Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social Mobility and Attained Social Position

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

PI: Melvin L. Kohn Co-PI: Yin Yue Institution: Johns Hopkins University Title: Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social Mobility and Attained Social Position Award Number: Abstract: Focusing on rural-to-urban migrants, who were missed in most sociological studies conducted in China, this research project will assess theoretical interpretations of two fundamental social processes: social mobility, and the relationship of position in the social structure to personality. The following questions will be explored: Could the general social mobility models developed in highly industrialized countries be applied directly to the rural-to-urban migrants? What aspects should we reconsider and how should we revise current models to understand the mobility process of rural-to-urban migrants more comprehensively? Is it people?s current positions in the social structure under current institutional setting or their initial positions in the social structure that affects their personalities, or both? Will rural origin have permanent effects on people?s later personality? What are the relationships of social structure and personality for rural migrants to cities? Do such relationships differ from those of people who have urban origins? To answer these questions, comparative analyses will be conducted between the migrants and other appropriate populations, using data of this study, data of China General Social Survey, and the findings and data of an NSF-supported survey conducted by Kohn and his collaborators in 2006. The data collection will be conducted in Beijing, China. A combination of map-sampling and normal random sampling procedures will be used to find these rural-to-urban migrants, and both quantitative survey and intensive case study will be conducted. Results from this research will be disseminated through conference papers and academic publications. This proposed research will stimulate scholars? interest in doing quantitative studies of rural-to-urban migrants who are generally underrepresented in most surveys in China. It will offer scholars and policymakers a chance to rethink the limitations of findings and conclusions from studies that failed to include this segment of urban population. The findings of this research may help scholars and policymakers better understand the migrant population in urban China, and help them in making policies that can overcome discrimination against rural migrants, which is recognized as one of the most crucial social problems in transitional China.