Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

George Andrew Lundberg studied sociology under M. C. Elmer, L. L. Bernard, and F. S. Chapin. His early work consisted of empirical investigations of a variety of topics; some titles include: “Sex Differences on Social Questions,” “The Newspaper and Public Opinion,” and “The Demographic and Economic Basis of Political Radicalism and Conservatism” (see Catton 1968 ). Later, Lundberg became renowned as the champion of a neo-positivistic, quantitative approach to social science, against the older traditions of social philosophy and case study. In this respect, he formed part of an influential movement within US sociology in the 1920s and 1930s (see Hammersley 1989 : Ch. 4). Lundberg dismissed life history and case study work as “pseudo-scientific,” as incapable of providing the sort of data and findings required for a mature science, and as appropriate at best only for the early stages of inquiry. Influenced especially by the writings of Karl Pearson and Percy Bridgman, he championed standardized measurement and statistical techniques. He rejected criticisms of these methods that relied on the idea that the social world has a distinctive character – in terms of its complexity, the role of subjective factors, and so on. Instead, he adopted a phenomenalist stance, according to which all objects – atoms, chemicals, animals, or human beings – are simply elements of our experience and ... log in or subscribe to read full text