The definition of status identification has been shifting between subjective simplification and objective status. In this paper, using data from the Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) survey, we reconsider the character of this variable and attempt to define it more adequately.
In the 2005 SSM datum, the distribution of "upper/middle/lower" -identification is independent of the order of the questionnaires. This implies that this variable is objective with regard to the meaning of "fait social" (E. Durkheim). The divergence between high and low income class expands more than 85 and 95 SSM, but, on the contrary, "1-10" -identification shows a peak at "5" in all income classes. This duality of differentiation and uniformity is characteristic in the stratification of the 2005 datum based on social psychology.
Status identification is the self-estimation of a person's social status, using native categories like "upper," "middle," and "lower" as a frame of reference. Thus, it constructs a self-referent relation in a reflective stratified society and provides an interesting example for modern theoretical sociology.