URBANNESS AND UNCONVENTIONAL BEHAVIOR: A PARTIAL TEST OF CLAUDE FISCHER'S SUBCULTURAL THEORY

Eleven hypotheses concerning individual behavior are derived from Claude Fischer's ecological subcultural theory linking size-of-place, subcultural development, and unconventional behavior. Data from a three-state survey are used to test the derived hypotheses. The findings are mixed, which suggests the theory has merit but that it is too general and should be refined to specify the conditions under which various effects are most likely. The results suggest that a refinement must confront the following realities: (1) the size of the population is not necessarily predictive of high probabilities of all kinds of deviance, (2) all deviance is not subculturally linked, and (3) subcultures and subcultural involvement are not necessarily concentrated in larger places. Nevertheless, (4) when subcultural involvement is strong, it exercises great influence on behavior. Approaches for refining the theory are suggested.