Search

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]

The article discusses a study which investigates the short term effect of prior social experiences on the productivity of schizophrenics in recreational therapy. Several authors speculated about the social value of recreational therapy in contrast to psychoanalytical value. An author suggested that recreational therapy might help in rehabilitating a patient. Twenty two males and 18 females who were diagnosed as chronic schizophrenics at the Soundview Throgs Neck Unit of Bronx State Hospital in New York City were studied. They were randomly assigned to one of the four groups such as control, discussion, cooperation and dyad. Results supported the suggestion that social interaction may enhance patient functioning.

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.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to present a sketch of procedures which hold promise for yielding behavioral indicators of connections among actions in the local society. The community is viewed as a behavioral and interactional phenomenon. From this perspective, which assumes but does not emphasize spatial, institutional and psychological dimensions, relevant data have to do with the behavior of actors in specific task-accomplishment processes. The tasks might be building a hospital, conducting a political campaign, evacuating a residential area which is threatened by flood, or any infinite number of other public, locality, relevant concerns. The raw data of behavioral study of community are acts by individuals. Reports of acts are amassed, sorted, classified and examined. Acts are seen as fitting together into projects and episodes, and these into fields of action concerning specific interests or goals.

The article examines the notion of communicative competence and the implications that can be drawn from it for language teaching. The impetus for the paper came from the author's experience in Sweden last year. Within the last five years there has been an increasing and justified concern for communicative activities in language teaching. The evidence of it can be seen in the titles of papers, articles and dissertations. A conference was held in England last year on "The Communicative Teaching of English." Communicative competence is not simply a term, but is a concept basic to understanding social interaction. It is commonplace to point out that the tenets and concepts of a discipline profoundly influence the questions one asks and the solutions one seeks. The author suggests a model for language teaching which sets a framework for identifying and discussing strategies and techniques in the teaching process, taking into account the social meaning of language. The necessity to develop communicative competence is especially important in second language and second dialect teaching.

This paper is a rejoinder to Plods critique of the social psychology of conflict published in this Journal. The rejoinder reviews the history of American social psychology, the meaning of 'conflict resolution', the nature of the dilemma in the Prisoner's Dilemma, and other related matters which Plon has apparently misconstrued. The rejoinder criticizes Plon's crude 'economic determinism' version of Marxist theory and briefly considers the role of power in politics. The characteristics of the present author's social-psychological approach to conflict is outlined, and it is suggested that such an approach has direct relevance to the intellectual concerns of those who seek to bring about social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a second and comparison paper on the continuance and functioning of a kin family network in contemporary industrial society. The concept of the kin network is proposed as a replacement for the one which posits that a nuclear family unit is most suited functionally for the exigencies of modern life. The kin family network is composed of nuclear families bound together by affectional ties and choice. The lifelines of the network are help and service exchanged among members of nuclear families related by blood and affinal ties. Help, service and social interaction characterize the activities of this interdependent kin family system identified as the kin family network. Help and service among kin members take many forms. The principal form of help among parents and their married offspring is financial aid. One purpose of this paper is to examine how much aid binds together nuclear related families along generational lines. In this paper the term parental aid for married children is limited to financial assistance which may be in the form of cash, gifts, or services.

This paper presents the results of an intensive field investigation to determine the influence of informal social groups of a non-locality-group nature on the interpersonal exchange of farm information among farm operators in a northeast Missouri farming community. Analysis of the data clearly demonstrated the facilitating influence of informal groups on the interpersonal exchange of farm information among members of the same group. There was also considerable evidence that mechanisms of group exclusion were a factor in limiting the more selective types of information-seeking contacts. Informal social groups of a non-clique nature had much the same influence, in these respects, as social cliques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a series of rural sociological research problems which appear feasible, show promise of fruitful results, and comprise major social adjustments needed and for under way in the "Wheat Belt." The suggested research is in "large blocks" which will require scaling and sizing to conform to situations immediately at hand. A superficial description of the "Wheat Belt" is given for purposes of orientation. The regional emphasis is likely to give an erroneous impression unless it is rigidly defined in actual research because the "Wheat Belt" is neither a region nor a belt in any strict sense. As conceived here, rural sociological research may be designed within several related comprehensive areas: Rural Social Organization, Population, Levels of Living, Social Interaction, and Cultural Change, each of which is capable of almost infinite subdivision and extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research in the sociology of religion has varied widely in terms of units of analysis. Three general foci have tended to underlie most of the empirical work done in this field: the individual (e.g. the social psychology of religion) religion as a social movement (e.g. the sect-church typology) and individual churches of a deviant or unusual nature. With certain exceptions there has been relatively little attention paid to the more "normal" type of urban congregation. This is unfortunate because it is in these local congregations that the majority of church-goers can be found, and empirical research which ignores this aspect of religious organization is incomplete and somewhat truncated. This paper seeks to remedy the deficiency in this area of research by presenting an analysis of urban congregations in one city based upon research carried out on a sample of 37 local congregations representing two denominations. One of the more difficult research questions in this area concerns the origin of the transition phase. Available evidence suggests that while general value consensus seems to evolve spontaneously, it remains latent unless concrete suggestions are initiated by, or receive support from individuals who are on a high level of the power structure of the local church.

In an analysis of 6389 homicides occurring in the city of Detroit during 1926-1968, a classification of homicides based on social interaction was proposed. In this paper the data dealing with the largest category of homicides, those involving "family relations," are summarized. The proportion of all homicides involving family relations, and age-race-sex specific rates for the defendants and victims of these homicides are presented. It is proposed that homicides involving family members represent problems in family interaction and maladjustment, and that the proper training of persons in family counseling and crisis intervention may help reduce the homicide rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a variety of sources of information and describes the biraderi system of kin relations in Pun jab. The system consists of a larger circle of relatives who share a common identity through its name and a more restricted circle determined by competitive gift giving. Functions of this institution are outlined and their implications are traced for a developing country like Pakistan. It is maintained that a fresh approach is needed to resolve the conflicting requirements of the kin groups and the development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the factor analytic structure of small group interaction, parent-child interaction, and personality traits is reviewed and interpreted within the framework of a circumflex model. This model uses power and support as reference axes around which other patterns of interaction or of personaltiy can be meaningfully arrayed. The circumflex model provides a theoretical map which can be used to order existing data and to generate hypotheses. Examples of such ordering and of hypotheses are given. Location of socializing agents or groups in the two-dimensional property space formed by the variables of power and support is a minimal essential specification of the social interactional context within which socialization takes place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologia Ruralis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To study the development of social speech, 18 dyads of children (3½-5) were videotaped in 15-minute play sessions. Behavior was coded in terms of the time children spent in mutual interaction, and speech was coded in terms of the degree to which utterances were adapted to the verbal or nonverbal behavior of the partner. The results indicated a high level of mutual responsiveness in both speech and behavior. The paper suggests that children in this age range are capable of genuinely social behavior; it concludes that early forms of social speech entail a surprising level of interpersonal understanding, and that these speech forms are amenable to systematic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on industrialization, development or modernization. The author will start with the division of individual societies into functional sub-systems evolved by various researchers. This is an attempt to categorize aspects of social interaction in terms of the four functional imperatives which, it is postulated, all viable social systems must cater for. In sum, the decade after the end of World War II may be taken as a peak in the prestige-standing of economics. Economists were accorded considerable deference, largely because of the functional emphasis on economic problems in the post-war world; whilst at the same time the strategic status of the economist helped to sustain the narrow economic perspectives of national elites. Some of the most significant early inroads into the domination of economics can be located not so much in existing dissatisfaction with the policy tools of governments as in the academic sphere. The priority of changing emphasis was to a large extent in the hands of academic critics. Notable breaks with the dominance of almost exclusively economic interpretations of the problems of deprived nations occurred during the 1950's.

This paper analyzes the nature of value-commitments, conceived as a generalized symbolic medium of interchange in the processes of social interaction, in this respect paralleling money, power, and influence. Commitments constitute moral obligations of units of a system of social interaction to maintain the integrity of a value-pattern and to strive toward its implementation in action through combination with non-value factors. Stability of commitments is a basic condition of the compatibility of wide moral freedom with the exigencies of social functioning. Like the other three media, commitments are not bound by a zero-sum condition, but can be expanded, especially through charismatic movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of ‘generalized symbolic media of social interaction’ was introduced by Parsons five years ago in his two articles on the concepts of power and influence. I believe that it represents a theoretical development of the first importance, which has received much less attention—particularly in my own field of social anthropology—than it deserves. The purpose of the present paper is to review and criticize the concept itself and to point out its relevance to certain problems in social anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at studies of juvenile delinquency which adopted a labeling approach or perspective. The study conducted by Scott Briar and Irving Piliavin consisted primarily of notes based on nine months' observation of all juvenile officers in one police department. They concluded that decisions made by police depend, to a great degree, on cues which emerged from the interaction between the officer and the youth, cues from which the officer inferred the youth's character. In another study, with Carl Werthman, Piliavin attempted to apply the labeling theory to the interaction between Negro gang members and police. In effect, Piliavin and Werthman seem to be trying to say that police label the gang members and treat them in a special way, which leads to hostility.

In the first two parts of the paper a distinction is made between a 'conflict or convergence of interests' approach (Sherif) and a 'categorisation' approach (Tajfel) in the area of the experimental study of intergroup relations. Some recent experimental findings are mentioned and a theoretical development of the categorisation approach is proposed. In the third part a new experiment illustrating the relevance of the categorisation approach is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological development at any age occurs in, and is dependent upon, complex patterns of group relationships and it is vital that these should be studied directly. According to analytical psychologist C.G Jung "individuation does not shut one out from the world, but gathers the world to oneself and relationship to the self is at once relationship to our fellow men." In view of the comparative lack of interest in group analysis shown by analytical psychologists, this research paper aims at intimating, in broad outline, some methods of investigation of, and a few tentative formulations about, the structure and dynamics of analytic groups.

The article presents a study, which aims to explore attitudes via social distance toward groups with varying degrees of acceptance. Nonverbal bodily cues, such as facial expression, orientation, posture, and distance, reflect attitudes as surely as verbal behavior, according to recent experimental evidence. The less the distance a man maintains from another person, the more positive is his attitude towards him. Actual interpersonal spatial behavior has been mirrored in paper-and-pencil figure placement tasks.

Various commentators have stated that the ideas covered by the label symbolic interaction are part of the intellectual baggage of almost all who concern themselves with human behavior. On the other hand, persons identifying themselves as symbolic interactionists commonly hold that this theory suffers from general, albeit certainly undeserved, neglect. There is a good deal of validity in both views. This paper is above all an attempt at a straightforward review of symbolic interaction theory. Its aim is to stimulate renewed interest 10 a simple, but relatively powerful, set of ideas which remain largely unexploited. It is perhaps particularly in the family field that these are open to exploitation. Theory can be taken to mean a set of assumptions or postulates with which one approaches some part of the empirical world, a set of concepts in terms of which this part of the world is described, and a set of propositions, emerging from the assumptions and relating the concepts, about the way this part of the world "works" which are checked against observations of that world.

The social relationship is defined as consisting of the interaction which occurs between the two partners to the relationship, and those portions of each of the partner's personalities which are in any respect-oriented to, or affected by, the personality of the other partner. The primary concern of this paper is the empirical study of the marital relationship. The theory, which has been indicated, will permit a rational discussion of research operations in the study of this relationship. But prior to such a discussion, it should be noted that two general strategies can be employed in marital-relationship research. The first of these is investigation as a concomitant of therapy. Under this strategy, the therapist initiates a series of interviews with the partners, in the effort to be of help. To attain this aim, he necessarily must learn about the marital relationship, and subsequently he utilizes this information to answer research questions. The author holds that the two research approaches determined by these strategies are equally valuable, and expects that the results from each will be mutually supporting and enriching.

This article explores causes and consequences flowing from conflicts existing between governmental agencies of the United States engaged in the field of intergroup relations. There are three concerns related to the evolution of the problem. The first concerns the differentiation of agencies in terms of both ideology and the typical social work skills of agency personnel. The second relates to the bureaucratic structure of such agencies and its consequences for the actions of agency directors. The final proposition concerns the nature of the competition between agencies for scarce community resources needed to maintain the agency as an ongoing organization. Such conflicts often alienates potential and existing lay support for the intergroup relations program in a community. A second consequence is that the time and energies of agency personnel are consumed with activities unrelated to the stated goals of intergroup relations. Finally, there is often a failure to effect coordination between agencies or to develop an adequate division of labor thus wasting valuable resources.

Definitions of community in current usage are many and usually vague and non-isolating. A definition which would have wide acceptability and utility, would be one which was operational and included people in interaction in a given area. This paper works toward such a definition. It presents a number of criteria considered essential for an operational definition of community. These include: people, sets of interrelated centers, the pooling of information at such centers, and the distribution of the information pooled to people connected to sets of centers. It is suggested that the use of the operational criteria for community will help us to "find" the community in cities. Further, that approaching communities as sets of interrelated centers, generates interesting and testable hypotheses about (1) the relationship between types of communities and culture change and persistence, and (2) the relationship between types of communities and cultural forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information regarding situational performance tests. It states that situational tests often require the subject to have an interaction with other subjects. It mentions that situational tests are being used to measure more complex qualities rather than pure traits, aptitude or skills. It cites that situational tests are characterized by the actuality that there is a less than perfect agreement between observers or scorers. Furthermore, a situational performance test is said to fall between measures of on-the-job performance and aptitude tests.

This article examines the consequences of urban migration for suicide by analyzing the case histories of persons who committed suicide in New Orleans. The major independent variables under consideration are migration, sex, and race. Migration confronts the individual with a new milieu that may contrast sharply with the way of life in a small town. The South provides an exceptionally pointed region for such investigation because there the urban-rural contrast is generally greater than in the older urbanized regions of the country. The urban situation is different in all of the systems that comprise human social life. In the social realm, the in-migrant lacks the family and friends of his town of orientation. The urban and rural situations are, of course, not totally different even in the South, but they are dissimilar enough to be reflected by higher deviance rates reported in the migration studies reviewed. Moving to the factor of migration, several studies demonstrate the sometimes troubling impact of city ward movement. These studies reveal that deviance is associated with non-nativity, and with the more general factor of horizontal mobility.

This paper is a preliminary report on how the possibility of sending a man into space or engaging in other forms of interplanetary travel has been translated into jokes in actual circulation. Such relatively informal data may provide clues to the perception of an innovation which may supplement more formal procedures. There have been no studies which examined how the reaction to any innovation was translated into popular humor. A content analysis of space jokes appeared to be one clue to how the public was responding to space. Another interesting problem in the popular culture of jokes is the identification of the anonymous creators of these jokes, which constitute such a staple of social intercourse.

The article presents a proposal of barter system for researchers. At its most concrete level, the barter system for researchers consists of two parts: a list linking various research areas with researchers willing to entertain collegial inquiries thereto, and a clerk to note the number of hours that participants give and receive in the informational exchange. The essence of the barter system for researchers can be presented through a simple model: the babysitting pool maintained in many universities by thrifty graduate students with children. Information about the pool is disseminated across campus; and interested families enter their names, addresses, and phone numbers on a list.

The article presents views of authors on the article "On Freedom and Organization," by Stephen W. Forbes. According to authors, professor Forbes's excursion into the realm of human freedom is a timely investigation of a subject, which many social scientists, particularly those professionally concerned with business behavior, have often, been content to leave well alone. For example, Peter Berger states that "freedom is not empirically available" to social researchers while to many other sociologists, eager to earn the title "scientist," man's social life is "determined," i.e. subject to invariant laws. There is a sense in which it is possible to produce evidence for whatever view of mankind one holds and it has not been difficult for social scientists to "prove" the capacity of man to inflict pain, to be highly aggressive, to conform blindly and to cheat. Although Forbes employs several useful quotations from writers such as Dewey, Tillich and Hayek on the nature and limits of human freedom, he fails to draw upon the work of others in this field.

Families in which one of the parents is absent have so far been studied under different categories (prisoners, divorced) or different names ("incomplete," or "one-parent"). This has hampered the study of the effects of this widely spread phenomenon. A study of sailor families in Israel has been hampered by the tack of a conceptual framework which would have made it possible to apply findings from studies of different kinds of parent-absent families in the service of this particular group. A mapping sentence is presented which distinguishes between six facets concerning the nature of the absence (precipitating cause, the absent parent, the duration of absence, the frequency of absence, the amounts of contact, the kinds of contact) and two facets which relate to its effects (the family unit, its members, the areas of their lives). On the basis of these concepts comparative studies can be conducted and findings generalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this article is the human side of science, or more accurately, the social organization of science. It is true, of course, that the products of science and its applications are particularly impersonal. And the popular image of a scientist as being detached and objective is not true. But whether people consider the smallest miniaturized transistor or some giant piece of engineering, behind the hardware there is the work of individual men and women scientists. It is the intellectual activities of such men and women, working in universities and research laboratories, which have made possible man's growing mastery over his material environment. Among the variables which play a large part in structuring behaviour, values and norms of the social system are clearly important. Science certainly exhibits such characteristics to a marked degree. The social system of science includes clearly defined values, and associated norms which exercise a powerful influence over the behaviour of its members.

Social gerontology is an emergent field of research and teaching which is not directly concerned with the biological aspects of ageing but concentrates rather upon its economics, social psychological, sociological, and political aspects. Its objects of research is not individual organisms but people as population aggregates, as members of society and its components groups, and as the creators and the carriers of culture. Specifically, social gerontology studies the status and roles of older persons, their cultural patterns, social organization, and collective behavior as they affected by and as they affect social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on various congresses and conventions held, as of September 1959. The sixth congress of the World Association for Public Opinion Research, held in conjunction with ESOMAR, took place in Brighton, England. It was attended by about 250 participants from the West European countries and the U.S. who make the study of public opinion and market research their profession. For the first time people from Cuba and Spain also participated in the congress. The motivation research applied to political attitudes found that the classical opinion survey might have a certain journalistic interest, but has little meaning as regards to political attitudes of the public. Indeed, opinions expressed by persons interviewed in reply to direct questions may very well be superficial and unreliable. They do not constitute a valid indication of the way in which persons interviewed will act in a given situation, for example an election.

Copyright of European Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents a list of books received, published in the July 1965 issue of "Journal of Analytical Psychology." The books are on various topics such as analytical psychology, psychiatry, child psychology, Jungian psychology, anthropology and social psychology, behaviour and learning theory, catholic psychotherapy, delinquency, history of psychology. The book "The Psychopath," is written by W. McCord and J. McCord. "The Encapsulated Man," is written by J.R. Royce. "Anthropology," by Margaret Mead.

M. Plon commits the same offense that he finds so odious in American social psychology: A confounding of political axioms and scientific reasoning. His desire to demonstrate ideological blindness in Americans leads him to misinterpret some published works on the Prisoner's Dilemma paradigm in bargaining research and to ignore the issue of the most useful balance in emphasis between conflict maintenance and conflict resolution when these topics are studied experimentally. Thus, M. Plon's angry attack is not a clarification of the deep issues that he essays but, rather, another data point that will itself need to be understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a clinical appraisal of the features of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale, which is supposed to be useful in assessing personal-social competence. The Maturity Scale employs an informant acquainted with the subject's abilities and attainment. The use of the Social Quotient provides, as does the Intelligent Quotient (IQ), a global estimate of functioning and, in so doing, may obscure specific strengths and weaknesses as measured by the eight Vineland categories mentioned in the article.

The article presents an abstract of the paper "Some Considerations Governing the Establishment of Science Courses to Meet the Needs of General Education at the Senior- High-School Level." The paper highlights the importance of educational change in improving education standards. General education aims in promoting the continuous reconstruction, improvement and enrichment of individual and social life through the change in the individual's perception towards life. General education could motivate educators to afford guidance to curriculum reform. Educational reform will result in several changes in senior-high-school science. These changes could in the form of content, organization, type of activities and method. Addition of educational material can contribute to educational change. Organization of science instruction should be judged by the needs of the group and its individuals and certain considerations growing out of the school program of experimentation.

The article presents an abstract of the paper "The Philosophy Underlying a Science Program in the General Education of the Pupil. What Work is Being Carried on at the Present Time Along This Line?" Science programs for pupils in the general education should be a philosophy generated by teachers themselves. It should guide them in their work with pupils in the classroom. The programs should include the philosophy of education with science. General education can promote the continuous reconstruction, improvement, and enrichment of individual and social life by changing an individual's role in the basic relationships of living. These relationships can help students in changing themselves. Teachers can help students to achieve certain educational values within them. Science literature could help in studying relationships among human beings and their relations to the rest of the animate and inanimate universe.