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.
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Received: 23 June 2010
Published: 25 September 2010
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