Cognitive sociology is a
sociological
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
sub-discipline devoted to the study of the "conditions under which meaning is constituted through processes of
reification."
It does this by focusing on "the series of interpersonal processes that set up the conditions for phenomena to become “
social objects,” which subsequently shape thinking and thought."
Thus, this research aims to sort out the social and cultural contingencies and consequences of human
cognition. It has its roots in classical sociological theory, notably
Durkheim and
Weber, and from contemporary sociological theory, notably
Goffman
Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century". In 2007 '' The Times Higher Ed ...
and
Bourdieu.
Notable authors include but are not limited to,
Eviatar Zerubavel
Eviatar Zerubavel (born 1948) is professor of sociology at Rutgers University, a specialist in the sociology of cognition and everyday life, including topics such as time, boundaries, and categorization.
Biography
Zerubavel is a grandson of ...
,
Aaron Cicourel Aaron Victor Cicourel, who is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, San Diego, specializes in sociolinguistics, medical communication, decision-making, and child socialization. Early in his career, he was intellectually in ...
,
Barry Schwartz,
Karen A. Cerulo, and
Paul DiMaggio
Paul Joseph DiMaggio (born January 10, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American educator, and professor of sociology at New York University since 2015. Previously, he was a professor of sociology at Princeton University.
Biography
A grad ...
.
The term 'cognitive sociology' was used already in 1974 by Cicourel. However, in 1997 DiMaggio published what has been referred to as a now classic paper of how cognitive sociology overlaps with the sociology of culture & cognition. Michael W. Raphael provides an overview of cognitive sociology in its current form.
Special journal issues on the topic of Cognitive Sociology has been published by the scientific journals Poetics and the European Journal of Social Theory in 2010 and 2007 respectively.
Graduate-level courses in cognitive sociology has been organized at the University of Copenhagen by Jacob Strandell in 2014 and 2016
In order to organize this interdisciplinary investigation, scholars have articulated five models of the actor that stress different locations of human
cognition in relation to the
social contract. These models are:
# Universal cognitivism stresses "naturalistic explanations of human behavior".
This is reflected in the work of
Stephen Park Turner,
Omar Lizardo and Gabriel Ignatow.
# Fuzzy universal cognitivism "emphasizes naturalism in the explanations, but its ontological positions are not as balanced as plural cognitivism".
This is reflected in the work of
Jürgen Habermas and
Paul DiMaggio
Paul Joseph DiMaggio (born January 10, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American educator, and professor of sociology at New York University since 2015. Previously, he was a professor of sociology at Princeton University.
Biography
A grad ...
.
# Plural cognitivism seeks to formulate a "balanced model of the actor subjected to socio-mental control. Socio-mental control describes how impersonal cognitive norms shape the thinking, learning, and courses of activity individual actors ''are able to undertake'' as a result of institutional reflexivity."
Institutional reflexivity is a process described by
Goffman
Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century". In 2007 '' The Times Higher Ed ...
in "The Arrangement between the Sexes". This is reflected in the work of
Eviatar Zerubavel
Eviatar Zerubavel (born 1948) is professor of sociology at Rutgers University, a specialist in the sociology of cognition and everyday life, including topics such as time, boundaries, and categorization.
Biography
Zerubavel is a grandson of ...
and his students.
# Fuzzy individual cognitivism "emphasizes humanism in the explanations, but its ontological positions are not as balanced as plural cognitivism".
This is reflected in the work of
Luc Boltanski and
Laurent Thévenot as well as Alban Bouvier.
# Individual cognitivism investigates the "inner determinants of action with respect to the practical, cognitive, and moral properties of social facts."
This is reflected in the work of
Raymond Boudon
Raymond Boudon (27 January 1934 – 10 April 2013) was a sociologist, philosopher and Professor in the Paris-Sorbonne University.
Career
With Alain Touraine, Michel Crozier and Pierre Bourdieu, Raymond Boudon is one of the leading French soci ...
and Patrick Pharo.
[{{Cite journal, last=Pharo, first=P., year=2007, title=How is Sociological Realism Possible?: Sociology after Cognitive Science, journal=European Journal of Social Theory, language=en, volume=10, issue=3, pages=481–496, doi=10.1177/1368431007080708]
References
Behavioural sciences
Cognitive sociology
Cognitive science