Janitors Versus Tenants: A Status-Income Dilemma

Abstract

The apartment-house janitor and a large group of his tenants are each in one to two possible situations of status-income dilemma. The middle-class tenants, whose incomes are below the janitor's, feel embittered toward him because his income permits him to obtain the costly status symbols they desire. The janitor resents being treated by them as their social inferior. He cites his substantial income his professional behavior and attitudes, and his honorable self-conceptions as the bases of his unrecognized claim to middle-class status. However, the persistency of his lowly reputation and the necessity to perform dirty work for the tenants block his upward mobility.