Abstract
Within the individualistic model of sociological explanation (Coleman 1986; 1990; Esser 1993, pp. 83 ff.), the macro-micro-link is usually being conceptionalized as link between situational alternatives of action on the micro-level and the actor’s subjective expectations and evaluations about the situation on the macro-level (see Esser 1996; Kroneberg 2005). However, methodological individualism has to deal not only with the actor’s subjective definition of the situation, but also with structural constraints of action, i. e. a structural macro-micro-link.
This paper presents fundamental ideas on the conception of opportunities for contact and interaction that I have discussed previously elsewhere in German language and with a focus on marriage markets (Stauder 2008). This paper in English language shall address an international public and will focus on the analysis of friendship networks.
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Stauder, J. (2014). The Social Structure of Opportunities for Contact and Interaction and Strategies for Analysing Friendship Networks. In: Häring, A., Klein, T., Stauder, J., Stoye, K. (eds) Der Partnermarkt und die Gelegenheiten des Kennenlernens. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-02794-0_11
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