Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A Study in Prestige

1934; University of Chicago Press; Volume: 40; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/216684

1537-5390

A. O. Bowden, Floyd F. Caldwell, Guy Anthony West,

Healthcare Education and Workforce Issues

In order to throw additional light upon factors involved in prestige, especially suggestibility and emotionality, eight statements purported to be solutions offered by respective professional and civic groups to the problem of the metallic base of our currency were presented to 800 junior-high, 640 senior-high, and 400 college students. The statements were substantially the same in thought content. The educators were ranked first by the junior-high males, the senior-high and college females, and the total of each group, also by the total females as well as the grand total of all groups. Business men were ranked first by all males combined and by males in senior high and college. Leading citizens were ranked first by the junior-high females. Prestige of the educators increased with increased school level. There was greater change in suggestibility from senior high to college than from junior to senior high. Factors promoting suggestibility were authority, insight, a clearer definition of the situation, and sympathy. The females were more suggestible than the males, and the difference was greater on the more mature levels. The mature students were influenced relatively more by the prestige of the professional and civic groups, the less mature by emotional elements involved in the statements.