The effects of social class identification on participatory orientations towards government

British Journal of Political Science

Volumn 34, Issue 3, 2004, Pages 469-495

  Walsh, Katherine Cramer ^a   Jennings, M Kent ^b   Stoker, Laura ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 3042739354     PISSN: 00071234     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0007123404000146     Document Type: Article

References (97)

1. Angus Campbell, Philip E. Converse, Warren E. Miller and Donald E. Stokes, The American Voter (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960), chaps 12 and 13.
2. Pamela Johnston Conover. 'The Influence of Group Identifications on Political Perception and Evaluation', Journal of Politics, 46 (1984), 760-85.
3. Michael Dawson, Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Politics (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1994).
4. John Gerteis and M. Savage, 'The Salience of Class in Britain and America: A Comparative Analysis', British Journal of Sociology, 49 (1998), 252-74; Bernadette C. Hayes, 'The Impact of Class on Political Attitudes: A Comparative Study of Great Britain, West Germany, Australia, and the United States', European Journal of Political Research, 27 (1995), 69-91; Alexander Pacek and Benjamin Radcliff, 'Turnout and the Vote for Left-of-Centre Parties: A Cross-National Analysis', British Journal of Political Science, 25 (1995), 137-43; David L. Weakliem, 'Social Class and Voting: The Case Against Decline', in Terry Nichols Clark and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds., The Breakdown of Class Politics: A Debate on Post-Industrial Stratification (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins, 2001), pp. 197-223.
5. John Gerteis and M. Savage, 'The Salience of Class in Britain and America: A Comparative Analysis', British Journal of Sociology, 49 (1998), 252-74; Bernadette C. Hayes, 'The Impact of Class on Political Attitudes: A Comparative Study of Great Britain, West Germany, Australia, and the United States', European Journal of Political Research, 27 (1995), 69-91; Alexander Pacek and Benjamin Radcliff, 'Turnout and the Vote for Left-of-Centre Parties: A Cross-National Analysis', British Journal of Political Science, 25 (1995), 137-43; David L. Weakliem, 'Social Class and Voting: The Case Against Decline', in Terry Nichols Clark and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds., The Breakdown of Class Politics: A Debate on Post-Industrial Stratification (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins, 2001), pp. 197-223.
6. John Gerteis and M. Savage, 'The Salience of Class in Britain and America: A Comparative Analysis', British Journal of Sociology, 49 (1998), 252-74; Bernadette C. Hayes, 'The Impact of Class on Political Attitudes: A Comparative Study of Great Britain, West Germany, Australia, and the United States', European Journal of Political Research, 27 (1995), 69-91; Alexander Pacek and Benjamin Radcliff, 'Turnout and the Vote for Left-of-Centre Parties: A Cross-National Analysis', British Journal of Political Science, 25 (1995), 137-43; David L. Weakliem, 'Social Class and Voting: The Case Against Decline', in Terry Nichols Clark and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds., The Breakdown of Class Politics: A Debate on Post-Industrial Stratification (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins, 2001), pp. 197-223.
7. John Gerteis and M. Savage, 'The Salience of Class in Britain and America: A Comparative Analysis', British Journal of Sociology, 49 (1998), 252-74; Bernadette C. Hayes, 'The Impact of Class on Political Attitudes: A Comparative Study of Great Britain, West Germany, Australia, and the United States', European Journal of Political Research, 27 (1995), 69-91; Alexander Pacek and Benjamin Radcliff, 'Turnout and the Vote for Left-of-Centre Parties: A Cross-National Analysis', British Journal of Political Science, 25 (1995), 137-43; David L. Weakliem, 'Social Class and Voting: The Case Against Decline', in Terry Nichols Clark and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds., The Breakdown of Class Politics: A Debate on Post-Industrial Stratification (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins, 2001), pp. 197-223.
8. Gerteis and Savage, 'The Salience of Class in Britain and America'; Ira Katznelson, City Trenches: Urban Politics and the Patterning of Class in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1981).
9. Robert Huckfeldt and Carol Weitzel Kohfeld, Race and the Decline of Class in American Politics (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989); Thomas Byrne Edsall and Mary D. Edsall, Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics (New York: W. W. Norton, 1991). However, see Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Class and Party in American Politics (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2000), for evidence to the contrary.
10. Robert Huckfeldt and Carol Weitzel Kohfeld, Race and the Decline of Class in American Politics (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989); Thomas Byrne Edsall and Mary D. Edsall, Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics (New York: W. W. Norton, 1991). However, see Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Class and Party in American Politics (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2000), for evidence to the contrary.
11. Robert Huckfeldt and Carol Weitzel Kohfeld, Race and the Decline of Class in American Politics (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989); Thomas Byrne Edsall and Mary D. Edsall, Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics (New York: W. W. Norton, 1991). However, see Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Class and Party in American Politics (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2000), for evidence to the contrary.
12. Mary R. Jackman and Robert W. Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983).
13. Stonecash, Class and Party in American Politics.
14. Heinz Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior', Public Opinion Quarterly, 20 (1956), 515-29.
15. Thus we use the terms 'social identity' and 'psychological attachment' interchangeably.
16. See, for example, Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior' ; Heinz Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective', Journal of Politics, 18 (1956), 232-53; Ellen R. Solomon and Victoria Steinitz, 'Toward an Adequate Explanation of the Politics of Working-Class Youth', Political Psychology, 1 (1979), 39-60; Katherine Cramer Walsh, Talking about Politics: Informal Groups and Social Identity in American Life (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004).
17. See, for example, Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior' ; Heinz Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective', Journal of Politics, 18 (1956), 232-53; Ellen R. Solomon and Victoria Steinitz, 'Toward an Adequate Explanation of the Politics of Working-Class Youth', Political Psychology, 1 (1979), 39-60; Katherine Cramer Walsh, Talking about Politics: Informal Groups and Social Identity in American Life (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004).
18. See, for example, Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior' ; Heinz Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective', Journal of Politics, 18 (1956), 232-53; Ellen R. Solomon and Victoria Steinitz, 'Toward an Adequate Explanation of the Politics of Working-Class Youth', Political Psychology, 1 (1979), 39-60; Katherine Cramer Walsh, Talking about Politics: Informal Groups and Social Identity in American Life (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004).
19. See, for example, Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior' ; Heinz Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective', Journal of Politics, 18 (1956), 232-53; Ellen R. Solomon and Victoria Steinitz, 'Toward an Adequate Explanation of the Politics of Working-Class Youth', Political Psychology, 1 (1979), 39-60; Katherine Cramer Walsh, Talking about Politics: Informal Groups and Social Identity in American Life (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004).
20. See, for example, Marilynn B. Brewer and Norman Miller, 'Beyond the Contact Hypothesis: Theoretical Perspectives on Desegregation', in Norman Miller and Marilynn B. Brewer, eds., Groups in Contact: The Psychology of Desegregation (Orlando, Fla.: Academic Press, 1984), pp. 281-302; Marilyn B. Brewer and Wendi Gardner, 'Who is the "We"? Levels of Collective Identity and Self Representations', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71 (1996), 83-93.
21. See, for example, Marilynn B. Brewer and Norman Miller, 'Beyond the Contact Hypothesis: Theoretical Perspectives on Desegregation', in Norman Miller and Marilynn B. Brewer, eds., Groups in Contact: The Psychology of Desegregation (Orlando, Fla.: Academic Press, 1984), pp. 281-302; Marilyn B. Brewer and Wendi Gardner, 'Who is the "We"? Levels of Collective Identity and Self Representations', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71 (1996), 83-93.
22. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'.
23. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'.
24. Henri Tajfel, 'Cognitive Aspects of Prejudice', Journal of Social Issues, 15 (1969), 79-97.
25. Henri Tajfel and John Turner, 'An Integrative Theory of Inter-group Conflict', in William G. Austin and Stephen Worchel, eds, The Social Psychology of Inter-group Relations (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1979), pp. 33-47; John C. Turner, Penelope J. Oakes, S. Alexander Haslam and Craig MCGarty, 'Self and Collective: Cognition and Social Context', Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20 (1994), 454-63.
26. Henri Tajfel and John Turner, 'An Integrative Theory of Inter-group Conflict', in William G. Austin and Stephen Worchel, eds, The Social Psychology of Inter-group Relations (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1979), pp. 33-47; John C. Turner, Penelope J. Oakes, S. Alexander Haslam and Craig MCGarty, 'Self and Collective: Cognition and Social Context', Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20 (1994), 454-63.
27. Patricia Gurin, Arthur H. Miller and Gerald Gurin, 'Stratum Identification and Consciousness', Social Psychology Quarterly, 43 (1980), 30-47; Arthur H. Miller, Patricia Gurin, Gerald Gurin and Oksana Malanchuk, 'Group Consciousness and Political Participation', American Journal of Political Science, 25 (1981), 494-511.
28. Patricia Gurin, Arthur H. Miller and Gerald Gurin, 'Stratum Identification and Consciousness', Social Psychology Quarterly, 43 (1980), 30-47; Arthur H. Miller, Patricia Gurin, Gerald Gurin and Oksana Malanchuk, 'Group Consciousness and Political Participation', American Journal of Political Science, 25 (1981), 494-511.
29. Terry Nichols Clark, 'What Have We Learned in a Decade on Class and Party Politics?' in Terry Nichols Clark and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. The Breakdown of Class Politics: A Debate on Post-Industrial Stratification (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins, 2001), pp. 9-38.
30. I. MacAllister, R. J. Johnston, C. J. Pattie, H. Tunstall, D. F. L. Dorling and D. J.Rossiter, 'Class Dealignment and the Neighbourhood Effect: Miller Revisited', British Journal of Political Science, 31 (2001), 41-59.
31. Stephen D. Fisher, 'Class Contextual Effects on the Conservative Vote in 1983', British Journal of Political Science, 30 (2000), 347-82.
32. P. Dunleavy, 'The Urban Basis of Political Alignment: Social Class, Domestic Property Ownership, and State Intervention in Consumption Processes', British Journal of Political Science, 9 (1979), 409-43; MacAllister et al., 'Class Dealignment and the Neighbourhood Effect'.
33. P. Dunleavy, 'The Urban Basis of Political Alignment: Social Class, Domestic Property Ownership, and State Intervention in Consumption Processes', British Journal of Political Science, 9 (1979), 409-43; MacAllister et al., 'Class Dealignment and the Neighbourhood Effect'.
34. W. L. Miller, 'Social Class and Party Choice in England: A New Analysis', British Journal of Political Science, 8 (1978), 257-84.
35. Campbell et al., The American Voter, chap. 13.
36. Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, pp. 203-5; Campbell et al., The American Voter, Figure 13-7.
37. Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, pp. 203-5; Campbell et al., The American Voter, Figure 13-7.
38. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'.
39. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'.
40. Fiona Devine, 'Social Identities, Class Identity and Political Perspectives', Sociological Review, 40 (1992), 229-52; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States.
41. Fiona Devine, 'Social Identities, Class Identity and Political Perspectives', Sociological Review, 40 (1992), 229-52; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States.
42. See, for example, Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States.
43. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'; Paul E. Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelsen and Hazel Gaudet, The People's Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1944), chap. 15; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, chap. 8; Kenneth Prandy, 'Class, the Stratification Order and Party Identification', British Journal of Political Science, 30 (2000), 237-58.
44. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'; Paul E. Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelsen and Hazel Gaudet, The People's Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1944), chap. 15; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, chap. 8; Kenneth Prandy, 'Class, the Stratification Order and Party Identification', British Journal of Political Science, 30 (2000), 237-58.
45. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'; Paul E. Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelsen and Hazel Gaudet, The People's Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1944), chap. 15; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, chap. 8; Kenneth Prandy, 'Class, the Stratification Order and Party Identification', British Journal of Political Science, 30 (2000), 237-58.
46. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'; Paul E. Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelsen and Hazel Gaudet, The People's Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1944), chap. 15; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, chap. 8; Kenneth Prandy, 'Class, the Stratification Order and Party Identification', British Journal of Political Science, 30 (2000), 237-58.
47. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'; Paul E. Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelsen and Hazel Gaudet, The People's Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1944), chap. 15; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, chap. 8; Kenneth Prandy, 'Class, the Stratification Order and Party Identification', British Journal of Political Science, 30 (2000), 237-58.
48. R. Robert Huckfeldt, 'Political Loyalties and Social Class Ties: The Mechanisms of Contextual Influence', American Journal of Political Science, 28 (1984), 399-417.
49. Susan A. Basow, Gender Stereotypes: Traditions and Alternatives, 2nd edn (Monterey, Calif.: Brooks/Cole, 1986), esp. chap. 7.
50. For major reports on the project see, inter alia, M. Kent Jennings and Richard G. Niemi, The Political Character of Adolesence: The Influence of Families and Schools (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1974); M. Kent Jennings and Richard G. Niemi, Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1981; and M. Kent Jennings and Laura Stoker, 'Generations and Civic Engagement: A Longitudinal, Multiple-Generation Analysis' (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, 2001),
51. For major reports on the project see, inter alia, M. Kent Jennings and Richard G. Niemi, The Political Character of Adolesence: The Influence of Families and Schools (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1974); M. Kent Jennings and Richard G. Niemi, Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1981; and M. Kent Jennings and Laura Stoker, 'Generations and Civic Engagement: A Longitudinal, Multiple-Generation Analysis' (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, 2001),
52. For major reports on the project see, inter alia, M. Kent Jennings and Richard G. Niemi, The Political Character of Adolesence: The Influence of Families and Schools (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1974); M. Kent Jennings and Richard G. Niemi, Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1981; and M. Kent Jennings and Laura Stoker, 'Generations and Civic Engagement: A Longitudinal, Multiple-Generation Analysis' (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, 2001),
53. Due to its greater geographical mobility, G2 was more affected by this factor than was G1. However, a comparison of mailback and personal interview respondents in the 1973 wave revealed scant differences (Jennings and Niemi, Generations and Politics, Appendix A).
54. This measure was designed by Campbell et al. (The American Voter) as an improvement over the Centers approach to measuring class identity, which asked respondents to place themselves in the lower class, working class, middle class or upper class (Richard Centers, The Psychology of Social Classes (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1949). Subsequent scholars have critiqued its assumption of only two class categories. However, when Jackman and Jackman (Class Awareness in the United States) employed a five-class measure (poor, working, middle, upper-middle and upper class) in 1975, a time of recession that arguably might have spurred greater class awareness, the vast majority of the respondents identified as working-class (37 per cent) or middle-class (44 per cent), and the 'upper-class' category was deemed unreliable by the investigators. In addition, the most significant differences in political attitudes occurred between poor and working-class identifiers as a whole compared with middle and upper-middle identifiers as a whole, rather than in the finer gradations.
55. This measure was designed by Campbell et al. (The American Voter) as an improvement over the Centers approach to measuring class identity, which asked respondents to place themselves in the lower class, working class, middle class or upper class (Richard Centers, The Psychology of Social Classes (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1949). Subsequent scholars have critiqued its assumption of only two class categories. However, when Jackman and Jackman (Class Awareness in the United States) employed a five-class measure (poor, working, middle, upper-middle and upper class) in 1975, a time of recession that arguably might have spurred greater class awareness, the vast majority of the respondents identified as working-class (37 per cent) or middle-class (44 per cent), and the 'upper-class' category was deemed unreliable by the investigators. In addition, the most significant differences in political attitudes occurred between poor and working-class identifiers as a whole compared with middle and upper-middle identifiers as a whole, rather than in the finer gradations.
56. This measure was designed by Campbell et al. (The American Voter) as an improvement over the Centers approach to measuring class identity, which asked respondents to place themselves in the lower class, working class, middle class or upper class (Richard Centers, The Psychology of Social Classes (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1949). Subsequent scholars have critiqued its assumption of only two class categories. However, when Jackman and Jackman (Class Awareness in the United States) employed a five-class measure (poor, working, middle, upper-middle and upper class) in 1975, a time of recession that arguably might have spurred greater class awareness, the vast majority of the respondents identified as working-class (37 per cent) or middle-class (44 per cent), and the 'upper-class' category was deemed unreliable by the investigators. In addition, the most significant differences in political attitudes occurred between poor and working-class identifiers as a whole compared with middle and upper-middle identifiers as a whole, rather than in the finer gradations.
57. The number of respondents refusing to state a class identity was not more than nine in G1 and not more than twenty in G2 in any given panel period. These individuals were dropped from the analyses reported here.
58. Following Jackman and Jackman (Class Awareness in the United States, p. 79), we use respondents' own level of education, household income and household union membership as current indicators of status.
59. Our data display a declining role for unions. Looking across the objective class indicators, the sharpest decline in intergenerational similarity occurred with regard to union membership. Comparing G2 in 1997 to G1 in 1965, years in which the generations were at comparable life stages, shows that among working-class identifiers, fewer members of the younger generation belonged to labour unions (30 per cent versus 40 per cent among the parent generation).
60. Wright conceptualizes class structure as a function of three dimensions of occupation: skill level, self-employment and authority (Erik Olin Wright, Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), Appendix Table 2.2. We had indicators of the first two but insufficient ones for authority. Zipp and Plutzer demonstrate that although the occupations of both husband and wife matter for class identifications, that of the husband is more important (John F. Zipp and Eric Plutzer, 'Wives and Husbands: Social Class, Gender, and Class Identification in the U.S.', Sociology, 30 (1996), 235-52).
61. Wright conceptualizes class structure as a function of three dimensions of occupation: skill level, self-employment and authority (Erik Olin Wright, Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), Appendix Table 2.2. We had indicators of the first two but insufficient ones for authority. Zipp and Plutzer demonstrate that although the occupations of both husband and wife matter for class identifications, that of the husband is more important (John F. Zipp and Eric Plutzer, 'Wives and Husbands: Social Class, Gender, and Class Identification in the U.S.', Sociology, 30 (1996), 235-52).
62. The race variable distinguishes black from non-black (white, other race) respondents. We were not able to make finer distinctions since there were only eight G1 and three G2 respondents of other races for whom we had class identity information.
63. A useful benchmark is stability in party identification. For G1, the regression continuity coefficients were 0.77 and 0.84 for the two panel periods (1965-73 and 1973-82). For G2, the continuity coefficients were 0.68 (1973-82) and 0.72 (1982-97).
64. Zipp and Plutzer, 'From Housework to Paid Work'.
65. Christopher H. Achen, 'Mass Political Attitudes and the Survey Response', American Political Science Review, 69 (1975), 1218-31.
66. This resonates with Eulau's argument that individuals who interact with people of varying socio-economic status exhibit greater inconsistency between their objective and subjective class (Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective').
67. This resonates with Eulau's argument that individuals who interact with people of varying socio-economic status exhibit greater inconsistency between their objective and subjective class (Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective').
68. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2002, typically weekly earnings for unionized and non-unionized workers were $740 and $587, respectively (US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 25 February 2003, 'Union Members Summary', Washington, D.C.: Department of Labor).
69. This analysis was performed by categorizing G2 respondents into clear skill level or ambiguous skill level on the basis of Wright's (Class Counts) three proposed schemes for classifying occupations into expert/skilled/non- skilled. Occupations that were not classified as either expert/skilled or non-skilled in all three schemes were categorized as 'ambiguous skill level'. If the head of household (as determined according to guidelines explained above) had an occupation defined as having an ambiguous skill level at any time during the study, the respondent's household was categorized as ambiguous skill level. Among respondents in households characterized by occupations with a clear skill level, 35 per cent had unstable class identities across the course of the study. Respondents in a household with an ambiguous skill level showed more instability: 44 per cent switched class identity at least once during the study (t = 2.44, p = 0.015, n = 679).
70. Although it has long since been shown that these are indeed distinctive dimensions of efficacy (e.g., George Balch, 'Multiple Indicators in Survey Research: The Concept "Sense of Efficacy" ', Political Methodology, 1 (1974), 1-44), separate analysis of our data based on the internal and external measures revealed only modest differences with respect to the impact of the class stability measures and, correspondingly, only slight differences from the results generated using the four-item index. Cronbach alphas for the four-item indexes in each panel period ranged from 0.56 to 0.59 for G1 and from 0.49 to 0.52 for G2.
71. This indicator differs slightly for G1 in 1965, when the interview did not contain questions on writing to an editor, participating in a demonstration, or contacting a public official (as did the 1973 and 1982 instruments). In addition, the measurement of participation with others in the community used slightly different question wording in 1965. See Appendix to the website version of this article for further details.
72. The number of cases is constant across models for each dependent variable, but ranges across dependent variables and years from 628 to 707 for G1 and from 601 to 645 for G2.
73. In the interests of saving space, we do not display the results with respect to race and gender. The full set of results is available at http://www.polisci.wisc.edu/users/kwalsh/. The indicator for female gender is negatively related to political interest for all panel periods for both generations; negatively related to good citizenship as active participant in G1 in 1973, and G2 for all panel periods (except for Model III in 1982); and negatively related to political participation in G1 for all panel periods. The indicator for race as African American is negatively related to holding a conception of a good citizen as an active political participant for G1 in all panel periods; negatively related to political efficacy in G1 in 1965 and 1973, and G2 in 1973 and Model II in 1997); and positively related to political participation in G2 in 1973 and 1982.
74. Jackman and Jackman (Class Awareness in the United States) and Hayes ('The Impact of Class on Political Attitudes') use this approach. Because subjective and objective indicators of class are closely related, we run the risk of multicollinearity by including both in these regression specifications. However, the correlations between subjective class and any of the objective indicators in each year were never greater than 0.40. Variance inflation factors ranged between 1.01 and 2.80, typically at the lower end of that range.
75. Jackman and Jackman (Class Awareness in the United States) and Hayes ('The Impact of Class on Political Attitudes') use this approach. Because subjective and objective indicators of class are closely related, we run the risk of multicollinearity by including both in these regression specifications. However, the correlations between subjective class and any of the objective indicators in each year were never greater than 0.40. Variance inflation factors ranged between 1.01 and 2.80, typically at the lower end of that range.
76. Given our procedures, stable identifiers will necessarily be composed of the same individuals in Models II and III.
77. The constants represent the level of the given orientation among working-class identifiers, and the coefficients on class represent the additional boost in that orientation among middle-class identifiers (i.e., the gap between working-class and middle-class identifiers).
78. A rival explanation is that stable identifiers are simply more politically sophisticated than unstable identifiers, which could lead to a finding of stronger relationships among the former. We tested this possible artefact by estimating all of the models found in Tables 4-7 for high and low political knowledge subgroups based on a battery of factual knowledge questions used in each wave. Regardless of knowledge level, class identity was much more strongly related to participatory orientations among those with stable identities than among those with unstable identities.
79. Because the good citizenship variable is a dichotomy, we first analysed these relationships through a Logit analysis. The results do not differ substantively from those found using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions; therefore we present the OLS results for ease of interpretation.
80. Recall that the average level of efficacy among middle-class identifiers is the sum of the constant and the coefficient on middle-class identity (in type I models).
81. In addition to this cumulative index of participation, we examined each form of political activity separately. The only exception to the pattern of greater political participation among the middle-class identifiers occurs for G1 with respect to participating in a demonstration between 1973 and 1982. Working-class identifiers reported higher levels of activity on this measure, but not to a statistically significant degree.
82. We can only make this conclusion based on data from the 1973 and 1982 interviews. The mean levels for the 1965 data are not comparable to those found using the 1973 and 1982 data because the full set of participation questions was not asked until 1973. The 1965 scale was constructed from reports of participation in four activities (receded on the 0-1 scale, where 1 = participated in all four activities), as opposed to nine in the later waves (recoded on the 0-1 scale, where 1 = participated in all nine activities).
83. Huckfeldt and Kohfeld, Race and the Decline of Class in American Politics,
84. Dawson, Behind the Mule, chap. 8; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, chap. 4.
85. Dawson, Behind the Mule, chap. 8; Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, chap. 4.
86. Our ability to focus on race is limited due to the relatively small number of African American panel respondents (three-wave G1 sample, n = 85 or 9.5 per cent; three-wave G2 sample, n = 64 or 6.8 per cent). Notwithstanding that limitation, including race in the multivariate analyses did not alter the basic pattern of a significant impact of class identity on orientations towards government and the key place of class identification stability.
87. Nancy Burns, Kay Lehman Schlozman and Sidney Verba, The Private Roots of Public Action: Gender, Equality, and Political Participation (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001), chap. 10.
88. M. Kent Jennings, 'Education and Political Development among Young Adults', Politics and the Individual, 3 (1993), 1-24.
89. Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, p. 51; But see Gurin et al., 'Stratum Identification and Consciousness'.
90. Jackman and Jackman, Class Awareness in the United States, p. 51; But see Gurin et al., 'Stratum Identification and Consciousness'.
91. Keith T. Poole and Howard Rosenthal, Congress: A Political Economic History of Roll Call Voting (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
92. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'.
93. Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior'; Eulau, 'Identification with Class and Political Perspective'.
94. Arthur F. Jones Jr and Daniel H. Weinberg, 'The Changing Shape of the Nation's Income Distribution: 1947-1998' (US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau, Washington, D.C.: US Department of Commerce, 2000).
95. Douglas Massey and Mitchell Eggers, 'The Spatial Concentration of Affluence and Poverty in the 1970s', Urban Affairs Quarterly, 29 (1993), 299-315; Paul A. Jargowsky, 'Take the Money and Run: Economic Segregation in U.S. Metropolitan Areas', American Sociological Review, 61 (1996), 984-98.
96. Douglas Massey and Mitchell Eggers, 'The Spatial Concentration of Affluence and Poverty in the 1970s', Urban Affairs Quarterly, 29 (1993), 299-315; Paul A. Jargowsky, 'Take the Money and Run: Economic Segregation in U.S. Metropolitan Areas', American Sociological Review, 61 (1996), 984-98.
97. J. Eric Oliver, 'The Effects of Metropolitan Economic Segregation on Local Civic Participation', American Journal of Political Science, 43 (1999), 186-212.