Showing papers in "American Behavioral Scientist in 1971"
TL;DR: While electric lights, telephones, automobiles, and television had to overcome some fear and suspicion at first, they quickly caught on as discussed by the authors, and new developments in the behavioral sciences with implications for child care, schooling, business, race relations, and international affairs have been less welcome.
Abstract: remedy, institutional lag. While speed of travel and power of destruction are multiplied by factors of ten or a hundred, family life, schools, communities, and nations tend to operate in traditional ways. Resistance to change is not uniform. While electric lights, telephones, automobiles, and television had to overcome some fear and suspicion at first, they quickly &dquo;caught on.&dquo; New developments in the behavioral sciences, with implications for child care, schooling, business, race relations, and international affairs have been less welcome.
437 citations
228 citations
TL;DR: The developing child in modern society is typically introduced to the mass media in the home, and it is at home that he is most likely to use several varieties of print and broadcast media.
Abstract: The developing child in modern society is typically introduced to the mass media in the home, and it is at home that he is most likely to use several varieties of print and broadcast media. By the time he reaches adolescence, it is plausible to assume that his patterns of media use have been shaped by social influences in the home, particularly his parents. Many parents express concern about mass media influences on their youngsters and appear to be quite willing to modify their own behavior if it will encourage desirable patterns of media use by their adolescents.
211 citations
TL;DR: According to the U.S. Department of Labor (1970), 43 out of every 100 women 16 years of age and over are in the labor force as mentioned in this paper, which is the highest percentage of married women in the workforce.
Abstract: Women constitute an essential part of this country’s manpower resources. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (1970), 43 out of every 100 women 16 years of age and over are in the labor force. The number of women in the labor force has been steadily increasing for the last 25 years, with the percentage of married women in the labor force increasing 244% from 1940 to 1964. Furthermore, many of the women in the labor force
159 citations
TL;DR: It is now commonplace to use relative deprivation explicitly or implicitly as a central variable in the explanation of social movements, and thus also to explain the processes of social change that are engendered by social movements.
Abstract: Author’s Note: This paper is Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Article 5317. It is now commonplace to use relative deprivation explicitly or implicitly as a central variable in the explanation of social movements, and thus also to explain the processes of social change that are engendered by social movements.’ The basic notion is that feelings of deprivation, of discontent over one’s
113 citations
TL;DR: The concept of discrimination is inextricably linked to a particular ideology or set of values as discussed by the authors, and discrimination refers to departures from ideological prescriptions; discrimination may be defined as the withholding of rewards or facilities on the basis of allocative criteria inconsistent with a particular ideological viewpoint.
Abstract: The concept of discrimination is inextricably linked to a particular ideology or set of values. Ideologies delineate desirable social conditions; discrimination refers to departures from ideological prescriptions. More specifically, discrimination may be defined as the withholding of rewards or facilities on the basis of allocative criteria inconsistent with a particular ideology. Discrimination refers to providing individuals with fewer rewards or facilities than are legitimately deserved; favoritism, to providing more rewards or facilities than are legitimately deserved. Of specific concern here is occupational sex discrimination. The discrepancy between ideology and reality with
105 citations
87 citations
TL;DR: A wide-ranging debate over their validity, a concern about the functions of the mass media in modern society, and their effects on the general public have been major subjects of mass communications research for the last two decades as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Social scientists have long theorized about &dquo;mass society&dquo; and &dquo;mass culture&dquo; and, generally, are appalled by the frightening images brought to mind by these concepts. A wide-ranging debate over their validity, a concern about the &dquo;functions&dquo; of the mass media in modern society, and their &dquo;effects&dquo; on the general public have been major subjects of mass communications research for the last two decades.1 Studies of popular entertainment too often are based exclusively on these concerns. American mass entertainment has undergone an extraordinary set of transformations in recent years. Several revolutions in communications technology, shifts in program content, altered audience composition, and public opinion have received widespread attention. A related transformation, less widely discussed, has occurred in the organization of mass entertainment. Today’s entertainment industries bear little resemblance to
78 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the way in which the social structure of a system affects the nature of social change and how, in turn, change affects structure, using examples from such varied fields as the diffusion of innovations, organizational communication, national development programs, and social movements.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore the way in which the social structure of a system affects the nature of social change, and how, in turn, change affects structure. Our work is synthetic, using examples from such varied fields as the diffusion of innovations, organizational communication, national development programs, and social movements. The minor theme of this article is that social scientific research on these
65 citations
60 citations
TL;DR: The study of social organization is not normally something which grabs the average American, excites the ordinary student, or attracts the attention of the mass media as discussed by the authors, but in recent years, there has been considerable interest in revolutionary social movements and their organization.
Abstract: The study of social organization is not normally something which grabs the average American, excites the ordinary student, or attracts the attention of the mass media. Not many people show much interest in analysis of the segmentary lineage systems of Africa and the Middle East, or even in the presumed matrifocality of black American families, or problems in organizational design in American industry. But in recent years we have noted some considerable interest in revolutionary social movements and their organization. Black power, the new left, women’s lib, the counterculture, the Viet Cong, Palestinian liberation, ecology-environmental activism have all come to public attention. They have all stimulated discussions about aspects of their structure.
TL;DR: Perhaps no aspect of social change has been as extensively researched as the relationship between communication and change, individual and social, and in particular the part played by the media of public communication in the process.
Abstract: Perhaps no aspect of social change has been as extensively researched as the relationship between communication and change, individual and social, and in particular the part played by the media of public communication in the process. Yet the research has proceeded from so many different assumptions, has predicted behavior at so many different levels, and has been contributed by so many different disciplines that it cannot be said that there is &dquo;a perspective&dquo; in this field. There are in fact
TL;DR: When institutions fail to meet felt needs, a number of recurring responses on the part of the communities presumably being serviced may be observed as discussed by the authors, perhaps in decreasing order of frequency, from passive resignation or withdrawal to reformist and radical politics to efforts to set up wholly new institutions.
Abstract: When institutions fail to meet felt needs, a number of recurring responses on the part of the communities presumably being serviced may be observed. These vary, perhaps in decreasing order of frequency, from passive resignation or withdrawal to reformist and radical politics to efforts to set up wholly new institutions. In earlier periods of American history when people felt that there was too much crime, that their persons or property were in danger, that cherished traditions and values were being threatened, and that regular law enforcement officials were not coping with the problem, vigilante-type efforts frequently emerged (for example, see the discussion in Brown, 1969). The present era is
TL;DR: This paper argued that women biologically or innately do not have or cannot acquire the attributes he seeks, the employer feels justified in limiting his job applicants to men, and the difficulty for the woman engaged in this type of argument is that she is placed in a double bind.
Abstract: are inherently incapable of managing such positions and, hence, these positions should be reserved for men. The employer, then, argues that he does not discriminate against women because he would be willing to hire women if they had the same abilities as men. As long as the employer believes that women biologically or innately do not have or cannot acquire the attributes he seeks, the employer feels justified in limiting his job applicants to men. The difficulty for the woman engaged in this type of argument is that she is placed in a double bind. For if the
TL;DR: The accountant is the conscience of the businessman, the policeman of industry, and is unimpassioned, conservative, and with eyes like a codfish-minus passion, bowels, and a sense of humor as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Although it is among the oldest and largest of the major professions in the United States, accounting is the least known. The nature of the accountant’s work does not bear directly on those human relationships with high visibility or those that take place on a face-to-face level with large segments of the population. The balancing of books, the confirmation of receivables, or the observation of inventories does not produce the Patrick Henrys or the Nathan Hales, the Perry Masons or the Ben Caseys. The image of the accountant as someone perched on a high stool with green eyeshade, poring over long columns of figures, is still held by some. He is the conscience of the businessman, the policeman of industry-hardly a dramatic role. As Elbert Hubbard describes him, he is unimpassioned, conservative, and with eyes like a codfish-minus passion, bowels, and a sense of humor. Even some financially sophisticated people are unaware of the major division of labor in accounting-that between accountant and certified public accountant. Whereas the noncertified accoun-
TL;DR: English educational sociology over the last two decades has emphasized relationships between social class, academic achievement, and social mobility via the educational system, and an antipathy between working-class culture and middle-class values and assumptions of the secondary school has frequently been noted.
Abstract: Abrams, however, defined &dquo;teenagers&dquo; as unmarried people between the ages of 15 and 25. But the English notion of a working-class youth culture has been fed from other sources as well. English educational sociology over the last two decades has emphasized relationships between social class, academic achievement, and social mobility via the educational system. An antipathy between working-class culture and middle-class values and assumptions of the secondary school has frequently been noted, and working-class adolescents have sometimes been presented not only as lacking the values and cultural interests of their middle-class counterparts but as having a distinctive set of teenage interests growing out of their marginal status in the educational system. Sugarman (1967) notes that one traditional view of the matter is that
TL;DR: In a similar vein, unionization and professionalization are two processes by which members of an occupation seek to achieve collective upward mobility as discussed by the authors, where individual upward mobility is blocked or hindered, occupational incumbents often turn to collective efforts with the same generalized goals of increased earnings, autonomy, and prestige.
Abstract: Unionization and professionalization are two processes by which members of an occupation seek to achieve collective upward mobility. Such combined efforts at job advancement are the analogue, on a group scale, of individual striving for a better job-one with higher pay, pleasanter working conditions, more freedom from supervision, and higher community status. Where individual upward mobility is blocked or hindered, occupational incumbents often turn to collective efforts with the same generalized goals of increased earnings, autonomy, and prestige. In short, individuals unlikely to get better work tend to join with others similarly situated to make their work better. The particular upward mobility route chosen historically has varied with the nature of the tasks, along the manual/nonmanual dimension. Blue-collar workers have formed unions, while white-
TL;DR: The study of moral judgements has been studied extensively in the literature, see as mentioned in this paper for a review of some of the most relevant works: 1. The Study of Moral Judgement 2. The Patterns of Development 3. The Research Project 4. The Value of Life 5. Reciprocity and Conscience 6. Cheating 7. Stealing 8. Lying 9. Specificity and Generality in Lying 10. Written Tests 11. Statistical Analysis
Abstract: 1. The Study of Moral Judgement 2. The Patterns of Development 3. The Research Project 4. The Value of Life 5. Reciprocity and Conscience 6. Cheating 7. Stealing 8. Lying 9. Specificity and Generality in Lying 10. Written Tests 11. Statistical Analysis
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the present by exploring those forces that have determined it and, thus, might be relevant in determining the future, using this frame of reference-seeing tomorrow as a likely extension of today.
Abstract: Anyone involved in the fashionable exercise of predicting the future is well aware of the pitfalls inherent in this kind of conjecture. However, the element of risk might be diminished if predictions about the future-which is usually a continuation of the present-were based on an understanding of the forces that have shaped today’s reality. Using this frame of reference-seeing tomorrow as a likely extension of today-this paper analyzes the present by exploring those forces that have determined it and, thus, might be relevant in determining the future. Divided into three main parts, the first identifies the present spatial distribution of people and health resources-physicians and hospitalswithin a metropolitan region, the dependencies and relationships among these resources in the city and the region, and the social forces that have determined the spatial distribution. Part II describes a model of regionalization of the distribution of health resources that has been proposed by health planners in different times and locales, and includes a discussion of the decisions that must be made for its implementation. Part III briefly
TL;DR: Femininity, women's changing role, and the feminist ideology are concepts very prominent in our culture today as mentioned in this paper, and the current feminist zeitgeist has presented us with many possible definitions of women's role to ponder.
Abstract: Femininity, women’s changing role, and the feminist ideology are concepts very prominent in our culture today. The current feminist zeitgeist has presented us with many possible definitions of women’s role to ponder. I have asked myself many time, &dquo;How have the historical, cultural, and sociologic aspects of women affected my profession-that of nursing?&dquo; First, some facts about nurses. The overwhelming majority of nurses are women. Historically, nurses have functioned on the terms laid down by a doctor (usually a man). They are passive in his presence, and aggressive (managing) in his absence. Economically, nursing has been chronically underpaid, inefficiently lobbied for, and not provided with bargaining powers possessed by other professional groups. Woman’s role in society is changing, and it seems logical that the woman’s role as a nurse will also change in the next few decades. Nursing is already in search of its own new
TL;DR: Most previous survey research on children's or adolescents' media behavior has dealt almost exclusively with frequencies of media use, with program preferences, with various descriptive breakdowns of media behavior, and with displacement effects on one medium brought about by attention to another as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Most previous survey research on children’s or adolescents’ media behavior has dealt almost exclusively with frequencies of media use, with program preferences, with various descriptive breakdowns of media behavior, and with displacement effects on one medium brought about by attention to another. Today, when media are abundantly available and the user must exercise some choice, a count of viewing hours or of items read does not
TL;DR: In this paper, a sociological approach to the problem of how Negroes in America can come to gain power over their conditions of existence comparable to that of other Americans is presented.
Abstract: Recently I set out to study, as a sociologist, a problem that confronts each of us as members of American society: the problem of how Negroes in America can come to gain power over their conditions of existence comparable to that of other Americans. This task led me directly into the study of theories of social change, with an additional constraint which appears to be quite fruitful indeed. This constraint is the limitation to theories of directed or intentional change. This limitation allows one to hold constant the direction or goal of change, and thus to compare the different paths to that goal specified by different theories.
TL;DR: There have been surprisingly few efforts to advance a social-theoretical framework for studying children’s entertainment choices or their responses to entertainment experiences.
TL;DR: In this paper, the status of women in the professions is discussed, and a forum for reasoned, social scientific analyses of the problem is provided, with a particular focus on women in professions.
Abstract: This issue is concerned with the status of women, with a particular focus on women in the professions. The reader’s initial reaction might well be to question the need, in view of the publicity and material already devoted to this topic. However, many available papers, reports, and the like consist of either masses of undigested and uninterpreted statistical information, or unremitting and biased polemic. The editors believe that neither of these types of material is useful. This issue was conceived to provide a forum for reasoned, social scientific analyses of the problem. Our intent was to develop
TL;DR: It is concluded that neither decentralization nor citizen participation (nor neighborhood control) are waves of the future and new systems or structures for delivering health care may be tried in the future, but they are not likely to be either durable or widely adopted.
Abstract: of plans, prescriptions, and hope. My paper mainly asks questions and presents problems. And in the end I conclude that neither decentralization nor citizen participation (nor neighborhood control) are waves of the future. New systems or structures for delivering health care may be tried in the future, but they are not likely to be either durable or widely adopted. There is little doubt that the medical care available to the urban poor is considerably worse than the medical care available to middle-class white
TL;DR: In recent years, sociology has become increasingly popular and more respectable as an established field of study for college students as discussed by the authors and even high school students are being introduced to sociology, which is assumed to be a good thing, at least insofar as it helps to develop the quality of mind that C. Wright Mills (1959: 7) termed "the sociological imagination".
Abstract: In recent years, sociology has become increasingly more popular and more respectable as an established field of study for college students. Even high school students are being introduced to sociology. This proliferation of sociology into the colleges and high schools is assumed to be a good thing, at least insofar as it helps to develop the quality of mind that C. Wright Mills (1959: 7) termed &dquo;the sociological imagination&dquo;: