SOAN 2120 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Cherry Picking, Symbolic Interactionism, Police Misconduct
8 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
Theory is one of the least well understood terms. How social scientific theories work: 1) they explain recurring patterns, not unique or one-time events. Can"t explain why terrorists attacked the wtc in ny, but they can explain patterns, such as the conditions that generally lead to increased levels of fear in people: 2) they are explanations for aggregates, not particular individuals. Aggregates: collections of many individuals, cases, or other units. Instead of saying that an abused child will later abuse his own children, the theory may say that an abused child is more likely to become abusive as an adult. System of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge about the social world: compact way to think of the social world. Some confusions when it comes to theory: ideas once: the history of social thought and social theory are not the same. Classical social theorists played an important role in generating innovative.
