Value Preferences Associated with Social Class, Sex, and Race

Preferences for 92 values were measured in ten groups of Ss in two separate and geographically distinct settings in the United States. Groups consisted of black and white males and females of lower-and middle-class status. Factor analysis showed five shared value composites: (1) the good life, (2) pleasant working companions, (3) balance and adjustment, (4) artistic creativity, and (5) religiousness. Class differentiated groups more than race or sex on composites 1-4. Middle-class groups showed lower preference for the first two and higher for the third value composite, as compared with lower-class groups. Black groups showed higher preference than whites for the fifth. Discriminant analysis showed the greatest differentiation of groups when groups are combined on the basis of class.