An Empirical Study of Social Class Awareness

Abstract

Q UESTIONS regarding the nature, extent, and roots of social class awareness or consciousness in the United 'States have been debatable issues in the field ,of social stratification. Some studies have simply ignored the subjective aspects of class affiliation by treating classes as statistical aggregates,' and others have tried to adduce reasons as to .why the development of class awareness might be expected to be restricted.2 On the other hand, many surveys have shown that attitudes on numerous potiticat and economic questions are ,closely related to socio-economic factors,3 and recently Richard Centers has tried explicitly to demonstrate the existence of class conscious aggregates.4 The various contentions concerning social class awareness seem marred by theoretical and methodological biases and a lack of factual information. Researchers who provide no commentary on class awareness usually have employed conceptual schemes and research instruments which preclude the compilation of facts concerning attitudes, allegiances, and aspirations.5 Others who have stressed the significance of such awareness have been taken to task for their use of untested assumptions, and their use of a forced-answer technique of questioning which predetermines the classes identified.6 In the opinion of the present writer, little can be said with certainty as to the nature and implications of class awareness in the United States. Much data seem to indicate an important subjective aspect of class or status; but the extent and significance of this subjective content is mostly unknown. In view of this dilemma, the present study seeks to delineate the social class awareness7 of a southern city by (1) describing the variety and extent of perceptions of social class existing in the white adult population, and (2) relating differences in these perceptions to the socio-economic levels of that population.