Peter Michael Blau was a sociologist, born February 7, 1918 in Vienna, Austria. In 1939 he emigrated to the United States. He received his PhD at Columbia University in 1952 before moving on to teach at the University of Chicago from 1953 to 1970. In 1970 he returned to Columbia, where he continued to teach until 1988. His sociological specialty is in organizational and social structures, in particular bureaucracy. He theorized explanations for many social phenomena, including upward mobility, occupational opportunity, heterogeneity, and how population structures can influence human behavior. He also was the first to map out the wide variety of social forces, dubbed "Blau space" by Miller McPherson. Blau-space is still used as a guide by sociologists and has been expanded to include areas of sociology Blau himself never specifically covered.
According to PeterBlau, "rewards that are exchanged can be either intrinsic(love, affection, respect) or extrinsic(money, physical labor) the parties cannot always reward each other equally; when there is inequality in the exchange, a difference of power will emerge within an association"(in Ritzer,1996).
While Homans' exchange theory emphasized on micro level, and PeterBlau's structural exchange theory focused on macro level, Emerson's efforts in linking micro level to macro structure is similar to the paradigmatic integration advocated by rational choice theorists in their attempts (mainly in Coleman's) on studying micro/macro issues.
Blau's concepts are criticized for being too vague as some conflicts theorists concepts and models have the same fate.
Feeds |
Contact