Conceptual distance indices as measures of alienation in obsessional neurosis

A new method for the measurement of alienation is proposed. It is based upon the conceptual distance between people. For each subject, the observed distances between all possible pairs of elements were calculated and compared with the expected distance between two elements drawn at random. The ratios derived in this way were used to examine intra-self alienation and actual self isolation. The obsessional patient is self alienated and isolated. The normal control subject is self and socially integrated.

Perception of choice and locus of control

Ss high in either internal or external locus of control as measured by Rotter's I-E Scale were given 3 levels of choice to take the role of either the electric shock-giver or receiver in a learning experiment. The perceived freedom of choice in those conditions in which choice was restricted turned out to be a complex function of locus of control, choice condition, and task role. A tentative explanation is offered in terms of both dissonance and reactance theories.

Effect on stuttering of changes in audition

This article presents an analysis of the ameliorative effect on stuttering known to be associated with different conditions affecting auditory reception. An integral explanation for the salutary effect of all of these conditions is derived, focusing on the indirect modification of vocal function. Conclusions are consistent with the analysis presented in a previous paper which dealt with the fluency-enhancing effects of a number of other conditions.

Status inconsistency theory and flying saucer sightings

The analysis is completed. Through a series of propositions and hypothesized links between the reporting of UFO sightings and a particular kind of social position, the utility of social theory as a basis for explaining phenomena presumed to be in the domain of the physical sciences has been demonstrated. Nothing in the data rejects the possibility that some individuals have, in fact, seen objects propelled from another solar system or that all observations are of ill-understood or misperceived terrestrial phenomena. Empirical science, particularly social science, does not address itself to ultimate truth. What has been attempted here is the employment of a sociological theory to account successfully for observed regularity in patterns of UFO sightings. Another and reasonable, though not necessarily mutually exclusive, procedure for organizing social data might provide an equal degree of explanatory consistency. This analysis merely emphasizes the need to utilize such approaches outside the confines of laboratory groups and the more convenient and established domains of social science. Our analysis has presented just one application of sociological theory to the complex interplay among quasi-scientific phenomena, physical science knowledge, and human behavior in society.