Social Cohesion

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Social Cohesion

• Lecture 2
• Sociology and Public Policy

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What is social cohesion?

• The level of integration in a group
• Durkheim intermediary groups
• E.g., Church, army, politics, country, school,
  neighborhood, family, the mafia, youth gangs,
  cartel
• Objective indicator being a member
• Subjective indicator group identity, feeling
• The number of ties and the intensity of those
  ties of individuals with others

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Intermediary groups
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Two conceptions of norms
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NOTE

• Again, this is a reconstruction
• Aim of reconstruction innovative, testable
  hypotheses
• The original Parsons contains few testable
  hypotheses
• The normative pattern cannot, as an object of
  cathexis, therefore be a source of direct and
  immediate gratification, it serves gratification
  interests only indirectly through organizing and
  stabilizing egos own personality system and
  through influencing the gratifications he
  receives in interaction with the situation,
  notably of course the alters in it.
• Talcott Parsons (1951), The Social System, page
  263-264.

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Significance of Parsons

• Naive conception of child development
• Value internalization new field of research
• Norm conformity often observed in the absence of
  social control

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Norms and values

• Values are convictions about what is desirable in
  life e.g., fairness
• Norms are specific guidelines on appropriate
  behavior, based on values
• E.g., Golden Rule 10 commandments
• Norms are laid down in laws
• Etiquette informal, situation specific rules

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Anomie according to Durkheim

• Specific type of norm on impulse control
• Strong desires, high expectations, but limited
  means
• Norms temper desires and lower expectations
• You cant always get what you want
• Anomie absence of such norms
• Modern terms impulse control (civilization
  theory), delay of gratification (psychology)

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Anomie according to Merton

• Research problem Why do the US have higher crime
  rates than other civilized countries?
• Theory Lower classes have typical combination of
  strong norms on ambition (The American Dream),
  but weaker norms on conformity
• Research few tests applications of typology on
  survival strategies of unemployed

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Two conceptions of anomie
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Progress in Structural Functionalism
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From suicide to petty crime
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Methodological lessons

• The more informative the theory, the better
• Specify conditions under which general laws apply
• E.g. norm A causes behavior X among members of
  group P at time T
• Deduce new hypotheses from general theories and
  test them

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A new hypothesis

• Among Dutch students, bike theft is legitimated
  after ones own bike is stolen
• Fraternity members are a student group
• Fraternity members commit more bike theft
• Compare this to the example of legitimate suicide
  in the army
• Same general law, different condition (norm),
  different prediction on behavior

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Caveats

• The exception makes the rule
• You can explain anything by invoking norms
• Make sure you have other evidence (not the
  behavior to be explained) that confirms the
  existence and content of the norm
• Evidence Empirical evidence
• Test, rather than explain in theory

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More caveats

• Phenomena are easily explained by their
  function
• Example division of labor
• Creates mutual dependence, reduces strife
• But not everything that has functions exists
• Behavior is often the result of unintended side
  effects (externalities)
• Structural functionalism is a conservative
  theory assumes value consensus
• Social change cannot be explained

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From Durkheim to modern sociology

• D. Division of labor creates mutual dependence
• Theoretical, macro-sociological argument
• Research on social networks mutual dependence
  ties among individual actors
• Research problem how does social network
  structure affect cooperation among individuals
  and firms?
• Dense networks create trust and promote
  cooperation through information and control

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Trends in social cohesion

• Layer 3 of the UAF book state of society
• In 2000 1500 suicides occurred
• Trends table 7.2
• Trends in suicide rates reflect changes in social
  cohesion
• Testing Durkheim Table 7.5 (marital status) and
  tabel 7.6
• Comparing the Netherlands with other countries
  Table 7.7

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Comparing suicide rates

• The Netherlands has a below average suicide rate
• How can we explain differences between countries
  in suicide rates?
• Religion?
• Catholic countries have lowest suicide rates
• Economics? No relation
• Geography the "long winter-hypothesis
• rejected

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Integration in intermediary groups

• Family
• More singles, decline in household size
• Fewer marriages, more divorces
• Divorce rate in 2000 30 (US 50)
• Religion
• Membership halved in past century (98 to 45)
• Strong decline in attendance too
• NL strongly secular country
• US is more religious

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Participation in civil society

• Robert Putnam Bowling Alone
• Declining voluntary participation in the US
• Declining trust in fellow citizens
• Speaks to eternal concern of The end of society
  as we know it
• Individualization makes people more selfish,
  majority agrees

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Changes in Dutch civil society

• Decline of pillarized associations with some
  connection to religion
• Emergence of new social movements environment,
  international aid, human rights
• Increasing leisure time budgets cultural and
  sports organizations
• Netherlands have high membership rates, like US,
  Canada, Scandinavia

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Association memberships
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(No Transcript)
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Volunteer work
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Conclusion

• Decline of social cohesion since 1900
• Until end of 20th century
• Suicide rate declines
• Number of memberships increases
• More volunteering
• More charitable giving