Respect and Admiration

Participants estimated their respect and admiration for persons described by their age, level of education, and income. When provided with one item of information, participants gave increasing respect to older, more educated, and wealthier persons. When provided with all three items of information, participants combined education and income information in accordance with algebraic models, admiring most those persons who have achieved both the highest education and the largest income. However, information about age did not combine algebraically with education and income. Instead, participants gave increments of respect to younger persons in the higher education and income brackets, indicating that some configural integration process occurs when age is involved. These results are discussed according to their implications for other achieved and ascribed characteristics.