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| HOMANS, GEORGE CASPAR | ||||
| (1910-1989) Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. Homans is
best known for his The Human Group (Harcourt 1950), although he himself preferred Social
Behavior (Harcourt 1961) because it was "a work of deduction." Homans (1964,
1967) criticized functionalist theory for its failure both to meet scientific aims and to
explain human behavior. To make the structure of society comprehensible, social
scientists, according to Homans, had up to now put forward concepts concerning the
characteristics of societies, such as norms and roles, that could not explain anything but
were in need of explanation themselves. Instead, they should have put forward propositions
based on the presupposition that human nature is universal, and that individuals act
purposively in seeking social approval. Homans's impact on sociology has been considerable: In the work of the sociologists Stark and Bainbridge (e.g., 1987) on religion, his influence is clear, although other rational choice theorists criticize him for the psychological basis of his theory. There can be no doubt, however, that his work has given direction and impetus to the development of the rational choice paradigm. See also Rational Choice Theory, Rodney Stark —Durk H. Hak ReferencesG. C. Homans, "Bringing Men Back In," American Sociological Review 29(1964):809-818 G. C. Homans, The Nature of Social Science (New York: Harcourt, 1967) G. C. Homans, Coming to My Senses (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1984) R. R. Lee, "Religious Practice as Social Exchange," Sociological Analysis 53(1992):1-35 R. Stark and W. S. Bainbridge, A Theory of Religion (New York: Lang, 1987). |
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