SOCIAL CLASS AND OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATION: A COMPARISON OF ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE MEASUREMENT.

Previous investigations on the subject of social classes have dealt largely with occupational aspiration in absolute terms; that is, a monolithic definition of occupational success has been imposed upon the occupational hierarchy, and the aspirations of lower-class people have been compared with those of upper-class people. Almost without exception, the absolute occupational aspirations of the upper classes have been found to be "higher" in the economic structure than those of the lower class. Because the lower classes are less inclined to aspire to professional and managerial occupations, such findings have supported the idea that they do not desire to "get ahead." But there is reason to believe that relative positions should be taken into account, that is, some attention should be paid to the class level from which the individual begins in deciding whether or not he desires to get ahead. The present paper is devoted to further study on this matter. It is based on the responses of male high school seniors to a questionnaire dealing with their occupational plans and aspirations.