Purpose, Meaning, and Action: Control Systems Theories in Sociology

Control Systems Theory, a newly developing theoretical perspective, starts from an important insight into human behaviour: that people attempt to control the world around them as they perceive it. This book brings together for the first time the work of prominent sociologists contributing to the development of this wideranging theoretical paradigm.

KENT ALAN MCCLELLAND is Professor of Sociology at Grinnell College, USA. His published work ranges widely, including work on sociological applications of control systems theory, racial and sexual harassment, immigration, research methodology, gerontology, social stratification, and pedagogical essays on ways to improve sociological writing. He is a past president of the interdisciplinary Control Systems Group.

THOMAS J. FARARO is Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, where he has been since 1967. He is the author or co-author of numerous publications dealing with topics in theoretical and mathematical sociology. His most recent books are Social Action Systems: Foundation and Synthesis in Sociological Theory (2001) and Generating Images of Stratification (co-author, 2003).