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This paper describes a procedure for facilitating the generation of theory useful to family sociologists. This procedure is based upon a linguistic model, and it utilizes the metaphor of literary genre as a guide. A distinction is made between the construction and the generation of sociological theory. The suggestion is made that the generation perspective may enhance the ability of theorists to find subtle interconnections among phenomena and thereby to extend fields of sociological knowledge along novel paths. The procedure itself depends first upon the construction of a binary lexicon. One such lexicon consists of one matrix of concepts describing social structure from the perspective of stabilization of social relations and a complementary matrix describing structure from the perspective of destabilization. From these matrices, one concept is chosen as a metonym or as a metaphor to act as a basis for deriving connections among the other concepts in the matrices. The manipulation of concepts from both matrices permits the development of propositions suggesting ironies and contradictions in social relations. Examples of the use of this procedure are presented, and some unresolved problems are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper began with an attempt to formalize the Davis-Moore functional theory of social stratification. It was found that the theory could be represented by a static model consisting of two algebraic equations with appropriate constraints on the functions. Then the tools of path analysis were used to evaluate the empirical adequacy of the Davis-Moore and Parsonian functional theories of social stratification as representations of cultural beliefs about stratification. Because of the likely presence of measurement and sampling errors, it was impossible to reject definitely either of the models. However, the estimated path coefficients were more consistent with the Parsonian theory than the Davis-Moore theory. This led to an inquiry into the conditions under which one model would be a better representation than the other. It was argued that the Davis-Moore scheme would provide a more accurate representation of cultural beliefs under conditions of high organizational interdependence whereas the Parsonian framework would give a better representation under conditions of low interdependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of community power, influence, and leadership have rapidly increased in popularity and in number during the decade since Hunter's epochal study of Regional City in 1954. Foci of the various studies since then have ranged from the delineation of traits of leaders or power figures to conceptualizations of types of community power structures. Some few studies have been concerned with the relationship between attributes and actions of community leaders and community social structure. Outside the field of sociometric research the distribution of influence and the effect of community social structure upon this distribution has received little more than passing attention. The usual leadership research is concerned with the study of ways in which leadership affects the social structure of the community. This study will attempt to take the reverse orientation, that of how social structure affects leadership. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the distribution of influence and community social structure. More specifically, this study is concerned with the relationship between consensus on leadership and community homogeneity. Homogeneity of community socioeconomic characteristics is assumed to be a basis for the shared values, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and interests which serve as the basis for community consensus which may be manifested in agreement on nominations (choices) of community influentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tins paper represents a first step in exploring a theory of intraorganizational stratification. In pursuing this objective we will take the rather pronounced status hierarchy in a psychiatric hospital as our point of departure. The main focus is upon the social distance patterns that exist between the occupants of formal positions in the hospital, and the manner in which the manipulation of social distance as reward and punishment and as a status protection mechanism is a significant aspect of interstatus relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the possibility that a relationship exists between authoritarianism as measured by the F-scale and alienation as measured by sociologist Leo Srole's anomie scale. It is the contention of this paper that there is a sound theoretical basis for expecting that authoritarianism would vary directly with alienation. If one accepts the statement that authoritarianism predicts potential recruitment to a totalitarian social movement, then one may look for other conditions, which surround such recruitment. A number of theorists note that mass movements of this nature tend to develop during periods of societal disorganization. The position of this article is that alienation may be a sufficient but not a necessary condition for the occurrence of authoritarianism. Side-stepping the issue of causal sequence, one must show at least that the two vary directly with each other and that this variation is greater than chance. Some F-scale items, particularly those falling in the conventionalism and the sex-projectivity clusters, state that the social order is breaking down. Three components of the Srole scale involve similar attitudes, namely, that the social order is fickle and unpredictable, that there is loss of faith in progress and that life itself is futile.

Sociology has fractured into a number of schools, each claiming to be distinct from the others and to have its own theory. The trouble with the theories is that most of them fail to make their general propositions explicit. Were they made explicit, all the theories would turn out to contain at least the general propositions of behavioral psychology, and the intellectual unification of sociology could begin. The paper discusses the reasons why many sociologists are reluctant to accept this argument. It also discusses other claimants to the status of theory, including "pattern" theories, functional theories (one of which is really behavioral), and the difficulties created by some uses of the concept, social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of social class, occupational experiences, and a variety of stratification factors on the ranking of a set of important life goals. Based on a national sample of Canadians from 1977, the findings indicate modest class differences in the evaluation of four "self-actualization" values. Specifically, middle class respondents rank "self-development," "achievement," and "activism" as more important than do working class respondents. There are no significant differences on the fourth concern, "independence." Multi-variate analysis reveals that the class differences in values are wholly attributable to differences in occupational experiences and educational training in the two class groupings. These findings are consistent with Kohn's thesis of "class and conformity." Additional controls on a set of stratification factors—sex, income, age, and language group (English/French)—suggest almost no differences between dominant and subordinate groups in the ranking of the four values. Only age has a significant influence, with the young rating self-actualization as more important than the old. The implications of these results for the study of dominant values and ideology and for the relationship between social inequality and values are briefly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of previous attempts to test hypotheses derived from the functional theory of stratification suggests that to test the theory as formulated by Davis and Moore, the unit of analysis must be the position rather than the individual: indices of the theoretical concepts must be measures of the stratification structure itself rather than perceptions of that structure: and a universe or representative sample of positions must be used to determine if the relationships specified by the theory are applicable throughout a society's labor force. This paper reports a test of the functional theory that attempts to meet these specifications. Three related models are deduced from the theory and tested: (a) a model in which functional importance and change in skill are presumed to antecede change in reward and change in prestige; (b) a second model in which the dependent variables are additionally infinanced by the interaction of functional importance and change in skill; and (c) a third model in which possible reciprocal effects of functional importance and skill are estimated using longitudinal data. The predictions of the functional theory concerning the effects of functional importance are not supported by the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how variations in status crystallization influence the status attainment process in two stratification systems: the kibbutz and the urban population in Israel. The first is an example of a weakly crystallized system; the second of a moderately crystallized one. The findings provide support for the proposition that in weakly crystallized systems status dimensions tend to affect only variables which measure equivalent dimensions, that is, corresponding variables, with minimal radiation of effects to noncorresponding ones. This pattern has been observed in the application of the status attainment model to the kibbutz. In the urban sample the pattern of effects is uneven. While there is a partial tendency of status dimensions to have a stronger effect on noncorresponding variables, the discrepancy between corresponding and noncorresponding effects is small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the perceived structure of parent-adolescent relations for its effect on intellectuality in young adulthood. In addition, position in the wider societal structure and integration into a supposed intellectually oriented subculture are considered for their effects on this personality characteristic. The data reported are based on a questionnaire survey of 181 Jewish men age 22-29 residing in metropolitan St. Paul. There is a clear association between the perception structure of parent-child relations and later intellectuality. On the other hand, integration into the Jewish subculture neither leads directly to intellectuality nor is associated with the relationship between perceived family structure, and intellectuality. Position in the wider social structure, however, is important in the development of intellectuality both directly and in terms of its effect on perceived family structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is argued that the theory of negotiated order, which has remained largely submerged within a series of fairly specific "grounded" case studies of occupations, professions, and complex organizations in the health field, has a number of attractive qualities to it. As such, it represents one of the more exciting recent developments in the study of organizations. The present paper examines the more recent historical origins of the theory, summarizes its major points, and critically assesses its strengths and weaknesses. Since most of the substance of the theory is found in studies of health professionals working in hospital settings, the examples used here are also derived from this particular body of literature. Some future possible directions which we believe will improve the overall explanatory power of the perspective are presented in the concluding section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical framework is proposed for the systematic study of occupations in their social environments. This paper explores the ways in which occupations influence and are influenced by specific social contexts, taking into account both subjective and factual elements of the environment. Drawing upon past research on social stratification and current social developments, the framework is systematically illustrated, with emphasis on the dynamic nature of the connective relationships between occupations and publics. Neglected areas of research and theory are derived using the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years considerable attention has been focused on delineation of the concept of alienation and on measurement of its relationship to modern social structure and function. This paper reviews the alienation literature, largely empirically oriented, for the last decade. Included with works of primarily theoretical and methodological importance are substantive studies of the relationships between the alienated individual and his social order. Suggestions for further research are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between size and structure is a general problem in the study of social organization. Organization can be seen as a system of relationships among differentiated activities performed by units of a population. Viewed as arising out of the exchange relations among these units, the structural characteristics of organizations should be affected by population size. As specific expressions of this general concern, size has been included in every taxonomy of group properties and has been related to goals, effectiveness, succession, and job satisfaction in studies of formal organizations (Merton, 1957:310-326; Berelson and Steiner, 1964:364-367; Tannenbaum, 1961; Meltzer and Salter, 1962; Simpson and Gulley, 1962; and Grusky, 1961). But perhaps the greatest amount of theoretical and research attention has focused on the relationship between size and the administrative component as one structural aspect of formal organizations (Melman, 1951; Terrien and Mills, 1955; Tsouderos, 1955; Bendix, 1956:221-223; Haire, 1959:287-296; Anderson and Warkov, 1961; Lindenfeld, 1961; Haas et al., 1963; Hawley et al., 1965; Starbuck, 1965:495-502; Rushing, 1966; Raphael, 1967; Hall et al., 1967). The findings produced by this research along with other inquiries into the effects of size on structural characteristics have been inconclusive. This has led some to conclude that "… size may be irrelevant in determining organizational structure" (Hall et al., 1967:912). Such a conclusion, however, may be premature. It is clear from both our own work and that of others that the effects of size may vary by type of organization (Akers and Campbell, 1968). Further, a clearer understanding of the size factor, especially as related to the administrative segment, requires a systematic investigation into other structural features of organization. In particular, Blau and Scott (1962:227) have suggested that complexity, as a second structural characteristic, may be an intervening variable between size and the administrative component, as well as being itself directly affected by organizational size. While other studies have treated complexity in a variety of ways, none has attempted systematically to explore the interrelationships among size, complexity, and the administrative component in a relatively large number of voluntary organizations. It is the purpose of this paper to examine these interrelationships for one kind of organization. Specifically, we want to consider: 1. the relationship between organizational size and the administrative component, controlling for complexity. 2. the relationship between size and complexity controlling for the relative size of the administrative component. 3. the relationship between complexity and the size of the administrative component controlling for organizational size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To discuss the merits of this last hypothesis is beyond the scope of this paper, which has the much more limited aim of examining the empirical support for Lipset and Bendix's original argument. How firmly can we rely on their empirical generalization that the overall pattern of social mobility appears to be much the same in industrial societies? To answer this requires a reanalysis of their data. Although a complete assessment of this generalization would require the examination of all the available material, I have made here no attempt to incorporate more recent findings than they consider. Needless to say, this review is not meant to be negative but, rather, reopens an issue which may have been prematurely closed. Indeed it may even be that readers of Lipset and Bendix have imbued their findings with greater finality than was indicated, since in their original monograph they stress the tentative nature of their interpretation. As an interpretation their study remains masterful, and this critique should be seen in this context. One final qualification is that since the chapter in which this analysis appears was in fact written by Lipset and Zetterberg, it may be more proper to refer to this thesis as the Lipset-Zetterberg thesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a great amount of criticism of structural-functional theory, particularly with respect to its supposed inability to deal with social change. Should structural-functional theory be unable to account for the sources of social change, then it is indeed guilty of an implicit ideological commitment to the status quo. If it can be shown that this theory is capable of dealing with social change, then we can accept Merton's statement: … it is the evaluations which permit the pouring of ideological content into the bottles of functionalism. The bottles themselves are neutral to their contents, and may serve equally well as containers for ideological poison or for ideological nectar. The position taken here is that Merton's statement is correct, provided that an important accommodation is made. This accommodation consists in the explicit incorporation of the dialectical process into structural-functional theory. The dialectical process implies a conflict model of society; it is in the tradition of Marx, who argued that without conflict there can be no progress. It adopts the proposition that conflict is empirically both a normal and an essential element in the social structure. In the simplest terms, the dialectic tells us something about the sources of a particular kind of social change. We are not content, as is Dahrendorf, with advocating a conflict model of society as an alternative to functionalism. The goal is nothing less than to reconcile the two approaches. Dahrendorf has himself recognized that the conflict model cannot provide all the answers since society is "Janusheaded." It is extremely difficult to talk about the prediction of empirical outcomes when one is required to look first at an integration model and then turn to the conflict model. It is necessary to construct one model which will qualify the integration model of society so as to give weight (the exact amount is an empirical question) to the disruptive elements in society. A considerable portion of this paper will be devoted to disengaging the dialectic from its ideological moorings and making it trim for sociological analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary sociological writings abound with references to anomie, and the topic is fast becoming a major theoretical vogue. Yet many users of the concept fail to define it adequately or to place it in any larger theoretical context. As originally coined by Durkheim, the term anomie is a French translation of the Greek anomia, which means "no laws." The commonly used English equivalent of "normlessness" catches the literal meaning of anomie, but it fails to convey any single clear idea to many sociologists. We glibly use the concept without bothering to clarify its meaning. Furthermore, the simple notion of "lack or norms" is relatively worthless, since such a condition rarely if ever exists in any society. Durkheim discussed the idea of anomie at some length both in The Division of Labor in Society and in Suicide. Because the same term is used in both works, and because the concepts presented are similar in many ways, most sociologists have assumed that they were identical. In fact, however, Durkheim gave us two quite distinct conceptions of anomie. This paper is an attempt to separate and clarify these two meanings of anomie, and to relate both of them to more inclusive theories of social organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been almost twenty years since Davis and Moore published their famed theory of stratification. During this period, the discussions which it has engendered have been numerous and highly instructive. It is now time to address ourselves to problems which concern the testability of the theory and its experimental validity. This paper reports the results of an empirical study of one of the basic issues raised by Davis and Moore. A major proposition of their theory argues that in the final analysis, social stratification arises in a society because of differential rewards for performance in the social positions therein. These rewards can be of several types. For our purposes, two are of major importance: symbolic and economic rewards, hereafter referred to as "prestige" and "reward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general theory of symbolic interaction, specifically self theory, is focused upon the importance of language as an instrument of definition and communication. People are seen as responding not directly to a resistant outer reality but to meanings of objects which are defined within a cultural system and social organization. G. H. Mead, in his discussion of the way persons develop self concepts and the accompanying ability to take roles effectively, speaks of the degree to which persons develop a "general other." This general other is an organized structure of attitudes believed to be common to all and is defined in terms of a universe of discourse growing out of the symbolic interaction of a community of individuals. Replies to the Twenty Statements Test, described by Kuhn and McPartland, display this quality. Self-identifying statements which people make fall along a rough spectrum of reference which can be broken up in various ways. The distinction which Kuhn and McPartland have reported is between what they call consensual and nonconsensual statements. Consensual statements are defined as those statements which would be generally understood by persons in the larger society without explanation. Nonconsensual statements are defined as those requiring interpretation before their social relevance can be assessed. The consensual statement is language behavior directed to the general other, while the nonconsensual statement is language directed to a more limited audience. H. S. Sullivan's contribution in developing the notion of the "significant other" consists in accounting for the fact that persons often do not seem to internalize standards and norms from the whole society but from segments of it on some selective basis. In this paper, the number of consensual statements made in response to the Twenty Statements Test will be called the locus score. Respondents are assigned to "high" and "low" locus categories as they make more or less than the median number of consensual statements. Expanding upon this frame of reference, it seems reasonable to propose that the locus quality found in self-conceptions of a given person is also characteristic of his conceptions of other objects. This hypothesis is based on the assumption that the self is the core of a set of interrelated attitudes, and that the level of reference employed by the respondent in his attitudes toward the self would therefore be applicable to other attitudes as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade an impressive body of research has accumulated on the association between social structure and personality. An important development in that literature has been the emergence of a linkage hypothesis relating the personality of the child to the characteristics of the father's occupation through the intervening linkages of father's personality and family socialization. This study uses survey data from senior males in twenty high schools to make a partial test of the occupational linkage hypothesis. We examine the relationship between the occupational complexity of the father's job and the son's achievement patterns and work orientations while controlling for the related variables of family income, father's education, and occupational status. The findings and interpretations raise questions for the occupational linkage hypothesis. When related extrinsic aspects of the father's occupation are controlled adequately, there are no direct relationships between the substantive complexity of the father's job and son's personality as measured in this study. Thus, we conclude that previous research findings on the occupational linkage hypothesis are open to alternative interpretations and that satisfactory evidence for the full, cross-generational linkage hypothesis does not yet exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay discusses the nature of structural parameters from the standpoint of the Negotiated Order perspective, and draws attention to what is regarded as misleading and inaccurate interpretations of such considerations. There is a response to assertions made by Benson and Day and Day in articles about devotional analysis. Evidence is presented of the recognition and conceptualization of structural parameters which are both consistent with and derivative from the central tenets of negotiation theory. Considerations of structural limitation can be taken to a higher level of social organizational analysis.

While a variety of social structural factors do influence all youth, it is critical to note that American youth are not a monolithic entity. Obviously, differences in age, race, sex, and socioeconomic status will play a part in what youth think, feel, and believe. Still, as this review of youth-oriented research indicates, the empirical focus, for the most part, has been upon white, middle-class, college students. One result of this research bias has been a tendency to generalize for all youth from data collected from a relatively small, select, youth population. A second obvious outcome is that sociologists have largely ignored the study of poor youth; non-students; blacks, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, American Indians; youth in the work world; youth in the military; and females. Generally, this review of the social science research suggests that there is consensus among students of youth behavior as to the factors which influence the attitudes and behavior of contemporary youth. At the same time, it must be noted that much of what is pronounced is based on little in the way of empirical research and derived primarily from observations of a limited segment of American youth. Finally, this review of the literature would certainly support the observation that social scientists have provided little in the way of knowledge that would be of value to policy planners, program developers, or those involved in the day to day business of youth socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article replies to comments made by Maines on the fundamental criticism of negotiated order theory, that it involved a problematic which sets aside or indefinitely postpones the analysis of social structure. There are attempts to show that negotiated order theorists have recognized structural constraints and other contextual limits on negotiations. The main difficulty with negotiated order theory is its problematic or reasoning structure. Social structure consists of the relations between sets of situational-contextual limits. The structural limits of one negotiation may be under negotiation in another context.

This article examines the interplay of homophily (similarity breeds connection) at two levels in international trade-dyadic similarity (geographic, political, and cultural proximity) and systemic similarity (structural equivalence and world-system status). First, there is a substitution effect between dyadic homophily and systemic homophily from structural equivalence. Both types of homophily generate favorable social structure that facilitates international trade. The existence of structural equivalence lessens the dependence of bilateral trade on dyadic homophily. Second, there is a stratification effect of world-system status on dyadic homophily. Geographic homophily matters the most for bilateral trade between two noncore countries, while political and cultural homophily is the most influential for trade between a core country and a noncore country. These two findings have important implications. The substitution effect of structural equivalence prevents international trade from complete fragmentation along geographic, political, and cultural lines, while the stratification effect of world-system status reveals unequal capacity across countries to overcome the structural constraints imposed by dyadic homophily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality has yet to be examined as an indirect yet powerful determinant of the diversity of personal social networks that is independent of preference- and population-based mechanisms. I use the 2004 General Social Survey to illustrate how dispositional optimism shapes core discussion network size as well as demographic heterophily among core ties. I find that optimism is associated with enhanced network size as well as ties among nonkin and across lines of age, education, and race. Following these results, I urge closer attention to personality as it dynamically shapes the social structure of opportunities and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is stripping exploitation? This ideological question often plagues exotic dance research, with diverse and often contradictory findings across the literature. Existent research highlights both potentially positive and negative experiences among women involved in exotic dance. In this article, we focus on the social organization of strip clubs and how this organization contextualizes the experiences and commitments of dancers. We present ethnographic data collected by the first author, including extensive field observations of 49 strip clubs, formal interviews from 50 dancers and ex-dancers at various career stages, and informal interviews with dozens of other dancers. We present a typology of strip clubs—hustle clubs, social clubs, and show clubs—and describe the processual orders. We also explain how the processual orders of these different types of clubs relate to dancers’ workplace experiences. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for sociological and public understandings of sex work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If life history research is ever to truly fulfill the promise of the sociological imagination, it will need to engage insights from agency-structure theory that have hitherto been neglected. Relatively few life history researchers have explicitly interpreted their subject matter in terms of agency-structure theory, and those who do rarely go beyond Giddens' initial formulation to incorporate more recent theoretical developments. This article attempts to fill this gap, offering an exemplar theorized life history that frames an actor's experience in terms of agency-structure theory. More specifically, I examine the life history of a former urban gang member who was shot and paralyzed and subsequently became a world-class wheelchair athlete. I interpret the life history in terms of the iterative, projective, and practical-evaluative agentive processes that were operative—sometimes simultaneously—at different points in time; and show how this individual's adaptation to disability was influenced by enabling structural conditions that facilitated his agentive actions and by prior experiences he was able to transpose to his new circumstances. In doing so, I also indicate how the body is an essential part of social experience and the vehicle through which agency and structure are enacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an interactionist framework for the study of status stratification. This framework returns the focus of status research to how status works, especially emphasizing the symbolic and contextual aspects integral to the concept. By closely examining how status is indicated, how it is employed, and how it is maintained or changed over time, an interactionist approach provides an explanation on how status affects both individual and organizational behavior-an explanation that is currently lacking in status research. In addition, the development of this framework provides an argument against critics of interactionism who question whether this perspective can contribute to the study of social stratification. This article makes evident that status stratification, with its intimate ties to the symbols and contexts, proves to be an area of study ideally suited to the interactionist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borrowing from the systemic model of social disorganization theory as well as from theories of human ecology and urban geography, we examine the effects of land use on community rates of violence and burglary. We posit that community crime is differentially affected by distinct nonresidential physical spaces in a neighborhood- distinct in terms of whether they are adult-centered, "business-oriented" public spaces versus spaces that are public yet still "resident centered," especially toward community youth (e.g., educational and recreational spaces). We examine potential main, mediating, and moderating effects of neighborhood social structure, resident- centered versus business-oriented public land use, and neighborhood-level processes, including neighboring and physical incivility, using data from 100 Seattle census tracts. Results suggest that the effects of schools on community violence are largely direct, while the effect of business places on violent crime is mediated substantially, but not completely, by physical disorder. In contrast, the effect of playgrounds on violence is moderated by residential instability. Regarding burglary, presence of schools is nonsignificant. Presence of businesses increases burglary, though the effect is partially mediated again by physical disorder. The effect of businesses is also moderated by residential (in)stability. Presence of playgrounds increases burglary risk regardless of neighborhood social-structural characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores bisexual identity as an ambiguous social category within the dominant dualistic sex/gender structure. The article documents the stigmatization of the bisexual category in the discourse of both the Religious Right and lesbian feminist communities, then examines the impact of dual stigmatization on bisexual women, who often see bi identity as disrupting the dominant sexual binary. Drawing from interviews with bisexual women, the article argues that bisexual women's discourse on sexual subjectivity does not escape the influence of binary structures, although it does at times reconfigure the binary along the queer/nonqueer and bisexual/monosexual axes. While the bisexual identity category may work as a discursive stabilizing device during the sex/gender crisis provoked by the AIDS epidemic, its politicization by bi feminists also allows the category to be strategically deployed for feminist and queer political projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates how mesodomain analysis and multilevel longitudinal qualitative research contribute to theorizing about major issues, (e.g., macro/micro dichotomy). Mesodomain analysis examines the consequential, dialectical, and contingent intersections of history, structure, and social action. Results from a processual study of state educational policy show its transformations in movement from the national level through state levels down to local districts and teacher practices. The results are analyzed in terms of the emergence of social organization from interaction, the extension of networks across space and time, and the linkage of levels into a larger framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a framework for examining how the conditions of urban, low-income, single motherhood and the resources available through personal networks shape mothers' conduct in work-welfare programs. It suggests how research on welfare programs ignores work-family linkages and misses the ways economic action is embedded in social structures and communal constraints. Three rubrics of proximate context, referring to personal networks, urban environments, and moral economies, organize material indicating how patterns of personal life shape work efforts. Data from a qualitative study of mothers in AFDC work-welfare programs provide illustrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the contradictory role of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as the linking-pin organization within the economic and educational network of intercollegiate athletic organizations. The NCAA is posited as an institutional structure that developed from struggles over the legitimate definition and practice of intercollegiate athletics within the system of higher education in the U.S. It regulates athletic competition and the distribution of material resources in the network and strives to develop and maintain the legitimate purposes of athletic competition in the system of higher education. This study furthers research in the social organization of sport by combining economic and cultural explanations to reveal competing rationalities and the ebb and flow of domination in the institutional process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this research examines three sets of hypotheses regarding the effects of religious commitment on life satisfaction. Further, given evidence of historical geographical differences in black culture and social structure, this study explores the regional specificity of religious influences on life satisfaction. Religious participation contributes to subjective wellbeing only among non-southern blacks, while private religiosity is unrelated to well-being in any analysis. There are also denominational effects: non-southern members of traditional black denominations (i.e., Baptists and Methodists) and southern Catholics report particularly high levels of life satisfaction. In addition, the effects of religion on life satisfaction are contingent upon age for non-southerners only. This study concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on religion and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between work experience and self-esteem is an important one for social psychologists interested in how social structure affects personality. Research on this relationship has consistently documented the importance of autonomy in work for self-esteem. This research has failed, however, to closely examine the meaning of autonomy within the workplace culture and, therefore, has also failed to see how this meaning allows autonomy to contribute to self-esteem formation in a variety of ways. Because of these problems the relationship between autonomy in work and self-esteem, though heavily researched, has yet to be adequately described. Based on a theoretical analysis of self-esteem formation and field research in five work organizations, this article attempts to develop a more complete view of the relationship between workplace autonomy and self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a long history or debate concerning the relative effects of external variables and individual discretion on individual outcomes. Yet, few attempts have been made to specify their cumulative effects on individual outcomes. Using length of stay in mental hospitals as our outcome measure, and type of commitment as our discretion measure, results from regression analyses indicate that discretionary and external variables (i.e., positions in the social structure) interact. Under conditions of low discretion, status resources have much stronger effects on length of stay than they do under conditions of high discretion. We conclude that external factors and discretionary variables can and should be included in the analysis of social action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blau's and Duncan's reconceptualization of social mobility analysis in terms of the status attainment model led to a rapid growth in the number of studies of mobility processes in the United States. Observations of differences in the attainment processes of different segments of the population and theoretical and methodological critiques have produced alternative ways of viewing and analyzing social stratification and mobility. Recent European contributions have tended to be more heavily theory-laden and concerned with social class rather than a continuum of occupational levels. Current developments promise to provide a basis for a rapprochement between the two approaches and further clarification of the relative importance of structural and individual factors in the social mobility process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several issues in the study of deviance are discussed: the definition of deviance; the significance of the deviant act; cultural relativism; the influence of social structures and causation. By using departures from rules to define deviance, sociologists may repeat fallacies of formalistic jurisprudence. Deviance is best left undefined, and preferably delimited ontologically in terms of middle range theory. Spector and Kitsuse's revisionist theory is judged insufficient for macro-analysis of deviance because they fail to reconcile the influence of objective and subjective factors. Cottrell's choice and feedback model is advocated as a means to study the dynamic process wherein values are aggregated in the social definition of deviance. The problem of bringing objective factors into this analysis is solved by showing how changing costs alter the order in which values are satisfied and thus change the overt pattern of societal reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classifying styles of scientific thought is a necessary prelude to many further projects in the analysis of theory and in the sociology of sociology. Numerical techniques such as those presented here can supplement less formal insights. To illustrate I have classified twenty five works (representing a diversity of well known theory approaches) by the presence or absence of forty-two traits (drawn from ideas about the logic-of-science). The procedures detailed here group these familiar works into "sensible" types based on social structure, social perceptions and positivistic methods. The classification also exposes underlying dimensions of individual versus group-based observations and theory-building versus theory-confirmation strategies. Having demonstrated the system can produce sensible results with familiar works, I can use it to identify atypical works, to compare social groups of theorists with types of thought, and to explore the nature of common, underlying dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music may be understood as a structural representation, or symbolic 'model' of social interaction processes. Since music is a readily available expression system in our society, individuals may use it as a socially meaningful symbolic medium within which they manage conflicting affective associations with interaction. Music listening then becomes one means by which individuals may maintain psychological well-being while adapting to complex social structures. Three initial points in this argument were examined, using high and low music listeners.

The occupational structure of science is conceptualized as consisting of four sectors within which the career patterns of two cohorts of sociologists are examined. Using an origin criterion, receipt of the Ph.D. from an American university, to define the cohorts, we analyze the effects of various factors on sectoral immobility—which has been the norm for three decades—and mobility. In general, structural factors supersede individual differences in explaining observed movement. Moreover, the evidence underscores the "university bias" that has dominated studies of stratification in science. This suggests that the prestige of sociological work and the sectoral contexts in which it is performed be reevaluated, particularly in view of the current glut of the academic sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radical sociologists have, in general, failed to produce a substantive social theory out of which their critique of society can be mounted. The only alternative to what is perceived as conservative Structural-Functionalism are diverse forms of Marxism, which as yet have not been synthesized into any cohesive model that can posit an adequate notion of social structure, without, at the same time, sacrificing the active, volitional side of man. This article attempts to show that there is in C. Wright Mills' total works a comprehensive model of man, society, and their interrelationship in history; and that this model can provide the structural perspective "radical sociology" currently lacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study illustrates the importance of recognizing the existence of multiple stratification systems based on criteria other than occupation, education, and income. In particular, the article examines the respect hierarchy which exists among a community of leisure participants, and examines the extent to which several sets of criteria can "account" for that hierarchy. The criteria which are employed include such widely used work-related measures as occupation and income, as well as leisure-related abilities, expressions of leisure-related ideals, and expressions of commitment to the leisure activity. The leisure activity under study is a form of auto racing known as "autocrossing." Data are collected by means of a mailed questionnaire. The findings indicate that criteria involving occupation, education, and income account for very little of the respect that participants feel toward one another. Subsequent analysis reveals that leisure-related abilities are highly associated with respect, and expressions of commitment to the leisure activity are moderately associated with respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The voluntary organization literature has viewed the processes of selective attraction and socialization almost exclusively as a function of individual characteristics rather than organizational characteristics. Using data from two voluntary associations, we found that organizational characteristics (goal specificity, change orientation, and restrictiveness) were associated with the degree of selective attraction and socialization of attitudes. After controlling for the compositional characteristics of the membership, these data suggest both an organizational and an individual effect on socialization and selectivity. We concluded that the organizations studied here were more of a means for the support of attitudes held prior to joining than a means for developing or changing attitudes through membership. Further research might examine what role different voluntary associations play in the structuring of attitudes, providing a greater understanding of both individuals and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the concept of the division of labor is appropriately and irrevocably associated with Durkheim, the division of labor plays a somewhat lesser role in Durkheim's thinking than is sometimes believed. He, in fact, relegates it to secondary status as a form of social organization, and his position is used to legitimate a sociology that looks to explanation by means of beliefs, sentiments, and values. But there are available data which cast doubt on some portions of Durkheim's argument concerning the secondary nature of the division of labor, and a close examination of Durkheim's analysis of the division of labor raises serious doubts about the logical adequacy of his position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a participant observation study of a small work group on the night shift in a food processing plant. Although in the Human Relations tradition, this study focuses explicitly upon the interrelations between the group and salient aspects of the organizational and technical environment. The analysis is guided by the small group theory of George G. Homans. Attention is focused first upon the development of an informal social organization which was functional both in meeting formal organizational goals and group members' socioemotional needs. This informal organization was disrupted by supervisory style changes, however, after which both job commitment and group morale declined dramatically. This was followed by two technical changes; as the group informally and collectively adapted to these changes, a new informal social organization emerged. This new organization clearly reflected the group members' desire for autonomy. Clear support is claimed for the general proposition that commitment to formal organizational goals, group morale, and individual satisfaction is positively related to a lenient supervisory style and high autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interpretation of selected portions of Bernstein's sociolinguistics is presented. The interpretation suggests that linguistic performance intervenes between social structure and self-concept. The theory is specified through a research application. The specification holds that two views of social structure are implicit within the theory: one microcosmic and the other macrocosmic. For Bernstein these views are linked to Mead and Durkheim, respectively. However, the present analysis attempts to show that both are properly understood as Meadian. Linguistic performance is related to self-derogation within a strict Meadian interpretation. The contribution of the theory seems to lie in a specification of a Meadian view of self relative to selected aspects of language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several explanations of social movements rest on the assumption that participants are bonded together by a commonly-held set of beliefs differentiating them from non-participants. This is especially true of Smelser's theory of collective behavior and its central concept, the generalized belief. Components of the generalized belief are examined in light of recent studies of groups within the environmental movement; results disclose significant heterogeneity, especially regarding responsibility for environmental problems and visions of solutions. Data from a total census of a focal group within one urban environmental coalition are presented and the distribution of beliefs across its structure described. The degree of homogeneity of beliefs decreases with movement from the center to the periphery of the group. These analyses suggest that collective action by social movement organizations results from emergent internal processes and structures rather than initial consensus among movement participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the popular consciousness conflict is generally understood to mean a struggle between two opposing groups. Ossowski (1963) in his study of "Class Structure in the Social Consciousness" calls our attention to the deep historical roots of the dichotomous image of social conflict. From Biblical times on he traces the recurring tendency to perceive social structure in terms of two potentially conflicting groups—the oppressors and the oppressed, the exploiters and the exploited, the rich and the poor, the rulers and the ruled. This tendency toward the dichotomous perception of conflict is not limited to class struggles but dominates a wide variety of conflict situations. Conflict between races, religions, political factions, and regions is conceptualized in terms of two antagonistic groups. Thus we speak of conflict between Black and White, Christian and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Congress and Executive, Hawk and Dove, Church and State, Business and Labor, etc. Several correctives to this oversimplified view have appeared, including the pioneer work of Simmel (1950; 1955a; 1955b), and more recently the studies of coalition theorists such as Caplow (1968) and Biker (1962). Caplow in particular has stressed the triadic model as the most pervasive form of conflict. We agree but take exception to the conception of the third party in the triad as developed by both Simmel and Caplow. We propose that the most common form of conflict is that which transpires between two antagonists and a third party or parties—the "neutrals." In our view the neutrals are not equivalent to the third member of the triad, and the dynamics of conflict involving neutrals and conflict groups cannot be comprehended within the scheme of "coalitions in triads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]