Social Mechanisms: Studies in Sociological Theory.

Sociological Theory and Social Control

Challenges in Sociological Theory

The main challenge, I think, to sociological theory or to social theory more broadly remains that of bridging the gap between what Mills (1959), nearly 60 years ago, called " grand theory " and " abstracted empiricism. " Over 200 years ago, Kant (1781) formulated a similar conception, that " thoughts without content are empty and perceptions without concepts are blind " (Gedanken ohne Inhalt si...

Sociological Studies Show Social Factors Produce Adult Same Sex Attraction

An important path analysis study by Bell, Weinberg, and Hammersmith (1981a) is usually interpreted in the literature as proving there are no social/upbringing effects on development of adult SSA (same-sex attraction). Instead, the study said that varying social factors leading to SSA occur in different ways in various classes, such as bisexuals, blacks, and effeminate homosexuals. It correctly ...

Bringing a Micro-Sociological Theory to Co-located Social Games

Social play is complicated to study because of its emergent, diverse, and inter-subjective nature. Since social psychology and sociology have studied human interactions in great detail and depth in real life, we propose that they can deepen our understandings of social game experience. Specifically, the interaction ritual theory (IR theory) from Micro-sociology that focuses on moment-to-moment ...

Causal Inference in Sociological Studies