AFRICAN STUDIES
many Africans fought to retain their indigenous culture in Jamaica, sculpture is used as another
languages. They believed their survival as a unique method of communicating and reinforcing the
people hinged on successful retention of their beliefs of the practitioners. Moreover, African-
original languages, and the culture, values, self- American artists often draw from the diaspora in
affirmation, and history embodied within those their creation of visual art. Lois Mailou Jones
native tongues. Interesting variations in the reten- traversed the French-speaking African world, and
tion of African language forms are observable her work was influenced by the various cultures
throughout Africa and the African diaspora. The she studied.
patois (patwa) spoken in Jamaica contains many
words that need no translation from Twi, the Artistic products of African people, especially
language spoken by the Ghanaian Ashanti who those living outside of the continent, reflect the
constituted the majority of the slaves brought in to mixture of cultural influences—part indigenous,
work on Jamaican plantations. French has been part nonindigenous—that characterize the Afri-
transformed in both Louisiana and Haiti with can experience. The synthesis contains elements
varieties of Kreyol. In North America we can that are obviously African-derived alongside ele-
observe the Gullah people, primarily found in ments that are obviously European or Islamic. Yet
South Carolina and Georgia, who infuse their the final tune or drawing is often truly syncretic,
English-based Creole with the language of their possessing emergent qualities greater than the
enslaved African ancestors. Standard black Ameri- sum of the influences. It is in the realm of cultural
can English (sometimes referred to as Ebonics) production, music and art, where the African in-
also retains evidence of similar African-derived fluence on world society has been most readily
language structures. A related case is provided by apparent. During the period of colonization, rul-
places like Bahia in Brazil where Yoruba, an in- ing cultures often defined the oppressed as ‘‘oth-
digenous African language, was successfully trans- ers’’ in an effort to justify their subhuman treat-
planted and maintained outside the continent. ment. Historic views of African-American culture
There are nations on the African continent where provide powerful examples of objectification and
indigenous languages were practiced throughout stereotypes such as ‘‘Sambo,’’ the happy darkie, or
the colonial experience and reinstituted after in- ‘‘Jezebel,’’ the promiscuous black female. These
dependence. However, as we have observed, the false perceptions permeated the fabric of Ameri-
most common case across the diaspora is the can society, allowing whites to embrace the racial
synthesis of African syntax with the dominant stereotypes and notions that blacks were content
European language syntax to create a new language. in their status as second-class citizens. In order to
perpetuate these false images, blacks were allowed
The pattern of adaptive acculturation or syn- to prosper in media and occupations that coincid-
thesis that occurs with language also characterizes ed with and reinforced views of their subservient
other sociocultural institutions in Africa and across status. To do otherwise was to risk retribution
the diaspora. Art and music provide distinctive from whites. Thus, the entertainment industry
examples. African people traditionally use visual (and its related variant, professional sports) has
art as a means of communication. Cloth making, historically provided socially acceptable, non-threat-
for example, is not simply an aesthetic undertak- ening roles for blacks.
ing. Often, messages are inscribed or embedded
within the very combinations of patterns and col- Many blacks recognized the power inherent in
ors chosen to create the fabric. Among the Ashanti these media and used them for empowerment and
in Ghana, funeral cloth is often adorned with what to accomplish larger goals. For example, we can
are known as Adinkra symbols. The symbols im- note the themes of resistance embodied in tradi-
pressed upon the cloth convey different meanings, tional spirituals sung during slavery. It is also
thereby transmitting messages to those who are interesting to observe the tremendous impact of
knowledgeable. The Touaregs, a people concen- music during the civil rights movement. In many
trated in Niger, are also known to transcribe mes- instances, a syncretic merger has been achieved
sages on cloth in the distinctive alphabet that that fuses indigenous African ‘‘authenticity’’ with
characterizes their language. Within Rastafarian nonindigenous traits to create new forms of music
64
AFRICAN STUDIES
(e.g., rap). People of African descent have facilitat- the spectrum from indigenous to nonindigenous.
ed the growth of myriad musical genres, such as In a now familiar pattern, there exist places in
reggae, zouk, jazz, blues, soca, zaico, calypso, go- Africa or in the African diaspora where traditional
go, Hip Hop, and gospel. In yet other instances, African forms of family life, dating back centuries,
Africans have chosen to embrace, master, and persist. Similarly, there are places where family
operate within the unmodified European form forms are closer to the European or the Islamic
(e.g., opera, classical music). model. The same observations can be offered
about education and the organization of schools
Religion is another excellent example of a among Africans in a given society.
sociocultural institution that challenges us to de-
fine what is distinctively African. Forms of indige- Predictably, given Africa’s history of subjuga-
nous African religion are as diverse as the conti- tion, it is in realms of international power and
nent and people themselves. Christianity, Islam, influence, economics, government, and the mili-
and Judaism all have long histories on the conti- tary, that African development has been most
nent. The same is true for traditional, animistic restricted. Historical deprivation has resulted in
African religions that imbue all features of the the ranking of Africa and people of African ances-
environment with spiritual qualities. It is perhaps try at the bottom of all indicators of economic
the long tradition of polytheism—or, more cor- development. While other formerly colonized coun-
rectly, the belief in, and acceptance of a Supreme tries have managed to advance economically (e.g.,
God who is in turn represented in the world by Brazil, Singapore, and Korea), much of Africa and
several intermediary spirits—that made Africa and the African diaspora continue to be economically
African people such fertile ground for the spread dependent. Coupled with this economic depend-
of diverse religions. ence are persistently high rates of unemployment,
disease, educational disadvantage, and population
In addition, colonial powers felt a need to growth. Africans continue to be without signifi-
control all forms of thought and expression in cant representation at the centers of international
order to ensure their continued dominion over power, judged by economic clout, political influ-
the indigenous people. Religion was recognized as ence, and military might. In each of these aspects,
an especially powerful medium with immense ca- Africa remains the suppressed giant, unable to
pacity to control the daily behavior of people. exert world influence commensurate to her nearly
Thus, religion was a central component in the billion people, strategic geopolitical location, and
colonial arsenal and pattern of domination. In rich mineral and human resources. The emer-
spite of this, many traditional African religions gence of Africa onto the world stage, like Japan’s
have survived the test of time. Both the original in 1960 and China’s in 1980, will have to wait.
forms and syncretic amalgamations of Western
and traditional religion are found throughout the UNIFYING THEMES IN AFRICAN STUDIES
diaspora. On the island of Jamaica, one can ob-
serve how the Ashanti religion Kumina has flour- Due to historical context, we have seen there are
ished and grown over time into the distinctly no simple answers to the basic questions for ori-
Jamaican Pukumina (Pocomania). Linkages such enting any scientific, sociological study of Africa
as the one between the Gabonese sect known as and her people. The African diaspora has been
Bwiti and Haitian vodun continue, in which the uniquely shaped by experiences of conquest and
words for traditional healer are almost the same. domination, resistance and survival. The experi-
Continuities are also seen in Shango/Santeria (Bra- ences of slavery, colonization, and external domi-
zil) and Rastafarianism (Jamaica and international- nation have left in their wake considerable devas-
ly). Religious forms throughout the African diaspora tation. Yet one also sees the amazing strength of a
range from the classical European through the people able to adapt and diversify, and to love and
traditional African into the Islamic, with a large live, and ultimately continue to be.
variety of syncretic forms interspersed throughout.
Studies of African people and institutions com-
The organization of social and community life monly reveal the creative retention of authentic or
in Africa and across the African diaspora also runs
65
AFRICAN STUDIES
indigenous traits. Such creative responses have A nineteenth-century phenomenon, Social Dar-
been, in their own way, acts of resistance enabling winism and its associated beliefs persisted well
cultural perpetuation. These adaptive responses into the twentieth century. Its philosophy is still
have assured the ultimate survival of many aspects heard in the remnants of eugenics, in the present-
of African culture and institutions. It must also be day interest in sociobiology, and in recurring as-
noted that with time comes transition. Many things sertions of black innate intellectual inferiority.
traditionally African have been altered, progress-
ing from their original, indigenous form to com- Before the incorporation of African studies
pletely new and different forms. It is perhaps in into predominantly white colleges, black educa-
this tension, the reconciliation of the old with the tors and leaders had stressed the value of black
new, the indigenous with the nonindigenous, that America’s ties to Africa for decades. Notable activ-
African studies will find its most exciting terrain ists from William Monroe Trotter to Booker T.
for future inquiry. The challenge will be to discov- Washington and Marcus Garvey called for ‘‘Back
er the cultures and the people who have been to Africa’’ movements. Zora Neale Hurston was an
historically distorted by the twin activities of con- anthropologist whose studies of African Ameri-
cealment from within, and degradation and cans emphasized retentions and links with original
misperception from without. African cultures. The distinguished sociologist
W.E.B. Du Bois founded the Pan-African Con-
AMERICAN SCHOLARSHIP AND AFRICAN gress in 1921, supported by notables such as the
STUDIES author Jessie Redmon Fauset, in order to explicitly
link the problems and fortunes of African Ameri-
The dismissal of the importance of African studies cans to those of blacks in Africa and elsewhere.
preceded its acceptance as a scholarly discipline. Moreover, much of his work over a long and
While clearly diminished today, the white male illustrious career focused on Africa. Ultimately Du
Eurocentric focus has historically dominated uni- Bois renounced his American citizenship and ac-
versity curricula. Both grassroots and academic cepted Kwame Nkrumah’s invitation to settle
movements pointed to the need for recognition of in Ghana.
the African contribution to world and American
culture. The early to mid-1900s saw the emergence Within white-dominated institutions, the val-
of black intellectuals in Africa (e.g., Léopold Sédar ue of African studies had strange origins.
Senghor, Patrice Lumumba, Cheikh Anta Diop), Egyptologists and anthropologists gathered infor-
the Caribbean (Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Claude mation from Africa during colonial rule. In such
McKay), and America (W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston instances, sociology was both friend and foe. Early
Hughes, Anna Julia Cooper), who spoke of paral- sociologists promoted cross-cultural studies as well
lel movements based on the assumption that black as research into the social conditions under which
people in all parts of the world were a community blacks lived. However, many of these sociologists
with shared interests and identity (e.g., Negritude, embraced Social Darwinism and its belief in the
Pan-Africanism). The goals of these scholars em- inherent inferiority of blacks. Rarely did these
phasized the uplift of people of African ancestry early academics speak out or take active stances
worldwide through education, research, politics, against the oppression of Africa and African peo-
and cultural activities. These international move- ple by Europeans.
ments among black intellectuals were in direct
response to theories of black inferiority and the Some American colleges remained racially seg-
systematic oppression of Africans (both on the regated until the 1960s. The inclusion of African-
continent and abroad). Herbert Spencer, among American students, and later African-American
others, launched the ideology of Social Darwin- studies classes, came in response to student activ-
ism, which developed into a popular, pseudoscientific ism, which occurred against the backdrop of the
justification for racial hierarchies. Social Darwin- push for civil rights and amidst significant racial
ism assigned Africans, and thereby African Ameri- unrest. The black power movement of this time
cans, to the lowest rung in the evolutionary ladder. strongly influenced many African Americans to
reclaim their heritage in everyday life and to de-
mand that black history and culture be included in
school and university curricula. There was—and
66
AFRICAN STUDIES
continues to be—significant struggle around these Bates, Robert H., V. Y. Mudimbe, and Jean O’Barr, (eds.)
questions, since what is at risk here was (is) the 1993 Africa and the Disciplines: The Contributions of
control and validation of knowledge in the society. Research in Africa to the Social Sciences and Humanities.
The black studies movement paved the way for Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.
further interest in African studies. The publication
of Alex Haley’s Roots, a volume which traced his Césaire, Aimé 1972 Discourse on Colonialism New York:
family lineage back to Gambia, West Africa, fol- Macmillan Reference USA.
lowed by a popular television miniseries, was a
signal moment in the development of black Ameri- Chinweizu 1975 The West and the Rest of Us. New York:
cans’ interest in Africa. In addition, many African Vintage.
Americans celebrate Kwaanza, a holiday founded
upon principles of the African harvest, as another Diawara, Manthia 1998 In Search of Africa. Cambridge,
conscious link with their cultural roots. Ironically, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
the growing interest of black Americans in their
cultural roots in Africa helped to fuel a resurgence Diop, Cheikh Anta 1989 The Cultural Unity of Black
of ethnic pride and the search for roots among Africa: The Domains of Patriarchy and of Matriarchy in
other racial groups in this country. Interestingly, Classical Antiquity. London: Karnak House.
in contemporary universities, the field of African-
American studies tends to be dominated by Afri- Fanon, Frantz 1986 The Wretched of the Earth. New York:
can Americans, while African-studies programs Grove Press.
tend to be dominated by European Americans.
Franklin, John Hope, and Alfred A. Moss, Jr. 1994 From
CONCLUSION Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, 7th
ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
African studies is a woefully underdeveloped area
of institutionalized research in the field of sociolo- Fyfe, Christopher (ed.) 1976 African Studies Since 1945: A
gy. Researchers need to mount aggressive pro- Tribute to Basil Davidson. London: Longman.
grams determined to ‘‘ask new questions and to
question old answers.’’ For this research to be Gilroy, Paul 1993 The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Dou-
successful, it must be located in broader context, ble Consciousness. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univer-
recognizing the unique historical, economic, so- sity Press.
cial, cultural, political, and academic relationships
that determine reality for Africans on the conti- Gromyko, Anatoly, and C. S. Whitaker (eds.) 1990 Agen-
nent and throughout the diaspora. In each of these da for Action: African-Soviet-U.S. Cooperation. Boulder,
areas, relationships are generally structured Colo.: L. Rienner.
hierarchically, with African worldviews, values, in-
stitutional forms, methodologies, and concerns Haley, Alex 1976 Roots. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.
being considered subordinate to those of Europe-
ans or whites. Such distorted structural relations Hochschild, Adam 1998 King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of
lead inevitably to distortions in research and con- Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston,
clusions. The irony is that clear understanding of Mass.: Houghton-Mifflin.
African people and institutions will help pave the
way to better understanding Whites and European Jackson, Henry 1984 From the Congo to Soweto: U.S.
heritage, institutions, and experiences. Foreign Policy Toward Africa Since 1960. New York: Quill.
REFERENCES James, C. L. R. 1969 A History of Pan-African Revolt, 2nd
ed. Washington, D.C.: Drum and Spear Press.
Appiah, Anthony 1992 In My Father’s House: Africa in the
Philosophy of Culture. New York: Oxford Universi- Mazrui, Ali 1986 The Africans: A Triple Heritage. London:
ty Press. BBC Publications.
Asante, Molefi 1987 The Afrocentric Idea. Philadelphia: Mbiti, J. S. 1969 African Religions and Philosophy. Lon-
Temple University Press. don: Heinemann.
Mudimbe, V. Y. 1988 The Invention of Africa: Gnosis,
Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge. Bloomington,
Ind.: Indiana University Press.
Nkrumah, Kwame 1965 Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage
of Imperialism. New York: International.
Rodney, Walter 1974 How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.
Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press.
Soyinka, Wole 1976 Myth, Literature and the African
World. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sunshine, Catherine 1988 The Caribbean: Survival, Strug-
gle and Sovereignty. Boston: South End Press.
67
AGGRESSION
Thompson, Robert Farris 1984 Flash of the Spirit: African 1994; Berkowitz 1993; Geen 1990; Geen and
and Afro-American Art and Philosophy. New York: Ran- Donnerstein 1998; Tedeschi and Felson 1994).
dom House.
Basic Definitions. Aggression vs. Assertive-
Thompson, Vincent 1969 Africa and Unity: The Evolution ness vs. Violence. Human aggression is behavior
of Pan-Africanism. London: Longman. performed by one person (the aggressor) with the
intent of harming another person (the victim) who
Winston, James 1998 Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia: is believed by the aggressor to be motivated to
Carribean Radicalism in Early Twentieth-Century Ameri- avoid that harm. ‘‘Harm’’ includes physical harm
ca. London: Verso. (e.g., a punch to the face), psychological harm
(e.g., verbal insults), and indirect harm (e.g., de-
WALTER R. ALLEN stroying the victim’s property).
SHANI O’NEAL
Accidental harm is not ‘‘aggressive’’ because
AGGRESSION it is not intended. Harm that is an incidental
by-product of actions taken to achieve some
In its most extreme forms, aggression is human superordinate goal is also excluded from ‘‘aggres-
tragedy unsurpassed. Hopes that the horrors of sion’’ because the harm-doer’s primary intent in
World War II and the Holocaust would produce a such cases is to help the person achieve the
worldwide revulsion against the taking of another superordinate goal and because the harm-recipi-
human’s life, resulting in the end of genocidal ent doesn’t actively attempt to avoid the harm-
practices and a reduction in homicide rates, have doer’s action. For example, pain delivered during
been dashed by the realities of increasing homi- a dental procedure is not ‘‘aggression’’ by the
cide and genocide in the last half of the twentieth dentist against the patient.
century. The litany of genocidal events is both long
and depressing, including major massacres in In their scientific usages ‘‘aggressiveness’’ is
Uganda, Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, very different from ‘‘assertiveness’’ even though
Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Herzegovina, among the general public frequently uses these words
others. Homicide rates have risen in a number of interchangeably. When people say that someone is
industrialized countries since World War II, most an ‘‘aggressive’’ salesperson they typically mean
notably in the United States. that he or she is assertive—pushy or confident or
emphatic or persistent—but they do not truly
We have seen slight declines in the homicide mean ‘‘aggressive’’ unless, of course, they believe
rate in the United States during the 1990s. But that the salesperson intentionally tries to harm
despite six consecutive years of decreases, the customers. Similarly, coaches exhorting players to
1997 homicide rate was still 133 percent of the ‘‘be more aggressive’’ seldom mean that players
1965 rate, and 166 percent of the 1955 rate. For should try to harm their opponents; rather, coach-
these and related reasons, interest in understand- es want players to be more assertive—active and
ing the causes of aggression remains high, and confident.
there have been major advances in the social psy-
chology of aggression. Violence, on the other hand, is a subtype of
aggression. The term ‘‘violence’’ is generally used
WHAT IS AGGRESSION? to denote extreme forms of aggression such as
murder, rape, and assault. All violence is aggres-
Definitions have varied widely over time and across sion, but many instances of aggression are not
research domains. However, a consensus has violent. For example, one child pushing another
emerged among most social psychologists study- off a tricycle is considered aggressive but not
ing human aggression about what constitutes ‘‘ag- violent. For example, one child pushing another
gression’’ in general and what constitutes the ma- off a tricycle is considered aggressive but not
jor forms or ‘‘ideal types’’ of aggression. (See the violent.
following books for current definitions and per-
spectives on aggression: Baron and Richardson Affective vs. Instrumental Types of Aggression.
‘‘Affective’’ aggression has the primary motive of
harming the target, and is thought to be based on
68
AGGRESSION
anger. It is sometimes labeled hostile, impulsive, management (i.e., self-esteem), and social justice.
or reactive aggression, though these labels often Nonetheless, most aggression scholars still find
carry additional meaning. When aggression is mere- these distinctions helpful for theoretical, rhetori-
ly a tool to achieve another goal of the aggressor, it cal, and application-oriented reasons.
is labeled ‘‘instrumental’’ aggression. Most robber-
ies are primarily instrumental, whereas most mur- WHAT CAUSES AGGRESSION?
ders and assaults are affective. Similarly, Jack may
hit Jim merely to obtain a desirable toy, a case of The causes of aggression can be analyzed at two
instrumental aggression. Jim may get angry and different levels: the proximal causes (in the imme-
respond by hitting Jack in order to hurt him, a case diate situation) and the more distal causes that set
of affective aggression. the stage for the emergence and operation of
proximate causes.
Proactive vs. Reactive Types of Aggression.
‘‘Proactive’’ aggression occurs in the absence of Distal Causes: Biological Factors. Distal causes
provocation. It is usually instrumental, as when of aggression are those that make people ready
Jack hit Jim to get the toy. ‘‘Reactive’’ aggression is and capable of aggression. Some are structural,
a response to a prior provocation, such when Jim built into the human species. Others are develop-
retaliated. There is an asymmetrical relation be- mental, based on the particular environmental
tween proactive and reactive aggression. Children history of the individual, and result in individual
who are high on proactive aggression usually are differences in preparedness to aggress.
high on reactive aggression as well, but many
children who are high on reactive aggression en- Genetics. In the broadest sense aggression is a
gage in little proactive aggression. species characteristic. That is, the human species
has physical, cognitive, and emotional systems
Thoughtful vs. Thoughtless Aggression. A more capable of intentionally inflicting harm on other
recent distinction among types of aggression con- humans. The genetic basis of aggression is easier
cerns whether the aggressive act resulted from to identify in nonhuman species, in which fighting
thoughtful or thoughtless (impulsive) psychologi- behaviors can be produced by stimulating certain
cal processes. In past work, instrumental aggres- regions of the limbic system. Similar physiological
sion has usually been seen as thoughtful, involving systems exist in humans, but human behavior is
the careful weighing of potential costs and bene- much more complexly determined.
fits. But more recent work reveals that frequent
use of aggression to obtain valued goals can be- In the more usual sense genetic influences
come so automatized that it also becomes thought- refer to individual differences in aggressiveness
less. Affective aggression has usually been seen as that are linked to genetic differences within the
thoughtless, but people sometimes consider vari- species. Human twin studies have yielded mixed
ous possible courses of action and decide that an results in estimates of the genetic contribution to
angry outburst is the best way to achieve those human aggression. Miles and Carey (1997) did a
goals. This distinction between thoughtful and meta-analysis (i.e., statistical review) on twenty-
thoughtless aggression has important implications four ‘‘genetically informative’’ studies. Two im-
for the development of and intervention in aggression. portant conclusions were: (1) up to 50 percent of
variation in self- or parent-reported aggression was
Distinguishing among types of aggression is attributable to genetic effects; and (2) when ag-
difficult because underlying motives and psycho- gressiveness was measured by careful observation
logical processes must be inferred. Is Jim’s angry of laboratory behaviors, the genetic effect disap-
attack on Jack purely anger-based, solely intended peared and a strong family-environment effect
to harm Jack, or is there also some instrumental emerged. These contradictory findings highlight
component? There is a growing realization that the complexity of human aggression as well as the
these ideal types of aggression rarely exist in pure need for additional studies.
form in the real world of human interaction. In-
deed, a few scholars have argued that all aggres- Mechanisms. Several biological mechanisms ap-
sion is instrumental, serving goals such as social pear plausible as potential causes of individual
control, public-image management, private-image differences in aggressiveness. Hormones (e.g.,
69
AGGRESSION
testosterone), neurochemicals (e.g., serotonin), at- by the child; and the use of physical punishment
tention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and general and other power-assertive disciplinary techniques.
levels of arousal have all been linked to aggression.
For example, Eysenck and Gudjonsson (1989) pro- Cognitive psychology has also been crucial in
posed that individuals whose nervous system is the present understanding of the aggressive per-
relatively insensitive to low levels of environmen- sonality, as can be seen in books by Berkowitz
tal stimulation seek out high-risk activities, includ- (1993) and Geen (1990), and in Huesmann’s (1998)
ing criminal ones, to increase their arousal. information-processing theory of aggressive per-
sonality development. In brief, humans begin learn-
But many biological effects on aggression are ing from infancy how to perceive, interpret, judge,
neither as strong nor as consistent as the general and respond to events in the physical and social
public believes. For example, testosterone is fre- environment. We learn perceptual schemata that
quently cited as the explanation for male/female help us decide what to look for and what we ‘‘see.’’
differences in violence rates, but the human litera- We learn rules for how the social world works. We
ture on testosterone effects is far from clear. learn behavioral scripts and use them to interpret
Testosterone levels in humans seems more closely events and actions of others and to guide our own
linked to social dominance, which in turn may well behavioral responses to those events. These vari-
influence aggression under some limited circum- ous knowledge structures develop over time. They
stances (Campbell, Muncer, and Odber 1997; are based on the day-to-day observations of and
Geary 1998). interactions with other people: real (as in the
family) and imagined (as in the mass media). For
Other psychological variables with links to example, the long-term exposure to media vio-
aggression also appear to have some genetic basis. lence can increase later aggressive behavior by
Empathy, behavioral inhibition, negative affectivity, influencing a variety of aggression-related knowl-
extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism all edge structures. Such long-term media violence
have yielded evidence of some genetic heritability, effects have been shown to be substantial in size
and have obvious links to aggression. General and long lasting in duration (Huesmann and Mill-
intelligence may also link biological variation to er 1994).
aggressiveness; low intelligence increases the oc-
currence of frustrating failures and aversive condi- As knowledge structures develop, they be-
tions, which might increase the likelihood of a come more complex, interconnected, and difficult
person developing an aggressive personality. to change. Developing knowledge structures are
like slowly hardening clay. Environmental experi-
Distal Causes: Environmental and Psycho- ences shape the clay. Changes are relatively easy to
logical Factors. Numerous social, environmental, make at first, when the clay is soft, but later on
and psychological factors contribute to the devel- changes become increasingly difficult. Longitudi-
opment of habitual aggressiveness. Learning stands nal studies suggest that aggression-related knowl-
out as the most important factor of all. edge structures begin to harden around age eight
or nine, and become more perseverant with in-
Learning. Bandura’s social-learning theory of creasing age.
aggression (1973) has been most influential. One
key idea in this and all modern learning approach- People learn specific aggressive behaviors, the
es is that much of human development is based on likely outcome of such behaviors, and how and
learning by observing how other people behave. when to apply these behaviors. They learn hostile
Patterson, DeBaryshe, and Ramsey (1989) pre- perception, attribution, and expectation biases,
sented a detailed look at the maladaptive social- callous attitudes, and how to disengage or ignore
learning processes found in families of aggressive normal empathic reactions that might serve as
children. Among the key problems are parental aggression inhibitors.
use of poor disciplinary measures and inadequate
monitoring of their children’s activities. Similarly, The pervasiveness, interconnectedness, and
Olweus (1995) has identified a number of child- accessibility of any learned knowledge structure
rearing factors that are conducive to creating bul- is largely determined by the frequency with which
lies: caretakers with indifferent attitudes toward it is encountered, imagined, and used. With great
the child; permissiveness for aggressive behavior
70
AGGRESSION
frequency even complex perception-judgment-be- of good role models. Bad parenting includes sever-
havior knowledge structures can become al particularly common and damaging factors such
automatized—so overlearned that they are applied as lack of parental attention, inconsistent disci-
automatically with little effort or awareness. Fre- pline, harsh and abusive discipline, and inatten-
quent exposure to aggressive models is particular- tion to nonaggressive efforts at problem solving by
ly effective in creating habitually aggressive peo- the child. Privation, victimization, and violence in
ple, whether those models are in the home, a social milieu of long-standing ethnic/religious
neighborhood, or mass media. Once the use of conflicts provide a powerful learning environment
any particular knowledge structure has become that is mightily resistant to change.
automatized, it becomes very difficult for the per-
son to avoid using it because the perceptions and Short-term impoverishment, such as that brought
behavioral impulses it produces seem to be based on by a general decline in economic activity (e.g., a
on ‘‘how the world really is.’’ recession or depression), has been proposed as a
causal factor in aggression directed against ethnic
Social Processes. Several common social proc- minorities. The dominant model is that the frus-
esses contribute to disproportionate exposure to tration engendered by such economic downturns
and learning of aggression-related knowledge struc- leads to increased aggression against relatively
tures. Low intellect (social or academic) creates powerless target groups. However, research casts
excessive failures and frustration in a variety of considerable doubt on this hypothesis. For exam-
developmental contexts. Low social intelligence, ple, Green, Glaser, and Rich (1998) reanalyzed
for example, leads to problems in interpersonal data on lynchings and data on ‘‘gay-bashing,’’ and
interactions, whereas low academic intelligence showed no evidence of short-term fluctuations in
creates problems in school settings. Problems in economic conditions and violence directed at
either context typically lead to higher-than-normal minorities.
levels of aggression, which lead to further frustrat-
ing encounters with parents, teachers, and peers. Child abuse and neglect. Child abuse and neg-
The resulting social ostracism often forces child- lect itself are self-perpetuating problems. Abused
ren to spend more time with other social misfits or neglected children are particularly likely to
who also have highly aggressive behavior patterns. become abusing and neglecting parents and vio-
This ‘‘gang’’ can impede further intellectual devel- lent criminal offenders. Children learn maladap-
opment and reward additional antisocial tendencies. tive beliefs, attitudes, and values from their abu-
sive or neglectful parents (Azar and Rohrbeck
Environments. Many social environments fos- 1986; Peterson, Gable, Doyle, and Ewugman 1997).
ter the development of an aggressive personality.
Such factors include poverty; living in violent neigh- Proximate Causes: Individual Differences.
borhoods; deviant peers; lack of safe, supervised The distal causes described in earlier sections set
child recreational areas; exposure to media vio- the stage for human aggression of various types.
lence; bad parenting; and lack of social support. Proximate causes are those that are present in the
Growing up in a culture of fear and hate, as in current situation. One type of proximate cause
many ethnic-minority communities around the consists of individual differences between people
world, may well be the most extreme version of an that have been created by their biological and
aggressive-personality–fostering environment, and social pasts. People differ widely in readiness for
may well account for the generation after genera- aggressing. These differences show considerable
tion of ethnic and religious hatreds and genocidal consistency across time and situations (Huesmann
tendencies that occasionally erupt into genocidal and Moise 1998).
wars (Keltner and Robinson 1996; Staub 1989,
1998). The perceptual knowledge structures mod- Hostility Biases. Hostility biases have been iden-
eled and explicitly taught in these contexts guaran- tified in aggressive adults and children, some as
tee continued mistrust, misunderstanding, and young as six years. The hostile perception bias is the
hatred of key outgroups. tendency of aggression-prone people to perceive
social behaviors as more aggressive than do nor-
Even in its simplest form, poverty is associated mal people, whereas the hostile expectation bias is
with more frustrations, bad role models, and lack the tendency of aggression-prone people to expect
71
AGGRESSION
and predict others to behave relatively more ag- almost 10:1. Laboratory studies show the same
gressively (Dill, Anderson, Anderson, and Deuser type of sex effect, but provocation has a greater
1997). The more widely studied hostile attribution effect on aggression than does sex. Bettencourt
bias is the tendency of aggression-prone people to and Miller (1996) used meta-analytic procedures
attribute hostile intent to others’ accidentally harm- and found that sex differences in aggression prac-
ful behaviors. For example, Dodge (1980) had tically disappear under high provocation.
aggressive and nonaggressive children listen to a
story about a boy who hurt another boy by hitting Men and women also appear to differ in what
him with a ball. When asked, aggressive children provokes them. Bettencourt and Miller showed
attributed more hostile intent to the boy who that males are particularly sensitive to negative
threw the ball than did nonaggressive children. intelligence provocations whereas females are par-
ticularly sensitive to insults by a peer and to physi-
Attitudes and Beliefs. Aggression-prone people cal attacks. Geary, Rumsey, Bow-Thomas, and
hold favorable attitudes toward aggression, believ- Hoard (1995) showed that males are more upset
ing that aggressive solutions to problems are effec- by sexual infidelity of their mates than by emotion-
tive and appropriate. Aggressive thoughts and al infidelity, whereas the opposite pattern occurs
aggressive solutions come to mind quickly and for females. Buss and Shackelford (1997) showed
easily. However, creating nonaggressive alterna- similar sex differences in the effects of infidelity
tives is particularly difficult for the aggressive person. on mate-retention tactics, including use of violence.
For example, Malamuth, Linz, Heavey, Barnes, Biology. Other biological differences that peo-
and Acker (1995) found that sexually aggressive ple bring with them to the current situation may
males hold relatively positive attitudes toward the also contribute to aggression, but as noted earlier
use of aggression against women, believe in nu- many biological effects on aggression are neither
merous rape myths, engage in more impersonal as strong nor as consistent as the general public
sex, and are likely to aggress against women in believes. For example, testosterone is frequently
nonsexual contexts as well. Research (Anderson cited as the explanation for male/female differ-
and Anderson 1999) reveals that sexually aggres- ences in violence rates, but the human literature
sive men are specifically aggressive only against on testosterone effects is mixed.
women, in both sexual and nonsexual contexts,
but are not unusually aggressive against other men. Proximate Causes: Situational Factors. The
second type of proximate causes of aggression
Narcissism and Self-Esteem. The predominant consists of the situational factors currently pres-
view of the link between self-esteem and violence ent. Some of these factors are so powerful that
has been that low self-esteem contributes to high even normally nonaggressive individuals can be
violence. However, research from several perspec- made to behave aggressively.
tives has demonstrated a very different pattern.
Certain individuals with high self-esteem are most Provocation. Most aggressive incidents can be
prone to anger and are most aggressive when their directly linked to some type of perceived provoca-
high self-image is threatened. Specifically, it is high tion. Some are direct and obvious, such as verbal
self-esteem people who react most violently to insults and physical assaults. Some are less direct,
threats to their self-esteem—if their high self-es- as when an expected pay raise fails to materialize.
teem is inflated (undeserved), unstable, or tenta- Most murders and assaults in normal (i.e., nonwar)
tive. In other words, narcissists are the danger- contexts are the result of provocations of one kind
ous people, not those with low self-esteem or or another, usually in a series of escalatory
those who are confident in their high self-image provocations, threats, and counterthreats. Federal
(Baumeister, Smart, and Boden 1996; Bushman Bureau of Investigation data reveal that most mur-
and Baumeister 1998; Kernis, Grannemann, and ders in the United States occur during arguments
Barclay 1989). among family, friends, or acquaintances. The tend-
ency for stranger-based homicides to be relatively
Sex. Males and females differ in aggressive rare is even more pronounced in other industrial-
tendencies, especially in the most violent behav- ized cultures than in the United States. Frequently,
iors of homicide and aggravated assault. The ratio the provocations involve sexual or emotional infi-
of male to female murderers in the United States is delity, or perceived insults to one’s honor.
72
AGGRESSION
Frustration. Frustration is both an event and an murders purely for money. The Iraqi assault and
emotional reaction. It occurs when something takeover of Kuwait, as well as NATO’s subsequent
blocks the attainment or threatens the continued attack on Iraq are clear examples of incentive-
possession of a valued goal objective. For example, based institutional aggression (though other fac-
a supervisor’s bad report may prevent a promo- tors also clearly played a role). Contract murders
tion, a spouse’s infidelity may threaten the contin- account for only a small percentage of homicide
ued existence of a marriage, or a flood may destroy totals, but they nicely illustrate the concept of
one’s home. If the frustrating agent is another relatively anger-free instrumental aggression.
person, then the frustrating event is also a provocation.
Aversive Stimulation and Stress. Almost any form
The original form of the frustration-aggres- of aversive stimulation can increase the likelihood
sion hypothesis by Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer, of aggression—noise, pain, crowding, cigarette
and Sears (1939) stated that: (1) all acts of aggres- smoke, heat, daily hassles, and interpersonal prob-
sion are the result of previous frustration; (2) all lems illustrate a few such aversive factors. When
frustration leads to aggression. But some frustra- the cause of an aversive stimulus is an identifiable
tions do not yield aggression, and some aggression person, such as a smoker, these factors are also
is not the result of a prior frustration. Indeed, provocations. As such, they can increase aggres-
many contemporary scholars believe that if a frus- sion directed at the person identified as the
trating event is fully justified, the frustrated person provocateur, as well as against other ‘‘displaced’’
would show no residual inclination to aggress. targets.
However, Berkowitz (1989) claimed that even fully
justified frustration can produce aggressive tend- In cases where there is no identifiable human
encies. This prediction was recently confirmed by agent causing the aversive stimulation the effects
Dill and Anderson (1995). on aggression are often less noticeable, but much
research demonstrates their reality. The most stud-
In a similar vein, Miller and Marcus-Newhall ied of these effects, with relevant data gathered for
(1997) have shown that provocations can lead to over one hundred years, is the heat effect. Ander-
increased aggressive tendencies against individu- son and Anderson (1998) showed that a wide array
als who were not part of the frustrating event at all, of studies across time, culture, and method con-
a phenomenon typically labeled displaced aggres- verge on the conclusion that hot temperatures
sion. Miller and Marcus-Newhall also suggest that increase aggressive tendencies. People who live in
such displaced aggression is increased if the dis- hotter cities have higher violent crime rates than
placement target provides a minor ‘‘triggering’’ those in cooler cities. This effect persists even
provocation, and if the displacement target is a when controlling for poverty, education, and cul-
member of a disliked outgroup. ture. Violent crime rates are higher during hotter
years, seasons, months, and days. When people
Incentives. Incentives are the rewards or bene- are hot, they think more aggressive thoughts, feel
fits a person expects for having performed a par- more hostile, and behave more aggressively.
ticular action. Many situations in politics, the busi-
ness world, and sports encourage aggression by Alcohol and Drugs. Bushman (1993) reviewed
their incentives. People often expect their chances studies on alcohol and drug effects on aggression,
of winning an election, getting a contract, or de- and found that central nervous system depressants
feating an opponent to be enhanced by harming increase aggression. Neither actual alcohol con-
their competitor. Research on television violence sumption nor the mere belief that one has con-
has shown that seeing a character rewarded (or not sumed alcohol were individually sufficient to pro-
punished) for aggressing increases subsequent ag- duce reliable increases in aggression, but when
gression by the viewer more so than does unrewarded research participants believed they had consumed
(or punished) television violence, presumedly by alcohol and had actually consumed alcohol, ag-
increasing the perceived incentive value of aggres- gression increased. The exact mechanisms under-
sive behavior. lying these drug effects are not yet fully under-
stood. Steele and Josephs (1990) proposed an
The prototypical incentive-based example of ‘‘alcohol myopia’’ explanation, in which alcohol
individual aggression is the contract killer, who
73
AGGRESSION
impairs key perceptual processes necessary to nor- garnered increased attention; the aggression inhi-
mal inhibitions against extreme and risky behav- bitions that normally operate in most people. Sev-
ior. Bushman’s review (1997) confirmed this view. eral different research groups have independently
identified and discussed how these inhibitions are
Aggression Cues. Objects or events associated sometimes overridden (Bandura, Barbaranelli,
with aggression in semantic memory can cue or Caprara, and Pastorelli 1996; Keltner and Robin-
‘‘prime’’ aggression-related thoughts, affects, and son 1996; Staub 1989, 1998). Most people do not
behavior programs also stored in memory. For commit extreme acts of violence even if they could
instance, seeing a gun can prime aggressive thoughts do so with little chance of discovery or punish-
(Anderson, Benjamin, and Bartholow 1998) and ment. Such self-regulation is due, in large part, to
increase aggressive behavior. This phenomenon, the fact that people cannot easily escape the conse-
labeled the ‘‘weapons effect’’ by Berkowitz and quences that they apply to themselves. Self-image,
LePage (1967), has been found in field and labora- self-standards, and sense of self-worth—in other
tory studies, in several different countries, with words moral standards—are used in normal self-
pictures of weapons and with real weapons. regulation of behavior.
As mentioned earlier, one prevalent source of However, people with apparently normal moral
aggressive cues in modern society is the mass standards sometimes behave reprehensibly toward
media. Television shows, movies, and video games others, including committing such actions as mur-
are filled with violence. Over 1,000 empirical com- der, torture, even genocide. Two particularly im-
parisons, compiled by Paik and Comstock (1994) portant mechanisms that allow people to disen-
have conclusively demonstrated that even short- gage their normal moral standards involve moral
term exposure to media violence increases aggres- justification and dehumanizing the victim. Com-
sion. The immediate impact of viewing violent mon justifications for extreme and mass violence
media is more pronounced for people with strong include ‘‘it is for the person’s own good,’’ or the
aggressive tendencies (Bushman 1995). Unfortu- good of the society, or that personal honor de-
nately, aggressive people also are the most likely to mands the violent action. These justifications can
seek out violent media. be applied at multiple levels, from a parent’s abuse
of a child to genocidal war. Dehumanizing the
Many people in modern society believe that victim operates by making sure that one’s moral
viewing aggression (e.g., on television) or behav- standards are simply not applicable. War propa-
ing in a mildly aggressive way within protected ganda obviously fits this mechanism, but people
environments (e.g., playing football) will reduce also use this mechanism at an individual level.
later aggressive behavior. This catharsis hypothe- Potential victims are placed in the ultimate out-
sis, though, has been thoroughly debunked (Bush- group—one that has no human qualities.
man, Baumeister, and Stack in press; Geen and
Quanty 1977). The Escalation Cycle. Many proximate causal
factors seem too trivial or weak to contribute to
Opportunity. Some situations restrict opportu- serious aggression. How can seeing a weapon,
nities to aggress; others provide ‘‘good’’ opportu- being uncomfortably hot, or watching a violent
nities. Church service situations have many im- movie increase murder rates? The answer lies in
pediments to aggression—there are witnesses, the escalation cycle. As noted earlier, assaults and
strong social norms against aggression, and specif- homicides do not typically result from one brief
ic nonaggressive behavioral roles for everyone in encounter or provocation. The parties involved
attendance. Country and Western bars on Satur- usually know each other and have had a series of
day nights present better opportunities for aggres- unpleasant exchanges. The final encounter may
sion, because many aggression facilitators are pres- well begin as a relatively minor dispute, but one
ent: alcohol, aggression cues, aggression-prone person escalates the level of aggression. The other
individuals, males competing for the attention of person responds in kind and subsequently increas-
females, and relative anonymity. es the aggressiveness of the next response. A shout-
ing match can quickly become a shoving match,
Removal of Self-Regulatory Inhibitions. One which can lead to fists, guns, and death. Seemingly
often-neglected facet of human aggression has trivial factors increase the likelihood of violence by
74
AGGRESSION
increasing the accessibility of aggressive thoughts, dealing with the aggressive personality, the gener-
affect, and behavioral acts at each turn of the al principles apply to dealing with the genocidal
escalation cycle. personality.
INTERVENTION: PREVENTION AND Furthermore, treating people who have al-
TREATMENT ready developed a strong and stable aggressive
personality is much more difficult than preventing
The knowledge structure approach explains the the development of such a personality. People
difficulty of rehabilitating adults who repeatedly with aggressive personalities must learn new
commit violent crimes, or of changing the genocidal nonhostile knowledge structures ranging from per-
climate of groups that have long histories of hate ceptual schemata through attributional ones to
and violence. At the individual level, a lifetime behavioral scripts. The knowledge structure ap-
of developing aggressive behavior scripts and proach outlined earlier explains why it is easiest to
automatized hostile perception, expectation, and intervene successfully in younger children whose
attribution biases cannot be unlearned easily. How- personalities are still malleable, harder to succeed
ever, this approach also reveals that preventing the with violent juvenile offenders and young abusive
development of an aggressive or genocidal per- parents, and hardest of all to succeed with habitu-
sonality is a more reasonable goal if appropriate ally violent adult criminals.
steps are taken prior to full maturation.
Child Abuse: Treatment and Prevention. Early
Preventing and Treating Aggressive Person- intervention attempts relied primarily on inten-
ality. There are three main loci for preventing a sive dynamic psychotherapy with the abuser, but
child from developing into an aggressive adult. this approach has repeatedly failed. Cognitive be-
First, one can reduce exposure to events that teach havioral interventions have had much greater suc-
aggressive behaviors or scripts. This would include cess, largely because they deal directly with the
direct modeling (e.g., by abusive or violent par- knowledge structure issues that are so important
ents) as well as indirect modeling (e.g., exposure to in this domain (Wolf 1994). This approach suc-
media violence). Second, one can reduce exposure ceeds by teaching abusive caregivers to use
to events that teach that aggression is rewarding. nonaggressive child compliance techniques, per-
For example, most media violence is highly re- sonal anger control, and developmentally appro-
warding for the perpetrator, especially when it is priate beliefs about childhood abilities.
the protagonist who is committing the violence.
Similarly, adult violence against children (e.g., by Reducing Exposure to Aggressive Social Models.
parents or school officials) appears highly reward- Reducing children’s exposure to aggressive social
ing to the child because the adult ‘‘wins’’ the models would reduce the percentage who grow up
encounter and there are no obvious costs to the believing in and using aggressive tactics. One way
adult for harming the child. Third, one can reduce of doing this is to reduce exposure to violent
exposure to events that teach hostile perception, media, especially television and video games. The
expectation, and attribution biases. Once again, research literature on television violence has con-
the entertainment media is one source of violence clusively demonstrated that early and repeated
exposure that increases the perception that the exposure to violent television causes children to
world is a dangerous place. A heavy dose of media develop into aggressive adults. For example, kids
violence (e.g., television, movies, video games, who watch a lot of violent television at age eight
music) can increase all three hostility biases. Wit- are more likely to have criminal records at age
nessing high levels of violence in one’s neighbor- thirty, even after statistically controlling for a va-
hood also increases these biases. riety of other relevant social variables. Research
has suggested that exposure to violent video games
At all three loci, reducing exposure to aggres- has a similar effect.
sion-enhancing factors would seem much easier to
do in the context of a normal and relatively non- Reducing other types of exposure to violent
violent culture than in the context of a genocidal social models would also help. Reducing parental
culture. Though the following statements focus on violence towards children, reducing the frequency
75
AGGRESSION
and visibility of violence in children’s neighbor- MAKING MODERN SOCIETIES LESS
hoods, reducing violence in schools—including VIOLENT
violence by school authorities in attempts to con-
trol children—would all have a positive impact on Several controversial suggestions for social change
the overall level of aggressiveness in society. emerge from the past forty years of research on
human aggression. These suggestions, designed to
Treating Violent Juvenile Offenders. Many treat- decrease aggression and violence levels generally
ments have been tried with violent juvenile offend- rather than to treat already-violent individuals, are
ers, including such things as ‘‘boot camps,’’ indi- controversial for political rather than scientific
vidual therapy, ‘‘scared straight’’ programs, and reasons. Research results clearly support each of them.
group therapy; there is little evidence of sustained
success for any of these approaches. One problem 1. Reduce exposure to media violence and
is that these standard approaches do not address other aggressive role models, especially for
the wide range of factors that contribute to the children and adolescents.
development and maintenance of violent behav-
ior. However, there is evidence that treatment can 2. Replace the use of corporal punish-
have a significant beneficial impact on violent ment with more positive child-control
juvenile offenders (e.g., Simon 1998). Tate, Reppucci, techniques.
and Mulvey (1995) drew attention to one approach
with impressive results—the Multisystemic Thera- 3. Reduce social rewards for aggressive activi-
py developed by Henggeler and Borduin (e.g., ties, including those previously thought to
Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, Rowland, and be cathartic.
Cunningham 1998). Multisystemic Therapy is a
family-based approach that first identifies the ma- 4. Increase social rewards and social support
jor factors contributing to the delinquent and for nonaggressive prosocial activities (e.g.,
violent behaviors of the particular individual un- learning in school) while making success at
dergoing treatment. Biological, school, work, peers, such activities possible (e.g., reducing
family, and neighborhood factors are examined. class sizes).
Intervention is then tailored to fit the individual
constellation of contributing factors. Opportuni- 5. Increase the quality of prenatal and
ties to observe and commit further violent and postnatal care, to decrease the proportion
criminal offenses are severely restricted, whereas of the population suffering from develop-
prosocial behavior opportunities (including study- mental difficulties that interfere with nor-
ing school subjects, developing hobbies) are great- mal learning and socialization processes
ly enhanced, and are rewarded. Both the long- (Anderson in press).
term success rate and the cost/benefit ratio of this
approach have greatly exceeded other attempts at 6. Increase the quality of parenting, by
treating this population. providing instruction, social support, and
economic support.
Adults. Attempts at treatment or ‘‘rehabilita-
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mental Architecture of Human Aggression.’’ Journal Psychological Association.
of Personality and Social Psychology 72:207–217.
Wolfe, D. A. 1994 ‘‘The Role of Intervention and Treat-
Miller, N., and A. Marcus-Newhall 1997 ‘‘A Conceptual ment Services in the Prevention of Child Abuse and
Analysis of Displaced Aggression.’’ In R. Ben-Ari and Neglect.’’ In G. B. Melton and F. D. Barry, eds.,
Y. Rich, eds., Enhancing Education in Heterogeneous Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect: Foundations
Schools: Theory and Application. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan for a New National Strategy. New York: Guilford Press.
University Press.
CRAIG A. ANDERSON
Olweus, D. 1995 ‘‘Bullying or Peer Abuse at School:
Facts and Intervention.’’ Current Directions in Psycho- AGING
logical Science 4:196–200.
See Aging and the Life Course; Cohort Perspec-
Paik, H., and G. Comstock 1994 ‘‘The Effects of Televi- tives; Filial Responsibility; Intergenerational Re-
sion Violence on Antisocial Behavior: A Meta-Analy- lations; Intergenerational Resource Transfer,
sis.’’ Communication Research 21:516–546. Long Term Care, Long Term Care Facilities;
Retirement; Widowhood.
Patterson, G. R., B. D. DeBaryshe, and E. Ramsey 1989
‘‘A Developmental Perspective on Antisocial Behav- AGING AND THE LIFE
ior.’’ American Psychologist 44:329–335. COURSE
Peterson, L., S. Gable, C. Doyle, and B. Ewugman 1997 Social gerontology, or the sociology of aging, has
‘‘Beyond Parenting Skills: Battling Barriers and Build- two primary foci: (a) social factors during late life,
ing Bonds to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect.’’ and (b) social antecedents and consequences of
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 4:53–74. aging. Thus, social gerontology includes examina-
tion of both the status of being old and the process
Rice, M. E. 1997 ‘‘Violent Offender Research and Impli-
cations for the Criminal Justice System.’’ American
Psychologist 52:414–423.
Rubin, J. Z., D. G. Pruitt, and S. H. Kim 1994 Social
Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement, 2nd ed.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
78
AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE
of becoming old. Increasingly, theories and meth- empirical data failed to confirm a uniformly bleak
ods of the life course are replacing the earlier picture of old age. For example, in spite of higher
emphasis on late life as a separate topic of inquiry. rates of illness and disability, the vast majority of
This is a vast arena, and the sociology of aging is older adults are competent and able to live inde-
appropriately informed by the theories and meth- pendent lives (Kunkel and Applebaum 1992). Simi-
ods of many sociological subspecialities ranging larly, rather than representing involuntary loss of a
from macrohistorical and demographic perspec- treasured role, retirement is actively sought by the
tives to the microorientations of social psychology majority of older workers and seldom poses adap-
and interpretive sociology. tive problems (e.g., Hardy and Quadagno 1995).
In addition, some of the problems observed in
HISTORY OF THE FIELD early studies of older adults have been remedied
by the increased resources that recent cohorts
Historically, social gerontology emerged from a have brought to late life, as well as to effective
social-problems orientation and focused on the public policies. Thus, although health care costs
deprivations and losses that were expected to char- remain a burden for many older adults, Medicare
acterize late life (e.g., Burgess 1960; Cain 1959). and Medicaid substantially reduced barriers to
Early research in the field focused on issues such health care among older people. Similarly, as a
as poverty during late life; old age as a marginal result of improvements in Social Security benefits
status, reflecting problems of social integration; and increased participation in private pensions,
the negative effects of institutionalization and poor older Americans now are no more likely to live in
quality of long-term care; and ageism and age poverty than younger adults and, indeed, are less
discrimination. Early on, however, some investiga- likely to live in poverty than children (U.S. Bureau
tors saw the dangers of allowing a crisis orienta- of the Census 1997). Such findings pushed social
tion to dominate the study of aging and focused gerontology toward more complex and empirical-
attention on patterns of ‘‘normal’’ and ‘‘success- ly defensible perspectives on old age and aging.
ful’’ aging (Havighurst 1963; Palmore 1970). A
significant proportion of research also focuses on Second, sociologists came to recognize that
the problems of late life. Investigators remain age plays a fundamental role in social structure
concerned about social integration and adapta- and social organization. As a parameter of social
tion to loss. The majority of funding for aging organization, age affects the allocation of social
research is provided by the National Institute on resources and social roles. Along with sex and
Aging, which is mandated to support health-relat- race, age is an ascribed status. But age is unique
ed research. Consequently, much aging research among ascribed statuses in that it changes over
focuses on illness and the health care delivery time, and movement across age categories results
system. The dramatic aging of the population in changing expectations for behavior, changing
(U.S. Bureau of the Census 1987)—a trend that access to social resources, and changing personal
will peak with the aging of the Baby Boom co- and social responsibilities. The structural quality
horts—leads to questions about the capacities of of age is best articulated in age stratification theory
social institutions and public policies to meet the (Riley 1987). Age stratification refers to the divi-
needs of an unprecedented number and propor- sion of society into meaningful age groups that
tion of older adults. Scholars using political econo- differ in social value and the allocation of social
my theories focus on the ways in which societies resources. The concept of age stratification has
respond to the dependency needs of older adults proven to be useful in a variety of ways. At the
and the social implications of those responses. broadest level, it reminds us that age is a funda-
mental parameter of social organization. Age stratifi-
Although much research remains focused on cation has been particularly useful in highlighting
the problems of late life, sociologists now recog- age-related roles and norms. It has a social-psycho-
nize the broader importance and implications of logical facet as well: age consciousness or aware-
old age and aging. Two primary factors appear to ness and identification with members of one’s age
have been the driving forces that account for this group (Day 1990). Moreover, the structural and
broader and more complex view. First, despite the individual facets of age stratification operate in
social-problems orientation of most early research, both directions. On the one hand, the structural
79
AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE
component of age stratification allocates roles and had different life experiences than cohorts who
resources and assigns differential social value to were not exposed to those historical events. And,
age strata. Thus, ageism is largely an effect of age as a further complication, the effects of historical
stratification. On the other hand, by promoting events vary depending on the ages of those who
age consciousness, age stratification sets the stage experience them. The second type of cohort effect
for age-based public policies and collective efforts reflects compositional characteristics. For exam-
by older adults to protect or increase their share of ple, large cohorts (such as the Baby Boomers) may
societal resources (e.g., voting and lobbying ef- face greater competition for social resources than
forts based on the self-interests of the elderly). smaller cohorts (e.g., those born during the Great
Depression, when fertility rates were low). Both
In the 1990s, the sociology of aging focused on types of cohort effects can have persistent effects
change and stability across the life course. Life- on the life course, and, hence, late life. Period effects
course perspectives have enriched aging research (also called time of measurement effects) result from
in several ways (e.g., Elder 1995; George 1993). events or situations that happen at a specific time,
First, a life-course approach is attractive because it and tend to affect individuals regardless of age or
recognizes that the past is prologue to the future. cohort. For example, faith in government decreased
That is, status and personal well-being in late life in all Americans (regardless of age or cohort) at
depend in large part on events and achievements the time of the Watergate scandal.
experienced earlier in the life course. Second, life-
course perspectives emphasize relationships across Age, cohort, and period effects are intertwined.
life domains, recognizing that, for example, family If one knows when an individual was born and also
events affect and are affected by work and health. knows the time of measurement, simple subtrac-
Traditionally, sociological research has focused on tion provides accurate information about the indi-
specific life domains (e.g., the sociology of work, vidual’s age. Similarly, if one knows an individual’s
the sociology of the family); life-course perspec- age and time of measurement, one can easily
tives, in contrast, are person-centered rather than calculate date of birth or birth cohort. Statistically,
domain-centered. Third, life-course perspectives there are no easy methods for disentangling age,
focus on the intersection of history and personal period, and cohort. In general, however, the most
biography. Although the macro-micro schism re- compelling research results are those that are
mains difficult to bridge, life-course research has based on examination of multiple cohorts at multi-
documented some of the complex ways that his- ple times of measurement. If the same age pat-
torical conditions affect personal lives both terns are observed across different cohorts meas-
contemporaneously and over subsequent decades. ured at different times, those patterns are likely to
reflect age effects. If patterns are not similar across
THE AGE-PERIOD-COHORT PROBLEM cohorts and times of measurement, however, they
are likely to reflect cohort or period effects.
Isolating the effects of age and characterizing the
aging process are difficult tasks. Because many The issue of age-period-cohort effects has lost
factors affect social structure and individual be- some of its appeal; critics point out that simply
havior, it is always difficult to isolate the effects of a knowing, for example, that there is a cohort effect
specific factor. But this task is especially difficult leaves unanswered what it is about those cohorts
with regard to age, because it is inherently con- that generated the observed differences. This is an
founded with the effects of two other factors: appropriate criticism; nonetheless, it is immensely
cohort and period. Age, of course, refers to time helpful in searching for causal explanations to
since birth, and age effects refers to patterns result- know whether the underlying mechanism is con-
ing from the passage of time or sheer length of life. sistent across time and place (an aging effect), had
Cohort refers to the group of persons born at strong contemporaneous effects on persons of all
approximately the same time (e.g., the 1920 co- ages (a period effect), or affected only specific
hort, the 1940–1944 cohort). There are two prima- cohorts (a cohort effect). Age, cohort, and period
ry kinds of cohort effects. One type results from effects are all important in aging research. Age
historical factors. For example, cohorts who lived effects provide information about human devel-
through the Great Depression or World War II opment as it unfolds in social context. Cohort
effects permit us to observe the social implications
80
AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE
of shared history and cohort composition. Period especially depression; cognitive status and dement-
effects provide information about the effects of ing illness; functional status and disability; and
contemporaneous events and situations on social health behaviors. Health service utilization is a
structure and individual behavior. Distinguishing corollary emphasis; there are numerous studies on
among age, period, and cohort effects also has both utilization in general (e.g., doctors visits,
important implications for the generalization of hospitalizations) and specialized health care set-
research results. Age effects are the same or highly tings and providers (e.g., long-term care facilities,
similar across time and place; thus, they are emergency room visits, screening programs and
generalizable. In contrast, cohort and period ef- other preventative services, mental health profes-
fects are, by definition, variable across time. Con- sionals, dentists). There also has been extensive
sequently, generalization is limited. research on the use of social and community
services and living arrangements—both of which
Examination of age-period-cohort effects re- are strongly driven by health during late life.
quires large data bases in which multiple cohorts
are observed on multiple occasions over long peri- Along with health, socioeconomic status has
ods of time. Because of these stringent require- been a high-volume, long-standing focus in re-
ments, few aging studies focus specifically on dis- search on aged heterogeneity. Economic status, in
entangling these confounded factors. But recognition the form of income and, to a lesser extent, assets
of these sources of confounding appropriately has been the primary emphasis of this research,
temper investigators’ generalizations. In addition, with studies of the antecedents and consequences
this issue has sensitized researchers to the need to of retirement ranking as a close second. Pensions
examine change over time, with the result that have been shown to have strong effects upon the
longitudinal studies have become the dominant adequacy of postretirement income, which has
research design in efforts to characterize the aging spurred substantial investigation of the determi-
process. nants of pension acquisition and value.
No single theme nor easily summarized list of From a more social-psychological perspective,
topics does justice to the scope and diversity of there are strong research traditions examining
research on aging and the life course. However, multiple psychosocial states that can be subsumed
three major research domains can provide a gen- under the umbrella of ‘‘quality of life.’’ Life satis-
eral sense of the current major avenues of aging faction and morale have received paramount at-
and life-course research: aged heterogeneity, life- tention in this regard. But several dimensions of
course dynamics, and life-course trajectories. the self (e.g., self-esteem, locus of control, sense of
mastery) also have rich research traditions.
AGED HETEROGENEITY
Two common elements of the wide range of
The majority of research on older adults focuses research conducted on the topic of aged heteroge-
on heterogeneity in that population. In many ways, neity merit note. First, a common thread in this
this is the legacy of the problem orientation upon research is the desire to understand the processes
which initial aging research in the social sciences that render some older adults advantaged and
rested. Even now, most aging research focuses on others disadvantaged. This is often described as
differences among older adults and the complex the ‘‘applied’’ character of aging research. Howev-
configurations of social factors that can account er, it also is a focus on stratification in the broadest
for individual differences during late life. And, sense, which is one of the most persistent and
although there are many exceptions, a majority of cherished issues in mainstream sociology. Research
research in this domain focuses on the social on aging and the life course has contributed much
factors that explain individual behavior and per- to our understanding of how broadly life chances
sonal well-being. and life quality are linked to social factors, as well
as to the multiple powerful social bases of
The specific topics that are examined in re- stratification.
search on aged heterogeneity are extensive. Health
and disability are major concerns in this research Second, examination of heterogeneity among
tradition, including physical illness; mental illness, the elderly has proven to be a strategic site for
81
AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE
testing and refining multiple middle-range theo- immediately after the war, but also during late life.
ries and concepts that are central to sociological Social factors loom large in these dynamics. First,
research. A few examples will illustrate this point. social factors were strongly predictive of which
Research on health and disability during late life soldiers were exposed to combat. Second, social
has been enriched by attention to issues of social resources and deprivations were strong predictors
stress and social support; conversely, the older of the onset or avoidance of health problems.
population has proven to be ideal for testing theo-
retical propositions about the effects of stress and The effects of historical events on the life
social support. Similarly, the issue of social inte- course appear on two levels. When an historical
gration, which has an honored tradition in sociolo- event is pervasive, one method of observing its
gy, has been reactivated in studies of older adults, effects is via cohort differences. That is, an event
who vary widely in number and quality of links to with wide-ranging effects will render those who
social structure. And issues such as the ‘‘feminization experience it discernibly different from cohorts
of poverty’’ and the ‘‘double/triple jeopardy hy- that come before and after it. At the same time,
pothesis’’ (i.e., the potential interacting depriva- historical events do not have the same immediate
tions associated with being female, nonwhite, and or long-term consequences for all members of a
old) have highlighted the extent to which socioeco- cohort. For example, families were differentially
nomic stratification rests on ascribed rather than affected by the economic dislocations of the De-
achieved statuses. pression, with some suffering extensive economic
deprivation and others experiencing little or no
LIFE-COURSE DYNAMICS change in their economic fortunes. Thus, not eve-
ryone who ‘‘lives through’’ a major historical event
While the issue of heterogeneity focuses attention will experience serious life-course consequences.
on differences across individuals, life-course dy- One of the tasks of the life-course scholar is to
namics focus on the persisting effects of social identify the social factors that determine whether
factors over time and stages of life; that is, on or not an historical event alters personal biography.
intraindividual change. At least three types of life-
course studies have received substantial attention The Persisting Effects of Early Traumas and
in aging research. Deprivations. A second research focus that illus-
trates the power of life-course perspectives is inves-
The Intersection of History and Personal tigation of the consequences of early traumas and
Biography. There now is substantial evidence that deprivations on well-being in middle and late life.
historical events can permanently alter personal A growing body of research documents the far-
lives. Most research to date has focused on two reaching effects of severe childhood experiences—
historical events: the Great Depression and World including parental divorce and, to a lesser extent,
War II; both historical events have been linked to parental death; childhood poverty; and childhood
life circumstances during late life. Elder (1974, physical and sexual abuse—on the course of adult-
1999) has compellingly documented, for example, hood. Most research to date has focused on the
that entering the labor market during the Depres- implications of these traumas and deprivations on
sion had a permanent negative effect on occupa- physical and mental health (e.g., Krause 1998;
tion and income, which in turn affected socioeco- Landerman, George, and Blazer 1991). The ro-
nomic status during late life. In contrast, younger bust relationships between events experienced dur-
men, who entered the labor force immediately ing childhood and health fifty to sixty years later,
after World War II experienced historically unparalled controlling on contemporaneous risk factors for
occupational opportunities (and, if they were vet- morbidity, is strong evidence of the power of
erans, government-subsidized college educations). fateful events to alter the life course.
Other studies by Elder and colleagues focused Again, social factors are strongly implicated in
on the life-course consequences of combat experi- the processes that account for the relationships
ence during World War II (Elder, Shanahan, and between childhood traumas and health and well-
Clipp 1994, 1997). Exposure to combat was strongly being during late life. First, the availability of social
related to subsequent health problems, not only resources at the time of the trauma can dampen its
negative effects in both the short and the long
82
AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE
term. For example, financial security and ade- LIFE-COURSE TRAJECTORIES AND
quate supervision ameliorate most of the negative
effects of parental divorce on subsequent socioe- PERSON-CENTERED RESEARCH
conomic achievements and physical and mental
health (e.g., Kessler and Magee 1994). Second, two The two research domains described above focus
of the primary mechanisms by which childhood on interindividual differences in late life and
traumas generate poor health in later life are intraindividual change over the life course. A third
socioeconomic achievement and high-quality so- domain, less developed than the others but excit-
cial relationships (e.g., McLeod 1991). That is, ing in its scope, attempts to examine interindividual
childhood traumas are often associated with lower differences and intraindividual change simultane-
socioeconomic status and poor-quality relation- ously. At this point, two emerging research tradi-
ships during adulthood—both of which are risk tions illustrate the nature and potential of this
factors for physical and mental illness. If, however, approach.
individuals who experienced childhood traumas
manage to achieve adequate financial resources Life-Course Trajectories. Trajectories refer
and supportive social ties during adulthood, their to long-term patterns of stability and change. They
excess risk of illness in middle and late life is can be examined at both the aggregate (e.g., the
reduced substantially. ‘‘typical’’ career, the modal pathway to nursing
home placement) and individual levels. Thus, tra-
The Persisting Effects of Early Life Deci- jectories capture patterns of intraindividual change.
sions. There now is substantial evidence that the Examination of heterogeneity can be pursued in
decisions that individuals make during early adult- two ways. In the first, the trajectory that best
hood have important consequences for their life describes the sample or population is constructed.
circumstances in late life. Studies of retirement Subsequently, using techniques such as hierarchi-
income provide perhaps the best illustration of cal linear modeling or growth-curve analysis, in-
this research domain. The strongest predictor of vestigators can examine the extent to which fac-
retirement income is occupational history. Through- tors of interest alter the shape of the trajectory.
out adulthood, individuals ‘‘sort themselves’’ into For example, a trajectory of earnings across adult-
jobs that differ not only in income, but also in hood can be constructed for a given sample. Inves-
benefits (i.e., total compensation packages). Of tigators can then examine the degree to which
these, the availability and quality of pensions is factors such as sex, education, and race affect the
most important for retirement income. There is shape of the earnings trajectory. In the second
strong evidence that the provision of pensions approach, multiple common trajectories are iden-
differs not only by occupation, but also by industri- tified and investigators then determine the charac-
al sector (Quadagno 1988). Thus, when individu- teristics associated with those trajectories. Using
als make occupational choices—including job this approach, for example, several common tra-
changes throughout adulthood—they are inevita- jectories of earnings during adulthood could be
bly determining, in part, their retirement incomes. identified (e.g., consistently increasing earnings,
earnings peaking during mid-life and then de-
Research on women’s retirement income has creasing, consistently decreasing earnings, a rela-
broadened our understanding of the life-course tively flat earnings history). Factors such as sex,
consequences of early decisions. Women and men education, and race could then be examined to
tend to be concentrated in different occupations determine their association with these distinctive
and different industrial sectors—and those in which earnings trajectories.
women dominate have, on average, lower earnings
and lower likelihood of pension coverage (O’Rand Trajectory-based research, with its focus on
1988). Moreover, family formation decisions strong- both interindividual differences and intraindividual
ly affect women’s job histories. Compared to men, change, is very attractive. The major limitation to
women are less likely to work full-time and work the use of this approach is the availability of data,
fewer total years, largely as a result of parental re- because longitudinal data covering long periods of
sponsibilities. All of these factors combine to pro- time are required if one wishes to understand life-
duce substantially lower retirement incomes for course patterns. It should be noted, however, that
women than for men (O’Rand and Landerman 1984). trajectory-based research can also be useful for
studying shorter processes (e.g., patterns of illness
83
AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE
outcome, with relatively short-term trajectories of pathways or life histories associated with the out-
death, chronicity, recovery, and relapse). come of interest.
Trajectory-based research relevant to our un- Work by Singer, Ryff, and Magee (1998) pro-
derstanding of middle and late life is gradually vides the richest example of person-centered ag-
accumulating. This is especially true for long-term ing research to date. The dependent variable of
patterns of health and functioning, providing evi- interest was mental health. In the first stage of
dence about both the dynamics of disability during their research, groups of middle-aged women were
late life (e.g., Maddox and Clark 1992; Verbrugge, divided into groups that differed on levels of
Reoma, and Gruber-Baldini 1994) and long-term mental health. Subsequently, the large archive on
patterns of stability, improvement, and decline in longitudinal data obtained from these women over
health over the course of adulthood (e.g., Clipp, the previous three decades was examined to iden-
Pavalko, and Elder 1992). Important trajectory- tify distinctive pathways associated with mid-life
based research on pathways to retirement (Elder mental health. For example, the group of women
and Pavalko 1993) and place of death (Merrill and who exhibited high levels of mental health and
Mor 1993) is also available. well-being were further subdivided into two groups
that Singer et al. (1999) labeled the healthy and the
The concept of trajectories has been valuable resilient. Healthy women were those who had life
in theoretical development, as well as empirical histories that were relatively free of major stressors
inquiry. The theory of cumulative advantage/disad- or traumas, enjoyed adequate or higher levels of
vantage has intersected well with studies of life- social and economic resources, and exhibited sta-
course trajectories. This theory posits that hetero- ble patterns of robust mental health. Resilient
geneity is greater in late life than earlier in the life women were those who had achieved robust men-
course as a result of the accumulation of assets tal health at mid-life despite earlier evidence of
(advantage) or liabilities (disadvantage) over time. poor mental health and/or histories of stress
The theory of cumulative advantage/disadvantage and/or inadequate social and economic resourc-
has been especially useful in understanding so- es. Clearly the life histories of women who were
cioeconomic heterogeneity in late life, especially mentally healthy at mid-life varied in important
differences in total net worth (e.g., Crystal and ways. Moreover, the healthy women illustrate the
Shea 1990; O’Rand 1996). However, it can be benefits of leading relatively ‘‘charmed’’ lives, while
applied to other sources of heterogeneity in late the resilient women help us to understand the
life as well (e.g., health). Investigators who prefer circumstances under which ‘‘risky’’ life histories
examination of the multiple distinctive trajecto- can be turned around to produce health and
ries within a sample would offer a caution to personal growth.
cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory, how-
ever. They would note that although trajectories of There are clear similarities between person-
increasing and decreasing advantage are undoubt- centered research and trajectory-based research.
edly common, there are likely to be other impor- Both are based on long-term patterns of change
tant trajectories as well—e.g., a trajectory of cumu- and stability and both are designed to understand
lating advantage that is reversed as a result of a both life-course dynamics and heterogeneity in
personal (e.g., serious illness) or societal (e.g., those dynamics. But there also are important dif-
severe economic downturn) catastrophic event. ferences between the two approaches. In trajecto-
ry-based research, the trajectory or pathway itself
Person-centered research. A more recent con- is the ‘‘dependent variable’’ of interest and the
tribution to the sociological armamentarium for ‘‘independent variables’’ are factors that have the
understanding aging and the life course is person- potential to alter the shape(s) of those pathways. In
centered research. As the label implies, the focus of person-centered research, the ‘‘dependent vari-
this emerging research strategy is to analyze ‘‘peo- able’’ is an outcome of interest (e.g., mental health),
ple’’ rather than ‘‘variables.’’ In practice, this means and trajectories of the ‘‘independent variables’’
that members of a sample are first grouped in- are constructed to explain that outcome. Both are
to subsets on the dependent variable of inter- currently at the cutting edge of research that at-
est. Subsequently, those categories are further tempts to simultaneously examine life-course dy-
disaggregated into groups based on distinctive namics and life-course heterogeneity.
84
AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE
Aging and the life course is an important Elder, Glen H., Jr., Michael J. Shanahan, and Elizabeth
sociological specialty. It provides us with informa- C. Clipp 1997 ‘‘Linking Combat and Physical Health:
tion about aging and being ‘‘old,’’ and about the The Legacy of World War II in Men’s Lives.’’ Ameri-
antecedents and consequences of stability and can Journal of Psychiatry 154:330–336.
change during late life. The increasing life-course
focus of aging research is especially important in ——— 1994 ‘‘When War Comes to Men’s Lives: Life-
that it concentrates sociologists’ attention on the Course Patterns in Family, Work, and Health.’’ Psy-
dynamics of intraindividual change and on the chology and Aging 9:5–16.
intersections of social structure, social change,
and personal biography. At its best, aging and life- George, Linda K. 1993 ‘‘Sociological Perspectives on
course research effectively link processes and dy- Life Transitions.’’ Annual Review of Sociology 19:353–373.
namics at the macrohistorical and societal levels
with individual attitudes and behaviors. In addi- Hardy, Melissa A., and Jill Quadagno 1995 ‘‘Satisfaction
tion, the life course in general, and late life in with Early Retirement: Making Choices in the Auto
particular, provide excellent contexts for testing Industry.’’ Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences
and, indeed, challenging some commonly held 50:S217–S228.
assumptions and hypotheses about the dynamics
of social influence. In this way, it offers valuable Havighurst, Robert A. 1963 ‘‘Successful Aging.’’ In R.
contributions to the larger sociological enterprise. Williams, C. Tibbets, and W. Donahue, eds., Processes
of Aging. New York: Atherton.
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Elder, Glen H., Jr. 1999 Children of the Great Depres- nal of Health and Social Behavior 33:114–125.
sion (twenty-fifth anniversary ed.). Boulder, Colo.:
Westview Press. McLeod, Jane D. 1991 ‘‘Childhood Parental Loss and
Adult Depression.’’ Journal of Health and Social Behav-
——— 1995 ‘‘The Life Course Paradigm: Historical, ior 32:205–220.
Comparative, and Developmental Perspectives.’’ In
P. Moen, G. H. Elder, and K. Luscher, eds., Examin- Merrill, Deborah M., and Vincent Mor 1993 ‘‘Pathways
ing Lives in Context: Perspectives on the Ecology of Hu- to Hospital Death Among the Oldest Old.’’ Journal of
man Development. Washington, D.C.: American Psy- Aging and Health 5:516–535.
chological Association Press.
O’Rand, Angela M. 1996 ‘‘The Precious and the Preco-
——— 1974 Children of the Great Depression. Chicago: cious: Understanding Cumulative Disadvantage and
University of Chicago Press. Cumulative Advantage Over the Life Course.’’ The
Gerontologist 36:230–238.
———, and Eliza K. Pavalko 1993 ‘‘Work Careers in
Men’s Later Years: Transitions, Trajectories, and ——— 1988 ‘‘Convergence, Institutionalization, and
Historical Change.’’ Journal of Gerontology: Social Sci- Bifurcation: Gender and the Pension Acquisition
ences 48:S180–S191. Process.’’ Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics
8:132–155.
———, and L. Richard Landerman 1984 ‘‘Women’s
and Men’s Retirement Income: Early Family Role
Effects.’’ Research on Aging 6:25–44.
85
AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION
Palmore, Erdman B. 1970 Normal Aging: Reports from the innovation and invention are not the same thing.
Duke Longitudinal Studies, 1955–1969. Durham, N.C.: Innovation does, however, involve more than a
Duke University Press. change from one well-established way of doing
things to another well-established practice. As with
Quadagno, Jill 1988 ‘‘Women’s Access to Pensions and all innovations, those in agriculture involve a change
the Structure of Eligibility Rules: Systems of Pro- that requires significant imagination, break with
duction and Reproduction.’’ Sociological Quarterly established ways of doing things, and create new
29:541–558. production capacity. Of course, these criteria are
not exact, and it is often difficult to tell where one
Riley, Matilda White 1987 ‘‘On the Significance of Age innovation stops and another starts. The easiest
in Sociology.’’ American Sociological Review 52:1–14. way out of this is to rely on potential adopters of an
innovation to define ideas that they perceive
Singer, Burton, Carol D. Ryff, Deborah Carr, and Wil- to be new.
liam J. Magee 1998 ‘‘Life Histories and Mental Health:
A Person-Centered Strategy.’’ In A. Rafferty, ed., Innovations are not all alike. New ways of
Sociological Methodology, 1988. Washington, D.C.: doing things may be more or less compatible with
American Sociological Association. prevalent norms and values. Some innovations
may be perceived as relatively difficult to use and
U. S. Bureau of the Census 1997 Statistical Abstracts of the understand (i.e., complex), while others are a good
United States, 1997. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Govern- deal simpler. Some can be experimented with in
ment Printing Office. limited trials that reduce the risks of adoption (i.e.,
divisible). Innovations also vary in the costs and
U. S. Bureau of the Census 1987 An Aging World. advantages they offer in both economic and social
Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office. terms (e.g., prestige, convenience, satisfaction). In
the economists’ terms, innovation introduces a
Verbrugge, Lois M., Joseto M. Reoma, and Ann L. new production function that changes the set of
Gruber-Baldini 1994 ‘‘Short-Term Dynamics of Disa- possibilities which define what can be produced
bility and Well-Being.’’ Journal of Health and Social (Schumpeter 1950). Rural sociologists have stud-
Behavior 35:97–117. ied the adoption of such agricultural innovations
as specially bred crops (e.g., hybrid corn and high-
LINDA K. GEORGE yield wheat and rice); many kinds of machines
(e.g., tractors, harvesters, pumps); chemical and
AGRICULTURAL biological fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides;
INNOVATION cropping practices (e.g., soil and water conserva-
tion); and techniques related to animal husbandry
Getting a new idea adopted can be very difficult. (e.g., new feeds, disease control, breeding). Often
This is all the more frustrating when it seems to the they have relied upon government agencies such
proponents of the new idea that it has very obvious as the U.S. Department of Agriculture to tell them
advantages. It can be a challenge to try to intro- what the recommended new practices are.
duce new ideas in rural areas, particularly in less-
developed societies, where people are somewhat The diffusion of agricultural innovations is a
set in their ways—ways that have evolved slowly, process whereby new ways of doing things are
through trial and error. It’s all the more difficult spread within and between agrarian communities.
when those introducing new ideas don’t under- Newness implies a degree of uncertainty both
stand why people follow traditional practices. Ru- because there are a variable number of alterna-
ral sociologists and agricultural extension research- tives and because there is usually some range of
ers who have studied the diffusion of agricultural relative probability of outcomes associated with
innovations have traditionally been oriented to- the actions involved. Rogers (1983) stresses that
ward speeding up the diffusion process (Rogers the diffusion of innovations includes the commu-
1983). Pro-innovation bias has sometimes led soci- nication of information, by various means, about
ologists to forget that ‘‘changing people’s customs these sets of alternative actions and their possible
is an even more delicate responsibility than sur- outcomes. Information about innovations may
gery’’ (Spicer 1952). come via impersonal channels, such as the mass
Although innovation relies on invention, and
although considerable creativity often accompa-
nies the discovery of how to use an invention,
86
AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION
media, or it may pass through social networks. subsequent meta-analysis has clearly demonstrat-
From an individual’s point of view, the process of ed that the relationship between status and innova-
innovation is usually conceived to start with initial tion is indeed linear (Gartrell and Gartrell 1985;
awareness of the innovation and how it functions. Lewis et al. 1989). If anything, those with very high
It ends with adoption or nonadoption. In between status or resources show a marked tendency to
these end points is an interactive, iterative process turn their awareness of innovations into trial at a
of attitude formation, decision making, and ac- very high rate (Gartrell and Gartrell 1979).
tion. The cumulative frequency of adopters over
time describes an S-shaped (logistic) curve. The Ryan and Gross (1942) provide a classic exam-
frequency distribution over time is often bellshaped ple of diffusion research. Hybrid corn seed, devel-
and approximately normal. oped by Iowa State and other land-grant university
researchers, increased yields 20 percent over those
Individual innovativeness has been character- of open-pollinated varieties. Hybrid corn also was
ized in five ideal-type adopter categories (Rogers more drought-resistant and was better suited to
1983). The first 2 to 3 percent to adopt an innova- mechanical harvesting. Agricultural extension
tion, the ‘‘innovators,’’ are characterized as ven- agents and seed company salesmen promoted it
turesome. The next 10 to 15 percent, the ‘‘early heavily. Its drawback was that it lost its hybrid vigor
adopters,’’ are characterized as responsible, solid, after only one generation, so farmers could not
local opinion leaders. The next 30 to 35 percent save the seed from the best-looking plants. (Of
are the ‘‘early majority,’’ who are seen as being course, this was not at all a drawback to the seed
deliberate. They are followed by the ‘‘late majori- companies!)
ty’’ (30 to 35 percent), who are cautious and
skeptical, and innovate under social and economic Based on a retrospective survey of 259 farmers
pressures. Finally, there are the ‘‘laggards,’’ who in two small communities, Ryan and Gross found
comprise the bottom 15 percent. They are charac- that 10 percent had adopted hybrid corn after five
terized as ‘‘traditional,’’ although they are often years (by 1933). Between 1933 and 1936 an addi-
simply in a precarious economic position. Earlier tional 30 percent adopted, and by the time of the
adopters are likely to have higher social status and study (1941) only two farmers did not use the
better education, and to be upwardly mobile. They hybrid. Early adopters were more cosmopolitan,
tend to have larger farms, more favorable attitudes and had higher social and economic status. The
toward modern business practices (e.g., credit), average respondent took nine years to go from
and more specialized operations. Earlier adopters first knowledge to adoption, and interpersonal
are also argued to have greater empathy, rationali- networks and modeling were judged to be critical
ty, and ability to deal with abstractions. They are to adoption. In other cases diffusion time has been
less fatalistic and dogmatic, and have both positive much shorter. Beginning in 1944, the average
attitudes toward change and science, and higher diffusion time for a weed spray (also in Iowa) was
achievement motivation and aspirations. Early between 1.7 years for innovators and 3.1 years for
adopters report more social participation and net- laggards (Rogers 1983, p. 204). Having adopted
work connections, particularly to change agents, many innovations, farmers are likely to adopt
and greater exposure to both mass media and others more quickly.
interpersonal communication networks.
Adoption-diffusion research in rural sociolo-
Although Rogers (1983) provides dozens of gy has dominated all research traditions studying
such generalizations about the characteristics of innovation. Rural sociology produced 791 (26 per-
early and late adopters, he admits that the evi- cent) of 3,085 studies up to 1981 (Rogers 1983, p.
dence on many of these propositions is somewhat 52). Most of this research relied upon correlational
mixed (Downs and Mohr 1976). Even the fre- analysis of survey data based on farmers’ recall of
quently researched proposition that those with past behaviors. This kind of study reached its peak
higher social status and greater resources are likely in the mid 1960s. By the mid 1970s the farm crisis
to innovate earlier and more often has garnered in the United States and the global depression
far less than unanimous support (Cancian 1967, spurred rural sociologists to begin to reevaluate
1979; Gartrell 1977). Cancian argues that this is a this tradition. By the 1980s global export markets
result of ‘‘upper middle-class conservatism,’’ but had shrunk, farm commodity prices had fallen, net
87
AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION
farm incomes had declined, and high interest rates thirty-two thousand former hand pickers were out
had resulted in poor debt-to-asset ratios. What of work. They were replaced by eighteen thousand
followed was a massive (50 percent) decapitalization workers who rode machines and sorted tomatoes.
of agriculture, particularly in the Midwest and Of the four thousand farmers who produced to-
Great Plains. matoes in California in 1962, only six hundred
were still in business in 1971. The tomato industry
Criticisms of adoption-diffusion research in- honored the inventor for saving the tomato for
clude (1) pro-innovation bias; (2) a lack of consid- California, and consumers got cheaper, harder
eration of all the consequences of innovation; (3) tomatoes—even if they preferred softer ones.
an individual bias; (4) methods problems; (5) Ameri-
can ethnocentric biases; (6) the passing of the Several other classic examples of agricultural
dominant modernization-development paradigm. innovation illustrate problems that result from not
The pro-innovation bias of researchers has led fully considering the consequences of innovation
them to ignore the negative consequences of inno- (Fliegel and van Es 1983). Until the late 1970s rural
vation (van Es 1983). Indeed, innovativeness itself sociologists, among others, studiously ignored Wal-
is positively valued (Downs and Mohr 1976). The ter Goldschmidt’s 1940s study (republished in
agencies that fund research and the commercial 1978) of the effects of irrigation on two communi-
organizations (e.g., seed companies) that support ties in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Dinuba had
it have strong vested interests in promoting diffu- large family farms, and it also had more local
sion. Furthermore, successful innovations leave business, greater retail sales, and a greater diversi-
visible traces and can be more easily studied using ty of social, educational, recreational, and cultural
retrospective social surveys, so researchers are organizations. Arrin was surrounded by large in-
more likely to focus on successful innovations. dustrial corporate farms supported by irrigation.
These farms had absentee owners and Mexican
Since most researchers are well aware of this labor. This produced a much lower quality of life
problem, it can be addressed by deliberately focus- that was confirmed three decades later (Buttel et
ing on unsuccessful innovations, and by studying al. 1990, p. 147).
discontinuance and reinvention. It can also be
avoided by the use of prospective research de- The enforced ban on earlier chemical innova-
signs, including qualitative comparative case stud- tions in agriculture by the U.S. Food and Drug
ies, that track potential innovation and innovators’ Administration provides another interesting ex-
perceptions and experiences. This should facili- ample. Chemical innovations such as DDT insecti-
tate the investigation of noncommercial innova- cide, 2,4-D weed spray, and DES cattle feed revolu-
tions and should result in a better understanding tionized farm production in the 1950s and 1960s.
of the reasons why people and organizations de- In 1972, DDT was banned because it constituted a
cide to use new ideas. Moreover, these methods health threat (Dunlap 1981), and 2,4-D, DES, and
will likely lead to a better understanding of the similar products were banned soon afterward.
system context in which innovations diffuse. Finally, in 1980 the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture reversed its policy and began to advise farm-
One of the most strident critiques of the pro- ers and gardeners to consider alternative, organic
innovation bias of the ‘‘land-grant college com- methods that used fewer chemicals.
plex’’ was voiced by Hightower (1972). Agricultur-
al scientists at Davis, California, worked on the The impact of technical changes in U.S. agri-
development and diffusion of hard tomatoes and culture, particularly the rapid mechanization be-
mechanized pickers (Friedland and Barton 1975). gun in the Great Depression, put farmers on the
They ignored the effects of these innovations on ‘‘treadmill of technology’’ (Cochran 1979; LeVeen
small farms and farm labor, except in the sense 1978). Larger farmers who are less risk-aversive
that they designed both innovations to solve labor adopt early, reap an ‘‘innovation rent,’’ reduce
problems expected when the U.S. Congress ended their per-unit costs, and increase profits. After the
the bracero program through which Mexican work- innovation spreads to the early majority, aggre-
ers were brought in to harvest the crops. In the six gate output increases dramatically. Prices then fall
years after that program ended (1964 to 1970) the disproportionately, since agricultural products have
mechanical harvester took over the industry. About low elasticity of demand. Lower, declining prices
88
AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION
force the late majority to adopt, but they gain little. this type of analysis, ‘‘connectedness’’ becomes a
They have to adopt to stay in business, and some variable property of individual farmers that is
late adopters may be forced out because they correlated with their innovativeness. It is much
cannot compete. This treadmill increases concen- less common to find studies that consider how
tration of agricultural production and benefits agricultural innovation is influenced by structural
large farmers, the suppliers of innovations, and properties of entire networks, such as the pres-
consumers. Indeed, it helps to create and to subsi- ence of subgroups or cliques, although other types
dize cheap urban labor. When it comes to environ- of innovation have been studied within complete
mental practices, however, large farms are not networks (see, e.g., Rogers and Kincaid 1981 on
early innovators (Pampel and van Es 1977; Buttel the diffusion of family planning in Korean vil-
et al. 1990). lages). Field studies of subcultural differences in
orientations to innovation report what amount to
The individual bias of adoption-diffusion re- network effects, though networks are rarely meas-
search is evident in its almost exclusive focus upon ured directly. For instance, studies of Amish farm-
individual farmers rather than upon industrial ers have revealed that members of this sect restrict
farms or other agribusiness. There is also a tenden- certain kinds of social contacts with outsiders in
cy to blame the victim if anything goes wrong order to preserve their beliefs, which include envi-
(Rogers 1983). Change agents are too rarely criti- ronmental orientations based on religious beliefs
cized for providing incomplete or inaccurate in- (for a review, see Sommers and Napier 1993).
formation, and governments and corporations are Given the growing importance of social network
too infrequently criticized for promoting inappro- analysis in contemporary sociology (Wasserman
priate or harmful innovations. Empirical surveys and Faust 1995), and the demonstrated impor-
of individual farmers also lead to a number of tance of networks of communication and influ-
methodological problems. As noted above, if sur- ence in innovation research (Rogers and Kincaid
veys are retrospective, recall relies on fallible memo- 1981), future studies of agricultural innovation
ry and renders unsuccessful innovations difficult could profitably incorporate network models and
to study. These surveys are commonly combined data in their research designs.
with correlational analysis that makes it difficult to
address issues of causality. After all, the farmer’s A second type of social structural analysis has
attitudes and personality are measured at the time considered how agricultural innovation is influ-
of the interview, and the innovation probably enced by distributions of resources within farming
occurred some time before. As we have pointed communities. Much of this research has focused
out, these issues can be addressed by prospective on the so-called ‘‘Green Revolution.’’ This term
designs that incorporate other methods, such as refers to the increases in cereal-grain production
qualitative case studies and available records data, in the Third World, particularly India, Pakistan,
and focus on the social context of innovation. and the Philippines, in the late 1960s, through the
use of hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizer. In
Taking into account the social context of inno- Indian villages where knowledge of new farming
vation involves shifting levels of analysis from technology and agricultural capital were highly
individual farmers to the social, economic, and concentrated, the rate at which individual farmers
political structures in which they are embedded. translated their knowledge into trial was higher
Contextual analysis of social structures has evolved (Gartrell and Gartrell 1979). Yet overall levels of
in two directions, both of which have been in- innovation tended to be lower in such high-ine-
spired by the adoption-diffusion paradigm. The quality villages. Had the primary goal of India’s
first considers social structure as a set of social development programs been to maximize the rate
relations among farmers, that is, a social network. at which knowledge of new farming practices is
Typically, social network structure has been stud- turned into innovation, then these results could
ied from the point of view of individual farmers. have been seen as a vindication of a development
For instance, farmers are more likely to innovate if strategy that concentrated on well-to-do cultiva-
they are connected to others with whom they can tors and high-inequality villages. Yet, this and oth-
discuss new farming ideas (Rogers and Kincaid er assessments of the Green Revolution in the
1981; Rogers 1983; Warriner and Moul 1992). In
89
AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION
1970s suggested that development would likely and cost of major factors of production, particu-
exacerbate rural inequality; that most of the bene- larly land and labor (Binswanger and Ruttan 1978).
fits of innovation would accrue to farmers who Historical, cross-national studies show that coun-
were wealthy enough to afford the new inputs tries differently endowed with land and labor have
(Frankel 1971; Poleman and Freebairn 1973); and followed distinct paths of technological change in
that the rural poor would be further marginalized agriculture. Population pressures on land resourc-
and forced to seek employment in the increasingly es have impelled technological change and devel-
capital-intensive industries developing in cities. opment (Boserup 1965, 1981; Binswanger 1986).
The Green Revolution, so the thinking went, con- Rather than focusing on individual farmers’ adop-
tained the seeds of civil unrest in the cities—an tion decisions, research in this tradition has exam-
urban Red Revolution (Sharma and Poleman 1993). ined variation in innovation by region according
to demographic and other conditions.
Recent research in agricultural economics
paints a more optimistic portrait of the long-run The social context of innovation also has an
distributional effects of the Green Revolution. important political dimension. Political structures
Once small farmers were given the necessary powerfully influence the path of innovation. When
infrastructural support, their productivity and in- family farms were turned over to collective man-
comes increased. Growing rural incomes and the agement by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam,
resulting growth in consumption demand stimu- local farmers in both the lowland and upland areas
lates the development of a wide variety of off-farm were unable to use their own knowledge of farm
and noncrop employment opportunities. Through management (Jamieson et al. 1998). Traditional
participation in these ‘‘second generation’’ effects knowledge passed down over many generations
of the Green Revolution, the incomes of landless became lost to new generations of farmers. Yet
and near-landless households have increased dra- local knowledge systems are often crucial to the
matically (Sharma and Poleman 1993). These indi- successful implementation of modern farming tech-
rect consequences of agricultural innovation are nologies brought in from the outside. Such prob-
not limited to the Green Revolution. Innovation in lems are compounded when the power to make
agriculture and the expansion of rural, nonagricul- decisions about the course of development is cen-
tural manufacturing were strongly associated in tralized in national agencies, as is the case in
the development of Western Europe and East Asia Vietnam.
as far back as the eighteenth century (Grabowski
1995). We tend to think of the Industrial Revolu- Innovation can also call forth new political
tion as an urban phenomenon in which agricultur- structures. India’s Green Revolution became
al surplus labor was transferred from occupations politicized as the terms and prices at which agricul-
of low productivity in agriculture to those of high tural inputs could be obtained and the price at
productivity in urban manufacturing. Yet in this which agricultural products could be sold were
early phase of industrialization, the flow of people determined by government and its local agencies.
and economic activity went the other way—from Peasant movements arose as a response to con-
town to country. Then, as now, agricultural inno- cern about access to the new farming technology.
vation influenced and was influenced by the growth The incidence of improved agricultural practices
of rural manufacturing. Expanding commerciali- has been associated with the rise of political parties
zation of rural areas fosters innovation by provid- such as the Lok Dal of Uttar Pradesh, which most
ing many of the inputs needed by agriculture, as clearly articulated rural interests (Duncan 1997).
well as sources of credit for farm operations and By asserting new identities and interests created in
alternative sources of income to buffer the risks the changed circumstances brought about by the
associated with innovations. These reciprocal ef- Green Revolution, the Lok Dal was able to mobi-
fects have been observed in the experience of lize across traditional lines of caste and locality.
China in the 1990s (Islam and Hehui 1994).
The social, economic, and political structures
Economists have argued that agricultural in- of the social context of innovation do not exist in
novation is induced by changes in the availability isolation from one another. In any development
setting, a contextually informed understanding of
90
AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION
agricultural innovation must consider the relation- ——— 1981 Population and Technological Change: A
ships among these different types of structures Study of Long-term Trends. Chicago: University of Chi-
(Jamieson et al. 1998). While it may no longer be as cago Press.
fashionable as it once was, the adoption-diffusion
model still has much to offer in such efforts. The Buttel, Frederick, Olav Larson, and Gilbert Gillespie, Jr.
model refers implicitly to structural effects of so- 1990 The Sociology of Agriculture. New York: Green-
cioeconomic status and communication behavior, wood Press.
though these are conceptualized at an individual
level (Black and Reeve 1992). Structural analysis Cancian, Frank 1967 ‘‘Stratification and Risk Taking: A
has recently moved more firmly into this interdis- Theory Tested on Agricultural Innovations.’’ Ameri-
ciplinary realm, particularly in economics (see can Sociological Review 32:912–927.
‘‘Economic Sociology’’). With the appropriate struc-
tural tools, rural sociologists could make notable ——— 1979 The Innovator’s Situation: Upper-Middle Class
contributions to our understanding of how the Conservatism in Agricultural Communities. Stanford,
social structures of markets influence innovation. Calif.: Stanford University Press.
Technological change in agriculture is still Cochran, Willard 1979 The Development of American
vitally important throughout the world and, cor- Agriculture. Minneapolis: University of Minneso-
rectly applied, diffusion research can assist in its ta Press.
investigation. It is important to consider the conse-
quences of technological change as well as the Downs, George, and Lawrence Mohr 1976 ‘‘Conceptual
determinants of adoption of innovation. It is criti- Issues in the Study of Innovations.’’ Administrative
cal to apply the model to environmental practices Science Quarterly 21:700–714.
and other ‘‘noncommercial’’ innovations in agri-
culture. In-depth case studies over time are need- Duncan, Ian 1997 ‘‘Agricultural Innovation and Politi-
ed to further our understanding of how and why cal Change in North India: The Lok Dal in Uttar
individuals and agricultural social collectives adopt Pradesh.’’ The Journal of Peasant Studies 24:246–248.
technological change. Above all, the social, eco-
nomic, and political contexts of innovation must Dunlap, Thomas 1981 DDT: Scientists, Citizens and Public
be studied with the models and methods of mod- Policy. Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press.
ern structural analysis. All this provides a basis for
continuing to build on a wealth of research materials. Fliegel, Frederick, and John van Es 1983 ‘‘The Diffusion-
Adoption Process in Agriculture: Changes in Tech-
(SEE ALSO: Diffusion Theories; Rural Sociology) nology and Changing Paradigms.’’ In Gene Sum-
mers, ed., Technology and Social Change in Rural Areas.
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ALCOHOL
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INTRODUCTION
LeVeen, Phillip 1978 ‘‘The Prospects for Small-Scale
Farming in an Industrial Society: A Critical Appraisal The sociological study of alcohol in society is
of Small Is Beautiful.’’ In Richard Dorf and Yvonne concerned with two broad areas. (1) The first area
Hunter, eds., Appropriate Visions. San Francisco: Boyd is the study of alcohol behavior, which includes: (a)
and Fraser. social and other factors in alcohol behavior, (b) the
prevalence of drinking in society, and (c) the group
Lewis, Scott, David Gartrell, and John Gartrell 1989 and individual variations in drinking and alcohol-
‘‘Upper-Middle-Class Conservatism in Agricultural ism. (2) The second major area of study has to do
Communities: A Meta-analysis.’’ Rural Sociology 54 with social control of alcohol, which includes: (a)
(3):409–419. the social and legal acceptance or disapproval of
alcohol (social norms), (b) the social and legal
Pampel, Fred, and J. C. van Es 1977 ‘‘Environmental regulations and control of alcohol in society, and
Quality and Issues of Adoption Research.’’ Rural (c) efforts to change or limit deviant drinking
Sociology 42:57–71. behavior (informal sanctions, law enforcement,
treatment, and prevention). Only issues related to
Poleman, Thomas T., and D. K. Freebairn 1973 Food, the first area of study, sociology of alcohol behav-
Population and Employment: The Impact of the Green ior, will be reviewed here.
Revolution. New York: Praeger.
PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL
Rogers, Everett 1983 The Diffusion of Innovations, 3rd ed.
New York: Free Press. There are three major forms of beverages contain-
ing alcohol (ethanol) that are regularly consumed.
———, and D. Lawrence Kincaid 1981 Communication Wine is made from fermentation of fruits and
Networks: Toward a New Paradigm for Research. New usually contains up to 14 percent of ethanol by
York: Free Press. volume. Beer is brewed from grains and hops and
contains 3 to 6 percent ethanol. Liquor (whisky,
Ryan, Bryce, and Neal Gross 1942 ‘‘The Diffusion of gin, vodka, and other distilled spirits) is usually 40
Hybrid Corn Seed in Two Iowa Communities.’’ Ru- percent (80 proof) to 50 percent (100 proof) etha-
ral Sociology 8:15–24. nol. A bottle of beer (12 ounces), a glass of wine (4
ounces), and a cocktail or mixed drink with a shot
Schumpeter, Joseph 1950 Capitalism, Socialism, and De- of whiskey in it, therefore, each have about the
mocracy. New York: Harper and Row. same absolute alcohol content, one-half to three-
fourths of an ounce of ethanol.
Sharma, Rita, and Thomas T. Poleman 1993 The New
Economics of India’s Green Revolution. Ithaca, N.Y.: Alcohol is a central nervous system depres-
Cornell University Press. sant, and its physiological effects are a direct func-
tion of the percentage of alcohol concentrated in
Sommers, David G., and Ted L. Napier 1993 ‘‘Compari-
son of Amish and Non-Amish Farmers: A Diffusion/
Farm-Structure Perspective.’’ Rural Sociology 58:130–145.
Spicer, Edward 1952 Human Problems in Technological
Change. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
van Es, J. C. 1983 ‘‘The Adoption/Diffusion Tradition
Applied to Resource Conservation: Inappropriate
Use of Existing Knowledge.’’ The Rural Sociolo-
gist 3:76–82.
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ALCOHOL
the body’s total blood volume (which is deter- important in overt drinking behavior. Cross-cul-
mined mainly by the person’s body weight). This tural studies (MacAndrew and Edgerton 1969),
concentration is usually referred to as the BAC surveys in the United States (Kantor and Straus
(blood alcohol content) or BAL (blood alcohol 1987), and social psychological experiments (Marlatt
level). A 150-pound man can consume one alco- and Rohsenow 1981), have shown that both
holic drink (about three-fourths of an ounce) every conforming and deviant behavior while ‘‘under
hour essentially without physiological effect. The the influence’’ are more a function of sociocultu-
BAC increases with each additional drink during ral and individual expectations and attitudes than
that same time, and the intoxicating effects of the physiological and behavioral effects of alcohol.
alcohol will become noticeable. If he has four (For an overview of sociocultural perspectives on
drinks in an hour, he will have an alcohol blood alcohol use, see Pittman and White 1991)
content of .10 percent, enough for recognizable
motor-skills impairment. In almost all states, oper- Sociological explanations of alcohol behavior
ating a motor vehicle with a BAC between .08 emphasize these social, cultural, and social psycho-
percent and .10 percent (determined by breatha- logical variables not only in understanding the way
lyzer or blood test) is a crime and is subject to people act when they are under, or think they are
arrest on a charge of DWI (driving while intoxicat- under, the influence of alcohol but also in under-
ed). At .25 percent BAC (about ten drinks in an standing differences in drinking patterns at both
hour) the person is extremely drunk, and at .40 the group and individual level. Sociologists see all
percent BAC the person loses consciousness. Ex- drinking behavior as socially patterned, from ab-
cessive drinking of alcohol over time is associated stinence, to moderate drinking, to alcoholism.
with numerous health problems. Cirrhosis of the Within a society persons are subject to different
liver, hepatitis, heart disease, high blood pressure, group and cultural influences, depending on the
brain dysfunction, neurological disorders, sexual communities in which they reside, their group
and reproductive dysfunction, low blood sugar, memberships, and their location in the social struc-
and cancer, are among the illnesses attributed to ture as defined by their age, sex, class, religion,
alcohol abuse (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse ethnic, and other statuses in society. Whatever
and Alcoholism 1981, 1987; Royce 1990; Ray and other biological or personality factors and mecha-
Ksir 1999). nisms may be involved, both conforming and devi-
ant alcohol behavior are explained sociologically
SOCIAL FACTORS IN ALCOHOL as products of the general culture and the more
immediate groups and social situations with which
BEHAVIOR individuals are confronted. Differences in rates of
drinking and alcoholism across groups in the same
Alcohol has direct effects on the brain, affecting society and cross-nationally reflect the varied cul-
motor skills, perception, and eventually conscious- tural traditions regarding the functions alcohol
ness. The way people actually behave while drink- serves and the extent to which it is integrated into
ing, however, is only partly a function of the direct eating, ceremonial, leisure, and other social con-
physical effects of ethanol. Overt behavior while texts. The more immediate groups within this
under the influence of alcohol depends also on sociocultural milieu provide social learning envi-
how they have learned to behave while drinking in ronments and social control systems in which the
the setting and with whom they are drinking with positive and negative sanctions applied to behav-
at the time. Variations in individual experience, ior sustain or discourage certain drinking accord-
group drinking customs, and the social setting ing to group norms. The most significant groups
produce variations in observable behavior while through which the general cultural, religious, and
drinking. Actions reflecting impairment of coordi- community orientations toward drinking have an
nation and perception are direct physical effects of impact on the individual are family, peer, and
alcohol on the body. These physical factors, how- friendship groups, but secondary groups and the
ever, do not account for ‘‘drunken comportment’’— media also have an impact. (For a social learning
the behavior of those who are ‘‘drunk’’ with alco- theory of drinking and alcoholism that specifically
hol before reaching the stage of impaired muscu- incorporates these factors in the social and cultur-
lar coordination (MacAndrew and Edgerton 1969). al context see Akers 1985, 1998; Akers and La
Social, cultural, and psychological factors are more
93
ALCOHOL
Greca 1991. For a review of sociological, psycho- Percentages Reporting Drinking
logical, and biological theories of alcohol and drug by Age Group (1997)
behavior see Goode 1993.)
Age Group Lifetime Past Year Past Month
SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TRENDS
IN DRINKING BEHAVIOR 12-17 39.7 34 20.5
High School 81.7 74.8 52.7
Age. Table 1 shows that by time of high
school graduation, the percentages of current teen- Seniors 83.5 75.1 58.4
age drinkers (still under the legal age) is quite high, 18-25 88.9 74.6 60.2
rivaling that of adults. The peak years for drinking 26-34 87 64.1 52.8
are the young adult years (eighteen to thirty-four), 35+
but these are nearly equaled by students who are in
the last year of high school (seventeen to eighteen Table 1
years of age). For both men and women, the
probability that one will drink at all stays relatively SOURCE: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
high from that time up to age thirty-five; about Administration 1998; University of Michigan (for high school
eight out of ten are drinkers, two-thirds are cur- seniors) 1998.
rent drinkers, and one in twenty are daily drinkers.
The many young men and women who are in Social Class. The proportion of men and
college are even more likely to drink (Berkowitz women who drink is higher in the middle class and
and Perkins 1986; Wechsler et al. 1994). Heavy upper class than in the lower class. The more
and frequent drinking peaks out in later years, highly educated and the fully employed are more
somewhat sooner for men than women. After that likely to be current drinkers than the less educated
the probability for both drinking and heavy drink- and unemployed. Drinking by elderly adults in-
ing declines noticeably, particularly among the creases as education increases, but there are either
elderly. After the age of sixty, both the proportion mixed or inconsistent findings regarding the varia-
of drinkers and of frequent or heavy drinkers tions in drinking by occupational status, employ-
decrease. Studies in the general population have ment status, and income (Holzer 1984; Borgatta
consistently found that the elderly are less likely 1982; Akers and La Greca 1991).
than younger persons to be drinkers, heavy drink-
ers, and problem drinkers (Cahalan and Cisin Community and Location. Rates of drinking
1968; Fitzgerald and Mulford 1981; Meyers et al. are higher in urban and suburban areas than in
1981-1982; Borgatta et al. 1982; Holzer et al. 1984; small towns and rural areas. As the whole country
Akers 1992). has become more urbanized the regional differ-
ences have leveled out so that, while the South
Sex. The difference is not as great as it once continues to have the lowest proportion of drink-
was, but more men than women drink and have ers, there is no difference among the other regions
higher rates of problem drinking in all age, relig- for both teenagers and adults. Although there are
ious, racial, social class, and ethnic groups and in fewer of them in the South, those who do drink
all regions and communities. Teenage boys are tend to drink more per person than drinkers in
more likely to drink and to drink more frequently other regions (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
than girls, but the difference between male and and Alcoholism 1998a).
female percentages of current drinkers at this age
is less than it is in any older age group. Among Race, Ethnicity, and Religion. The percent of
adults, men are three to four times more likely drinking is higher among both white males and
than women (among the elderly as much as ten females than among African-American men and
times more likely) to be heavy drinkers and two to women. Drinking among non-Hispanic whites is
three times more likely to report negative personal also higher than among Hispanic whites. The pro-
and social consequences of drinking (National portion of problem or heavy drinkers is about the
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1987). same for African Americans and white Americans
(Fishburne et al. 1980; National Institute on Drug
Abuse, 1988; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism 1998a). There may be a tendency
for blacks to fall into the two extreme categories,
heavy drinkers or abstainers (Brown and Tooley
94
ALCOHOL
1989), and black males suffer the highest rate of had dropped to one-half and one-fourth respec-
mortality from cirrhosis of the liver (National Insti- tively. In 1997, adolescent rates had dropped even
tute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1998b). lower to four out of ten having ever used alcohol
American Indians and Alaskan Natives have rates and only two out of ten reporting use in the past
of alcohol abuse and problems several times the month. Current use in the general U.S. population
rates in the general population (National Institute (aged twelve and older) declined from 60 percent
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1987). in 1985 to 51 percent in 1997. Among the adult
population eighteen years of age and older, cur-
Catholics, Lutherans, and Episcopalians have rent use declined from 71 percent in 1985 to 55
relatively high rates of drinking. Relatively few percent in 1997. Lifetime use rates have also de-
fundamentalist Protestants, Baptists, and Mormons clined from 88.5 percent in 1979 to 81.9 percent in
drink. Jews have low rates of problem drinking, 1997 (aged twelve and older). Generally, there
and Catholics have relatively high rates of alcohol- have been declines in both annual (past year)
ism. Irish Americans have high rates of both drink- prevalence of drinking (decreases of 3 to 5 per-
ing and alcoholism. Italian Americans drink fre- cent) and current (past month) prevalence of drink-
quently and heavily but apparently do not have ing (decreases of 7 to 10 percent) among high
high rates of alcoholism (see Cahalan et al. 1967; school seniors, young adults, and older adults.
Mulford 1964). Strong religious beliefs and com- Although lifetime prevalence is not a sensitive
mitment, regardless of denominational affiliation, measure of short-term change in the adult popula-
inhibit both drinking and heavy drinking among tion (since the lifetime prevalence is already fixed
teenagers and college students (Cochran and Akers for the cohort of adults already sampled in previ-
1989; Berkowitz and Perkins 1986). ous surveys), it does reflect an overall decline in
alcohol use. It should be remembered, however,
Trends in Prevalence of Drinking. There has that most of this is light to moderate consumption;
been a century-long decline in the amount of the modal pattern of drinking for all age groups in
absolute alcohol consumed by the average drinker the United States has long been and continues to
in the United States. There was a period in the be nondeviant, light to moderate social drinking.
1970s when the per capita consumption increased,
and the proportion of drinkers in the population The relative size of the reductions in drinking
was generally higher by the end of the 1970s than prevalence over the last two decades have been
at the beginning of the decade, although there rather substantial; however, the proportions of
were yearly fluctuations up and down. The level of drinkers remains high. By the time of high school
drinking among men was already high, and the graduation, one-half of adolescents are current
increases came mainly among youth and women. drinkers and the proportion of drinkers in the
But in the 1980s the general downward trend population remains at this level throughout the
resumed (Keller 1958; National Institute on Alco- young adult years. Three-fourths of high school
hol Abuse and Alcoholism 1981, 1987, 1998). seniors and young adults and two-thirds of adults
Until the 1980s, this per capita trend was caused over the age of thirty-five have consumed alcohol
mainly by the increased use of lower-content beer in the past year (see table 1).
and wine and the declining popularity of distilled
spirits rather than a decreasing proportion of the Although lifetime use and current use rates
population who are drinkers. appear to be continuing a slight decline in all
categories, there have been some slight increases
Alcohol-use rates were quite high in the Unit- in rates of frequent (daily) drinking among high
ed States throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s school seniors and young adults. While these in-
(see table 2). Since then, there have been substan- creases do not approach the rates observed in the
tial declines in use rates in all demographic catego- 1980s they may indicate that the overall rates are
ries and age groups. In 1979 more than two-thirds stabilizing and hint of possible increases in alcohol
of American adolescents (twelve to seventeen years use rates in the future.
of age) had some experience with alcohol and
nearly four out of ten were current drinkers (drank Estimates of Prevalence of Alcoholism. In
within the past month). In 1988, these proportions spite of these trends in lower levels of drinking,
95
ALCOHOL
Percentages Reporting Lifetime, Past Year, and Past Month Use of Alcohol
in the U.S. Population Aged 12 and Older (1979–1997)
1979 1985 1991 1993 1997
Lifetime 88.5 84.9 83.6 82.6 81.9
64.1
Past Year 72.9 72.9 68.1 66.5 51.4
Past Month 63.2 60.2 52.2 50.8
Table 2
SOURCE: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 1998.
alcoholism remains one of the most serious prob- The final phase of alcoholism means that the
lems in American society. Alcohol abuse and all of person is rendered powerless by the disease to
the problems related to it cause enormous person- drink in a controlled, moderate, nonproblematic way.
al, social, health, and financial costs in American
society. Cahalan et al. (1969) in a 1965 national The disease of alcoholism is viewed as a disor-
survey characterized 6 percent of the general adult der or illness for which the individual is not per-
population and 9 percent of the drinkers as ‘‘heavy- sonally responsible for having contracted. It is
escape’’ drinkers, the same figures reported for a viewed as incurable in the sense that alcoholics can
1967 survey (Cahalan 1970). These do not seem to never truly control their drinking. That is, sobriety
have changed very much in the years since. They can be achieved by total abstention, but if even one
are similar to findings in national surveys from drink is taken, the alcoholic cannot control how
1979 to 1988 (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse much more he or she will consume. It is a ‘‘prima-
and Alcoholism 1981, 1987, 1988, 1989; Clark and ry’’ self-contained disease that produces the prob-
Midanik 1982), which support an estimate that 6 lems, abuse, and ‘‘loss of control’’ over drinking by
percent of the general population are problem those suffering from this disease. It can be con-
drinkers and that about 9 percent of those who are trolled through proper treatment to the point
drinkers will abuse or fail to control their intake of where the alcoholic can be helped to stop drinking
alcohol. Royce (1989) and Vaillant (1983) both so that he or she is in ‘‘remission’’ or ‘‘recovering.’’
estimate that 4 percent of the general population ‘‘Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic’’ is a cen-
in the United States are ‘‘true’’ alcoholics. This tral tenet of the disease concept. Thus, one can be
estimate would mean that there are perhaps 10.5 a sober alcoholic, still suffering from the disease
million alcoholics in American society (see also even though one is consuming no alcohol at all.
Liska 1997). How many alcoholics or how much Although the person is not responsible for becom-
alcohol abuse there is in our society is not easily ing sick, he or she is viewed as responsible for
determined because the very concept of alcohol- aiding in the cure by cooperating with the treat-
ism (and therefore what gets counted in the sur- ment regimen or participation in groups such as
veys and estimates) has long been and remains Alcoholics Anonymous.
controversial.
The disease concept is the predominant one
THE CONCEPT OF ALCOHOLISM in public opinion and discourse on alcohol (ac-
cording to a 1987 Gallup Poll, 87 percent of the
The idea of alcoholism as a sickness traces back at public believe that alcoholism is a disease). It is the
least 200 years (Conrad and Schneider 1980). principal concept used by the vast majority of the
There is no single, unified, disease concept, but treatment professionals and personnel offering
the prevailing concepts of alcoholism today re- programs for alcohol problems. It receives wide-
volve around the one developed by E. M. Jellinek spread support among alcohol experts and contin-
(1960) from 1940 to 1960. Jellinek defined alco- ues to be vigorously defended by many alcohol
holism as a disease entity that is diagnosed by the researchers (Keller 1976; Vaillant 1983; Royce
‘‘loss of control’’ over one’s drinking and that 1989). Alcoholics Anonymous, the largest single
progresses through a series of clear-cut ‘‘phases.’’ program for alcoholics in the world, defines alco-
holism as a disease (Rudy 1986). The concept of
96
ALCOHOL
alcoholism as a disease is the officially stated posi- abstinence at the other end and various other
tion of the federal agency most responsible for drinking patterns in between (Cahalan et al. 1969).
alcohol research and treatment, the National Insti- From this point of view, alcoholism is a disease
tute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (National only because it has been socially defined as a
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1987). disease (Conrad and Schneider 1980; Goode 1993).
Nonetheless, many sociologists and behavior- Genetic Factors in Alcoholism. Contrary to
al scientists remain highly skeptical and critical of what is regularly asserted, evidence that there may
the disease concept of alcoholism (Trice 1966; be genetic, biological factors in alcohol abuse is
Cahalan and Room 1974; Conrad and Schneider evidence neither in favor of nor against the disease
1980; Rudy 1986; Fingarette 1988, 1991; Peele concept, any more than evidence that there may
1989). The concept may do more harm than good be genetic variables in criminal behavior demon-
by discouraging many heavy drinkers who are strates that crime is a disease. Few serious re-
having problems with alcohol, but who do not searchers claim to have found evidence that a
identify themselves as alcoholics or do not want specific disease entity is inherited or that there is a
others to view them as sick alcoholics, from seek- genetically programmed and unalterable craving
ing help. The disease concept is a tautological (and or desire for alcohol. It is genetic susceptibility to
therefore untestable) explanation for the behavior alcoholism that interacts with the social environ-
of people diagnosed as alcoholic. That is, the ment and the person’s drinking experiences, rath-
diagnosis of the disease is made on the basis of er than genetic determinism, that is the predomi-
excessive, problematic alcohol behavior that seems nant perspective.
to be out of control, and then this diagnosed
disease entity is, in turn, used to explain the exces- The major evidence for the existence of he-
sive, problematic, out-of-control behavior. reditary factors in alcoholism comes from studies
that have found greater ‘‘concordance’’ between
In so far as claims about alcoholism as a dis- the alcoholism of identical twins than between
ease can be tested, ‘‘Almost everything that the siblings and from studies of adoptees in which
American public believes to be the scientific truth offspring of alcoholic fathers were found to have
about alcoholism is false’’ (Fingarette 1988, p.1; an increased risk of alcoholism even though raised
see also Peele 1989; Conrad and Schneider 1980; by nonalcoholic adoptive parents (Goodwin 1976;
Fingarette 1991; Akers 1992). The concept pre- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-
ferred by these authors and by other sociologists is ism 1982; U.S. Department of Health and Human
one that refers only to observable behavior and Services 1987; for a review and critique of physio-
drinking problems. The term alcoholism then is logical and genetic theories of alcoholism see Riv-
nothing more than a label attached to a pattern of ers 1994). Some have pointed to serious methodo-
drinking that is characterized by personal and logical problems in these studies that limit their
social dsyfunctions (Mulford and Miller 1960; Con- support for inherited alcoholism (Lester 1987).
rad and Schneider 1980; Rudy 1986: Goode 1993). Even the studies finding evidence for an inherited
That is, the drinking is so frequent, heavy, and alcoholism report that only a small minority of
abusive that it produces or exacerbates problems those judged to have the inherited traits become
for the drinker and those around him or her alcoholic and an even smaller portion of all alco-
including financial, family, occupational, physical, holics have indications of hereditary tendencies.
and interpersonal problems. The heavy drinking Whatever genetic variables there are in alcoholism
behavior and its attendant problems are them- apparently come into play in a small portion of
selves the focus of explanation and treatment. cases. Depending upon the definition of alcohol-
They are not seen as merely symptoms of some ism used, the research shows that biological inher-
underlying disease pathology. When drinking stops itance either makes no difference at all or makes a
or moderate drinking is resumed and drinking difference for only about one out of ten alcoholics.
does not cause social and personal problems, one Social and social psychological factors are the
is no longer alcoholic. Behavior we label as alco- principal variables in alcohol behavior, including
holic is problem drinking that lies at one extreme that which is socially labeled and diagnosed as
end of a continuum of drinking behavior with alcoholism (Fingarette 1988; Peele 1989).
97
ALCOHOL
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ALIENATION
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25:634–650.
Rudy, David 1986 Becoming Alcoholic: Alcoholics Anony-
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ism, Heavy Drinking, and Trouble Due to Drinking.’’
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tration 1998 Preliminary Results from the 1997 National
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1998a Apparent Per Capita Alcohol Consumption: Na- (SAMHSA). http://www.samhsa.gov.
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University of Michigan 1998 Monitoring the Future Sur-
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Mortality in the United States, 1970–1995. (Forough
Saadatmand, Frederick S. Stinson, Bridget F. Grant, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services 1987
and Mary C. Dufour) Rockville, Md.: National Insti- Sixth Special Report to the U. S. Congress on Alcohol and
tute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Health from the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Rockville, Md.: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
——— 1987 Alcohol and Health: Sixth Special Report to the and Alcoholism.
U. S. Congress from the Secretary of Health and Human
Services. Rockville, Md.: National Institute on Alcohol Vaillant, George 1983 The Natural History of Alcoholism.
Abuse and Alcoholism. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
——— 1982 ‘‘Researchers Investigating Inherited Alcohol Wechsler, H., A. Davenport, G. W. Dowdall, B. Moeykens,
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——— 1981 Fourth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on RONALD L. AKERS
Alcohol and Health. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govern- THOMAS R. HEFFINGTON
ment Printing Office.
ALIENATION
National Institute on Drug Abuse 1989 ‘‘Highlights of
the 1988 Household Survey on Drug Abuse.’’ NIDA Since 1964, many commentators have been speak-
Capsules, August. Rockville, Md.: National Institute ing of a crisis of confidence in the United States, a
on Drug Abuse. malaise marked by widespread public belief that
major institutions—businesses, labor unions, and
——— 1989 Results from High School, College, and Young especially the government, political parties, and
Adult Populations, 1975–1988. Washington, D.C.: U.S. political leaders—are unresponsive, remote, inef-
Government Printing Office. fective, and not to be trusted (Lipset and Schneider
1983). Alienation became the catchword for these
———1985 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: sentiments, detected among discontented work-
Main Findings. Rockville, Md.: National Institute on ers, angry youth, and militant minority groups.
Drug Abuse. American leaders concerned about the increase in
alienation found new relevance in ongoing discus-
Peele, Stanton 1989 Diseasing of America: Addiction Treat- sions among sociologists and other social scien-
ment Out of Control. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books. tists, who have defined alienation, used survey
research to measure the level of alienation in
Pittman, David J., and Helene White (eds.) 1991 Society, society, and have debated the causes, significance,
Culture, and Drinking Patterns Re-examined. New and consequences of alienation and particularly,
Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. political alienation.
Ray, Oakley, and Charles Ksir 1999 Drugs, Society, and
Human Behavior. 8th ed. Boston: WCB/McGraw-Hill.
Rivers, P. Clayton 1994 Alcohol and Human Behavior:
Theory, Research, and Practice. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice Hall.
99
ALIENATION
DIMENSIONS OF ALIENATION AND Much of the literature on alienation in the
1990s focused on alienation from political institu-
POLITICAL ALIENATION tions, and some writers have examined how aliena-
tion has changed in former authoritarian nations
Theorists and sociological researchers have devel- such as Argentina and South Africa and in Eastern
oped different definitions of alienation (Seeman Europe (Geyer 1996; Geyer and Heinz 1992). Soci-
1975). Scholars influenced by the philosophical ologists interested in the political well-being of the
writings of Karl Marx have used the word aliena- United States have measured the extent to which
tion to mean self-estrangement and the lack of self- individuals feel powerless over government (i.e.,
realization at work (Blauner 1964; Hodson 1996). unable to influence government) and perceive
Marx argued that although humans by their very politics as meaningless (i.e., incomprehensible;
nature are capable of creative and intrinsically Seeman 1975). Such attitudes may be connected
rewarding work, the Industrial Revolution alienat- to a situation of normlessness, or anomie, which
ed workers from their creative selves and reduced occurs when individuals are no longer guided by
workers to the unskilled tenders of machines the political rules of the game (Lipset and Raab
(Braverman 1974). The worker produced machin- 1978). Social scientists have been concerned that
ery and other commodities that formed the capi- alienation might reduce political participation
talist system of workplace hierarchies and global through institutional channels such as voting, and
markets, which the worker could not control. Rath- might lead to nonconventional activity like protest
er, the system dominated workers as an alienated, movements and collective violence.
‘‘reified’’ force, apart from the will and interests of
workers (Meszaros 1970). Whereas this oldest defi- MEASUREMENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF
nition links alienation to the development of capi- POLITICAL ALIENATION
talism in modern society, some scholars see aliena-
tion as a characteristic reaction to the postmodern Political alienation consists of attitudes whereby
condition of fragmented multiple images and loss citizens develop (or fail to develop) meanings and
of individual identities and any shared meanings evaluations about government and about their
(Geyer 1996). own power (or powerlessness) in politics. Specifi-
cally, political alienation is composed of the atti-
Alienation can also refer to the isolation of tudes of distrust and inefficacy. Distrust (also called
individuals from a community—a detachment from cynicism) is a generalized negative attitude about
the activities, identifications, and ties that a com- governmental outputs: the policies, operations,
munity can provide. In addition, the concept of and conditions produced by government. Com-
alienation has included the notion of cultural radi- pared to the simple dislike of a particular policy or
calism or estrangement from the established val- official, distrust is broader in scope. Whereas dis-
ues of a society. Ingelhart (1981) has argued that trust is an evaluation of governmental outputs,
the highly educated generation that came of age in inefficacy is an expectation about inputs, that is,
the counterculture of the 1960s rejected their the processes of influence over government. Peo-
elders’ traditional values of materialism, order, ple have a sense of inefficacy when they judge
and discipline. Easterlin (1980, pp. 108–111 ) sug- themselves as powerless to influence government
gests that it is the relatively large cohort size of the policies or deliberations (Gamson 1971).
Baby Boom generation that led them to suffer
competition for jobs, psychological stress, discon- Researchers have sought to find opinion poll
tent, and hence, generalized political alienation. questions that yield responses consistently corre-
On the contrary, Inglehart (1997) argues that baby lated to only one underlying attitude, of distrust
boomers and succeeding generations will only for example. Mason, House, and Martin (1985)
express alienation against specific authoritative argue that the most ‘‘internally valid’’ measures of
institutions, such as the police, the military, and distrust are two questions: ‘‘How much of the time
churches. With succeeding generations increas- do you think you can trust the government in
ingly espousing ‘‘postmaterialist’’ values such as Washington to do what is right—just about all of
the quality of life, self-realization, and participa- the time, most of the time, or only some of the
tory democracy, Inglehart finds a worldwide in- time?’’ and ‘‘Would you say that the government is
crease in some activities that reduce alienation
such as petition-signing and political conversation.
100
ALIENATION
pretty much run by a few big interests looking out 1989, p. 98.) Social scientists have generally agreed
for themselves or that it is run for the benefit of all that politically alienated individuals are less likely
people?’’ Similarly, a person’s sense of inefficacy to participate in conventional political processes.
can be measured by asking the person to agree or During four presidential elections from 1956 to
disagree with the following statements, which con- 1968, citizens with a low sense of efficacy and a low
tain the words ‘‘like me’’: ‘‘People like me don’t level of trust were less likely to vote, attend politi-
have any say about what the government does’’ cal meetings, work for candidates, contribute mon-
and ‘‘I don’t think public officials care much what ey, or even pay attention to the mass media cover-
people like me think.’’ age of politics. Although some studies fail to confirm
that those with low trust are likely to be apathetic
During election years since the 1950s, the (Citrin 1974, p. 982), those with a low sense of
Center for Political Studies at the University of political efficacy are indeed likely to be nonvoters,
Michigan at Ann Arbor has posed these and other mainly because they are also less educated (Lipset
questions to national samples of citizens. Those and Schneider 1983, p. 341). In the United States,
replying that you can trust the government only the percentage of eligible voters who actually cast
some of the time or none of the time comprised 22 ballots declined between 1960 and 1980, while the
percent in 1964 but 73 percent in 1980. This percentage who expressed political inefficacy rose
percentage fell during President Ronald Reagan’s in the same period; Abramson and Aldrich (1982)
first term but then increased through 1994 (reach- estimate that about 27 percent of the former trend
ing 78 percent) before falling to 67 percent in is caused by the latter. (See Shaffer 1981 for confir-
1996. Those disagreeing with the statement that mation but Cassel and Hill 1981 and Miller 1980
public officials care rose from 25 percent in 1960, for contrary evidence).
to 52 percent in 1980 and 66 percent in 1994
(Orren 1997; Poole and Mueller 1998). Piven and Cloward (1988) vigorously dispute
the notion that the alienated attitudes of individu-
In addition, polls indicate that in the same als are the main cause for the large numbers of
time period, increasing numbers of citizens felt nonvoters in the United States. Piven and Cloward
that government was less responsive to the people construct a historical explanation—that in the ear-
(Lipset and Schneider 1983, pp. 13–29). This atti- ly twentieth century, political reformers weakened
tude, which can be termed system unresponsiveness, local party organizations in cities, increased the
was measured by asking questions that did not use qualifications for suffrage, and made voting regis-
the words ‘‘like me.’’ Responses to the questions tration procedures more difficult. Legal and insti-
thus focused not on the respondents’ evaluations tutional changes caused a sharp decrease in vot-
of their own personal power, but rather on their ing, which only then led to widespread political
judgments of the external political system. (Craig alienation. Voting participation, especially among
1979 conceptualizes system unresponsiveness as the minority poor in large cities, continues to be
‘‘output inefficacy’’). low because of legal requirements to register in
advance of election day and after a change in
What are the consequences of the increase in residence, and because of limited locations to
political alienation among Americans? Social sci- register.
entists have investigated whether individuals with
highly alienated attitudes are more likely to with- Some researchers have found that the po-
draw from politics, engage in violence, or favor litically alienated are more likely to utilize
protest movements or extremist leaders. Research nonconventional tactics such as political demon-
findings have been complicated by the fact that the strations or violence. College students who partici-
same specific alienated attitudes have been linked pated in a march on Washington against the Viet-
to different kinds of behaviors (Schwartz 1973, pp. nam War, compared to a matched sample of
162–177). students from the same classes at the same schools,
expressed more alienated attitudes, stemming from
The alienated showed little tendency to sup- an underlying sense of inefficacy and system unre-
port extremist candidates for office. (The only sponsiveness (Schwartz 1973 pp, 138–142). Paige’s
exception was that high-status alienated citizens (1971) widely influential study drew on Gamson’s
supported Goldwater’s presidential campaign in distinctions between trust and efficacy and showed
1964. See Wright 1976, pp. 227, 251; Herring
101
ALIENATION
that Blacks who participated in the 1967 riot in Cynicism, rather than being an expression of deep
Newark, New Jersey, had low levels of political discontent, is nothing more than rhetoric and
trust but high levels of political efficacy (i.e., high ritual and is not a threat to the system. Even
capabilities and skills to affect politics, measured partisans who intensely distrust a president from
indirectly in this instance by the respondents’ level an opposing party are proud of the governmental
of political knowledge). However, Sigelman and system in the United States and want to keep it.
Feldman’s (1983) attempt to replicate Paige’s find- However, King (1997) argues that distrust stems
ings in a seven-nation study discovered that the from a more serious problem, that congressional
participants and supporters of unconventional po- leaders and activists in political parties have be-
litical activity were only slightly more likely to feel come more ideological and polarized (see Lo and
both efficacious and distrusting. Rather than be- Schwartz 1998 on conservative leaders). The pub-
ing generally distrusting, participants and sup- lic has remained in the center but is becoming
porters in some nations were more likely to be alienated from politicians whose ideologies are
dissatisfied about specific policies. (See also Citrin seen as far removed from popular concerns.
1974, p. 982 and Craig and Maggiotto 1981 for the
importance of specific dissatisfactions). The alienation of social classes and minori-
ties. Second, other researchers interested in find-
Even though politically alienated individuals ing concentrations of the politically alienated have
may sometimes be found in social movements, the searched not among people with varying partisan
alienation of individuals is not necessarily the identifications, but rather in demographic groups
cause of social movements. McCarthy and Zald defined by such variables as age, gender, educa-
(1977) have argued that alienation and indeed tion, and socioeconomic class. Many public opin-
policy dissatisfactions and other grievances are ion surveys using national samples have found
quite common in societies. Whether or not a social alienation only weakly concentrated among such
movement arises depends on the availability of groups (Orren 1997). In the 1960s, the sense of
resources and the opportunities for success. The inefficacy increased uniformly throughout the en-
civil rights movement, according to McAdam tire U.S. population, rather than increasing in
(1982), succeeded not when blacks believed that specific demographic groups such as blacks or
the political system was unresponsive, but rather youth (House and Mason 1975). Using a 1970
when blacks felt that some national leaders showed survey, Wright (1976) noted that feelings of ineffi-
signs of favoring their cause. cacy and distrust were somewhat concentrated
among the elderly, the poorly educated, and the
DISTRIBUTION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF working class. Still, Wright’s conclusion was that
POLITICAL ALIENATION the alienated were a diverse group that consisted
of both rich and poor, black and white, and old
Social scientists have argued that political aliena- and young, making it very unlikely that the alienat-
tion is concentrated in different types of groups— ed could ever become a unified political force.
among those who dislike politicians of the oppos-
ing political party, in certain economic and racial Research on the gender gap, that is, the differ-
groups, and among those dissatisfied with govern- ing political attitudes between women and men
ment policy. Each of these findings supports a (Mueller 1988), indicates that women are not more
different assessment of the causes and the impor- politically alienated than men (Poole and Muller
tance of political alienation. 1998). In fact, a higher percentage of women
compared to men support more government spend-
Partisan Bickering? First of all, high levels of ing on social programs and a more powerful gov-
political distrust can be found among those who ernment with expanded responsibilities (Clark and
have a negative view of the performance of the Clark 1996) and thus are less distrustful of the
presidential administration then in office. Citrin broad scope of government. Some studies have
(1974) concludes that widespread expressions of shown that the politically alienated are indeed
political distrust (cynicism) merely indicate Demo- concentrated among persons with less education
cratic versus Republican Party rivalries as usual. and lower income and occupational status (Wright
102
ALIENATION
1976, p. 136; Lipset and Schneider 1983, pp. 311– distrust have increased the most among the mid-
315; Finifter 1970; Form and Huber 1971). Re- dle strata—private-sector managers, middle-income
search that directly focuses on obtaining the opin- workers, and a ‘‘new layer’’ of public-sector profes-
ions of minority and poor respondents has uncov- sionals (Herring 1989).
ered high degrees of political alienation among
these groups. A survey of roughly equal numbers Unlike the poor, the middle strata have the
of blacks and whites in metropolitan Detroit in resources to protest and to organize social move-
1992 showed that blacks, compared to whites, ments and electoral campaigns, exemplified by
evaluated schools and the police more negatively, protests against the property tax that culminated
distrusted local government more, and thought with the passage of Proposition 13 in California
that participation in local politics was less effica- and Proposition 2 1/2 in Massachusetts. Property
cious (Bledsoe et al. 1996). Bobo and Hutchings tax protesters were middle-class homeowners who
(1966) oversampled minority residents of Los An- expressed their political alienation when they con-
geles County and found that higher percentages of demned ‘‘taxation without representation.’’ Citi-
blacks compared to whites expressed ‘‘racial al- zens who felt cut off from political decision mak-
ienation,’’ that is, the opinion that blacks faced ing were the most likely to support the tax revolt
inferior life chances, fewer opportunities, and un- (Lowery and Sigelman 1981). Protests centered
fair treatment. Blacks living in Detroit neighbor- around unresponsive government officials who
hoods where over 20 percent of the residents are continued to increase assessments and tax rates,
poor, were more likely than other blacks to say that without heeding the periodic angry protests of
they had little influence in community decisions homeowners. Movement activists interpreted their
and that community problems were complex and own powerlessness and power in community and
unsolvable (Cohen and Dawson 1993). metropolitan politics, thereby shaping the emerg-
ing tactics and goals of a grass-roots citizens’ move-
Wright argues that even though sizable num- ment (Lo 1995).
bers of persons express alienated attitudes, these
people pose little threat to the stability of regimes, A Crisis for Democracy? Finally, other social
because they rarely take political action and even scientists have found intense alienation among
lack the resources and skills to be able to do so. those with irreconcilable dissatisfactions about gov-
Lipset (1963) has argued that apathy is a virtue ernment policy, thus threatening to make effective
because it allows elites in democratic societies to government impossible. Miller (1974) argued that
better exert leadership. (For a critique see Wolfe between 1964 and 1970, political distrust (cyni-
1977, p. 301.) For many social scientists in the cism) increased simultaneously among those fa-
1950s, widespread apathy was a welcome alterna- voring withdrawal and those favoring military es-
tive to the alleged mass activism that had produced calation in the Vietnam War. Similarly, distrust
the fascist regimes in Germany and Italy. Howev- increased both among blacks who thought that the
er, Wright (1976, pp. 257–301) counters that since civil rights movement was making too little prog-
the alienated masses actually pose no threat to the ress, and among white segregationists who held
contemporary political system, an increase in mass the opposite view. The 1960s produced two groups—
democratic participation, perhaps the mobiliza- cynics of the left and cynics of the right, each
tion of workers on the issues of class division, favoring polarized policy alternatives (see also Lipset
could very well be beneficial. and Schneider 1983, p. 332). Cynics of the right,
for example, rejected both the Democratic and
But the class mobilization that Wright envi- Republican parties as too liberal. (Herring 1989
sions might turn out to be a middle-class affair has developed a similar ‘‘welfare split’’ thesis, that
(Teixeira 1996) rather than a working-class revolt. more social spending has different effects on the
Whereas Lipset and Wright have been concerned distrust level of various groups but, overall, raises
about the concentration of political alienation in political distrust.) Miller concludes that increased
the lower socioeconomic strata, Warren (1976) cynicism, along with a public bifurcated into ex-
emphasizes the alienation among ‘‘Middle Ameri- treme stances on issues, makes it difficult for
can Radicals,’’ who believe that they are disfavored political leaders to compromise and build support
by a government that gives benefits to the poor for centrist policies. While agreeing with Wright
and to the wealthy. Feelings of inefficacy and that the alienated are divided amongst themselves,
103
ALIENATION
Miller argues that this fragmentation does indeed plight of citizens increasingly subjected to the
constitute a crisis of legitimacy for American politics. authority and the bureaucracy of the state in ad-
vanced capitalist societies. Perhaps returning to
For some social theorists, widespread political the original theorizing about alienation in the
alienation is a sign of even deeper political contra- economic sphere can deepen our analysis of con-
dictions. Throughout American history, as citizens temporary political alienation.
have fought to extend their democratic freedoms
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ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
Engaging the Public: How Government and the Media family? Was it a useful social institution? Why or
and Reinvigorate American Democracy. Lanham, Md.: why not? How can it be improved? The given
Rowman and Littlefield. cultural milieu of the period, such as resurgence of
the women’s movement, concerns about human
Sandel, Michael 1996 Democracy’s Discontent: America in rights more generally, and improvements in our
Search of a Public Philosophy. Cambridge, Mass.: Har- reproductive and contraceptive technology, exac-
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individuals began to experiment with new and
Schwartz, David C. 1973 Political Alienation and Political alternative ways in which to develop meaningful
Behavior. Chicago: Aldine. relationships, sometimes outside the confines of
marriage. Literature soon abounded among both
Seeman, Melvin 1975 ‘‘Alienation Studies.’’ In Alex the academic community and the popular press
Inkeles, James Coleman, and Neil Smelser, eds. An- describing and deliberating on these new life-
nual Review of Sociology, vol. 8. Palo Alto, Calif.: styles. In 1972, a special issue of The Family Coordi-
Annual Reviews. nator was devoted to the subject of alternative
lifestyles, with a follow-up issue published in 1975.
Shaffer, Stephen D. 1981 ‘‘A Multivariate Explanation The subject was firmly entrenched within the field
of Decreasing Turnout in Presidential Elections, 1960– of family sociology by 1980 when the Journal of
1976.’’ American Journal of Political Science 25:68–95. Marriage and Family devoted a chapter to alterna-
tive family lifestyles in their decade review of
Sigelman, Lee, and Stanley Feldman 1983 ‘‘Efficacy, research and theory.
Mistrust, and Political Mobilization: A Cross-Nation-
al Analysis.’’ Comparative Political Studies 16:118–143. Despite the increased visibility and tolerance
for a variety of lifestyles during the 1990s, concern
Teixeira, Ruy A. 1996 Economic Changes and the Middle- is voiced from some people over the ‘‘demise’’ of
Class Revolt Against the Democratic Party. In Stephen C. the family. The high divorce rate, increased rates
Craig, ed., Broken Contract? Changing Relationships of premarital sexuality, cohabitation, and extra-
between Americans and their Government. Boulder, Colo.: marital sex are pointed to as both the culprits and
Westview Press. the consequences of the deterioration of family
values. Popenoe and Whitehead write about co-
Warren, Donald I. 1976 The Radical Center: Middle Ameri- habitation, for example: ‘‘Despite its widespread
cans and the Politics of Alienation. Notre Dame, Ind.: acceptance by the young, the remarkable growth
University of Notre Dame Press. of unmarried cohabitation in recent years does
not appear to be in children’s or the society’s best
Wolfe, Alan 1977 The Limits of Legitimacy: Political Con- interest. The evidence suggests that it has weak-
tradictions of Contemporary Capitalism. New York: ened marriage and the intact, two-parent family
Free Press. and thereby damaged our social well-being, espe-
cially that of women and children’’ (1999, p. 16).
Wright, James D. 1976 The Dissent of the Governed: Aliena- What do the authors mean by ‘‘society’s best inter-
tion and Democracy in America. New York: Academ- est’’? And what type of family relationship would
ic Press. be in our ‘‘best interest’’? What invariably comes
to mind is the married, middle-class, traditional
CLARENCE Y.H. LO two-parent family in which the father works out-
side the home and the mother stays at home to
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES take care of the children, at least while they are
young. This monolithic model, however, excludes
Lifestyles that were considered ‘‘alternative’’ in the majority of the population; indeed, a growing
the past are becoming less unusual and increasing- number of persons do not desire such a model
ly normative. Many people, for example, experi- even if it were attainable. It is based on the false
ence cohabitation, divorce, and remarriage. Other notion of a single and uniform intimate experi-
lifestyles, such as singlehood, gay and lesbian rela- ence that many argue has racist, sexist, and classist
tionships, or remaining childfree may not be rising connotations.
drastically in frequency, but they are less stigma-
tized and more visible than they were in recent
decades.
It was during the 1960s and 1970s that the
utility and the structure of many social institutions
were seriously questioned. This included the insti-
tution of the family. What was the purpose of
106
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
This distress about the demise of the family is avenue for enhancing one’s happiness. In the early
not particularly new. For at least a century Ameri- 1990s, when asked about the importance of being
can observers and social critics have warned against married, approximately 15 percent of unmarried
the negative consequences of changes in the fami- white males and 17 percent of unmarried white
ly. Yes, the family has indeed changed, but the vast females between the ages of 19 and 35 did not
majority of the population, both then and now, agree with the statement that they ‘‘would like to
still prefers to marry, have children, and live in a marry someday.’’ The percentage of blacks that
committed, monogamous relationship. The most did not necessarily desire marriage was even high-
profound changes to date have not occurred in er, at 24 percent and 22 percent of black males and
alternatives to marriage but rather in alternatives females, respectively. Interestingly, the gap in atti-
prior to marriage, and alternative ways in structur- tudes between males and females was the largest
ing marriage itself, while keeping the basic institu- among Latinos, with only 9 percent of Latino
tion and its purposes intact. For example, nonmarital males, but 25 percent of Latina females claiming
sex, delayed marriage and childbearing, and co- that they did not necessarily want to marry
habitation are practiced with increasing frequency (South 1993).
and are tolerated by a larger percentage of the
population than ever before. And within marriage Despite this gender gap, single males are viewed
itself, new behaviors and ideologies are becoming more favorably than are single females. Males are
increasingly popular, such as greater equality be- stereotyped as carefree ‘‘bachelors,’’ while single
tween men and women (although gender equality women may still be characterized as unattractive
is more an ideal than a reality in most marriages). and unfortunate ‘‘spinsters.’’ In the popular card
game ‘‘Old Maid,’’ the game’s loser is the one who
NEVER-MARRIED SINGLES is stuck with the card featuring an old and unat-
tractive unmarried woman. Oudijk (1983) found
A small but growing percentage of adult men and that the Dutch population generally affords great-
women remain single throughout their lives. In er lifestyle options to women, and only one-quar-
the United States, approximately 5 percent never ter of his sample of married and unmarried per-
marry (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998). These sons reported that married persons are necessarily
individuals experience life without the support happier than are singles.
and obligations of a spouse and usually children.
While often stereotyped as either ‘‘swingers’’ or Shostak (1987) has developed a typology in
‘‘lonely losers,’’ Stein reports that both categoriza- which to illustrate the divergence among the nev-
tions are largely incorrect (1981). Instead, singles er-married single population. It is based on two
cannot be easily categorized and do not constitute major criteria: the voluntary verses involuntary
a single social type. Some have chosen singlehood nature of their singlehood, and whether their
as a preferred option, perhaps due to career deci- singlehood is viewed as temporary or stable.
sions, sexual preference, or other family responsi- Ambivalents are those who may not at this point be
bilities. Others have lived in locations in which seeking mates but who are open to the idea of
demographic imbalances have affected the pool of marriage at some time in the future. They may be
eligibles for mate selection. And others have been deferring marriage for reasons related to school-
lifelong isolates, have poor social skills, or have ing or career, or they may simply enjoy experi-
significant health impairments that have limited menting with a variety of relationships. Wishfuls
social contacts. are actively seeking a mate but have been unsuc-
cessful in finding one. They are, generally, dissatis-
Attitudes toward singlehood have been quite fied with their single state and would prefer to be
negative historically, especially in the United States, married. The resolved consciously prefer singlehood.
although change has been noted. Studies report They are committed to this lifestyle for a variety of
that during the 1950s, remaining single was viewed reasons; career, sexual orientation, or other per-
as pathology, but by the mid-1970s singlehood was sonal considerations. A study of 482 single Canadi-
not only tolerated but also viewed by many as an ans reported that nearly half considered them-
selves to fall within this category (Austrom and
107
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
Hanel 1985). They have made a conscious decision Demographers predict that the proportion of
to forgo marriage for the sake of a single lifestyle. singles in our population is likely to increase slight-
Small but important components of this group are ly in the future. As singlehood continues to be-
priests; nuns; and others who, for religious rea- come a viable and respectable alternative to mar-
sons, choose not to marry. Finally, regretfuls are riage, more adults may choose to remain single
those who would rather marry but who have given throughout their lives. Others may remain single
up their search for a mate and are resigned to not out of choice but due to demographic and
singlehood. They are involuntarily stable singles. social trends. More people are postponing mar-
riage, and it is likely that some of these will find
While the diversity and heterogeneity among themselves never marrying. For example, the num-
the never-married population is becoming increas- ber of women between the ages of forty and forty-
ingly apparent, one variable is suspected to be of four today who have never married is double the
extreme importance in explaining at least some number in 1980, at approximately 9 percent (U.S.
variation: gender. Based on data gathered in nu- Bureau of the Census 1998). Some of these women
merous treatises, the emerging profiles of male may marry eventually, but many will likely remain
and female singles are in contrast. As Bernard unmarried. Moreover, the increasing educational
(1973) bluntly puts it, the never-married men rep- level and occupational aspirations of women, cou-
resent the ‘‘bottom of the barrel,’’ while the never- pled with our continued norms of marital homogamy,
married women are the ‘‘cream of the crop.’’ help to ensure that the number of never-married
Single women are generally thought to be more single persons—women in particular—is likely to
intelligent, are better educated, and are more increase somewhat into the twenty-first century.
successful in their occupations than are single
men. Additionally, research finds that single wom- COHABITATION
en report to be happier, less lonely, and have a
greater sense of psychological well-being than do Cohabitation, or the sharing of a household by
their single male counterparts. unmarried intimate partners, is quickly becoming
commonplace in the United States. Some people
One reason why single women are more likely suggest that it is now a normative extension of
to be the ‘‘cream of the crop’’ as compared to men dating. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Cen-
is that many well-educated and successful women sus, the number of cohabiting couples topped 4
have difficulty finding suitable mates who are their million in 1997, up from less than one-half million
peers, and therefore have remained unmarried. in 1960. Approximately one-half of unmarried
Mate-selection norms in the United States encour- women between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-
age women to ‘‘marry up’’ and men to ‘‘marry nine have lived with a partner or are currently
down’’ in terms of income, education, and occupa- doing so, and over half of all first marriages are
tional prestige. Thus, successful women have few- now preceded by cohabitation. Approximately one-
er available possible partners, because their male third of these unions contain children (U.S. Bu-
counterparts may be choosing from a pool of reau of the Census 1998). Cohabitation is now
women with less education and income. A second seen as an institutionalized component to the
reason for the gender difference is that some larger progression involving dating, courtship, en-
highly educated and successful women do not gagement, and marriage.
want what they interpret as the ‘‘burdens’’ of a
husband and children. Career-oriented women Given the attitudes of even younger persons,
are not rewarded, as are career-oriented men, for we expect trends in cohabitation to continue to
having a family. Someone who is described as a increase in the United States. Nearly 60 percent of
‘‘family man’’ is thought to be a stable and reliable a representative sample of high school seniors
employee; there is no semantic equivalent for ‘‘agreed,’’ or ‘‘mostly agreed’’ with the statement
women. Thus, well-educated, career-oriented wom- ‘‘it is usually a good idea for a couple to live
en may see singlehood as an avenue for their together before getting married in order to find
success, whereas well-educated, career-oriented out whether they really get along’’ (Survey Re-
men may see marriage as providing greater bene- search Center, University of Michigan 1995).
fits than singlehood.
108
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
Cohabitation is not a recent phenomenon, convenience or for pragmatic reasons; (2) going
nor one unique to the United States. In Sweden together, in which the couple is affectionately in-
and other Scandinavian countries, for example, volved but has no plans for marriage in the future;
cohabitation has become so common that it is (3) transitional, which serves as a preparation for
considered a social institution in and of itself. It is a marriage; and (4) alternative to marriage, wherein
variant of marriage rather than of courtship; ap- the couple opposes marriage on ideological or
proximately 30 percent of all couples in Sweden other grounds.
who live together are unmarried (Tomasson 1998).
People who cohabit have the same rights and Although attitudes toward cohabitation have
obligations as do married couples with respect to become increasingly positive, especially among
taxation, inheritance, childcare, and social welfare younger persons, Popenoe and Whitehead (1999)
benefits. Many of these unions have children born remind us that cohabitation was illegal throughout
within them, and there is little stigma attached to the United States before 1970 and remains illegal
being born ‘‘out of wedlock.’’ Another study of in a number of states based on a legal code
eighty-seven Canadian couples, located through outlawing ‘‘crimes against chastity’’ (Buunk and
newspaper wedding announcements, reported that Van Driel 1989). These laws, however, are rarely if
64 percent of the couples had cohabited for some ever enforced. In the Netherlands, or in other
period, 43 percent of these for over three months. countries where cohabitation is institutionalized,
In contrast, cohabitation is relatively rare in more the majority of the population sees few distinc-
traditional and Roman Catholic nations such tions between cohabitation and marriage. Both
as Italy. are viewed as appropriate avenues for intimacy,
and the two lifestyles resemble one another much
Cohabitors tend to differ from noncohabitors more so than in the United States in terms of
in a variety of sociodemographic characteristics. commitment and stability.
For example, cohabitors tend to see themselves as
being more androgynous and more politically lib- The future of cohabitation, and the subse-
eral, are less apt to be religious, are more experi- quent changes in the attitudes toward it, is of
enced sexually, and are younger than married considerable interest to sociologists. Many predict
persons. Although cohabitors may argue that liv- that cohabitation will become institutionalized in
ing together prior to marriage will enhance the the United States to a greater degree in the near
latter relationship by increasing their knowledge future, shifting from a pattern of courtship to an
of their compatibility with day-to-day living prior alternative to marriage. Whether it will ever achieve
to legalizing the union, such optimism is generally the status found in other countries, particularly in
not supported. While some studies indicate no Scandinavia, remains to be seen.
differences in the quality of marriages among
those who first cohabited and those that did not, CHILDFREE ADULTS
others find that those people who cohabit have
higher rates of divorce. This may, however, have There is reason to believe that fundamental changes
nothing to do with cohabitation per se but rather are occurring in the values associated with having
may be due to other differences in the personali- children. As economic opportunities for women
ties and expectations of marriage between the increase; as birth control, including abortion, be-
two groups. comes more available and reliable; and as toler-
ance increases for an array of lifestyles, having
A wide variety of personal relationships exist children is likely to become increasingly viewed as
among cohabiting couples. Several typologies have an option rather than a mandate. Evidence is
been created to try to capture the diversity found accumulating to suggest that both men and wom-
within these relationships. One particularly useful en are reevaluating the costs and benefits of par-
one, articulated by Macklin (1983), is designed to enthood. Approximately 9 percent of white and
exemplify the diversity in the stability of such African-American women and 6 percent of Latina
relationships. She discusses four types of cohabiting women indicate that they would like to have no
relationships. These include: (1) temporary or casual children (U.S Bureau of the Census 1998).
relationships, in which the couple cohabits for
109
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
This trend is occurring not only in the United documents the pervasiveness of pronatalist senti-
States but in many industrialized countries in Eu- ment. Those who voluntarily opt to remain childfree
rope as well. The decline in childbearing there has are viewed as selfish, immature, lonely, unfulfilled,
been referred to as the ‘‘second demographic insensitive, and more likely to have mental prob-
transition’’ (Van de Kaa 1987). Davis (1987) posits lems than are those who choose parenthood. In
that features of industrial societies weaken the the past, females, persons with less education,
individual’s desire for children. He lists several those with large families of their own, Catholics,
interrelated traits of industrialization, including and residents of rural areas were most apt to judge
the postponement of marriage, cohabitation, and the childfree harshly. However, more recently,
high rates of divorce, claiming that these trends data from a nationally representative sample sug-
decrease the need for both marriage and childbearing. gest that women are more likely to want to remain
childfree than are men (Seccombe 1991).
Remaining childfree is not a new phenome-
non, however. In 1940, for example, 17 percent of Most studies report that those persons who
married white women between the ages of thirty- opt to remain childfree are well aware of the
five and thirty-nine were childfree. Some of these sanctions surrounding their decision yet are rarely
women were simply delaying parenthood until upset by them (see Houseknecht 1987 for a re-
their forties; however, many remained childfree. view). In her review of twelve studies, Houseknecht
This percentage began to drop considerably after found only three that reported that childfree indi-
World War II, and by the late 1970s only 7 percent viduals had trouble dealing with the reaction from
of women in the thirty-five to thirty-nine age group others. Sanctions apparently are not strong enough
did not have children. Today the figure has risen to detract certain persons from what they perceive
to over 13 percent among this age group (U.S. as the attractiveness of a childfree lifestyle.
Bureau of the Census 1998). This increase is due to Houseknecht (1987), in a content analysis of twenty-
a multitude of factors: delayed childbearing, infertility, nine studies reporting the rationales for remain-
and voluntary childlessness. ing childfree, identified nine primary motivations.
These are, in order of the frequency in which they
An important distinction to make in the dis- were found: (1) freedom from child-care responsi-
cussion of childlessness is whether the decision bilities: greater opportunity for self-fulfillment and
was voluntary or involuntary. Involuntary childlessness spontaneous mobility; (2) more satisfactory mari-
involves those who are infecund or subfecund. For tal relationship; (3) female career considerations;
them, being childfree is not a choice. Unless they (4) monetary advantages; (5) concern about popu-
adopt or create some other social arrangement, lation growth; (6) general dislike of children; (7)
they are inevitably committed to this lifestyle. negative early socialization experience and doubts
Voluntary childlessness, the focus of this discus- about the ability to parent; (8) concern about
sion, involves those who choose to remain childfree. physical aspects of childbirth and recovery; and (9)
Large differences exist within members of this concern for children given world conditions. Gen-
group; early articulators have made their decision der differences were evidenced in a number of
early in their lives and are committed to their areas. Overall, females were more likely to offer
choice. Postponers, on the other hand, begin first by altruistic rationales (e.g., concern about popula-
delaying their childbearing, but wind up being tion growth, doubts about the ability to parent,
childfree due to their continual postponement. concern for children given world conditions). The
Early articulators generally exhibit less stereotypical male samples, conversely, were more apt to offer
gender roles, are more likely to cohabit, and enjoy personal motives (e.g., general dislike of children,
the company of children less than do postponers. monetary advantages).
Seccombe (1991) found that among married per-
sons under age forty who have no children, wives The consequences of large numbers of per-
are more likely than their husbands to report a sons in industrialized societies forgoing parent-
preference for remaining childfree (19 percent hood are profound. For example, the demograph-
and 13 percent, respectively). ic structure in many countries is in the process of
radical change; populations are becoming increas-
Despite increasing rates of voluntary childlessness, ingly aged. More persons are reaching old age
most research conducted within the United States than ever before, those persons are living longer,
110
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
and birth rates are low. The cohort age eighty-five Cross-cultural evidence suggests that the ma-
or older, in fact, is the fastest-growing cohort in the jority of cultures recognize the existence of homo-
United States. The question remains: Who will sexual behavior, particularly in certain age catego-
care for the elderly? Some Western European ries such as adolescence, and most are tolerant
countries provide a variety of services to assist of homosexual behavior. Culturally speaking, it
elderly persons in maintaining their independence is rare to find an actual preference for same-sex
within the community as long as possible. But relations; a preference tends to occur primari-
social policies in other countries, including the ly in societies that define homosexuality and
United States, rely heavily on adult children to heterosexuality as mutually exclusive, as in many
provide needed care to elderly parents. Formal industrial countries.
support services, when available, tend to be
uncoordinated and expensive. The question of There still remains a tremendous degree of
who will provide that needed care to the large hostility to homosexual relationships by large seg-
numbers of adults who are predicted to have no ments of society. Many regions in the United
children has yet to be answered. States, particularly in the South and in the West,
still have laws barring homosexual activity among
GAY AND LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS consenting adults. The results of national polls
indicate that the majority of adults believe that
Not long ago homosexuality was viewed by many homosexuals should still be restricted from cer-
professionals as an illness or a perversion. It was tain occupations, such as elementary-school teach-
only as recently as 1973, for example, that the er, and should not be allowed to marry. Gays and
American Psychiatric Association removed homo- lesbians report that their sexual orientation has
sexuality from its list of psychiatric disorders. To- caused a variety of problems in securing housing
day, due in large part to the efforts of researchers and in the job market. They often report that
such as Kinsey and associates (1948, 1953), Mas- negative comments or acts of violence have been
ters and Johnson (1979), and to organizations such levied on them in public.
as the Gay Liberation Front during the late 1960s,
homosexuality is slowly but increasingly being This contrasts sharply with the view toward
viewed as a lifestyle rather than an illness. The homosexuality in the Scandinavian countries. In
work of Kinsey and associates illustrated that a 1989 Denmark lifted the ban on homosexual mar-
sizable minority of the population, particularly riages, the first country to do so. Norway and
males, had experimented with same-sex sexual Sweden followed suit in the 1990s. These changes
relationships, although few considered themselves extend to gays and lesbians the advantages that
exclusively homosexual. Thirty-seven percent of heterosexual married couples experience with re-
males, they reported, had experienced at least one spect to inheritance, taxation, health insurance,
homosexual contact to the point of orgasm, al- and joint property ownership.
though only 4 percent were exclusively homosexu-
al. Among females, 13 percent had a same-sex There is a growing amount of research illumi-
sexual contact to the point of orgasm, while only 2 nating various aspects of homosexual relation-
percent were exclusively homosexual in their ships, such as gender roles; degree of commit-
orientation. ment; quality of relationships; and the couples’
interface with other relationships, such as child-
Obviously not all people who have had a ho- ren, ex-spouses, or parents. However, because of
mosexual experience consider themselves to be unique historical reactions to gays and lesbians,
gay or lesbian. Most do not. One national proba- and the different socialization of men and women
bility sample of adult males interviewed by tele- in our society, it is important to explore the nature
phone found that 3.7 percent reported to have of lesbian and gay male relationships separately.
either a homosexual or bisexual identity (Harry Gender differences emerge in homosexual rela-
1990). Others suggest that the percentages are tions within a variety of contexts; for example,
higher, that perhaps 3 to 5 percent of adult women lesbians are more apt to have monogamous, stable
and 5 to 10 percent of adult men are exclusively relationships than are gay men, although the popu-
lesbian or gay (Diamond 1993). lar stereotype of gays as sexually ‘‘promiscuous’’
111
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
has been exaggerated. The majority of gay men, Western nations during the twentieth century: (1)
just like lesbians, are interested in monogamous, there is increasing emphasis on individualism and
long-term relationships. The lack of institutional individual happiness over the happiness of the
support for gay and lesbian relationships and the group—or a spouse and children; (2) divorce is
wide variety of obstacles not encountered among more socially acceptable and less stigmatized than
heterosexuals, such as prejudice and discriminato- in the past; (3) divorce is easier to obtain, as ‘‘fault’’
ry behavior, take their toll on these relationships, is generally no longer required; (4) women are less
however. financially dependent on men, on average, and
therefore can end an unhappy marriage more
The AIDS epidemic has had an enormous easily; (5) there is an increase in the number of
impact on the gay subculture. While the impact on adult children who grew up in divorced house-
lesbians is significantly less, they have not been holds, who are more likely to see divorce as a
untouched by the social impact of the devastating mechanism to end an unhappy marriage; and (6)
medical issue, despite the slow response of the today’s marriages experience increased stress, with
world’s governments. outside work consuming the time and energy peo-
ple used to devote to their marriages and families.
DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE
One of the consequences of divorce is that
Throughout most of history in America, the pri- many children will live at least a portion of their
mary reason that marriages ended was because of lives in single-parent households. Single-parent
death. In 1970, the trends were reversed, and for households are becoming increasingly normative,
the first time in our nation’s history, more mar- with approximately half of all children under age
riages ended by divorce than by death (Cherlin eighteen spending some portion of their lives
1992). The United States now has the highest rate living with only one parent, usually their mother.
of divorce in the world, at approximately 20 di- Single-parent households are more likely to be
vorces per 1,000 married women aged fifteen and poor and often lack the social capital available in
over in the population (U.S. Bureau of the Census two-parent households, and consequently place
1998). This is twice as high as the divorce rate the child at greater risk for a variety of negative
found in Canada, four times that of Japan, and ten social and health outcomes. Commonly the absen-
times as high as Italy. But, it’s important to note tee parent does not pay the child support that is
that the divorce rate has actually leveled off, or due, and fails to see the children with regularity.
even declined somewhat in the United States after
peaking in the early 1980s. Although divorce has become common in
many industrialized nations, it would be incorrect
Who divorces? Research has shown that those to assume that this represents a rejection of mar-
at greatest risk for divorcing are people who marry riage. Four out of five people who divorce remar-
young, especially after only a brief dating period; ry, most often within five years. Men are more
those who have lower incomes, although very high- likely to remarry than are women. This difference
earning women are also more likely to divorce; is due to the greater likelihood that children will be
African Americans, who are about 25 percent living with their mothers full-time, rather than
more likely to divorce than whites; people who their fathers; the cultural pattern of men marrying
have been divorced before or whose parents di- younger women; and the fact that there are fewer
vorced; and those who are not religious or claim men than women in the population in general.
no religious affiliation. The likelihood of divorce is
particularly high among couples who marry in Remarriage often creates ‘‘blended families’’
their teens because of an unplanned pregnancy. composed of stepparents and possibly stepsiblings.
Women are almost twice as likely as men to peti- It is estimated that approximately one-third of all
tion for divorces, reflecting the fact that women children will live with a stepparent for at least one
are more often dissatisfied with their marriages year prior to reaching age eighteen. Despite the
than are men. increasing commonality of this type of family, it
has been referred to as an ‘‘incomplete institu-
There are a variety of reasons why the rate of tion’’ because the social expectations are less clear
divorce has increased so dramatically in many
112
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
than in other family structures. There are no well- Family, as if there were only one model of intima-
established rules for how stepparents and children cy. Yet perhaps a more appropriate title would be
are supposed to relate, or the type of feelings they Marriages, Families, and Intimate Relationships.
should have for one another. Without a clear-cut This would reflect not only the diversity illustrated
set of norms, blended families may be seen as here but would also acknowledge the tremendous
‘‘alternative lifestyles,’’ but yet they are becoming ethnic and class variations that make for rich and
increasingly common in modern industrialized meaningful personal relationships.
societies where divorce is common.
(SEE ALSO: American Families; Courtship; Divorce and
CONCLUDING COMMENTS Remarriage; Marriage; Mate Selection Theories; Sexual
Orientation)
There is considerable accumulating evidence to
suggest that family lifestyles are becoming more REFERENCES
varied and that the public is becoming increasingly
tolerant of this diversity. The data indicate that Austrom, Douglas, and Kim Hanel 1985 ‘‘Psychological
traditional marriage itself per se may be less impor- Issues of Single Life in Canada: An Exploratory
tant in sanctioning intimacy. The review by Buunk Study.’’ International Journal of Women’s Studies 8:12–23.
and Hupka (1986) of seven countries reveals that
individualism, as expressed by following one’s own Bernard, Jessie 1973 The Future of Marriage. New York:
personal interests in intimate relationships, was Bantam Books.
more prevalent in affluent democratic countries
such as the United States and in most of Western Buunk, Bram P., and R. B. Hupka 1986 ‘‘Autonomy in
Europe than in poorer and nondemocratic nations. Close Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Study.’’ Family
Perspective 20:209–221.
This does not mean, however, that people are
discarding the institution of marriage. In the Unit- ———, and Barry Van Driel 1989 Variant Lifestyles and
ed States, as elsewhere, the vast majority of the Relationships. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications.
population continues to endorse marriage and
parenthood in general, and for themselves person- Cherlin, Andrew 1992 Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage,
ally. Most still plan to marry and have children, rev. ed. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.
and optimism remains high that theirs will be a
lasting union despite high national frequencies of Davis, Kingsley 1987 ‘‘Low Fertility in Evolutionary
divorce. Perspective.’’ In K. Davis, M. S. Bernstam, and R.
Ricardo-Campbell, eds., Below Replacement Fertility in
Alternative lifestyles are not replacing mar- Industrial Societies. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge Uni-
riage. Instead, they are gaining acceptance be- versity Press.
cause they involve, for some, modifications of the
family structure as an adaptation to changing con- Diamond, M. 1993 ‘‘Homosexuality and Bisexuality in
ditions in society. The lifestyles discussed here, as Different Populations.’’ Archives Of Sexual Behavior,
well as others, reflect the broader social changes in 22:291–310.
values, relationships, and even technology that are
found within society as a whole. As Macklin notes, Harry, Joseph 1990 ‘‘A Probability Sample of Gay Men.’’
the family is not disappearing, but ‘‘continuing its Journal of Homosexuality 19:89–104.
age-old process of gradual evolution, maintaining
many of its traditional functions and structures Houseknecht, Sharon K. 1987 ‘‘Voluntary Childlessness.’’
while adapting to changing economic circumstances In M. B. Sussman and S. K. Steinmetz, eds., Handbook
and cultural ideologies’’ (1987, p. 317). This proc- of Marriage and the Family. New York: Plenum Press.
ess has merely accelerated during the past several
decades, and these changes have caught the atten- Kinsey, Alfred, W. Pomeroy, P. H. Gebhard, and C. E.
tion of the general public. College classes and their Martin 1953 Sexual Behavior in the Human Female.
corresponding textbooks within this discipline of Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
sociology are still often titled Marriage and the
Kinsey, Alfred, W. Pomeroy, and C. E. Martin 1948
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Philadelphia: W.
B. Saunders.
Macklin, Eleanor D. 1987 ‘‘Nontraditional Family Forms.’’
In M. B. Sussman and S. K. Steinmetz, eds., Handbook
of Marriage and the Family. New York: Plenum Press.
——— 1983 ‘‘Nonmarital Heterosexual Cohabitation:
An Overview.’’ In E. D. Macklin and R. H. Rubin,
113
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