Theoretical Reductionism: Forcing a Covering Law Doctrine of Behavioral Psychology on the Sociology of Everyday Communication and Interaction

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to show that despite the stated differences in the explanations of interaction motives and rituals espoused by micro-sociologists, the major approach to the study of communication, language and social exchange is behavioral psychology. This includes the use of the covering law propositions of hedonism and cost-benefit analysis. With evidence from original writings, the author creates a Homansian assimilation of Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis.