Voluntary Associations and Democratic Attitudes: Value Congruence as a Causal Mechanism

  • Marc Hooghe
Chapter

Abstract

In most of the recent research on social capital, a positive correlation is observed between membership of voluntary associations and the adherence to democratic value patterns. However, we have access to few research results, which could explain the causal mechanism that is responsible for this positive correlation. Two models seem to predominate the current literature on social capital (see Stolle this volume). Some authors clearly rely on a socialization logic: Because of the interaction with others, members of voluntary associations are socialized into more democratic and more social value patterns. Subsequently, these positive attitudes are transferred to society as a whole: Members do not only learn to trust their fellow members, but they also develop a generalized trust in other citizens. In this view, voluntary associations or other societal contexts function as learning schools for democracy, as de Tocqueville called it. Putnam (1995, 666) echoes this view when he states: “the causation flows mainly from joining to trusting.”

Keywords

Social Capital Causal Mechanism Generalize Trust Voluntary Association Social Identity Theory 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Abrams, D. and M. Hogg (eds., 1991). Social Identity Theory. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
  2. Adler, P. and P. Adler (1998). Peer Power. Preadolescent Culture and Identity. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
  3. Ajzen, I. and M. Fishbein (1980). Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
  4. Bankston, C. and S. Caldas (1996). “Majority African American Schools and Social Injustice.” Social Forces 75(2), 535–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Berman, S. (1997). “Civil Society and Political Institutionalization.” American Behavioral Scientist 40(5), 562–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Billiet, J., A. Carton and R. Eisinga (1995). “Contrasting Effects of Church Involvement on the Dimensions of Ethnocentrism.” Social Compass 42(1), 97–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Brehm, J. and W. Rahn (1997). “Individual Level Evidence for the Causes and Consequences of Social Capital.” American Journal of Political Science 41(3), 999–1023.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Claibourn, M. and Martin, P. (2000). “Trusting and Joining? An Empirical Test of the Reciprocal Nature of Social Capital.” Political Behavior 22(4), 267–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Dekker, P. (ed., 1999). Vrijwilligerswerk vergeleken. Civil Society en Vrijwilligerswerk III. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.Google Scholar
  10. Duncan, S. and D. Fiske (1977). Face to Face Interaction. Research, Methods and Theory. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
  11. Forsyth, D. (1983). An Introduction to Group Dynamics. Monterey: Brooks and Cole.Google Scholar
  12. Fraser, C. and D. Foster (1984). “Social Groups, Nonsense Groups and Group Polarization.” pp. 473–497. In H. Tajfel (ed.), The Social Dimension, volume 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  13. Goldberg, H. (1970). Jean Jaurès. Paris: Fayard.Google Scholar
  14. Goslin, D. (ed., 1969). Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research. New York: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
  15. Haslam, S. A. et al. (1999). “Social Identity Salience and the Emergence of Stereotype Consensus.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 25(7), 809–818.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Hendrick, C. (ed., 1987). Group Processes. Newbury Park: Sage.Google Scholar
  17. Hooghe, M. (ed., 2000). Sociaal Kapitaal en Democratie. Verenigingsleven, Sociaal Kapitaal en Politieke Cultuur. Leuven: Acco.Google Scholar
  18. Hooghe, M. (2001). “Borders of Hospitality: The Difficult Birth of a Multicultural Society.” The Low Countries. Arts and Society in Flanders and the Netherlands 9, 94–107.Google Scholar
  19. Hooghe, M. (2002). “Watching Television and Civic Engagement: Disentangling the Effects of Time, Programs and Stations.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 7(2), 84–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Hooghe, M. (2003). “Participation in Voluntary Associations and Value Indicators. The Effect of Current and Previous Participation Experiences.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 32(1), in press.Google Scholar
  21. Katz, E. and P. Lazarsfeld (1955). Personal Influence. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
  22. Levi, M. (1996). “Social and Unsocial Capital.” Politics and Society 24(1), 45–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Levine, J. and E. Russo (1987). “Majority and Minority Influence.” pp. 13–54. In Clyde Hendrick (ed.), Group Processes. Newbury Park: Sage.Google Scholar
  24. Lipset, S.M. (1959). “Democracy and Working-Class Authoritarianism.” American Sociological Review 24, 482–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Lubbers, M., P. Scheepers and J. Billiet (2000). “Multilevel Modelling of Vlaams Blok Voting.” Acta Politica 35(4), 363–398.Google Scholar
  26. Merton, R. and A. Kitt (1950). “Contributions to the Theory of Reference Group Behavior.” In R. Merton and P. Lazarsfeld (eds.), Continuities in Social Research. Glencoe: Free Press.Google Scholar
  27. Mills, T. and S. Rosenberg (eds., 1970). Readings on the Sociology of Small Groups. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
  28. Mondak, J. and D. Mutz (1997). “What’s so great about League Bowling?” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
  29. Newton, K. (1997). “Social Capital and Democracy.” American Behavioral Scientist 40(5), 575–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Newton, K. (1999). “Social Capital and Democracy in Modern Europe.” pp. 3–24. In J. van Deth et al. (eds.), Social Capital and European Democracy. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  31. Nie, N., J. Junn and K. Stehlik-Barry (1996). Education and Democratic Citizenship in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  32. Paulus, P. (ed., 1989). Psychology of Group Influence. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
  33. Putnam, R. (1993). Making Democracy Work. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
  34. Putnam, R. (1995). “Tuning In, Tuning Out. The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America.” PS: Political Science and Politics 28(4), 664–683.Google Scholar
  35. Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
  36. Robinson, W. P. (ed., 1996). Social Groups and Identity. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.Google Scholar
  37. Skinner, M. and G. Stephenson (1981). “The Effects of Intergroup Comparison on the Polarization of Opinions.” Current Psychological Research 1(1), 49–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Soysal, Y. (1994). Limits of Citizenship. Migrants and Postnational Membership in Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  39. Stolle, D. (1998). “Bowling Alone, Bowling Together. Group Characteristics, Membership and Social Capital.” Political Psychology 19(3), 497–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Stolle, D. (2000). Communities of Trust. Public Action and Social Capital in Comparative Perspective. Ph.D. Dissertation, Princeton University.Google Scholar
  41. Stolle, D. (2002). “Social Capital—An Emerging Concept.” In B. Hobson, J. Lewis and B. Siim (eds.), Key Concepts in Gender and European Social Politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
  42. Stolle, D. and M. Hooghe (2002). “The Roots of Social Capital. The Effect of Youth Experiences on Participation and Value Patterns in Adult Life.” Paper presented at the 98th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 29–September 1, 2002.Google Scholar
  43. Stolle, D. and T. Rochon (1998). “Are All Associations Alike?” American Behavioral Scientist 42(2), 47–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Tajfel, H. (1981). Human Groups and Social Categories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  45. Tocqueville, A. de (1835). De la Démocratie en Amérique. Paris: Gallimard/Pléiade, 1992.Google Scholar
  46. Turner, J. (1982). “Toward a Cognitive Redefinition of the Social Group.” pp. 15–40. In H. Tajfel (ed.), Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  47. Turner, J. (1984). “Social Identification and Psychological Group Formation.” pp. 518–538. In H. Tajfel (ed.), The Social Dimension, volume 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  48. Turner, J. and P. Oakes (1989). “Self-Categorization Theory and Social Influence.” pp. 233–275. In P. Paulus (ed.), Psychology of Group Influence. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
  49. Turner, J. et al. (1987). Rediscovering the Social Group. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
  50. Uslaner, E. (1998). “Social Capital, Television and the ‘Mean World.’” Political Psychology 19(3), 441–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Uslaner, E. (2000). “Producing and Consuming Trust.” Political Science Quarterly 115(4), 569–590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Verba, S. (1961). Small Groups and Political Behavior. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
  53. Verba, S. and N. Nie (1972). Participation in America. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
  54. Verba, S., K. L. Schlozman and H. Brady (1995). Voice and Equality. Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
  55. Whiteley, P. (1999). “The Origins of Social Capital.” pp. 25–44. In J. van Deth et al. (eds.), Social Capital and European Democracy. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  56. Williams, T. (ed., 1975). Socialization and Communication in Primary Groups. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
  57. Yamagishi, T. and M. Yamagishi (1994). “Trust and Commitment in the United States and Japan.” Motivation and Emotion 18(2), 129–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Marc Hooghe and Dietlind Stolle 2003

Authors and Affiliations

  • Marc Hooghe

There are no affiliations available

Personalised recommendations