Consensus and Stratification in the Symbolic Social Order: Predicting Variation in Cultural Meanings

• In Event: 606 - Section on Social Psychology Roundtable Session (co-sponsored with Section on Sociology of Emotions)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Self and Identity

Abstract

Societal cultures are importantly grounded in characteristic and broadly shared meanings for particular identity labels, which encode social knowledge about the esteem, respect, and treatment that various types of people deserve. While our social perceptions are predominantly shared with others, recent work suggests that they also reflect unique individual experiences in social life. The present research examines the proposition that these seeming idiosyncrasies can be explained, in part, by systematic aspects of micro-social experience linked with socio-demographic characteristics, social position, and formative experiences in family and romantic relationships. We test this proposition by exploring how variables in these three domains help to explain consensus and stratification in identity meanings, with specific focus on the subjective cultures of black versus white Americans. Results suggest that blacks and whites have substantial consensus in their perceptions of social groups, but also diverge in these perceptions to a degree commonly found in cross-cultural comparisons. Where subjective cultures diverge, we find that race is an important predictor of differences in perception, along with parents’ education and marital status, and disruption versus stability in parental and romantic attachments.

Author

• Kimberly Brooke Rogers, Dartmouth College