This is an award under the Grants for Improving Doctoral Dissertation Research program. It is a study of the relationship between working conditions and personality development among informal sector workers in Colombia. Both surveys and intensive interviews will be conducted in that country to test whether Melvin Kohn's theories about the relationship between social structure and personality, developed and tested previously only in advanced industrialized societies, need to be modified when applied to the informal sector of a developing society. This research will build upon a well-established tradition of research on the way in which the conditions in the workplace affect the values and personalities of employees. By testing these ideas in a developing society, Colombia, this research will contribute to the effort to determine whether existing theories are universal or can only be applied in a particular kind of society. In addition to the scientific gains to be achieved by the research, this award will materially assist a highly promising student in completing research for the Ph.D. dissertation. Thus it contributes to the future scientific manpower of the nation and the thorough training of the next generation of sociologists.
