Abstract：Sociologists love structures but have avoided motivation . In recent decades,some sociologists have realized the importance of motivation,but most theories lack middle-range mechanisms .Self-concept can appropriately solve the problem and theorize actors' motivations . The three components,i.e. self-esteem,self-efficacy,and authenticity,develop out of social interactions,which makes the self-concept a social product and social force while avoiding biological or psychological determinism .Based on a survey of current sociological research on the formation of intellectual ideas,this article discusses the structural bias as a result of the lack of self-concept,the possibility of a synthesis between self-concept and concepts such as fields and habitus,and the potential of a set of explanatory mechanisms.
