Carmi Schooler

Job Conditions and Personality: A Longitudinal Assessment of Their Reciprocal Effects

In earlier work, we assessed a longitudinal causal model of the reciprocal effects of the substative complexity of work and intellectual flexibility. In this paper, we greatly expand the causal model to consider sumultaneously several structural imperatives of the job and three major dimensions of personality-ideational flexibility, a self directed orientation to self and society, and a sense of distress. The analysis demonstrates that the structural imperatives of the job affect personality. Self-directed work leads to ideational flexibility and to a self-directed orientation to self and society; oppressive working conditions lead to distress. These findings strongly support a learning generalization model. Personality, in turn, has important consequences for an individuals place in the job structure and in the system of social stratification. In particular, both ideational flexibility and a self-directed orientation lead, over time, to more responsible jobs that allow greater latitude for occupational self-direction.

Occupational experience and psychological functioning: An assessment of reciprocal effects.

The central issue of this paper is whether mens adult occupational experiences affect or only reflect their psychological functioning. Our analysis isolates a small set of occupational conditions, twelve in all, which defines the structural imperatives of the job. These occupational conditions are found to be substantially related to mens psychological functioning, off as well as on the job. We argue that the relationships between occupational conditions and psychological functioning result from a continuing interplay between job and man, in which the effects of job on man are far from trivial. This argument is borne out by an assessment of the reciprocal effects of the substantive complexity of the work (a critically important occupational condition, for which we have the requisite longitudinal data) and several facets of psychological functioning. Substantive complexity has a decidedly greater impact on psychological functioning than the reverse.

Constancy and change in human development

1. Constancy and Change: A View of the Issues Orville G. Brim, Jr., and Jerome Kagan 2. Perspectives on Continuity Jerome Kagan 3. The Continuous and the Discrete in the History of Science Everett Mendelsohn 4. Continuities and Change in Maturational Timing Stanley M. Garn 5. The Dynamics of Growth, Organization, and Adaptability in the Central Nervous System Donald G. Stein and Ronald G. Dawson 6. The Endocrine System Charles H. Doering 7. Physical Health Barbara Starfield and!. B. Pless 8. The Course of Schizophrenic Psychosis Michael J. Goldstein 9. Cognitive Development in Childhood Joachim F. Wohlwill 10. Cognitive Development in Adulthood John L. Horn and Gary Donaldson 11. Longitudinal Study of Personality Development Howard A. Moss and Elizabeth J. Susman 12. Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs Norval D. Glenn 13. Criminal Behavior over the Life Span Hugh F. Cline 14. Schooling and Occupational Careers: Constancy and Change in Worldly Success David L. Featherman Index

The continuing effects of substantively complex work on the intellectual functioning of older workers.

Using a nationally representative sample of employed men and women in this longitudinal study, the authors extended for another 20 years findings based on 1964 and 1974 data (Kohn & Schooler, 1983) that substantively complex work improves intellectual functioning. This study provides evidence that intellectual functioning and substantive complexity of work continue to reciprocally affect each other. In addition, it shows that the intellectual flexibility measure used earlier (Kohn & Schooler, 1978, 1983) is highly correlated with more standard measures of intellectual functioning. Most importantly, it shows that, although substantively complex work significantly increased the level of intellectual functioning of both the younger and older halves of the sample, the effect is significantly greater among the older workers.

Position in the Class Structure and Psychological Functioning in the United States, Japan, and Poland

This article conceptualizes and indexes social class for a Western capitalist country (the United States), a non-Western capitalist country (Japan), and a socialist country (Poland). The idea that social classes are to be distinguished in terms of ownership, control of the means of production, and control over the labor power of others is adapted to the historical, cultural, economic, and political circumstances of each country. It is hypothesized that men who are more advantageously located in the class structure of their society are more likely to value self-direction for their children, to be intellectually flexible, and to be self-directed in their orientations than men who are less advantageously located. The hypothesis that occupational self-direction plays a crucial role in explaining the psychological effect of social class in all three countries is also confirmed. There was no firm basis for hypothesizing the relationships between social class and a sense of distress. The pattern is cross-nationally inconsistent, in part because occupational self-direction does not have the cross-nationally consistent effect on the sense of distress that it has on other facets of psychological functioning.

The reciprocal effects of leisure time activities and intellectual functioning in older people: a longitudinal analysis.

By using data from a representative longitudinal survey, the authors provide strong evidence that complex leisure time activities increase intellectual functioning for workers and nonworkers. Although the effects were relatively moderate, both the present article and its predecessor on the effects of paid work (C. Schooler. Mulatu, & Oates. 1999) showed that, even in old age, carrying out complex tasks has a positive effect on intellectual processes. In both cases, initially high levels of intellectual functioning led to high levels of environmental complexity, which in turn raised levels of intellectual functioning, thus providing a pathway contributing to the high correlation of intellectual functioning over a 20-year period in middle and late adulthood. The present findings indicate that even in old age carrying out substantively complex tasks builds the capacity to deal with the intellectual challenges such complex environments provide.

Women and Work: The Psychological Effects of Occupational Conditions'

For employed women, job conditions that encourage self-direction are related to effective intellectual functioning and an open, flexible orientation to others, while those tha constrain opportunities for self direction are related to ineffective intellectual functioning and a rigid social orientation. Moreover, several types of job pressures and uncertainties are related to less effective intellectual functioning, unfavorable evaluations of self, or a rigid social orientation. These relationships do not result from social selection, pay, status, or social circumstances and personal preferences, and they are of magnitudes similar to those for men. Causal analysis demonstrates that job conditions not only correlate with but actually affect psychological functioning. For women, as for men, occupational conditions have a decided psychological impact.

Psychological correlates of monoamine oxidase activity in normals.

This study replicates and extends earlier work by finding that low levels of platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity correlate with sensation seeking, high ego strength, positive affect, and high leisure time activity levels, somewhat similar psychological correlates also being found for plasma amine oxidase activity. Although there are several ways in which a schizophrenia/MAO relationship may exist and still be congruent with the present data, these results pose difficulties for theories which link low MAO activity levels specifically to schizophrenia. Nothing in the present findings, however, is incongruent with the possibility of an association between low platelet MAO activity and bipolar affective disorder.

Causal connections between socio-economic status and health: reciprocal effects and mediating mechanisms.

Using structural equation modeling techniques on data from a nationally representative longitudinal survey, we first explored the reciprocal relationships between socio-economic status (SES) and health status. We then estimated the degree to which health-related lifestyles/behaviors and psychosocial distress are mediating mechanisms of these relationships. As predicted, SES positively affects health, and health positively affects SES. Although the causal path from SES to health is stronger than the reverse, these findings confirmed the hypothesis that both social causation and health selection contribute to social inequalities in health. In terms of the mediating mechanisms through which SES and health affect each other, more than a third of the overall SES-health relationship was accounted for by health-related lifestyles/behaviors and psychosocial distress. A notable part of the effect of SES on health is due to differences in psychological distress, with the effects of health-related lifestyles/behaviors being much smaller. On the other hand, in terms of the effects of health on SES, differences in weight and sleeping behavior are more important than psychological distress.

Occupational Self-Direction, Intellectual Functioning, and Self-Directed Orientation in Older Workers: Findings and Implications for Individuals and Societies

Using data from 1994–95 third‐wave interviews, this study tests whether Kohn and Schooler’s findings (based on 1964 and 1974 interviews) that self‐directed occupational conditions increase intellectual functioning and self‐directed orientations hold when the respondents are 20 years older. Results confirm that even late in life self‐directedness of work continues to affect intellectual functioning and self‐directedness of orientation. These psychological characteristics, in turn, affect social‐structural position in ways that increase disparities between the advantaged and disadvantaged. From a historical and societal perspective, the findings suggest that the occupational self‐directedness of a society’s workers may affect its social norms, values, and modes of production.