Showing papers in "American Journal of Sociology in 1983"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the age distribution of crime is sufficiently invariant over a broad range of social conditions that these uses of the age distributions are not justified by available evidence.
Abstract: One of the few facts agreed on in criminology is the age distribution of crime. This fact has been used to criticize social theories of crime causation, to provide the foundation for other theories, to justify recent emphases on career criminals, and to support claims of superiority for longitudinal designs in criminological research. In the present paper, we argue that the age distribution of crime is sufficiently invariant over a broad range of social conditions that these uses of the age distribution are not justified by available evidence.
1,818Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical analysis of the structural determinants of power in exchange networks, along with research findings from laboratory experiments and a computer simulation of bargaining in network structures is presented.
Abstract: This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the structural determinants of power in exchange networks, along with research findings from laboratory experiments and a computer simulation of bargaining in network structures. Two theoretical traditions are dealt with: (1) point centrality in graph-theoretic representations of structure, as an approach to power distributions; and (2) powerdependence principles applied to exchange networks. Measures of centrality available in the literature have the advantage of being easily applied to large and complex networks. In contrast, powerdependence concepts were conceived for use in microsociology and are found to be cumbersome in the analysis of complex networks. But despite the relative difficulty of applying power-dependence theory to network structures, that approach generates hypotheses about power distributions which are confirmed at nearly every point in a laboratory experiment with five-person networks and at every point in a computer simulation of networks too large for laboratory study. In contrast, centrality measures applied to the type of networks studied fail to predict power distributions. Although centrality measures might predict power in some networks, their generality is limited. Toward resolution of the issues raised, this study offers two theoretical points: (1) a distinction between two different principles of "connection" in social networks suggests that current measures of centrality might predict power in one type of network but not in the other; and (2) it offers a first step toward a fusion of power-dependence theory and structural centrality in a way which might be general across networks of both types.
859Â citations
TL;DR: Diverse influences on pupil achievement in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East is explored to conclude that the predominant influence on student learning is the quality of the schools and teachers to which children are exposed.
Abstract: Most previous research on effects of schooling has concluded that the effect of school or teacher quality on academic achievement is less than that of family background or other characteristics of students that predate entry into school. However, the evidence for that generalization is derived mainly from a few of the world's school systems. This paper explores diverse influences on pupil achievement in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Children who attend primary school in countries with low per capita incomes have learned substantially less after similar amounts of time in school than have pupils in high income countries. At the same time, the lower the income of the country, the weaker the influence of pupils' social status on achievement. Conversely, in low income countries, the effect of school and teacher quality on academic achievement in primary school is comparatively greater. From these data it is possible to conclude that the predominant influence on student learning is the quality of the schools and teachers to which children are exposed.
821Â citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the effects of environmental variability and grain on the niche width of organizational populations and developed a model of the manner in which environmental variations affect the life changes of specialist and generalist organizations.
Abstract: This paper explores the effects of environmental variability and grain on the niche width of organizational populations. It develops a model of the manner in which environmental variations affect the life changes of specialist and generalist organizations. This model predicts that death rates of generalists exceed those of specialists in fine-grained environments, regardless of the level of variability, but that generalists have lower death rates when environmental variation is both coarse grained and large. The model is applied to a sample of restaurant organizations in 18 California cities. Maximum likelihood estimates and tests confirm the major predictions of the model.
513Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, a distinction is made between two classes of knowledge: the core, or fully evaluated and universally accepted ideas which serve as the starting points for graduate education, and the research frontier, or all research currently being conducted.
Abstract: For 200 years it has been assumed that the sciences are arranged in a hierarchy, with developed natural sciences like physics at the top and social sciences like sociology at the bottom. Sciences at the top of the hierarchy presumably display higher levels of consensus and more rapid rates of advancement than those at the bottom. A distinction is made between two classes of knowledge: the core, or fully evaluated and universally accepted ideas which serve as the starting points for graduate education, and the research frontier, or all research currently being conducted. Data are presented from a set of empirical studies which show that, at the top and at the bottom of the hierarchy in either cognitive consensus or the rate at which new ideas are incorporated. It is concluded that in all sciences knowledge at the research frontier is a loosely woven web characterized by substantial levels of disagreement and difficulty in determining which contributions will turn out to be significant. Even at the research...
428Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the spatial relationships among the geographic parcels were incorporated into the dissimilarity index and its competitors, and the proposed proximity statistic is compared with other indices and is found to be somewhat successful in distinguishing between single-cluster and multiplecluster residential settlement patterns.
Abstract: The index of dissimilarity has come to be the principal statistic for measuring segregation, particularly urban residential segregation by race. Recently, though, a literature has arisen which criticizes the dissimilarity index and proposes revisions or alternative statistics. Here a statistic is derived that explicitly incorporates the spatial relationships among the geographic parcels into the tabulation, a feature absent from the dissimilarity index and its competitors. This proximity statistic is compared with other indices and is found to be somewhat successful in distinguishing between single-cluster and multiple-cluster residential settlement patterns.
365Â citations
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TL;DR: The authors review the relevance and limitations of a scattering of near-recent work in sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and conversational analysis with respect to a central issue in the sociological study of social interaction: the taken-for-granted and the inferences made therefrom.
Abstract: In this paper an effort is made to review the relevance and limitations of a scattering of near-recent work in sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and conversational analysis with respect to a central issue in the sociological study of social interaction: the taken-for-granted and the inferences made therefrom. The hope is that the line between microsociological studies and sociolinguistics can be shown to be arbitrary, requiring those on each side of the division to address the concerns of those on the other side.
317Â citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical explanation for these phenomena links attractiveness effects to other cases of status generalization such as those produced by race or sex, and a test of the proposed explanation shows that attractiveness produces predicted differences in both general and specific expectations.
Abstract: Physical attractiveness (beauty) affects both cognitions about individuals and their interaction patterns. Our proposed theoretical explanation for these phenomena links attractiveness effects to other cases of status generalization such as those produced by race or sex. Many effects of attractiveness can be explained by viewing it as a status characteristic and applying a theory of status charactersitics and expectation states proposed and elaborated by Joseph Berger and others. A test of the proposed explanation shows that (1) attractiveness produces predicted differences in both general and specific expectations; (2) attractiveness effects can be modified in combination with additional status characteristics; and (3) neither of the two above results is affected by sex of stimulus individuals or respondents, a differentiation of this explanation from one that relies on sexual or romatinc appeal.
296Â citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the relationship among region, racial composition, and the homicide rate for a sample of 204 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) in the United States and found that the relationship between racial composition and region was positively associated with the number of homicides.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the thesis of a "subculture of violence" by examining the relationships among region, racial composition, and the homicide rate for a sample of 204 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs). The subcultural thesis has been partly discredited by previous studies based on samples of the American States. These studies report no effect of either region or racial composition on the homicide rate once socioeconomic and demographic variables have been statistically controlled. My results for SMSAs, however, are quite different. Both southern region and racial composition exhibit appreciable partial effects even with theoretically important controls. The analysis also indicates significant interaction between racial composition and region. For SMSAs outside the South, racial composition is strongly related to the homicide rate, whereas for southern SMSAs there is no significant relationship between these variables. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future on the subcultural thesis.
291Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of neighborhood social contexts on the content of social networks is examined using a sample of white male Detroit residents, and a mathematical model of associational choice is developed that incorporates the ability of individuals to enforce social preferences on their choice of friends while maintaining the role of the social context in structuring that choice.
Abstract: This article considers the influence of neighborhood social contexts on the content of social networks. Contextual explanations for individual behavior argue that (1) individual preferences and actions are influenced through social interaction, and (2) social interaction is structured by the social composition of the individual's environment. Thus, a preliminary step to constructing contextual theories of individual behavior is an examination of the way that the social context structures social encounters and friendship choice. The empirical correspondence between the content of neighborhood social contexts and the content of social networks is examined using a sample of white male Detroit residents. A mathematical model of associational choice is developed that incorporates the ability of individuals to enforce social preferences on their choice of friends while it maintains the role of the social context in structuring that choice.
270Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors modifies the model of purposive action proposed by Coleman to encompass circumstances in which actors have imperfect access to one another, and introduce an access network indicating the available channels for exchange; it creates discrepancies in the number of alternative exchange relationships available to different actors.
Abstract: This paper modifies the model of purposive action proposed by Coleman to encompass circumstances in which actors have imperfect access to one another. An access network indicating the available channels for exchange is introduced; it creates discrepancies in the number of alternative exchange relationships available to different actors. The connection of two ideas-Emerson's notion that dependency of one actor on another is inversely related to the first actor's number of alternative exchange relationships and Coleman's conception of dependency in terms of the control of one actor's interests by another-permits the introduction of what is termed "price-making behavior." This allows actors favorably situated in the access network to inflate the exchange value of their resources in transactions wi peripheral actors. Effects of the modifications are investigated by means of artificial data; the effects include shifts in the equilibrium distribution of power among actors, in the levels of resource transfer amo...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors support the contention that sex acts as a "diffuse status characteristics" in mixed-sex task groups and leads to the exertion of less influence by females than by males.
Abstract: The first part of this study supports the contention that sex (gender) acts as a "diffuse status characteristics" in mixed-sex task groups and leads to the exertion of less influence by females than by males. The second part compares three techniques for changing expectations. Two of them, verbal statements of equality and a demonstration of equality on a related task, had no effect in the experiment conducted. The third, however, a demonstration of female superiority on a related task, not only changed influence patterns in the experimental group but also transferred to new partners in a second experiment.
TL;DR: This article identified four organizational microstructures and two triggering mechanisms that provide clues for assessing one's career prospects in different organizations, including grade ratios, vacancy chains, managerial selection preferences, and cohort size.
Abstract: It is commonly held that an individual's career prospects decline the higher he or she rises in an organization. In many cases this is not true; this paper identifies four organizational microstructures and two triggering mechanisms that provide clues for assessing one's career prospects in different organizations. The four microstructures are grade ratios, vacancy chains, managerial selection preferences, and cohort size. Growth and exit rates are important triggering mechanisms prompting these microstructures into action. In addition, the effects of being identified as a "star" are shown as they are mediated through these organizational structures. Since the microstructures stretch across the full set of hierarchical grades, they are used to explicate the sequential career chances over the full organizational career span and the comparative level of difficulty at each promotion "gateway." Biases from both retrospective and panel data also indicate the importance of sampling from labor markets as well as...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a solution to the long-standing methodological problem of incorporating discrete variables in causal models of social phenomena by using path analytic methods, which permit quantification of causal relationships among variables with the same flexibility and power of interpretation as is feasible in models that include only continous variables.
Abstract: This article proposes a solution to the long-standing methodological problem of incorporating discrete variables inoto causal models of social phenomena. Only a subset of the variety of ways in which discrete data arise in empirical social research can be satisfactorily modeled by conventional log-linear or logit approaches. Drawing on the insights of several literatures, this article exposits a general approach to causal models in which some or all variables are discretely measured and shows that path analytic methods are available which permit quantification of causal relationships among variables with the same flexibility and power of interpretation as is feasible in models that include only continous variables. It presents methods of identifying and estimating these models and shows how the direct and indirect effects of independent varibles can be calculated by extensions of usual path analysis methods for continuos variables An important distincion developed here is that discrete variables can play ...
TL;DR: A new integrated theory of delinquency, grounded in Marxian insights on the role of productive relations in shaping other social relations, is developed and supported with empirical evidence from research representing a broad range of theoretical perspectives.
Abstract: Juvenile delinquency is understood as a latent outcome of the social reproduction process of capitalism. A structural-Marxist understanding of contradictory social relations that contour life in modern capitalism allows us to reinterpret and apply the insights from various criminology theories in building a new theoretical approach. A review and critique of the major theoretical perspectives in criminology are provided, and a structural-Marxist perspective on the larger social structural context is explicated. A new integrated theory of delinquency, grounded in Marxian insights on the role of productive relations in shaping other social relations, is developed and supported with empirical evidence from research representing a broad range of theoretical perspectives.
TL;DR: The authors argue that cultural values and immediate communal relations are crucial to many radical movements, and that the largely defensive goals of these movements must be radically incompatible with the introduction of modern capitalist-dominated social formations.
Abstract: An equation has often been made, especially but not exclusively by Marxists,between radicalism and the rational understanding of objective interests. I argue that, on the contrary, commitments to traditional cultural values and immediate communal relations are crucial to many radical movements, (a)because these commitments provide populations with the extent of internal social organization necessary to concerted, radical collective action, and (b) because the largely defensive goals of these movements must be radically incompatible with the introduction of modern capitalist-dominated social formations. Reformism is the characteristic stance of the modern working class, for both social and cultural reasons.
TL;DR: A review of recent work in the sociology of emotions can be found in this article, where the emphasis on the study of emotion as either the cause or the consequence of factors external to emotional consciousness and interaction is discussed.
Abstract: Recent work in the sociology of emotions is reviewed. The physiological bias in that work is noted, as is the emphasis on the study of emotion as either the cause or the consequence of factors external to emotional consciousness and interaction. Emotions are reconceptualized as self-feelings. Their study from a symbolic interactionist point of view is suggested.
TL;DR: The authors found that desegregation does enhance black achievement by about.3 standard deviations, but this effect seems to occur only in the earliest primary grades, while studies which compared black achievement growth either to that of white students or to achievement test norms found much weaker (usually negative) treatment effects.
Abstract: A meta-analysis of 323 samples of black students experiencing desegregation,derived from 93 research studies, finds two methological factors correlated with the measured effect of desegregation on academic achievement. First,studies of students who received only a partial treatment (i.e., began desegregation after they had completed one or more years of segregated schooling) find weaker treatment effects. Second, the type of control group used was correlated with the measured effect of desegregation: studies which used random-assignment experimental designs found significantly stronger treatment effects, while studies which compared black achievement growth either to that of white students or to achievement test norms found much weaker (usually negative) treatment effects. We conclude that desegregation does enhance black achievement by about .3 standard deviations, but this effect seems to occur only in the earliest primary grades.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model to explain legal handgum demand that emphasizes the level of collective security as a key factor, and find that low confidence in collective security contributes to both the need for and the resistance to gun control policies.
Abstract: One controversial element in the debate on firearms policy is whether crime and civil disorders contribute significantly to the private demand for firearms. In this paper we present a model to explain legal handgum demand that emphasizes the level of collective security as a key factor. Time-series data on legal gun demand in Detroit from 1951 to 1977 are consistent with a model in which individuals respond to three determinants of collective security: high violent crime rates, civil disordes, and police strength. The analysis suggests that low confidence in collective security contributes to both the need for and the resistance to gun control policies.
TL;DR: For instance, this article found that the ascribed nature of social class among young adolescents makes it a weak determinant of their self-esteem, but that with increasing age socioeconomic position becomes more meaningful and thus more consequential for selfesteem.
Abstract: Self-esteem is postulated to be a function of social class in accordance with four theoretical principles-reflected appraisals, self-perception, social comparison, and psychological centrality. It is argued that the ascribed nature of social class among young adolescents makes it a weak determinant of their self-esteem, but that with increasing age socioeconomic position becomes more meaningful and thus more consequential for self-esteem. Data are presented which reveal a stronger association between social class and self-esteem among eighth graders than among fifth graders. One salient characteristic, academic skills, is found to be a strong predictor of early adolescent self-attitudes. Last, levels of self-esteem increase consistently from the fifth to the eighth grade, indicating a developmental trend toward greater self-acceptance.
TL;DR: A substantial difference in average earnings between men and women employed full-time is documented for each of nine industrial nations, and several hypothesized explanations for the earnings gap are explored as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A substantial difference in average earnings between men and women employed full-time is documented for each of nine industrial nations, and several hypothesized explanations for the earnings gap are explored: a human capital hypothesis-women earn less because they have less education and experience; a dual career hypothesis-women earn less because they adjust their work behavior to meet the demands of family obligations; and an occupational segregation hypothesis-women earn less because they are concentrated in lowlevel jobs. None of these hypotheses receives much support in any country, leaving open the possibility that the earnings differences are due to deeply entrenched institutional arrangements that limit women's opportunities and achievements.
TL;DR: Learning disability theory is presented to illustrate the way educational knowledge often misrecognizes and masks social influences on pupil performance as discussed by the authors, and some consequences of this masking for educational knowledge and social policy are considered.
Abstract: Learning disability theory is presented to illustrate the way educational knowledge often misrecognizes and masks social influences on pupil performance. Learning disability researchers misconstrued their object of study, unexplained underachievement, interpreting it neurologically and ignoring classroom practices and events and the social forces shaping them as possible causes. As a result the theory masks societal forces as they affect academic performance. Some consequences of this masking for educational knowledge and social policy are considered. These flow from the fact that the theory, like educational knowledge in general, is shaped by and thus reflects larger extra-educational forces at work in the society. During the 1960s learning disability rose from an obscure name to an authorized, widely recognized category of educational abnormality applied to over 1 million American schoolchildren (U.S. Office of Education 1973, p. 2). Accompanying this phenomenon was a change in the framework of American education: the recognition and institutionalization of a new category of abnormality entailed a shift in educational policies and practices. Although the point may seem obvious, it needs to be stressed that the growth of learning disability theory involved the spread of the idea that the disability itself is a real condition with real causes and effects, that certain attributes of certain children were the signs or symptoms of a disordering of the child's basic thought processes brought about by a neurological malfunction. A leading researcher, William Cruickshank (Advanced Institute 1970, p. 96), put it this way: "Learning disability is neurological, physical and cellular. Let us not forget this basic fact, for it is a truism, and it should be the rock upon which all else in this field is built."2 Advocates of the theory of learning disability have been quite aware of the need to have it seen as a real condition, as is illustrated by testimony be
TL;DR: The role-stress theory developed by Gove and his colleagues, which focuses on the stressful aspects of traditional female roles in a society that does not value women's traditional role in the home, is tested in two cultures, one that places relatively more emphasis on individual achievement outside the home (Anglo culture) and one that puts relatively moreemphasis on the family and home (Mexican culture).
Abstract: Among Anglos, married women have higher levels of psychological distress than married men. One explanation is the role-stress theory developed by Gove and his colleagues, which focuses on the stressful aspects of traditional female roles (such as housewife and child rearer) in a society that does not value women's traditional role in the home and does not provide and effective set of institutions for dealing with its demands. The implications of this theory for cross-cultural research are clear yet, to date, untested. One implication is that in societies that place more value on the family and on the woman's role in the home, the psychological distress levels of married men and women will be more similar. This implications of Gove's theory is tested in two cultures, one that places relatively more emphasis on individual achievement outside the home (Anglo culture) and one that places relatively more emphasis on the family and home (Mexican culture). As expected, the gap in psychological distress levels be...
TL;DR: It is suggested that an unstandardized measure, termed the spatial dissimilarity index (SD), is useful to describe the development of segregation in a city.
Abstract: A new approach to the development of a distance-based measure of segregation is described. The index, termed the modified distance based index (MDBI), is similar in structure to Jakubs's (1981) recently introduced distance-based index, but for purposes of standardization it employs a different definition of complete segregation. The MDBI is algebraically specified in terms of the index of dissimilarity and its properties are described. It is suggested that an unstandardized measure, termed the spatial dissimilarity index (SD), is useful to describe the development of segregation in a city. The utility of these indexes is demonstrated by charting the progress of segregation in Philadelphia between 1950 and 1970.
TL;DR: In this article, a general "logistic-multiplicative" model is developed which incorporates variables besides origin category to predict destination category in occupational mobility tables, and the additional variables can be continuous or categorical.
Abstract: A general "logistic-multiplicative" model is developed which incorporates variables besides origin category to predict destination category in occupational mobility tables. The additional variables can be continuous or categorical. The (partial) bivariate relationship between origin and destination can be modeled with any of the existing multiplicative mobility models. In an empirical example, two main results emerge: interactions off the main diagonal become insignificant with the introduction of education and race variables; main diagonal effects for one origin category become insignificant while those for other categories do not, suggesting that different mechanisms of status transmission are at work in different strata.
TL;DR: In this article, multiple regression and path analysis were employed to explore the relationships among organizational context, organizational complexity, and bureaucratic control in a sample of 50 Japanese industrial manufacturing plants, finding that internal dependence is the most powerful predictor of bureaucratic control; organizational size and technological capability show their influence on control by channeling through some intervening variables.
Abstract: Multiple regression and path analysis were employed to explore the relationships among organizational context, organizational complexity, and bureaucratic control in a sample of 50 Japanese industrial manufacturing plants. Of three contextual variables, internal dependence is found to be the most powerful predictor of bureaucratic control; organizational size and technological authomaticity show their influence on control by channeling through some intervening variables. The finding that structural differentiation has no important associations with centralization and formalization disconfirms part of our proposition, but each of the other two complexity variables (functioanl specialization and knowledge complexity)is a significant predictor of one of the two control variables. The magnitude of predictor of variance explained by all the variables examined suggests that the model used is more predictive of formalization than of centralization.
TL;DR: The model develop suggests some necessary revisions to the basic "Wisconsin model" of status attainment in order to indicate the important roles played by both self-concept of ability and parental aspirations as intervening social psychological variables in this process.
Abstract: In order to examine the role of social psychological variables in the status transmission process, we collected data from 400 teenagers and their parents. The variables considered included the youth's self-concept of ability, the valuation of self-direction/conformity, the preferences of the parents, the father's occupational status, the occupational and educational aspirations, and the educational attainments of the teenager. The model develop suggests some necessary revisions to the basic "Wisconsin model" of status attainment in order to indicate the important roles played by both self-concept of ability and parental aspirations as intervening social psychological variables in this process.
TL;DR: In this article, the structure of intergenerational occupational mobility is analyzed using a new structural model based on log-linear analysis, which is derived from certain theoretical propositions concerning the roles of resources governing access to occupational positions.
Abstract: The structure of intergenerational occupational mobility is analyzed using a new structural model based on log-linear analysis. This model differs from others in that it is derived from certain theoretical propositions concerning the roles of resources governing access to occupational positions. The model permits a decomposition of observed mobility structures into their two latent components: mobility mediated by generalized resources and mobility mediated by specific resources. This decomposition provides insights into generality and specificity in various structural characteristics of mobility such as channels of mobility, social distances in mobility, and barriers to mobility.
TL;DR: In this article, a reanalysis of income and economic growth data using a categorical indicator of world-system status derived from Snyder and Kick suggests that dependency does increase income inequality and retard per capita economic growth net of initial development.
Abstract: This paper addresses recent challenges to fundamental world-system research findings by using methods and measures suggested by critics of these findings. Reanalysis of income and economic growth data using a categorical indicator of world-system status derived from Snyder and Kick suggests that dependency does increase income inequality and retard per capita economic growth net of initial development. This offers renewed support for world-system theory by rebutting Weede's criticism of Rubinson, and Jackman's criticism of Snyder and Kick.