ANOMIE: HISTORY and RESEARCH APPLICATION Lawrence M Hynson
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FREE INQUIRY IN CREATIVE SOCIOLOGY VOLUME 2, 1974 22 ANOMIE: HISTORY AND RESEARCH APPLICATION Lawrence M Hynson Jr, Oklahoma State University DEFINITION is similar to the concept of anomie as defined The Greeks first used the concept anomia by Durkheim, and Merton's retreatism to describe a lawlessness pervasive to a socie resembles Durkheim's egoistic suicide (See ty. As this word passed to Latin, and later to Figure 1). the French form, anomie, the definition was De Grazia used Durkheim's concept of expanded to include any societal disruption. anomie, but he did not limit it to suicide either After the emergence of social physics, (1948 xii). He applied the anomie concept to Comte's term for the new science of sociology, all types of social problems and defined it as in the 18th century, the concept of anomie pro "the disintegrated state of a society that vided a basis for conceptual analysis in social possesses no body of common values or research. morals which effectively govern conduct ... Because the concept of anomie is derived The study of anomie is the study of the from anomia, the relation between the terms ideololgical factors that weaken or destroy the must be clairified. Durkheim (1951) used bonds of allegiance which make up the anomie to describe a state of cultural and political community:' For De Grazia the social disruption in which inadequate political community depends on the social guidance is provided the individual. Usually, bond which integrates it. Without this bond man's overweening ambitions are disciplined there is disruption and anomie. or controlled by the normative structure of Seeman(1967 273) summarized the concept society. When this control system breaks of alienation under five categories of a down due to economic or social disruption, the psychological state resulting from a social results are normlessness with increased state or condition including: 1) feeling of deviance. If there is a disturbance of the col powerlessness; 2) feeling of meaninglessness; lective order, then suicide rates increase. The 3) perception of normlessness (Durkheim's reference points are gone and levels of aspira anomie), 4) a sense of isolation; 5) a feeling tion can go unchecked. Riesman (1950 129) of self-estrangement. thinks these ideas have relevance for today: Srole (1956 63) devised an anomia scale as "Durkheim was right to see comparatively an index of Durkheim's causes of suicide. As high suicide rates in the advanced industrial translated from Latin, anomia is the countries as symptoms of a psychological psychologial counterpart of social sysfunction. malaise uncontrolled by any cultural tradition:' Similarly, Mizruchi (1964 50) explained anomia as the sUbjective experience of strain HISTORY which is conomitant with stress in the social Merton challenged the Durkheim's inter structure. Thus, Srole's scale identifies high pretation and he rejected the idea that man anomie or self-to-other alienation with the is a creature of wild passions controlled only individual's agreement with the idea that by social pressures. Whereas Durkheim political leaders are indifferent to his needs; employed anomie as an explanation of one things in general are getting worse; most type of suicide, Merton generalized its people are unsupportive; life has no meaning; application to all deviant behavior. He claim and the social order is unpredictable. These ed that the "dissociation between culturally latter statements were constructed in order to prescribed aspirations and socially structured identify the five components of alienation avenues for realizing these aspirations" delineated by Seeman. creates anomie, which in turn issues in deviant Mizruchi (1964 56) explained that the Srole behavior (Merton 1957 134). Though Merton scale is an index of social structure stress, and claims to have presented some differences in not a test for understanding personaity definition, Madge (1962 45) thinks that in the dynamics. However, after investigating typology in the individual's adjustment to anomia, McClosky and Schaar (1965 35) society there are similarities. The mode of stated that " ... the principal source for anomic adaptation designated innovation by Merton feeling resides for some people in their social EDITOR: RAY QUIETT VOLUME 2, 1974 23 FIGURE 1: ANOMIE PARADIGM BY MERTON-DURKHEIM LOGIC Social condition Psychological state Deviant behavior FIGURE 2: ANOMIE PARADIGM BY McCLOSKY-SCHAAR LOGIC Social-Cultural conditions Cognitive function > Output behavior Personality ~ settings; for others in their individual personali social scientists saw this movement emerg ty; and for still others, in a combination of the ing from a general cultural disruption. Accord two~' Using multivariate analysis and control ing to Lipset (1968) the Wallace movement ling social variables of education, age, com voiced "the sense of frustration of millions of munity size, race and sex, they found that per Americans~' It is true that discontented voters sons with high anomia scores consistently have abounded often in the past, but a third scored higher on measures of hostility, guilt, party movement as strong as this was and paranoia (See Figure 2). It is possible for unusual. Riesman reasoned that "it is only a person to have culturally induced high under certain conditions such as an unsatis anomie scores and still be an adjusted per factory war that these local pockets of right son. Both personality and social structure fac wing and defensive conservatives coalesce tors interact in creating anomia. Thus, anomia into any kind of national movement~' (Riesman scores may measure the individual's aliena 1968). In the Fall of 1968 I collected data from tion from society or it may reflect the anomie each of the three major political organizations state of society. "Although it is not usually for Tarrant County, Texas. My questionnaire clear whether anomia is an independent or a included the Srole anomia scale. Table 1 dependent variable, one can at least affirm shows the results, which empiricaly support that when an individual's score on the anomia the ideas of Lipset, namely, that these people scale is known, other characteristics and, were politically alienated. Without exception, tendencies can be inferred to a useful degree:' a higher percentage of those with high self (Yinger 1965 205) to-other alienation were found in Wallace's American Party group. Going across Table 1 APPLICATION from white Democrat to Republican to Black In view of the history of the concept of Democrat to the American Party, the percen anomie, a variety of applications for research tages in the high anomia categories increase are available. I will elaborate on that of political regularly. The difference in cell loadings is behavior. In 1968 George Wallace campaign clearly significant, and with correction for ed for the Presidency as head of his own small expected values in cells for black American Independent Party, and garnered Democrats, I calculated the statistic for the millions of people who rejected both the disproportion among cells: Democratic and Republican nominees. Two Chi 2 = 58.4; df =6; P=.001. FREE INQUIRY IN CREATIVE SOCIOLOGY VOLUME 2, 1974 24 TABLE 1: ANOMIA AND POLITICAL PARTY BY RACE Anomia Democratic Republican Democratic American Total Score (White) (Black) n 0/0 n 0/0 n 0/0 n 0/0 n 0/0 3-5 4 11 9 21 7 58 31 76 51 39 1-2 9 24 23 55 5 42 8 19 45 34 0 24 65 10 24 0 0 2 5 36 27 Total 37 42 12 41 120 CONCLUSION Durkheim Emile 1951 Suicide. trans J Spaulding, Operationalizing anomie via the Srole scale G Simpson. Glencoe III. Free Press may be one approach the study of social or Upset Seymour M 1968 Wallace Army: The coalition of frustration. Time Oct 18 politicl movements. In such research, not only McClosky Herbert, John H Schaar 1965 should the psychological factor of anomia be Psychololgical dimensiions of anomy. Amer Social considered, but also the social factors. In Rev 30 14-40 research on social movements the Srole scale Madge John 1962 The Origins of Scientific Sociology. New York. Free Press can provide some valid indicators of the Merton Robert K 1957 Social Theory and Social psychololgical and social factors pertinent to Structure. Glencoe III. Free Press its emergence. However, other social and Mizruchi Ephraim H 1964 Success andOpportunity. cultural factors should be included in a Glencoe: Collier Macmillan research design. The McClosky and Schaar Riesman David 1950 The Lonely Crowd New paradigm, as we have seen, could provide the Haven. Yale U Press conceptual framework for such analysis. 1968 The American moves to the right New York Times Magazine Oct Seeman Melvin 1959 On the meaning of alienation. REFERENCES Amer Sociol Rev 24 783-790 De Grazia Sebastian 1948 The Political Community: Srole Leo 1956 Anomie, authoritarianism and A Study of Anomie. Chicago U Press prejudice. Amer J Sociology 62 63-67 Yinger Milton 1965 Toward a Field Theory of Behavior. New York. McGraw Hill.