5.1.6
The Affluent Worker
The Original Affluent Worker Study
The Original Affluent Worker Study
In the 1950/60s, some sociologists began to suggest that the more affluent working classes were becoming middle class in their norms and values. This argument became known as the embourgeoisement thesis.
The embourgeoisement thesis
The embourgeoisement thesis
- In the late 1950s and early 1960s, some sociologists began to suggest that the more affluent working classes were becoming middle class in their norms and values.
- This argument became known as the embourgeoisement thesis, where the more affluent working-class families adopted a privatised lifestyle (one centred on the home and family, with aspirations based on consumerism).
The affluent worker study
The affluent worker study
- Goldthorpe et al. (1969) tested the embourgeoisement thesis in the early 1960s by interviewing affluent workers and their wives from three companies in Luton. They were questioned on their:
- Attitudes to work.
- Lifestyles.
- Aspirations.
- Political views.
Privatised lifestyle
Privatised lifestyle
- Although Goldthorpe rejected the embourgeoisement thesis, he argues that affluent workers may be part of a new working class that resembled the middle class in terms of privatised, home-centred lifestyle.
Findings
Findings
- Goldthorpe found that affluent workers had an instrumental attitude to paid work, in that they saw it as a means to an end; they saw it as a way of making money rather than a way to make friends and gain job satisfaction.
Individualism
Individualism
- Affluent workers in the study supported the Labour Party for individual gain (rather than for the good of the workers) and their attitude towards trade unions was instrumental.
- Unlike the traditional working class, they were not motivated by working-class solidarity or the idea of sticking together.
Affluent Workers Revisited
Affluent Workers Revisited
In the 1950/60s, some sociologists began to suggest that the more affluent working classes were becoming middle class in their norms and values. This argument became known as the embourgeoisement thesis.
Fiona Devine
Fiona Devine
- Fiona Devine (1992) revisited Luton to explore how far working-class people’s lifestyles were privatised, during the 1980s.
- She interviewed 62 Luton residents between 1986 and 1987 with the men (and some of the women) working in shop-floor jobs at the Vauxhall car factory.
Comparison
Comparison
- Devine compared her own findings with Goldthorpe’s earlier study, finding that working-class lifestyles, norms and values haven’t changed as much as these earlier findings suggested.
Findings
Findings
- The people she questioned did not have purely privatised home-centred lifestyles and social relationships.
- The interviewees were not purely instrumental or motivated solely by the desire to improve their living standards.
- Their aspirations and their social and political values were not solely individualistic and there was plenty of evidence of solidarity among interviewees.
1The Sociological Approach
1.1Introduction to Sociology
1.2Sociological Approaches
1.3The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate
2Families
2.1Functions of Families
2.2Family Forms
2.3Conjugal Role Relationships
2.4Changing Relationships Within Families
2.5Criticisms of Families
3Education
3.1Roles & Functions of Education
3.2Processes Within Schools
4Crime & Deviance
4.1The Social Construction of Crime
4.2Social Control
4.3Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5Social Stratification
5.1Social Stratification
5.2Poverty as a Social Issue
6Sociological Research Methods
6.1Research Methods
6.1.1Research Design
6.1.2The Scientific Method
6.1.3Other Considerations
6.1.4Primary Sources
6.1.5Secondary Sources
6.1.6Surveys
6.1.7Sampling
6.1.8Questionnaires
6.1.9Interviews
6.1.10Observation
6.1.11Statistics
6.1.12Case Studies
6.1.13Longitudinal Studies
6.1.14Ethnography
6.1.15Experiments
6.1.16Small Scale Research
6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods
Jump to other topics
1The Sociological Approach
1.1Introduction to Sociology
1.2Sociological Approaches
1.3The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate
2Families
2.1Functions of Families
2.2Family Forms
2.3Conjugal Role Relationships
2.4Changing Relationships Within Families
2.5Criticisms of Families
3Education
3.1Roles & Functions of Education
3.2Processes Within Schools
4Crime & Deviance
4.1The Social Construction of Crime
4.2Social Control
4.3Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5Social Stratification
5.1Social Stratification
5.2Poverty as a Social Issue
6Sociological Research Methods
6.1Research Methods
6.1.1Research Design
6.1.2The Scientific Method
6.1.3Other Considerations
6.1.4Primary Sources
6.1.5Secondary Sources
6.1.6Surveys
6.1.7Sampling
6.1.8Questionnaires
6.1.9Interviews
6.1.10Observation
6.1.11Statistics
6.1.12Case Studies
6.1.13Longitudinal Studies
6.1.14Ethnography
6.1.15Experiments
6.1.16Small Scale Research
6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods
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