Evidence for a Social Psychological View of the Status Attainment Process: Four Studies Compared

Data from a fifteen-year panel study of males, age 17 in 1957 (N = 442) and age 32 in 1972 (N = 340), are adduced to examine a social psychological theory of the status attainment process. Estimates are compared with those based on conceptually similar though operationally nonidentical structural equation models reported in previous longitudinal research. The comparison generally provides strong evidence in support of the social psychological explanation. Research implications of the convergences and divergences of findings across studies are discussed as are the data requirements for more adequately specifying social psychological models of the status attainment process.