Race,socioeconomic status,and age: The social context of American masculinity

This article seeks to delineate the social context of American masculine attainment and identity. The effects of race, socioeconomic status, and age on masculine role perceptions are analyzed for a sample of Black middle-class men. Comparative data from previous research on a sample of Black working-class men are discussed. Comparisons are also made to the findings of a Psychology Today survey sample consisting primarily of middle-class White men. Data are analyzed to exemplify the importance of studying masculine roles within a framework that takes into account the relative social location of American men. Future research needs for the study of masculine role identity from a social structural perspective are discussed.This article was presented as a paper at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development conference on gender role research, Bethesda, Maryland, September 30–October 2, 1981. The author is grateful to Gloria Wolford for her assistance in preparing the mailing of the questionnaires and for coding the returned instruments for computer analysis. The author is also grateful to Roger Libby of the University of Massachusetts for his comments on an earlier draft of this article.     

Subjective social status, objective socioeconomic status, and cardiovascular risk in women.

OBJECTIVE: Subjective perceptions of personal social status may relate to health beyond the effects of objective socioeconomic status (SES). The authors examined the relationship between subjective social status (SSS) and psychosocial, behavioral, and physical cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged women. DESIGN: Ninety-two women (90.2% White) completed ladder-based, pictorial self-report measures of SSS relative to others in their community and in the United States. Psychosocial measures of depression, anxiety, pessimism, stress, and social support and behavioral risk factors of fruit and vegetable consumption, leisure physical activity, and body-mass index were obtained. In addition, women underwent measurement of clinic blood pressure and assessment of daytime ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP; DBP) over 2 consecutive days. RESULTS: Community SSS was significantly inversely related to anxiety, pessimism, stress, and daytime ambulatory DBP after controlling for objective SES and U.S. SSS. Women with lower U.S. SSS showed less healthy dietary and exercise behaviors and, contrary to predictions, lower clinic and ambulatory DBP. CONCLUSION: This study provides additional evidence that perceptions of one's position in the social hierarchy could have important health implications beyond the impact of objective SES. Further, the cardiovascular risk implications of perceived community versus U.S. social status appear to be distinct.     

Materialism, status consumption, and consumer independence

Materialism influences many people. We focus on two aspects of this influence: reactions to prestige products and to the influence of others. A study of 187 U.S. student consumers shows that materialism is positively related to buying products that confer status. In contrast, materialism is negatively related to consumer independence, an enduring tendency to pay minimal attention to the prescribed norms of other consumers and to make product and brand decisions according to personal preferences. Consuming products for status is also negatively related to consumer independence. Moreover, the association between materialism and consumer independence is completely mediated by consuming for status. Materialism urges consumers to be status conscious so that they follow social norms in purchasing, but seeking status through goods is avoided by less materialistic, independent consumers. A second study (n = 258) also using student consumers confirmed these results.     

The relationship between field independence and sentence disambiguation ability

The relationship between field independence and ability to disambiguate sentences was ivestigated. Sixty-nine college students were administered the Components test of the Flanagan Aptitude Classification Tests as a measure of field independence. Sixty ambiguous sentences, consisting of 15 each of lexical, surface structure, underlying structure, and multiple ambiguity types, were used to assess ability to disambiguate sentences. Results revealed a moderate positive correlation between field independence and sentence disambiguation ability. This relationship suggests (1) that field independence is not a cognitive style limited only to perceptual restructuring processes and (2) that sentential disambiguation processes are not solely a function of linguistic competence.     

Relationship between peer status and health behaviors.

Over the past decade, univariate studies have identified peer-rated popularity/sociability as a correlate of individual health practices (e.g., alcohol and drug use, exercise habits). Yet, the relationship between multiple health habits and broader social competencies rarely has been systematically examined. Accordingly, using a multivariate approach, the present study investigated the relative influence of background characteristics (i.e., age, gender, race, family type, and socioeconomic status) and peer status on health-related behaviors (i.e., physical activity, eating habits, smoking, alcohol use, and stress-related behaviors) in 589 junior high school students (ages 11-13). In this sample, peer popularity provided no significant increment in the prediction of health habits over and above the effects explained by demographics. These results are consistent with current perspectives on health and interpersonal behaviors, and have important practical implications for the initiation and maintenance of healthful and risky practices in the natural environment.     

Gender, socioeconomic status, age, and jealousy: emotional responses to infidelity in a national sample

The authors used a representative national sample (N = 777) to test the evolutionary hypothesis that men would be more bothered by sexual infidelity and women by emotional infidelity, the Jealousy as a Specific Innate Module (JSIM) effect. Our alternative conceptualization of jealousy suggests that there are distinct emotional components of jealousy that did not evolve differently by gender. The authors looked for effects of age, socioeconomic status (SES), and type of measure (continuous or dichotomous) on jealousy. The authors did not find age or SES effects. Forced-choice items provided support for our alternative view; both genders showed more anger and blame over sexual infidelity but more hurt feelings over emotional infidelity. Continuous measures indicated more emotional response to sexual than emotional infidelity among both genders.     

Relationship of field dependence/independence to adaption-innovation in alcoholics

Using alcoholics as subjects, the present study attempted a replication of Kirton's 1978 study in which he demonstrated a relationship between his adaption-innovation theory and Witkin's concept of field dependence/independence. Correlations obtained in the present study paralleled those of Kirton. As a group, alcoholics tended to be field-dependent in orientation. Innovators were less field-dependent than adaptors and "average" individuals. It was suggested that the varied characteristics of alcoholics should be considered when planning therapeutic strategies.     

Political-economic values and the relationship between socioeconomic status and self-esteem

Values concerning the distribution of wealth are an important aspect of identity for many Americans, and such values may therefore influence how Americans experience their own socioeconomic status (SES). Based on this proposition, the present research examines political-economic values as a moderator of the relationship between SES and self-esteem. Results supported the hypothesis that there is a stronger relationship between SES and self-esteem among individuals who report relatively inegalitarian values than among individuals who report relatively egalitarian values. This result was replicated using both objective and subjective measures of SES. Implications of the present findings for the study of values and well-being, psychological conflict, and the influence of economic factors on self-esteem are discussed.     

Parental relationships,socioeconomic status,and sex-role expectations

The responses of university women to a scale composed of items reflective of traditional expectations for females are examined. Women who reject such stereotyped expectations had poor childhood relationships with their fathers, and the women who endorse the expectations had good paternal relationships. This is a class-specific pattern most characteristic of those of lower socioeconomic background. No similar effect was found when childhood relationships with mothers were considered. Implications of fathers' influence on daughters' sex-role orientations are considered.An earlier version of this article was presented as a paper at the meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association in Victoria, British Columbia, April 1975. The patience and ideas of an anonymous reviewer have considerably strengthened this revision. This research was partially supported by NSF Grant ISP-8011449.     

Achievement motivation and field independence

Abstract.— Previous studies on the relationship between achievement motivation and field independence appear to have concentrated on the hope of success motive and Embedded Figures Test measures of field independence. The present study relates measures of both hope of success and fear of failure to performance on the Rod and Frame Test. It was found that a group with high Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure and one with low Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure were more field dependent than a group with high Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure and one with low Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure. The results were interpreted in line with the Yerkes-Dodson law. High Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure was assumed to reflect a too high level of effort output or arousal, whereas low Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure was assumed to reflect a too low level of effort expenditure. According to a second interpretation, the field dependent performance of high/high and low/low groups was assumed to relate to a confused/uncertain self image.