the subjective meaning of social class identification in the united states
DESCRIPTION
This paper assesses the significance and meaning to Americans of five common social class terms: poor, workingclass, middle class, upper middle class, and upper class. After respondents in a national survey had been asked with which of these five classes they identified, they were asked how they would assign various occupations to the classes and whatcriteria they used to define membership in their own class. Most respondents were able to assign a variety of occupations to social classes with little or no hesitation, and there was high agreement about the class location of occupations. The prevailing class assignments of those occupations reflect hierarchical socioeconomic characteristics (such as income, job authority, education, and skill) rather than a qualitative blue-collar/white-collar distinction. Finally, the criteria thatrespondents selected as important in defining the social class with which they identify suggest that class is at least as much a social as an economic phenomenon in the United States.