Ascribed characteristics

Ascribed characteristics, as used in the social sciences, refers to properties of an individual attained at birth, by inheritance, or the aging process. The individual has very little, if any, control over these characteristics.^[1] Typical examples include race, ethnicity, gender, caste, height, and appearance. The term is apt for describing characteristics chiefly caused by "nature" (e.g. genetics) and for those chiefly caused by "nurture" (e.g. parenting during early childhood).

Uses

The term is often used in discussions about how people with certain ascribed characteristics are systematically treated with prejudice. Thus, the study of racism can be seen, at least superficially, as the study of the ways that people with a certain skin color and cultural background are systematically treated differently by society at large.^[2]

Common arguments

Many arguments stem from disagreements over whether or not a given trait is actually an ascribed characteristic. For example, people who find homosexuality morally objectionable may attempt to justify this by insisting that homosexuals make a conscious decision about the nature of the sexual desire they experience however, it would difficult to condemn homosexuality if homosexuality was predetermined, either genetically or from early childhood.^[3] (See Sexual orientation.)

Ronald Dore's Arguments

Of course, the complications of the issue are myriad. For example, consider the discussion in chapter 10 of Ronald Dore's British Factory, Japanese Factory, where Dore investigates whether decisions on hiring and promotion, in the Japanese firm Hitachi, over a particular time were based chiefly on "achievement" or chiefly on "ascribed characteristics". The context of the discussion implied that achievement-based decisions are good, while those based on ascribed characteristics are bad. His discussion admits explicitly and, implicitly, that there are several complications to moral judgement that include:

• Some achievement characteristics are positively correlated with some ascribed characteristics such as intelligence and socioeconomic success.^[4] For example, "the power to command...may be much more likely to be bred in upper class families" to the extent that "the power to command" is viewed as a measure of merit. Promotion decisions favoring high merit would not be entirely distinguishable from making promotion decisions favoring high class thus, it can be difficult, to tell whether a particular promotion decision has been made for just or unjust reasons.
• It is possible to, "irrelevantly acquire discriminatory characteristics", or even do so intentionally. For example, by converting to a new religion or getting married.
• It is reasonable to view even some ascribed characteristics as factors that should affect employee compensation. In Hitachi, for example, pay is positively correlated both with performance and with age. The latter is an ascribed characteristic, but Dore suggests that it is a perfectly reasonable consideration, especially since expenses such as childcare, tend to increase over the duration of employment at Hitachi.

Dore also points out that what counts as an ascribed characteristic can vary depending on context. In evaluating the fairness of hiring standards, he viewed an applicant's success in the educational system as a good approximation of achievement. Thus, he noted that hiring decisions at Hitachi, during the time of his study, were "regulated by very strict qualification standards" and not very significantly influenced by ascribed characteristics. When he turned to evaluate opportunities for advancement within the firm, however, Dore noted that "educational qualifications...limit the range of posts which one can achieve". Meaning even if one's level of achievement increases, one may still be kept down by a relative lack of achievement in the educational system. Therefore, in investigating opportunities for promotions, educational achievement " the two become another form of ascribed characteristic."^[5] These additional forms of ascribed characteristics expand on the definition of an ascribed characteristic allowing for it to have more applications.

References

• Dore, Ronald (1973). "Two Employment Systems", chapter 10 of British Factory, Japanese Factory. Berkeley: University of California Press. (The discussion above is based almost exclusively on pp. 270–272, including footnote 4. Ascribed Characteristics are not the chief subject of this chapter.)

1. ↑ Ferrante, Joan (2007). Sociology: A Global Perspective. Cengage Learning. p. 200. 
2. ↑ Resigl, Martin; Wodak, Ruth (2005). Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics Of Racism and Antisemitism. Routledge. pp. 11–14. 
3. ↑ Rahman, Q; Wilson, G.D (2003). "Sexual orientation and the 2nd to 4th finger length ratio: evidence for organising effects of sex hormones or developmental instability?". International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology. 28: 288–303. 
4. ↑ Strenze, Tarmo (2007-09-01). "Intelligence and socioeconomic success: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal research". Intelligence. 35 (5): 401–426. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2006.09.004. 
5. ↑ Hearn, James C. "Attendance at higher-cost colleges: Ascribed, socioeconomic, and academic influences on student enrollment patterns". Economics of Education Review. 7 (1): 65–76. doi:10.1016/0272-7757(88)90072-6.