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Institutions are human behavior, and they are, therefore, to be explained by the characteristics of that behavior.

— George C. Homans George C. Homans (1962)

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More quotes by George C. Homans

To consider social behavior as an exchange of goods may clarify the relations among four bodies of theory: behavioral psychology, economics, propositions about the dynamics of influence, and propositions about the structure of small groups.

In choosing between alternative actions, a person will choose that one for which, as perceived by him at the time, the value, V, of the result, multiplied by the probability, p, of getting the result, is the greater.

It is really intolerable that we can say only one thing at a time; for social behavior displays many features at the same time, and so in taking them up one by one we necessarily do outrage to its rich, dark, organic unity.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: George C. Homans (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.