Ses Is Non Social Class

Will Barratt, Ph.D.

Indiana State University 

I went to a wonderful session at AERA 2013 on Improving the Measurement of Socioeconomic Status for the National Assessment of Educational Progress: Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Theoretical Foundation that explored the traditional socioeconomic condition (SES) measures of education, income, together with occupation, piece adding the interesting variable of census tract to reverberate the concepts of homophily together with location.  One of the presenters noted that these variables are non inward themselves meaningful, simply stand upwardly for something deeper.  For me social shape is the deeper reality measured past times education, income, trouble together with census tract. 

The Map together with the Territory

“The map is non the territory, the give-and-take is non the thing.” Alfred Korzybski 

“The description is non the described.” Jiddu Krishnamurti

“We say the map is unlike from the territory.” Gregory Bateson

We all know that Korzybski, Krishnamurti, together with Bateson are right, together with and thence nosotros merrily walk along the map, non the territory.  Because nosotros mensurate SES past times education, income, occupation, together with peradventure neighborhood nosotros tend to assume that social shape is income, education, occupation, together with peradventure neighborhood.  These variables are non social class, they are measures of social status.

A Little About Measurement

Some measures are direct, similar age, simply most measures are indirect; nosotros mensurate what tin sack last most easily measured, together with non everything tin sack last easily measured.  For example, tidings is measured most easily using complex standardized assessments of many facets that researchers believe are, or are related to, intelligence.  The interrogation remains opened upwardly equally to whether or non your might to adjust blocks into sure as shooting patterns inside a sure as shooting fourth dimension is related to intelligence, to a greater extent than or less component of intelligence, something related to intelligence, or something spurious.  The concept of multiple facets of tidings convey been mainstream since the showtime of the intellectual assessment movement, thence multiple intelligences is cypher new.  

The underlying declaration of who gets to define tidings moves us appropriately into cultural multifariousness together with bias inward measurement.  In defending the income bias inward standardized testing the Educational Testing Service noted that:

Relationships betwixt attempt scores together with other factors such equally educational background, gender, racial/ethnic background, parental education, together with household income are complex together with interdependent.  These factors practice non straight touching on attempt performance; rather, they are associated with educational experiences both on tests such equally the SAT together with inward schoolwork.  

2011 College-Bound Seniors Total Group Profile Report

What is social class?

If SES is non social shape together with thence what is social class?  From my perspective social shape is non education, income, or occupation, or fifty-fifty neighborhood, simply rather similar ETS I propose that social shape is what you lot practice with together with how you lot recall together with experience close your education, income, occupation, or fifty-fifty your neighborhood.  Like sex or ethnicity, social shape is a social identity, a collection of learned mental together with physical behaviors.  Social shape is non something you lot have, it is something you lot are.  You convey an education, an income, an occupation, together with fifty-fifty a neighborhood.  But are you lot education, income, occupation, or a neighborhood?  

We mensurate what is simplest to measure, similar arranging colored blocks into patterns, or education, income, occupation, together with neighborhood equally long equally they are related to the underlying affair nosotros desire to measure.  The measuring is of the map, non of the thing. 

Social shape is complex.  One agency to define shape is personal; social shape is for each of us an identity together with a culture.  It is far easier to mensurate education, income, together with instruction than it is to mensurate identity together with culture.  Not all upper-middle shape cultures are the same.  There are many ways to perform female, or male, or transgendered, at that spot are many ways to perform African American, or European-American, or Thai, or Han, or Hopi, together with at that spot are many ways to perform upper-middle class.  Measures for the functioning of sex must last appropriately sensitive to variations inward culture, region, ethnicity, together with social shape with other of import life infinite factors.  There is no hegemonic masculinity or femininity inward reality, the huge variability of masculinity together with femininity makes that an inappropriate idea.  Without a measure Definition of sex functioning it is impossible to mensurate sex inward whatever standardized way.  

Education, income, occupation, together with neighborhood, traditional measures of SES, are non social class, simply they are standardized ways to holler for a finger at it.  If I holler for at the Luna with my finger, the Luna is non my finger.  The map is non the territory together with nosotros take away to halt acting similar it is.  We take away to pay attending to the social identities together with cultures behind social class.  

The Barratt Simplified Mensurate Of Social Condition (Bsmss)

Will Barratt, Ph.D.

Indiana State University

June 14, 2012

This mensurate is built on the operate of Hollingshead (1957, 1975) who devised a simple mensurate of Social Status based on marital status, retired/employed condition (retired individuals used their concluding occupation) educational attainment, in addition to occupational prestige.  This is a mensurate of social status, which is a proxy for socio-economic status.  This is non a mensurate of social class, which is best seen equally a cultural identity.  An individual’s or their parents’ educational attainment in addition to occupational prestige tin sack alter over their life. Social class, particularly social shape of root identity, stays amongst each mortal throughout their life similar to sex identity in addition to ethnic identity.

Two of import changes convey been made to the Hollingshead Four Factor mensurate of social condition equally it was transformed into the BSMSS.  First, the listing of occupations has been updated based on the operate of Davis, Smith, Hodge, Hakao, in addition to Treas (1991) who calculated occupational prestige ratings from the 1989 full general social survey.  Hollingshead originally had ix occupational groups, hence the 1989 information was divided into ix groups.  To prepare the dividing lines betwixt the ix groups the distribution of the "Prestige Score" was examined closely.  Scores ranged from 86 for Physician to 17 for Miscellaneous Food Preparation Occupations, however, below Physician at that spot was a gap of 11 points until the side yesteryear side line of Lawyer, in addition to xxx occupations ranked equally a 74.  Clearly the "Prestige Score" would non lend itself to a readily apparent laid of ix divisions.

It was decided to usage a vi or seven betoken spread for each of the ix divisions, using judgments for the dividing line based on the fall-off, or scree, of the plotted scores.  Once the ix divisions had been made raters were asked to position typical, or common, occupations from within each grouping to usage equally the descriptors inwards the instrument.

The 2nd alter was to recognize the generational shift inwards social status. The BSMSS accounts for an individual's parent's educational attainment in addition to occupational prestige in addition to combines that amongst the individual's ain family's educational attainment in addition to occupational prestige.  An arbitrary weighting was given of 2:1 for Individual's household unit of measurement scores to parent's household unit of measurement scores.  Social shape mobility, inwards the US, is a fact of life.  As amongst all identities increment is an aggregating process, hence nosotros all deport identities from our household unit of measurement of root into our attained identity of the moment.  The alternative of a 2:1 weighting recognized that the individual's electrical flow identity is the most important.

Hollingshead's master conceptualization of educational attainment has been maintained faithfully, equally has his weighting of educational attainment to occupational prestige of 3:5.

The BSMSS does non attain a mensurate of SES inwards whatever absolute sense.  A give-and-take of the larger issues of SES is non the betoken here; suffice it to say that no classic Definition of SES, or fifty-fifty the larger number of social class, exists.  The score that results from this mensurate is ordinal only. It is sufficient for regression analysis or for creating social condition groups based on the information collected.  The BSMSS is non designed to position whatever private or grouping equally belonging to whatever item social class, or socio-economic status, or social status.

Note delight that assumptions nigh a mother’s or father’s contribution to an individual’s social shape are Hollingshead’s. Stay-at-home mothers are non included inwards this calculation fifty-fifty though nosotros know that mothers are an of import influence on children.

Psychometric properties: Reliability is non an appropriate enquiry to evaluate the BSMSS because this is non a scale.  Validity is appropriate equally a enquiry in addition to equally amongst all demographic questions the researcher must determine if the enquiry does inwards fact reverberate the enquiry existence asked.  Essentially the BSMSS provides a demographic enquiry to aid frame an agreement of the private participants inwards a study. 

For permission to usage the BSMSS or for a listing of articles in addition to dissertations that convey used the BSMSS delight contact the writer at will dot barratt at indstate dot edu.  This fabric had originally endure posted on the author's campus website in addition to has directly been moved hither to inwards guild to adjust to emerging technology in addition to server space.

EDIT - SES is non social class

References

Davis, J., Smith, T., Hodge, R., Nakao, K., & Treas, J. (1991). Occupational prestige ratings from the 1989 full general social survey. Ann Arbor MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political in addition to Social Research.

Hollingshead, August B. (1957). Two factor index of social position. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

   

This fabric is not available for usage without permission from the author.  Permission volition endure freely given for inquiry in addition to at that spot is a terms for commercial/business use.  Email volition dot barratt at indstate dot edu amongst a description of your written report in addition to assurances that you lot convey appropriate approvals for your research.  

The Barratt Simplified Measure of Social Status (BSMSS)

Will Barratt, Ph.D.

Circle the appropriate number for your Mother’s, your Father’s, your Spouse / Partner's, in addition to your bird of schoolhouse completed in addition to occupation. If you lot grew upward inwards a unmarried nurture home, circle alone the score from your i parent. If you lot are neither married nor partnered circle alone your score. If you lot are a total fourth dimension pupil circle alone the scores for your parents.

Level of School Completed	Mother	Father	Spouse	You
Less than 7th score	3	3	3	3
Junior high / Middle schoolhouse (9th grade)	6	6	6	6
Partial high schoolhouse (10th or 11th grade)	9	9	9	9
High schoolhouse graduate	12	12	12	12
Partial college (at to the lowest degree i year)	15	15	15	15
College education	18	18	18	18
Graduate score	21	21	21	21

Circle the appropriate number for your Mother’s, your Father’s , your Spouse / Partner's, in addition to your occupation. If you lot grew upward inwards a unmarried nurture home, usage alone the score from your parent. If you lot are non married or partnered circle alone your score. If you lot are silent a full-time pupil alone circle the scores for your parents. If you lot are retired usage your most recent occupation.

Occupation	Mother	Father	Spouse	You
Day laborer, janitor, business solid cleaner, farm worker, nutrient counter sales, nutrient training worker, busboy.	5	5	5	5
Garbage collector, short-order cook, cab driver, shoe sales, assembly line workers, masons, baggage porter.	10	10	10	10
Painter, skilled structure trade, sales clerk, truck driver, cook, sales counter or full general purpose clerk.	15	15	15	15
Automobile mechanic, typist, locksmith, farmer, carpenter, receptionist, structure laborer, hairdresser.	20	20	20	20
Machinist, musician, bookkeeper, secretary, insurance sales, cabinet maker, personnel specialist, welder.	25	25	25	25
Supervisor, librarian, aircraft mechanic, creative mortal in addition to artisan, electrician, administrator, state of war machine enlisted personnel, buyer.	30	30	30	30
Nurse, skilled technician, medical technician, counselor, manager, police describe in addition to burn downwardly personnel, fiscal manager, physical, occupational, phonation communication therapist.	35	35	35	35
Mechanical, nuclear, in addition to electrical engineer,  educational administrator, veterinarian, state of war machine officer, elementary, high schoolhouse in addition to special didactics teacher,	40	40	40	40
Physician, attorney, professor, chemic in addition to aerospace engineer, judge, CEO, senior manager, world official, psychologist, pharmacist, accountant.	45	45	45	45

Level of School Completed Scoring

1	If you lot grew upward amongst both parents add together Mother + Father in addition to carve upward yesteryear 2. If you lot grew upward amongst i nurture larn into that score to the right.
2	If you lot are married or partnered add together Spouse + You in addition to carve upward yesteryear 2. If you lot alive lonely larn into Your score to the right. If you lot are a full-time pupil larn out this blank.
3	Double your score from line 2. If you lot are a full-time pupil larn out this blank.
4	If you lot are a full-time pupil larn into alone your parents’ score. Add line 1 in addition to line 3 in addition to hence carve upward yesteryear 3 (three) for a TOTAL EDUCATION Score should endure betwixt 3 in addition to 21

Occupation Scoring

1	If you lot grew upward amongst both parents add together Mother + Father in addition to carve upward yesteryear 2. If you lot grew upward amongst i nurture larn into that score to the right.
2	If you lot are married or partnered add together Spouse + You in addition to carve upward yesteryear 2. If you lot alive lonely larn into Your score to the right. If you lot are a full-time pupil larn out this blank.
3	Double your score from line 2. If you lot are a full-time pupil larn out this blank.
4	If you lot are a full-time pupil larn into alone your parents’ score. Add line 1 in addition to line 3 in addition to hence carve upward yesteryear 3 (three) for TOTAL OCCUPATION Score should endure betwixt five in addition to 45

TOTAL Score:

Add TOTAL EDUCATION + TOTAL OCCUPATION: Score should endure betwixt 8 in addition to 66

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Author contact - volition dot barratt at indstate dot edu