SOC 2106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Social Fact, Samuel A. Stouffer, White-Collar Crime
22 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
A theory is a set of interrelated propositions, constructed and fitting together logically, which claims to explain one or more aspects of the worlds around us. Explanations can be described as the stories we tell each other in attempts to produce some order in our lives. Theories outline paths that lead to particular outcomes. They allow us to feel that we know why something happened, and whether, or not under what conditions, its is likely to occur again. The range of phenomena that a theory can explain. Simplest explanation is the most correct explanation. Famous work le suicide studied cross-cultural difference in suicide rates. Durkheim"s theory of anomie interested in social facts (ie. the effect of social structure on behavior) Humans are egoistic: society needs social control to regulate their wants and behaviors. Anomie: a condition or normlessness, results from repaid social change (ex. Rapid change: creates anomie, increases deviance.
