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RESEARCH AND THEORETICAL NOTES
High Culture Orientation and the A ttitudes and Values of College Students
John Ryan, Clemson University and Larry W. DeBord, University of Mississippi
Using survey data collected from a sample of college students, the authors explore variability in high culrure orientation. Parent’s socioeconomic status, traditionally thought to be predictive of high culture orientation, was not significantly related to it in this sample. Factors found to be associated with high culture orientation include interpersonal experience, occupational orientation, and cultural knowledge and participation.
Introduction
This study explores variability in, and correlates of, high culture orienta- tion within a sample of college students. Such variability in the understanding and appreciation of various forms of symbolic expression is a central compo- nent of Bourdieu’s (1980) theory of cultural capital.
The theory suggests that there is more to social and economic success than establishing relatively objective credentials based on educational back- ground, experience or skills (DiMaggio and Useem 1978; Bourdieu 1984). For example, Bourdieu emphasizes class-related differences in aesthetic taste, as one important type of cultural capital, which serve as a symbolic means of distinguishing one class or class fraction from another. Bourdieu argues that knowledge about “legitimate culture” (i.e., high culture) as well as the ability to engage in a certain style of discourse about this culture, serve as relatively subtle, subjective aids or barriers to mobility.
Bourdieu argues further that cultural capital, or the lack thereof, results from the interactive effects of class position, family socialization and formal education. The model is that class position and family socialization are the primary determinants of cultural capital which positively affects the quality of
Sociolopof Inquiry, Vol. 61, N o 1. August 1991 “1991 by the University ofTexas Pre\s. P 0. Box 7819. Austin. TX 78713
HIGH CULTURE ORIENTATION 347
schooling and school performance. At the same time, quality of schooling and school performance create even more cultural capital.
Numerous studies provide empirical support for the link between level of education and cultural capital as measured by an orientation toward or par- ticipation in high culture. Bourdieu’s (1984) French study, conducted in 1963 and during 1967-68, showed a positive relationship between education and various types of aesthetic judgments, particularly the ability to appreciate art works independent of their content. In a survey of 270 studies on the composi- tion of performing arts audiences and museum visitors, DiMaggio, Useem and Brown (1978, p. 2) found that “educational attainment is the single most important variable in the social profile of attenders,” with occupation being the second best predictor.
Similarly, an analysis of the 1982 “Public Participation in the Arts” survey (National Endowment for the Arts 1985) found that the best predictor of attendance at high culture events was education. The NEA study also found that early socialization experiences, such as art and music lessons or apprecia- tion classes and visits to museums increased later attendance. Orend (1987), in an analysis of the same data, provides specific examples of the relationship between early socialization and attendance. For example, having had music lessons nearly tripled later high culture music participation. A similar relation- ship was found between art lessons and later arts participation. These relation- ships are only slightly diminished when controlling for education. It is in- teresting to note that parent-mediated experiences, such as attending museums or concerts, had considerably less of an effect on later participation.
In summary, studies related to the acquisition of cultural capital have focused on the effects of income, occupation, education and early socialization experiences on high culture participation. Yet, as Orend (1987) cautions, most of the variation in high culture participation remains unexplained.
The study reported here examines the relationship between parents’ education, occupation and income and the high culture orientation of their college-aged children. Cultural capital theory emphasizes family socialization in the acquisition of cultural capital so we expect a strong association between parents’ background and the orientation of their children.
Cultural capital theory also posits that education will have an indepen- dent effect on the acquisition of cultural capital. This study examines the rela- tionship among the quality of relationships with teachers, academic success, length of time at the university and high culture orientation. We expect a positive relationship between these factors and high culture orientation. Finally, because cultural capital theory suggests that high culture orientation does not exist in isolation from other cultural choices and attitudes, we examine the relationship between high culture orientation, several attitudinal dimensions and involvement in popular culture.
348 JOHN RYAN AND LARRY W. DEBORD
Methodology
The survey upon which this analysis is based was designed to address issues relevant to the current debate over youth culture. Central to this inquiry is the measurement and analysis of diversity of interests, time organization, tastes and aspirations of undergraduates. The analysis is based on question- naire responses of 202 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory classes in a comprehensive university located in the southeastern United States.
Each student in a selected class was asked to complete a questionnaire designed for 30-45 minutes administration time. In addition to demographic data, students provided information about attitudes, values and behaviors relevant to family, education, occupations, arts and entertainment.
This report is based on analysis of indexes consisting of single items, such as the Socioeconomic Index of Occupations, which is derived from student’s report of father’s specific occupation (Reiss 196l), and composite indexes, such as the High Culture Orientation Index, which is based on responses to twelve separate questionnaire items.
High culture orientation, meaning an expressed interest in high culture rather than high culture participation, is used as a dependent variable. While we recognize that people do not always do what they say they would like to do, this approach minimizes an inherent bias in the participation approach, finan- cial and availability barriers to attendance at high culture events. The high culture orientation index (HCOI) measures students’ orientations to occupa- tions, tastes and activities which are usually associated with high culture. This index is based on responses to twelve questionnaire items, which employ various objective response formats. Each item was dichotomized (0- 1); then, responses were summed across items to yield an index score for each respon- dent. The theoretical range of the index scores is 0- 12. The mean score for the 12 item index was 4.73, the standard deviation, 2.54.
Analysis and Results
High Culture and Higher Education
The HCOI was trichotomized so as to reflect the original distribution of responses while ensuring meaningful distinctions between categories (Labovitz 1970; Heise 1975). Since the individual items constitute en- dorsements of attitudes, tastes and behaviors, breaks were established by the number of items endorsed. Low high-culture orientation includes scores of 0-3; medium orientation includes scores of 4-6; high orientation includes scores of 7-1 1. Table 1 contains the distribution of HCOI scores, the distribu- tion of HCOI items and their correlations with the scale.
As shown in Table 1, 21.8 percent of the student sample is distributed into the high range on high culture orientation, 44.6 percent scored in the
HIGH CULTURE ORIENTATION 349
Table 1 Distributions on High Culture Orientation Index (HCOI)
and Index Items (in order of endorsement)
Respect Art/Theatre Critic Like Opera Respect Poet Respect Painter/Sculptor Respect Ballet Dancer Respect Director Like Classical Music Attend Stage Plays Own Child in Arts Repeat Visits to Museums Enjoy Museums Need Museums
Mean sd HCOP
.127
.178 ,183 .254 .269 .300 .411 .452 ,462 .574 .665 .868
.334
.383
.387
.436
.446
.459
.493 * 499 .500 .496 .473 .339
.449
.374
.529
.542
.507
.370
.518
.352
.451
.484
.364
.296
a l o ~ = 0-3, n = 68 (33.7 percent) medium = 4-6, n = 90 (44.6 percent) high = 7-11 , n = 4 4 (21.8 percent)
middle range and 33.7 percent are within the low range. The mean for the trichotomized index was .881, the standard deviation .737. Although college attendance has previously been found to be a strong predictor of high culture orientation, these data suggest a considerable variation exists among the col- lege students in this sample. It does not appear that this variation exists because the effects of higher education on cultural orientation develop over time, since this analysis shows no important relationship exists between year in college and high culture orientation.
SES Background and High Culture Orientation
Factors other than college attendance and year in school, which could af- fect cultural orientation, also were examined. Cultural capital theory posits that cultural orientation is a product of class-based family views. Thus, a significant relationship between cultural orientation and measures of parents’ socioeconomic status is expected. However, as shown in Table 2, traditional measures of SES have no apparent effect on high culture orientation. Race and sex of respondent, income, education, occupational prestige and country club membership of parents are not found to be significantly related to cultural
Table 2 HCO by Background Characteristics and Experience
Percent High Culture Orientation Low Medium High
Sex Male (n = 83) Female (n = 1 19)
White (n = 172) Black (n = 25)
Poor- Average (n = 124) Good-Excellent (n = 78)
Poor-Average (n = 61) Good-Excellent (n = 139)
Under $25,000 (n = 56) $25,000-$49,000 (n = 71) $50,000 plus (n = 75)
Through H.S. grad. (n = 59) Some post H.S. ( n = 41) College grad. (n = 102)
Father’s Occupation 0-25 (n = 42) 26-50 (n = 46) 51-75 (n = 55) 76-99 (n= 59)
County Club (parents) Not members (n = 126) Members (n = 76)
School Encouraged Art No (n = 91) Yes (n = 110)
Race
Current GPA
High School GPA
Family Income
Father’s Education
33.7 33.6
32.6 40.0
33.9 33.3
29.5 35.9
32.1 36.6 32.0
35.6 29.3 34.3
38.1 28.3 34.5 33.9
31.8 36.8
47.3 21.8
47 .O 42.9
45.3 40.0
46.0 42.3
37.7 47.5
48.2 42.3 44.0
49.2 48.8 40.2
38.1 50.0 45.5 44.1
47.6 39.5
34.1 53.6
19.3 23.5
22.1 20.0
20.2 24.4
32.8 16.6
19.6 21.1 24.0
15.3 22.0 25.5
23.8 21.7 20.0 22.0
20.6 23.7
18.7*** 24.5
HIGH CULTURE ORIENTATION 35 1
Table 2 (continued)
Percent High Culture Orientation Low Medium High
Childhood Art Model N o (n = 42) Yes (n = 158)
No (n = 98) Yes (n = 102)
No (n = 69) Yes (n = 132)
Creative Activity Low (n = 126) High (n = 76)
Teacher Encouraged Art
Fonnat Music Lessons
47.6 29.1
43.9 23.5
40.6 30.3
38.9 25.0
42.9 45.6
41.8 47.1
43.5 45.5
47.6 39.5
9.5** 25.3
14.3*** 29.4
15.9* 24.2
13.4*** 35.5
* p < .05 **p < .01
***p < .001
orientation. Similarly, orientation to high culture does not result from more general academic ability, as measured by academic performance in high school. In fact, this relationship is slightly negative with only seventeen per- cent of those students with above average high school grades expressing the highest orientation to high culture, compared to thirty-three percent of those with average or below average high school grades. This finding is contrary to the results reported by DiMaggio and Mohr (1985) who found that for both the 1960 survey and the 1971 follow-up study, a positive effect of cultural capital on all factors ranging from high school grades to graduate school atten- dance. It does, however, support the findings of Katsillis and Rubinson (1990) who found no relationship between cultural capital and school success in Greece.
Interpersonal Experience
Background factors found to be significantly related to high culture orien- tation pertain to interpersonal experience. As shown in Table 2, twenty-nine
Tab
le 3
O
ccup
atio
nal
Pres
tige
Rat
ings
and
Occ
upat
iona
l V
alue
s by
Lev
els
of H
CO
Hig
h R
espe
ct F
or
Low
HC
O
Med
ium
HC
O
Hig
h H
CO
(n
= 6
8)
(n =
90)
(n
= 4
4)
Perc
ent
(n)
Perc
ent
(n)
Perc
ent
(n)
Gas
Sta
tion
Atte
ndan
t (n
= 6
) C
arpe
nter
(n
= 4
0)
Pro
Bas
ebal
l Pla
yer
(n =
41)
Ph
otog
raph
er (
n =
52)
So
cial
Wor
ker
(n =
68)
B
anke
r (n
= 7
1)
Bus
ines
s per
son
(n =
81
) Pr
o A
ctor
(n
= 8
3)
Pro
Mus
icia
n (n
= 8
4)
Polic
e (n
= 8
7)
Tea
cher
(n
= 8
9)
0.0
(0)
5.9
(4)
10.3
(7
) 16
.2
(11)
26.5
(1
8)
33.8
(2
3)
38.2
(2
6)
30.9
(2
1)
17.6
(1
2)
38.2
(2
6)
32.4
(2
2)
1.1
21.1
20
.0
24.4
26
.7
31.1
33
.3
41.1
44
.4
41.1
45
.6
11.4
38
.6
27.3
52
.3
59.1
45
.5
56.8
56
.8
72.7
54
.5
59.1
(5)*
**
(17)
***
(12)
(2
3)**
* (2
6)**
* (2
0)
(25)
(2
5)**
(3
2)**
* (2
4)
(26)
**
FBI
Age
nt (
n =
116
) Pr
ofes
sor
(n =
121
) D
octo
r (n
= 1
70)
Occ
upat
iona
l Val
ues
Sal
ary
Impo
rtan
t (n
= 1
05)
Res
pons
ibili
ty (
n =
60)
R
egul
ar H
ours
(n
= 1
09)
Cre
ativ
ity (n
= 1
57)
Use
ful (
n =
119
) C
owor
kers
(n =
159
) E
nvir
onm
ent (
n =
148
)
55.9
(3
8)
60.0
(5
4)
54.5
(2
4)
50.0
(3
4)
62.2
(5
6)
70.5
(3
1)**
88
.2
(60)
85
.6
(77)
75
.0
(33)
54.4
(3
7)
58.9
(5
3)
34.1
(1
5)*
23.5
(1
6)
36.7
(3
3)
25.0
(1
1)
52.3
(2
3)
72.1
(4
9)
76.7
(6
9)
88.6
(3
9)*
50.0
(3
4)
65.6
(5
9)
59.1
(2
6)
84.1
(3
7)
75.0
(3
3)
60.3
(4
1)
50.0
(4
5)
79.4
(5
4)
75.6
(6
8)
76.5
(5
2)
70.0
(6
3)
*p <
.05
**p
< .0
1 **
*p <
.001
354 JOHN RYAN AND LARRY W. DEBORD
percent of the sample who reported that teachers encouraged interest in the arts, also express the highest level of HCO. Only fourteen percent of students who reported no such encouragement expressed a high HCO, a finding that supports results reported by DiMaggio and Mohr (1985). Among students who indicated they had a childhood art model, such as a musician or artist, twenty-five percent expressed high HCO, compared to only ten percent who reported no such model influenced them. Students who pursued formal music lessons also report higher levels of H C O (twenty-four percent) than do those who have not had such lessons (sixteen percent). Finally, thirty-six percent of the students, who pursued more self-initiated creative projects such as writing poems, short stories, and songs, expressed greater appreciation for high culture. Only thirteen percent of students not involved in such projects scored high on HCO.
Cultural Orientation and Occupational Values
Bourdieu argues that social class is delineated into fractions based, for ex- ample, on the interaction of occupation and income. His model suggests that, because of their relationship to economic capital, different occupational groups have different incentives for acquiring cultural capital. For example, he believes that, when confronted with changing tax laws or decreasing finan- cial resources, members of the upper class tend to place a greater value on more technically-oriented professional preparation than on the humanities. Bourdieu argues that this is in contrast to other segments of the upper class who, if secure in their economic capital, will value the arts and humanities as a way of distancing themselves from the new middle class.
As mentioned above, our findings suggest no significant relationship ex- ists between parents’ occupation and the cultural orientation of their children. While not implying the same conscious class strategy as suggested by Bour- dieu, a 1982 National Endowment for the Arts survey (1985) found that respondents in what was termed people-oriented jobs were more likely to be arts participants than those in data-oriented or thing-oriented jobs. This report suggests that cultural orientation is part of a general world view associated with occupational ideology and other values and attitudes.
In the study reported here, occupational orientations were measured by two sets of items. First, students were asked to indicate whether they had a great deal of respect, some respect, or not much respect for selected occupa- tions. Second, a set of seven questions measured work values. Each item and proportion endorsement is presented in Table 3.
As shown in Table 3, differences exist between those with a high culture orientation and other students regarding occupational perceptions and values. Students oriented toward high culture tend to show more respect for jobs held
Tab
le 4
A
ttitu
des,
Val
ues
and
Tas
tes
by H
igh
Cul
ture
Ori
enta
tion
Low
HC
O
Med
ium
HC
O
Hig
h H
CO
(n
= 6
8)
(n =
90)
(n
= 4
4)
Perc
ent
(n)
Perc
ent
(n)
Perc
ent
(n)
Mor
e Sc
hool
Art
M
ore
Arti
stic
Tha
n Pa
rent
s Pr
efer
to
Wor
k A
lone
C
anno
t N
ame
Her
o C
olle
ge f
or G
ood
Tra
inin
g D
efer
Mar
riag
e Po
pIR
ock
Favo
rite
No
TV
Fav
orite
s T
op T
en
TV
Per
Day
4 H
ours
Plu
s N
ever
Wat
ch M
iam
i V
ice
Like
10-
14 M
usic
Sty
les
20 H
ours
+ L
eisu
reIW
ork
Spen
d $5
0 Pe
r W
eek
3 H
ours
Plu
s M
usid
Day
63.2
23
.5
19.1
48
.5
67.6
60
.3
75.0
11
.8
33.8
16
.2
19.1
48
.5
20.6
47
.1
(43)
66
.7
(16)
38
.9
(13)
16
.7
(33)
38
.9
(46)
82
.2
(41)
65
.6
(51)
67
.8
(8)
17.8
(2
3)
36.7
(13)
36
.7
(14)
28
.9
(32)
28
.9
(11)
20
.0
(33)
33
.3
93.2
50
.0
40.9
27
.3
77.3
70
.5
65.9
34
.1
22.7
34
.1
40.9
40
.9
36.4
36
.4
*p
< .0
5 **
p <
.01
**
*p <
,001
356 JOHN RYAN AND LARRY W. DEBORD
by unskilled and skilled workers (e.g. gas station attendant, carpenter) and the service professions (e. g. social worker, teacher). Thus, a high culture orienta- tion does not appear to be associated with elitist views.
The occupational values associated with a high culture orientation are creativity and salary. Students with the highest HCO regard opportunities for creativity in work as more important, and place less emphasis upon salary than others do. Only minor differences between groups are observed for the other five occupational values.
Attitudes and Values
Students with high HCO differed from other students on nonoccupa- tional values and attitudes as well. As shown in Table 4, students with high HCO are: inclined to believe that high schcool students get too little exposure to art (ninety-three percent versus sixty-three percent); more likely to view themselves as being more interested in the arts than their parents (fifty percent versus twenty-four percent); and, given the choice of working with others or working alone on a project, more likely to choose to work alone (forty-one per- cent versus nineteen percent) than are students with a weak orientation to high culture.
The data also suggest that students with high H C O are not significantly less involved with media or popular music. More high H C O students are able to name a celebrity or public figure whom they admire, which may indicate a broader cultural knowledge and, perhaps, better cultural integration. While not very different from other students in involvement with the media, students oriented to high culture appear to be more selective in their choices. Consis- tent with the findings reported by others (see, for instance, Ruffner 1972-73; DeihI, Schneider, and Peters 1985; Fink, Robinson, and Dowden 1985; NEA 1985; and Robinson and Fink 1986) the musical tastes of this group are more varied. This is demonstrated by both the range of their expressed preferences and by their ability to classify musicians correctly by style of music.
Summary and Conclusions
This study used a more general measure of cultural capital, high culture orientation, than previously reported, and examined correlates of such an orientation within a group that contains generally equal educational attain- ment. Considerable variation in high culture orientation was found, although parents’ socioeconomic status, traditionally thought to be predictive of high culture orientation, was not significantly related to it in the sample. Factors found to be associated with a high culture orientation are: formal music lessons, encouragement by teachers, childhood art models, and self-initiated creative projects. Unfortunately, it is not known if such correlates of high
HIGH CULTURE ORIENTATION 357
culture orientation reflect an already present high culture orientation (i.e., students write poems, take lessons, and are encouraged by teachers because they already have shown talent and/or interest in these activities), nurture the beginnings of such an orientation so that it continues into adulthood, or if such experiences promote a high culture orientation in the uninitiated. This is a problem that is inherent in other nonlongitudinal studies on high culture par- ticipation and orientation as well.
Examining the relationship between cultural orientation and occupa- tional values, we found that students with a high culture orientation have greater respect for a wider range of occupations than those who do not hold this orientation. When asked about factors that would be important to them in their careers, high HCO students are less likely to hold traditional middle- class entrepreneurial values. The data also show that, consistent with the find- ings of high culture audience participation studies, high culture students tend to be more integrated into a wider range of cultural activities, including popular culture.
Thus, HCO is associated with what might be termed a more liberal world view regarding status differentiation and personal aspirations. The majority of high culture students view themselves as more knowledgeable and apprecia- tive of symbolic cultural products in general. Such findings support Bourdieu’s view of cultural capital as part of a complex of attitudes, behaviors and com- petencies, but the lack of association with SES variables does not support his view of cultural capital as a means of class reproduction. This leads to the possibility that high culture orientation may be more of a pattern of cultural choice reported by Hughes and Peterson (1983) or lifestyle than the conscious mobility strategy suggested by Bourdieu (1984).
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358 JOHN RYAN AND LARRY W. DEBORD
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