ON THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF ASCRIPTION.

The concept of ascription introduced into sociology by Linton has enjoyed an enviable career by virtue of the breadth of its acceptance and me shallowness of examination to which it has been subjected. The basic, widely accepted position on ascription by Linton, Davis and Parsons is that it is useful for society to ascribe functions in the division of labor so that socialization for various roles am be successfully carried out. Parsons adds the view that ascription of father's work-role status to children is inevitable, given the solidarity of me nuclear family. These and other arguments supporting ascription are examined in light of the various reference points used for ascription. Of these, age and sex, in strictly delimited ways, are found to be useful bases of ascription, because they relate to performance capacity. Other reference points for ascription, e.g. race, religion, ethnicity, residence, etc. are not inherently related to performance capacity and their use for purposes of ascription is better explained by power relations between ascriptive sub-categories. Similarly. Parson's treatment of kinship as a basis for ascription to. children of father's status can also be viewed in terms of the distribution of power among families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]