Prestige, Reward, Skill, and Functional IMportance: A Reconsideretion.

The present paper briefly explores the association between a nationally derived scale of socioeconomic status and the variables of prestige, reward, skill, and functional importance as they were measured and employed by Lopreato and Lewis. These authors suggest that prestige is a "fulcrum variable." It is assumed that prestige has some common underlying features in relation to other variables such as reward, skill, and the functional importance of occupational roles. The investigators also suggest that prestige is the best single measure of this factor. The purpose of the present exploration is twofold. An attempt is made to assess the probable influence of the restricted sample which the investigators employed. Their findings will be evaluated by correlating the prestige ranks which they obtained with the ranks which can be derived from the Duncan Socio-Economic Index. Secondly, the ranks obtained from the Duncan Socio-Economic Index will be correlated with the Lopreato and Lewis ranks with regard to reward, skill, and functional importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]