This article* reports on a sample survey in which Chileans rated the relative prestige of 16 occupations. The results are compared with the findings of similar studies in both more and less developed nations. Professor Carter is director of the Communications Research Division, University of Minnesota. Professor Sepúlveda is the director of the Institute of Sociology, University of Chile and currently lecturer in Sociology at the University of Minnesota.
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References
1.
National Opinion Research Center, National Opinion On Occupations: Final Report of a Special Opinion Survey Among Americans 14 and Over (University of Denver: National Opinion Research Center, March, 1947). For a preliminary report on parallel data gathered in 1963, see
2.
"Which Jobs Do Americans Rate High?", National Observer , May 18, 1964, 1. 2
3.
"National Comparisons of Occupational Prestige,"Amer. J. of Sociology, 61 ( 1956), 329-39.
4.
"Reinspecting a Structural Position on Occupational Prestige,"Amer. J. of Sociology, 67 (March, 1962), 561-65.
5.
"Some Patterns of Mass Media Use in Santiago de Chile,"Journalism Q., 41 (Spring, 1964), 216-24.
6.
Kingsley Davis , Human Society (1948).
7.
"The Meanings of Occupational Prestige: Reconsideration of the NORC Scale,"Amer. Sociological R., 28 ( April, 1963), 265-71.
8.
"Occupations and Social Stratification,"Amer. J. of Sociology, 45 (May, 1950), 533-43.
9.
"The Differential Prestige of Situs Categories,"Social Forces, 41 (May, 1963), 363-68.
10.
"The Basis of Occupational Prestige: The Case of Dentists,"Amer. Sociological R., 27 (April, 1962), 238-44
11.
Social Stratification ( 1957 ).
12.
Edward C. McDonagh, Sven Wermlund and John F. Crowther, "Relative Professional Status as Perceived by American and Swedish University Students,"Social Forces, 38 (October, 1959), 65-69.
13.
This measure was simply the number of times the respondent expressed an opinion instead of giving a "don't know" response in reply to a series of six questions in which he was asked to indicate his approval or disapproval of newspapers, political figures, and business enterprises.
14.
The index was based on nine variables: (1) education, ( 2 ) occupation, (3) income, (4) type of housing, (5, 6, 7) having/not having telephone, car, domestic servant(s), and (8, 9) interviewer's and respondent's ratings of respondent as to social class. All items were significantly correlated with total score ( tetrachoric r's ranged from .48 to .95; all but one were in excess of .80). Intercorrelations among the items ranged from .52 to .93, with a mean (by z-transformation) of .79.
15.
All significant levels reported for percentage comparisons are based on Chi-square corrected for continuity (d.f. = 1).
