Cacotopia

Reviews the book, People of Coal Town by Herman R. Lantz and J. S. McCrary (1958). One thesis of this volume is that the basic orientations of personality, as identified by the author, describe members of the community whether they are natives or immigrants, high or low in social status, though the modes of expressing these dispositions may vary. This conclusion is surprising since the organization of native and immigrant families is not only described as different but also far from uniform. Of the sample interviewed, approximately 70 percent of the immigrant families are described as "father-centered," whereas 60 percent of the native families were described as "mother-centered." In general, the methods employed and the form in which the results are presented make it impossible to assess the validity of the conclusions Since distributions are seldom reported, it becomes impossible to compare the findings of this study with others in the literature-a responsibility that is insufficiently met in this volume. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)