ABSTRACT
The rags to riches success story has long captivated the imagination of the American people. Upward social mobility has usually been accepted rather uncritically as a natural and desirable part of a democratic, open-class society, and with reference to the individual, mobility has often been regarded as a coveted prize awarded almost automatically to the able and energetic. Some of the social scientific literature regarding vertical mobility has hinted that the experience is often a traumatic one for the individual, growing out of neurotic drives and resulting in further neurotic tendencies. The basic plan of the investigation was to compare a selected group of mobile persons with a comparable group of non-mobile persons in regard to a number of factors thought to be associated with upward social mobility. In attempting to isolate presumed causes of upward social mobility, the major emphasis of the study is upon early primary group relations.
