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Infonomics U. Matzat Sociology School of Innovation Sciences TU/e email: [email protected] Infonomics 0A416 1 I. Cohesion and suicide: Emile Durkheim Emile Durkheim (1858-1917, French) one of the founding fathers of sociology Infonomics 0A416 2 Emile Durkheim 1896 professor of sociology at Bordeaux University (later Paris) books: De la Division du Travail Social (1893) Le Suicide (1897) Les Règles de la Méthode Sociologique (1895) Background: the French society in the 19th century after the French revolution: detachement (NL-“onthechting”) and the decay of community (which is sort of what you hear in the newspapers about our current era …) Theoretical and methodological propositions Today: just the theoretical propositions Infonomics 0A416 3 Cohesion: Emile Durkheim Two versions of the question how it is possible that people live together peacefully? Cohesion Battle Detachment | | Violence to others Violence to self Infonomics 0A416 4 Cohesion on the Internet? Does something like a “community” exist online? Can engineers program “community” online? Can they facilitate the emerge of “community” online? Infonomics 0A416 5 Emile Durkheim: the core of structural functionalism • a every society has a certain level of cohesion • b as far as it consists of intermediary groups (has some kind of structure) • c and shares certain norms and values, • d and when members of a society are more tightly integrated, they are more likely to behave in accordance to these norms and values, • e which will then result in increased cohesion. Infonomics 0A416 6 The first application of this integration theory •A: A strong cohesion is indicated through a low suicide rate; •B: families, religious communities, and political parties are examples of intermediary groups; •C: one of the norms is that one should not commit suicide, a norm that is supported in (almost) all societies; •D: and when people are more tightly integrated in families, religious communities, and political parties, they are more likely to follow the norm, •E: and hence their probability to commit suicide is smaller. Infonomics 0A416 7 The integration theory as applied to suicide (2) The more people are integrated into religious communities, the lower the probability of suicide (3) At the end of the 19th century, catholics in Europe are more tightly integrated than protestants (1) Catholics (at the end of the 19th century in Europe) are less likely to commit suicide (when compared to protestants) Infonomics 0A416 8 NOTE In fact, this conclusion turned out to be correct. This shows quite dramatically that even suicide is not (only) a personal decision Infonomics 0A416 9 The theory of integration and suicide (14) The more the inhabitants of a society are integrated in any whatsoever of its intermediary groupings, the lower their chances of suicide. (15) A religious association is an intermediary grouping. (2) The more strongly persons are integrated in a religious association, the lower their chances to commit suicide. And: (14) The more the inhabitants of a society are integrated in any whatsoever of its intermediary groupings, the lower their chances of suicide. (16) A family is an intermediary grouping. (7) The more strongly persons are integrated in a family, the lower are their chances to commit suicide. Infonomics 0A416 10 The theory of integration and suicide (7) The more strongly persons are integrated in a family, the lower are their chances to commit suicide. (9) Married persons with children are more strongly integrated in a family than married persons without children. (10) Married persons with children display a lower suicide rate than married persons without children. Infonomics 0A416 11 Integration with the help of ICT: Community Online ? 2 divergent views on online communities: dystopian view: fake community online relations have different quality than face to face relations: weak vs. strong tie (see Granovetter 1972) online relations are unstable online relations do not have multiplexity online communities do not have geographical boundaries Infonomics 0A416 12 Community Online utopian view: online community as 'real' community many opportunities to connect with people of similar interests freeing people from geographical constraints increasing connectedness with distant friends, family members, etc. strong attachment to online communities found strong norms, reciprocity, trust Infonomics 0A416 13 Community Online 'social' online community vs. other online communities social online community common norms, goals, identity attachment trust forget about the most common element of all definitions of 'community': geographical proximity social online communities do exist, but not as the 'regular' outcome of online interaction in groups Infonomics 0A416 14 Community Online question: under what conditions do you get a social community? answer: common norms, goals, identity, attachment, trust question: how to achieve common norms, identity, ...? answer: problem of online discussion contribution, community members have to become active! see OGO assignment 2 Infonomics 0A416 15 Emile Durkheim: the theory of “Anomie” anomie: The existence of norms and values that make the people’s goals not fit with their available resources and means or a mismatch between personal or group standards and wider social standards Example: “US – anybody can become a millionaire” Infonomics 0A416 16 The theory of “Anomie” again: The core of structural functionalism a … cohesion…, b …. groups .. c …shared values and norms.. d and when members of a society are more tightly integrated, they are more likely to behave in accordance to these norms and values, e which will then result in increased cohesion. Another specification d: The more the norms and values of a society increase the fit of the desired goals with the available means, the more people follow the rule not to commit suicide. Infonomics 0A416 17 The theory of “Anomie” anomie: lack of norms and values that ensure a fit between desired goals and available means of humans Under which condition does the fit change? Extension of free markets (economic anomie) economic crisis, but also strong and fast economic growth (economic anomie) Legal facilitation of divorce (domestic anomie) Infonomics 0A416 18 Emile Durkheim: the theorie of anomie Old insights applied to new technology Can technologies influence the match between goals and resources to reach those goals? •Anomie and use of online dating communities? Infonomics 0A416 19 Changes in the plain core of the structural functionalism: integration and cohesion a ... cohesion..., b ... groups..., c ...sharing of norms; d and when members of a society are more tightly integrated, they are more likely to behave in accordance to these norms and values, e if the different groups share the same norms this leads to increasing cohesion in society; if the different groups follow diverging norms this leads to decreasing cohesion in society. Infonomics 0A416 20 II. Different traditions and the Micro-Macro-Problem Sociology Macro-level: societies Micro-level: humans Social media research Macro-level: communities/groups Micro-level: members If we want to enhance/explain societies (communities in social media) why do we deal with theories about humans (members)? Infonomics 0A416 21 Sociology as an autonomous scientific discipline – own approach of theory formulation a: individualist theory: a theory that puts forward propositions about causal regularities of human behavior under (specific) social conditions; the behavior has consequences for specific macro-phenomena b: collectivistisch theorie: een theorie die uitspraken doet social conditions social phenomena over regelmatigheden en causale samenhangen tussen bepaalde macro-verschijnsel zonder dat de theorie betrekking heeft over het gedrag van individuen in geval b zou de sociologie zeker een “eigen” theorie hebben omdat theorieën over menselijk gedrag (geval a) ook in de economie of psychologie te vinden zijn Infonomics 0A416 22 Sociology as an autonomous scientific discipline – own approach of theory formulation b: collectivist theory: a theory making statements about regularities and associations between specific macrophenomena without taking into account human behavior social conditions sociale condities social phenomena B: under condition b sociologists definitely would have their own theory ; under condition a the situation is less clear (theories about human behavior can be found in psychology and economics as well) Infonomics 0A416 23 Collectivist hypotheses- an example R. Michels (1911): The Iron Law of Oligarchy •collectivist hypothesis: The longer an organization exists, the more oligarchic it will be. •this hypothesis doesn’t make any assumptions about human behavior Infonomics 0A416 24 Collectivist hypotheses- an example Online communities with a reputation system have a more active membership than online communities without a reputation system. ?! Infonomics 0A416 25 Questions on individualist and collectivist theories •The fundamental questions of sociology examine characteristics of societies, and not characteristics of individuals: cohesion, inequality, rationalisation are chracteristics of societies •The most important phenomena to be explained by sociologists thus are macro-phenomena and not microphenomena •Also for explanatory conditions the sociologist first looks at social conditions (=macro-conditions) •But: what does this imply for the for the (explanatory) theory that the sociologist uses? •Are the theories exclusively about macro-phenomena (=collectivist theories) or are explanations that do not take into account individual behavior less satisfying? Infonomics 0A416 26 Why Micro-hypotheses? 1.) the predictions of macro-hypotheses often do not find enough empirical evidence – often exceptions do exist •With the help of micro-hypotheses we can clarify under which conditions the marco-hypothesis is true and under which conditions not 2.) macro-hypotheses often leave open what causal mechanism leads to a specific relationship between macrophenomena Infonomics 0A416 27 Why Micro-hypotheses: an example •Macro-hypothesis (in the time of World War I, in the U.S. South with its racial conflicts): “The higher the percentage of black people in an area the higher is the number of murders." percentage blacks Infonomics 0A416 number of murders 28 Why Micro-hypotheses: an example •this macro-hypothesis leaves open what the cause of the relationship is – there are two potential mechanisms at the micro-level that lead to the same macro-relationship •a: “on average black people tend to commit more often murders than white people" •b: “The more opportunities there are for white people to lynch black people, the higher the chance that they will lynch black people." percentage blacks who stays at the macro-level, number murders •a sociologist staysofat the surface and does not offer valid explanations that clarify what the causal mechanisms are. A: “on average black people tend to commit more often murders than white people” B: “The more opportunities there are for white people to lynch black people, the higher the chance that they will lynch black people” Infonomics 0A416 29 Proposal for finding solutions to sociological problems (rules of theory development) •Deeper (read: more general) explanations of macrophenomena through reduction of macro-hypotheses to microhypotheses (and additional conditions) •Sometimes correction of macro-hypotheses: the macrohypothesis will be made more precise by indicating under which condition the macro-hypothesis is true, and under which condition not •When formulating questions about characteristics of a society: take into account the behavior of individuals which determines the characteristics of the society Infonomics 0A416 30 rules for finding solutions to sociological problems •Sociologists analyze how social conditions influence behavior and how behavior translates into macro phenomena •thus: translate appearently inherent characteristics of individuals (e.g., religious belief) to relational characteristics (membership in a more or less integrated group) •thus: transform appearently global characteristics of societies (e.g., the progress of technology in a country) to a combination of characteristics of its members (e.g., percentage of households with internet connections) •U.S. sociologist James S. Coleman elaborated the rules in more detail Infonomics 0A416 31 Utilitarian individualism •School of thought within sociology that belongs to the socalled methodological individualism (use of individualist theories) •Different theories within utilitarian individualism: learning theories in psychology, theories about goald-directed behavior within economics etc. •Within sociology these theories are utilized to explain macro-level phenomena •the theories are grounded in the ideas of Hobbes and the Scotish Moral Philosophers •Behavior as a strive for utility (NL: nut, lat.: utilitas) •The most popular theory utilizes asssumptions of goalddirected human behavior (rational-choice-theory) Infonomics 0A416 32 The plain core of the theory of rational choice a Each feature of every society is the outcome of certain acts performed by its inhabitants under certain circumstances; b these individuals have specific goals, c they have a particular but always limited amount of means, d and these individuals employ their means in such a way that they approach their goals as closely as possible (they choose the act which maximizes their utility); e: the circumstances under which people act, affect the extent to which the chosen acts are efficient means for reaching their goals, f: and under some circumstances the acts do not only have intended consequences, but as unintended consequence affect as well how easy or difficult it is for others to reach their goals. Infonomics 0A416 33 utilitarian individualism (version rational choice theory) •Independent of the own methodological proposals of the classicists and the founding fathers of sociology (e.g. Durkheim), many of their proposals/hypotheses can be understood as specifications of the core of rational choice theory •These specifications emphasize different aspects of the core •Different specifications may lead to contradictory hypotheses; empirical tests have to show which specification finds evidence Infonomics 0A416 34 Money as the only goal? •Utilitarian individualism stems from economics •Economists emphasize the behavior of humans on markets as influenced by material incentives •sociological applications emphasize in addition other human goals •Various forms of social appreciation as important goal: affection, status, behavioral confirmation etc Infonomics 0A416 35 Utility maximization only on markets? •Utilitarian individualism stems from economics •Economists emphasize the behavior of humans on markets as influenced by material incentives •sociological applications emphasize in addition other structures •Markets, organisations, groups and communities (on the internet in social media!) •analyses with the help of the same theory Infonomics 0A416 36 Social media and macro-hypotheses Online communities with a reputation system have a more active membership than online communities without a reputation system. Is this true? See OGO assignment 2 Infonomics 0A416 To do’s Read Ultee et al. (2003), chapter 12 Read Boudon, Coleman and Lave & March in the reader with the help of the reading guide Infonomics 0A416 38