ERASMUS-SOCRATES PROGRAM
COURSE “CONTEXT EFFECTS AND THE MACRO-MICRO PROBLEM”
Summer 2002
April and May, Wednesday, 9.15-12.45
Each of the seven session will be divided into two subsessions, separated by a coffee break.
LECTURERS
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Friedrichs,
Research Institute for Sociology, Greinstr. 2
Phone: (0221) 470-2409, Email: friedrichs@wiso.uni-koeln.de
Dr. Christof Wolf
Research Institute for Sociology, Greinstr. 2
Phone: (0221) 470-4397, Email: christof.wolf@uni-koeln.de
AIMS OF THE COURSE
 To get an in-depth understanding of the macro-micro perspective, its methodological
strength, underlying assumptions and problems. To acquire an elementary knowledge of the
statistical procedures for separating and measuring context and individual effects.
 To learn how to use this perspective as an analytical tool to (re-)frame social problems.
 To learn from selected applications of the macro-micro analysis more about substantive
areas in sociology.
CONTENTS
In Session 1, we will first discuss the basic principles of the macro-micro link by several
examples. We discuss different theoretical approaches to the problem and specify the types of
hypotheses required for a macro-micro model.
In Session 2, we then examine a reconstruction of Weber's thesis linking religious ideas to
economic conduct. In addition we discuss methodological problems of constructing context
hypothesis and problems of aggregation in greater detail.
In Session 3, we give special attention to the different forms of aggregation rules and to
unintended consequences of individual actions.
In Session 4, we turn to empirical studies on the impact of urban neighborhoods on their
residents. Some of the questions arising in these studies are: Has the neighborhood an effect
on residents’ attitudes and behavior? What about effects stemming from individual
characteristics or from groups and institutions, such as the school? How can the effects be
modeled?
2
Session 5 pertains to empirical studies on crime as a consequence of the neighborhood or
other aggregates. The questions to be asked are similar to those in the preceding session.
Session 6 is devoted to voting studies, a major research domain crosscutting sociology and
political science. Here, aggregate data on voting districts are used to infer conclusions on the
behavior or decisions of individuals. We ask, how valid such inferences are and which
methodological tools are used in such studies.
Session 7 refers to a specific type of contexts: social networks. The effects of different
characteristics of networks on individual behavior, e.g. deviant behavior, are assessed.
ASSIGNMENTS
Students are requested to work out two assignments per subsession. Each assignment consists
of two questions pertaining to the texts of the subsession. They should be answered and a
written text of one to two pages per assignment is to be delivered at the beginning of the
session. Texts should be written by pairs of students. We expect students to form different
pairs over the course.
Assignments for the first two subsessions will be sent to students who have applied via email
in due time.
Each assignment is graded, the range of points is 0 to 10. Both students of a pair receive the
same grade. The total number of 14 subsessions and two assignments per subsession allows
for a maximum of 280 points, which will then be converted into grades.
TOPICS OF THE COURSE AND REFERENCES
Texts marked with * are obligatory, texts not asterixed are recommended for supplementary
reading.
1. The Macro-Micro Model: Reconstructing Macro Level Hypotheses on the Micro Level
1.1
* Coleman, James S., 1987: Microfoundations and Macrosocial Behavior. Pp. 153-173 in:
Jeffrey C. Alexander et al. (eds.): The Micro-Macro Link. Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press.
* Wippler, Reinhard and Siegwart Lindenberg, 1987: Collective Phenomena and Rational
Choice. Pp. 135-152 in: Jeffrey C. Alexander et al. (eds.): The Micro-Macro Link. Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press.
1.2
* Blau, Peter M., 1994: Structural Contexts of Opportunities. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago
Press. (Chapter 2)
3
* Schwartz, Joseph E., 1990: Penetrating Differentiation: Linking Macro and Micro
Phenomena. Pp. 353-373 in: Craig Calhoun, Marshall W. Meyer and W. Scott (eds.):
Structures of Power and Constraint. Papers in Honor of Peter M. Blau. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
2. Context Effects: Methodological and Statistical Problems
2.1
* Bendix, Reinhard, 1960: Max Weber. An Intellektual Portrait. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday. (Chapter 3, A-C)
* Hernes, Gudmund, 1989: The Logic of the Protestant Ethic. Rationality and Society 1: 123162.
Weber, Max, 1930: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Translated by Talcott
Parsons. London: Allen and Unwin.
2.2
Blalock, Hubert M., 1984: Contextual Effects Models: Theoretical and Methodological Issues.
Annual Review of Sociology 10: 353-372.
DiPrete, Thomas A. and Jerry D. Forristal, 1994: Multilevel Models: Methods and Substance.
Annual Review of Sociology 20: 331-357.
* Erbring, Lutz and Young, Alice A., 1979: Individuals and Social Structure: Contextual Effects
as Endogeneous Feedback. Sociological Methods and Research 7: 396-430.
* Falter, Jürgen W. 1978: Some Theoretical and Methodological Problems of Multilevel
Analysis Reconsidered. Social Science Information 17: 841-869.
3. Aggregation Rules: Methodological and Statistical Problems
3.1
* Boudon, Raymond, 1981: The Logic of Social Action.. An Introduction to Sociological
Analysis. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (Chapters 2 and 4)
3.2
* Hernes, Gudmund, 1977:Structural Change in Social Processes. American Journal of
Sociology 82: 513-547.
* Schelling, Thomas C., 1978: Micromotives and Macrobehavior. New York-London: Norton.
(Chapter 4)
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4. Neighborhood Context Effects
4.1
Friedrichs, Jürgen, 1998: Do Poor Neighborhood Make Their Residents Poorer? Context
Effects of Poverty Neighborhoods on Residents. Pp. 77-99 in: Hans-Jürgen Andress (ed.):
Empirical Poverty Research in a Comparative Perspective. Aldershot: Ashgate.
* Jencks, Christopher and Susan E. Mayer, 1990: The Social Consequences of Growing up in
a Poor Neighborhood. Pp. 111-186 in: Laurence E. Lynn und Michael G.H. McGeary (eds.):
Inner-City-Poverty in the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
* Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, Greg J. Duncan, Pamela K. Klebanov and Naomi Sealand, 1993: Do
Neighborhoods Influence Child and Adolescent Development? American Journal of
Sociology 99: 353-395.
4.2
* Buck, Nick, 2001: Identifying Neighbourhood Effects on Social Exclusion. Urban Studies
38: 2251-2275.
* South, Scott J and Kyle D. Crowder, 1997: Escaping Distressed Neighborhoods: Individual,
Community, and Metropolitan Influences. American Journal of Sociology 102: 1040-1084.
5. Context Effects in Studies of Crime
5.1
* Blau, Judith and Peter M. Blau, 1982: The Cost of Inequality: Metropolitan Structure and
Violent Crime. American Sociological Review 47: 114-129.
* Krivo, Lauren J. and Ruth D. Peterson, 1996: Extremely Disadvantaged Neighborhoods and
Urban Crime. Social Forces 75: 619-648.
5.2
Ross, Catherine E., John Mirowsky and Shana Pribesh, 2001: Powerlessness and the
Amplification of Threat: Neighborhood Disadvantage, Disorder, and Mistrust. American
Sociological Review 66: 568-591.
* Sampson, Robert J. and W. Byron Groves, 1989: Community Structure and Crime: Testing
Social-Disorganization Theory. American Journal of Sociology 94: 774-802.
* Sampson, Robert J., Stephen W. Raudenbush and Felton Earls, 1999: Neighborhoods and
Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy. Pp. 336-350 in: Ichiro Kawachi,
Bruce P. Kennedy und Richard G. Wilkinson (eds.): The Society and Population Health
Reader. Vol 1: Income Inequality and Health. New York: New Press. (Originally published
in: Science 277 (1998): 918-924)
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6. Context Effects in Voting Studies
6.1
* Brown, Courtney, 1982: The Nazi Vote. A National Ecological Study. American Political
Science Review 76: 285-301.
* Falter, Jürgen, 1989: Pitfalls in Scientific Model Building: Unemployment, the Unemployed,
and the Nazi Vote, 1930-1933. Pp. 183-200 in: Herman Wold (ed.): Theoretical Empiricism: A
General Rationale for Scientific Model-Building. New York:
* Jagodzinski, Wolfgang, Jürgen Friedrichs and Hermann Dülmer, 1995: Urban Conflict and
Voting Patterns: Some Tentative Generalizations from the Last State Election in Hamburg.
Res Publica 37: 177-195.
6.2
* Zuckerman, Allan S., Laurence A. Kottler-Berkowitz and Lucas A. Swaine, 1988:
Anchoring Political Preferences: The Structural Bases of Stable Electoral Decisions and
Political Attitudes in Britain. European Journal of Political Research 33: 285-321.
7. Networks as Social Contexts
7.1
* Campbell, Ernest Q. and C. Norman Alexander, 1965: Structural Effects and Interpersonal
Relationships. American Journal of Sociology 71: 284-289.
* Huckfeldt, R. Robert, 1983: Social Contexts, Social Networks, and Urban Neighborhoods:
Environment Constraints on Friendship Choice. American Journal of Sociology 89: 651-669.
Jackson, Robert M., 1977: Social Structure and Process in Friendship Choice. Pp. 59-78 in:
Claude S, Fischer et al.: Networks and Places. New York-London: Free Press.
7.2
* Andrews, Howard F., 1986: The Effects of Neighbourhood Social Mix on Adolescents'
Social Networks and Recreational Activities. Urban Studies 23: 501-517.
* Haynie, Dana L., 2001: Delinquent Peers Revisited: Does Network Structure Matter?
American Journal of Sociology 106: 1013-1057.