Death by Dieselization: A Case Study in the Reaction to Technological Change

This report might conclude with several generalizations. First, that methods for the experimental study of group life in laboratory settings are in development, making doubtful the claims that laboratory experimentation would not be possible in sociological studies. Second, the validity of the generalizations coming from such studies is to be judged by the same criteria as those used in field studies. Third, the effective use of group experimentation requires conceptualizing of a more precise kind and of a higher level of abstraction than we often perform. Fourth, the study of these laboratory populations again raises the need for work on methods of observation, recording, and of analysis that are suited to the nature of collective life as structured interaction.