people differently than someone in the lower-middle
class would label them. Although definitions may dif-
fer, a generality in American class structure is the
criteria required to gain the acceptance of a particular
class. The process begins with money, which influ-
ences behavior and material goods, which in turn in-
fluences participation with the group, which finally
leads to acceptance by the social class. This last aspect
of acceptance is needed for an individual or family to
‘‘belong’’ to a certain social class.
Measurement
When measuring social class, which is often used
simultaneously with socioeconomic status, the charac-
teristics of the male father figure are most often used
to represent the status of the children. This approach
seems logical when assessing children from two-
parent, intact families. The father figure approach
may not always be an accurate portrayal of most fami-
lies in society. With a high rate of divorced, steppar-
ent, and single-parent, often female, families, looking
at the father’s income not only may be inaccurate but
may sometimes be impossible. Therefore, when mea-
suring the socioeconomic status of children it may be
best to examine the characteristics of the person who
heads the family whether that person is a male or a
female. Since social class is about more than just
money, researchers may want to consider other fea-
tures besides the basic financial feature. Nonmaterial
resources and social environment are factors that in-
fluence social class as well.
Income is the most recognized form of measuring
social class or socioeconomic status, but it may not al-
ways be the best indicator. Children often do not
know how much their parents make and adults are
sometimes hesitant to answer. Some people take the
‘‘income question’’ very personally because of the
stigma that often accompanies level of income. Non-
material resources also factor in determining class.
This category contains information about education,
including the highest degree attained and the highest
grade in school completed. It is important to know
the educational background of the parents when chil-
dren are being studied because it helps provide in-
sight into the kind of educational support the
children receive at home, such as encouragement and
help on homework. Social environment is the third
suggested contributor for measuring social class or so-
cioeconomic status. This refers to the environment
around children, especially that of family structure.
Poverty is also associated with social class. The
U.S. Bureau of the Census publishes yearly reports on
the amount of income that constitutes the poverty
threshold. In 2000 the poverty threshold for a family
of four was $17,761. Along with poverty information,
it is also helpful to know the occupation of the par-
ents. Information regarding occupational prestige
scores is available from the Census Bureau and the
U.S. Department of Labor.Effects
The effects of social class can be felt anywhere. Al-
most every aspect of society is influenced in some
manner by social class. The magazines one reads, the
television shows one watches, and the clothes a person
buys affect social class. School, work, religious, and
home lives are also linked to the influence of social
classes. Schools and the workplace are greatly influ-
enced by social class. The look of employment is
changing because workers can no longer expect to
work their way up through a company. Many compa-
nies look outside of the company for people with the
right educational background instead of hiring from
within. This greatly limits the potential for advance-
ment of workers who lack formal education. For peo-
ple to move up in the social hierarchy, they must
obtain higher education. Instead of spending years at
a lower level position, people are spending more time
in school and moving directly into management.
Thus the change in the workplace influences the edu-
cational system.
Social class also plays a part in families, especially
in the development of children. Youth are often
taught to fit in with their social class, thus developing
a personality that correlates with social status. Educa-
tional systems can help or hinder the prospect of so-
cial mobility. Although many teachers work hard to
ensure against favoritism, this is not always possible,
partly because of the stigma attached to social class.
Teachers may give special opportunities to certain
groups. They may also wrongly anticipate the knowl-
edge or potential of specific classes of children. For
example, children from high-class families are some-
times viewed as being more intelligent than those
from lower social classes. Sometimes more attention
will be invested in the children who have more knowl-
edge attributed to them. The idea that upper-class
children are smarter has been passed down through-
out the ages, but there is no conclusive evidence to
back it up. In fact, lower-class children do not have
lower IQ scores than upper-class children as previous-
ly suspected. This means there must be a glitch in the
system somewhere because a greater number more of
high social class children are going on to college and
getting jobs with advancement potential while lower-
class children are in positions without hope of ad-
vancement. The lack of money in lower social classes
may contribute to the problem, but the presence of
social class in the educational system may be contribu-SOCIAL CLASS 373