Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

76 P. F. Lazavsfeld
Combinations 7 and g in the table are not encompassed by Fromm’s typology.
Apparently it was assumed that neither very high nor very low acceptance was
possible for an authority which was scarcely exercised. The substruction, how-
ever, may be useful as a source of discovery. It points to the logical possibility
that there may be children who desire an authority which is not actually exer-
cised by their parents - combination 7. These discovered combinations suggest
further research.
The procedure just exemplifed consists in substructing a multivariate space
for an intuitively conceived typology. The advantage of such a substruction is
twofold: it allows for testing the logical consistency of the typology and it
suggests empirical procedures by which the intuitive classification may be
produced in a more objective manner. This process of ‘substructuring’ is often
but only implicitly used in general sociology, e.g. in Parsons’ famous pattern
variables. (It also forms the bridge to the typology of large social systems and
whatever sociology can make of structuralism - see Section HI.)
The main procedures described in this section are known to methodologists
who instruct research students. But they often are not aware of their general
implications. For sociologists less concerned with empirical research, both the
procedures and their intellectual lessons are rather remote. Still the problem
‘theory and empirical work’ is on everyone’s mind. It seemed appropriate to
start this review with a trend which makes it possible to hope for a better un-
derstanding.
11. MACROSOCIOLOGY
In the preceding section I tried to show that survey analysis developed roughly
in three phases. First, a diffuse activity guided by social needs and often under-
taken by laymen. Then a professionalization which was due to the develop-
ment of more refined and specialized techniques. Finally, a codification of the
field which brought out its contribution to general sociology.
In the present section I am dealing with another trend where clear phases can
be distinguished, but where the interplay between various factors is somewhat
more complicated. The origin of formal sociology is closely connected with the
industrialization of Western Europe. The development of an economically
powerful middle class, the destitution of the new masses of wage workers, and
the growth of democratic political institutions were the main topics of the
early 19th century European classics. The two World Wars slowed down the
development of the social sciences in Western Europe. No major work in the
classical tradition was published in Europe between 1920 and 1950.
In the United States, no corresponding transition had ever taken root.
When the country emerged from the colonial stage, industrialization had al-
ready set in. The problem of how to adjust to it was complicated by the ap-
pearance of recurring waves of immigrants. Daily concerns were too urgent to
allow time for historical perspective. The study of ethnic minorities, the improve-
ment of social services, the understanding of the huge new urban centers