Thomas theorem

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The Thomas theorem formulates a basic assumption of sociology: the dependence of behavior on the definition of the situation .

This social psychological thesis is attributed to the American sociologists Dorothy Swaine Thomas (1899–1977) and William Isaac Thomas (1863–1947):

"If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences"

"If people define situations as real, their consequences are real"

- WI Thomas and DS Thomas

The thesis is explained in the book by W. I. and D. S. Thomas, published in 1928, using the example of paranoid behavior: Even extremely subjective reports are of value for behavioral research, because the most important point for the behavior interpretation is how the agent perceives his situation. Behavioral problems that become manifest are often due to a discrepancy in the performer's assessment of the situation and how the same objective situation is viewed by others. In the example, a man has killed people who were in the habit of talking to themselves on the street. The multiple murderer had imagined that these passers-by would abuse him. When people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.

For Hans Lenk , the sentence is semantically incorrectly formulated; because, without making the distinction explicit, “situation” is understood to mean the subjective definition of the situation and, seamlessly, the objective situation.

History of the theorem

As such, the theorem did not become famous until 10 years after its publication by Robert K. Merton's well-known sociology textbook Social Theory and Social Structure from 1938, and it was Merton who, with the available material, did it as a case study sociological analysis.

William I. Thomas 'and Dorothy S. Thomas' The Child in America: Behavior Problems and Programs , in which the theorem first appeared, was included in leading journals such as the American Journal of Sociology ( University of Chicago ), Social Forces after its publication in 1928 ( North Carolina State University ) and Sociology and Social Research ( University of Southern California ) without, however, taking any notice of the theorem. Kimball Young subsequently used it as the motto of two of his successive social psychology textbooks: Social Psychology (1930) and Social Attitudes (1931), and from these in turn Howard P. Becker took the quote for his translation of Leopold von Wieses Allgemeine Sociology (1924). However, Becker later attributed the authorship of the theorem to the Polish sociologist Florian Znaniecki and referred as the source to The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1918, 1927), where it is neither on page 79 nor at all.

While the American sociologist Willard Waller (1938: 20) misquoted the theorem, Merton (1938: 333) also alluded to “WI Thomas's sociological theorem” (“ theorem ” here not in the strict epistemological sense of the word), and also this without a precise reference to the source, from which it can be concluded that the theorem was not conveyed to most experts from a direct source, but only indirectly via other authors.

This eventually led Merton to reflections on citation practice in the social sciences and, relatedly , how authorship and prestige are accorded in science. Because it was noticeable when the theorem was spread in the literature that of the two co-authors of the book, often only one (male) was mentioned. While some explained this with sexism , for Merton the Matthew Effect was the more convincing hypothesis. Incidentally, on the basis of personal communication from the co-author, Merton has established with certainty that the male co-author only has to be named as the author of the theorem, since the female co-author only contributed the statistical part to the work.

Precursors and parallels

Epictetus : What bothers people and frightens them are not actions, but opinions and assumptions about actions.

George Herbert Mead : If a thing isn't recognized as true, then it doesn't function as true within the church. ("If a thing is not recognized as true, then it does not function as true in the community.")

The social scientist Richard Albrecht has brought it to mind in recent years and applied it in two fields: firstly in a lecture on the effectiveness of myths using the example of the “Rhine myth”, and secondly in a contribution on the “ genocidal mentality” in connection with historical and sociological genocide research.

Delimitations

The beauty contest described and analyzed by John Maynard Keynes is intended to illustrate the logic according to which stock prices do not necessarily develop in accordance with the real economic situation. It assumes that many of the investors will not make investment decisions based on their own assessment of the value of e.g. B. meet a share, but try to recognize the opinion of the other market participants (see also follower effect , herd behavior ).

See also

Web links

literature

  • William I. Thomas, Dorothy S. Thomas: The Child in America: Behavior Problems and Programs. Button 1928.
  • Robert K. Merton: Sociological Theory and Social Structure. Berlin 1995 (English Social Theory and Social Structure , 1949).
  • Robert K. Merton: The Thomas Theorem and The Matthew Effect. Social forces. 74 (2), 1995, pp. 379-424 (PDF; 3.5 MB)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Isaac Thomas: The Methodology of Behavior Study. Chapter 13 in The Child in America: Behavior Problems and Programs. Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1928, pp. 553-576. On-line
  2. ↑ Hans Lenk: Philosophy in the technical age. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1971. pp. 100f
  3. ^ A b Robert K. Merton: The Thomas Theorem and The Matthew Effect. Social forces. 74 (2), 1995. p. 383
  4. ^ Robert K. Merton: The Thomas Theorem and The Matthew Effect. Social forces. 74 (2), 1995. p. 382
  5. ↑ printed in: Kultursoziologie. 12th year 2003, I, pp. 125-132
  6. ↑ printed in: Kultursoziologie. 13th year 2004, I, pp. 73-90