A New Dimension of Status: I. Development of a Personality Scale

IT IS GENERALLY recognized among social psychologists that the position occupied by an individual in the social hierarchy is one of the most important variables determining his behavior. Thus, attitudes towards political and economic change,' and towards governmental regulations2 have been shown to be closely related to class identification. Child-rearing practices seem to follow class lines more closely than color lines,3 and the language development of children reveals a marked relationship to socio-economic status.4 School achievement correlates positively with socio-economic status.5 Personality factors have also been shown to covary with status. Maddy found children from professional families to be more dominant, extroverted, and emotionally stable, whereas children from semi-skilled families had more worries.6 The characteristic conflicts of middle class male children, and the neurotic outcomes towards which