Final answer:
The level of aspiration is a balance between personal ambitions and practical limitations, including social expectations and short goal-achievement cycles. It's affected by variety in daily experience, relevant goals, and the sociocultural context, such as the value placed on education for career success.
Step-by-step explanation:
The level of aspiration can be defined as a compromise between what one wishes to achieve and what is realistically attainable. It represents the balance between one's ambitions and the practical limitations or constraints that impact the ability to achieve those ambitions. It is influenced by a variety of factors including variety in daily experience, society’s expectations, personal goals, and the understanding of choices and tradeoffs.
The concept stresses the importance of setting short goal-achievement cycles and aspirations that are likely to be fulfilled. These goals should be relevant and result-based, as they need to be meaningful enough for an individual to pursue, yet within the realm of practicality. The sociocultural environment, as explained by David Simon, plays a significant role, particularly with the expectation of obtaining a college education for success in U.S. society, which is becoming increasingly prevalent.
However, the notion of compromise is particularly challenging today as social discourse tends to favor extremes, which makes the practice of setting moderate aspirations more difficult. The pursuit of aspirations also intersects with personal comfort; people in the middle-class desire to lead a comfortable life which can dictate the choices they make regarding education and career. For instance, they might choose to work and earn rather than pursuing higher degrees due to the choices and tradeoffs involved - balancing financial stability with the potential long-term benefits of further education.