On the Discrepancy of Descriptive Facts and Normative Values in Perceptions of Occupational Prestige

Abstract

Previous research has argued that occupational prestige is a social fact founded in the collective conscience and prestige perceptions morally grounded. Ideas of strong consensus in perceptions rest on comparisons of compressed mean values, and the similarity between what prestige an occupation has and what it ought to have has not previously been empirically explored. Drawing on survey data and a discrepancy index, the present study explores the resemblance between descriptive facts and normative values in perceptions of occupational prestige and consensus and discrepancies in prestige perceptions. The analysis showed discrepancies in descriptive and normative prestige perceptions for welfare and cultural occupations. The differences in perceptions can be explained by sex, beliefs about what factors give prestige to an occupation, and the prestige of one’s occupation.