A feminist critique of rational-choice theories: Implications for sociology

I consider the relationship between two currents affecting sociology, rational-choice theory and interdisciplinary feminist theory. In particular, I consider how the feminist critique of the separative model of self applies to one version of rational-choice theory, neoclassical economics. In discussing this I identify four assumptions of neoclassical economics: selfishness; interpersonal utility comparisons are impossible; tastes are exogenous and unchanging; and individuals are rational. I argue that each of these harmonizes best with a view of separate rather than connected selves, and that this imbalance distorts theories, particularly those that claim to understand women’s experience. These distorting assumptions are less prevalent in sociology than in economics, but some of them are implicit in some versions of sociological rational-choice and exchange theories. I conclude by using research on marital power to illustrate how removing distorting assumptions and bringing questions about separation/connection to center stage can help illuminate sociological research. Her forthcoming book,Comparable Worth: Theories and Evidence (New York: Aldine deGruyter), discusses this controversial policy issue from a perspective that draws upon sociology, economics, and feminist theory.     

Career Counseling,Science, and Policy: Revitalizing Our Paradigms and Roles

Herr (1996), Bloch (1996), and Watts (1996) highlight important shifts that are occurring in the structure of work, in social policy related to career services, and in the ecological context of guidance. Such shifts may have far-reaching implications for the science and practice of career development, particularly for counselors' roles in assisting individuals and organizations with issues of work preparation and transition. This article revisits some of the authors' key assumptions and observations, offering additional suggestions for ensuring that career theory, research, practice, and policy remain responsive to the changing social–political–economic context.     

Class,Conflict, and Criminalization

Abstract

Considerable attention has been given by social scientists to the relationship between social inequality and criminality. However, the dominant paradigms over the past several decades have each focussed attention upon one basic aspect of the relationship to the neglect of the other. Anomie theory emphasizes the connection between structural inequalities and deviant behavior, but neglects the definitional processes by which deviance is made a social reality. Labeling theory emphasizes definitional processes, but neglects their structural and behavioral bases and, surprisingly, consequences. Most recently, various “new criminologists” have been attempting to develop a theory that explaines how structured inequalities generate both the behavioral and the definitional realities of deviance. Two major variants are emerging: the Marxian and the Weberian. Points of agreement and disagreement are indicated, and a prognosis regarding the future development of theory is offered. Despite their basic agreement on the paramount explanatory significance of social conflict and power, Marxian and Weberian criminologists disagree on (a) the nature of scientific inquiry, and (b) the nature of social organization, and diverge on the meanings of class, conflict, and criminality. Neither theory as such is likely to become the approved paradigm for conventional research and officially sponsored studies or action programs, although Weberian theory is more likely to be tolerated, because it is more amenable to selective interpretation and modification.     

Socioeconomic Status,Family Processes,and Individual Development

Research during the past decade shows that social class or socioeconomic status (SES) is related to satisfaction and stability in romantic unions, the quality of parent‐child relationships, and a range of developmental outcomes for adults and children. This review focuses on evidence regarding potential mechanisms proposed to account for these associations. Research findings reported during the past decade demonstrate support for an interactionist model of the relationship between SES and family life, which incorporates assumptions from both the social causation and social selection perspectives. This review concludes with recommendations for future research on SES, family processes, and individual development in terms of important theoretical and methodological issues yet to be addressed.     

Inequality and Occupational Prestige: Theory,Research, and Social Policy*

Occupational prestige is one important dimension of social inequality. Building on past theory and especially on excellent recent empirical research in this area, a new theory is presented. This new theory criticizes some assumptions of older theories of occupational prestige with regard to motivation and to the scarcity of human talent. Finally, using the new theory, some small suggestions are given for social policy to reduce inequality based on occupational prestige.     

Beyond policy agenda-setting: political actors’ and journalists’ perceptions of news media influence across all stages of the political process

Although the relationship between politics and the media is a key topic in political communication research, the media’s role during times of routine policy-making has rarely been addressed. Furthermore, studies of routine policy-making have generally focused on one policy stage, usually agenda-setting, whereas few have analysed the media’s impact on the whole policy process. Still, the general view is that the news media matter in the early stages of the policy cycle but are non-influential during the formulation, implementation, and evaluation stages. This study queries these assumptions by taking a closer look at the news media’s influence on all stages of the political process at both the theoretical and the empirical level. A quantitative survey explored how members of the German Bundestag, administration officers, associations and NGOs, researchers, PR staff, and journalists involved with energy policy (N?=?338) perceive the media’s influence across all policy stages. The results confirm that media coverage does indeed strongly influence the political agenda. However, the subsequent formulation, evaluation, and termination of policy stages are also affected, with only the implementation stage being less susceptible to media influence. The different groups of political actors and journalists surveyed mainly agreed upon the estimations of the strength of the media effects.     

Workplace support of fathers’ parental leave use in Norway

ABSTRACT

This article highlights the importance of social policy and working life contexts for employed fathers’ use of parental leave. It directs attention towards the Norwegian model, which is known for its gender equality aims and welfare-state support to families, but which is also active in the regulation of working life. Based on interviews with fathers who have used the father’s quota (a statutory, earmarked, non-transferable leave), findings run counter to work–family research where gendered assumptions in work organizations are found to prevent active fathering. The interviewed fathers report positive attitudes and supportive practices among employers. Fathers’ stories show that their use of the leave is subject to cooperation and compromising processes at the workplace level that research on fatherhood and organizations have hardly addressed.     

Neoliberalism and social work identity

This article considers the relationship between the identity of social work and the neoliberal political project. Reference is made to a small but carefully structured quantitative research study in Auckland, New Zealand which examined the knowledge applied and produced in the practice of social work. This study found evidence consistent with Philp’s [(1979). Notes on the form of knowledge in social work. Sociological Review, 27(1), 83–111] theorisation of a specific ‘form of knowledge’ for social work which is produced and reproduced as a function of relational engagement between social workers and those who are constructed as ‘clients’ in an unequal society. This discourse casts the ‘failing subject’ as socially located and inherently redeemable in direct contrast to populist neoliberal constructions of personal responsibility and moral deficit. With reference to dialectical theory it is suggested that this resilient discourse, embedded in ‘every-day’ practice, is inevitably a source of resistance to the imposition of neoliberal practice and policy design. This resistance provides hope for the progressive voice of social work in the current contest of ideas in relation to the future development of social work.     

The Role of Criminal Social Identity in the Relationship between Criminal Friends and Criminal Thinking Style within a Sample of Recidivistic Prisoners

Previous research suggests a direct relationship between criminal friends and criminal thinking style; however, social identity theory proposes that identity mediates the impact of social group members on development of thinking styles. This research project is the first attempt to empirically test the mediating role of criminal social identity in the development of criminal thinking styles within a recidivistic prison sample (N = 312). The structural equation model of criminal thinking style presented and tested in this study supports the central predictions of social identity theory, with findings demonstrating an indirect effect of antisocial friend associations on criminal thinking through in-group affect and in-group ties with criminal in-group members that reflect two of three dimensions of the measure of criminal social identity applied in the current study. Further implications in relation to theory and previous studies are discussed.     

Has Family Policy Come of Age? A Decade Review of the State of U.S. Family Policy in the 1990s

Family policy has come of age in the 1990s, yet it has not achieved a status commensurate with that of economic or environmental policy. Because family policy has been difficult to define, this review proposes an explicit definition of the term family policy and a companion implicit term, a family perspective in policy making It updates the rationale for family policy, arguing that family commitment at its core is particularly consequential in an individualistic market economy with a small social safety net. It chronicles recent developments including philanthropic commitments, state and federal policy initiatives, and the use of research to inform family policy making. Selected family policy issues including family and work conflict, long-term care, family poverty, and marriage, are overviewed. The paper concludes with developments during the decade in theory, methods, and dissemination that hold the potential for capitalizing on the current popularity of families as a theme in policy making.     

Recipes for Attention: Policy Reforms,Crises, Organizational Characteristics,and the Newspaper Coverage of the LGBT Movement, 1969–2009

Why do some organizations in a movement seeking social change gain extensive national newspaper coverage? To address the question, we innovate in theoretical and empirical ways. First, we elaborate a theoretical argument that builds from the political mediation theory of movement consequences and incorporates the social organization of newspaper practices. This media and political mediation model integrates political and media contexts and organizations' characteristics and actions. With this model, we hypothesize two main routes to coverage: one that includes changes in public policy and involves policy‐engaged, well‐resourced, and inclusive organizations and a second that combines social crises and protest organizations. Second, we appraise these arguments with the first analysis of the national coverage of all organizations in a social movement over its career: 84 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights and AIDS‐related organizations in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Wall Street Journal from 1969 to 2010. These analyses go beyond previous research that provides either snapshots of many organizations at one point in time or overtime analyses of aggregated groups of organizations or individual organizations. The results of both historical and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analyses support our media and political mediation model.     

The role of social policy research in society and in sociology

Changes in the dominant mode of social research since 1900 have mirrored changes in the structure of society. The relation of social research to society has changed, however, with social policy research constituting a feedback mechanism for certain types of social action. The future of social policy research depends upon how it becomes institutionalized in a society characterized increasing by asymmetric social relations. Graduate training in sociology must begin to define itself in relation to the functioning of modern society or it faces the danger of becoming “that in which no one else is interested.” He has engaged in extensive social policy research in education since 1965. His most recent work, with Thomas Hoffer, is reported inPublic and Private High Schools: The Impact of Communities (1987).     

Meeting the Service Needs of Young Fathers

Until the early 1980s, the needs of young fathers went largely unnoticed by policy makers and social service providers. Many programs for adolescent fathers originally started in order to benefit teenage mothers and their children (Leitch et al., 1993). It was later recognized that young fathers also need assistance to successfully become productive and responsible adults (Robinson, 1988; Leitch et al., 1993; Kiselica, 1995). Program designs have been based on a set of implicit assumptions: 1) if programs are offered, young fathers will enroll; 2) the services will meet the needs of participants; 3) once young men enroll in a program, they will use the services that are available; and 4) the services will be beneficial for recipients and will produce positive outcomes (Kiselica, 1995; Children and Youth Funding Report, 1998; Smith, 1997; DeParle, 1998). However, only limited research has been conducted to explore whether these assumptions are appropriate or to document programmatic successes and difficulties (Achatz and MacAllum, 1994; Marsh and Wirick, 1991; Sander, 1993). This paper adds to the literature by reviewing each of the assumptions within the context of one program's experience. It considers issues associated with outreach and enrollment, service delivery, and achieving desired outcomes for program participants.     

Social Networks of Old People in India

Summary

This article presents a comparative analysis of the available research on the social networks of older persons in India. Most of this research has been done in North Indian cities. The research foci of the available studies include network size, core networks and beyond, life course changes in networks, impacts of residency in old-age homes, gender differences, and joint and nuclear family residence. This research is discussed in terms of its policy implications. Because the research demonstrates that social networks are important for the welfare of older Indians, one can conclude that social policy that encourages the maintenance of robust networks throughout the life course may be worth pursuing. One aspect of policy is discussed. The analysis of the relationship between social network and gender suggests that current policies that can be seen as supporting gender inequality in terms of property may have a negative impact on the networks of older women.     

The Impact of the Economic Downturn,Immigrants, and Political Representation on White Supremacist Group Organization in the United States

Abstract

On the surface, groups advocating white supremacy appear similar. However, upon closer examination these groups vary in their strategies and goals as well as how they are affected by the economic downturn, immigrants, and political representation. This study utilizes resource mobilization theory to examine the relationship among political ideology, partisanship, public policy, social factors, and white supremacist group organization in the United States between 2000 and 2007. With the fifty states as the unit of analysis, I conduct a pooled time-series analysis to answer the following research questions: Is there a relationship among a state's political ideology, partisanship, public policy, social factors, and individual white supremacist group organization? Does this relationship vary by white supremacist group type? White supremacist group data disaggregated by type reveal that group dynamics are in play as groups navigate state political and social factors to determine ideal areas to organize. This study reveals the importance in examining white supremacist groups disaggregated by type, particularly the political and social factors that motivate their level of organization.     

Towards an actor-oriented approach to social exclusion: a critical review of contemporary exclusion research in a Swedish social work context

Social exclusion has emerged as a key concept within Swedish social work research during the last decade. Yet, despite the plethora of conceptualisations put forward there is a dearth of critical discussion on potential pitfalls and limitations following this fragmentation. This article investigates the deployment of social exclusion in national social work research during the period 1999–2016. Three separate but linked research strands are identified: (1) a policy-absorbed approach, characterised by conceptual and analytical closeness to the Swedish policy discourse on exclusion, (2) a diluted approach, characterised by conceptual confusion and conflation and (3) an autonomous approach, distinguished by its conceptual and analytical distance from the official policy discourse on exclusion. Based on presented findings, we argue that there is need for an actor-oriented approach to social exclusion within social work research. We conclude with proposing a multi-level analytical framework that involves studying the sequence of events leading up to people being denied access to social, economic, material, cultural and/or political resources.     

Social justice,care and developmental welfare in South Africa: a capabilities perspective

One of the paradoxes of the democratic project in South Africa is that the combination of political empowerment, organised constituencies of poor people and increasing social sector spending has made minimal impact on increasing equality. Despite an overall macroeconomic framework that emphasises fiscal restraint, social welfare spending has increased in the past 14 years, and dramatically so since 2003. Almost one in four South Africans receives some or other form of grant, and the majority of recipients are women. Indeed, South Africa is regularly described as the developing world’s largest and most generous welfare state. I address the extent to which gender inequalities are reduced through public sector spending, asking the question: what is the optimal relationship between social policy and the intrinsic democratic goals of equality, social justice and citizenship? Drawing on Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach, the article argues that a focus on social sector spending alone is inadequate to address questions of social justice. Instead, I draw attention to the normative assumptions, discursive environment and institutional context in which social policy is elaborated and implemented. I argue that, in a context in which there is relatively poor infrastructural capacity in the state to ensure that service delivery takes place in fair, consistent and egalitarian ways, households and communities act as shock absorbers of state failures and women’s gendered burdens increase, despite formal commitments to gender equality. While women appear to have gained from political empowerment, women politicians did not effectively leverage their position in the state to promote pro‐poor policies or to build coalitions to challenge the watering down of early commitments to reducing gender inequalities.     

Exploring Epistemologies: Social Work Action as a Reflection of Philosophical Assumptions

Abstract

Using Habermas' (1971) Grand Theory and Schaefer's (1979) notion of Theory as Fiction, two major philosophical assumptions that undergird the literature, practice and teaching of social work are reviewed. Empiricism dominates social work theory and aims at technical control. Existentialism has been an important but marginal voice and attempts to explain subjective meaning. Two newer theoretical positions also are introduced: Critical theory, which considers humanity's ability to reflect on history to be an agent of societal change; and deconstruction, which questions the validity of any structure. The article concludes with a consideration of the implications of using each position as a context for teaching.     

Exploring Use of Self: Moving Beyond Definitional Challenges

Use of self is a central concept throughout social work history and theory, yet no unified definition and little empirical research exist. Thus, a qualitative exploration was required. Three focus groups (n = 10) were conducted with experienced BSW educators. Participants defined use of self in the context of their students’ beginning social work practice. The findings suggest that use of self incorporates personal self qualities such as openness, self-reflectiveness, attunement to others, commitment, and emotional maturity, and results in professional capacities such as nurturing the social worker–client relationship, reflective practice, and practice wisdom. Use of self is the integration of theory and practice embodied in the social worker and enacted in the worker-client relationship.