Psychological and cultural factors in the process of occupational achievement

Abstract

An eight-equation model embodies the hypothesis that cultural differences among ethnic-religious groups give rise to differences in psychological dispositions, which, though not directly observable, influence occupational achievement, directly or via educational attainment, while being subject to feedback from one or the other of these endogenous variables. Dispositions are reflected in three fallible indicators, constructed from items in a survey interview of native white men in the Detroit area; the survey also secured socioeconomic measures and an estimate of intelligence. The model is block recursive and over-identified. Parameter estimates are secured by a sequence of ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares procedures, after solving out the structural equations to eliminate the unobservable variables. Numerical results do not strongly support the 'Protestant Ethic" theory of achievement, but do suggest that the influence of education on occupation is mediated by motivational as well as cognitive and institutional factors.

Personal Differences, Job Tension, Job Outcomes, and Store Performance: A Study of Retail Store Managers

“…Achievement orientation (ACO) was operationalized by a single indicator, based on the score from a 5-item scale adapted from Duncan (1969). All items were measured on a 5-point scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree."…”

“…Finally, in some of his other articles (e.g., Bagozzi 1980), he proposes relationships in which "causal" inferences entertained in his 1978 article are, in fact, reversed. achievement orientation value work in and of itself and are highly motivated to seek and conquer challenges in their jobs (Deci 1975;Duncan and Featherman 1973).…”

Longitudinal surveys and the study of social mobility

“…As Duncan and Featherman (1972) cogently argue &dquo;if psychological dispositions are sociogenic as well as (or, perhaps instead of) psychogenic, then we must reckon with the possibilities that a disposition [...] may have arisen in part as a consequence of the very activity it tends to instigate&dquo;. As Duncan and Featherman (1972) cogently argue &dquo;if psychological dispositions are sociogenic as well as (or, perhaps instead of) psychogenic, then we must reckon with the possibilities that a disposition [...] may have arisen in part as a consequence of the very activity it tends to instigate&dquo;.…”

The EM Approach to the Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes Model via the Estimation of the Latent Variable

“…Causal models that incorporate unobservable latent variables have been used in several recent empirical studies in social and economic research, such as, Crockett (1960), Duncan and Featherman (1972), Griliches and Mason (1972), Hauser (1972), Turnovsky (1970), Lahiri (1976), and Miller and Modigliani (1966). The related theoretical works can be found in Blalock (1969), Costner (1969), Goldberger (1972), Hauser and Goldberger (1971), Joreskog (1970Joreskog ( , 1973, and Zellner (1970).…”