Social Stratification, Work, and Personality

Abstract

The last decade saw considerable advances in the state of research on social stratification, work, and personality. The program carried out by Kohn, Schooler, and colleagues was central to refocusing research on social structure and personality, and generating new knowledge about social stratification, work, and personality. The review is organized around the Kohn-Schooler program and considers other research and issues in relation to this centerpiece. It includes central features and findings of the Kohn-Schooler models, replication support and extensions, scope conditions and limitations, alternate hypotheses and relationships to other explanatory models, and other forms of unattended heterogeneity. The review concludes with a summary of the ways in which the field can and should move beyond this central program; the summary is organized in terms of a research agenda at multiple levels of time and space in social structure.

Perceived skill underutilization and distributive justice: The role of perceived supervisor support

“…Kalleberg and Leicht (1986) point out that employees' subjective assessment of the nature of their jobs may arguably be distorted because of their selective perception or lack of information. On the other hand, several empirical studies support respondents as being relatively accurate reporters of the skill demands of their jobs (Hackman and Lawler 1971;Hackman and Oldham 1979;Quinn 1977;O'Brien 1982;Spenner 1988). The present study's use of self-reports to measure skills is consistent with that of many previous researchers (Kohn and Schooler 1983;Kalleberg and Leicht 1986).…”

Work organization and drinking: an epidemiological comparison of two psychosocial work exposure models

“…Passive jobs are characterized by underutilization of skills and decision making capabilities together with few task requirements and limited meaningful content that may generate alienation (Karasek and Theorell 1990;Amick et al 2002) resulting in social disengagement and risky behaviours, such as heavy drinking (Gardell 1971;Seeman and Seeman 1992). Passive jobs could then resemble jobs low in occupational self-direction (i.e., low complexity, and high routine and supervision) (Spenner 1988). In fact, the two items measuring lack of job variety were shared by both models.…”

Retirement and Mental Health

“…The response rate was 74% (Sweet, Bumpass, & Call, 1988). One advantage of these surveys is that we can compare all employment statuses because all respondents were asked about the characteristics of their work and activities when they did not work for Drentea / RETIREMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH pay (Spenner, 1988). This article extends the work of Kohn (see, e.g., Kohn & Schooler, 1983) by examining the fulfillment one experiences in daily pursuits, along with other characteristics of both work and retirement (Spenner, 1988).…”

“…Theory and research regarding how work characteristics affect both personality and well-being show that it is not just work per se but the characteristics of work that affect personality and other social psychological outcomes (Kohn & Schooler, 1983;Link, Lennon, & Dohrenwend, 1993;Spenner, 1988). Kohn and his colleagues' seminal work on personality, psychological functioning, and well-being have greatly influenced how we understand the association between work and mental health.…”