| Technological innovations have affected human behavior throughout history. Political scientist Robert Putnam has argued that a technological innovation introduced in the late 1940s---television---began to tear communities apart by displacing the time people spent involved in community projects.;This dissertation, using a new theoretical approach called cultural catalysis theory, argues it was the diffusion of many communication technologies---not solely television---that contributed to a decline in Localism (participating in local political issues) and Cosmopolitanism (interest in the presidential campaign). Cultural catalysis theory posits that there are four groups in society: Localists (high Localism, low Cosmopolitanism), Cosmopolitans (low Localism, high Cosmopolitanism), Community Leaders (high Localism and Cosmopolitanism), and Displaced (low Localism and Cosmopolitanism). Furthermore, cultural catalysis theory posits that technologies changed the composition of these groups over time because they permitted people to look outside their local community for socializing and entertainment and they allowed people to entertain themselves alone in their homes. Two longitudinal datasets, the National Election Study (1960--2000) and the General Social Survey (1974--2000), were used to test the hypotheses.;The first hypothesis was that there was a decrease in the percentage of Localists, a slight increase in the percentage of Cosmopolitans, a decrease in the percentage of Active Participants, and a large increase in the percentage of the Displaced from 1960 through 2000. It was largely supported. The percentage of Cosmopolitans and Displaced increased. The percentage of Active Participants decreased. The only group that did not change as hypothesized was Localists. They actually increased. The second hypothesis was there would be a strong negative correlation between community involvement and the diffusion of communication technologies. This hypothesis also was largely supported. There were strong negative correlations between socializing with neighbors, attending church, voting, and other political participation. The correlations ranged from -.59 to -.95. This supports cultural catalysis theory. The proportion of people engaging in local and national issues has changed over the past 40 years. These declines in community involvement occurred while communication technologies were rapidly diffusing. Multivariate analysis seemed to rule out other possible explanations, although more research is needed. |
