Social Mobility and Interpersonal Relations

Both upward & downward mobility pose special dilemmas for the mobile individuals. An investigation is made of several implications of the hypothesis that such dilemmas faced by the mobile inhibit social integration & are responsible for many aspects of their attitudes & conduct. When the occup'al hierarchy is divided into two strata, 4 categories can be distinguished: (a) two of persons who remained in stratum of origin (stationary highs & lows); & (b) persons who have experienced mobility (upwardly & downwardly). Empirical data on the ways of thinking & acting of people in these four categories test 3 implications of the hypothesis. (1) If the mobile person is neither well integrated among those of his new position nor those of his old, his behavior is expected to deviate from that prevalent in both groups. Data on restriction of family size & political behavior support this expectation. (2) The lesser social integration of the mobile is expected to be manifest in stronger feelings of insecurity. It is noted that mobile individuals, in both directions, are more preoccupied with their health & express more minority-group hostility than the nonmobile. (3) The mobile individual faces an additional dilemma of choosing associates from his new stratum or that of his origin. Interaction with members of his class of origin perpetuates the rewarding or threatening meaning of his occup'al success or failure, while that with members of his terminal class constrains him to change his style of life. The three implications of the basic hypothesis are discussed & documented. W. F. Kenkel.