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In Culture and Social Character, several authors have written essays primarily devoted to a criticism of The Lonely Crowd. An unfortunate aspect of the former book is that it is most difficult to ascertain whether the total impact of the criticism is to destroy the concepts of inner- and other-directedness or whether the analysis has enhanced their meaningfulness by correcting flaws in methodology and emphasis. Also, if the latter is true, there is the further problem of a consistent use of the Riesman topology. In the first part of this paper I will bring together various statements from Culture and Social Character that put the question of the validity of the concepts in better perspective, define the terms inner- and other-directedness more rigorously, and show the usefulness of the concepts in their sociological context as action (behavior) patterns coming about in response to differing structural settings. The first section of the paper will in a sense establish benchmark of meaning for the concepts by solidifying the argument for their use in describing particular types of action patterns. In later sections I will speculate as to the psychological and historical bases of the Riesman topology relying on work that has been published after The Lonely Crowd. Since my discussion will range over several areas, it seems appropriate to offer first a rather lengthy sketch of my entire argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article replies to David L. Hull's article entitled "Systemic Dynamic Social Theory". It was observed that Hull deplores the assertion that underlying processes cannot be inferred from single overt performances. Overt performance is a small part of total behavior, thus, process-performance relations are not invariant. Contentiously, Hull transfers complexity-intensity relations, posited for psychological phenomena, to societal phenomena. Wave length is related to color - for light waves, but not for radio waves. Similarly, complexity applies to societal and psychological, intensity only to psychological phenomena. Constancy of societal complexity, given invariance of biological base, is a theoretical conclusion.

This paper first reviews the descriptions and structural explanations for variations, in urban population densities in the United States over several decades. The research reviewed focuses on shifts in the technology and economics of travel as being the major influences on urban density distributions. These variables appear to be somewhat less adequate as explanations of the process in recent decades. After reviewing these findings and suggesting several research questions, we attempt to assess the evidence relating variations in population density to several other aspects of human behavior. A review of the research relating high population densities to various "social pathologies" indicates that little of the variance in rates of these pathologies can be attributed to density independently of other social structural variables. Some important consequences of population density have been reported, however, and possible research directions are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is not offered, even by implication, as an explanation for urban riots and confrontations. It is an exposition of a point of view, a methodology, and a body of evidence which hopefully may shed some light on this complex and pressing social problem. Within the social sciences several levels of analysis exist, each appropriate to the study of a certain type of problem (Devereaux, 1963; Bendix, 1963). Experimental approaches to social psychology have been particularly valuable in the analysis of individual behavior in a social context; emphasis has been on finding both the social determinants and the social implications of the behavior of an individual. While we believe that part of the explanation of collective phenomena, such as urban revolts, lies in the analysis of the behavior of individuals (cf. Brown, 1965), we do not advocate naive reductionism. We propose only to use data from the laboratory to form some operational definitions and hypotheses to guide further study and interpretation of collective events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small group research has dealt at some length with the phenomena of competition and cooperation. Task performance and, to a lesser extent, group structure have been examined under different conditions of competition and cooperation. The two group-types most frequently encountered in the literature are the intra-competitive group in which the members of a group compete with each other for a reward which only one of them may obtain, and the intra-cooperative, inter-competitive group in which the members are competing as a unit against another group. In the course of a recent experiment, the behaviors and attitudes of two additional group-types have also been studied. One of these types, the Intra-Aud-Inter-Competitive Group shall be the focus of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is not unusual, in fact, it is commonplace, that in the development of a body of knowledge a particular mode of thought, while responsible for the discovery and ordering of important facts, is at the same time responsible for the obstruction of equally important truths. This appears especially to be the case in the sociological study of criminal behavior. There has been the overwhelming conception of criminal behavior (and deviant behavior in general) as behavior that is produced by a variety of impersonal, deterministic forces rather than by voluntaristic, purposive action. The former perspective found in much of criminology today results from a particular conception of man and society. The object of this paper is to explore the possibility of an alternative conception of man and society for criminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on basic difficulty in historical sociology. The newly reawakened interest in the sociological study of historical events makes it worthwhile to raise again the question whether such a study is scientifically feasible at all. Obviously, all data anybody can deal with are historical data, events of the past. Science is a form of ratiocination dealing with past events and so all science is historical. Those who are interested in historical sociology are generally not interested in this kind of work, which falls into the province of general sociology. The historical sociologist tends to look at history not in the sense of the totality of all past events, but in the sense of recorded history. In other words, he tends to look exclusively, or at least primarily, to the works of the historians as his source of information about unique sequences of past events, which he tries to use as raw materials for the development of generalizations about interhuman behavior. It is the intention of this paper to show that the writings of the historians can be used for sociological purposes only with the greatest caution.

Comparisons of factor analytic results based on a matrix of total (individual) correlations and three matrices of between-groups (ecological) correlations revealed fundamental differences in factor patterns when the unit of analysis shifted from individuals to aggregates. The major difference involved the marked tendency for a highly individualistic General Ability Factor derived from the matrix of total correlations to become more and more sociological in content as individuals were aggregated. Results are discussed in terms of their bearing on the problem of determining the "appropriateness" of a given unit of analysis, individuals vs. aggregates, for certain levels of inquiry, i.e., psychological vs. sociological. It is concluded that whether the researcher should heed the traditional warning about the use of aggregate data relationships as a basis for making inferences concerning individuals ought to depend in part on whether his interest is in psychological or sociological propositions about individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this note is to present data testing the hypothesis that the more theologically liberal a Christian clergyman is, the more politically liberal he will be, and the more theologically conservative a Christian clergyman is, the more politically conservative he will be. In so doing, these findings will be related to the studies just cited, but this study is significantly different in several ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the publication of Taylor, Walton and Young's New Criminology (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1972 and New York: Harper Torch Books, 1974), the Quarterly asked Anthony Platt, Richard Quinney and Paul Rock to write reviewessays which were subsequently published in the Quarterly in the Autumn 1973 issue. These reviews elicited the following response by Stephen Mugford. It was circulated to the authors of the New Criminology. who declined to comment, choosing to formulate a general response to the many review comments the book has generated. Mugford's comment was also sent to the original reviewers, and Paul Rock's reply follows. The editor would like to encourage such free interchange, and will attempt to facilitate comment by circulating manuscripts and soliciting commentary. (Perhaps a format similar to that employed by Current Anthropology will emerge). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Replication is one of several methodological techniques that contributes to the verification of survey research data. A critique of the literature on replication reveals that limited systematic attention has been given to its various functions in the process of verification. A replication paradigm is formulated to clarify terminology and functions. The paradigm consists of four major replication types: retest, internal, independent, and theoretical. These are analyzed and illustrated by published replication studies. An argument is offered in favor of the increased use of replication in survey research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years many social scientists have attempted to explain why police behave the way they do in performing their duties. What follows is a review of some dominant themes running through the myriad of articles and books which have appeared on this subject in the last few years. This survey does not purport to offer an exhaustive coverage of all relevant literature but is intentionally selective to highlight some observable patterns. After this review, some observations will be made regarding the theoretical and empirical weaknesses in this research, and an analysis of some reasons for these deficiencies will be discussed. Finally, some suggestions will be made for profitable new directions for future research on police behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In summary, then, social acts are complex patterns in terms of which participants structure their activity. These unit acts are conventional and are in most cases named. Their observation requires the development by the observer of a set of descriptions of these acts against which he compares the observed activity and in terms of which he records his observations. Social acts are thus different units of action than behavior which is the observation of activity with quite a different set of descriptions. The essential character of the procedure is that the observer make the judgment that what he sees does or does not agree with a previously developed description of acts or catalog of meanings. Whether the degree of reliability required necessitates the externalization of the list or permits it to remain as part of the professional skill of the observer depends upon the requirements of the research problem. This is neither a new conception nor a new method. Competent field workers in sociology and anthropology have been using this procedure for many years. I have attempted merely to formalize the conception and to make the method explicit in the hope that we can reduce some of the irrelevant arguments over the objectivity of the sociological enterprise. Furthermore, the recognition of the essential criteria of the method and especially the separation of the verstehen inference from the observation of meaning should have some extended implications for our theories of action and of meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies dealing with status consistency were reviewed and certain assumptions made. Signal among the assumptions is the idea that achieved statuses may be viewed as goals and ascribed statuses as literal means to those goals. By employing Merton's modes of individual adaptation typology, a theoretical framework was constructed which it is believed will allow the prediction and explanation of behavior associated with various configurations of status inconsistency. It was concluded that individuals with high-ascribed and low-achieved status may, when incapable of attaining high-achieved status, engage in ritualism as a mode of adaptation. Over time, if awareness of status discrepancy increases, a re-evaluation of the desirability of ascribed status as a means to achieved status may result in rebellion. It was also concluded that individuals with low-ascribed status may engage in retreatism as a mode of adaptation, but this mode may be rejected in favor of high-consistent status, which requires innovating. If stress caused by the social context persists, rebellion may result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student career commitments of the University of Minnesota Law School were analyzed to test the relationship between two of the attributed functions of an individual's reference group. Although these different functions have been the subject of much discussion, their interrelationships have not been subjected to empirical test. Such an analysis might give an indication of the utility of conceptualizing these functions as behaviorally distinct. The second objective of the research was to test the utility of the reference group model in providing an explanation for occupational role socialization. Although behavior related to occupational systems has been and continues to be extensively treated in sociological literature, it has often been done outside the framework of currently existing theories. The author was of the opinion that socialization into an occupational role represented a process of behavioral change which could be usefully subjected to the reference group model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edward E. Harris explored the association between a nationally derived scale of socio-economic status and the variables of prestige, reward, skill and functional importance. He attempted to provide a view on the functional theory of stratification as stated by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore. Prestige refers to a sociopsychological phenomenon. The Davis-Moore theory argues that prestige is dependent on functional importance. The Davis-Moore conceptualization failed to become an explicit theory of human behavior.