THE SELF AS RELATED TO FORMAL PARTICIPATION IN THREE PENNSYLVANIA RURAL COMMUNITIES.

This paper deals with sociological and social-psychological differentiating factors associated with high and low degrees of participation in formal organizations. The study shows that high and low participants are selected from different positions in the social structure; in addition, both groups have sell-images which are similar to actual participation patterns. An exploratory phase of the study gave evidence that community attitudes concerning formal participation role-expectations of various positions are in accordance with actual participant behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]