Social Class and Success Goals

An Examination of Relative and Absolute Aspirations

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2276285
AutoresRobert Agnew (Emory University, autor de correspondencia), Robert S Agnew (Emory University)
Año1983
Volumen24
Número3
Páginas435-452
Fecha de publicación1983-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociological Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0253 • E-ISSN: 1533-8525
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1533-8525.1983.tb00712.x
OpenAlexW2063125734
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas33

Aspirations may be measured in absolute terms, by asking individuals how much of a given goal they desire, or in relative terms, by asking individuals how much they desire a given goal relative to other goals. Prior studies on the relationship between social class and success goals have always employed either relative or absolute measures alone, with the absolute measures focusing on desire for education, occupational prestige, or income and the relative measures usually focusing on such goals as job security, advancement, and importance. This paper argues that a focus on absolute or relative aspirations alone can produce a misleading image of the relationship between social class and success goals, and it remedies the above neglect by examining the absolute and relative aspirations of different social classes for the same, set of goals. Using a sample of males from Detroit and Baltimore, it was found that the lower class places more emphasis on economic security, while the upper class places more emphasis on self-actualization goals like job advancement and importance. However, when absolute aspirations were examined, it was found that lower-class people have a strong desire for self-actualization and that middle-class people do not have a strong desire for security. These findings provide a more complete picture of the relationship between social class and success goals, and they are relevant to such topics as Rodman's “lower-class value stretch.” social mobility, anomie theories of deviance, and explanations of social movements based on relative deprivation

Absolute (philosophy) · Anomie · Class (philosophy) · Epistemology · Middle class · Neglect · Political science · Politics · Relative deprivation · Social class · Social mobility · Social science · Sociology · Upper class · Working class · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Cultural Differences and Values · Law · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology