Table of Contents
Definition of Social Reductionism
(noun) A theory stating all social phenomena have a social explanation.
Social Reductionism Pronunciation
Syllabification: so·cial re·duc·tion·ism
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sOH-shuhl ri-dUHk-shuh-niz-uhm/
- British English – /sOH-shuhl ri-dUHk-shuh-ni-zuhm/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈsoʊʃəl rəˈdʌkʃənɪz(ə)m/
- British English – /ˈsəʊʃəl rɪˈdʌkʃənɪz(ə)m/
Usage Notes
- Not to be confused with social determinism.
- A type of reductionism.
- A (noun) social reductionist views society (adverb) social reductionally from a (adjective) social reductionistic perspective.
Related Quotation
- “Reductionism of any type tends to suggest that particular units of analysis or variables are more relevant than others. Suppose we ask what caused the American Revolution. Was it a shared commitment to the value of individual liberty? The economic plight of the colonies in relation to Britain? The megalomania of the founders? As soon as we inquire about the single cause, we run the risk of reductionism. If we were to regard shared values as the cause of the American Revolution, our unit of analysis would be the individual colonist. An economist, though, might choose the 13 colonies as units of analysis and examine the economic organizations and conditions of each. A psychologist might choose individual leaders as the units of analysis for purposes of examining their personalities” (Babbie 2011:109).
Additional Information
Related Terms
Reference
Babbie, Earl R. 2011. The Basics of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Cite the Definition of Social Reductionism
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “social reductionism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/social-reductionism/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
social reductionism. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/social-reductionism/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “social reductionism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/social-reductionism/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“social reductionism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/social-reductionism/>.