Mechanisms in the Analysis of Social Macro-Phenomena
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7103587 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Renate Mayntz (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 237-259 |
| Publication date | 2004-05-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of the Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0048-3931 • E-ISSN: 1552-7441 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0048393103262552 |
| OpenAlex | W2018049255 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 226 |
| References cited | 36 |
The term “(social) mechanism” is frequently encountered in the social science literature, but there is considerable confusion about the exact meaning of the term. The article begins by addressing the main conceptual issues. Use of this term is the hallmark of an approach that is critical of the explanatory deficits of correlational analysis and of the covering-law model, advocating instead the causal reconstruction of the processes that account for given macro-phenomena. The term “social mechanisms” should be used to refer to recurrent processes generating a specific kind of outcome. Explanation of social macro-phenomena by mechanisms typically involves causal regression to lower-level elements, as stipulated by methodological individualism. While there exist a good many mechanism models to explain emergent effects of collective behavior, we lack a similarly systematic treatment of generative mechanisms in which institutions and specific kinds of structural configurations play the decisive role
Confusion · Economics · Epiphenomenon · Epistemology · Generative grammar · Macro · Meaning (existential · Mechanism (biology · Methodological individualism · Outcome (game theory · Positive economics · Sociology · Term (time · Computer Science · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Critical Realism in Sociology · Psychology · Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 226 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 10,27 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2026 (23) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 223 |