Date of Award
4-1991
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Dr. Stanley S. Robin
Second Advisor
Dr. Jim Petersen
Third Advisor
Dr. Robert Wait
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
This thesis replicates and extends Kohn and associates' (Kohn, 1969; Kohn et al, 1986) research on the differing value orientations of the middle and working classes, self direction and conformity to authority, respectively. Using the findings that these values are reflected in child socialization, investigation was extended to those socially mobile from the working to middle class. Since parental resocialization of the mobile occurs over time, it is hypothesized that eldest children of the mobile will be socialized to working class values and successive children increasingly to middle class values. Examination of this process also informs about the class maintenance of the children of the mobile.
Questionnaire and telephone interviews were used to gather data from a sample (N = 425) of WMU students and their families. Variables were measured by variants of Kohn's instruments. Data failed to support Kohn's original conclusions. Descriptive differences among groups were found to support the general thesis and suggest further avenues of research.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Eric O., "Value-Orientations, Socialization and Social Mobility: A Replication and Conceptual Extension of Kohn" (1991). Masters Theses. 996.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/996