SUBJECTIVE SOCIAL CLASS IDENTIFICATION AND OBJECTIVE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS

This study was concerned with investigating the weak relationship between objective measures of socio-economic status and self-perceived social class status, measured by the subjective class identification question. Empirical tests were attempted of some of the factors frequently mentioned in the social class literature, but previously untested. Survey research data trom both Canada and the United States were used here. Factors such as methodological considerations, ignor-ance of class, or egalitarian ideology did not appear to account for the incongruences between subjective and objective class. But evidence was found that ego-involvement, or the difficulty people have in viewing themselves objectively, is an important factor in explaining this problem. It was hypothesized that minority status would tend, among religious, racial and ethnic groups,:to displace the Bocio-economic correlates ot class identification. This did not occur uniformly. It was suggested that the use ot objec-tive socio-economic criteria tor class identification is a i11 /value shared most strongly by Jews and white Protestants, and less by Catholics and black Protestants. In a longitudinal analysis, support was found for the hypothesis that the relationship between subjective and objective class becomes stronger during economic depression. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to gratefully acknowledge the helpful and conscientious guidance supplied by my supervisor, Peter C. Pineo. Thanks are due also to the other members of my thesis committee, Roy Hornosty and Charles Johnston. For help with various aspects of the data processing, I would like to acknowledge the aid of Mrs. Lillian Giavedoni