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The purpose of this article is to study the effectiveness of the three techniques commonly employed for collecting data to be used in evaluating personality adjustment. The interview technique portrays the personality appraisement approach resorted to by most specialists as psychologists, clinicians, and counselors. This technique endeavors to diagnose personality characteristics on the basis of verbal responses, appearance, individual testing, personal contact, and the like. The interview technique as used in this study consisted of a personalized administration of each test during which time ample opportunity was given the student to discuss his understanding of the test situations and the nature of responses made to them. People frequently question the effectiveness of many of the personality evaluating techniques utilized in guidance programs. Since guidance practice generally relies upon the use of one personality evaluating technique, it is essential to know which technique provides the most effective diagnosis of student adjustment not only in the school situation but in other environments as well.

This paper presents an empirical analysis and conceptual extension of the work of Aiken and Hage. This work was accomplished by (1) constructing a causal model of organizational determinants of interorganizational relationships from an integration of two of their published sets of propositions; (2) testing symmetrical and asymmetrical versions of the model through analyses of data collected from 138 health and welfare organizations; (3) revising the model for theoretically inconsistent findings. The revised model of eight independent variables accounts for about 1/3 of the variance in interorganizational relations and calls into question several classical assumptions of organizational theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports one "spin-off" from the basic technology of sensitivity training, which is now widely used for inducing attitudinal and behavioral change in organizations. Changes in attitudes of members of a complex business organization are reported in this paper, and they support the value of the "confrontation design." Similar results have been obtained in other business and government settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about a paper on professional socialization as a model of the pre-training period applicable to students of physical education. This provides definition of terms for professional socialization, anticipatory socialization, socialization settings, and socialization agents. The pre-training period may be considered as the time of anticipatory socialization preceding the formal professional training. The three types of anticipatory socialization are the acquisition of attitudes and values about adult roles, the acquisition of specific information which cannot be applied directly, and the learning of both general and specific skills that can be practiced in the immediate childhood situation.

The article presents a paper on the significance of socialization constructs to the teaching methods of teachers. Studying the way how teachers teach seems to be socialization theory. The importance of the socialization construct is that it centers on processes which acts as a go-between the individual's personality and the role expectations of the institution. Conflict and bargaining are the two general patterns of interaction that have been delineated. The four processes of socialization are anticipatory socialization, reference groups, the training period, and the world of work.

The article presents information about the meetings of the First Universal Races Congress in the University of London buildings which were held in July 1910. Some hundreds of members of many races, great and small, met for the better part of a week in formal discussion and in social interaction, attending with marked regularity and with an interest that was sustained to the close. There was an entire absence of active participation by Governments, and even the great missionary societies took no particular interest, for reasons best known to themselves. The papers discussed what race means, or should mean, to particular difficulties arising from the situation of individual races or nationalities; from the consideration of the function of religion or morals or language to the wide ranging problem of the Negro or the narrowly defined problem of the half-castes of Brazil. There are some papers dealing with various methods now in operation for the organization of humanity: Treaties, Peace Conferences, the Hague Tribunal, the Press. A new project was launched by the Congress deciding to set up a small permanent Committee to arrange for a second Congress, which will probably be held in the U.S. in about three years' time.

This paper examines the hypothesis that residential mobility is disruptive of social relations; and it seeks to identify patterns of adaptation which emerge from that disruption. Among other things, it is found that women who moved between 1966 and 1969 were more frequently sociable both before and after their move than those who did not move. Further, differential patterns of disruption hold for intra- and extra-neighborhood contacts. There is, in addition, a period of heightened social interaction on the part of the most recent movers. Spatial mobility, it is concluded, does exert changes on the social lives of women in households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assumes that labor arbitrators are influenced by values or predilections which provide them standards for judgment. An arbitrator is involved in social interaction. The article examines the literature of labor arbitration. Professor Russell Smith wrote in 1952 that ten years should show whether or not arbitrators had developed principles which would become part of the knowledge of bargainers. In addition, most arbitrators will not endorse subcontracting where a company economizes by taking advantage of the lower wage rates.

The article discusses the social psychology of physical activity and sports. Physical activity refers to vigorous activities which encompass competitive sports competition to simpler modes of human movement, such as calisthenics. Physical activity and sports are two methods by which man socializes with his fellow beings, thus the necessity of understanding social behavior while involved in the said interaction. The variables affecting physical activity and sports are attitudes, personality and culture.

Nearly twenty years ago, the author wrote a paper for presentation at a section of the annual meeting of American Sociological Society in which he sought to demonstrate the feasibility and utility of analyzing marital problems in terms of dynamic situational fields composed of interacting roles. Of little moment in the general progress of social psychology, the paper is nevertheless pregnant with meaning for the author. In the first place, it represented the results of his own efforts to integrate such of their ideas as he had assimilated from sociologists G. H. Mead, John Dewey, Sigmund Freud, Kurt Koffka, R. E. Parks, E. W. Burgess, H. D. Lasswell, and many others whose thinking and orientation are symbolized by these names, into a theoretical frame work which the author could apply to the very concrete and real problems of analysis and understanding of human behavior in the groups he was studying at that time. In the second place, the paper symbolized in his own experience the shift which characterized much of social psychology in the thirties from an orientation that led to phrasing explanations in terms of intrinsic attributes to one which can be called interactional.

The expression of hostility and conflict in a small group is a normal part of the small group process and is, in fact, a positive and even necessary factor in the development and maintenance of group cohesion. This cohesive function can be understood in terms of the role that hostility plays in the development of the social structure of the small group. In addition this paper has shown that the mere measurement of degree of hostility expressed in small groups tends to lead to conflicting findings. The positive or negative nature of hostility in small groups is related to the stage of the value structure of the group. The expression of hostility in a small group under the circumstances discussed in this paper is part of an integrative process in that it is an important channel of communication. Therefore, while hostility may be a destructive force in human interaction, it may also perform integrative functions, and these integrative functions must be more carefully evaluated and studied in the study of small groups. In the development of any field of study there is periodic need for the assembling, integration, and theoretical conceptualization of research findings. When this is done more fruitful experimentation can be carried out in the future. This paper has attempted to fill this need in the area of the expression of hostility in small groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to study the implications of the hypothesis that personality patterns organize the forces operating in a social milieu. The findings of a Rorschach experiment on a group of 24 students from India are interpreted in terms of the childhood experiences, family discipline, and social pressures. An ambiequal pattern leaning toward introversiveness is indicated. This is found to be the product of early permissiveness, subsequent rigidity of behavior code, and later status role. The authoritarian character of the Indian family structure and the early socialization process are found to be largely responsible for the evolution of rigid control and withdrawal mechanisms. The paper concludes by suggesting that the study of personality-culture phenomena may be profitably conducted by analysing the defense system that a culture tends to evolve in its members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ordinarily an anniversary occasions the reification of an artificial period. In this case however, there is a certain juncture in the history of the point of view which makes of the past quarter-century something worthy of consideration for symbolic interactionism as well as for our celebration of the founding of the Midwest Sociological Society. The year 1937 lies virtually in the middle of a four-year period which saw the publication of Mind, Self, and Society, Movements of Thought in the Nineteenth Century, and The Philosophy of the Act. It would represent the greatest naiveté to suggest that thus the year 1937 represented the introduction of symbolic interactionism. We are all aware of the long development: from James, Baldwin, and Cooley to Thomas, Faris, Dewey, Blumer, and Young. Even the Tardean imitation and suggestion which underlay Ross's Social Psychology contributed a good deal ordinarily not credited to him in the development of interaction theory. Nor is it the fact that Mead represents the fullest development of the orientation that makes so significant the posthumous publication of his works (for which we may conveniently take 1937 as an anchoring point). Mead's ideas had been known for a very long time. He had taught University of Chicago students from 1893 to 1931. His notions were bruited about in classes and seminars wherever there were professors conducting them who had studied at the University of Chicago—not least in the great heartland included in the Mid-west of our Society. Some of Mead's students had published their versions of his ideas or quotations from some of his philosophical papers—Kimbali Young's Source Book in Social Psychology of a decade earlier contained a paper by Mead, and his Social Psychology bore the strong imprint of Meadian interactionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses one of the methodologies of social psychology. In this method social psychology is studied in relation to economics, ethics and religion. The importance of biology for the psychology of social conflict, for example, the satisfaction of instincts and the reduction of fatigue, is generally recognized--although frequently in particular cases it is ignored. All that the social scientists need do in this connection therefore, is to urge that the contribution of biology to the full truth be not ignored in any case in which it is a factor. Geology, chemistry, and physics are important for the psychology of social conflict almost exclusively through economics; so it is not necessary for us to consider the former sciences directly in this paper. Astronomy is important, almost exclusively through the light, which it throws on methods of thought and the nature of essential experience. These matters they have already considered; so they need not consider such a science as astronomy directly in this paper. But the full truth about the relationship between economics and ethics and social psychology is not generally recognized, and the relationship is direct; so we must consider that relationship if we are to master the psychology of social conflict.

This paper treats structuralist and interactionist perspectives as complementary, in an approach to the dynamics of professional wrestling as a social scene. Both directive or formulating aspects of culture as it is specified for social life and the creativity of human agents in negotiating such constraints from the viewpoint of their particularistic interests are emphasized in an examination of the confirmation and negotiation of identities, the clash and resolution of moral meanings, the calculated transgression of legal tradition, the location of the charismatic hero, and the ritual importance of disorder and crisis in wrestling. As such, the paper is offered as a contribution to an understanding of the sources and movement of meanings in ritual and dramatic forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the intraorganizational mobility interests of production workers in manufacturing organizations. Substantial numbers of workers report not only being interested in mobility within their organizations, but many also claim to be actively pursuing that objective. The immediate supervisor is found to be a central figure in their goal achievement plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to afford an additional medium of expression for scholars in the field of Rural Sociology. Rural Sociology has always been the joint responsibility of the professional organization of rural sociologists and a sponsoring university. Its history is intimately intertwined with the history of the Rural Sociological Society and its predecessor, the Rural Sociology Section of the American Sociological Society. The history of the journal may be summarized in four periods: (1) the prepublication period when decisions and plans were made; (2) the first five years (1936-40), at Louisiana State University; (3) the next eleven years (1941-51), under the sponsorship of North Carolina State College; and (4) the years at the University of Kentucky (1952-57), four of which fall in the 20-year period covered by this index. Moreover, it will be the policy to solicit manuscripts from workers in foreign countries, although it is intended that all such papers shall deal with some phase of rural social life.

The paper presents some strong, though limited, empirical generalizations about the effects of cohesiveness on a wide variety of behaviors: cooperation, competition, conformity, productivity, and learning among group members. There is also a more descriptive literature from sociology and anthropology which deals with cohesion and the ethnic organization of current and historic groups. In the paper, findings from these disparate sources are examined. When combined, these diverse sources of research data offer some insights into the internal characteristics of groups which have emerged from poverty. From this perspective the literature permits the prediction of some of the antecedents and consequents of changes in group cohesiveness and ethnic organization among those who are presently poor. Recent changes in the ideology and cohesiveness of poor blacks is used as an illustrative case. The present account includes: a selective discussion of experimental findings on group cohesiveness, some experimental results of the effects of ethnic identity, examples of ethnic and religious organization among current and historic disadvantaged groups (with ethnic cohesiveness among poor blacks used as a current illustration), and some conclusions and predictions.

The article focuses on the factors associated with the development of cross-cultural social interaction. Contact between cultures leads, on the societal level, to cultural diffusion and change; on the individual level, to a process of learning and adjustment. The social scientist, seeking to arrive at generalizations about the nature of what is diffused and changed, and by what process this takes place, is constrained to analyze the events in each situation of culture contact in terms of trans-cultural variables. In seeking to understand the character and the process of social change resulting from the contact of cultures, the social scientist views all situations of culture contact as, so to speak, potential case studies in the search for such trans-cultural variables, and as further opportunities to test their manifestation and interrelationship in one more contact situation. It is from this point of view that the present study of the effect of contacts between American and foreign students at Cornell University are reported here. The total study is designed to investigate this reciprocal effect. The present paper, however, reports oh only one aspect of the research.

A theory is formulated with which to analyze transactions in social relationships. Economic types of exchange characterized by calculation and self-interest on the part of the actors are contrasted with more "social" forms of transaction such as occur in the cases of role relationships with interlocking rights and obligations and persons strongly attached to one another. The social factors and conditions determining the types of transaction likely to occur between actors are examined in the paper. The key idea in this respect is that the structural and temporal context of interaction, including the past and anticipated character of their relationship, affects actors' orientations toward one another, their preferences, decisions and interaction patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on various activities taking place in the field of sociology during 1960's. According to a report, the first International Family Life conference to be held in New York City, August 23-26, 1960. As the combined Annual Meeting of the National Council on Family Relations and the International Union of Family Organizations, it drew more than 700 delegates from some thirty different countries. Those who attended the conference were without exception persons with professional interests in family life. There were representatives of governmental agencies at national, regional, provincial, state, and local levels, as well as of international agencies such as the United Nations and UNICEF Embassies and consulates sent official representatives schools, colleges and universities were well represented by several hundred participants. According to another report, the sixth session of the Indian Sociological Conference was held at Madhya Pradesh, India, on October 15, 16 and 17 under the auspices of the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Saugor where doctor Lecla Dube played hosts. The Conference met in four sessions Sociology, Social Anthropology, Social Psychology and Demography and Social Statistics. The papers read at the Conference covered the following topics social change, caste and kinship, leadership and communication.

The epistemology of symbolic interaction derives from the pragmatic model of Dewey and Mead, close associates. This paper argues that the methodology of pragmatism and symbolic interaction permits the perspectives of the researcher and the people in interactive situations to bias the research. influenced by Hegel, Dewey and Mead adopted an evolutionary, holistic view of reality; progress was inevitable and people were naturally rational. In addition, their notion of the logico-theoretic component in science deviated sharply from the more common hypothetico-deductive model, in both she pragmatic and symbolic interaction approaches, the theoretic component is ambiguous; to formulate theory prior to research is thought to be risky for it may bias the research. instead, theory emerges fro,n the research process; the participants in an interactive situation contribute to it. Thus the social givens of the researcher and the participants serve as a theoretical framework, giving the research a bias which reflects the social perspective of the researcher and the distribution of power in the interactive setting. That many researchers in this tradition are liberal humanitarians obscures the problem of bias inherent in this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores convergences between symbolic interactionism and exchange theory in four major areas: (1) both theoretical orientations assume the operation of constructive mental processes when actors act toward their environment; this assumption is explicitly staled by symbolic interactionists and implied in exchange-theoretical propositions dealing with valuation, decision-making or justice; (2) exchange theory implies processes akin to G. H. Mead's "self" and "generalized other" in the sense that interaction in exchange requires persons to imaginatively assume the roles of others and view themselves in terms of the conceptions of others; (3) in both perspectives social organization is viewed as emerging from constructed individual acts "fitted" to one another; such "elementary" interactions give rise to institutional modes of behavior which, once established, exist as a reality sui generis over and against the individual actors; (4) in both perspectives social dynamics is conceived in dialectic terms, arising out of contradictions between micro- and macro processes and inherent tendencies in social organization toward inconsistency, conflict and change. It is proposed that a possible synthesis between exchange theory and symbolic interactionism can begin by postulating a dialectical process in which objective realities become subjectified by actors and subjective meanings become objectified in social institutions. A synthesized theory based on such general postulates can be empirically tested when (a) the concrete "subjective" and "objective" contingencies which make acts meaningful for the actors are posited and empirically indicated and (b) longitudinal observations show changes in some of these contingencies so that predictions about behavioral changes can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on "demographic metabolism," a reflection of the fact that social organizations often exhibit continuity although their human components come and go. Ryder focused on the cohort as an analytic tool for analyzing demographic metabolism; we offer an index of regeneration which reflects the fact that social organizations often contain many overlapping cohorts. The index measures the rate of change in ratio of newcomers to veteran members. The paper considers (1) how and why reganizations processes vary, (2) the potential consequences of such variations, and (3) how social organizations deal with regeneration phenomena. Illustrative data are offered for two American universities, and the discussion is extended to other complex organizations, families, nation-states, and cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Paper resents a definition and typology of "awareness contexts" and offers a paradigm for their study. The paradigm emphasizes the developmental interaction processes deriving from given awareness contexts, and directs attention to transformations of those contexts. The writings of four sociologists are located within the paradigm with respect to the types of awareness context they assume and the segments of the paradigm they treat. Implications of the paradigm for future research and theory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research attempts to determine if the notion of separate theories for prejudice and discrimination, as put forth by Rose, is viable. The paper examines, as a result of differential responses to selected situational variables, some of the reasons wily nonprejudiced subjects discriminate against blacks and prejudiced subjects do not. The situational variables (social constraint and social distance) were experimentally introduced in a field setting. The paper concludes by agreeing with Rose's contention that separate theories for prejudice and discrimination are necessary. However, the authors take exception with the idea that theories of discrimination are sufficient to explain discriminatory behavior. In particular, in order to better understand discriminatory behavior, the argument is set forth that instead of restricting the scope of investigation, as suggested by Rose, it should be enlarged by including other relevant variables which have been shown to have an impact on discriminatory behavior. Other studies have indicated that conformity tendencies are often involved in producing behaviors which are inconsistent with attitudes. It is suggested that some measures of these, as well as of attitudes, should be included in future studies of discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of the interpersonal task, influencing others so they respond in ways congruent with one's own purposes, is a residual category both in the group dynamics focus in the common group task and in role theory with its emphasis on automatic normative reciprocity. Goode, Thibaut and Kelley, and Homans, see interaction as a bargaining process. However, the modus vivendi of the process is not made explicit in their work. Goffman begins to address this problem and this paper points to possible extensions of his framework. Given particular emphasis is the "altercasting" perspective which focuses on functions of acts in shaping the responses of others rather than exclusively on their content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existential anxieties face the individual at the inception of his act. Derivatively, they produce a social problem and call forth a social response. This paper begins by illustrating several types of existential anxeieties. This is followed by an examination of some socially structured arrangements for assuring action despite them. The existential anxieties described above are rooted in the nature of social actions. They reflect factual suffering imposed by concrete freedom of choice. A value conflict or a condition of uncertainty is experienced as anxiety because conflicting motives are engaged or because an early trauma is reactivated. The result of channeling genetically prior motivational resources into support of more differentiated values is manifested as an act of courage. Courage may be defined as an attitude enabling action in the face of anxiety. Because existential anxiety inheres in every free act, individuals universally need courage. Society has an interest in courage. It is not surprising, therefore, that social institutions develop means to assure individual achievement of courage or faiths. This is a central function of the worship role in religious institutions.

This article suggests some practical and theoretical problems of churches pertinent to social class which ought to be the subjects of research and study. This article has grown out of a recent workshop conducted by members of the Religious Research Association. A sense of smugness about the status of their inter-group relations seems to characterize many churches since policies for integrating nonswhites into their congregations have been initiated or strengthened. Accepting racial integration on paper is not the end of such problems for the church, however; it often is but the beginning. others. The nature of the underlying attitudes of the social classes and their influences upon religious beliefs and behavior need study. It would be instructive to know whether or not the values of the various social classes are assimilated into the value systems of the churches in which the respective classes are the most strongly represented. New Testament teachings about the relationships of slaves and their masters, the bond and the free, and the rich and the poor are especially pertinent as a basis for establishing the ideal position of the contemporary Christian church on the subject of social-class distinctions.

This paper reports an investigation of communication behavior in a "natural" social system the white adult community in a Mississippi town of 5,000 population, called Bakerville in this report. The study was directed at the general question of who talks to whom about specific community problems and projects. The present paper, however, deals with only one aspect of this problem: how persons who report a variety of communication contacts differ from those who report few or no contacts. To examine the relationship between extensiveness of communication contacts and other variables the sample has been dichotomized into high communicators and low communicators. Operationally defined, high communicators are those who report talking to three or more different persons about community problems; low communicators, those who report talking to fewer than three persons. "Positional" Factors. The relationship between extensiveness of communication contacts and position in the social structure was in part investigated in the present study by comparing the social status of high and low communicators. Index of Status Characteristics (ISC) was used as a convenient method for estimating the social position of members of the sample.

This paper is a report on part of a larger project designed to develop a combined test for interpersonal competence. The findings of the study indicated that autonomy role playing tests were highly representative of "real life" autonomy behavior, correlating with the best outside criterion. Autonomy role playing accurately predicted general autonomy and general competence in handling particular tasks theoretically requiring high autonomy. It was more satisfactory than current social work procedures in this respect. However, it was pointed out that only role playing specifically designed to get at autonomy was successful. Role playing not focused on autonomy gave a distorted perception of "real life" autonomy. The tests can be reliably analyzed and are simple to give. The tests could be given in homes or offices to people of different social classes, different races, and different educational levels without too much trouble. In the light of the above findings and assuming that they will hold up through further research, the following uses of role playing seem empirically verified. If autonomy within role playing changes from one time to another, "real life" autonomy may be assumed also to have changed.

The books, papers, studies, and investigations currently nearing completion in the field of sociological theory exhibit an impressive range. The heterogeneity of these studies introduces special difficulties into their classification. In spite of certain deficiencies in taxonomic rigor, it is presented in the following categories general sociological theory, the history of sociology, historical sociology, methodology, the sociology of knowledge, political sociology, value studies and social control. Author Howard Becker is currently drawing out the theoretical implications of several substantive studies and building on the foundations laid in his book "Through Values to Social Interpretation." The first of these studies, a long-term project, will be called Mind on the Looms of Greece. This work will have solid relevance not only to general sociological theory but also to the sociology of knowledge, the sociology of religion, and the sociological analysis of historical change. Sociologist Read Bain has developed a theory of communication as the basic factor in society and is considering the manner in which it affects the definition of both sociological and social problems. The five topics which will appear most prominently in his book are reading and writing, art and science, mind and body, race and class, and war and peace.

The world population is confronted with the intensification of racial, cultural, religious, and national conflicts. That is, there has been an intensification of intercultural relations of populational groups. Of late years worldwide travel, trade, communication, migration, and especially war and the threat of war have been important in bringing this situation about. Whether there is war or not, one must deal with populations, as, for example, in the governing of Japan and Germany at the present time and negotiations with them previous to the war. The same is true in relation to the USSR. Whether the problem of intergroup relations is discussed on the international level, the national level, the industrial level of management and labor, or the level of a small community, as it shall be done in this paper, the point at issue is that of participation. This paper touches upon the positive values of diverse cultures in a great complex where each sub-population contributes to the total functioning culture.

It is the office of theoretical investigation," said scholar Willard Gibbs, "to give the form in which the results of experiment may be expressed." If he had put "observation" for "experiment," Gibbs would have stated the purpose of the present paper. It is to provide one form in which may be ex- pressed what one knows about social organization. Please note, at the beginning, that more than one form is possible and that, in a limited space, the one suggested here can only be sketched out. The elements of social behavior. The present paper presupposes the direct observation of social behavior. It asks the devastating questions: Looking at the actions of men with eyes innocent of the usual preconceptions what does one see? What a simple classification can one start from in this field of fact? Attempting to answer, it sets up, as components of the conceptual scheme, individuals and three elements or determinants of the behavior of individuals in groups, which will be called operation, sentiment, and interaction.

The paper reviews sociological work dealing with American Blacks. In the past five decades three themes have largely dominated the work: (1) a description and documentation of Black disadvantage within American life; (2) an attack upon racist notions of Black biological inferiority; and (3) an interpretation of Black disadvantages as derived from White prejudice and discrimination. The work has been largely static and non-processual in character, derived largely from the structure-function model of society. The paper calls for the employment of multiple models and for emphasis upon a dynamic, processual model of social life. The concepts of network and field appear to offer much promise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports an exploration of the relationship between members' role performance and the benefits they receive from their organizations. The general relationship is interpreted in the context of a "social exchange model" for voluntary associations. Data for the analysis pertain to members of four voluntary farm organizations: Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, National Farmers Organization, and Grange. The data were obtained in a state-wide survey of Wisconsin farm operators in 1965. In general, the data show a moderate relationship, in a positive direction, between benefits and role performance. The benefits tend to differ in the magnitude and, in some instances, in the direction of their relationships to such performance. The findings indicate the importance of taking into account magnitude and direction of relationship, as well as interaction among the benefits and among costs, in order to devise a viable social exchange model of cost benefit relations for voluntary associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory and research dealing with the consequences of rank inconsistency have concerned themselves almost exclusively with the portrayal of the disagreeable aspects of this situation and with the identification of relatively extreme reactions to it. The data reported above serve to counterbalance this emphasis by suggesting circumstances under which rank inconsistency may be accommodated to without a radical reaction and under which this inconsistency may even be downright palatable. First, the data showed one instance where the inconsistent individual's preoccupation with the area of endeavor in which he held his higher rank led him to be tolerant of his lower one. Secondly, we saw that three different kinds of rank inconsistency produced discontent with the lower rank only for respondents whose array of ranks was likely to be highly visible. It is hoped that the modifications of rank inconsistency theory suggested above will in the near future be subjected to a more ideal empirical test than was possible with the data employed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A striking feature of the social participation literature is the tendency to concentrate on one type of activity. For example, studies dealing with formal organizations have described the character of such groups and their participants. Studies of friendship participation have traced the patterns of friendships and the type of people who are attracted to each other as friends. Consequently, few sociologists have focused their attention upon a question like: Are there any patterns or relationships between the different types of social participation? Participation in formal voluntary associations and informal voluntary interactions may be related to each other, influence each other, or at least be similarly influenced by other variables. This paper analyzes different types of social participation to determine if participation in one area of social activity is related to participation in other areas of social life. Specifically, we will try to determine (1) whether people who have many friends or who have a number of intimate friends are more apt to belong to formal voluntary organizations than those who have few friends or intimate friends; (2) whether participation in the family is related to participation in formal voluntary associations and informal voluntary interaction; and (3) whether ethnic generation status and sex alter the patterns between the different types of social participation. Generational status will be used as an independent variable since changes in ethnic status may modify the direction or the degree of relationship between the types of social activity. Sex will be used as a control variable since the roles which men and women play in society often differ considerably-especially among ethnics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symbolic interaction theory as derived mainly from the work of George Herbert Mead views the self-concept as a structure of attitudes which arises in social experience and organizes the individual's perception of his social milieu. Recently, tests based upon this symbolic interaction orientation have been developed for the elicitation of self attitudes. One such test frequently used is the Twenty Statements Test (TST) constructed by Manford Kuhn and Thomas McPartland. The TST attempts to ascertain the specific statements respondents use to identify themselves to themselves. The applicability of the TST to problems of self theory is indicated by the rather wide use which has been made of the instrument. Investigations using the TST have focused upon the following: self-concept and social position; a self-concept and behavior; and the self-concept and attitudes toward other social objects. While TST results have been of substantive interest, little attention has been given to the methodological issues involved in the instrument and its use. For example, little is known concerning the validity and reliability of the test and its scoring procedures. If substantive assertions based upon TST results are to be considered as sound, judicious concern should be directed toward basic methodological issues. It is the purpose of this paper to consider empirically one methodological aspect of the TST. The focus is upon the test format itself. The question is posed: Do variations in the TST format produce variations in individuals' response patterns? Specifically, does the length of the test influence the number and the nature of statements made by respondents? This paper is directed toward answering this question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents response of the author to the comments of psychologist M. Brewster Smith to the article of the author published in the fall 1953 issue of the journal "The Quarterly," concerning methodological distinction between opinions and attitudes. Smith sets forth the basis for his comments in his third and fourth paragraphs. Having found much of merit in the author's paper, he feels, on second thought that it may be just a piece of special pleading, so he comments "closer inspection leads one to suspect, however, that Wiebe is actually relegating attitudes to the realm of the trivial and academic, serious and practical people should, if they follow his analysis, devote themselves to the study of opinion, where to be sure, more exacting criteria of validation have to be met, but the pay-off in predictive power seems proportionately greater." Having stated what he suspects, Smith continues, "it is my contention, and the reason for this commentary, that this aspect of Wiebe's position, which I would regard as unfortunate, is a consequence of unacceptable starting points in his chain of reasoning."

In this paper, the author proposes a social psychology research, which may increase understanding of inter-personal relations in the U.S. The methods which seek to take account of the individual as a dynamic process are the clinical ones. These approaches will be best used when coordinated with other techniques already developed in the field of social psychology. An example of such coordination in the investigation of social psychological problems is to be found in the University of California Public Opinion Study. For the study of anti-democratic trends, projective techniques have been found valuable. Whereas in the area of internal economic tensions, an assessment center is needed to incorporate principles such as: basing of research upon a fundamental theory of personality; assessment of persons as wholes and as members of natural groups; use of multiform clinical procedures with the techniques of attitude and opinion measurements.

Human sexuality has been analyzed traditionally within the conceptual frameworks of marriage and the family. This paper deals, however, with the premise that sex is becoming an autonomous and distinct realm of social interaction. The sociological implications of such a development are explored. An attempt is made to design an analytical framework suitable to the study of sexual behavior—and its interconnections with other social institutions—as an end in itself. Finally, a case is made in support of the analysis of sexual interaction within a framework of reciprocity and exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framing this paper is the question: what research problem and hypotheses suggested by symbolic interaction theory give promise, if pursued, of significantly advancing the sociology of the family? The problem delineated revolves around the concepts of identity and commitment. After explication of a set of premises and needed refinements in concepts basic to symbolic interaction theory, a number of hypotheses are offered. These purport to account for the position of identities in a salience hierarchy and tie identity salience to role performance. Finally, it is noted that these hypotheses could profitably be studied in the research setting of responses to first pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been recognized that the study of peasant movements requires two basic methodological rules for its proper understanding: first, the focus of the study must be both on the interaction process which binds the peasantry to its overlord and the social forces that impinge upon both poles of interaction; second, such study must necessarily deal with the historical contexts within which the interaction process between lord and peasant develops. The main purpose of this paper is to apply these two methodological rules to a case study of a) the transformation of a regional power structure and b) the origins and development of a peasant movement that swept an intermontane valley of Peruvian Central Sierra dominated by the hacienda system, transforming it into a region of Indian communities. A second purpose of the paper is to derive certain theoretical generalizations from the empirical case, which can be relevant for the development of a theory of political peasant movements. This article also discusses the role of successful peasant movements in the development process of dependent, unequally developed societies, like Peru.

This article presents Peter M. Hall's response to Rosabeth Moss Kanter's comments toward his article "A Symbolic Interactionist Analysis of Politics," published in the 1972 issue of "Sociological Inquiry." The author concludes that Kanter misunderstands his perspective by subsuming it under American liberalism. If there is anything that he is not, it is an American liberal, and if there is anything he is criticizing in American sociology, political sociology, and symbolic interaction, it is consensual, pluralistic, and liberal bias. Hall also does not deny the need to see the totality of the society, its interdependencies, feedbacks, and impacts, in short, society as a system. To settle misconceptions, Hall emphasized that his paper had a special focus and set limits as to its goals and coverage. It was not intended to be a complete analysis of politics nor a complete analysis of American politics.

This article discusses various issues related to certain problems of social psychology. The article presents a study in this regard. These problems fall into two groups: those dealing with questions of methodology, and those dealing directly with the psychology of social attitudes. The inter-correlations of the attitudes towards various social issues of approximately 1,500 subjects, drawn from various classes, countries, and organizations were studied by means of factorial analysis. Certain conclusions were arrived at with regard to: the statistical methods used; the general factors underlying the attitudes of the subjects; and a number of miscellaneous points. The results of the analyses reported in this paper indicate strongly a connection between general social attitudes and individual temperamental factors. The organization or structure of attitudes was seen to play a greater part in the differentiation of groups and organizations than that played by the average preference of the various groups for the propositions, the attitudes towards which were being investigated. This result suggests that more attention might usefully be paid by research workers to the question of organization, structure, or "gestalt"-qualities among attitudes.

Although direct experimental evidence on the subject has not been Scientifically accumulated and analyzed, much of the acceptable theory and fact of social and behavioral science indicates that both questions should be answered in the affirmative. Apparently a huge proportion of the caseworkers are drawn from middleclass families. For example, a recent study of the social position of a sample of Detroit social workers concludes that, according to such criteria as paternal occupation and economic status, the sample had a predominantly middle-class background. Caseworkers attempt to establish professional relationships with children and their parents as points of departure for rendering assistance to them. In fact, an effective relationship is considered a sine qua non in successful casework treatment. The casework relationship has been defined in many ways, but in essence it is one type of intimate personal relation. Such relations involve, among other things, a minimum of social distance. For the purposes of this paper, social distance is defined as reserve or constraint in social interaction between individuals arising from differences in their group experience.

This paper attempts to devise a parsimonious explanation of human behavior in collectivities. For this purpose three main variables have been identified, which, when combined in a specific manner, serve to incorporate the major determinants of behavior. These variables, which will be put into technical jargon in this paper, include (I) a pre-existing attitude, (2) an emotional context, and (3) a situational effect. An individual's need for social approval (NSA), developed in previous interactional situations, is the preexisting attitude with which the paper is concerned. Need-for-social-approval may be simply defined as the degree to which one attempts to impress others in order to gain their approval. The emotional context of a situation may be accounted for by the intensity of the situation. In this sense, intensity may be viewed as density. That is, intensity may be defined as the quantity of interaction per time period or the quantity of interaction per geographical space. The situational effects upon behavior are the most important since they can eradicate the effects of the other two variables.