Social Class and Visiting Patterns in Two Finnish Villages.

The article analyzes the social class structure in two villages in the South-West of Finland, with special reference to the interaction between the classes. The study of social classes forms an important and topical branch of modern sociology. The choice of the most important characteristic of a class has, however, largely depended on the investigator's prejudices and research methods. Sometimes a class has denoted an occupational group, sometimes a set of individuals with the same socio-economic status, and sometimes a group of people who are treated in the same way or who have closer connections with each other than with outsiders. But it has been found that most of the variables used in defining social class are correlative. The members of the same occupational group have the same socio-economic status and hold the same opinions; they come into contact with each other more easily. On the other hand, interaction adds to the feeling of solidarity and standardizes norms and values; thus it is likely to increase the cohesiveness of the group.