”s ~ . . ‘ r ‘ 0- ‘ \ ._. . . V - . . . ~ _ - .0. o .--. . . . . .- . r . ~-.-_... -,-a-O Q~Qo¢-.v. 0—--‘I'0‘- .Oofi‘-.““u~m-‘“”-Nu.-*w.l ; ., f 90mm PARTICIPATION IN TOWAR BARBEN$ f A mmea LOCAUW A STUDY or STRUCTURAL,- » .‘ * ' SITUATIONAL AND AmmeAL commas l Thesis for the Degree of M. A. .. . MICHIGAN 3mg UNIVERSITY 1 CARLIN PMGE HOLDEN - ‘ 1970 l IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WWIHIIIIUHIHIIIHIIIIUlllIHfililllllllllllll‘lllll * L, 3 1293 10577 3901 niversfity . NOW} [A MW ABSTRACT POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN TOWAR GARDENS, A FRINGE LOCALITY A STUDY OF STRUCTURAL, SITUATIONAL, AND ATTITUDINAL CORRELATES By Carlin Paige Holden Literature in the field of political participation documents the association of political participation with a variety of structural vari- ables. The most frequently cited of these variables is socio-economic- status. Other literature discussing the association of participation with characteristics of political situations stimulated me to hypothesize that the intervening variable of efficacy explains the association of SES and participation in some situations. Further, I hypothesized that efficacy is associated with other structural variables and with participa- tion in different political situations. I conducted a sample survey of residents in a lower fringe locality on the assumption that homogeneity of status and civic interests would associate with efficacy and through this with higher rates of participa- than might otherwise be expected from people of this status level. Findings of the survey showed that the locality is not as homogeneous as assumed. Political participation was significantly associated with the positional variables of length of residence and informal social integra- tion and with the attitudinal variables of personal efficacy and govern- mental affectability. SES was related to personal efficacy but showed de‘LLIl rdige flUiueIl no significant association to participation, length of residence, informal integration, or governmental affectability. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN TOWAR GARDENS, A FRINGE LOCALITY A STUDY OF STRUCTURAL, SITUATIONAL, AND ATTITUDINAL CORRELATES By Carlin Paige Holden A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology 1970 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thanks to the following people for their encouragement, material help, inSpiration and moral support: Dr. William Form for not giving up on me no matter how long it looked like it was going to be before I finished; Dr. Denton Morrison and Grafton Trout for their help as members of my committee; Harry Webb for encouragement and help in indexing and programing; Dr. Walter Freeman for his advice and friendship in the initial stages; Nancy Tuma, Bill Emery, and Cesar Portocarrero for their assistance in conducting interviews; The residents of Towar Gardens for their c00peration; My husband Arnold for assistance in coding and analysis; My friends and colleagues in the departments of Sociology and of Social Science who gave moral support and inSpiration. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . Chapter I REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. . . . . . Chapter II DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION The Research Site Sampling . Data Collection Analysis . Description of the Sample Chapter III MAJOR CONCEPTS Position . Socio-economic-status (SES) Length of Residence . Informal Integration Sense of Political Efficacy Personal Efficacy . . Governmental Affectability Community Efficacy Political Participation Chapter IV FINDINGS. Chapter V CONCLUSIONS Summary Conclusions Implications . Shortcomings and Recommendations . BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . APPENDIX I APPENDIX II . iii Page 12 13 14 15 22 22 22 23 24 25 25 26 27 28 31 46 46 47 54 55 57 60 62 _i7 *um.—AHT J'La ‘EEZ‘ Table II III IV VI VII VIII IX LIST OF TABLES Socio-Economic-Status and Political Participation Length of Residence and Informal Integration as Positional Variables as Associated To Political Participation The Association of Political Participation To Personal Efficacy and Governmental Affectability as Efficacy Variables The Association of Positional Variables To Each Other The Association of the Positional Variables Length of Residence and Informal Integration Positional Variables as Related To Personal and Governmental Efficacy Political Participation as Related to Personal Efficacy and Governmental Affectability with SES Controlled Political Participation as Related to Personal Efficacy and Governmental Affectability with Length of Residence Controlled The Association of Political Participation To Personal Efficacy and Governmental Affectability with Informal Integration Controlled iv Page 31 32 33 34 35 36 39 41 43 CHAPTER I REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE In a political system which incorporates the norm of universal adult citizenship, political inactivity is a concern of the journalist, poli- tician, and academician. In the decade of the 1950's especially there was a great deal of concern about "voter apathy" and "political alienation." Currently, public concern focuses more on political action which is regarded as disruptive if not illigitimate. Non-participation in politics and disruptive political behavior may not be as diSparate as they seem to appear; they may be alternative responses to a single type of politi- cal situation. To understand the situation common to apathy and mili- tancy, we must first understand the normal institutionalized pattern of participation and the conditions conducive to it. Thus the first question here is, what factors are related to traditionally institutionalized poli- tical participation: voting, signing petitions, contacting local offi- cials through institutionalized channels? Second, what is it about the factors associated with traditionally institutionalized participation that make such participation "rational" for participants. Having answered these questions we may then be able to see that changes in or absence of these factors may define situations where the patterns of apathy of mili- tancy become "rational" responses to political situations for many people. Many variables have been explored which have direct or indirect affect on political participation. Several categories contain a wealth of single and composite indices which predict, with varying degrees of certainty and supported by varying amounts of documentation, variations in political participation. Three of these categories, containing the majority of specific variables are: situational, characteristics of the socio-political setting; structural, factors of position in a social setting; and attitudinal, personal feelings and predispositions about situation and behaviors. Among the most documented correlates of participation are the struc- tural variables of education and income, used either singly or with others as indicators of socio-economic-status (SES). (Agger et.a1., 1964, Campbell et.a1., 1954, Dahl, 1961, and Lane, 1959 to name but a few.) In his definitive review of the literature of political participation, Lester Milbrath (1965) identifies attributes of social position which affect participation. One of the more important of these is degree of community identification. Several variables measure this condition and they are all positively correlated with political participation. Length of residence in the community correlates highly with voting but it is also especially important to other forms of participation which require even more personal commitment; i.e. party work, contribution of time and money to campaigns, etc. (Agger et.a1., 1964, Lane, 1959, Lipset, 1960.) Home ownership increases the likelihood of voting (Miller, 1952). Age, sex, and marital status are other dimensions of social position associated with participation. (Campbell et.a1., 1960, Lipset, 1960, Agger et.a1., 1964, Lane, 1959, and Lazarsfeld et.a1., 1944.) The attitudinal complex identified as "confidence," or efficacy, correlates positively with participation (Berelson et.a1., 1954, Campbell et.a1., 1954, Campbell et.a1., 1960, Dahl, 1961 and crossculturally in Almond and Verba, 1963). Negative attitudes (conceptualized as powerless- ness, anomie, and cynicism) correlate with non-participation or low participation. (McDill and Ridley, 1962, Rosenberg, 1954-55, Thompson and Horton, 1960, Levin, 1962, Campbell et.a1., 1954, and Agger et.a1., 1964.) Characteristics of the situation such as the amount of political activity in the area (debating, controversy, campaigning, etc.) affect the electoral turnout. (Katz and Eldersveld, 1961 cited in Milbrath, 1965.) The homogeneity of the area in terms of class variables is also associated with higher rates of participation (Rokkan and Campbell, 1960 as cited in Milbrath, 1965.) Factors Specific to particular elections are known to affect the rate of participation. In general, the higher the stakes, the higher the participation. (Lane, 1959 and Lipset, 1960); the closer the expected outcome, the higher the participation (Milbrath, 1965 cited in Milbrath, 1965). In addition to their associations with participation many of the structural, attitudinal and situational variables are associated with each other. Persons in upper SES levels are more likely to develop efficacious feelings. (Agger et.a1., 1961, Campbell et.a1., 1954, 1960; Dahl, 1961.) Personal contact by canvassers increases voters' feelings of efficacy as well as voter turn out. (Eldersfeld, 1956 cited in Milbrath, 1965.) Resi- dents in urban areas are more apt to feel efficacious than rural residents. (Campbell et.a1., 1960) There is an exception to this in the case of residents in cities dominated by a political machine (a known and closed elite). Efficacy feelings are lower for residents of this type of city than they are for urbanites generally. (Levin, 1960). Southerners are less likely to feel efficacious than residents of other sections of the country (Campbell et.a1., 1954, 1960 and Milbrath, 1965b). These same structural and situational variables are also associated with other poli- tical attitudes, e.g., sense of citizen duty. (Campbell et.a1., 1954 and 1960.) ‘9 ”*2"? ., V’IVIJL‘. u '1 Several students of political behavior have developed more extended theoretical statements involving three and four variables in a chain of factors which stimulate political participation. Dahl argues that the relationship between SES, efficacy, and participation is a circular one which Spirals upwards for those who have middle-class resources and down- wards for those with lower-class position and resources. (1961, p. 292) In discussing the findings of Lipset that residential segregation reduces the tendency for SES and participation to correlate directly, Milbrath argues, "Without status differences to inhibit their feelings of competence and importance, lower-class persons are more likely to become willing political workers." (Milbrath, 1965a, p. 119) Robert Lane takes this idea further in his presentation of the effects of preportion, concen- tration, and enclave. (Lane, 1959, pp. 261-264). These effects will be briefly described. Lane first notes the effect of the proportion of a given social type in an area (any visible classifying criteria such as ethnicity could be the base for this typing) on the participation patterns of its inhabi- tants. 'The higher their (working class) proportion in a voting district, the more likely their members are to vote. This follows from the increasing chances of electoral success associated with increased pro- portions in the population. This in turn, increases the group-members' sense of political effectiveness, the sense that authorities will listen when you talk. It increases the stakes in participation by opening up the possibilities of gaining command over resources. 0n the other hand, for a group to comprise only a small proportion of the p0pulation of a district, encourages a sense of hopelessness...‘ p. 162 Not only does "proportion" have an effect on participation, the physical concentration or diapersion of group members in the area also affects the amount and quality of political participation of identifiable social groupings (again class or ethnic groups). "Where a group is con- centrated, there is greater group interaction and a consequent reinforce- ment of group solidarity, sentiments, and knowledge of the community." (Lane, 1959, p. 263) These increase the likelihood of participation. Finally Lane identifies the enclave effect in terms of the interaction of situational, structural, and attitudinal variables affecting social behavior in the political arena. In this case, the group's sense of differentiation from the surrounding population contributes to higher feelings of efficacy and increased participation. He applies this prin- ciple to an explanation of the higher than average participation rates of the Mormon enclave in Utah. Community data for testing the enclave effect was unavailable at the time of his writing. (p. 263) Also lacking complete empirical test in Lane's discussion is efficacy, the intervening variable "invented to account for internal and directly unobservable psychological processes that in turn account for behavior." (Kerlinger, 1964, p. 44) He speaks of efficacy in explaining the effect of proportion, concentration, and enclave on participation but he cites no evidence specifically concerning efficacy. Could empirical testing, which uses efficacy as a variable, support his explanation? If so, which of the two types of variables, structural or attitudinal, shows a higher association with participation? If Lane's logic is correct, efficacy should be more closely associated since, as an intervening variable, it would be the most "proximate cause." Efficacy is the product of a number of district variables, including some as yet unidentified. Probably each of these variables operates with different weights and each affects the others. For this reason, efficacy should be more highly related to participation than any of the factors which are its sources. This assumes of course that efficacy is, in fact, the common denominator of the many apparently unrelated structural variables which correlate with participa- .5 tion. h" In making this assumption, I am essentially saying that it is not the .1. -un-wnf— a. ' c. >1L1 structural variables, socio-economic-status or length of residence per se, “an“ I .m 1'. or even the resources of positions (such as money, prestige, knowledge) E which contribute to high rates of participation. Rather, it is belief in the importance of such things to the success of certain behaviors that is important to the decision to engage in those behaviors. Possessing those resources which he believes to be necessary for behavioral success gives the individual confidence in that behavior. This confidence in the field of political behavior is the feeling of efficacy. The literature showing that "situation" relates to participation (i.e. that homogeneous populations have higher participation rates than heterogeneous populations) implies that the situational context of posi- tions and resources affects the relationship that these factors in them- selves bear to participation. In other words while socio-economic-status of an individual may predict his level of participation (the higher status person participates more than the lower status person) a low status person in a community composed homogeneously of low status persons may have higher participation due to the homogeneity than might be expected from a low status person otherwise. He may feel more confident in his vote or the effect of his small campaign contribution when not competing with higher status and more affluent participants. Lipset's findings cited above document the importance of situation on the effect of position and thus support the argument that it is not socio-economic-status itself that stimulates participation. If the significance of SES were essential, this exception of high participation among concentrated low SES population could not occur, i.e., low SES would always produce Iow participation. In other words, without directly or specifically testing for efficacy, EwaJ Lipset demonstrates its theoretical importance along with the importance of situation. Another aSpect of situation is important in assessing the knowledge 5 we already have about political participation. Most studies which show a correlation between SES and participation were conducted in urban areas. According to Boskoff (1962), the culture of urban areas is predominantly middle class in flavor, demanding middle class behavior patterns and resources for efficacy and success in social behavior. A situation not culturally middle class would not build this bias into the results of studies conducted in it. In other words, the higher efficacy and partici- pation of high SES individuals in past studies may be an artifact of the middle class nature of the urban environments which favor the behavioral success of middle as opposed to lower class citizens. I believe that an empirical test which focuses on a normally low efficacy, low participation p0pu1ation in a non-urban locality, having conditions conducive to the enclave effect, will support Lane's explana- tion of proportion, concentration, and enclave effects. Further, I would expect such a test to demonstrate a clearer relationship between partici- pation and efficacy than between participation and any of the structural variables which are related to both efficacy and participation. Specifically I expect to find the following in such a text: 1. 2. Ses and political participation will not be related. Structural measures significant to involvement in an enclave e.g. length of residence and informal integration, will correlate with political participation. Feelings of efficacy will be positively correlated with political participation. SES will not be associated with structural variables. Length of residence will be related to informal social integration in an area. SES will not be related to efficacy, but length of residence and infor- mal integration will be related to efficacy. The relationship of efficacy and political participation will be independent of SES in such a test. The relationship of efficacy and political participation will be independent of length of residence and informal integration. In summary, this study will test three main hypotheses. 1. Efficacy produces political participation under the conditions of presumed or potential enclave. 2. SES is not related to other variables either as an independent variable or as a control on the relationship of efficacy and political participation. 3. Structural variables are related to each other, to efficacy and to political participation, but have no effect on the relation- ship of efficacy to political participation. CHAPTER II DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION THE RESEARCH SITE The locale of the study is the subdivision of Meridian Township known as Towar Gardens. Several factors make this area suitable for the study of the ideas presented in Chapter I. First, it is a locale of concentrated (271 dwellings in 15 blocks) rather than geographically dispersed population. It is more like a neighborhood than a small town in terms of institutional organization. It serves only a couple of the major locality relevant functions which define the relatively autonomous community (cf. Warren, 1963). There is a small general store sufficient for the occasional errand, or last minute shopping, but not for the weekly grocery business of the population. There are two churches in the loca- lity. One of these, a Baptist church, serves the local population, the other draws its congregation from outside of the locality. Catholics and members of Protestant denominations other than Baptist must go outside the locality for religious activity. The only employment opportunities within the locality are the store, a gas station, one or two small auto body shops and a beauty shop. Two elementary schools serve the locality from just outside its boundaries. Thus almost all organizational activi- ties and facilities are located outside of the locality itself. The subdivision was first settled in the 1930's during the Great Depression. Due to lack of resources and location outside the jurisdic- tion of city boards of standards, there was no regulation of the size of lots, construction of dwellings, etc. The first dwellings were little more than shacks. Many of these still occupied by their original owners, 10 have been improved over the years as the economy and the finances of the residents have improved. Thischange in the fortunes of the residents and the investments on many in their homes is one factor behind a general campaign to upgrade the appearance of the entire area. While the majority of homes are small but appear to be in fair to good condition, there are still some which look substandard, and one or two which would not look out of place in upper middle class neighborhoods. To the extent that differences in the housing represent real SES r1 differences (from upper-lower class, through a majority or lower and I middle-middle class, to a few upper-middle class) they are scattered with- out apparent pattern throughout the locality. The overwhelming majority of the population is white and native American. A few families of Mexican origin have come to the locality in recent years. There is also one black family. As with people of different SES levels those of the minority ethnic backgrounds are scattered throughout the area. With no internal segregation on SES lines observable, I expected no social cleavages on such lines. Rather I expected those characteristics shared by the resi- dents and separating them from other subdivisions in the township to be the most important in cementing social alliances across what might other- wise be lines of interest division. Abutting the southern boundary of the locality is a new subdivision of homes in the forty to sixty thousand dollar range. This juxtaposition of contrasting neighborhoods, divided only by Lake Lansing Road, is a source of aggravation to peOple on both sides. The residents of Whitehills Estates are annoyed by what they consider to be "that slum." It affronts their sense of affluence and is inconsistent with the investment they have made in their new homes. Towar residents feel that the Whitehills people 11 are snobs who are in reality, "no better than we are--at least our homes are paid for." Increasing the antagonism is the "Berlin Wall" as the Towar people refer to it. This is a six foot high brick wall built along Lake Lansing Road, the length of the Whitehills subdivision. Ostensibly the purpose of the wall is to protect the privacy and children of residents in Whitehills from the heavy traffic of Lake Lansing Road. In addition to, and perhaps more importantly than this rational function, the wall reinforces the stereotype which most people in the East Lansing-Meridian Township area hold concerning the Towar Gardens in. “|."~ -'fil community. This stereotype pictures Towar residents as "no-good lazy bums who would rather live on welfare than wages," ADC mothers with large families of probably illegitimate children, and young hoods who hot-rod in cars and on motorcycles in disregard for the rights of others. This stereotype on the outside and the residents awareness of it implies the presence of conditions conducive to the enclave effect. The population is different from its immediate neighbors and this difference is felt and stimulates an awareness of shared characteristics and interests and a we-feeling (expressed in the many statements of "we are as good as they are" and statements of pride in paid bills, living within one's incomes, etc.). While the presence of Whitehills is a source of bitterness, it is not a source of intimidation in political activity since the two localities are in two separate political units. Whitehills is part of the city of East Lansing and Towar is part of Meridian Township. The only shared institutional facilities are the two elementary schools both of which take children from both subdivisions. One of these schools in fact is in Whitehills. 12 A final advantage of this locality is a practical one. It is close to the University and thus easy and economical to visit for interviewing. Of course, being so convenient a research site it has been over-studied. Many people are somewhat test-wise and a bit jealous of their privacy. I did not ask questions on sensitive issues such as yearly income for this reason and feel that the information lost by omitting such a question was balanced by the rapport with respondents which might have been lost through the asking of such questions. SAMPLING Sampling the p0pulation presented a problem. There is no listing of households for the Towar Gardens area per se. The listing are by precincts, and Towar is only part of a precinct. In order to determine the size of sample needed and find a base from which to select a sample, I mapped the locality, indicating the location of each dwelling. I assumed each dwelling represented a single household. There were no apartment buildings and few of the houses were large enough to be duplexes. I made the map from direct observation and then numbered the units on the map, consecutively from 1 to 271. Using a table of random.numbers, I selected 122 units to interview. I felt that this would insure my chances of completing at least 100 useable interviews, approximately one- third of the total number of families. I divided the area into three districts and took one-third of my total sample from each district. I had in mind the possibility of comparing residents in the most central and concentrated district with those located in two peripheral districts. However, I did not make such comparisons in the analysis. In later stages 13 of the project I simplified the research design on the basis that my original plans had been overly ambitious. Only six of the thirty-six cases that dropped out of the original sample of 122 were outright refusals. Many more were lost for one of the following reasons: the dwelling was unoccupied, the householder was on vacation, both adults worked during the day, or respondents had arrived too recently to give useable data. DATA COLLECTION Interviews were conducted in the latter part of July, 1966. They were all conducted during daylight hours. The earliest took place in mid-morning and the latest around 7:00 PM. I used a standardized interview schedule to gather information. I pretested the schedule in the locality. Since the pretest dictated no major changes, these six cases were included in the final sample. I thus have information on a total of 86 cases. I conducted about half of the interviews myself. Two graduate students from the sociology department and one from the communications department of the University conducted the remainder of the interviews. Although none were professional interviewers, all had sufficient background in social science methodology to understand the interview technique. There was no attempt to contact respondents prior to the interview. This would have been difficult without names or addresses. We approached prospective respondents as interviewers from the University, interested in their Opinions about the community and local issues. Many enthusiasti- cally seized on the Opportunity to express their views. 14 The interview schedule included a majority of fixed response questions. Many required only a yes/no answer. A large proportion allowed a three way choice (e.g. none, some, all). Most questions used the vocabulary of normal conversation and were phrased idiomatically on the supposition that this would produce less confusion and more rapport. While it was possible to complete an interview in ten minutes, most of them lasted longer because of the need to have some informal interaction to stimulate rapport. This relaxed and informal format allowed discussion about the community which gave me an impressionistic context in which to interpret results of the more objective questions. It also allowed a check on the validity of the objective information, by giving the respondent freedom to qualify answers. ANALYSIS I recorded data on IBM cards and utilized the counter-sorter and computer for the initial phases of data analysis. I dropped many of the questions from the major portion of the data analysis. There were several reasons for this. I gathered much more data than I needed. Many questions did not differentiate among respondents. The qualifying statements of respondents to questions indicated that some were not valid or reliable measures of what I was after. ,I had purposely included a large number of items to test for the dimensions of efficacy and social integration so that I could choose only the best ones for the indices of these variables. I found few statistical tests appropriate, due to the small sample (N=86), the rudimentary nature of the instrument which I had constructed myself and only barely pretested, and the nominal character of the data. I calculated Chi-Square (x2) to test for chance occurence of the percentage distribution in the tables. Where x2 attainted a value such that the 15 distribution would have occurred by chance only 5 times in 100 trials, I also calculated the contingency coefficient (C) to test the strength of association between the two variables. The value of C falls within the area bounded by O and 1. How close it approaches either of these is limited by the number of cases involved in its calculation. I used the table developed by Olmstead* to correct C for the effect of the number of cases. This corrected C or C standardizes the values of C for any and __:I all sample sizes making them comparable with each other and against the norms of O and l. :v—. L_ DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE Nearly three-fourths of the reapondents are women, one-fourth, men. Not knowing occupational and familial patterns of the population and not knowing what kind of c00peration to expect, I decided to talk to any adult available in the household. Six of the respondents are Mexican-American. The mean (R) age of women in the sample is roughly 40 years. This is just about the median in the range from 21 years to 64 years within which three-quarters of the cases fall. Three-quarters of the men are within this same age range. The mean age of men is also approximately 40 years. The largest part of the remaining quarter is the over 65 year group. Campbell and others (1960) find a curvilinear relationship between participation and age, with the peak participation years being between 40 and 60 years. Categorized by decades, probably one—quarter of my sample households would be of peak participation age. *Presented in a class handout for Soc. 860. l6 Contrary to local stereotypes, three-quarters of the men are currently working, 15 percent are retired or disabled, and only 2 percent are cur- rently unemployed. Since a proud man might claim retirement to cover up unemployment, I compared the figures of retirement claimed against the number of men at retirement age. Only one person.more than the number at least 65 years of age, claimed to be retired or disabled. I have the impression that retirement age and status is a line of major cleavage in the locality. Most of the political activity in the locality recently has focused on various municipal services which the locality had not had previously, e.g. sewers. Installment of such services is costly either in terms of increased taxes or in personal outlays. Persons living on fixed incomes (many of whom had moved to the area expressly because of its low tax rate) oppose such local improvements as a threat to their economic position. Younger families, on the other hand, feel the cost is less important than the additional service pro- vided. This divergence of opinion on such matters does not point to a unified enclave of peeple acting together on local issues. As discussed in Chapter I, education is usually associated with participation. Towar residents on the whole rank low in education. Less than one-fifth of the males are high school graduates. Nearly half have some high school training, the remaining men, nearly one-third have less than an eighth grade education. This is in line with figures for all Lansing manual workers (11.5 years by the 1960 census). Manual workers at the Oldsmobile plant in Lansing average less than all manual workers in the city (9 years of school by the 1960 census). Education among the women has a similar distribution to that of the men. 17 The largest single occupational category (one-third) among the men is semi-skilled labor; one quarter of the other wage earners are unskilled workers and another quarter are skilled. Nearly half of the jobs are in heavy industries. Typical places of employment are Oldsmobile, Motor Wheel, White Motors, etc. Other work in non-factory (e.g. construction) situations, 12 percent and clerical situations, 20 percent. One-fifth of the women are currently employed. Their jobs are twice as frequently unskilled as either skilled or semi-skilled, and for every job in a factory among these women, two jobs are in small shop or office situations. Over half of the population have been in residence for ten or more years. The majority of these have lived in the locality for as long as twenty years. Nearly two-thirds of the remaining have resided in the community for at least two years. About two-thirds of the respondents own their own homes, and an additional one-sixth are in the process of buying them. Very few rent. One half of the homes are in fair condition (these are small, of relatively poor construction but with signs of improvements in progress or recently completed.) Nearly two-thirds of the reSpondents state that before moving to the locality they lived in an urban rather than rural or small town situa- tion. This is somewhat misleading since it indicates a population of urban origins and therefore of urban social and cultural background. Many of those who moved to Towar Gardens from urban areas, indicate that they lived in Lansing prior to coming to Towar, but had lived in Lansing only a short time. The locality of origin is likely to be much more distant and is quite likely rural for many of these people. As my questions didn't anticipate this pattern, I can't document the extent of the sample for whom it holds. 1“ «mam l a 18 When asked what they like best about Towar Gardens as a place to live, about one-third mention neighbors and friends, and one-quarter mention the basically rural character of the locale. Those characteristics most frequently mentioned as sources of dissatisfaction are: l) the bad reputa- tion of the locality and the residents whose style of life and behavior give rise to it (close to one-half cite this), and 2) lack of municipal services (one-fifth). About one-fifth have no complaints. The foregoing information identifies some differences in the popula- tion that are supported on the impressionistic level by verbal evidence of some significant lines of cleavage in the community. Most importantly, (in that it probably is more destructive of an enclave effect than any- thing else) there is an acknowledged rift between the subjectively identi- fied 'solid citizens' and the 'people who give this place a bad name.‘ The homeowners who have invested in home improvements in recent years resent those (frequently of more recent arrival) who are not interested in maintaining the appearance of the neighborhood. Some 'solid citizens' have even requested the township government to enforce ordinances against those (sometimes next door neighbors) who would not clean up their pro- perty. Half of the families have children in school. Four-fifths of these children attend elementary school and one-fifth are junior and senior high school students. In part this reflects the age distribution of the adults in the locality. Another fact reflected in the much lower propor- tion of school aged children in the secondary schools is that Towar youths often drop out of school when they are old enough to do so, rather than continue a painful and hopeless attempt to compete or find acceptance with the advantaged East Lansing youths. Parents are concerned about this as 19 they recognize the importance of having at least a high school diploma. They are becoming increasingly concerned now that Towar children attend elementary school with Whitehills children. One mother hopes her daughter will not be assigned to the Whitehills school because she is "too young to learn to hate." About one-fourth of the parents attend PTA sometimes but not regularly, about one-third attend church often to regularly and another one-third never attend church. According to Hoult (1958) 25 percent of Protestants and 62 percent of Catholics attend church every Sunday and 66 percent of the population is named on a church roll. In Towar, half of those who do attend church go to churches outside the locality. Nearly two-thirds report membership in at least one formal group. Forty percent have one such membership, twenty percent are members of two or more groups. In most cases the single membership (or one of the two memberships) is in a labor union. Unions are not truly voluntary associa- tions and the jobs with which they are associated in this case are outside the locality. For these reasons I do not expect the usual correlation between voluntary association membership and political participation to hold in the usual manner. Sower et.al. in a 1961 study of three Michigan communities (Ionia, Cheboygan, and Marshall) show 49 percent, 50 percent, and 61 percent of the blue collar population to have no memberships in local associations excluding churches and unions. 34 percent, 33 percent, and 21 percent of the populations have one membership in associations other than churches and unions. Excluding union memberships from my figures would no doubt make them comparable. About half report visiting with neighbors to some extent, about half also exchange favors and errands with some but not on a regular basis. 20 Slightly over half stop and talk regularly with other residents met on the street. In each case, the other half of the respondents are split rather evenly between the remaining two reSponse categories. Approxi- mately one-third of the respondents claim to know few; one-third, some; and one-third, many other residents in the locality. Nearly three-fourths of the respondents usually have strong opinions on local issues. About the same proportion believe that there are things they can be besides voting to affect local decisions. Three-fourths deny that because their vote is only one Of many it can't affect the outcome of an election. Almost two-thirds disagree with the idea that local poli- tics is a waste Of time. An equal percentage also feel that elections in Meridan Township do matter. Between one half and two-thirds care more about local than national political matters because they feel they can do more about the local ones. Given a choice between the township government and the East Lansing city government, one-third have greater confidence in the township government, but a somewhat larger percentage prefer annexa- tion into East Lansing's government. Nearly two-thirds feel that with enough prodding, the township govern- ment responds to the needs of Towar Gardens, yet they are evenly split in opinion on whether the township cares about what Towar residents think. About two-fifths feel local officials forget campaign promises once in office. However, people expressing this opinion are quick to add that the local politicians are no worse than any others in this reSpect. Less than half are aware of common positions and Opinions on local matters, or Of a feeling of group strength resulting from such a sharing Of views. (I expected strong awareness Of shared feelings and relied on 21 it to document the existence Of an enclave. As indicated elsewhere in this chapter, any we-feeling in this group does not go very deep and does not extend much past indignation at the reputation of the locality. Even the extent Of commonality in this attitude is not known to many residents.) Nearly two-thirds report voting in a local election within the previous two years. This is no doubt an exaggerated report.* About this same proportion have discussed local issues with other residents. Slightly over half have signed petitions. Nearly half have voted in school elec- tions. More than one-third have contacted a local Official, and slightly less than that have campaigned for a position or candidate. Between one- fourth and one-third have attended an Open township meeting and nearly one- fifth have participated in discussion at such meetings. This description of the sample along with the description Of the locality shows that while the proper external conditions are present for the development Of an enclave effect, the internal unity is not present. There are many unexpected lines Of cleavage in the population: status quo vs. progress and development orientation; middle vs. lower class value patterns and life styles; "oldtimers" who regret the loss Of Open space and "country" atmosphere in the locality vs. the newcomers who see Towar as a suburban locality; finally there is some division between the minority Of Mexican-Americans and the rest of the population. The "solid citizens" tend to categorize the Mexicans with the "bad reputation" group although most seem average for the locality. Because Of these divisions within the locality, I have lower expectations Of finding the relationships discussed in Chapter I. *Voting records for that precinct indicated about a 40% turnout for elections in the 1964 elections. CHAPTER III MAJOR CONCEPTS As discussed in Chapter I, there are four major types of variables in this paper: structural, i.e. social position; attitudinal, such as efficacy; and situational, such as proportion, concentration, and enclave; and social participation. As discussed in Chapter two, I attempted to select a situation that would be an enclave. The only variability that I am concerned with on this dimension is the extent to which in fact there is or is not an enclave effect in the locality studied. .‘un- .‘h' a. n I will define the remaining concepts and their operationalization here. POSITION There are several dimensions Of social position relevant to this study. Socio-economic-Status (SES) has been mentioned repeatedly as a usual correlate Of participation. However the positions of individuals within a group where SES is low and generally constant, can't be fully Specified by individual SES. Additional measures are needed tO reveal position within the group and its concerns in order to then predict parti- cipation. These more purely social aSpects Of position include length Of residence, and degree of integration into the informal friendship network of the locality. SociO-economic-status (SES) SES defines class position and implies limits on the style of life one can maintain. Education, occupation, and type Of employment Of the 22 23 male head Of household, and condition Of dwelling define the general class position and probable life style of respondents. Each receives points according to placement on each of these dimensions. Adding these points produces a range of composite SES index scores from a three point minimum to a maximum Of eleven points. The three point score, or extreme low SES represents the respondent who has an unskilled job in heavy industry, has less than an eighth grade education and lives in a home rated poor. A respondent in the highest SES position, identified by the eleven point score, typically has a skilled non-factory non-manual job, has a high school diploma, and has a home in good condition. At best a reSpondent ranked in the low group has a semi-skilled industrial job, some high school and a 'fair' home - a total Of six points on the index. The difference between such an individual and one whose seven points put him into the high SES category is the difference in the above description between a semi-skilled and a skilled job, or between some high school and the diploma, or between fair and good housing (which represents a difference in resources, attitude or both). To rank in the high category, a respondent is at least average for the range of the group tested. Scored and dichotomized in this manner, sixty per cent Of the reSpon- dents are low SES, and forty per cent are high. The difference between these two groups appears to be the difference between upper lower and lower middle class SES position. Length Of Residence A single question, ”How long have you lived in Towar Gardens?" measures this indicator of membership position in the locality. About 24 half Of the sample are "newcomers" of ten years residence or less. The other half are "Oldtimers" Of longer than ten years residence. Informal Integration Informal Integration is the final dimension Of position within the residential group. The four items Of seven in the schedule, which most clearly differentiate the sample from the Operational definition of high and low integration. These items tap the number Of residents the reSpon- dent knows at least casually; the extent to which he and his immediate neighbors exchange errands and favors; whether or not he stOps to talk with such acquaintances. The scores range from zero to eight points. Low informal integration as a category includes respondents who never visit, never exchange favors, don't stop and talk, and know very few others in the locality. This category also includes a middle range type of individual who visits and exchanges errands some times or with some but not all neighbors, knows some others in the locality and stops and talks with some or sometimes but not as a rule. Placement in the high integration category reflects at least one instance Of definite yes or always type of response in an otherwise middle range pattern. The upper limit Of course, is defined by the pattern of much visiting and favor exchange, knowing many other residents and always stopping to talk. As a result of these Operations, about half Of the sample have a low level of integration in the community and half high. 25 SENSE OF POLITICAL EFFICACY Political efficacy is the belief in the worth Of the individual action in the political arena. Rosenberg (1954-55) in discussing determinants of political apathy, identifies several components involved in the complementary attitude of efficacy, i.e. futility about political activity. One Of these is a sense Of futility based on a sense of personal inadequacy. A second is the felt unmanageability Of political forces. In other words, he separates the futility feelings into those coming from the individual's self-image and those coming from his image of "powerful anonymous forces" in his environ- ment. Following Rosenberg's lead, I identified two complementary dimensions of efficacy: "personal efficacy" or the sense of personal political effec- tiveness; and "governmental affectability," the belief in the ability of governmenta1 structures to be influenced by citizens. Because of my con- cern with the possible enclave effect in this situation, I also defined a third dimension, "community efficacy," or the sense Of power in political matters due to the size of the group or some feature Of its position within the general area. Personal Efficacy The following items, adapted from Dean (1960) and Campbell (1954), form the measure Of the feeling of personal strength and effectiveness in local political affairs: 1. I usually have a strong opinion on local issues. 2. There are other things I can do besides voting to have a say in local matters. 26 3. My vote is only one of many and can therefore not make any dif- ference in the outcome. The first two Of these items test for knowledge Of the channels Of participation; and for the sense of power that comes with knowing the "truth" in any situation (for that is what most peOple believe their own Opinions to be.) The third item tests for belief in the one man-one vote principle Of democracy. A person feeling highly efficacious would agree with the first two statements and disagree with the third. Agreement with the third statement reflects feelings of powerlessness Of the individual in a mass society. Disagreement with the first two reflect an alienation from the political process and political issues Of concern to the commu- nity. Efficacious responses score two points and the non-efficacious, one point. A don't know response rates zero points. A six point total score, the pure efficacious pattern, defines the high efficacy category. Low efficacy is any score of less than six. Measured in this way, half of the sample are highly efficacious and half have a low sense of efficacy. Governmental Affectability This dimension focuses attention on the Object Of political activity, the body which is petitioned, to which Opinion is expressed by vote or other means. To discover perceptions Of affectability, I asked questions about the responsiveness Of the government to popular pressure Of any kind, e.g. did respondents hold elitist views Of the local government? An individual may feel that his vote means as much as anyone elses in the particular arena Of politics (personal efficacy) but simultaneously feel 27 that no one's vote means very much to a closed elite in power. The follow- ing items, adapted from the sources cited above, were used to define persons Of low and high feelings on this dimensions of efficacy. 1. Elections don't matter in this township; the same people run things no matter who gets elected to office. 2. I care more about local affairs than national ones, sometimes, because there is more I can do about them. 3. I don't usually pay much attention to local politics because it is a waste of time. 4. I feel that Towar Gardens gets better government from the town- ship than we would from the city Of East Lansing. Agreement with items 2 and 4 and disagreement with items 1 and 3 reflect a belief in the responsiveness Of the local government or its affectability by the public due to the lack Of a power elite or greater closeness to its constituents. Again such efficacious reSponses score two points, non-efficacious responses score one point each and don't know reSponses receive zero points. The lowest possible score is therefore zero and the highest possible is eight. Respondents scoring zero to five points have a low sense of governmental affectability and those scoring six to eight points have high feelings of governmental affectability. Two-fifths of the sample are in the first category and three-fifths are in the latter. Community Efficagy People who may not feel efficacious in themselves or who may not feel that governmental structures could be affected by Single individuals may feel strength and effectiveness through group membership or unity. Four 28 items dealing specifically with relationships between the township govern- ment and the Towar Gardens "community" measure this dimension Of efficacy. 1. The township government has gotten things done in Towar if people have made enough Of a fuss. 2. It's no use trying to tell the township government anything, it doesn't care what people here think. 3. Most of us out here vote the same way on many local matters, which ‘ gives us a better chance Of getting what we want. 4. The only time the township government pays any attention to Towar K Gardens is to collect taxes or give us trouble. The same scoring method is used here as in the other two measures of efficacy.above. Two-fifths of the sample with five points or less receive low efficacy classification. The six point or better score of the remaining three-fifths define high efficacy. Initial tests Of the data Show a lack Of relationship between Community Efficacy and any other variables which do seem tO be related with the other dimensions Of efficacy. (See appendix for tables). Either community efficacy is a totally different complex Of feelings from and unrelated in reality to any other type Of efficacy or to those things that other types of efficacy are related to, or the measurement used measured something other than feelings of group effectiveness. In any case I have decided to eliminate it from the body of the study. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION Milbrath (1965) and others make the distinction between active and passive forms Of political participation. Milbrath identifies Spectator and gladiator activities in the political arena on the basis of amount Of 29 psychological and behavioral initiative and cost involved in them. A person engaging in gladiatorial activity would need a stronger sense of efficacy to balance those costs than a person who participates in a rela- tively passive manner. A distinction should also be made between these categories when measuring amounts Of participation. I distinguished between leadership and follower participation, the former including the active types Of participation such as campaigning, Starting petitions and the like. Follower participation is more passive and less costly in psychological and behavioral terms, such as Signing a petition which someone brings to the door, expressing ones Opinion in the privacy of the voting booth, etc. I included several items from each category in my test for political participation. Only one Of the leadership activities, campaigning, for a person or issue is in the final index of participation. Very few reSpon- dents have engaged in any Of the other activities classified as leadership participation. I have also eliminated several of the follower activities from the final index, using the following: In the last two years (1964-66) did you... 1. sign a petition? 2. vote in a local election? 3. attend an Open township meeting? 4. discuss an election issue or local problem with a neighbor or other friend who lives here? 5. contact a township Official on the phone, in person, or by letter to tell him about a local problem or Opinion? 6. try to convince someone else to vote for a particular person or on a particular part of an issue. 30 A positive response to any Of the first five scores one point each. A positive reSponse tO the sixth scores two points. The highest possible score is seven points. Four or more points defines a high participant. Low participants, three or fewer points, have typically voted, signed a petition, and discussed an issue with a neighbor or friend. Of the acti- vities listed these require the least initiative and commitment. A high participant has to not only do more activities but do one Of the more 5 costly ones in addition to the low participation activity pattern. Half .-.—.- Of the sample are low participants and half are high participants. CHAPTER IV FINDINGS Hypothesis I: Variation in participation will not be associated with variations in SE8. Even though the range of SES is not as wide in Towar as in a larger community, there is sufficient range within the Towar population to make comparisons (cf. Chapter III). DO these differences coincide with the difference in political participation in the same manner as found in heterogeneous urban communities? My hypothesis is that a reduced range of SES does not mean an equally reduced range Of political participation. Data in Table I shows quite a weak association between these two variables. The probability Of the association occurring is not signifi- cantly greater than chance. These results may be partially an artifact Of the reduced range Of SES or they may reflect an absence of relationship. Thus, I feel that the hypothesis is supported. TABLE I SOCIO-ECONOMIC-STATUS AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION (in percents) Political SES Participation Low High Low 56 44 High 44 56 Total 100 100 number Of cases 52 34 86 X2 = .79 p :>.30 31 32 Hypothesis II: Length Of residence and informal integration, as structural variables are positively related to political participation. Both the length Of residence in the locality and the extent to which the individual has become bound tO Others socially in the locality should predict the extent to which he is involved in the political process Of the locality. Both of these variables incorporate social resources that, especially in the relatively homogeneous economic situation, would be even a ‘w more important tO behavior. Table II presents the data which tests Hypothesis II. I TABLE II LENGTH OF RESIDENCE AND INFORMAL INTEGRATION AS POSITIONAL VARIABLES AS ASSOCIATED TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION (percents) Political Length of Residence Informal Integration Participation Low High Low High Low 71 36 71 32 High 29 64 29 68 Total 100 100 100 100 number Of cases 38 49 42 44 x2 = 12.08 p (.001 x2 = 12.59 p (.001 E = .55 C = .56 Both length Of residence and informal integration are positively related to political participation. The associations are significant at the .001 level, and the relationships are moderately high (C of .55 and .56). The hypothesis that both time and integration are important to political participation is supported. About seven-tenths Of those lacking 33 long time residence or lacking high levels of informal integration score low on political participation. Hypothesis III: Feelings Of efficacy are positively associated with degree Of political participation. Regarding efficacy as an attitudinal predisposition, Table III presents data supporting the hypothesis. Both personal efficacy and governmental affectability are significantly associated with political participation (p = .01) and the relationships are moderately high, C = .41 and .44 respectively. Approximately two-thirds Of those with low efficacy feel- ings have low records of political participation also. TABLE III THE ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION TO PERSONAL EFFICACY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFECTABILITY AS EFFICACY VARIABLES (percents) Efficacy Political Personal Efficacy Governmental Affectability Participation Low High Low High Low 65 37 67 40 High 35 63 33 60 Total 100 100 100 100 number of cases 43 43 36 50 86 x2 = 6.72 p <.01 x2 = 6.88 p (.01 0 = 41 c = 44 Hypothesis IV: Both length of residence and informal integration will be independent Of SES. Table IV shows a lack Of association between either length of resi- dence or informal integration and SES, thus supporting the hypothesis. —-' “Pg. 34 The results are purely chance for the probability associated with each Of the X2 measures is well over the specified level Of .05. About sixty percent Of the low residence and low integration categories are low SES. TABLE IV THE ASSOCIATION OF POSITIONAL VARIABLES TO EACH OTHER (percents) SES Length of Residence Informal Integration Low High Low High Low 63 58 62 59 High 37 42 38 41 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 38 48 42 44 86 x2 = .78 p (.50 x2 = .19 p < .75 In the case Of length of residence, the history Of the locality and Of the long term residents accounts for some Of this high-low concentration. These would be people who moved in when the locality was less prosperous and whose fortunes didn't improve with the general improvement in the economy over the last three decades. People who were in their forties and fifties when they moved in and were relatively fixed in a job and wage level and who most likely had fewer years Of school and therefore lower skill rating than many of the younger men. The association Of high informal integration with low SES may be explained in part by the fact that the majority Of the population is low on SES and therefore those most apt to find things in common with other residents, leading tO the formation Of informal ties, are those Of low SES. 35 Hypothesis V: Length Of residence and informal integration will be positively associated. According to the discussion presented in Chapter I, length Of resi- dence and informal integration are probably associated although such an association is not logically necessary. Table V Shows support for Hypothesis V. Indeed, the two variables are significantly related to one another. The corrected contingency coefficient, .49, indicates a moderate associa- tion. TABLE V THE ASSOCIATION OF THE POSITIONAL VARIABLES LENGTH OF RESIDENCE AND INFORMAL INTEGRATION (in percent) Informal Length of Residence Integration Low High Low 68 33 High 32 67 Total 100 100 Number Of cases 38 48 86 2 X = 9.25 p d: .005 0:.49 About two-thirds Of the recent residents have low informal social integration scores, and about two-thirds of those who have lived in the locality over ten years are highly integrated. The latter not only have had the Opportunities to form ties, they have done so. Hypothesis VI: The structural variables of length Of residence and informal integration (but not SES) will correlate positively with personal and governmental efficacy. 36 OH. v.a «m 00H 05 om ewfim om.m u Ne mm OOH om om 30A mmw mo.uv a 6w.q u we qm ooA no Amucoonomv Nm ooA o¢ 00 BOA ofi.uv a as ooH we mm swam oo.m u Nx N¢ ooA sq mm BOA :OAumquucH AmauomaH mm.uv a «A ooH am me emfim "NN Nq 00A md Rm BOA GOAumeoucH AmauowaH wuOU Qz< A¢ZOmmmm OH om.uv.a wq cod on sq swam mo. 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