Summary: Peterson & Kern 1996 – Changing Highbrow Taste: From Snob to Omnivore

Highbrow cultural tastes among high-status Americans have shifted from exclusive “snobbish” preferences to more inclusive “omnivorous” ones.

They support this claim through empirical analysis of survey data from 1982 and 1992 demonstrating that high-status individuals increasingly appreciate a wider array of cultural forms, including both highbrow and lowbrow genres.

Key Concepts

1. Highbrow vs. Lowbrow Taste:
   • Highbrow: Traditionally associated with appreciation for fine arts such as classical music and opera.
     • It was a means to distinguish elite Anglo-Saxon status from lower-status groups.
   • Lowbrow: Refers to popular entertainment forms like country music, bluegrass, gospel, rock, and blues, often associated with marginalized groups.
2. Snob: A high-status individual who exclusively engages in highbrow cultural activities and avoids lowbrow and middlebrow cultural forms.
   1. The study operationalizes a snob as someone who does not participate in any lowbrow or middlebrow activities.
3. Omnivore: A high-status individual open to a wide range of cultural forms, from highbrow to lowbrow.
4. Omnivorousness: The degree to which high-status individuals embrace a variety of cultural tastes.

Empirical Findings

They use data from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (1982 and 1992) to test their hypothesis. The surveys asked respondents to select their preferred music genres from a list.

• Highbrows vs. Others:
  • Highbrows liked significantly more lowbrow genres in 1992 than in 1982, indicating a shift towards omnivorousness.
  • Highbrows also showed a greater increase in the number of lowbrow genres liked compared to non-highbrows.
  • In 1982, highbrows liked almost two of the three middlebrow music genres, which increased slightly by 1992.

Theorizing Omnivorousness

They explore several factors contributing to the shift from snob to omnivore:

1. Structural Change: Increased access to education and the arts has made elite tastes more accessible, devaluing them as markers of exclusion.
2. Value Change: Greater societal tolerance for diverse values and cultural expressions.
3. Art-World Change: The rise of avant-garde theories promoting the value of diverse and exotic cultural expressions.
4. Generational Politics: Younger generations embrace diverse cultural forms, challenging traditional highbrow tastes.
5. Status-Group Politics: The strategic incorporation of popular culture into dominant status-group culture.