Chapter Eight

Urban Social Psychology

Integration of People and Their Urban Environments

Urban Social Psychology Urban social psychology is the study of effects of cities on peoples perceptions of self, others, norms, and values. Urban social psychology is the study of how people define cities and city spaces used. Urban social psychology is the study of patterns of peoples feelings about cities, their understanding of environment, and how that environment affects them and their definitions of self.

Contents .Effects of City on How We See Ourselves II. Effects of Urban Life on Norms and Anomies III. Perception of the City IV. Personal Space: Microsocial Territories V. Social Psychology and Migration VI. Summary

.Effects of City on How We See Ourselves 1. Classical Representations 2. Modern Views 1. Classical Representations Georg Simmel The Metropolis and Mental Life How the human personality adapted and changed to accommodate the new environment represented by the industrial city. Metropolitan type: Individuality Rationality

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Lack of emotionalism Specialization CompartmentalizationUrban conditions & Rural conditionsIntensification of nervous stimulationPeople react in two ways: (1) Compartmentalization: the process by which people divide up their lives into the discrete segments (2) Objectification: the process by which the individual reacts to events or people as classSecondary role relationshipThe use of money

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Life is compartmentalized and interactions with most people are as objectified secondary roles.One difficulty: the individual as a complete person become lost.Exaggeration of the person is necessary, which can lead to individuality and, in its most positive form, freedom.The same conditions that give rise to individuality freedom can also breed deviance.Role specializationpeople are judged by the specific roles they perform, not their own personal characteristics.

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Specialization, compartmentalization, emphasis on rationality and nonemotionality, and objectification create an urban personality that is oriented toward individualism, personal freedom, impersonality, rationality, and low emotionalism.2. Modern ViewsRediscovery of communityThe individual develop a full self-concept based on primary ties, values, and patterns of interaction.Forms of urban social organization are based on emotional primary relationships in which individuals are known as people, not just by the roles they perform.

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The Urban Villagers: Group and Class in the Life of Italian Americans (1962) The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community (1967)Elliot Liebow TallysCorner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner men. (1967)

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The urban personality type is actually a reflection of the norms and values governing particular interactions in todays cities rather than a particular type of self-concept.What Georg Simmel highlighted was not development of a new personality type. Different forms of social relations developed , in which people integrated their self into the modern society.II. Effects of Urban Life on Norms and Anomies The second thematic concern in urban social psychology Anomie or normlessnessmany deviant forms of life-style found in larger urban areas.

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1. Robert K. Mertons Anomie Hypotheses 2. Criticism of Mertons Anomie Hypotheses 3. A Case Study: Skid Row1. Robert K. Mertons Anomie HypothesesvRobert K. Merton A distinguished American sociologist He won a scholarship to Temple University and then went on to do graduate studies at Harvard University working with Talcott Parsons. In 1941 he joined the Columbia University faculty. I n 1994 Merton won the National Medal of Science for his contributions to the field and for having

founded the sociology of science. Merton is closely associated with the work of Talcott Parsons and Structural-Functionalism. He has witnessed the one-time dominance of the 'Structural-Functionalist' school of sociology. He has also witnessed its decline. Merton's work can be seen as an attempt to address particular problems inherent to that perspective. His work can be divided into four discrete, yet interrelated, areas: 1. Deviance2. Dysfunctions 3. Middle-Range theories 4. The Sociology of Science

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Anomie occurs when there is an acute disjunction between the cultural norms and goals, and the socially structured capacities of members of the group who act in accord with them (from Social Theory and Social Structure, 1968) ... anomie is discontinuity between cultural goals and the legitimate means for achieving them.....leads to devianceThe five ways in which people can respond to the social situation acceptance (conformity) ritualism

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retreatism rebellion innovation Deviant behavior will occur most frequently in groups that are most systematically excluded from the reward structure.2. Criticism of Mertons Anomie HypothesesMarshall Clinard (1964) It is unlikely that any one dominant set of value exists. Contemporary urban society is typified by normative and value diversification and cultural pluralism.

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Delinquent behaviors occur with almost equal frequency among all social classes. It is the type of crimeand not the incidencethat varies by class. Most acts labeled as deviant are actually group-oriented activities. The anomie thesis is seen as ignoring the roles of the individual actor as a member of many primary group.3. A Case Study: Skid Row Jeffery Riemer and Ronald Maston The residents in the skid row area were a heterogeneous mixture of peole. There are five broad categories of people in the area:

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(1) Transients (2) Old Hard Core Locals (3) Intermittent Old Locals (4) Young Locals (5) Intermittent LocalsThe Characters of Social Structure in the Skid Row: Primary group Status hierarchies Norms governing interaction Attachment to defined geographical areas Various custom models Common alcohol problems

III. Perception of the City Five major perceptual differences between current cities and the small preindustrial city: (1)Modern cities are so large that they cannot be seen all at one time; (2)We come in contact with great numbers of absolute strangers in a modern city; (3)Physical structures of modern cities change more rapidly than in the past; (4)Buildings have increased in functional specialization; (5)Movement across physical distance occurs more rapidly than previously.

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The key element in perceptions of cities is not their physical structure per se, but the interaction of expectation for the city and its environment.Perceptions and understanding of what makes up a city are based on normative and value systems.Socialization and socially derived expectations are the key elements in understanding how cities are defined and used.Imagery SchoolIndividuals create images or symbolic representations of the territory they occupy and base subsequent interactions on these preconceived notions.

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Terrance Lees analysis on urban neighborhood definition (1968) (1) The Social Acquaintance Neighborhood (2) The homogeneous Neighborhood (3) The Unit NeighborhoodThere are many ways in which places in cities are defined depending upon specific purposes for which a definition is create.People do not interact with environment on the basis of its actual characteristics.Instead, social and psychological factors such as

groups, norms, values and socialization act as intervening variables between environment and perceptions of it.IV. Personal Space: Microsocial TerritoriesHow small spaces are perceived and defined?Personal space can be defined as that area surrounding an individual that is perceived by that individual as belonging to him/her.Personal space is a kind of invisible circle that people draw around themselves to define personal territory.Personal spaces vary in size and function from culture to culture and between subcultures.

Edward Hall (1966, 1969, 1977)For Americans, there are four major categories of space: (1) intimate distance (18 inches) (2) personal distance (18 in.-4 feet) (3) social distance (4-12 feet) (4) public distance (12-30 or more feet)Perception of the spaces and the territories within which we live is dependent upon our culture and subculture.There may be an underlying biological predisposition to territoriality, but the culture-specific variations are such that no single pattern emerges.

V. Social Psychology and MigrationSocial psychology of geographical mobility 1. The Decision to Migrate 2. Postmigration Adjustment 1. The Decision to MigrateTraditional interpretations: people weigh alternatives of migrating or not migrating and then, based on perceived benefits, they make a more-or-less binding decision.Recent data suggest that migration is viewed as a process of commitment.Migration can be divided into two phases: (1) relocation (2) commitment

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2. Postmigration AdjustmentCommitment is the process by which individuals become enmeshed in the social system to which they move.The postmigration commitment process involves the movement of the individual from stranger to normal participant.The commitment process also influence individuals perceptions of themselves as well as the ways in which they fit in the social milieu.

VI. Summary A true urban self does not exist. Instead, there is a heterogeneity of norms and social structures in current urban areas. It is doubtful that secondary social relationships have superseded primary relations as the dominant form of interaction. There are major variations in the ways people define urban space and their own personal space. Migration is a complex social psychological process involving decisions to relocate and commitment to the new area of residence.