cis.upenn.edu/~sjokim/section1.html You may go Back to the Tarde Homepage, to the list of propositions, to the list of commentaries, or to the original text SECTION I: Introduction. 1. Reason and Tradition vie for control of Opinion. text Opinion should not be confused with two other parts of the social mind, which both feed and limit it, and which are in perpetual border disputes with it. One is Tradition, a condensed and accumulated extract of what was the opinion of those now dead, a heritage of necessary and salutatory prejudices frequently onerous to the living. The other is what I take the liberty of calling by the collective and abbreviated name Reason. This I understand to be the relatively rational although often unreasonable personal judgments of an elite which isolates itself, reflects, and emerges from the popular stream of thought in order to dam it up or direct it. (1) commentary Tarde defines "tradition" as "a condensed and accumulated extract of what was the opinion of those now dead," whereas "reason" is the rational judgments of experts such as philosophers, scholars, and lawyers. Both the rational elite and the "firstcomers" who "lean . .on tradition" seek to control public opinion. The fight between the Church (tradition) and science (reason) to control public opinion over key social issues has been documented. Young (1992) found that religious orientation played a significant role in structuring opinions about the death penalty. Fundamentalism (characterized by a ~born again~ experience and a literal interpretation of the Bible) was highly correlated with support for the death penalty (though support for the death penalty varied significantly by race). Young attributed this correlation in part to strong support for the death penalty among fundamentalist church leaders and the belief among fundamentalists and reinforced by church leaders that individuals are solely responsible for their actions. On the other hand, Young (1992) noted that the secular public policy debates concerning the death penalty have focused primarily on social scientific evidence concerning whether the death penalty deters future criminal behavior. The controversy over abortion also represents an example of the Church and the scientific community seeking to influence public opinion. In a study of residents of Muncie, Illinois, Tamney, Johnson & Burton (1992) found that church influence significantly affected attitudes toward abortion and that church influence was related to a pro-life attitude. The church influence variable was operationalized, in part, by asking respondents the degree to which church leaders affected their position on abortion. The authors also found that religion played a significant role in mobilizing political action. The scientific community also has attempted to influence the abortion debate. In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), the American Medical Association filed a friends of the court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the right of women to choose to terminate pregnancy should be preserved. A group of 167 scientists and physicians filed a similar brief, arguing that ~[s]cience can . . . provide answers to certain concrete questions regarding prenatal development that have arisen in the controversy over abortion and Roe v. Wade.~ They argued that viability (the point at which the fetus can live outside the womb) remains at the 24th week of pregnancy and that ~progress in science has not made obsolete the trimester framework based on viability articulated in Roe v. Wade~ (New York Times, 1989, p. E4). 2. Opinon grows faster, and more autonomous, over time at the expense of Reason and Tradition. text Thus of the three branches of the public mind, Opinion is the last to develop but also the most apt to grow after a certain time; and it grows at the expense of the two others. (1-2) commentary Park and Cho ("Confucianism and the Korean family," Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 1995) studied the influence of Confucian values on Korean society. While Confucianism as a religion is practiced by only 1% of the population, its emphasis on the family as the fundamental unit of society pervades the consciousness of Koreans. 46% of Koreans report no religious preference, 29% are Buddhist, and 24% are Christian. A demographic profile of the Korean family is presented, together with statistics on the changing family structure between 1955 and 1990. Together with rapid industrialization, urbanization, elimination of illiteracy, and economic expansion, the use of contraceptives has become widespread. Although fewer marriages are arranged, parents still expect children to ask their permission before marrying. Male superiority and preference for sons still prevail in Korean families, but the influence of Western attitudes is increasing. 3. More often, Opinion enters as third actor and forms coalition with Reason or Tradition against the third, and this depends on who gains control of Opinion, Reason or Tradition. text Which of its two rivals does Opinion most impair? This depends on who is in control of Opinion. When those in control are part of the reasoning elite, they sometimes raise up opinion like a battering ram to breach the ramparts of tradition, enlarging them through destruction, an act not without danger. But when the direction of the multitude is left to the firstcomers, it is easier for them, leaning on tradition, to rouse opinion against reason, which nevertheless triumphs in the end. (2) commentary Leonard-Barton ("Experts as negative opinion leaders in the diffusion of a technological innovation," Journal of Consumer Research, 1985) examined the degree to which experts influence the rate and extent of acceptance of controversial technological innovations. The use of nonprecious alloys as gold substitutes in dental restoration was the innovation studied. 90 crown and bridge specialists were analyzed in a pilot study to (1) determine the stage of diffusion of the innovation, (2) identify controversial innovations, and (3) confirm the selection of relevant adoption criteria. Results of the pilot study are reported in an earlier work by the present author (1984). In the present study, 63 dentists from the Boston area who specialized in crown and bridge work and 182 members of the 2 largest professional organizations in the field were contacted. Results indicate that there were more users of the alloys in the general population than in Boston; a possible reason for this is that an expert opposing the use of alloys lived in Boston. Porcelain-fused-to-gold technology was found to be a more standard part of dental school curriculum than the alloys.It is concluded that, based on the responses of Ss who cited opinion leaders to support their decision, there is a relationship between the attitudes of experts and that adoption decisions of the Ss in this study. Weakliem ("Class consciousness and political change: Voting and political attitudes in the British working class 1964 to 1970," American Sociological Review. 1993) investigated the possibility that prior views of the world affect responses to new information and changes in opinion, using data from opinion surveys of a cross section of British manual workers ( N = 1,807) in the election years of 1964, 1966, and 1970. Results from a latent class model indicate that changes in political and economic opinions vary with degree of class consciousness; workers who identified with the working class but held negative attitudes toward unions became considerably more pessimistic about economic conditions and the policies of the Labour Party. This may represent a perceived conflict between the interests of the working class and the interests of society as a whole. Results further suggest a reason why the connection between economic hardship, class polarization, and electoral support for the left, however plausible in principle, does not actually exist. 4. Sometimes, Opinion is mere conduit for introducing Reason into Tradition. text All would be for the best if opinion limited itself to popularizing reason in order to consecrate it in tradition. Today's reason would thus become tomorrow's opinion and the day after tomorrow's tradition. (2) commentary Patton ("Suffering and damage in Catholic sexuality," in Journal of Religion & Healt,. 1988) suggests there may be a probable correlation between Roman Catholic sexual orthodoxy and pathology in various Catholic cultures of the US. In a series of private interviews conducted anonymously with religious and clinical professionals and a limited sample of lay opinion, there was near unanimous support for the idea of research linking sexual orthodoxy and pathology in the Catholic tradition, since the majority interviewed believe it is an undocumented fact, based on clinical-pastoral observation and human experience. 5. The value of things is created by the dynamics of Reason, Tradition and Opinion. text They work together, but very unequally and variably, to create the value of things; and value is very different according to whether it is primarily a question of custom, or of style, or of reasoning. (2) commentary Jones ("A constructive relationship for religion with the science and profession of psychology: Perhaps the boldest model yet," in American Psychologist. 1994) called for an explicit and constructive relationship between psychology and religion. Psychology's previously noninteractive stance toward religion was premised on an outmoded understanding of science and an overly narrow professionalism. Contemporary philosophy of science breaks down the radical demarcation between science and other forms of human knowing and action, including religion. Science and religion are different, but they cannot be categorically separated or viewed as mutually exclusive. A proposal is developed for how religion could participate as an active partner with psychology as a science and as an applied professional discipline. 6. Sources of Opinion are Reason, Tradition, the press and conversation. text Later we shall affirm that conversation at all times, and the press, which at present is the principal source of conversation, are the major factors in opinion without counting, of course, tradition and reason, which never cease to have part in it and to leave their stamp on it. (2) 7. Sources of Tradition are Opinion, family education, occupational education and accademic education, whereas sources of Reason are observation, experience, inquiry, forms of reasoning and deduction. text The factors of tradition, besides opinion itself, are family education, professional apprenticeship, and academic instruction, at least on an elementary level. In all the judicial, philosophical, scientific, and even ecclesiastical coteries where it develops, reason has as its characteristic sources observation, experience, inquiry, or in any case reasoning, deduction based on subject matter. (2) commentary Daugherty and Burger ("The influence of parents, church, and peers on the sexual attitudes and behaviors of college students," in Archives of Sexual Behavior. 1984) surveyed 54 male and 73 female undergraduates concerning their sexual attitudes, sexual behaviors, and contraceptive behavior. The general attitudes about sexuality that Ss perceived as communicated to them by their parents, their church, and their peers were also assessed. Results show that for females, general attitudes about sexuality, as defined on an erotophilia-erotophobia dimension (the Sexual Opinion Survey), and sexual behaviors were correlated with the perceived attitudes of peers, rather than those of parents and church. However, males' attitudes and some sexual behaviors were correlated with the perceived attitudes of their parents, rather than the views of their peers and church. Church attitudes were not related to any of the measures, even though Ss attended a private university with a long tradition of ties with the Baptist church. None of the sources of influence, parents, peers, or church attitudes, or erotophilia-erotophobia was related to contraceptive behavior. Leviatan ("Ethnic differences in attitudes toward the kibbutz," in Israel Social Science Research.1988) examined the existence of ethnically differentiated (Ashkenazi vs Sephardi) attitudes toward kibbutz society and their possible sources. The data bases used for analyses were 6 public opinion surveys of about 1,200 respondents each, conducted during 1976-1985, and 1 smaller study of 12th graders from city moshav schools. The Ashkenazim had more favorable attitudes toward the kibbutz movement. The ethnic differences were mostly accounted for by the variables of kibbutz-related biography (40-72% of the explained variances in the dependent variables) and by demographic variables (21-53% of the explained variances). The variable of ethnicity by itself had almost no explanation power for the variability in attitudes toward the kibbutz movement. 8. Tradition is national, and Reason is international. 9. Tradition is stable, opinion is unstable, trying to become international. text Tradition, which is always national, is more restricted between fixed limits than Opinion, but infinitely more profound and stable, for opinion is something as light, as transitory, as expansive as the wind, and always striving to become international, like reason. (2) commentary Hamberg ("Stability and change in religious beliefs, practice, and attitudes: A Swedish panel study," in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 1991) analyzed data from a Swedish opinion survey of 2,337 Swedes aged 16-55 yrs in 1955 who were again surveyed in 1970 to determine the relative importance of cohort effects, life- cycle effects, and period effects in the process of religious change. In roughly half the cases, Ss gave the same answer to a question in 1970 as they did in 1955. To the extent that Ss changed between 1955 and 1970, they usually seem to have become less religious. Although in many instances changes occurred within the 2 age cohorts studied (Cohort 1 was aged 36-50 yrs in 1955, and Cohort 2 was aged 21-35 yrs in 1955), the decline was considerably more pronounced in the younger group. This suggests that the period during which individuals are prone to change their religious beliefs extends well beyond adolescence into young adulthood; religious beliefs are then fairly resistent to change. 10. Opinion always erodes Tradition, but not always Reason. text It can be said, in general, that the cliffs of tradition are endlessly eroded by the flow of opinion's unebbing tide. Opinion is all the stronger because tradition is weaker, which is not to say that then reason too is weaker. (2-3) commentary Smith ("Poll trends: Religious beliefs and behaviors and the televangelist scandals of 1987-1988," in Public Opinion Quarterl,. 1992) assessed the impact on public opinion of scandals associated with televangelism and American Protestantism in particular during the years 1987-1988. 31 survey time series measuring religious beliefs and behaviors among adults and 13 survey time series focusing on youths were examined. The scandals led to negative reactions to religion. The reputation of televangelists worsened, and evaluations of clergy and organized religion also suffered. However, the lack of a widespread impact among measures assessing Fundamentalism indicated that the scandals did not have a strong impact in this theological area. Even for those items affected by the scandals, the effect was often short lived, and for about a third of the negative effects, there were signs of a rebound by 1990. 11. At different times in history, Reason was better at restraining Opinion (Middle Ages universities, justice), but lately Opinion has overpowered Reason (judiacry, parliament, even if not laboratories and universities). commentary Elifson and Hadaway ("Prayer in public schools: When church and state collide," in Public Opinion Quarterly. 1985) argued that prayer and Bible reading in public schools have led to 3 major Supreme Court decisions and the introduction of numerous constitutional amendments in the US Congress that would permit voluntary prayer in public schools or limit federal court jurisdiction. Public opinion polls beginning in 1964 have suggested widespread support among the American public for prayer in public schools. To examine the characteristics of those supporting and opposing prayer in public schools, 3 national surveys of a total of 6,577 Ss conducted in 1974, 1980, and 1982 were analyzed. Ss favoring school prayer were found to be older; less educated; and more socially, politically, and religiously conservative when compared with those opposing school prayer. Multivariate analysis revealed that the key predictors of support or opposition were religious salience and religious orthodoxy, which may stem from the observation that school prayer is both a political and a religious issue. Possible explanations for the failure of Congress to act in accord with public opinion are considered, including congressional perception of issue salience, congressional voting decisions, and the demographic characteristics of school prayer advocates. 12. Opinion has become omnipotent against both tradition and reason. text In the Middle Ages reason, represented by the universities, the councils, and the courts of justice, had much more strength than today to resist and repress popular opinion; it had much less strength, it is true, to fight and reform tradition. The misfortune is that contemporary Opinion has become omnipotent not only against tradition (which is serious enough) but also against reason - judicial reason, scientific reason, legislative or political reason, as the opportunity occurs. If Opinion has not invaded the laboratories of scholars - the only inviolable asylum up to now - it overwhelms tribunes of the judiciary, it submerges parliaments, and there is nothing more alarming than this deluge, whose end is not in sight. (3) commentary Although not directly on point, the work of Robert Park may have some relevance to the foregoing proposition. Park maintained that the knowledge provided by the news is displacing history or "tradition" as a source of knowledge. As Park wrote: [T]he role of news has assumed increased rather than diminished importance as compared with some other forms of knowledge, history, for example. The changes in recent years have been so rapid and drastic that the modern world seems to have lost is historical perspective, and we appear to be living from day to day in what I have described as a "specious present." (Cited in Czitrom, 1982, pp. 117-118). Given Park's assumption that knowledge derived from the news subsequently influences public opinion, one can argue that opinion has become "omnipotent" against tradition. 13. Definition of Opinion. text Opinion, as we define it, is a momentary, more or less logical cluster of judgments which, responding to current problems, is reproduced many times over in people of the same country, at the same time, in the same society. (3) 14. In order to have Opinion (social), individual must map opinions of others, as similar and different. 15. This process creates sense of affiliation, i.e., society or polity. text It is also essential that each of these individuals be more or less aware of the similarity of his judgments with those of others; for if each one thought himself isolated in his evaluation, none of them would feel himself to be (and hence would not be) bound in close association with others like himself (unconsciously like himself). (3) commentary Noelle-Neumann's (1984) spiral of silence hypothesis is also relevant to this proposition. Tarde also expressed this proposition in his essay entitled "The Public and the Crowd." In that essay, Tarde maintained that the press (though not necessarily conversation) facilitates the development of publics. Publics are formed by the awareness and affiliation experienced with the knowledge that others are reading the same newspaper at the same time as oneself. Thus, according to Tarde (1901, p.278): [Publics are formed when men] are all sitting in their own homes scattered over a vast territory, reading the same newspaper. What then is the bond between them? This bond lies in their simultaneous conviction or passion and in their awareness of sharing at the same time an idea or a wish with a great number of other men. Cooley (1909) also wrote that newspapers enable people to achieve a sense of affiliation with others and that newspapers make the development of public opinion possible. Cooley (1909, p.84) wrote that newspapers promote "a widespread sociability and sense of community. We know that people all over the country are laughing at the same jokes or thrilling with the same mild excitement over the foot-ball game, and we absorb a conviction that they are good fellows like ourselves." (Cooley's statement also bares some similarity to Katz and Dayan's (1985) proposition that media events serve an integrative function.) Like Tarde, Cooley also contends that public opinion is formed through the discussion and exchange of ideas concerning information which is printed in the newspaper. Cooley (1909, p.85) writes: In politics communication makes possible public opinion. . . The whole growth of this [public opinion] . . is immediately dependent upon the telegraph, the newspaper and the fast mail, for there can be no popular mind upon questions of the day, over wide areas, except as the people are promptly informed of such questions and are enabled to exchange views regarding them. Robert Park also shares Tarde's view that newspapers initiate conversation which creates public opinion and leads to social action. According to Park, newspapers provide differing points of view about issues, alert people to the need for change in their society, and present information about isolated events. This creates a need for people to discuss the news. By promoting discussion, newspapers help to initiate public opinion. Reference suggestions: Susan Herbst; Jon Peters. 16. Press and conversation make this mapping possible. text Now, in order for the consciousness of this similarity of ideas to exist among the members of a society, must not the cause of this similarity be the manifestations in words, in writing, or in the Press, of an idea that was individual at first, then gradually little by little generalized? The transformation of an individual opinion into a social opinion, into Opinion, is due to public discourse in classical times and in the Middle Ages, to the press of our own time, and at all times, most particularly, to those private conversations which we shall soon be discussing.(3) commentary Price and Allen ("Opinion spirals, silent and otherwise: Applying small-group research to public opinion phenomena," in Communication Research. 1990) critically examined E. Noelle-Neumann's (e.g., 1979, 1985) spiral of silence theory (SOST) in the context of the influence of the media of mass communication (MC) on public opinion (PO). It is argued that the principal value of the theory lies in its broad attempt to link a theoretical tradition in small-group research (social conformity) to research on MC and PO formation. Discussion includes the literature documenting various empirical failures of the SOST. As a general theory of PO, the SOST overstates the ubiquity of conformity and majority influence. Three general modes of social influence (conformity, normalization, and innovation) are considered in terms of their potential theoretical implications for public opinion theory. 17. For every problem, there are always two opinions, and one quickly prevails over the other (due to its brilliance/logic and its noisiness/money). text We say Opinion, but for every problem there are always two opinions. One of the two, however, manages to eclipse the other fairly quickly by its more rapid and striking brilliance or else because, even though less widespread, it is the more clamorous of the two. (3) commentary Hirschhorn (1992) described in his paper "The destruction of a synagogue community: Polarization in the postindustrial world" (Special Issue: Large group interventions; Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.) a case of a consultation to a synagogue community and how the community polarized around its Rabbi's support for the Palestinian rebellion in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. By studying both the processes of polarization and the dynamics of the consultation, the article explores how a polarized community can destroy the real and the psychological public space that it needs to heal its divisions. It is proposed that consultants can help a polarized community revitalize its public space by providing structure and boundaries inside the consultation process itself, by facilitating conversation so that substantive differences can be explored, and by interpreting the consulting process so that unconscious fantasies and unverbalized feelings can be examined. A consulting technology appropriate for a multicultural world is suggested. Noelle-Neumann (1984) maintains that the opinion that is the most "noisy" will predominate. Noelle-Neumann's "spiral of silence" theory postulates that individuals who perceive their political views to be in the minority will retreat and fall silent. This retreat is driven by the fear of isolation. On the other hand, when one perceives that one's views are in the majority, one is encouraged to proclaim one's views. Thus, the view which is perceived as supported by the majority is able to dominate the public scene, while the view in the perceived minority "disappear[s] from public awareness as its adherents became mute" (Noelle-Neumann, 1984). Davis (1992) used NORC's General Social Survey to examine liberal and conservative trends in public opinion from 1972-1989 across six broad issues -- crime, free speech, politics, race, religion, and sex/gender. Respondents answered 42 survey items in either a distinctly liberal or conservative direction. Davis' analysis, however, cannot be used to support the proposition that there are always two opinions for every problem because Davis dichotomized all responses, assigning either a liberal or conservative pole to each response. Thus, the polarity of the survey responses was a result of the researcher's analysis. Davis found overall trends in the liberal direction across all issues, with a slight conservative shift during the late 1970s. Within cohorts, race relations showed the most movement in the liberal direction throughout the time period, while crime showed the most movement in the conservative direction. Smith (1990) found similar trends. According to Smith (1990), public opinion has moved in a generally liberal direction since World War II, with the greatest movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. During the late 1970s, trends in the liberal direction plateaued, but did not move in a conservative direction. The most liberal trends were in the areas of equal rights and individualism; the most conservative were in the areas of economic regulation and government power. Note: J. Goody's (1968) Literacy in Tradition Societies was checked, but it did not appear to be relevant to this proposition. Reference suggestions: Mosovici, S. "Loud Minorities and Silent Majorities;" Converse; Neumann, R. International Journal of Public Opinion Research -- [unable to locate this journal.] 18. Face to face communication (as in old days) does not deceive, people are known to each other. text In the clan, in the tribe, even in the classical or medieval city everyone knew everyone else personally, and when, in private discussion or the speeches of orators, a common idea was established, it did not appear like a stone fallen from heaven, of impersonal and hence so much more prestigious origin; for each person the idea was linked to the tone of voice, the face, of the person from whom it had come, a person who lent it a living visage. For the same reason it served as a link only between people who, seeing and speaking to each other every day, were never deceived about each other. (3) commentary Daibo and Takimoto ("Deceptive characteristics in interpersonal communication," in Japanese Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 1992) studied the features of deceptive communication in face-to- face dyadic conversations. Human Ss: 48 normal male and female Japanese adults (undergraduate students). Ss were divided into same-sex deceiver-truth-teller pairs. Deceivers were asked to adopt a standpoint opposite to their own attitude on a certain topic in a 12-min session. Talking, looking, and self-touching pattern indices were used. Before and after each conversation, Ss were asked to provide personality perception and attraction ratings for their partners. Airenti, Bara and Colombetti ("Failures, exploitations and deceits in communication," in Journal of Pragmatics. 1993) suggested a model of an elementary interchange in a dialog, concentrating on the analysis of the dialog failures and exploitations the model can account for, as well as on deceitful uses of communication and non-expressive uses of language. The main hypothesis underlying the model is that, from a cognitive point of view, the relation between behavioral and conversational aspects of dialog plays a major role. Mental states for communication are discussed in terms of mutual beliefs and communicative intentions. The 5 phases of comprehension and production of a communicative act include understanding literal meaning, understanding a speaker's meaning, communicative effect, reaction, and response generation. Nonstandard communication is discussed in terms of nonexpressive interaction, exploitation, failure, and deceit. ------------------------------ SECTION I: Introduction. 2. Opinon grows faster, and more autonomous, over time at the expense of Reason and Tradition. 4. Sometimes, Opinion is mere conduit for introducing Reason into Tradition. 6. Sources of Opinion are Reason, Tradition, the press and conversation. 8. Tradition is national, and Reason is international. 10. Opinion always erodes Tradition, but not always Reason. 12. Opinion has become omnipotent against both tradition and reason. 14. In order to have Opinion (social), individual must map opinions of others, as similar and different. 16. Press and conversation make this mapping possible. 18. Face to face communication (as in old days) does not deceive, people are known to each other. SECTION II: The Press. 19. Before the press (in the Middle Age), there were only separated local opinions. 20. The press provided the "liasions" among opinions, and created the public opinion. 21. In creating the public opinion, the press also created the power of numbers (numerantur) over that of charater (ponderantur). (In other words, the press made it more important "how many say so" than "who say so." -- J. K.) 22. The press displaces the monarch's overview and causes the principle of majority rule to displace unanimity of local voices thus leading to the development of parliamentary democracy. 23. The press makes "otherwise-remained-local" issues national (even international) ones. 24. After printing, spectacles (such as trials) hold (fixate) the attention of society on events. 25. Journalists construct news. 26. The press focuses conversation on an agenda. It both causes conversation, diffuses conversation, and creates an agenda. (Direct media effects -- agenda-setting model; framing analysis) 27. Two-step flow model. (Indirect media effects) 28. Newspapers began by expressing local and elite opinion and later shaped opinion. 29. Before the press, parliaments were (1) collection of representatives of localities, (2) with heterogenous mandates, (3) acting itself as a locality. After the press, parliaments (1) assumed national identity, (2) with shared national agenda--even if differing positions on the same agenda items. 30. Before the press, representatives were seen as unique individuals who could not be reduced to "law of numbers." There was no concept of "Power of Numbers" (puissance du nombre) which also prevailed in parliamnet. (Quality to quantity, and quantity to 51%). 31. Incarnation of national consciousness by parliament led to overthrow of king as embodiment of national consciousness. Now national consciousness if external to kind, and he can only express it, not embody it. 32. Paradox that as nations become more similar through interaction, they become more aware olf their identities (differences), "even though the absolute difference between nations diminished, their relative and conscious differences grew." 33. Boundaries of influence of a newspaper stops at the language boundaries. 34. Press creates nationalism and also internationalism; Newspapers lead to nationalism (even internationalism), but books lead to humanism, that is, general and abstract. SECTION III: Conversation. 35. Definition of conversation. 36. Conversation is the most important source of opinion. 37. The newspapers may be a direct source of opinion but they are dependent on conversation to be influential. 38. Conversation enlists personal attentiveness more than any other activity (except dueling). 39. Face to face influence is the most effective form of influence (imitation). 40. The telephone is therefore less persuasive than face to face conversation (because telephone conversations lack subtleties of voices, glances, charm, etc.). 41. The speed of talk is an index of the level of cultural development and civilization. 42. People from big cities (as opposed to people from small cities) talk about more abstract subjects and gossip less (because there is less interpersonal familiarity). 43. Gossip in big cities is focused on public personae (who are the subjects of shared intimacy); whereas, gossip in small towns is about mutually known others. 44. There are two kinds of conversation: (1) the conversation-battle (conversation-lutte), or debate (arguing), and (2) the conversation-exchange (conversation-echange), or mutual informing; the latter developed at the cost of the former. 45. The origin of obligatory conversation is in (1) ritualized paying tribute, and (2) in amusing superior. 46. The origin of voluntary conversation is in obligatory conversation and in human social nature. 47. The origin of speech is in an aesthetic impulse - loved for itself in primitive societies. 48. Conversation has its origin in song (e.g. dueling songs preceded debates). 49. Dialogue (turn-taking) was born of hierarchical monologue. (Unilateral precedes mutual). 50. Individuals with gift of language acquired superior status. 51. Prayer, like conversation, develops from monologue to dialogue: from sermon to mass; worship becomes more conversational. 52. Political speech follows a similar evolution. From the monologue of old parliaments to the dialogue of modern ones. 53. Two-way questioning is historically intervened between monologue and dialogue. 54. Monologues of superiors are the subject of dialogues among inferior equals. 55. Interaction generates role differentiation. 56. Access to other discussants and greater leisure time allow more conversation. 57. Occupation dictates the amount of talking. 58. When among equals, less educated people, primitive peoples and children tend not to obey rules of turn-taking and interrupt one another more and/or talk simultaneously. Turn-taking is learned. 59. Urban and industrial life is more conducive to conversation than rural. 60. Study of conversation learning in children could be a model for understanding conversation's social evolution (according to law of phylogenesis [recapitulation]). Children are at first credulous before they begin to disobey; learning to imitate before s/he can argue and talk. The imperative precedes the indicative; (first say "no" then say "why"?). *** Stages of development in children: a. credulous b. are commanded/give commands c. internalize the commands/ conform/"imitate" d. disobey/ contradict e. ask questions f. narrate and listen to stories g. make comments and observations (embryonic speeches) h. speech becomes reciprocal--> discussion--> conversation. SECTION IV 61. The following institutional variations affect the historical transformation of the conversation: a. Linguistic (aesthetic?) b. Religious: religious precepts can prescribe conversation. c. Political: democracies differ from absolute monarchies in terms of topics and types of conversation. d. Economic: leisure time contributes to development of conversation 62. Position of body affects tone and quality of conversation (e.g. seated conversation is the most considered and substantial, and standing is more solemn, while walking conversation is the most vigorous. Conversing while doing something else -- e.g. knitting or drinking -- is more primitive than sitting face to face for the sole purpose of conversing. The latter is more refined. 63. Time of day will affect types of conversation. 64. Women, farmers and primitives talk only while doing something else. 65. Leisure time is a prerequisite to conversation; increased leisure time leads to more time spent in conversation. [Note: Two types of leisure: leisure which results from (1) boredom and (2) unemployment.] 66. Shared language leads to more potential interlocutors. 67. Number of topics of conversation increases with knowledge, information and education. Shared knowledge and ideas [education] are prerequisites to conversation. 68. "Democratization" (i.e. urbanization, improved education, migration to towns) increases the number of potential interlocutors, the diversity of potential interlocutors (e.g. talk across classes), and the topics. 69. Press makes conversations more lively, and standardizes conversations in space and speeds their diversity over time. 70. Occasionally, some national/international topic will obsess a population for a period. (e.g. Dreyfus; OJ Simpson; media events) 71. The simultaneity of opinion strengthens its power over reason and tradition; its transient quality reduces its power. 72. New ideas, discoveries, inventions serve to improve conversation (refine bawdy conversation, combat affectation). 73. Even among the most leisured and loquacious, press elevated conversation from gossip and shop talk. 74. Conversation is the agency of "imitation" (influence?). 75. Conversation evolves in the direction of (1) increase inconversationalists and of (2) loftier subject matter. (i.e., incerease in quantity and in quality). 76. "Tone" and topics of conversation diffuse from elite circles outward to ordinary folk. -------> CANÕT LOCATE THE RELEVANT TEXT 77. Cultures differ in the institutional manifestation of evolutionary stages of conversation. 78. When women were included in the evolution of conversation, the style of conversation becomes more of grace, of fluidity and refined. 79. Conversation tends to become less combative through time. (i.e., it changes from "fighting" talk (disputes, "discussions") to exchange of ideas.) 80. Evolution of conversation is from (1) arguing to exchange; (2) bargaining to standardization (of price); (3) bragging to factual information. 81. Frequency of contact and better knowledge of others reduces "fighting talk." As people learn more about one another's "collective self-esteem" (cf tribalism) so discussions on these topics reduce. 82. The decline of interest in religion creates more harmony. 83. Increasing indifference to politics creates more harmony. 84. Conversations are growing in courtesy and affability. SECTION V. 85. Drama follows life; change from combat to conversation reflected in change from epic to comedy (frame). 86. Trickle down diffusion moves conversation, news, accents outward from capital cities and downward from cities. 87. Conversation is the daytime equivalent of dreaming (symbolic reproduction of behavior), and both reflect daily life. 88. The setting aside of a separate

space for talking (e.g. a parlor) characterizes societies. 89. Equality, or the norm of equality (where in truth hierarchy exists), is a necessary prerequisite to the development of conversation. 90. Conversation (including the salon) enhances equality and makes people similar. 91. Human beings are gregarious and talkative. 92. Salon had harmful effect on family life (but so does virtually everything else which takes one out of the home) and weakened hierarchical power. 93. Salon encourages "the diffusion of sensitivity and tender outpourings." 94. Salons breed and spread radical innovation or personality; routine innovations may be lost (Against Taine). SECTION VI: The Structure and content of Conversations in Different Social Contexts. 95. Definition of Scociety 96. The number of societies decreases as one moves up the social scale, and the number of members in each society (or meeting group) increases. i.e. the higher the social class, the smaller the number of societies and the larger the size of each. 97. The smaller the class of people, the larger the society in which they meet. 98. Topics of conversation vary by social class. 98a. Farmers talk about politics only during election and otherwise talk about gossip, weather, shop. 98b. Workers and small tradesman talk about vocational and personal questions predominantly, also politics of newspaper. 98c. The more cultivated the society, the less conversation is about professional life and day-to-day politics and more about topics of general interest. 99. With the coming of the newspaper politics replaces meteorology for workers. 100. The press attracts elites to sensations; but otherwise conversation is free. 101. Newspapers provide common topics of conversation to people of the most varied classes and lifestyles. 102. A shared classical education serves to link the different sections of elites nationally and internationally. Without it, the society remains fragmented. 103. Purposeless conversation, (...???...), is prerequisite to the social integration of society and cultural enrichment. SECTION VII: The Effects of Conversation 104. Effects of conversation: 104a. Linguistically, conversation conserves and enriches language. 104b. Conversation stimulates literature, especially drama. 104c. Religiously, conversation is the means of spreading both dogma and skepticism. 104d. Politically, conversation provides brake on government, creates reputations and prestige and thereby determines power. 104e. Economically, conversation creates and standardizes judgments of utility and value. 104f. Ethically, conversation raises social above individual concerns. 104g. Aesthetically, conversation increases politeness. 104h. Conversation leads to shared criteria of aesthetic evaluation and generates new (literary) genre. 105. The latent function of conversation is to know oneself and to be known by the other. 106. Another latent function of conversation is to deepen awareness of mental belonging and of belonging to humanists. 107. The greater the individual insecurity stemming from the insecurity of the society, the less the amount of talk. 108. When societies disintegrate, there is little talk, speeches more than conversation and impoverished language. 109. The more dense and insular are social relations, the more development and refinement and diffusion of language. 110. Centralization of power creates homogeneous language through conversation, e.g. England vs France in middle ages. 111. Refined conversational habits become diffused down through the hierarchy of society more efficiently. 112. The higher the rate of opinion change, the more conversation and vice versa. 113. The more intense opinion, the more intense conversation. 114. The greater the diversity of opinion, the more frequent conversation. 115. The content, locus, and intensity of conversation can be inferred from the content and influence of opinion. 116. Transformations of Power are explained by opinion which is explained by converstion which arises from family, school, work, religion, politics, and mass communication. 117. Political happenings (the acts of Power) are the main interest of the press. 118. If acts of Power are not publicized by the press, Power would have no effect (The tree didn't fall, if no one knows). 119. The less conversation, the more stable the regime. 120. Totalitarian regimes suppress conversation. 122. Without the press, Parliamentary conversation at most leads to "shifts" in power. 123. Socialization to "docility," trust, "credulity" is a prerequisite to the functioning of the institutions of political conversation. 124. To see a person obeyed by others is the most common reason to obey the person  (2-step influence?). 125. The greater the density of population in a city the greater the number of and need for conversations. 126. The greater the population density, the more provision for situations of silence. 127. The greater the population density the more silence between intimates is acceptable. (In the provinces, "silence between people who know each other is a sign of discord.") 128. Silence is threatening to non-intimate relationships. 129. The evolution of conversation has been generally towards restraint of insults and diffusion of compliments (toward superiors) and with time towards all others more generally. 130. Conversations move from interested to disinterested. 131. Prayer has evolved from parising flattery. 132. The press, in addressing the public, needs to use bold expressions, and is therefore unsubtle. Thus the public insults and compliments expressed here are immune from the otherwise general tendency of a reduction in insults. 133. The rhetoric of insults over time has toned down and shifted from physical defects to mental and moral defects; blatant praise is also down. 134. Praise of God, or Kings, has evolved from praising (1) their physical (strength), (2) their intellectual (wisdom), (3) their moral (compassion). Contemporary praise of God or kings can be ranked by emphasis as (1) moral (2) intellectual (3) physical. 135. The historical trajectory of praising women is opposite from that of superiors or equals. Where one formerly praised women according to i. their virtues, ii. their talents, iii. their beauty; now the order is reversed so that one praises i. their beauty, ii. their virtue, iii. their grace. 136. Polite conversation is characterized by an avoidance of any subject or opinions which may be conflictual. Polite conversation tends towards harmony, sociability, and conformity. 137. Conversation leads to a decrease in status among participants. 138. Conversation leads to a decrease in differences in opinion. 139. Conversation nurtured literary criticism and philosophy. 140. New genres and codes are slower to appear because there are more conversations. SECTION VIII: Letters 141. The prerequisites to correspondence are same as prerequisites of conversation (leisure, etc.), plus separation due to travel, the spread of writing, and the establishment of the postal service. 142. The growth of letters, conversation and travel is inextricably linked. Those who travel most also have more conversations and write more letters. 143. While in the16th century political and religious letters predominate, in the17th century private letters become more numerous. 144. The diffusion of letter writing occurs from the higher echelons of society to the lower. 145. A mail is thus an important means of circulating opinion. 146. As form of letters becomes more similarized, content diversifies. 147. As letters become more frequent they become concomitantly shorter and more prosaic. 148. Conversations may also follow this trajectory of becoming shorter as they increase in number. 149. The press exhausts topics of conversation and of letters, thus displacing the role of both. 150. The press displaces public news reporting formerly undertaken in letters. 151. However, the press does not thereby liberate letters to become more intimate, in fact, they become more public. (Urban civilization increases acquaintanship and decreases intimacy.) 152. The press thus replaces private letters, although it has little effect on business letters. Private letters become shorter and less frequent as the newspaper takes over the function of even love letters e.g. in "personal correspondence" sections. 153. Letter writing style is affected by the "utilitarian terseness" of the telephone and the telegram. 154. The origin of books is lyrical and religious. Books evolve from poetry to prose, from religious to secular. 155. The origin of newspapers is secular and familiar since newspapers originate in the private sphere of the private letter. 156. A private telegram to a newspaper is capable of transforming opinion into social action, via simultaneous mobilization of large numbers in many places ("crowds"). 157. Through the newspaper private opinion is created which in turn becomes national opinion and world opinion. 158. The pressure of large publics created by the press leads to greater pressure of conformity on individuals. ---------------------------- G a b r i e l T a r d e Gabriel Tarde and the Imitation of Deviance By Gwen Williams One of the earliest formulations of a learning perspective on deviance is discovered in the writings of the French social theorist Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904). Tarde’s theory of imitation is a 19th century social learning theory; he was the forerunner of modern-day learning theorists. We will discuss Tarde’s belief that people learn from one another through the process of imitation. Attempting to bring up to date this 19th century theory by discussing contemporary issues, we will look at how the three laws of imitation might explain drug/alcohol use and gang behavior as imitated phenomena. We will also look at how one of the leaders of social learning theory and imitation, Albert Bandura, takes Tarde’s basic principles and uses them to make a contemporary argument on imitation and modeling that is very much in use today. Jean-Gabriel Tarde was born in the small town of Sarlat, about one hundred miles east of Bordeaux, in 1843. He wrote several short volumes on his family and the town in which he lived, as well as editing and republishing the papers of outstanding family members. While in school, Tarde retained a permanent distaste for socially imposed discipline whenever it limited individual freedom. The success of racial and geographic theories which Lombroso, Garofalo, Ferri and others had developed led Tarde to publish a series of articles criticizing the "new Italian school" and emphasizing the preponderance of social factors—especially the socialization and imitation—behind crime. (Tarde, 1969a: 2-5) Tarde directed attention to the social processes whereby forms of behavior and ways of thinking and feeling are passed on from group to group and person to person. His was a theory of "imitation and suggestion." The origins of deviance were pictured as very similar to the origins of fads and fashions. Each was a socially learned acquisition, governed by what Tarde referred to as the "three laws of imitation." These included (1) the law of close contact, (2) the law of imitation of superiors by inferiors, and (3) the law of insertion. These three laws of imitation describe why people engage in crime. First, individuals in close intimate contact with one another imitate each other’s behavior (Tarde, 1969b: 30). By the law of close contact, Tarde meant simply that people have a greater tendency to imitate the fashions and customs of those with whom they have the most contact. If someone were regularly surrounded by people involved in a world of deviant behavior or lifestyles, they would be more likely to imitate these people than they would others with whom they had little association. Direct contact with deviance was believed to foster more deviance. Tarde theorized that there was short-term behavior (fashion) and long-term behavior (custom). He suggested that, as population became denser, behavior would be oriented more toward fashion than toward custom. (Williams & McShane 1988: 27) The functions of the higher senses are more transmissible through imitation than those of the lower. We are much more likely to copy someone who is looking at or listening to something than someone who is smelling a flower or tasting a dish (Tarde, 1903a: 195). Imitation, contrary to what we might infer from certain appearances, proceeds from the inner to the outer man (Tarde, 1903b: 199). As we look at indirect contact, we think of a world in which much of our contact with people, their actions, and their beliefs are mediated by mass communications. Tarde’s writing anticipated such a world of indirect imitation. He believed that the media played a central role in the proliferation of such nineteenth-century "epidemics of deviance" as the rise in mutilations of women, the practice of women disfiguring the faces of male lovers, and the rash of "Jack the Ripper"-type murders became evident. In Tarde’s own words, "infectious epidemics spread with air or wind; epidemics of crime follow the telegraph." If only Tarde had known of the coming of television, surely his law of close contact is relevant to the current debate over whether violence and other forms of deviance are learned from models displayed by the mass media (Pfohl, 1994a: 299). This will be discussed in more detail as we examine Albert Bandura’s modeling theory. Tarde’s second law of imitation spreads from the top down; consequently, youngsters imitate older individuals, paupers imitate the rich, peasants imitate royalty, and so on. Crime among young, poor or low-status people is really their effort to imitate wealthy, older, high-status people. This law suggests perhaps people follow the model of high-status in hopes their imitative behavior will procure some of the rewards associated with being of a "superior" class. In any event, Tarde’s ideas have a particular relevance in our own age of visibly "high-class" deviance. Does post-Watergate knowledge of the deviance of "superior" persons, such as high governmental officials and corporate executives, increase the likelihood of deviance by us all?" Tarde’s law of imitation of superiors suggests that possibility. (Pfohl, 1994b: 299) Tarde’s third law is the law of insertion: new acts and behaviors are superimposed on old ones and subsequently either reinforce or discourage previous customs. This law refers to the power inherent in newness or novelty; new fashions were said to replace old "customs." For example, drug taking may be a popular fad among college students who previously used alcohol. However, students may find that a combination of both substances provides even greater stimulation, causing the use of both drugs and alcohol to increase. Another example would be a new criminal custom developing that eliminates an older one – truck hijacking replacing train robbing. When two mutually exclusive ways of doing something come into conflict, Tarde believed the newer one would ordinarily win out. The replacement of the knife by the gun as a weapon of deviant destruction was also cited as an example of this process. (Pfohl, 1994c: 299) From its early inception in Tarde’s three laws of imitation, the learning perspective, has exerted an enormous impact on the study of deviance and social control. It is the product of learning in the world in a particular way, learning with and from others about how to define, feel, and act within a world which we create together. As we examine social learning more, we see a lot of theories integrated, which originated to some extent from Tarde’s imitation theory. Social psychologists suggest that drug abuse patterns may result from the observation of parental drug use. Parental drug abuse begins to have a damaging effect on children as young as two years old, especially when parents manifest drug-related personality problems, children imitate their behavior. Children whose parents abuse drugs are more likely to have persistent abuse problems than the children of nonabusers, because one is more exposed intimately than the other. (Ashby, Vaccaro, McNamara, and Hirky, 1996:166-180) A study was conducted that tested the validity of social learning theory for juveniles’ use of alcohol and marijuana. The data were collected by questionnaires given to 3,065 male and female adolescents, grades 7-12. The study measured the main concept of the social learning theories: imitation, differential association, etc. There was strong support for the social learning theory of adolescent drug and alcohol behavior. 55 percent of the variance in drinking behavior and 68 percent of the variance in marijuana behavior was explained by the model. The analyses showed that some subsets of variables specified by the theory are more important than others and the peer variable was the most important single variable; the most influential of why the adolescents used alcohol and drugs. In a study done on adolescent alcohol use, a number of students described more generally definitive reasons likely applied to many potential alcohol situations, e.g., "I’m worried that I can become addicted": "I’m worried that using alcohol will wreck my future"; I want to be careful with alcohol and not be an alcoholic like my uncle." (Forgays, 1998:11) Adolescents respond to peer group influences more readily than adults because of the crucial role peer relationships play in identity formation. Youth’s greater desire for acceptance and approval renders them more susceptible to peer influences as they adjust their behavior and attitudes to conform to those of their contemporaries. Significantly, young people "commit crimes, as they live their lives, in groups." (Morse, 1997a: 108). It is widely assumed that peer influence plays an important role in adolescent crime, and evidence supports the claim that teens are more subject to this influence than are adults. Peer influence seems to operate through two means: social comparison and conformity. Through social comparison, adolescents measure their own behavior by comparing it to others. Social conformity to peers, which peaks at about age fourteen, influence adolescents to adapt their behavior and attitudes to that of their peers. Peer influence could affect adolescent decision-making in several ways. In some contexts, adolescents might make choices in response to direct peer pressure. More indirectly, adolescent desire for peer approval could affect the choices made, without any direct coercion. Peers may provide models for behavior that adolescents believe will assist them in accomplishing their own ends. (Morse, 1997b: 162) We are led to copy from others everything that seems to us a new means for attaining our old ends, or satisfying our old wants, or a new expression of our old ideas; and we do this at the same time that we begin to adopt innovations which awaken new ideas and new ends in us. (Clark, 1969:186) ALBERT BANDURA Social learning is the branch of behavior theory most relevant to criminology. Social learning theorists view violence as something learned through a process called behavior modeling. In modern society, aggressive acts are usually modeled after three principle sources. The most prominent models are family members. Albert Bandura, a social learning theorist, reports that studies of family life show that children who use aggressive tactics have parents who use similar behaviors when dealing with others. A second influence on the social learning of violence is provided by environmental experiences. People who reside in areas in which violence is a daily occurrence are more likely to act violently than those who dwell in low-crime areas where norms stress conventional behavior. A third source of behavior modeling is provided by the mass media. Films and television shows commonly depict violence graphically. Moreover, violence is often portrayed as an acceptable behavior, especially for heroes who never have to face legal consequences for their actions; for example, Batman and the Power Rangers. (Siegal, 1998a: 145). Bandura first presented the principles of social learning theory in 1963. The study demonstrated that modeling is one of the most effective ways to teach children ways of behaving and their consequences. These theories are relevant to studies that have shown a link between movie portrayals of behavior and the behavior of juvenile viewers. A recent study found that adolescent subjects accepted the behavior of movie characters as moral even if it was violent or antisocial as long as they could identify with the character. In addition, it was easier for the more aggressive viewer to accept the violence of the film actor. Some said the effects of media violence on children only exists in a small amount that is still up for debate. Studies of the effects of media violence on behavior generally caution that variables such as belief in the reality of the media presentation, predisposition toward violence, an aggressive family environment, identification with aggressive media characters, and how the consequences of aggressive behavior are portrayed may all affect the relationship between media and violence. Social learning theorists argue that people are not actually born with the ability to act violently but that they learn to be aggressive through their life experiences. These experiences include personally observing others acting aggressively to achieve some goal or watching people being rewarded for violent acts on television or in movies. People learn to act aggressively when, as children, they model their behavior after the violent acts of adults. Later in life, these violent behavior patterns persist in social relationships. The boy who sees his father repeatedly strike his mother with impunity is the one most likely to grow up to become a battering parent and husband (Siegal, 1998b: 145). Bandura’s social learning theory when applied to effects of mass media, is an important concept. It was the "backbone" of subsequent research, studying the impact of television violence on children. This is a contemporary look at what Tarde spoke about, but because this technology was not available during his lifetime, he spoke mainly of verbal communication via telegraphs and newspapers. The conclusion from Bandura’s observational learning research relates to mass communication, particularly the "effects" of film and television on youth. Bandura spoke about modeling, or observational learning when he performed the Bobo Doll Experiment. He made a film of a young woman, beating up a Bobo Doll, and showed it to kindergartners. The kids imitated the young woman’s actions. The research proves children will imitate and learn behavior performed by symbolic models on television. http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/bandura.html Another viewpoint is that men learn to commit rapes much as they learn any other behavior. Many rapists were sexually victimized as adolescents. A growing body of literature links personal sexual trauma with the desire to inflict sexual trauma on others. Tarde’s ideas are quite similar to those of modern social learning theorists, who believe that both interpersonal and observed behavior, such as watching a movie or television can influence criminality. Evidence is mounting that some men are influenced by observing films and books with both violent and sexual content. Watching violent or pornographic films featuring women who are beaten, raped, or tortured has been linked to sexually aggressive behavior in men. In one startling case, a 12-year-old Providence, Rhode Island, boy sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl on a pool table after watching TV coverage of a case in which a woman was similarly raped (the incident was made into a film, The Accused, starring actress Jodie Foster). (Omaha World Herald, 1984:50). Although social learning theorists agree that mental or physical traits may predispose a person toward violence, they believe that the activation of a person’s violent tendencies is achieved by factors in the environment. The specific forms that aggressive behavior takes, the frequency with which it is expressed, the situations in which it is displayed, and the specific targets selected for attack are largely determined by social learning. Their interpretations of behavior outcomes and situations influence the way they learn from experiences. Ronald Akers (differential reinforcement theory) says people learn to evaluate their own behavior through interaction with significant others and groups in their lives, this parallels Tarde’s close contact law. These groups control sources and patterns of reinforcement, define behavior as right or wrong and provide behaviors for observational learning. The more individuals learn to define their behavior as good or at least as justified, rather than as undesirable, the more likely they are to engage in it. For example, kids who hook up with a drug-abusing peer group whose members value drugs and alcohol, encourage their use, and provide opportunities to observe people abusing substance, will be encouraged through this social learning experience to use drugs themselves. Akers’ theory posits that the principal influence on behavior is from those groups, which control individuals’ major sources of reinforcement and punishment and expose them to behavioral models and normative definitions. The important groups are peer and friendship groups, schools, churches and similar institutions. Within the context of these critical groups, deviant behavior can be expected to the extent that it has been differently reinforced over alternative behavior…it is defined as desirable or justified. The deviant behavior, originated by imitation, is sustained by social support (Siegal, 1998c: 204) Individuals acquire certain behaviors and attitudes via a process of social learning, let’s take for example gangs. Social learning theory claims that if behavior is rewarded and repeated episodes are met with reinforcement, it continues. Of course, if behavior is punished, the perpetrator is discourages from engaging in the conduct and the behavior decreases. A potential recruit learns through close interactions with the gang members what is "appropriate or inappropriate at least according to their reverse value system. The profile of the youth that joins might include a youth that is friends with gang-members, someone who experiences peer-pressure to join, or intimidated by the gang. Personal responsibility and family values are now vogue explanations for youth gang activities. (Brown, 1998a: 1) Many scholars agree that the family is probably the most critical factor relating to crime and delinquency (Brown, 1998b: 2). Some gang members live "wherever I can". Often, this means, "today a friend’s house and tomorrow a drug house". All adult family participants in a study expressed concern about their children’s, or grandchildren’s involvement in youth gangs. Most attempted to control their children’s activities. "I tell him all the time to stay away from them kind of kids," says one mother. A father states, "I don’t like him running wild out there, but we (including his wife) both got jobs. We just can’t watch them all the time". (Brown, 1998c: 5). In the study over half of the sample indicated they became involved with gangs through introduction by friends and peers. (Brown, 1998d: 7) This hypothesis was substantially more supported among whites in urban or rural settings than among blacks. An argument can be made, though, that juveniles who are surrounded by adults, particularly significant others such as parents, who have achieved relatively little in reference to those residing outside of socially disorganized neighborhoods, would perceive their chances for success blocked relative to youth residing elsewhere. Basically, failure, or expectation of failure, provides the motivation for youth to enter gangs. This assertion can be asserted to the study of general delinquency, rather than gang membership per se. That is, youth living in socially disorganized neighborhoods are more likely than other youth to perceive their opportunities blocked and, therefore, engage in delinquency. (Vowel and Howell, 1998: 390). In this way, imitation passes on from one person to another, as well as from one class to another within the same people. Do we ever see one class which is in contact with, but which has never, hypothetically, been subject to the control of another determine to copy its accent, its dress, its furniture, and its buildings, and end by embracing its principles and beliefs? (Tarde, 1903c: 201) In integrating Tarde’s imitation theory, Edwin Sutherland put forth a few propositions, which just need to be mentioned because of its relevance to imitation. Edwin Sutherland spoke of differential association. He hypothesized that "any person can be trained to adopt and follow". Sutherland, in summation, felt that criminal behavior is learned, and learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication. He also proposed that the learning part of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups. This parallels Tarde’s second law of imitation, close contact. (Sutherland and Cressey, 1994a: 192). However in this Sutherland felt the process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anticriminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning. Negatively, this means that the learning of criminal behavior is not restricted to the process of imitation. A person who is seduced, for instance, learns criminal behavior by association, but this process would not ordinarily be described as imitation. (Sutherland, 1994b: 194). Sutherland suggested that the distinction between lawbreakers and the law-abiding lies not in their personal fiber but in the content of what they have learned. Those with the good fortune of growing up in a conventional neighborhood will learn to play baseball and to attend church services; those with the misfortune of growing up in a slum will learn to rob drunks and to roam the streets looking to do mischief. (Lilly, Cullen, Ball , 1995:47). Now, after examining the theory of imitation and its relevant integrated theories, we need to look at some criticisms of these works. Learning theorists fail to account for the origin of criminal definitions; How did the first "teachers" learn criminal techniques and definitions. Learning theories also imply that people systematically learn techniques that allow them to be active and successful criminals, but they fail to adequately explain spontaneous and wanton acts of violence and damage and other expressive crimes that appear to have little utility or purpose, i.e. a random shooting. Little evidence exists that people learn the techniques that enable them to become criminals before they actually commit criminal acts (Siegal, 1998d: 207) As we look at other criticisms of Tarde’ work, along with others who have brought his theory to the forefront, we see that criticisms of the mass media are based on the assumption that what people see and hear strongly affect their attitudes and behavior. Elitist critics condemn the emphasis on sex and violence and the generally low level of intellectual sophistication of most programming. Critics on the left argue that the masses are lulled into defining public issues as personal problems. Although it is difficult to believe that the media do not have a direct impact on attitudes and actions, the research is unclear. (Hess, Markson, & Stein, 1993:565) The mass media—primarily radio, film or print at the time most research was conducted—emerged as unlikely to be a major contributor to direct change of individual opinions, attitudes or behavior or to be a direct cause of crime, aggression, or other disapproved social phenomena (Graber, 1990: 22). Tarde’s three laws are rather loose and have been criticized for being overly simplistic and for neglecting a host of other physical, psychological, social, political, and economic factors related to deviance. Some of the dynamics of these laws were never specifically laid out. Why, for instance, was newness more attractive than established custom? Are we more likely to accept new forms of doing things if they do old things better, for example, alcohol to crack, 45 magnums to machine guns? Tarde was not clear about such issues. Nonetheless, his ideas about the imitative origins of deviance opened the door for an interpretation of deviance as learned behavior. Tarde rejected the biological theories as well as explanations, which viewed society as independent of the activities of its members. He planted the theoretical seeds of a perspective, which later came to fruition in Edwin Sutherland’s theory of a differential association. Note the importance placed upon associative imitation in the following excerpt from Tarde’s Penal Philosophy: The majority of murderers and notorious thieves (begin) as children who have been abandoned, and the true seminary of crime must be sought for upon each public square and/or each crossroad of our town, whether they be small or large, in those flocks of pillaging street urchins, who like bands of sparrows, associate together, at first for marauding, and then for theft, because of a lack of education and food in their homes. (Pfohl, 1994d: 299-300). Many have adapted and refined Tarde’s work. His research on deviance and how it is manifested has caused many contemporaries to take notice and embark on new avenues that emit from it. Tarde’s three laws, close contact, superiors and inferiors, and insertion all have been expanded upon in today’s contemporary criminological research. B I B L I O G R A P H Y Brown (1998). Juvenile and Family Court Journal. 1,2,5,7. Clark, Terry. (1969). On Communication and Social Influence, 30, 186 Forgays, Deborah Kirby. (1998): Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse. 7(4), 11. Graber, Doris A. (1990). Media Power in Politics 2nd Edition. 22 Hess, Beth, Markson, Elizabeth, and Stein, Peter. (1993). Sociology, Fourth Edition. 565 (http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/bandura.html) The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1997). 88(1), 108, 162 Lilly, Cullen, Ball. (1995). Criminological Theory. 47 Pfohl, Stephen, Images of Deviance and Social Control, Second Edition, 1994 Rojeck, Dean, G., and Jensen, F. Gary. (1996). Social Learning and Deviant Behavior: A Specific Test of a General Theory, 120-127 Siegal, Larry J. (1998), Criminology: Theories, Patterns and Typologies, Sixth Edition. 145 Sutherland, Edwin H., and Cressey, Donald R. (1994). Theories of Deviance. 192 Tarde, Gabriel. (1903). The Laws of Imitation, 195,199 Tarde, Gabriel (1969). On Communication & Social Influence. 2-5,30 Vowel & Howell, (1998, Oct-Dec). Deviant Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 19(4), 390. Williams, Frank P. III, McShane, Marilyn D. (1988) Criminological Theory. 27 Wills, Thomas Ashby, Vaccaro, Donato, McNamara, Grace, and Hirky, A. Elizabeth Hirky. (1996) "Escalated Substance Use: A Longitudinal Grouping Analysis from Early to Middle Adolescence, " Journal of Abnormal Psychology 166-180 Associated Press, "Trial on TV May Have Influenced Boy Facing Sexual-Assault Count," Omaha World Herald, 18 April 1984, p50. --------------------------- 184603 Great Outdoors Showdown Coming As Forest Fee Issue Heats Up (english) Scott Silver 8:39am Thu Jun 6 '02 phone: 541-385-5261 ssilver@wildwilderness.org (Bend, Oregon) -- Opposing sides in the hotly contested issue of how to fund and manage outdoor recreation prepare for ideological clashes during this year's Great Outdoor Week, June 10-15th. Representing the 100-year tradition of free access to America's public lands will be dozens of citizens groups who are staging protests and rallies in locations from coast to coast. Protesters say, "user fees will lead to the Corporate Takeover of Nature and the Disneyfication of the Wild." Wild Wilderness 248 NW Wilmington Avenue, Bend, OR 97701 Internet: www.wildwilderness.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 2002 Scott Silver, Wild Wilderness 541-385-5261 GREAT OUTDOORS SHOWDOWN COMING AS FOREST FEE ISSUE HEATS UP (Bend, Oregon) -- Opposing sides in the hotly contested issue of how to fund and manage outdoor recreation prepare for ideological clashes during this year's Great Outdoor Week, June 10-15th. Representing the interests of commercial recreation will be the Washington, DC-based lobbyist group American Recreation Coalition (ARC). ARC has scheduled meetings and award ceremonies with top elected and administrative officials. They seek expanded opportunities for ARC's members to control, and to eventually profit from, the commercialization of outdoor recreation on the public lands. Representing the 100-year tradition of free access to America's public lands will be dozens of citizens groups who are staging protests and rallies in locations from coast to coast. Organizers of the event have called June 15th "A National Day of Action to protest Fee-Demo and to urge Congress to restore funding necessary to maintain appropriate levels of recreational infrastructure on, and adequate protection of, America's public lands." Protesters fear that the growing dependence upon user fees and public-private partnerships will lead to increased commercialization, privatization and development of National Forests, parks and public open spaces. Protesters say, "Recreation user fees are Un-Democratic, Exclusionary, Discriminatory and just plain Un-American." Protesters say, "user fees will lead to the Corporate Takeover of Nature and the Disneyfication of the Wild." Congress enacted Fee-Demo in 1996 at the specific behest of ARC, an organization which represents highly mechanized, highly developed, commercial forms of recreation. Fee-Demo is opposed by California, Oregon, New Hampshire, Colorado and over 240 organizations, nationwide. One of the main Day of Action organizers is Scott Silver, Executive Director of Wild Wilderness, a Bend, Oregon-based recreation and conservation organization. Silver along with activists in California, New Hampshire, Colorado, Washington, Arizona and elsewhere are hoping that by combining forces, citizens can have as much influence upon the democratic process as have the special-interest lobbyists in DC. The US Forest Service recently identified states where protests will happen as 'hotspots.' They stated in an internal memo - " FS priority should be to put out 'hotspots.'" According to Silver, "Fee-Demo is fundamentally and irreconcilably flawed. Recreation user fees have not been well accepted by the American public and no amount of fine-tuning can make these fees acceptable. People have the right to walk on public lands and corporate special interests have no right to take that away," Silver said. Protesters are especially concerned that President Bush has asked Congress to grant permanent recreation fee authority in the current legislative session and they anticipate legislation will be introduced during Great Outdoors Week or shortly thereafter. -- end -- ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: National Day of Action information is available at: http://www.wildwilderness.org/docs/2002doa.htm Great Outdoors Week information is available at: http://www.funoutdoors.com/gowsched2002.html Fee-Demo Opposition list is available at: http://www.freeourforests.org/opposition.html US Forest Service 'Hotspot' memo is available at: http://www.sespewild.org/usfsmemo.html ------- Scott Silver Wild Wilderness 248 NW Wilmington Ave. Bend, OR 97701 phone: 541-385-5261 e-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.org Internet: http://www.wildwilderness.org ---- www.wildwilderness.org