ABSTRACT
In other contexts, structure becomes almost synonymous with ‘distribution’ in the statistical sense of the word. ‘Socio-professional structure’ is then used to describe the distribution of individuals of a population into the different kinds of socio-professional positions. In the same way, Lazarsfeld speaks of ‘structural’ variables when talking about variables characterizing collective units. Also, Blau talks of ‘structural’ effect when a variable appears like a function of a distribution. Thus, according to Blau, there is a ‘structural’ effect when the tendency of manual workers to vote for the Left appears to be determined by the proportion of manual workers in the environment.
