Daniel Little — The similarity space of actor-centered research frameworks

  

Actor-centered sociology	Analytical sociology	Rational choice theory
Social outcomes derive from the actions of socially constituted actors in relations with each other	Explain outcomes as the aggregate result of the actions and interactions of purposive individuals	Individuals behave as economically rational agents. Explain outcomes as the aggregate result of these actions
Attention to “thick” theories of the actor	Desire-belief-opportunity framework for actors (DBO)	Narrow economic rationality: consistent preferences and maximization of utilities
Actors are formed and shaped by the social relations in which they develop	Causal models; commitment to the causal mechanisms approach	Equilibrium models; commitment to mathematical solutions for well-defined problems of choice.
Narrative accounts of the development of social outcomes give actions of the actors	Primacy of Coleman’s boat: explanation occurs from micro to macro and macro to micro	Game theory is used to represent interactions among rational agents
Agnostic about microfoundations	Commitment to requirement of microfoundations	Commitment to requirement of microfoundations

Understanding Society
The similarity space of actor-centered research frameworks
Daniel Little | Chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Professor of Philosophy at UM-Dearborn and Professor of Sociology at UM-Ann Arbor