The Forms of Conduct

This is a preliminary statement of a set of categories intended for the sociological analysis of conduct in diachronic terms. Conduct is held to be a continuous activity, broken down perceptually into acts. Social acts are analyzable according to the situation to which they refer and the way in which actors attempt to exert control over others. Four forms of social act are distinguished, differing according to their degree of obliquity from direct control. Acts are also distinguished according to their level of organization, ranging from spontaneous to sophisticated. Sophisticated acts involve instrumental use of routine action. Social change occurs when routine substitute fail in their purpose of control.