ABSTRACT
From the 1920s onwards, there was increasing debate within US sociology about the role of what were then regarded as the two main social research methods: case study and statistics. Behaviourism, operationism and/or logical positivism were adopted, in one form or another, by several influential sociologists in the inter-war period, such as Stuart Chapin, Luther Bernard, Read Bain, and in particular George Lundberg. This chapter focuses primarily on the writings of Lundberg, since he presented his views most explicitly and comprehensively and because Blumer engaged in several dialogues with him. It illustrates the arguments used through a discussion of an influential article by MacIver and of Znaniecki's book The Method of Sociology. Behaviourism arose from studies of animal behaviour. As with most positivists, Lundberg viewed himself as cutting away pointless metaphysical discussion in sociology, thereby clearing the decks for the pursuit of solid knowledge of the kind produced by the physical sciences.
