The Logic of Theoretical Sociology

David Willer is Scudder Professor of Sociology (Emeritus), University of South Carolina, USA. His research investigates the effects of social structures on human behavior. His six books include Network Exchange Theory, which received the Coleman award from the American Sociological Association. More recently he published Building Experiments: Testing Social Theory with Henry Walker. Over the last decade he has written a series of papers including: “Analyzing Large Scale Exchange Networks” in Social Networks with Pamela Emanuelson, and “Legitimating Collective Action and Countervailing Power” in Social Forces with Henry Walker. Pamela Emanuelson is Associate Professor of Sociology at North Dakota State University, USA. She develops and tests formal models of power exercise. She publishes in cross-disciplinary journals, including Social Networks, Social Evolution and History, and The Chinese Journal of Sociology. More recent work focuses on methodology and theory application. She and her co-author, David Willer, apply formally tested theory to the analysis of prehistoric political structure in "Social Structures in Transition: Applications of Two Theories to Chiefdoms." Another recent joint publication, "Theory and the Replication Problem," examines the logic underlying the current 'Replication Crisis.'