STATUS CONSISTENCY AND CONSISTENCY OF POLITICAL BELIEFS

Abstract

This article tests the generalization, often found in the literature, that people who occupy inconsistent statuses are more likely to hold consistent attitudes of either the “left” or the “right” than those whose statuses are consistent. Using a technique which incorporates socioeconomic status in the analysis, Eitzen concludes that socioeconomic status—not status inconsistency—explains consistently held liberal or conservative political attitudes.