What was Peter Blau known for?

Blau is also known for his contributions to sociological theory. Exchange and Power in Social Life (1964) was an important contribution to contemporary exchange theory, one of Blau’s distinguished theoretical orientations. He also served as the president of the American Sociological Association from 1973 to 1974.

What is a macro structural theory?

Macro theories are large scale theories – what postmodernists call grand narratives – about society. They are structural theories such as functionalism and Marxism. They contrast with micro theories (action theories).

What did Blau study?

For the next 50 years, Peter Blau studied macrostructural characteristics of society. His theories seek to explain how social phenomena such as upward mobility, occupational opportunity, heterogeneity, and population structures influence human behavior.

What was not Peter Blau’s focus on exchange theory?

Homans is not the only person to develop social exchange theory. Many sociologists and other professionals have advanced social exchange theory. Peter Michael Blau didn’t focus on behaviorism, and instead, focused his theory on concepts such as preferences, interests, indifference curves and supply and demand.

Who coined structural theory?

Émile Durkheim
In the late 19th century French Sociologist Émile Durkheim laid the primary foundations of Structural Functionalism. Durkheim’s theory was, at least in part, a response to evolutionary speculations of theorists such as E. B.

What is a Blau?

Blau is the German and Catalan word for the color blue.

Why is Marxism a macro theory?

This perspective is a macro-level approach most identified with the writings of German philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx (1818–1883), who saw society as being made up of individuals in different social classes who must compete for social, material, and political resources such as food and housing, employment.

What does Microsociology focus on?

Microsociology is one of the main levels of analysis (or focuses) of sociology, concerning the nature of everyday human social interactions and agency on a small scale: face to face. Macrosociology, by contrast, concerns the social structure and broader systems.

Who was Blau?

History. In 1985 Edward Blau, a pediatrician in Marshfield, Wisconsin, reported a family that over four generations had granulomatous inflammation of the skin, eyes and joints. The condition was transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait.

Who is known as the father of rational choice theory?

Rational choice theory origins date back centuries. Philosopher Adam Smith is considered the originator of rational choice theory . His essay “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” from 1776, proposed human nature’s tendency toward self-interest resulted in prosperity.

What is the comparison level of alternatives?

The Comparison Level for Alternative (CLalt) refers to “the lowest level of relational rewards a person is willing to accept given available rewards from alternative relationships or being alone”.

What did Peter Michael Blau contribute to society?

His contributions to conceptualizing and measuring the parameters of societal systems continue to inspire and guide current theory and research. Peter was productive throughout his career, beginning with a pathbreaking and influential dissertation and first book examining the dynamics of bureaucracy.

When did Peter Blau publish his Biographical Memoirs?

National Academy of Sciences. 2004. Biographical Memoirs: Volume 85. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11172. PETER BLAU WAS A LEADING figure in sociology throughout the second half of the twentieth century, and by its end among the most cited of all active sociologists.

Where was Peter Blau born and raised in Austria?

Peter Blau was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1918—the year that the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell. He was the son of secular Jews, and he watched with mounting concern the rise of fascism in postwar Austria.

What was the third integration embodied by Peter?

The third integration embodied by Peter was his bridging of the Old World and the new. Born in Vienna, with much courage and good luck, he was able to make his way to America, where he completed his undergraduate and graduate education. Although Peter “escaped” from the Old World, he remained permanently imprinted by it.