William S. Fox

Musical Taste Cultures and Taste Publics

Among attempts by social scientists to understand contemporary culture and social structures and their complex interrelationships, the work of Herbert J. Gans is distinguished by its reasoned avoidance of polemics, the breadth of both its intellectual and political concerns, and the precision of its formulation.’ While we disagree with the substance of much of Gans’s treatment of popular culture and high culture,2 we nevertheless believe that his analysis provides a most useful base for the exploration of these two important aspects of contemporary social life. This article reports a modest attempt to examine empirically two concepts that are central to Gans’s analysis-the concepts of “taste culture’’ and “taste p~bl ic . ’ ’~

Political Orientation and Music Preferences among College Students

The socio-political implications of contemporary music are investigated using survey data pertaining to the political orientations, music involvement, and musical preferences of college students. The analysis indicates that political orientation is associated with amount of music involvement and with preferences for particular musical styles. Zero-order relationships are not substantially altered by controls for demographic background characteristics of respondents. William S. Fox is Assistant Professor of Sociology at The University of Iowa and James D. Williams is a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at Ball State University.

Effects of socioeconomic status and perceived affluence on anomia

This study analyzes (1) the effects of affluence perception on anomia and (2) the importance of affluence perception as an intervening variable interpreting the effects of race, education, and income on anomia. The analysis uses survey data from a probability sample of adults in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio. Affluence perception is found to be positively related to anomia and to account for part of the effects of race, education, and income on anomia. The three demographic variables, however, have stronger independent effects on anomia that cannot be accounted for by perception of affluence.

Race, Class, and Perceptions of Affluence

Abstract This paper analyzes the effects of race, education, and income on perceptions of the extent of affluence in the United States. The analysis uses survey data from a probability sample of Hamilton County, Ohio, adults. Race, education, and income are each found to have significant additive effects on affluence perceptions. Blacks, less educated people, and people with less income tend to perceive greater affluence. The analysis suggests the importance of considering perceptions of the total distribution of rewards when considering the effects of deprivations.

Racial Differences in Perceptions of Affluence

Abstract This study examines perceptions held by inner-city blacks and whites of the extent of affluence in America. Blacks generally tend to believe that affluence is more widespread than do whites, although substantial variation in racial differences occurs across sex and age categories. Controls for socio-economic characteristics have little effect on racial differences in perceptions of affluence. The analysis suggests that race has an effect on perceptions of affluence that is independent of the effects of social class.

Protestant-Catholic Differences in Educational Achievement and Persistence in School*

Religious differences in educational attainment and persistence in school are investigated in an analysis of data from a 1957 national survey. Although no consistent Protestant-Catholic educational differences are found in gross comparisons, some Protestant advantage does appear after the introduction of controls. Controlling for ethnicity, region of birth, age, generation, fathers occupation, and size of community of orientation, Protestants are consistently found to be somewhat more likely to achieve a college degree and are substantially more likely to persist in college once enrolled. These differences are largest among men with higher status origins. ]his paper reports the results of an investigation of the educational achievements of Protestants and Roman Catholics. Motivated by more general interests in the sources of variation in educational attainment, the relationship of religion to socioeconomic achievement, and the role of religion in contemporary societies, many studies have focused on the relationship between religion and educational attainment. Most of this research has centered on religious differences in amount of formal education, although some consideration has been given to religious differences in propensity to complete high school or college once they have been