Analytical sociology is a strategy for understanding the social world. It is concerned with explaining important macro-level facts such as the
diffusion
Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...
of various social practices, patterns of
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of human ...
,
network structures, typical beliefs, and common ways of acting. It explains such facts not merely by relating them to other macro-level facts, but by detailing in clear and precise ways the
mechanisms through which they were brought about. This is accomplished by a detailed focus on individuals'
actions and interactions, and the use of state-of-the-art simulation techniques to derive the macro-level outcomes that such actions and interactions are likely to bring about. Analytical sociology can be seen as contemporary incarnation of
Robert K. Merton's well-known notion of
middle-range theory, without the aim of using Middle range theories to arrive at general theories.
The analytical approach is founded on the premise that proper explanations detail the "cogs and wheels" through which social outcomes are brought about, and it is driven by a commitment to realism. Empirically false assumptions about human motivation, cognitive processes, access to information, or social relations cannot bear the explanatory burden in a mechanistic explanation no matter how well they predict the outcome to be explained.
With its focus on the macro-level outcomes that individuals in interaction with one another bring about, analytical sociology is part of the "complexity turn" within sociology. Until very recently sociologists did not have the tools needed for analyzing the dynamics of
complex systems
A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...
, but powerful computers and simulation software have changed the picture considerably. So-called
agent-based computer simulations are transforming important parts of
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
(as well as many other parts of the social and natural sciences) because they allow for rigorous theoretical analyses of large complex systems. The basic idea behind such analyses is to perform virtual experiments reflecting the analyst's theoretical ideas and empirically based knowledge about the social mechanisms influencing the action and interaction of the individuals. The key is to identify the core mechanisms at work, assemble them into a simulation model, and establish the macro-level outcomes the individuals bring about when acting and interacting in accordance with these mechanisms.
Analytical sociology is perceived by some of its critics to be a version of
rational choice theory
Rational choice modeling refers to the use of decision theory (the theory of rational choice) as a set of guidelines to help understand economic and social behavior. The theory tries to approximate, predict, or mathematically model human behav ...
, a belief that is also shared among advocates of this theory.
Contemporary scholars working in this tradition include
Peter Bearman,
Peter Hedström, Michael Macy, and Gianluca Manzo. The work of
James Coleman,
Jon Elster,
Robert Merton,
Thomas Schelling
Thomas Crombie Schelling (April 14, 1921 – December 13, 2016) was an American economist and professor of foreign policy, national security, nuclear strategy, and arms control at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Coll ...
and
Raymond Boudon
Raymond Boudon (27 January 1934 – 10 April 2013) was a sociologist, philosopher and Professor in the Paris-Sorbonne University.
Career
With Alain Touraine, Michel Crozier and Pierre Bourdieu, Raymond Boudon is one of the leading French sociol ...
was of pivotal importance for the development of the analytical approach.
Mechanisms
One of the main pillars of the analytical approach of sociologic analysis is the practice of detailing the precise manners in which social facts are produced by mechanisms. Although the definition of what a mechanism is varies, the most satisfactory definition was published in a 2000 paper that defines it as "a constellation of entities and activities that are organized such that they regularly bring about a particular type of outcome, and we explain an observed outcome by referring to the mechanism by which such outcomes are regularly brought about".
References
* P. Hedström and P. Bearman (Eds.) ''The Oxford Handbook of Analytical Sociology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
* P. Hedström ''Dissecting the Social: On the Principles of Analytical Sociology''. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
* P. Hedström and R. Swedberg (Eds.) ''Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
* P. Hedström and P. Ylikoski. 2010. "Causal Mechanisms in the Social Sciences". Annual Review of Sociology 36: 49–67.
* F.J. León-Medina 2017. Analytical Sociology and Agent-Based Modeling: Is Generative Sufficiency Sufficient?. ''Sociological Theory'', 35(3), pp. 157–178.
* G. Manzo "Analytical Sociology and Its Critics". ''European Journal of Sociology'' (''Archives Européennes de Sociologie''), 2010, 51(1): 129-170.
* T. Kron and T. Grund (Eds.) ''Die Analytische Soziologie in der Diskussion''. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 2010.
* P. Y.-z. Wan "Analytical Sociology: A Bungean Appreciation." ''Science & Education'', 2011, Online First Version. .
External links
International Network of Analytical Sociology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Analytical Sociology
Sociological theories
Sociology
Subfields of sociology