The social background of the 'artificial practice'.

Dundee W HEN a community is under observation it is always necessary to define its social 1 1 structure. This is because observed differences between its members may be the result of differences in mode of life, opportunity and culture. The 'artificial practice' is no exception. The need for a social study is reinforced by the fact that psychological tests were used, and their results cannot be interpreted without knowing the social context of the people who completed them. This article describes the results of the social study. Method Social data consist of well-defined material and are therefore easy to gather. The material observed in this study was social class, socioeconomic group, civil state and family background. The Registrar-General's Classification (1960) gives social class and socioeconomic group. The criteria for establishing social class are familiar and need no amplification here. The socioeconomic grouping is used less frequently. This is a useful grouping because it separates people who carry responsibility, e.g. foremen, from others with similar occupations. In this sense it amplifies the occupational classification. Most surveys include three civil states; single, married or widowed. I added three other categories; divorced, divorced and remarried, and unmarried parents. I included married people who were living apart in the 'divorced' category whether they had gone through the formality of a legal separation or not. Family background amplifies the social responsibilities of the married people. The following subgroups were used: young couples without children, couples with a child or children younger than school age, couples who had children at school as well as children under school age, elderly or middle-aged couples who had no children at all. The differences between the four groups were analysed by the x2 test. Results Social class. The first two social classes could not be considered separately because there were not enough people in them. The first three classes were grouped together. The figures did not show a significant difference in social class between the demand-attendance groups. I have left the interpretation of this result to later because a number of extraneous factors must be considered. The figures are summarized in table I. Socioeconomic group. This grouping allows one to distinguish between people who are employed in a supervisory capacity and others who follow instructions. The figures in table II show that there is a disproportion of supervisors in the perimean groups and *Artificial practice-500 adults whose medical history …