judged class position. Occupation they ‘August B. Hollingshead and Fredrich' Redlich, Social Class and Mental Illness: A Community Study (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1958), pp. 394-96. 44 felt was an important indicator because it reflected the skill and power associated with maintenance functions in the society. Education of the head of the household, on the other hand, reflected the tastes of the family. Ultimately then, social class position was determined in this study on the basis of occupation and education. Occupational status was determined by ranking cases on a modified Warner status scale for occupations.5 Ranks number 1, 2, and 3 were rated as high, number 4 ‘ was middle, and 5 and 6 were low. There were no number 7's. Educational status was measured according to an eight-point scale as follows: 1. Graduate work beyond bachelor's degree 2. College graduate 3. One to three years of college 4. Non-college training beyond high school 5. High school graduate 6. One to three years of high school 7. Eighth grade graduate 8. Less than eighth grade schooling Ratings of l to 4 were classified as high, 5 as middle, and 6 to 8 as low. Examination of the ratings of the cases showed that 42 were either "pure" high or high on one characteristic and medium on the other. These 42 cases were designated as I's. Thirty cases were "pure middle" and were designated as II's. Thirty-six cases were either pure low or low on one characteristic and middle on the other; these cases were designated as 111' s . 5w. Lloyd Warner, Marchia Meeker, and Kenneth Eells,- Social Class in America (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1949), pp. 140-41. 45 Change in occupational level, as rated on Warner's occupational status scale, was used as a measure of social mobility. When inter- viewed, the mother had been asked not only her husband's present job but also what work he did when they were first married and after they had been married for five years. On the basis of these career data families were classified as downwardly mobile, non-mobile, and upwardly mobile. To get some idea of generational mobility the mother was also asked what the occupations of both her father and her husband's father had been at about age forty. Since the data on the wife's father was more complete and since the mother, with her family orientation, was judged to stand as a more significant model for clothing behavior of a girl than the father only data on the wife's father was utilized. STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES In order to determine the nature of association between the inde- pendent variables of social class and social mobility and various a3pects of clothing behavior, the chi square test was used in most cases. The specific formulas chosen were ones that would lend themselves readily to machine computation. When degrees of freedom were greater than one, calculations for the chi square were made according to procedures outlined by Hagood.6 In tests where there was one degree of freedom, calculations were made according to Siegel's suggested formula which - incorporates a correction for continuity.7 When the smallest expected 6Margaret J. Hagood and Daniel 0. Price, Statistics for Sociolo- gists (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1952), p. 369. 7Sidney Siegel, Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1956), p. 107. 46 frequency proved to be less than five with one degree of freedom, a Fisher exact probability test was made. 8 Since the chi square tests revealed so few instances of significant association, estimates of the degree of association using the contingency coefficient (C) were made only in describing relationships among the independent variables. 9 Tests of the significance of the difference between prOportions were used where multiple re3ponses yielded data that could not be handled by chi square measures. 10 In this study a probability was considered significant at the five percent level. In the presentation of findings the frequently used quali- fying adjectives suggested by George W. Snedecor will be used to describe certain probability ranges. 11 These range descriptions are: . 01 < P < . 05--moderately significant . 001 < P < . Ol--highly significant P < . OOl--extremely significant 81bid. , pp. 96-104. Note: Since exact probability tests become quite tedious if the smallest cell frequency varies greatly from zero and since early runs on data showed a trend toward very few significant associations, chi square tests were run on sets of data in which require- ments for expected frequencies were not met. If no significance appeared in chi square tests, it was assumed that none would appear in exact prob- ability tests. However, if chi square tests did show significance or values computed were close to significance, exact probability tests were then run on these data to establish the more exact relationships. 91bid.. pp. 196-202. ”Hagood and Price, 32. 935., pp. 315-20. “Reproduced in Hagood and Price, _o_p. Eit' , p. 325. CHAPTER III PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS In Chapter 1 various hypotheses concerning clothing behavior and its associations with the social class and social mobility of seventh grade girls were set forth. These hypotheses are now to be examined in light of the findings of the present study. To facilitate the analysis the pre- sentation of results is organized on the basis of the five general areas of clothing behavior that were explored. Footnotes on summary tables included in the text indicate when more detailed data can be found in the Appendix. It should be noted that in the analysis of social mobility only data concerning career mobility are included. Exploratory tests were also made of associations between generational mobility and the following items: independence of decision making, feelings of clothing deprivation, clothing awareness, desire for conformity in clothing, self images revealed by girls' concepts of "most comfortable clothes, " and concepts of specific "others" shown through girls' opinions of their mothers' clothing. Since no significant relationships were shown and since the inclusion of these additional data would have burdened the reader with ‘an even greater number of tables than have already been included, the decision was made to omit the data but to point out that, in exploratory tests made, no significant relationships were demonstrated between generational mobility and selected aspects of clothing behavior, even when class was held constant. Hence no support was afforded the general hypothesis that clothing practices and orientations of seventh grade girls 47 48 in families which are upwardly mobile from the mothers' families may be more like those of the mothers' former social classes than the classes to which they nominally belong. \ SOURCES OF CLOTHING Practice of Home Sewing From the data in Table 1 it can be seen that no significant relation- ships hold between the practice of home sewing and either social class or career mobility. When social class is held constant, there are still no relationships shown with mobility. Probe questions concerning kinds of garments made and preferences for having certain garments made at home were used to elicit information on the nature of home sewing which was done. These questions, however, did not draw forth significantly different responses from the various social classes or the differentially mobile groups. The latter data are shown in Tables 2 and 3. Practice of Borrowing Clothing Further examination of Table 1 reveals no significant relationships between the practice of borrowing clothing and either social class or career mobility. Practice of Utilizing Used Clothing Findings reported in Table 1 also show no significant associations between the practice of using clothing worn by someone else and the variables of social class and career mobility. Use of Clothing_for Gifts Since 103 of the 108 girls said that they received clothing as gifts, it can be seen that the practice is generally characteristic of all classes, and not peculiar to certain classes only. Results given in Table 4 show that probing for kinds of garments given as gifts did not draw forth 49 TABLE 1. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and specific clothing practices. Clothing Practices Home Borrowing of Utilizing Used Independent Sewing Clothirg Clothi_r:g Variables Proba- Proba- Proba- xz bility w x2 bility x7- bility Social class .19 . 90+ .80 .25+b 1. 91 .30+ Career mobility . 01 . 99+ . 93 . 50+ . 24 . 80+ Career mobility, ‘ Class I .57 . 30+ .42 .50+ . 20 .50+ Career mobility, Class II . 015 . 90+ . 0007 . 95+ .15 . 50+ Career mobility, Class III .20 .50+ .068 .70+ .0032 .90+ aDetailed data shown in Tables 29 to 43, Appendix A. One-tailed test of significance. TABLE 2. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and stated preference for having clothes made at home. a Preference for Having Clothes Independent Made at Home ”names it2 Probability Social class . 85 . 50+ Career mobility . 55 . 70+ Career mobility, Class I l. 97 . 10+ Career mobility, Class II . 22 . 50+ Career mobility, Class III . 027 . 80+ aDetailed data shown in Tables 44 to 48, Appendix A. TABLE 3. -—Su1nmary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes having specified garments made by mother.a Class Class Class Class Class - Class _ I II III I II III Coats FT Play Clothes Class 1 .38 .23 Class I ‘ .61 .64 Class II .23 .79 Class II .83 .96 Class III .50 .60 Class III .83 -- Dresses Skirts Class Class I 11 Class II . 90 Class III .12 .13 Blouses T a'Values reported are probabilities of 2 values occurring by chance if all proportions came from the same p0pulation. Detailed data shown in Tables 49 to 53, Appendix A. 51 patterns of response that are significantly different among the social classes either. Perhaps questions getting at frequency of receiving clothing as gifts or number of items received might have been more sensitive indicators than the ones used, which required only simple "yes and no" reSponses to inquiries as to whether or not girls received clothing for gifts and records of the kinds of items received. Places of Clothing Purchase The data presented in Table 5 make evident that there are signifi- cant relationships between social class and place in which clothing is purchased. Reference to data in Table 57, Appendix A, shows that the higher the class the higher the per cent of the class that shops in independent department stores--all differences between proportions of classes being at least moderately significant. Table 58, Appendix A, shows that an inverse relationship in general holds true for per cents of classes shOpping in large chain department stores. Even though the difference between per cents of Classes I and II is not significant, it is still true that a significantly greater pr0portion of Class III, the lowest class, than either Class I or 11 made purchases in large chain depart- ment stores. If the assumption is made that the independent department stores command a position of higher prestige than the large chain department stores, the hypothesis that the higher the social class the higher the probability that a girl's clothing will be purchased in high prestige stores is supported. According to results given in Table 6 there are both significant and non- significant differences between proportions of differentially mobile groups that shop for clothes in various kinds of stores; therefore the picture is by no means clear. Significant differences are seen between the proportions of (1) the downwardly mobile and the non-mobile and (2) the mobile and non-mobile that shop in large chain department 52 TABLE 4. --Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes receiving specified garments as gifts. Class Class Class Class Class I II 111 p I 11 Coats and Jackets Class I .19 . 34 Class II . 96 .65 Class II . 07 Class III . 50 . 56 Class III . 86 .05 Dresses ‘ Skirts I aValues reported are probabilities of 2 values occurring by chance if all pr0portions came from the same population. Detailed data shown in Tables 54 to 56, Appendix A. TABLE 5. --Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes that usually buy clothes in specified types of stores.a Class I Class II Class 111 Large Chain Department Stores Class I . 30 . 006 Class II . 006 . 03 Class III . 001 . 02 Independent Department Stores aValues reported are probabilities of-Z values occurring by chance if all proportions came from the same p0pulation (One-tailed test of significance). Detailed data shown in Tables 57 and 58, Appendix A. 53 stores. No significant differences appear between proportions of the groups that shop in independent department stores. However, there is a trend for the upwardly mobile to buy in the independent department stores more often than the downwardly mobile (see Table 59, Appendix A) and, according to Table 60, Appendix A, for the downwardly mobile to buy more often in chain department stores. In an attempt to assay the extent to which attitudes toward the types of stores in which clothing may be purchased had been internalized, the girls were asked in which stores they liked to shop best. ' An analysis of these answers is included in Table 7. There is a highly significant association between class and type of store, and the direction of relation- ship is such that the higher the social class the greater the preference for shopping in the independent department stores, which have been defined as high prestige stores. This evidence suggests, in this instance at least, that social class practices of making purchases in certain types of stores help establish sets of attitudes patterned along social class lines. The fact that there are no significant associations between career mobility and preferences for types of stores is consistent with the failure of clear-cut relationships between place of purchase and career mobility to emerge (Table 6, page 54). Without a sharp crystallization of shopping patterns along mobility lines, there is no real basis for an internalization of attitudes toward types of stores along mobility lines. PATTERNS OF DECISION MAKING RELATED TO CLOTHING Methods of Making Clothing Choices As shown in Table 8,no significant differences exist between pro- portions of classes that try on dresses before buying. However, it appears that there is a moderately significant association between class 54 TABLE 6. -~Summary of significances of differences between prOportions of three differentially mobile groupsa that usually buy clothes in specified types of stores.b Downwardly Non- Upwardly Mobile Mobile Mobile Large Chain Department Stores Downwardly mobile . 006 . 09 Non-mobile . 32 . 04 Upwardly mobile . 07 . 25 Independent Department Store 3 3'The mobility designations for these groups were based on career mobility. Values reported are probabilities of 2 values occurring by chance if all proportions came from the same population. Detailed data shown in Tables 59 and 60, Appendix A. TABLE 7. --Summary of Associations between selected social class variables and types of stores in which girls like to shop best. a _ _ _i m-m Independent Types of Stores variables x2 Probability Social class 12. 40 . 001+ Career mobility . 038 . 80+ Career mobility, Class I .. . 08b Career mobility, Class II . 047 . 80+ Career mobility, Class III . 0032 . 95+ a'Detailed data shown in tables 61 to 65, Appendix A. Fisher exact probability test. 55 TABLE 8. --Summary of significances of differences between proportions of three social classes that use specified ways of arriving at clothing choices. Class 1 Class II Class III Buy Dresses Without Tryig On Class I . 001 . 03 Class II . 20 . 02 Class III .42 . 25 , TrLon Dresses Before Bu‘yLng a'Values reported are probabilities of i values occurring by chance if all prOportions came from the same population (One-tailed test of significance). Detailed data shown in Tables 66 and 67, Appendix A. 56 and the practice of buying without trying on. Since the direction of association is for more lower than higher class girls to buy dresses without trying them on there is some support for the hypothesis that the higher the class the higher the probability that clothing will be tried on before buying. Functions of Clothing Considered in Decision Making In Table 9 are included the types of responses the total sample of girls made when asked to give reasons for making selections among actual dresses. When asked to give a sheer response to the dress itself, such as, which dress do you like best or least, a girl usually made responses couched in what have been classified as esthetic terms. Such factors as color, line, general design, or design detail were mentioned. When girls were asked to choose dresses for specific occasions, they were stimulated to have greater concern for the role- symbolic aspects of the clothing, such as, appropriateness for the particular occasions. Another type of role-symbolic answer which was elicited indicated interest in appropriateness for age. Utilitarian concern with general comfort of dresses, facility with which appearance might be maintained, or ease of care was not greatly evident except when girls chose dresses for travel out of town. Table 10 discloses no significant associations between social class and the types of functions that the girls emphasized in their reasons given for selections. It had been thought possible that anticipa— tory socialization of upwardly mobile girls might make them more sensitive to role-symbolic aspects of clothing, but no such associations are demonstrated even when class is held constant. rdtuc..l¢.iln a-I- Vane-ulnsQICu Int-sic: aunt-...l‘.’ Ito-u: tililfivlu‘ uni-Invsfvvcn >A§ ‘-.IzIJ-.i.lu’\ 1I~IuhuloN u is! v§lllwun Inn-v.1. ., ..K‘ .u.h\~'§llu.§ 57 o .2: 2: m .2 S a .2 2 atom on o .a 3 poor: 3» o 8 33> n .80 00.30092“ momma o .2: m2 9: S n .3 E. 4.3 mm m .o 3 :38 so :5 or: a MOM pouuowoum amoun— oé: 2: ox: S w.~ m 53 no of am Ended HON pouuomoum amoun— o.o2 2: of 2 we m moo 3 kg: 2 $36 uoH pouuowonm momma 0.02 we 0.: A: 0 .0 H 0.00 3. v.2 S 336 Hoonom #36on no“ pouuomoum mooufl 0.00H >3 m1: NH “v.0 0 0.00 m0 0.0M am Hoonom now pouuomoum mocha 0.00M 00“ «K m tn n m.0 0H m.mw 00 ammo." pox: among. 0.00.. 00H ~.0H : 0.0 H N.0H : 5.05 mm anon pox: omega. § Z «0 Z R. Z 8 Z .8 2 00.32 3.30M. .3230 £3.13 03035.3 ofloaumm wamom 03030 uSED uofiom 00 m m chum mcomuundh .oummuup macaw moowono wages .30 macaw?" msgmw Goa? 3.3m upmum flung/om >3 pommouum wcmsuofio mo mcoflocdhun .0 Hdmtdtfi 58 .000» kwumflndnoum «0090 nonmflhd +8. 3 .0 +3. om .0 003.0 30 m 8 :5? .0 00m 000H0w0um 000.3— +mo. no .0 +8. 3. 4 :38 mo :5 OF: 0 no“ 00uu0m0um 0009a +om . 3 .N +om . 00 .m 3.80 0 HOW 00.:0m0um 000nm +8. 00. +8. om .~ 50000 00m 00uu0m0um 000HQ +8.. 3. .... +8.. NM .m «:96 3008 38% 00w 00Hu0m0um 000HQ +0m . m0 .0 +0m . on .m #00000 no“ 00uu0m00m 000HQ +m0 . Nm00 . +0> . 3 . 000 . .... +0“. . N0 . +0m . 2 .H 0000.” 00x3 000mg +0m . 0H . +m0 . >000 . +0m . >0 . +0m . Am 4 +00 . mg . 0009 00x3 000nm— 023 r Nx 3:3 Nx 325 ...x 5:3 mm .923 "x ...mnounm {mo—00m nmnonm ...mnonnm udnounm HHH 00.20 m 00.20 H 00.30 0000.20 H2 00.30 0002 m50m 300902 H0930 330% 000000 00 m500000< 00fiadwnd> 00.30 Hmwoom 000000£QEH Gofiundh u 3 003.030», 00.20 H3000 0000300 000 00000u0 mnochw 0000030 magma no“ G0>fim 0:00.000 5 0000000350 903030 00 0:00—05“ c00300n 00030000000 m0 >095»; .... .0H Rwanda. 59 Maturity of Choice Table 11 contains a classification of girls' choices of dresses according to maturity level as defined by manufacturers. Choices were made between dresses sold as girls' styles and styles designated for the pre-teen age. An awareness of differences between the two groups of dresses did seem to exist since the pre-teen styles were, with one exception, consistently preferred by a greater per cent of the girls. Inspection of Table 12 reveals, however, that no associations between the independent variables of social class and career mobility and maturity of choice can be determined. TRAINING PRACTICES RELATED TO CLOTHING Independence of Choice in Clothing Selection In the investigation of the degree to which the various social classes trained for independence in clothing choice,a number of questions concerning the manner in which clothing was selected were used. Girls were asked how they usually went about choosing clothing each day, how they usually decided what to wear for a special occasion like a party, and how a number of articles of their clothing were selected in the retail store. The responses were classified as either independent or dependent, according to whether or not the girls had assistance from others. An examination of Tables 13 and 14 shows no trend for independence in choice of clothing to be associated with social class. Thus the hypothesis that lower class girls are less closely supervised and will make more independent choices in selecting clothing, whether at the time of purchase or in decisions of what to wear for certain occasions, is not substantiated. Examination of the same tables shows association between inde- pendence of choice and career mobility in one instance, that is, when 60 TABLE 11. --Maturity levels of choices of dresses by seventh grade girls. Maturity Levels Choice Being Girl's StLIe Pre -teen Style Totals Made N % N % N % Dress liked best 18 16. 7 90 83. 3 108 100. Dress liked least 71 65. 7 37 34. 3 108 100. Dress preferred for school 17 15. 9 90 84.1 107 100. Dress preferred for special school event 37 34. 3 71 65.7 108 100. Dress preferred for Sunday 58 53.7 50 46.3 108 100. Dress preferred for a party 37 34.6 70 65.4 107 100. Dress preferred for a trip out of town 37 34. 6 71 65.7 108 100. Dress preferred for a visit to a girl friend 39 38.6 62 61.4 101 100. 61 +o~ . 3... .N +om . mm .H 233w Him 6 o» in? m HOw pouuomonm mmouQ +05. . hm . +o> . om . G33 mo «do a“: a no“ bonuowoum mmouQ +2. mm .m +3. 35. 3.8m m NOm bonuomoum among +8. 2 .H +om. 2. .N 393m ~qu @920an among +3. S. +2 . 5. .m E?» 38.8 38% MOM ponuomoum mmoHQ +2. . ow . +o~ . «.0 .m Hoosom MOM wouuomoum among +ow . mmo . +Om . pa . +o~ . ow .H +mo . m¢ .m +om . ma .H «mama poxfl mmouQ +2. . who . +2. . owe . +oM . Z. . +2. . mm . +om . an .H anon pox: among 1323 ...x 1.323 ...x 3:3 Nx 3:3 Nx .333 ”N nanonnm nanonnm ...mnonnm ...movounm umnonnu HHH mmmmu HH mmflo H mmgO mommmHU Saw mmmHU mod: mamom 53302 nooudU Hmwoom 003:0 3 936.3004 moandfludxr mdeU Hagoom oowoau mo c3353?“ £03.35? mmmao 330m won—030m pad mommoup GM ooflogo mo tauwufiude cook/«on mcofldMUOmmd mo >ud§mnn .NH mqm<9 62 TABLE 13. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and independence of choice of clothing worn for certain occasions. a Independence of Choice of Clothing For Each Day For a Party Proba- Proba- XZ bility x7- bility Social class . 6 1 . 35+b 3. 88 . os+b 'Career mobility 6. 85 . 02+ . 30 . 80+ Career mobility, Class I 2.84 .05+ .73 .30+ Career mobility, Class II .031 .80+ . 10 .70+ Career mobility, Class 111 -- .01C .053 .80+ aDetailed data shown in Tables 68 to 77, Appendix A. One-tailed test of significance. c . . . Fisher exact probability test. TABLE 14. --Summary of associations between independence in choos- ing certain garments and selected social class variables. L Variables Independence of Social Class Career Mobility Choice of Type Proba- . Froba- of Garment x3 bilitya’ ‘ x2 bility Jackets -- -- . 40 . 80+ School dresses . 64 . 35+ 2. 64 . 20+ Dress-up dresses -- -- .76 .30+ Play clothes 1. 24 . 25+ . 63 . 70+ Sweaters 3. 7'6 . 05+ . 5 1 . 70+ Skirts 5. 09 . 025+ . 35 . 80+ Blouses 1. 10 . 25+ 1. 34 . 50+ Underclothes 3. 17 . 10+ 1. 94 . 30+ a . . . . One-tailed test of Sigmficance. 63 relationships with manner of choosing what to wear each day are tested. Since this one occurrence of association is far outweighed by a number of instances of no association, no real support for the hypothesis of relationship between independence of choice and career mobility is presented. Results shown in Table 15 indicate that girls are allowed more freedom of choice among certain garments than others. In the purchase of ready-to—wear clothing they have greater opportunity to make independent choices of items that are relatively inexpensive, such as, play clothes, than to make independent choices of more expensive items, such as, coats and dress-up dresses. No significant social class differences in preference for an independent or dependent mode of choice making are shown in Table 16. No associations with career mobility and preferred manner of choice making are demon- strated either. Permissiveness in Situations of Disagreement Responses to an Open-end question concerning what happened if mother and daughter disagreed on clothing choices were classified according to degree of permissiveness shown by the mother. Contrary to the hypothesis proposed, the data in Table 17 present no evidence for higher social class to be associated with greater permissiveness. No associations with career mobility are shown either. Training for Care of Clothing Since chi square tests of association between the three variables used as indicators of training for care of clothing showed no significant associations, it was assumed that these three items, the practices of washing clothes, ironing clothes, and picking up and putting away of clothes, were measuring different areas of training and that training in one area would not necessarily imply training in either of the others. 64 TABLE 15. --Independence of choices of selected garments by seventh grade girls. Type of Choices Garments Being Dependent Chosen Independent on Others Totals N % N % N T Coats 1 1.0 103 99.0 104 100.0 Jackets 14 13.6 89 86.4 103 100.0 School dresses 15 15.8 80 84.2 95 100.0 Dress-up dresses 5 5.0 95 95.0 100 100.0 Play clothes 44 41. 5 62 58. 5 106 100. 0 Sweaters 14 14.4 83 85.6 97 100.0 Skirts 15 15.5 82 84.5 97 100.0 Blouses 25 23.8 80 76. 2 105 100.0 Underclothes 20 18. 5 88 81. 5 108 100. 0 65 TABLE 16. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and preference for independent or dependent mode of choice making. a Preference for Independent or Dependent Independent Mode of Choice Making Variables x7- Probability Social class . 44 . 80+ Career mobility 4. 03 . 10+ a'Detailed data shown in Tables 78 and 79, Appendix A. TABLE 17. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and permissiveness in situations of disagreement. a m Independent Permissweness vanables xz Probability Social class 1. 89 . 35+b Career mobility 1. 54 . 30+ Career mobility, Class I . 36 . 50+ Career mobility, Class II 1. 39 . 20+ Career mobility, Class III . 058 . 80+ a'Detailed data shown in Tables 80 to 84, Appendix A. One-tailed test of significance. 66 On the basis of this implied independence, therefore, it was decided that the three variables should be examined individually (See Table 18). There was limited participation by girls in the activity of wash- ing clothing. In fact low frequencies in certain categories of response meant that relationships with social class could not be assessed. Associations with career mobility were evaluated, however; but no significant relationships emerged. A number of girls (31. 5 per cent) usually or always did their own ironing; but no associations of this practice with social class or career mobility are demonstrated. The one highly significant social class association shown is in the practice of picking up and putting away clothing. The direction of relationship is for higher class to be associated with greater participation in this practice. Whereas only 66. 7 per cent of Class III usually or always picked up and put away their own clothing, 88.1 per cent of Class I and 90. 0 per cent of Class 11 did. Since only one of the two training practices ultimately tested showed significant association with class, the hypothesis concerning association with social class can neither be accepted nor rejected. However, it is interesting to speculate on the reason for association in the one instance and not in the other. In the rationale for the hypothesized relationship between class and training for care given in Chapter I, it was suggested that pride in and care of property are values more prevalent in middle than lower class. Perhaps picking up and putting away of clothing reflect these values more than does training for ironing which may be based more practically on a division of labor within the household, which is in turn more related to such factors as, number of family members, economic need, occupation of or interests of the mother outside the home, than to social class. 67 TABLE 18. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and girls' clothing care practices. a. Care Practices Picking Up Independent Washing Ironing Clothing Variables Proba- Proba- Proba- x2 bility xz bility X’- bility Social class -- -- 3.99 .10+ 7.89 .01+ Career mobility 1. 48 . 30+ 1. 23 . 50+ .16 . 90+ Career mobility, Class I .21 .50+ .50 .30+ .34 .50+ Career mobility, b Class I -- . 07 . 009 . 90+ . 96 . 30+ Career mobility, Class III .18 .50+ .014 .90+ .014 .90+ a'Detailed data shown in Tables 85 to 99, Appendix A. Fisher exact probability test. 68 Awareness of Clothing Costs In an investigation of seventh grade girls' awareness of clothing costs, questions were used that required girls to recall costs of ready-to-wear coats, cotton skirts, and dress-up dresses included in their wardrobes. As indicated in Table 19, tests of significances of differences between proportions of the three social classes who knew the costs of one or more items show no significant relationships with social class. ATTITUDES TOWARD CLOTHING Clothing Deprivation Two questions were designed to test girls' feelings of clothing deprivation. They were asked, first, if they had ever felt their clothes were not right or wished they had not gone some place because their clothes were not right and, second, if, compared to other girls their age, they felt better dressed, about average, or less well dressed. The latter question had been found a discriminating indicator by Vener1 in his questionnaire used for high school age boys and girls; however, in the present study 100, or 92. 6 per cent, of the girls replied that they felt they were about average. The writer hypothesizes that the personal interview used in this study, as versus the questionnaire used in Vener's study, may have caused the girls to be less objective in self-evaluations. In a face-to-face situation with another person a girl perhaps felt embarrassed to admit to being either above or below average in appearance. From Table 20 it can be seen that, contrary to the hypothesis made, lower social class is not significantly associated with clothing deprivation as measured by the one item concerning clothing deprivation 1Arthur M. Vener, "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Social- Psychological Interpretation" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 1957). 69 TABLE 19. --Summary of significances of differences between pro- portions of three social classes that did not know the cost of one or more garments. a Class I Class 11 Class II . 56 Class III . 24 . 60 a'Values reported are probabilities of 2 values occurring by chance if all prOportions came from the same population. Detailed data shown in Table 100, Appendix A. TABLE 20. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and feelings of clothing deprivation.a’ Independent Clothing Deprivation Variables X2 Probability Social class . 90 . 25+b Career mobility 1. 95 . 30+ Career mobility, Class I . 10 . 70+ Career mobility, Class II 1. 63 . 20+ Career mobility, Class III . 14 . 70+ aDetailed data shown in Tables 101 to 105, Appendix A. One-tailed test of significance. 70 tested, that is, the question concerned with times that girls felt their clothing was not right. Although no associations between feelings of deprivation and class variables were determined, a look at Table 21 shows that some insights can be gained concerning the types of social situations in which girls experienced feelings of clothing deprivation. The times of greatest discomfort seemed to be, first, when the girls were with their peer groups within which they were perhaps anxious to be socially accepted, and, second, when they were at parties, situations of interaction which were perhaps not too well defined for them ahead of time. Clothiflg Awarene s s Answers to the following three questions were used as indicators of clothing awareness: 1. Do you think that girls of your age who dress very well are more or less likely to be popular than those who do not dress so well? 2. Do you think boys pay any attention to the kind of clothes girls your age wear? 3. When you are at a party with boys and girls your age, do you ever think much about your clothing when you are with them? When chi square tests showed no significant associations among the reaponses to the three questions, it was assumed that they were measuring different areas of clothing awareness and that responses to each question should be examined separately. Table 22, which summar- izes the data on clothing awareness, provides no corroborating evidence for the hypothesized associations between the variables of social class and career mobility and the extent to which girls think dressing well enhances popularity. Although no relationship was demonstrated between the extent to which girls think boys pay attention to girls' clothes and career 71 TABLE 21. --Types of occasions on which seventh grade girls have felt their clothes were not right. Types of Occasions Number Per Cent School 11 22.4 Parties, with other boys and girls 17 34. 8 Parties, with other girls 5 10. 2 Meetings, with other boys and girls 1 2. 0 Meetings, with other girls 1 2. 0 Visiting with friends of family 3 6. 1 Public place 7 14. 3 Other 4 8. 2 Totals 49 100. 0 TABLE 22. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and clothing awareness. a t — Indicators of Clothing Awareness Independent Girls' Boys Pay Thinking About Variables Popularity Attention Clothing Proba- Proba- Proba- xz bility xz bility xz bility Social class . 18 .45+b 4. 62 .02.5+b 4. 58 .15+b Career mobility 1. 33 . 50+ 1. 04 . 50+ 2. 65 . 50+ Career mobility, Class I . 39 .50+ .17 .50+ .050 .80+ Career mobility, Class II 1.41 .20+ .11 .70+ .22 .50+ Career mobility, Class III . 84 . 30+ .12 . 70+ . 0058 . 90+ aDetailed data shown in Tables 106 to 120, Appendix A. One-tailed test of significance. 72 mobility, there was a moderately significant relationship with social class. Only 67.7 per cent of Class 111 girls responded "yes" to this question while 88. 5 per cent of Class II and 84. 6 per cent of Class I said "yes. " Thus, although the relationship is not a clearly linear one, it does indicate that higher class is associated with greater aware- ness. No associations between the variables social class and career mobility and the degree to which girls think about clothing when they are at parties with other boys and girls are demonstrated. Since two out of the three items tested do not show association with social class, it cannot be said that the hypothesis that the higher the social class the greater degree of clothing awareness is supported. Although there is an indication that some patterning of awareness along class lines exists, the findings tend to corroborate Vener's finding of no association between clothing awareness and social class.2 SELF-OTHER CONCEPTS RELATED TO CLOTHING Personal Reference Models for Clothing Information on who stood as personal reference models for cloth- ing was obtained by asking girls the following question: "If you could dress like any one person you have known or heard of, who would it be?" Since requirements for running the chi square test could not be met, association between social class and reference models was not determined. However, association with career mobility was tested. As can be seen in Table 23, no significant relationships are demon- strated. ZIbid.. pp. 49-54. 73 A brief look at Table 24 will Show that, as in Vener's study, 3 peers were most often chosen as referents; 68.6 per cent of the girls indicated this preference. The 4. 6 per cent who identified with mass- media celebrities present a considerably smaller proportion than the approximately 20 per cent that Vener found. To be noted is the desire of 11. 1 per cent to dress like no one. At another time it would be interesting to probe in order to find out if girls giving this sort of re- sponse may not have a type of identification suggested by Havighurst and others.‘ Their study suggested that associated with the greatest maturity in adolescents would be an abstract sort of ego-ideal that could be a composite of several persons or an imaginary character. Less mature choices of ego-ideals would be family figures or glamorous adults . Ideal Clothing for Self According to Table 25, there is no association demonstrated between either social class or career mobility and the stress which the girls in the different classes place on the esthetic as versus the role-symbolic function of clothing when describing ideal dresses. Conformity to Peer Group Norms Two questions were used to measure the girls' interest in conform— ing to peer group norms for dress. They were asked both if there were some kinds of clothes they wanted like other girls were wearing and if there were some kinds of clothes they wanted different from what other girls were wearing. Results in Table 26 show that, in Spite of a 31bid., pp. 67-70. ‘Robert J. Havighurst, Myra Z. Robinson, and Mildred Dorr, "The Development of the Ideal Self in Childhood and Adolescence, " Journal of Educational Research, 40:248, December 1946. 74 TABLE 23. -«-Summary of associations between selected social class variables and reference models for clothing.a Reference Models for Clothing Independent Variables xz Probability Social class -- -- Career mobility . 084 . 70+ aLDetailed data shown in Tables 121 and 122, Appendix A. TABLE 24. --Personal reference models for clothing of seventh grade girls. Personal Reference Models Number Per Cent Peers 74 68 . 6 Mass media celebrities 5 4. 6 Members of family, other relatives 8 . 4 Community or world of work figures 1 . 9 No one 12 11. 1 Don't know 8 7. 4 Totals 108 100. 0 75 TABLE 25. --Summary of associations between selected social class variable 5 and functions stressed in describing ideal dress. a Functions Stre s sed in Independent Describing Ideal Dress Variables Xz Probability Social class 3. 06 . 20+ Career mobility l. 46 . 30+ Career mobility, Class I .016 .80+ Career mobility, Class II .33 .50+ Career mobility, Class III .18 . 50+ a'Detailed data shown in Tables 123 to 127, Appendix A. TABLE 26. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and desire for conformity or non-conformity to peer group norms for clothing. a Desire to Conform Desire to Differ to Peer Group from Peer Group Independent Norms Norms Variables Proba- Proba- xz bility xz bility Social class . 96 . 50+ 2. 80 . 20+ Career mobility . 97 . 50+ 2. 04 . 30+ Career mobility, Class I . 25 . 50+ .16 . 50+ Career mobility, Class II . 067 . 70+ .14 . 70+ Career mobility, b Class III . 47 . 30+ -- . 05 a'Detailed data in Tables 128 to 137, Appendix A. Fisher exact probability test. 76 significant association shown by differentially mobile Class 111 girls, no pattern of significant relationship obtained between the variables social class or career mobility and either the desire to conform or not to conform. Most Comfortable Clothes as Indicators of Self-Imagery ReSponses to a question which asked what sorts of clothes girls felt most comfortable in were examined to see what kinds of self-images were evoked. It was found that girls usually answered by naming either play clothes, or skirts with blouses or sweaters. As shown in Table 27, there is a trend toward significant association with social class but no such trend toward association with career mobility. Since Table 138, Appendix A, shows that the trend detected for social class is for Class I girls to select skirts and blouses or sweaters more often than Classes 11 and HI, the tentative pr0posal may be made that the higher Class I girls project different self-images when defining most comfortable clothes. However, since the relationship is not actually significant, no great confidence can be placed in this proposal. Concepts of Mothers' Clothing In an exploration of kinds of concepts girls might have of the clothing of their mothers, who would ordinarily stand as significant others in the family interaction systems, each girl was asked what she thought of her mother's interest in clothing. Answers were classified according to the degree of expressed approval of the mother's interest. Results given in Table 28 show a trend for association between social class and the tendency for girls to express strong approval of their mothers' interest in clothing, but no evidence of even a trend toward association with career mobility. According to Table 143, Appendix A, 77 TABLE 27. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and self-imagery revealed by designations of most comfort- able clothing. a De signations of Most Independent Comfortable Clothing Variables Xz Probability Social class 5. 29 . 05+ Career mobility . 22 . 50+ Career mobility, Class I . 009 . 90+ Career mobility, Class II 2. 98 . 05+ Career mobility, Class III . 054 . 80+ aDetailed data shown in Tables 138 to 142, Appendix A. TABLE 28. --Summary of associations between selected social class variables and degree of expressed approval of mother's interest in clothes. a Degree of Expressed Approval of Independent Mother's Interest in Clothes Variables xz Probability Social class 4. 76 . 05+ Career mobility 4. 55 . 10+ Career mobility, Class I . 58 . 30+ Career mobility, Class II . 010 . 90+ Career mobility, Class III . 25 . 70+ aDetailed data shown in Tables 143 to 147, Appendix A. 78 the relationship suggested for social classes is for Class I and II girls to express strong approval more often than Class III girls. Since this is only a trend, it is not intended that great confidence he placed in this sugge sted relationship. CHAPTER IV SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS In this study the investigator undertook to evaluate relationships between social class position and the clothing practices and orientations of girls at early adolescence. The hypotheses formulated were con- cerned with: (1) sources of clothing, (2) patterns of decision making related to clothing, (3) training practices related to clothing, (4) atti- tudes toward clothing, and (5) self-other concepts related to clothing. Although social class was the main independent variable considered, the closely related variables of career and generational mobility were handled in an exploratory way. An interview schedule containing both structured and open-end questions was used as an instrument for obtaining information suitable for testing the hypotheses formulated. One hundred and eight seventh grade girls, ages twelve and thirteen, in the city of Lansing, Michigan, comprised the sample. The indicators used in determining social class were: (1) occupational rankings made according to a Warner scale, and (2) educational rankings made according to an eight-point scale of educational level. Changes in occupational ranks, measured on a Warner scale, were used in determining career and generational mobility. In the testing of hypotheses no clearly significant relationships were demonstrated between career mobility and any of the variables tested, even when social class was held constant. A limited number of tests of generational mobility yielded the same results. It was also true that relatively few clear-cut associations between social class 79 80 and clothing-related variables were shown. A summary of the analysis of relationships with social class will follow. In the testing of hypotheses concerning sources of clothing, there were no significant relationships found between social class and any of the following variables: the practice of home sewing, the practice of borrowing clothing, the utilization of used clothing, and the use of clothing as gifts. There were, however, significant associations that obtained between class and places in which clothing was purchased. Girls apparently had internalized these differential patterns because their preferences for places of purchase were also patterned. When hypotheses relating to certain patterns of decision making were tested, there was a moderately significant association between class and the manner of making choices, that is, lower class girls bought dresses more often without trying them on. Functions of cloth- ing considered in the decision making process and maturity of choice were not significantly associated with social class. Findings from the phase of the study concerned with training practices provided no evidence of associations between social class and the following variables: independence of choice making, permissive- ness in situations of disagreement, and awareness of clothing costs. An analysis of data concerning training for care of clothing was inconclu- . ..,sive since there was equal evidence for association and no association. An examination of the total number of practices investigated showed that the weight of evidence was cast on the side of no relationships between Social class and training practices related to clothing. Such findings are not in keeping with interpretations of adolescent behavior 81 by Davis, 1 Hollingshead, z Maas, 3 and others; but are similar to those of researchers who have recently reported studies of child rearing practices in California,‘ and Eugene, Oregon.5 In these latter studies, concerned with early childhood, few real differences in socialization practices among social classes were found. Two types of clothing attitudes were explored, those related to feelings of clothing deprivation and those related to clothing awareness. No associations between social class and clothing deprivation were shown and two of the three indicators of clothing awareness were not significantly associated with class. Again the picture was predominantly one of no associations with class. Of various clothing related self-other concepts explored, descrip- tions of ideal clothing and desire for conformity to peer group norms in clothing behavior were not significantly associated with social class. lAllison Davis, "Socialization and Adolescent Personality, " Readings in Social Psychology, Guy E. Swanson, Theodore M. Newcomb and'Eugene L. Hartley, editors (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1952), pp. 520-31. zAugust B. Hollingshead, Elmtown's Youth: The Mpact of Social Classes on Adolescents (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1949). 3Henry S. Maas, "Some Social Class Differences in the Family Systems and Group Relations of Pre- and Early Adolescents, " Child Development, 22: 145-52, June 1951. ‘Martha 5. White, "Social Class, Child Rearing Practices, and Child Behavior, " American Sociological Review, 22:704-12, December 1957. 5Richard A. Littman, Richard C. A. Moore, and John Pierce- Jones, "Social Class Differences in Children Rearing: a Third Com- munity for Comparison with Chicago and Newton, " American Socio- logical Review, 22:694-704, December 1957. 82 Both self-imagery, revealed through identification of clothes girls felt most comfortable in, and concepts of mothers, expressed through degree of approval or disapproval of clothing, showed some trend for association with social class, but no definitive statements could be made. The results of this study indicated that social class and social mobility are not highly relevant variables in the socialization of adolescent girls for clothing related behavior. In other words, the findings supported a suggestion made by Vener6 that there needs to be a reconsideration of the importance of social class status in adolescent life. Social class patterning may not be so pervasive as once thought. Although several studies have given strong evidence of patterning of adult clothing behavior along social class lines, studies of adolescents so far have failed to yield the same sort of evidence. Also relevant to a discussion of the pervasiveness of social class patterns is a consideration of the unsettled position of researchers in child training practices at the present time. Some re-evaluation in this area is being called for since there is conflicting evidence as to whether differences in socialization are a function of social class. The theoretical position from which this study proceeded sug- gested that strong identification with peer groups might blur behavioral patterns structured along social class lines and further that some aSpects of behavior of adolescent girls might be patterned along social class lines while other aspects would be more in harmony with peer group norms. This identification with peer group norms may be at 6Arthur M. Vener, "Adolescent Orientations to Clothing: A Social-Psychological Interpretation" (unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 1957). 83 least a partial explanation for the failure of social class patterning of clothing behavior to emerge among adolescent girls, but it will require further studies to produce evidence to confirm or reject this hypothesis . LITERATURE CITED 84 LITERATURE CITED Barber, Bernard. Social Stratification. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1957. , and Lyle S. Lobel. "Fashion in Women's Clothes and the American Social System, " Social Forces, 31:124-31, December 1952. Barr, Estelle D. "A Psychological Analysis of Fashion Motivation, " Archives of Psychology, no. 171, 1934. Benson, Leonard G. "Family Social Status and Parental Authority Evaluations Among Adolescents, " Northwestern Social Science Quarterly, 36:46-54, June 1955. Bowerman, Charles E. , and John W. Kinch. 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"Experimental Measurement of Clothing as a Factor in Some Social Ratings of Selected American Men, " ArnericanSociolcEcal Review, 19:324-28, June 1954. Hurlock, Elizabeth B. "Motivations in Fashion, " Archives of Psychology, no. 111, 1929. Jacobi, John E. , and S. George Walters. "Social Status and Consumer Choice, " Social Forces, 36:209- 14, March 1958. Kohn, Melvin L. "Social Class and Parental Values, " American Journal of Sociology, 64:337-51, January 1959. Lenski, Gerhard E. "American Social Classes: Statistical Strata or Social Group?" American Journal of Sociology, 58:139-44, September 1952. Littman, Richard A. , Richard C. A. Moore, and John Pierce-Jones. "Social Class Differences in Child Rearing: a Third Community for Comparison with Chicago and Newton, " American Socio- logical Review, 22:694-704, December 1957. Maas, Henry S. "Some Social Class Differences in the Family Systems and Group Relations of Pre- and‘Early Adolescents, " Child'Development, 22:145-52, June 1951. 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APPENDIX A TABLES REFERRED TO BUT NOT INCLUDED IN TEXT 90 91 TABLE 29. --Association of responses to the question, "Does your mother make any clothes for you?" and social class. Social Class Responses to Question I II 111 Totals Yes 30 20 25 75 No 12 10 ll 33 Totals 42 30 36 108 ,xz=.19 Zd.f. .90.99 TABLE 31. --Association of responses to the question, "Does your mother make any clothes for you? " and career mobility for Class I. ——.—.____.__.—..—___-___._.-—___.__.____ __._____ _.__._.._ __.__ -_ ._.— __.——____. —___._———— -—-______________ _. __ ._____ ... ___ Carer Mo‘ilitya Re apons es to Que stion Down None Up Totals Yes 1 12 17 30 No -- 3 9 12 Totals 1 15 26 42 x‘=.57b 1d.f. .30101: a}: P< .001 APPENDIX C THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE 139 140 , I Final Schedule Department of Girl's Clothing Study Home Economics and Spring, 1955 Social Research Service ' Michigan State College I am from the departments of Home Economics and Sociology at Michigan State College. Some of us at Michigan State have a feeling that most girls your age are pretty much interested in clothes and we'd like to find out more about what you really think about them. For example we'd like to know what kinds of clothes you like to wear and what kinds you think are good ones to buy or make for girls your age. We will not talk to any one about what you say. First we need to make sure we are talking to the right person. 1. What is your name? 2. What is your address? 3. What is your grade in school? 4. What was your age at your last birthday? I think that's enough information about you for right now. Let's ' turn to some questions on clothes. First we would like to find out in general what kind of clothes you like best. Suppose we ask it this way: 5. How would you describe the dress that you think would look best on you? 141 6. What kinds of clothes do you most frequently wear: (Record only one answer for each occasion) (Check list for interviewer. * Do not read answers. Permit free response. do not elicit free response.) Suggest answers only if questions To Around House For Sunday or To Town or ‘School or at Play for Better Wear Shop ing Right During Right During Right During Right During Now the Now the Now the Now the Winter Winter Winter Winter Cotton dres s Silk, rayon or nylon dress Two-piece suit Jumper and blouse Shirt and blue jeans Skirt and sweater Skirt and blouse Shorts Others 7. Do you think that girls of your age who dress very well are more or less likely to be p0pu1ar than those who do not dress so well? More.............1 LeSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOZ Nodifference.........3 8. 10. 11. 12. 142 Sometimes girls want to have their clothes like the other girls are wearing and sometimes they want something different. Are there any particular kinds of clothes that you want to have like other girls are wearing? (If Yes) a. What clothes are these? b. Are there some other kinds of clothes that you want different from those the other girls are wearing? Yes.............1 No ........... (If yes) c. What are these? Do you think boys pay any attention to the kind of clothes girls your age wear? Yes.............1 No .............2 If you could dress like any one person that you have known or heard of, who would it be? a. Why do you choose this person (these persons)? In general, what kind of clothes do you feel most comfortable in? Have you ever felt your clothes weren't right, or wished you hadn't gone someplace because your clothes weren't right? Yes.............l No .............2 (If 1788) a. What sort of occasion was this? .(Probe for whether it was an occasion when she would be with just girls, boys and girls, or adults; also for whether the‘people were friends or strangers.) ‘ 13. 14. 15. ‘16. 17. 18. 143 How do you usually go about deciding what you will wear to school each day--Do you decide yourself, or how do you do it? (If the respondent does not tell whether or not the mother or someone else helps, probe for this.) a. How about a special occasion like a party? (If the respondent does not tell whether or not the mother or someone else helps, probe for this.) Compared to other girls of your age, do you usually feel you are: (Read list) Better dressed . . . . . About average . . . . . Less well dressed . . . DK........ .. . .0. .0. IFWNH Who are the girls you run around with? (Get free re5ponse first- -then probe for names if not already given) In general, what do you think about your mother's interest in clothes for herself? When you are at a party with boys and girls your age, do you ever think much about your clothing while you are with them? OftenOOOOOOOOOOOOI Sometimes........-2 Never............3 Does your mother make any clothes for you? Yes 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O No 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O NH (If Yea) a. What clothes do you have right now that she has made: Do you have any: (Read list) ' 19. 20. 21. 144 Coats........... Jackets.......... School dresses . . . . . . Dress-up dresses . . . . Play clothes . . . . . . . Sweaters.........6 Skirts...........7 Blouses..........8 Underwear. .......9 Other (Name). . . . . ..10 01pr»! Does anyone else make any clothes for you? Yes............1 No ............2 (If yeS) a. Who makes them? b. What clothes do you have right now that this person(s) has made for you? Do you have any: (Read list) Coats...........1 Sweaters.........6 Jackets..........2 Skirts..........7 Schooldresses......3 Blouses..........§3 Dress-up dresses . . . . 4 Underwear. . . . . . . . 9 Play clothes . . . . . . . 5 Other (Name). . . . . . .10 Are there any clothes that you prefer to have made at home rather than bought at the store? Yes............l No ............2 (If yes) a. Which do you prefer to have made for you? b.' Why do you prefer to have these clothes made at home? Does anybody give you new clothing for gifts at Christmas, on your birthday, or at some other time? Yes............1 No WH.2 (If Yea) a. Who usually gives you clothes as gifts? (If necessary, probe to see if they are relatives, girl friends, friends of the family, or some other persons.) b. What clothing do you have right now that was given to you new? 19. 20. 21. 144 Coats........... Jackets.......... School dresses . . . . . . Dress-up dresses . . . . Play clothes . . . . . . . Sweaters.........6 Skirts...........7 Blouses..........8 Underwear. .......9 Other (Name). . . . . ..10 UTIPUJNt—I Does anyone else make any clothes for you? Yes............1 No ............2 (IfyeS) a.‘ Who makes them? b. What clothes do you have right now that this person(s) has made for you? Do you have any: (Read list) Coats...........l Sweaters.........6 Jackets..........2 Skirts..........7 'Schooldresses......3 Blouses.... ......(B ’Dress-up dresses . . . . 4 Underwear. . . . . . . . 9 Play clothes . . . . . . . 5 Other (Name). . . . . . .10 Are there any clothes that you prefer to have made at home rather than bought at the store? Yes............1 No ...........2 (If yes) a. Which do you prefer to have made for you? b.“ Why do you prefer to have these clothes made at home? Does anybody give you new clothing for gifts at Christmas, on your birthday, or at some other time? Yes............l No ...........2 (If Yea) a.‘ Who usually gives you clothes as gifts? (If necessary, probe to see if they are relatives, girl friends, friends of the family, or some other persons.) b. What clothing do you have right now that was given to you new? 22. 23. 145 Do you have any clothes right now that someone gave you because she was through with them or had outgrown them? YeSOOOOOOOOOOOOI No ............2 (If yes} a. What kinds of clothes are these? b. Would you describe the person from whom the clothes came? c. Have you liked to wear the clothes? Yes 0 O O O O O O O O 0 O I 1 No C O O O O O O O O O O O z d. Why have you liked (or not liked) to wear them? Do you have any clothes right now that you wear very little or do not like to wear? Yes............1 No ...........2 (If yes) a. What kinds of clothes are these? b. Why don't you like to wear them? c. (If "b" does not secure ready-made, handmade, madeover, hand- me-down, or gift clothes, probe for these.) 146 24. When girls get new clothes from the store, they may pick them out by themselves; their mothers, father, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, or other people may pick them out for them, or these same people or others may help the girls pick out what they want. How are your (read from list below) usually picked out for you? (Record one method of selection for each clothing item.) P (Mother picks y You pick them You and Your Other them out out Mother pick (Explain) them out Coats ‘ Tackets School dresses Dress-up dresse Play clothes Sweaters ‘Ski rt 3 Blouses Underwear a. What way of getting your clothes do you like best? Having someone else pick them out for you? . . . . . . . . . Picking them out by yourself?. . . . . . . . . .- . .... . . . . Picking them out with the help of your mother? . . . . . . . Picking them out with the help of someone else? . . . . . . . 11>me If someone else, name who. b. If you and your mother disagree on what you should buy, what do you usually do about it? 25. In which stores do you usually buy your clothes? a. Why do you think you usually buy clothes in these stores ? b. In which store do you like to sh0p best? 147 26. You may have winter coats, cotton skirts, and dress-sup dresses that were bought for you at the store. Ifyou have awinter coat that was bought in the store, do you remember what was paid for it? Was it: Under $10 . . ...... . . $10-$20.......... $20~$30.......... $30-$40.......... $40-$50.........- Over$50.......... DK..............7 O‘WerNs—a a. If you have any cotton skirts that were bought in the store, do you remember about how much was paid for them? Werethey: Under$3........... $3-$5............ $5-$10........... $10-$15........... Over$15........... DK.............. O‘U'lr>UJNr—' b. If you have any dressuup dresses that were bought in the store, do you remember about how much was paid for them? Werethey:Under$3........... $3-$5............ $5-$10........... $10-$15........... $15-$25........... Over$25........... DK.............. ~10‘U11-FUJNH 27. Do you ever borrow clothing from someone else? Yes........ ..... . NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. NH (If YeS) a. From whom? 28. Different people shop for clothing in different ways. In which of the following ways do you buy dresses? Do you try on dresses in the store before buying?. . . . Do you buy dresses without trying them on? . . . . . . . Does your mother take dresses out on approval and haveyoutrythemonathome? . .. . . . . . . . . . 3 Doiyoubuybymailorder? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 NH 148 29. Do you wash any of your own clothing? (Read list) Always............. Usually............. Sometimes........... Never.............. hP-UJNH 30. Do you iron any of your own clothing? (Read list) Always............. Usually............. Sometimes........... Never.............. firi-a 31. Do you "pick up" and put away your clothing in your own room? Always............. Usually............. Sometimes........... Never.............. #UJNv—I This is a group of dresses which are ready-made and are of nearly the same price. When you are looking at them, imagine that they all will fit you and that you might buy any of them for yourself. (Dress numbers are 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29) 32. On the whole, which one of these dresses do you like best? a. Why? 33. On the whole, which one of these dresses do you like least? a. Why? 34. Now, which style of dress (the way it is made) do you like best among these? a. Why? 35. And which style of dress do you like least among these? a. Why? m 36. Which one of these colors or color combinations do you like best? a. Why? 37. Which one of these colors or color combinations do you like least? a. Why? 38. 39. 40.- 41. 42. 43. 44. 149 Which one of these would you rather have to wear to school? a. Why did you choose this dress? Which one of these would you rather have to wear to a Special school event--for example, a program? a. Why did you choose this dress? Which would you rather have to wear on Sunday? a. Why did you choose this dress? Which would you rather have to wear to a party? a. Why did you choose this dress? v Which would you rather have to wear on a trip out of town, like to Detroit? a. Why did you choose this dress? Which would you rather have to wear when you go to visit a girlfriend? (Like when staying overnight) a. Why did you choose this dress? Do you think that it would be hard to take care of any of these dresses? (If respondent asks what the material is, tell whether it is nylon, cotton, or rayon. Do not give any other clues.) Yes O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 No C O O O O O O O O O O O O 2 DK 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O 3 (If yea) a. Which one(s) b. Why? 150 45. If you were spending your own money, is there one of these dresses that you like somuch more than the others that you would be willing to pay more for it? Yes 0 0000000 O O O O O O O 1 No . O ...... O O O O O 0 DK 0 00000 C 0 O O 0 C C 3 (If yes) a. Which one? b. Why do you like it so much more? 46. Which one of these dresses do you think is the most expensive? Now we would like to have a little personal information about you. 47. (Interviewer will record her own evaluation of coloring in column 1, girls evaluation in column 11.) I II (Interviewer) (Girl) a. Whatcolorwouldyousay Red.. .. . . . . . 1... . . . your hair is? Blonde . . . . . . . Dark brown. . . . . 2 3 Inbetween .....4...... Other (Name). . . . 5 l 2 ......3 4 5 b.Yourskin? Light........1......1 Dark........2......2 Inbetween.....3......3 Other(Name)....4......4 c.Youreyes? Blue........1......1 Grey........2......2 Brown.......3......3 Other(Name)... 4......4 Mother.........l Father.........2 Both... .......3 Neither.........4 48. Are your mother and father living 49. With whom do you live most of the time? 151 50. Does your family set aside a certain amount of money that can be spent for clothing each month? (If yeS) YeSOOOOOOOOO No......... DKOOOOOOOOO a. Do you help plan how the money is to be spent? Yes......... NOOOOOOOOOO DKO-OOOOOOOO 51. Do you earn any of your own spending money? (If yes) a. How do you earn it? Yes 0 O O O O O O O O No C O O O O O O O O p—a b. Do you spend the money you earn any way you want to? c. Do you spend any of it for clothes? Yes O O O I O O I O O No C O O O O O O O 0 Yes 0 O O O O O O O O No C O O O O O O O 0 d. What sorts of clothes do you buy with the money you earn? 52. Do you belong to any clubs or organizations? (If yes) a. Which ones? Yes 0 O O O O O O O O No 0 O O O O O O O O NH 53. Do you take special lessons in: Music........ Dancing....... Swimming. . . . . . Skating ...... Other (Name). . . . (fin-#UJNH 54. 55. 56. 57. 152 Does your family have a television set? Yes O O O C O O O O O O 1 NO C O Q C O C C C O O 2 a. Which programs do you regularly watch during the week? b. What is your favorite program? c. Who is your favorite TV star? How often do you attend the movies? (Read list of alternatives) Once a week, or more often . . Once or twice amonth . . . . . Less than once amonth . . . . Almostnever. . . . . .. . . . uwat—I a. What kinds of movies do you like best? b. Who is your favorite movie star? What magazines do you like to read or look at? a. Are there any particular things that you enjoy more than others in these magazines ? What newspapers do you read or look at? a. Are there any particular things that you enjoy more than others in these newspapers ? 153 II Final Schedule Department of Home Economics Girl's Clothing Study and Social Research Service Spring 1955 Michigan State College To help us understand the material we are getting from our interview with your daughter, we would like to know a little bit more about her and her family. To get this additional information we are asking you to answer the following questions for us, either by filling in blanks or by circling the numbers of the answers that best fit. - Anything you tell us will be confidential. 1. Do you have children other than the daughter being interviewed? Yes I O O O O O O O O O I O O 1 NO . O O O O O C O C O C C O 2 a. What is the age and sex of each of your other children? Sex : Age 2. In which of these age groups do you belong? W25-29......'..... 30-34........... 35-39........... 40-44........... 45-49........... 50-55........... Over55........... «IO‘UIUFUONH 3. In which of these age groupings does your husband belong? 25-29........... 30-34........... 35-39........... 40-44........... 45-49..........., 50-55........... Over55........... «JO‘UlvhU-‘INH 154 4. What grade in school did you complete? 5. What grade in school did your husband complete? 1 6. What does your husband do for a living? (Write in the complete name of his occupation, not the company he works for.) a. For whom does he work? b. Can you describe what he‘makes or does on the job? (Describe as accurately as possible what he makes or does on the job. - For example: he supervises the work of others; he operates his own machine; he sells from door to door.) 7. What was the job of your husband when you and he were first married? a.‘ What was the job of your husband after you and he had been married five years ? 8.‘ What type of work did your father do when he was about 40-50 years old? a. What type of work did your husband's father do whenshe was about 40-50 years old? 9. Do you work outside your-home? Yes O O O O O O O O C O .' 1 No 0 O O O O O O O O C O‘ 2 (If yes) a. Is your work full..time or part .time? 1!" F‘flltimeoooooooo Parttime........ 2 b. What do you do? 10. In which of these brackets would you say your family's yearly income falls? Under $2, 000 A $7, 500 to 9. 999 $2, 000 to 4, 999 Over $10, 000 $5, 000 to 7, 499 113: c": 1‘ 14.4; EDUHI HICHI RIES 11111111111111