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The symposium on directions in mass communications research includes excerpts from seven papers that were prepared for an Arden House conference that was held in May 1913. The conference was part of a larger project, made possible by a grant from the Markle Foundation to the Graduate School of journalism, Columbia University. Its primary purpose was to identify questions deserving priority attention by mass communication researchers in the coming years. The papers on uses and gratifications and on the mass media and socialization are concerned primarily with the individual; the papers on national development and on government-media relations focus primarily on social organization; and those on mass communication's professional personnel and management relate to media sociology. A final paper, examining research questions that emerge as a result of new communication technologies, cuts across the three areas. The full texts of the papers from which these excerpts were selected by the editors, together with other papers that attempt to provide an overview of the entire field of mass communication research and to suggest priority areas for future research, are scheduled for publication in paperback and cloth editions by Praeger Publishers in the Fall of 1974.

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]

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."

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 points out that at various times in the history of society new social forms have emerged, constituting what might be termed "social inventions." Three of these social inventions of the past are examined: role-based social organization, the nation-state, and the corporation. Current trends in social structure are discussed and the emergence of possible social inventions is discussed. These include a social structure composed of mixed rational organization and communal enclaves, between which some persons move periodically; a replacement of the nation-state by a form of organization which separates territorial control from citizenship; the emergence of more transitory work relations; and the development of new styles of social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to distinguish conceptually between a number of dimensions of status consciousness and to investigate their empirical interrelationships. An ideal-type model can be constructed of the highly status-conscious person as one who adheres religiously to middle-class values and who has high mobility aspirations. Not only is he willing to sacrifice interesting work for a job that pays, but he is very much aware of the kinds of behavior required in playing the "social game." In his interpersonal relations he associates with those persons who are in a position to help him advance toward the top, shunning those who are beneath him in status. In short, the extremely status conscious person lives and acts as though status considerations are of the utmost importance. They are to him the essence of social interaction. The empirical problem with which this paper is concerned is the question of just how realistic this kind of description actually is.

The article focuses on social interaction in an interview between social worker and his client. Similar studies of interview between salesman and customers, clergyman and parishioners, employers and employees are also studied. Number of subproblems that are discussed are about: verbal part of give-and-take; relation between verbal and non-verbal parts of the interaction; correlations between interview regarded as a succession of physical stimuli and responses and the interview regarded as a succession of feelings, ideas, objectives and inferences. The committee on case-work processes had been in existence for over a year. It had consisted of a rather large group of case workers from various agencies, each of whom had presented a paper covering three points: the function of his particular organization, his own position in that organization, and something of his personal technic. At the beginning of the next year the size of the group was reduced to a half dozen persons who were both willing and able to devote considerable time to the committee's work. Instead of dealing with case-work processes in general, these folks deemed it wise to concentrate on some one phase of case work and they chose the interview for special study.

The interrelationship of city and country is a question of vital concern to the rapidly changing modern civilization, and its full discussion would involve consideration of a wide range of issues and problems. In the paper this question is approached from the point of view of its bearing upon the organization and administration of social work in rural districts on a more comprehensive basis than has hitherto proved practicable. During recent years those interested in the improvement of social conditions have recognized more clearly than ever before the need of extending social work programs into small town and open country communities. Thus far results have been disappointing in this field in spite of a few signal successes. It is impossible to promote any far-reaching plan of social organization without encountering the traditional conflict between a city and country, which has wrecked many schemes of social and political reform. An understanding, therefore, of city-country interrelationships becomes essential for the development of a sound policy upon which may be based more adequate and comprehensive social work programs.

Community change efforts entail the use of bargaining. This paper explores three factors that determine the nature and outcome of a bargaining process: (1) the power resources of the bargainers, (2) the formulation of issues, and (3) skill in the use of strategy. The paper also reviews the respective roles of the social worker and the community group in the bargaining transaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to make a utilitarian commentary on the settlement as a formal organization. The theoretical orientation leans on a structural-functional analysis of the ideal type of settlement. A settlement house is a formal organization, with a contractual structure given to it by the state in which it is incorporated; a board of directors, sometimes appointed by a parent organization, as in the case of church-supported agencies; and an executive, usually appointed by the board of directors, who is responsible for the administrative structure of the settlement. The board of directors also prescribes the general goals of the settlement, which the executive and his staff attempt to accomplish. The current practice in the literature is to distinguish a formal from a social organization, since the former is a specific and planned unit, whereas the latter is a vast network of individuals and their associations in a large and unguided framework. Other terms that have been used for this phenomenon are "enacted institutions," "co-operative systems" and "instrumentalities for the attainment of specific goals." There are various ways of studying a formal organization, all of which may be classified into two major types: academic and utilitarian. The primary goal of the academic approach is to learn how formal organizations function.

In this paper some ideas about stress that may contribute to the knowledge-base for practice will be presented, in addition to findings from a series of studies of social work practice, a few of which draw upon some of the ideas on stress. All of the studies derive their questions from a symmetrical scheme that represents the interaction between client and worker. The scheme is a developing one, modified as empirical research validates and elaborates elements in it, and starts with some general hypothetical determinants of the interaction between client and worker. Social work practice generally involves interventions aimed at modifying the social, physical, and psychological forces working upon persons in stressful situations. The purpose of such interventions is to reduce the long-term damaging effects of stress on persons and, more immediately, to reduce their disabling feelings of distress so that they feel less overwhelmed and better able to cope. When such regressive behaviors or reversions to developmentally earlier ways of behaving fail to remedy the conditions that precipitate them, social work interventions may serve remedial ends.

Study of the various papers on social work interviews shows that their writers have had in mind two fairly distinct purposes. Some have aimed quite directly at the improvement of case work technique, while others have undertaken primarily an analysis of the interview as a bit of social interaction. The majority have clearly been concerned with the technology rather than with the sociology of interviews. Yet it is a curious fact that the Minneapolis-St. Paul group, whose immediate objective is frankly improved teaching of how to interview clients, has made one of the most significant contributions to the analysis of interviews. A comparison with the work of the Kansas City group may be of interest. It has been concerned primarily in studying the interview as a type of social interaction, but so far has failed to discover any means of generalizing its data. It took the interview apart and identified certain constituent elements, but it did not succeed in producing a set of concepts by means of which to describe and lable recurring processes. Some people do not think that the Twin-City group has been altogether successful either, but it has pointed the way. Its attempt to classify phases of the interview as techniques, processes and purposes is quite significant and the effort to find suitable names for these also deserves credit.

This paper is of important to sociologists in two respects. These are: first, it has emphasized the non-verbal gestures more than any previous study and has more successfully abstracted them from the rest of the interaction and from the situation so that their significance can be appreciated. Second, it is a completely descriptive account from which interpretations, appraisals, and classifications have been eliminated as completely as possible. Two questions may be raised by sociologists in regard to the technique used in this investigation: First, whether the description of non-verbal gestures adequate or not. It is clearly impractical to include a description of every gesture of every observable part of the organism for each moment of the interview. Second, whether it conform to the requirements of scientific method or not. Whether it is possible to abstract a brief incident or episode from the rest of the lives of the participants and describe it so that it will yield significant results.

This paper evaluates the thesis that manual workers in advanced capitalist societies increasingly are adopting middle-class modes of thought and behavior, and that blue-collar prosperity is responsible for this process. A review of the literature reveals substantial differences in earnings, market situations, life styles, working conditions, and politics of manual and non-manual workers. Furthermore, advocates of the embourgeoisement thesis usually rely on economic variables to explain workers' political responses, but the literature indicates that social relationships and the nature of blue-collar work are more important determinants. Consequently, we conclude that the degree of working-class affluence and embourgeoisement has been exaggerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a number of dimensions of public response to the crime problem. A sample from a high crime rate urban area and a sample from a low crime rate suburban area are compared. The urban sample perceives higher local crime rates than the suburban sample, and it also feels less safe, less trustful of others, and less positive affect for the community than the suburban sample. Relationships between perception of crime and the dimensions of response are stronger in the urban sample than in the suburban sample, suggesting a threshold effect may be operating, with perception of crime affecting dimensions of community life only after that perception has passed a certain level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The folk view of age and the male homosexual is that the older the homosexual the less his sociosexual contact with other homosexuals due to a premium on youth in the homosexual world; and that the "old' homosexual is lower in psychological well being as a result of this sociosexual situation. The data reported in this paper support the social, but not the psychological, folk description. An explanation for this discrepancy between the folk view and the research data is given with regard to the perspective of the persons who provide the folk view and to the adjustments which seem to be associated with the aging process in general. The social and psychological situation of the "young" homosexual is also given special attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automobile salesman, contrary to popular opinion, is no longer an economic entrepreneur operating without restraint and engaged solely in the pursuit of personal profit. In the past, the automobile sales agency was somewhat of a provisional undertaking in which the salesman-customer relationship was a random, transitory and, in many cases, unrenewable encounter. Today, the increased complexity of the social organization of sales practices has resulted in the development of the manufacturer-authorized agency which depends upon mutually satisfactory relationships with its customers and encourages at least a modicum of continuity of clientele. Consequently, the salesman has evolved from the "wheeler and dealer" of the early post-war period to the agency employee who operates in a more restrained social situation. In addition, increased automobile production and a competitive market have modified the position of the customer, increasing his ability to direct or attempt to direct the conditions and outcome of the sales transaction. The object of this paper is to analyze sales behavior by focusing on the interaction which occurs between the new car salesman and customer during the sales transaction: the "contact," marking the beginning; the "pitch," the middle; and the "close," signifying the end of the social encounter.

It is general practice in sociology to regard deviant behavior as an alien element in society. Deviance is considered a vagrant form of human activity, moving outside the more orderly currents of social life. Deviation, can often be understood as a normal product of stable institutions, a vital resource which is guarded and preserved by forces found in all human organizations. From a sociological standpoint, deviance can be defined as conduct which is generally thought to require the attention of social control agencies that is, conduct about which "something should be done." Deviance is not a property inherent in certain forms of behavior; it is a property conferred upon these forms by the audiences which directly or indirectly witness them. Sociologically, then, the critical variable in the study of deviance is the social audience rather than the individual person, since it is the audience which eventually decides whether or not any given action or actions will become a visible case of deviation. This research paper attempts to focus the attention on the sociological question: how does a social structure communicate its "needs" or impose its "patterns" on human actors?

The article presents a study on some criminal gangs in the U.S. and formulates a theory of near-groups. Approaches used in data gathering included field study methods, participant observation, role-playing, group interaction analysis, and sociometry. In addition to the analysis of the gang's structure, a number of delinquent gang war events produced vital case material. Some recent publications and controversy focus on the emergence of gangs and their function for gang members. A central thesis of this paper is that mid-way on the group-mob continuum are collectivities which are neither groups nor mobs. Near-groups are characterized by factors like diffuse role definition, limited cohesion, impermanence, minimal consensus of norms, shifting membership, disturbed leadership, and limited definition of membership expectations. These factors characterize the near-group's "normal" structure. Some recent sociological theory and discourse on gangs suffers from distortions of gang structure to fit a group rather than a near-group conception.

Sociologists have given several explanations for the relationship between status inconsistency and various dependent variables, but they have not reported empirical tests of their speculations. The present paper reports research which was designed to find out if unsatisfactory social interaction-a variable frequently used to explain the relationships-is related to status inconsistency, and to also explore the relationship between inconsistency and community dissatisfaction, a dependent variable which has not been included in inconsistency research. Contrary to what is hypothesized, middle-class persons in the study sample who have inconsistent statuses are more likely to experience satisfactory social interaction and community satisfaction than individuals with consistent statuses. This finding is interpreted by inferring that the unique nature of the study population determines the influence of inconsistency upon behavior. Persons with high occupation and low education or income are most satisfied with their interaction and community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes factors affecting the internal structure of affective relationships in triads formed by adolescent male drinkers and abstainers. It is shown that the likelihood of a given sociometric relation can be predicted from knowledge of other relational bonds in the triad and from the degree of similarity with regard to alcohol use. The relations between two individuals are affected importantly by their own behaviors and also by their affective ties and behavioral similarities to others in the system. It is suggested that balance theory may be extended to explain the strength of balance forces within one system as a function of imbalance in another. With regard to objects of generalized importance and social relevance, pressures toward balance are hypothesized to increase in strength to the extent that one or more actors experience imbalance in other relational sets. Consistent with this hypothesis is the observation that lack of parental support is associated with closer ties between an individual's friends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relations between groups as actors are most often conducted through specialized representative roles. Action in each role is on behalf of the group that defines it and is seen as the action of the entire group. The functional implications of representative interaction for intergroup and intragroup relations are discussed for each of four types of intergroup situations, the types being based on the variables of power and legitimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we shall attempt to show that the codification of racial criteria in the social structure of Latin America differs significantly from that which is conceived as legitimate in the United States. When these differences are actualized in social interaction, they operate as sources of conflict and resentment between members of these two cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictability is also partly a testable hypothesis and findings of many studies clearly attest to the predictability of human interaction. Sociology clearly has a subject matter which is amenable to scientific study. The purpose of the paper is to analyze a subtle but fundamental noninstrument source of indeterminacy in attitude measurement and to consider some of its implications. The data for all sciences consists of human responses to environmental events. The general procedure for minimizing indeterminacy in measurement due to the limited discriminal capacities of the human as a researcher is to have independent observers check on each other's findings. The precision of measurement is being operationally defined in an unfamiliar sense. It ordinarily denotes something like sampling error, the items in the scale are regarded as a sample of all possible items in a given attitude domain. The accuracy of best estimate is increased by increasing the number of items in the scale, thus increasing the number of endorsements.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze possible sources of mental strains and conflicts of Japanese immigrants which develop from the character of the Japanese social structure. It is assumed that the Japanese immigrants in America brought with them the traditional culture of rural Japan of half a century ago. It may be concluded that the Japanese immigrants retain Japanese culture to a considerable extent. Consequently they are presumed to undergo the mental strains to a certain extent due to conditions inherent in the structure of the Japanese society, not to mention those resulting from new environments, cultural contact, and difficult relations with their American-educated children. In the Japanese family system collectivity-orientation is represented by the emphasis on kinship tie, strong personal attachment, the family council, and patriarchalism. The basic unit of the Japanese social organization is a kinship group. The emphasis on kinship tie is indicated in the number of generations residing in a single household.

The article discusses social psychology research and methodology. The main uses of attitude measurement to date have been of a practical and applied variety. From the use of straw ballots to detect the varying currents of public opinion to controlled studies of movie-made children, the trend of attitude research is unmistakable. This practical emphasis is only natural in social psychology which is so intimately bound up with the problems of everyday existence. Moreover, it is highly desirable for psychologists not to try to stand above the battle of life. Nevertheless, there is no reason why attitude measurement should not be applied more extensively to problems in social psychology proper. If the absorption in immediate and practical issues continues to the neglect of fundamental problems, then attitude measurement will go the way of mental testing and become the exclusive property of educational, vocational, and other applied psychologies. It is the thesis of this paper that attitude measurement has a place in social psychology as well as in the applied fields.

This article presents information on the advantages of experimental sociology in the study of family group patterns. Experimental sociology is that study of sociological phenomena which proceeds by making observations under conditions of control. It is the contention of this paper that the study of culture and the study of interaction may be conducted under conditions of control. The author elucidates this thesis to define: certain concepts of scientific method on the one hand; and certain concepts of content and subject matter, on the other hand. Direct control which is manipulation, restraint, direction, or guidance of objects or persons present to sense perception. By this procedure one holds constant in the situation selected factors known by experience to be related to that factor which one desire to observe. When these controlled factors are constant and an effect ensues the causal factor or factors are probably responsible for this change. Indirect control of the forces or factors in the situation by manipulation, direction or guidance of symbols of objects or persons not present to sense perception. Investigation of this sort takes the form of analysis by minute sub-division or analysis by partial correlation.

The article throws light on the life and works of Charles Horton Cooley, a social researcher. Indeed in his lifetime, because of the just estimate of his colleagues, he achieved a recognition which too often comes only post-humously. It is natural that, in reviewing his work, his positive contributions to social theory should receive the principal share of attention, particularly as his thoughts on social research are scattered in five separate papers. The central principle in all that Cooley wrote is that the essential facts of social life are mental. The overt conduct of persons and groups and the forms in which institutions are clothed are simply precipitations of the more fundamental mental phenomena. Furthermore, it is only in minds, which are the loci of the human adjustment process, that the social reality can be apprehended in all its complexity. The mind of the human being and the processes of human interaction are evolutionary emergents precisely because no entities less complex could bring about anything so elaborately organized as social life.

The article presents information on bias in an interview. There is some evidence that bias is likely to occur in the interview when there is social distance between interviewer and respondent. Status distance and threatening questions may create a situation in which the respondent feels pressure to answer in the direction he believes will conform to the opinions or expectations of the interviewer. This encourages the respondent to avoid the possible negative consequences of answering a question the "wrong" way. It seems likely that the role performance of the interviewer could either enhance or mitigate the biasing effects of status characteristics and potentially threatening questions. It has been suggested, for example, that the interviewer may be able to "alter the respondent's perception of the situation." Two major role-performance characteristics have received extensive discussion in this respect. First, it has been suggested that the interviewer should be able to establish good rapport. By doing so he will be able to minimize or dispel the respondent's fears of the possible negative consequences of his answers. On the other hand, rapport may also produce a strain toward consensus on the subject matter of the interview schedule. If the respondent is attracted to the interviewer, he may attempt to answer questions in agreement with his perception of the interviewer's opinion in order to maintain or even increase the reward value of the interaction.

The interplay of social relationships and attitudes during a campaign is a very attractive field for research. This study of a "middle-sized" group of students provides a limited test of a hypothesis about the social divisiveness of political issues. Personal communication about a subject of collective decision influences the attitude of the receiver toward the attitude of the communicator. Communication about such a subject is intensified when the time for a collective decision approaches, and declines thereafter. In large groups with differentiated subgroup structure, this communication produces not simply over-all consensus, but subgroup consensus. The "campaign" period preceding a collective decision also brings about a separation of groups from one another in the relevant attitudes. After a collective decision, this process is reversed. Sociometric panel studies of periodic decision processes permit this direct comparison. Studies of this kind, carried out on "middle-sized" groups, can bridge the gap between the "small" group, which rarely shows subgroup polarization, and the community, which is too large to study sociometrically.

Although conflict, controversy, and confrontation are established social work techniques, their use in group work with older adults has been limited. This paper explores some of their constructive uses and the implications this approach presents for the role of the group worker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers along their colleagues from other disciplines in the broad field of human relations have been attesting to the usefulness of the group approach for many years. Clinical evidence continues to confirm the practicality of using the interaction resultant known as the group as a facilitating treatment device for certain persons experiencing relationship difficulties. In the group situation the leader or therapist is immediately faced with a reverberating system of social interaction which is difficult to understand and follow and in some ways almost impossible to guide or control. Nevertheless the consistent theoretical orientation generally apparent in the frequent reports concerning the efficacy of this approach is quite definitely related to the actual use of the developmental course of the group as an entity in itself.

The article discusses the impact of sedative and stimulative music on miscellaneous verbal interactions in a group situation in the U.S. It notes that a period of adaption to the novelty of the music can be allowed by the extension of time for gathering data. It mentions that the interactions must be measured by a more efficient means of classification.

This article demonstrates the potential of small group laboratory research for attacking some of the theoretical and methodological problems currently confronting the societal-reaction perspective in the field of deviance. The results of small group research by Schachter, and Sampson and Brandon are re- interpreted within a conceptual framework derived from the societal-reaction literature. These two studies suggest that inclusive reactions to deviance attempt to control deviation through intense interactional pressure, accompanied by relatively low attitudinal hostility toward the deviant. Exclusive reactions to deviance reject the deviant as an outsider and are characterized by low levels of interaction, but high levels of covert hostility. Inclusive reactions tend to occur when deviance is attributed to a particular situation, whereas deviance attributed to the character of the deviant tends to result in exclusive reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on international conferences and seminars on sociology. The fifth annual Marriage and Family Life Study tour, will sail for Italy, Israel, Greece, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, France, and Austria on June 28, 1954, returning in late August. This tour is sponsored by the State University of New York and the National Council on Family Relations. A Traveling Seminar for professional persons will be sponsored by the San Francisco State College this summer, June 29-September 1. The itinerary will include Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. The Fifth International Congress on Mental Health, sponsored by the World Federation for Mental Health, will be held in Toronto, Ontario from August 14-21, 1954. The theme of the Congress will be "Mental Health in Public Affairs." The program will include research papers by internationally known leaders in the field, technical sessions, and round-table and small discussion groups. The Second Conference on research in Intergroup Relations, made possible by a grant from the Field Foundation to the National Association of Intergroup Relations Officials, will be held at the University of Chicago, December 28-30, 1953. The Conference is open without charge to practitioners, researchers, and students in the field of intergroup relations.

The annual fall meeting was held at Michigan State College in November 30, 1945. The following papers were presented: "Max Weber's Reflection on the United States," in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death, Paul Honigsheim, Michigan State College; "What Do We Mean by 'Situation'," Nelson Foote, Wayne University; "Situational Approach to Conflict and War," Lowell J. Can, University of Michigan; "Some Needed Research in Social Psychology," Theodore M. Newcomb, University of Michigan; "The Crisis in Colonial Administration," Solon Kimball, Michigan State College; "Some Democratic Implication of Science," Frank E. Hartung, Wayne University; and "The Logic and Psychologic of Science," Melyin Tumin, Wayne University.

Origins, diffusion and effects of rumor have long been challenging problems for the social scientist. The author submits a progress report on a three-year study of rumor being conducted by the Washington Public Opinion Laboratory. The author searches for principles of human interaction by studying rumor, or verbal diffusion of messages from person to person. The author simply chose a form of interaction, namely, one-way mass oral communication, which can be treated with quantitative and controlled experimental techniques. Objectives of the research, called as Project Revere, are both practical and theoretical. It integrates a bit of applied and pure science in seeking principles of immediate use in operation, as well as principles of more basic value for social science. The process of message diffusion was analyzed into four main stages yielding four classes of variables: the physical, the psychological, the social and the semantic. Project Revere concentrates on social variables. The interacting of people is its chief concern, but it must also deal with the other classes.

There is an increasing awareness of the part played by intergroup attitudes in controlling human relations. Studies on attitudes towards minorities, toward the British or Japanese, toward management or labor, and the like, are made in an effort to understand and perhaps to indicate how to influence the interplay between groups. This article reports on a study conducted by the Israel Institute of Applied Social Research in which this line of analysis is totally inapplicable. The article concludes that it may be well to point again to the dangers in the study of attitudes, including attitude change, which are exposed by the present investigation. Unless one ascertains the metric on attitude, its zero point and the principal components, one may arrive at entirely false conclusions as to the relationship of the attitude to other variables. This analysis also provides evidence suggesting that an excess of no reply on an attitude question means indifference, and that the attitude's zero point actually coincides with the point of indifference.

In "small world" studies successive men each send on a postcard packet to an acquaintance who may know a designated target person on a first-name basis. `In this analysis the likelihood of discarding the packet is separated from the chance the packet if sent reaches a man who knows the target. The former probability is assumed to be independent of the previous number of persons in the chain. The assumption is satisfied by the three extant sets of aggregate data. Then the latter probability is found to rise from zero to a modest plateau with the number of steps in the chain. Refinements and variants of the model are suggested. Funneling of chains through a few persons near the target is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories supporting the integrative role of religion have been questioned mainly on the ground that in complex and multi-religious societies, doctrinal differences between denominations result in differences in social behavior, thus contributing to a lack of integration. The present data indicate that, at least in reference to American businessmen and the American business creed, acceptance of the differences among denominations are not determined directly by differences in doctrines, but by social processes operating independent from these doctrines. Serving as a mechanism of boundary maintenance and integration, the particular doctrine helps the denominational social system become autonomous and responsive to other systems. Because denominational social systems have different status, size and rate of growth, inter- action among them is instrumental and leads to the development of secular rationalities such as the acceptance of the business creed, which operate independent from the doctrine and help them adjust themselves to each other and to the larger society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is described for revealing patterns of social interaction. The procedure involves ordering groups by some principle, such as the total initiation rate of members within groups, and then examining the clusters of covariation. Two types of patterns are expected: those of like or common responses, and those of complementary responses. The analysis used to illustrate the method indicates both patterns. Limitations of the procedure are discussed and the method is judged to be crude but possibly the necessary first step before more detailed analyses will yield interpretable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Psychology is shown as having, in its rejection of grand theory, also abandoned many of its significant problems. The field of social psychology is defined in relation to sociology and psychology. The latter are each dealing with a complete logical system, which may or may not be in conflict or leave certain areas undefined. Social psychology is defined as an interstitial science covering the situations where actions of the individual and the forces of organized society interact. The need for full-range theory is shown and examples are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major element in the Spanish American rural social organization was the patron-peon pattern. Although the pattern is now in the process of dissolution, the underlying cultural values remain and create many difficulties in the adjustment and acculturation of the Spanish Americans to the dominant English-speaking society of modern New Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article briefly discusses predictions or hypotheses of various social scientists about desegregation, for the period of 1950-55, in the U.S. Years 1950-1955 were taken as the period during which the school segregation cases were making their way through the courts and the possibility of a court-ordered end to compulsory segregation was becoming evident. Sociologists, social psychologists, and some other social scientists have long had a special interest in matters related to race, ethnic minority groups, and intergroup relations, and much of their research has been in or related to these fields. As the crisis over segregation in the public schools built up toward its climax during the early 1950's, the special competence of social scientists in racial matters was given recognition by the lawyers and jurists concerned with the segregation cases. Most of the so-called prediction studies in social science have been of the actuarial type, involving large numbers of cases. Data are collected concerning the presumably relevant characteristics of each individual or case, the cases are exposed to a similar experience or passage of time and measures are obtained on the "performance" of each, and an analysis is then carried out to determine which characteristics or factors are most closely associated with the desired performance, the criterion. Another type or aspect of prediction in which social scientists have had some experience involves the projection of existing trends.

This article cites a study investigating social distance attitudes of South African students. It reports results of multi-racial societies of the Union of South Africa. In 1956, 627 white students at the English-speaking University of Natal filled out anonymously an attitude questionnaire. The form includes a social distance instrument, three Likert scales, and personal information items such as sex, father's occupation, and church attendance. The Likert scales are a 13-item measure of authoritarianism (F scale), a 16-item measure of social conformity (C scale), and an 18-item measure of anti-African prejudice (A scale). Three interrelated questions are considered here, first of which is concerned to social distance differences between college students from three major white groups in the Union: the English, Afrikaners, and Jews. Other two questions are concerned with social distance attitudes. Results of the study revealed that the group rankings of English students agree closely with those of Afrikaner students and Jewish students, but the Afrikaner and Jewish rankings vary somewhat. In spite of these similarities, however, many of the predicted social distance differences between the subject groups emerge.

The article focuses on status of sociology in independent India. Where Indian sociology has attempted to develop independently, it has tended toward a synthesis of geography, history, economics, philosophy, and social welfare, with some religious orientation. A list of the social problems of India and of recently enacted or proposed social legislation is almost equivalent to a catalog of areas of potential research. The American sociologist who is interested in intergroup relations would find a fertile field of study in intercommunal (Hindu-Moslem) and intercaste relations. The apparent pressure of population on resources in India has long made this country one of the favorite examples of neo-Malthusians in support of their theories. While India is a country which still experiences famines and plagues, some writers have pointed out that misery exists in India not because of an excess of population in relation to resources but because of inadequate exploitation of both natural and human resources.

The article puts forward a critique of social scientist George Tucker's works. One of Tucker's most interesting contributions to the subject of social psychology was his early attempt to secure an experimental answer to the nature-nurture problem. He views that man is impelled to action, both of body and mind, by the fundamental laws of both. Without uneasiness from inaction, he would only have been put in motion by the direct stimulus of bodily pain, or prospect of bodily pleasure. When these were wanting, he would necessarily fall into inaction. The important point is that Tucker conceived the problem in such a manner that an experimental solution seemed possible. In his discussion of the white races in the United States, he points out how the several American environments, both physical and institutional, had modified the European strains, producing a national character, different from that of Europeans, and also variations within the national type. He even had the temerity to question the innate intellectual inferiority of the Negro, attributing much of his inferiority in character and intellect to the circumstances in which he was reared.

The article discusses relationships between changes in social life forms from earlier patterns to the most recent of the development of human society. These changes are usually studied with special theories as backgrounds, theories that take economic, racial, climatic and cultural factors as their primary motivation. As factors of great importance for the rural interest of the modern urbanized man, mentions folk art and folk custom. In reality these interests are not exactly real remnants of aboriginal rural attitudes, but they are more esthetic and sentimental. They rise mostly in the usual change of classical cultural styles with more archaic-romantic ones, of which the latter use the primitive form of earlier and even present rural arts as their historical relationship and support. The attempts to ruralize city populations would have far greater success and would proceed with fewer disappointments, if the urban man would at first be made conscious of the rural social attitudes he possesses. When this is done, they can be developed consciously in him to well-adapted and new forms of rural life.

This article presents sociological information regarding conflict between young and old in a family. There are three distinct age groups in the community, the historical relations of which should be made clear. The first is the old people, those approximately seventy or older, whose children had matured before the advent of the recent change in material culture and the social problems incident thereto. The second group is the children of that generation, those now well into middle age. Their fundamental attitudes have been so well formed during the old era that, although they took up the new material culture, their behavior patterns did not crack under the strain of freedom offered by the revitalization of the social organization following the rapid mechanical development. Due to long established habits they continued behaving in the old patterns. From the standpoint of social, cultural, and philosophical evaluations they are more closely in harmony with the old group than with the young. Yet their closer and more intimate contacts are with the latter. They are the buffer group.