The Symbolic Evocation of Occupational Prestige. Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers.

The special language of particular occupations, the role playing of those who practice them, and the terms in which the communications media and the general public refer to them evoke problematic cognitions about occupational functions and practitioner traits that determine an occupation's high or low social standing. Perceptions of occupations rest heavily on stereotypes that are often class based and occur in sets, each stereotypic feature connoting others in the set as well. Race, ethnicity, sex, class subculture, level of attractiveness and kind of personality are common components of such sets. Linguistic evocations encourage a focus upon the special procedures of high prestige occupations rather than on the achievement of demonstrable results, which are expected from low prestige occupations. The various levels of the occupational hierarchy systematically reinforce each other's high or low standing and also systematically legitimize inequalities in the allocation of values in society as a whole. (Author/TA)