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Cultural Comparisons of Boys' Occupational Aspirations
Author(s) -
LAMBERT WALLACE E.,
KLINEBERG OTTO
Publication year - 1964
Publication title -
british journal of social and clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0007-1293
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00405.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , social class , cultural values , gender studies , sociology , political science , law
The occupational aspirations of samples of 6‐, 10‐ and 14‐year‐old boys from eleven cultural settings were compared. Certain aspirations were popularly mentioned in most cultures represented although several exceptions to this general trend were noted. Each boy's aspirations was compared to his father's actual occupation, and ‘filial‐aspiration’ indices were calculated, reflecting a tendency to aspire below, above or at the same social‐class level as that represented by the father's occupation. Reliable differences in the distribution of these indices were noted for culture and age variations. Filial‐aspiration indices were found to be significantly correlated with an independent measure of cultural attitudes toward achievement. The results are interpreted as support for the hypothesis that cultures vary in the freedom given children to modify established levels of the family's social standing and that filial‐aspiration indices reflect these cultural differences.