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Social Structure I

Social Structure I. Durkheim The “Chicago School” Social Disorganization. Emile Durkheim (late 1858-1917) . French Scientist Suicide Humans nature: selfish and insatiable Effective Societies able to “cap” desires Socialization & Social Ties Special concern with “Industrial Prosperity”

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Social Structure I

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  1. Social Structure I Durkheim The “Chicago School” Social Disorganization

  2. Emile Durkheim (late 1858-1917) • French Scientist • Suicide • Humans nature: selfish and insatiable • Effective Societies able to “cap” desires • Socialization & Social Ties • Special concern with “Industrial Prosperity” • Coined the Term “Anomie”: • Institutionalized norms lose ability to control human behavior and human needs

  3. Durkhiem’s Legacy Rapidly Changing Society “Industrial Prosperity” Anomie (Norms are Weakened) Human Nature as Insatiable; must therefore cap or control Social Ties Important The Anomie/Strain Tradition (Thursday) The Social Disorganization and “Informal Control” Tradition (Today)

  4. Meanwhile, back in America • “Social Pathologists” (1900-1930) • Cities as “bad” and “corrupting” • Immigrants as amoral and inferior • Chicago School (1930s) • University of Chicago (Sociologists) • Tie to Durkheim: City/Societal Growth • Worry over lack of integration (and control)

  5. Park & Burgess (1925) How does a city growth and develop? • Concentric Zones in Chicago Industrial zone Zone in transition Residential zones

  6. Shaw and McKay • Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Areas 1942. • Mapped addresses of delinquents (court records) • Zone in transition stable and high delinquency rates over many years • Implications of these findings: 1. Stable, despite multiple waves of immigrants!! 2. Only certain areas of the city Something about this area causes delinquency

  7. Social Disorganization • What were the characteristics of the zone in transition that may cause high delinquency rates? • Population Heterogeneity • Population Turnover • Physical Decay • Poverty/Inequality • Why might these ecological characteristics lead to high crime rates?

  8. Explaining high crime in the zone of transition 1. Social Control • Little community “cohesion,” therefore, weak community institutions and lack of control 2. Cultural Transmission of Values • Once crime rooted in a neighborhood, delinquent values are passed trough generations of delinquents

  9. Social Disorganization 1960-1980 • Fell out of favor in sociology in 1950s • Individual theories gained popularity • Criticisms of Social Disorganization • “Official Data” • Are these neighborhoods really “disorganized?” • Cannot measure “intervening variables” • “Chicago Specific” (not all cities grow in rings)

  10. Modern S.D. Theory • Interest rekindled in the 1980s • Continues today with “ecological studies” • reborn as a pure social control theory (left behind “transmission of values) • Addressing criticism • “Concentric rings” not necessary, it is simply a neighborhood level theory • Ecological characteristics do affect a neighborhoods level of informal control

  11. Sampson and Groves (1989) Using British Crime Survey Data (BCS) • ECOLOGICAL • CHARACTERISTICS • Population turnover • Poverty / inequality • Divorce rates • Single parents • SOCIAL CONTROL • Street supervision • Friendship networks • Participation in • organizations

  12. Sampson (1997) • Replicated results in Chicago • Areas with “concentrated disadvantage,” (poverty, race, age composition, family disruption) lack “collective efficacy” • Willingness to exercise control (tell kids to quiet down) • Willingness to trust or help each other • Lack of collective efficacy increases crime rates

  13. Review of Social Disorganization • Macro (Neighborhood) level theory • Explains why certain neighborhoods have high crime rates Ecological Social Crime Characteristics Control Rates • NOT an individual level theory • Avoid “Ecological Fallacy”

  14. Policy Implications? • Build neighborhood “collective efficacy” • How do you do this? • Address ecological characteristics that ruin collective efficacy • Family disruption, concentrated poverty, residential mobility

  15. Other “ecological” ideas • William J. Wilson (Concentrated Poverty) • The “Underclass” or “Truly Disadvantaged” • Crime out of economic need, frustration… • Cultural Isolation no contact with “mainstream” individuals/institutions • Little respect for “life,” hypermaterialism… • Robert Bursik • Political capital; inadequate access to public services

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