AbstractUsing Bernstein's theory of childhood socialization and Kohn's research on adult occupational experiences as the theoretical base, research was undertaken to study the relationship between social class (as measured by occupation and education) and help‐seeking behavior. Intensive interviews (n = 42) and surveys (n = 838) were used as data. No evidence of an age or race effect was found. A sex‐by‐class effect was found. It was found that the lower the social class, the more likely were high values of conformity and the use of didactic help‐seeking behavior for both males and females. The higher the respondent's social class, the more likely he or she valued autonomy and had had experiences using a negotiating help‐seeking style if the respondent was a female. Males overwhelmingly employed a didactic style regardless of class.