Advanced sociological theory lecture week 1: The structure of sociological
explanation
What is sociology? The ‘Minimal Program’ for Sociology: Research on social
phenomena and their social conditions (‘causes’)
Problems as the starting point for theory formation and empirical research
P1 T1 E1 P2
Problem Theory Empirical Research New Problem
Social conditions as causes:
‘Inequality problem’
o Openness/closure of educational/health systems
‘Cohesion problem’
o Amount of contact between members of a religious group
‘Cultural problem’
o Use of online resources and networks
Openness of the educational system: Some types of problems
1. Descriptive problems
– Trends over time
– Difference between countries, cities/rural areas
2. Explanatory problems
– What are the effects of early tracking on educational opportunities for
different groups?
– What are the mechanisms behind different educational opportunities?
3. Problems of institutional design
– How to reduce or mitigate unequal opportunities in education and school
segregation?
4. Normative problems
– What kind of inequality in educational outcomes is acceptable?
– How much can you restrict freedom of choice of parents to prevent
inequalities?
Introduction to modern theoretical sociology
1) “Blueprints” of sociological theory
2) The toolbox of theoretical sociology: model building
3) Applications of the toolbox: Classical and modern example models
1) “Blueprints” for sociological theory
Types of explanations
Covering-law explanations / Syllogisms (theory schemas)
Coleman’s diagram
Covering law explanations: The phenomenon is explained by a causal law
, If a fire starts in a crowded room, many people will panic leading to many
fatalities
Statistical explanations: The phenomenon is explained by a statistical relationship
The smaller the door in a room the more fatalities when a fire starts
Mechanism explanations: The phenomenon is explained by means of an action-
based explanation incorporating social restrictions/opportunities and the
aggregation process
Covering law explanations as syllogisms:
Deductive-nomological model: Probabilistic model:
All A’s are B Most A’s are B
x is A x is A [p]
--------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
x is B x is likely to be B
1. General laws Explanans
2. Initial conditions:
Social Conditions
Deduction
Description of the phenomenon to be explained Explanandum
Social Phenomenon
Hedström’s objections against covering law – explanations:
There seem to be no real “laws” in social science at the social level
Causal mechanism remains unclear
Coleman’s diagram: multilevel framework
– The lower arrow in coleman’sdiagram stands
for behavioral theory
– All arrows represent causal relations
– Bridge assumptions link the micro level to the
macro level
Micro vs Macro level
In more abstract theory formation:
Macro can refer to any group etc. that brings together lower-level units,
e.g.,
micro = individual, macro = group of two, three, or more people
micro = organization, macro = industry
In more applied contexts, these labels have often a more substantive
interpretation
Macro: countries, societies; micro: individuals; and in between meso:
organizations, groups etc.
Important definitions:
, Theory: a set of verbal or formal assumptions and propositions on the
question at hand including causal relations that lead to testable hypotheses
about the question
Model: formalized version of a theory in which all conditions, actors, possible
actions, preferences, implications of behavior for everyone and relations
between these elements are made very precise such that logical implications
and hypotheses can be derived
Syllogism: building block of a theory or model
Conceptual model: an overview of concepts and arrows that summarize the
hypotheses following from a theory or model
2) The toolbox of theoretical sociology: model building
Five important aspects of theory building
1. be precise
– First important aspect of theory building: making things more precise!!
– Make things less ambiguous definitions, but also language in general.
– Clear concepts! Formalization helps!
2. Avoid black boxes: Search for plausible mechanisms
– Thinking about plausible mechanisms often opens black boxes
– Example: Durkheim’s integration theory
3. Include micro level
– Mechanism/process at micro-level not considered
– Does cohesion affect individual suicide (and how)?
– Moreover, individual level is not considered (third important aspect of theory
building).
4. Model the micro- macro link: Carefully model the micro-macro transformation
– Coleman criticizes sociologists (classical, including Durkheim) for disregarding
micro, particularly transformation rule
– Coleman’s diagram as syllogism:
5. Behavioral theory: as simple as possible, as complex as necessary
– Search for a micro-model that is “realistic” enough, and not too complex
explanation
What is sociology? The ‘Minimal Program’ for Sociology: Research on social
phenomena and their social conditions (‘causes’)
Problems as the starting point for theory formation and empirical research
P1 T1 E1 P2
Problem Theory Empirical Research New Problem
Social conditions as causes:
‘Inequality problem’
o Openness/closure of educational/health systems
‘Cohesion problem’
o Amount of contact between members of a religious group
‘Cultural problem’
o Use of online resources and networks
Openness of the educational system: Some types of problems
1. Descriptive problems
– Trends over time
– Difference between countries, cities/rural areas
2. Explanatory problems
– What are the effects of early tracking on educational opportunities for
different groups?
– What are the mechanisms behind different educational opportunities?
3. Problems of institutional design
– How to reduce or mitigate unequal opportunities in education and school
segregation?
4. Normative problems
– What kind of inequality in educational outcomes is acceptable?
– How much can you restrict freedom of choice of parents to prevent
inequalities?
Introduction to modern theoretical sociology
1) “Blueprints” of sociological theory
2) The toolbox of theoretical sociology: model building
3) Applications of the toolbox: Classical and modern example models
1) “Blueprints” for sociological theory
Types of explanations
Covering-law explanations / Syllogisms (theory schemas)
Coleman’s diagram
Covering law explanations: The phenomenon is explained by a causal law
, If a fire starts in a crowded room, many people will panic leading to many
fatalities
Statistical explanations: The phenomenon is explained by a statistical relationship
The smaller the door in a room the more fatalities when a fire starts
Mechanism explanations: The phenomenon is explained by means of an action-
based explanation incorporating social restrictions/opportunities and the
aggregation process
Covering law explanations as syllogisms:
Deductive-nomological model: Probabilistic model:
All A’s are B Most A’s are B
x is A x is A [p]
--------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
x is B x is likely to be B
1. General laws Explanans
2. Initial conditions:
Social Conditions
Deduction
Description of the phenomenon to be explained Explanandum
Social Phenomenon
Hedström’s objections against covering law – explanations:
There seem to be no real “laws” in social science at the social level
Causal mechanism remains unclear
Coleman’s diagram: multilevel framework
– The lower arrow in coleman’sdiagram stands
for behavioral theory
– All arrows represent causal relations
– Bridge assumptions link the micro level to the
macro level
Micro vs Macro level
In more abstract theory formation:
Macro can refer to any group etc. that brings together lower-level units,
e.g.,
micro = individual, macro = group of two, three, or more people
micro = organization, macro = industry
In more applied contexts, these labels have often a more substantive
interpretation
Macro: countries, societies; micro: individuals; and in between meso:
organizations, groups etc.
Important definitions:
, Theory: a set of verbal or formal assumptions and propositions on the
question at hand including causal relations that lead to testable hypotheses
about the question
Model: formalized version of a theory in which all conditions, actors, possible
actions, preferences, implications of behavior for everyone and relations
between these elements are made very precise such that logical implications
and hypotheses can be derived
Syllogism: building block of a theory or model
Conceptual model: an overview of concepts and arrows that summarize the
hypotheses following from a theory or model
2) The toolbox of theoretical sociology: model building
Five important aspects of theory building
1. be precise
– First important aspect of theory building: making things more precise!!
– Make things less ambiguous definitions, but also language in general.
– Clear concepts! Formalization helps!
2. Avoid black boxes: Search for plausible mechanisms
– Thinking about plausible mechanisms often opens black boxes
– Example: Durkheim’s integration theory
3. Include micro level
– Mechanism/process at micro-level not considered
– Does cohesion affect individual suicide (and how)?
– Moreover, individual level is not considered (third important aspect of theory
building).
4. Model the micro- macro link: Carefully model the micro-macro transformation
– Coleman criticizes sociologists (classical, including Durkheim) for disregarding
micro, particularly transformation rule
– Coleman’s diagram as syllogism:
5. Behavioral theory: as simple as possible, as complex as necessary
– Search for a micro-model that is “realistic” enough, and not too complex
