Thinking about Theory

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• Thinking about Theory
• Salzmans Point About Margaret Mead
• Three Levels of Theory Meta, Heuristic,
  Substantive
• Two Types of Theories Nomothetic and
  Idiographic
• The Bulletin Board Postings What they tell us
  about sociological theory

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Question What is the point that Salzman wants to
make in his discussion of Margaret Mead and the
subsequent controversy over her research?
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Meta-Theory, Heuristic Theory, and Substantive
theory
Meta-theory has to do with the nature of
knowledge what we can know and how we can know
it. Philosophical (epistemological) assumptions.
Question What kind of meta-theory did Margaret
Mead hold that she shared with most
anthropologists and sociologists at the time?
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What is the difference between heuristic theory
and substantive theory? What was Meads heuristic
theory? What was Meads substantive theory?
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Why should anyone care if Derek Freeman thinks
that Mead didnt describe 1930s Samoa correctly?
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Lets discuss why.... Heuristic theories cannot
be directly tested. Their test is whether they
are fruitful for research, understanding, and
action. Substantive theories can in varying
degrees be tested and can be either supported or
not supported by data. But substantive theories
can never be conclusively proven. Facts are
always interpretations. They do not stand
outside of theory.
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Two Types of Substantive Theories
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Theory in the Bulletin Board Postings

• Are the theories put forward by your fellow
  students mostly nomothetic or idiographic?
• Are they meta, heuristic, or substantive
  theories?
• Are the standpoints generally etic or emic?
• What distinguishes the stronger from the weaker
  postings? What makes a posting theoretical?
  What makes a posting sociological?
• What makes a sociological theory convincing?

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Explaining Individual Decisions or Traits I
decided... I (never) want I feel. I
like I hate being.. I take pride... What
are the limitations of a sociological theory
couched in these terms? How much can sociology
explain at the individual level?
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• Im currently attending Rutgers rather than
  another school because of its proximity and
  reputation.
• virtue of mentioning two factors explicitly that
  have shaped decision to attend Rutgers
• but how could this statement be developed as a
  more complete sociological argument?

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• Most Theoretical of the Postings tended toward
  most psychological of sociological theories
  rational choice and exchange
• parking ones car
• running team sociability
• potential drawback tend to take social context
  for granted, rather than trying to explain it

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Theory and Hypothesis Formation (a good theory
suggests general hypotheses) In a culture where
depression, anger and other motions were more
accepted... ...but sometimes more variables are
needed My theory why I desire a normal family
is because I never had a family that displayed
much normalcy.
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A Few General Observations
Most sociological and anthropological theories
strive to be nomotheticto apply to a broad
variety of cases. All theories are based on
assumptions that may or may not be explicitly
stated (meta-theoretical and heuristic) The
building blocks of theories are concepts and
propositions. The distinctive feature of most
theories in sociology and anthropology is their
focus on social and/or cultural factors.