Louis A. Zurcher

Social Networks and Social Movements: A Microstructural Approach to Differential Recruitment

Past examinations of differential recruitment to and the differential growth of social movements have typically sought explanation at a social psychological/motivational level of analysis. That focus has recently been called into question by scholars concerned with the process through which movement organizations expand their ranks and mobilize support for their causes. Yet, as Useem (1975) and Zald and McCarthy (1979) have noted, there has been little systematic research conducted on the details of the influence process. Drawing on data derived from a synthesis of existing research and two primary sources, this paper attempts to shed greater empirical and theoretical light on the movement recruitment process. The findings indicate that differential recruitment is not merely a function of dispositional susceptibility, but is strongly influenced by structural proximity, availability, and affective interaction with movement members. The findings also indicate that a movement organizations network attributes function as an important determinant of its recruitment strategies and growth.

Social roles : conformity, conflict, and creativity

Twelve field studies of specific social roles are used to show particular aspects of role enactment. The author uses the symbolic interaction perspective, along with sociological and social psychological theory to illustrate how people assimilate roles, enact the expected behaviour, or deal with unacceptable roles. The roles played by new army recruits, priests in a protest movement, and indigenous leaders in a poverty programme are among those researched. A framework for analyzing role enactment, and hints about studying roles in the field are also provided.

Interviewing by comment: An adjunct to the direct question

Interviewing by direct question has long been the sociologists favored means of collecting data. This article seeks to expand understanding of the research interview by proposingthe comment as a supplementary data gathering technique. Several methodological and theoretical considerations are discussed that indicate the appropriateness of interviewing by comment for the general purpose of discovery and for eliciting information about certain behaviors, events, and relationships. In order to demonstrate concretely the utility of interviewing by comment, eight types of comments that can be employed for a variety of research purposes are presented and illustrated.

The Identity of Transracial Adoptees

A study identifies familial and contextual factors that may influence the development of racial self-perceptions among black children whose major reference groups are white. It also suggests responsibilities for transracial adoptive families and agencies that provide service for them.

The Paradoxical Impact of Criminal Sanctions: Some Microstructural Findings

Field data from a longitudinal study of drug dealing reveal the importance of interpersonal networks in determining the impact of criminal sanctions. The level of perceived sanction severity was in large measure dependent on the degree of disruption created in interpersonal relations and on the resilience of these relations in adapting to the sanctioning process. Perceived certainty of sanctions was likewise dependent on characteristics of interpersonal interactions. Perceived certainty and severity of sanctions combined to define the level of fear. Sanction-induced fear increased network

Social Movements: An Analytical Exploration of Organizational Forms

A review of the literature on social movement organizations yields two key organizational variables: 1) the nature of the goals (instrumental-specific or expressive-diffuse); 2) the nature of membership requirements (exclusive or inclusive). These variables are cast in a paradigm which includes as other conceptual components: the kinds of membership incentives (solidary or purposive); the degree to which the social movement organization is detached from its community of concern; the leadership styles (directing, persuading, mixed); and the kinds of memberships (homogeneous; heterogeneous). The paradigm yields nine possible types of social movement organizations which in turn can be divided into congruent or non-congruent types. The paradigm is illustrated with data and observations from studies of social movements.

Voluntary Associations and the Social Integration of the Poor

Studies of membership in voluntary associations clearly reflect a low likelihood of affiliation among low income persons, especially those at the poverty level. Lower-class interaction patterns are found to be largely contained in the local, relatively intimate settings of the family and immediate neighborhood, or, in the case of organizations, with those which maintain more of an affective than a utilitarian orientation. These past findings both anticipate and interpret the results of many poverty intervention programs which are reviewed from this perspective because of their self-help and self-direction emphases. The selectivity thesis as represented by the “creaming” phenomenon and some effects of the programs are discussed. Implications are noted for the future of such projects and for pluralistic conceptions of society.

Ephemeral Roles, Voluntary Action, and Voluntary Associations

crew: (1) the actor has experienced (a) disruption to the good order of a significant part of the social world, and (b) a feeling of doubt concerning the ability to cope with components of the environment. The actor is thus impelled toward behavior (the ephemeral role) which will help to restructure that social world and reaffirm a sense of mastery; (2) the social structure of which the ephemeral role is part is initially quite &dquo;primitive&dquo; in that status and role definitions are unrefined, norms and sanctions are undeveloped, and group cohesion is provided primarily by a vague

Defensive and Supportive Parental Communication in a Discipline Situation

Summary The relationship of parenting discrepancy and dyadic adjustment to parental communication behaviors in a videotaped discipline situation was studied in 47 two-parent preschool-child triads. Parents tended to exhibit supportive communication in the discipline situation and indicated low levels of parenting discrepancy and high levels of dyadic adjustment. Parenting discrepancy and dyadic adjustment were not found to be significant predictors of defensive and supportive parental communication. Three null hypotheses dealing with the potential interaction between sex of child and level of discrepancy, sex of child and level of dyadic adjustment, and level of discrepancy and dyadic adjustment were not rejected. The variables of awareness of videotaping, role of disciplinarian, and sex of child were significant predictors of defensive and supportive communication for fathers and the Parenting Discrepancy Scale was a moderately sensitive discriminator between fathers exhibiting high and low levels of def...

Role Satisfaction, Situational Assessment, and Scapegoating

Using data from participant observation, informal interviews, and questionnaires administered to the members of a Naval Reserve unit mobilizedfor a Marine field exercise, it is demonstrated that the pattern of satisfactions people are accustomed to derive from enacting assorted roles in their sets is related to their assessment of the social situation in which they enact the roles. It is further shown that disruption of anticipated role satisfaction is associated not only with a decidedly negative assessment of the situation but also with a tendency to scapegoat someone in it. Propositions based on the findings are offered for further research.