Merton, Robert King (1910-2003), was an American sociologist. He became known for combining social theory and quantitative (statistical) research. He is also regarded as the founder of a field known as the sociology of science. This field focuses on the ways social groups, social organizations, and the values of society influence the development of science.
In his book Science, Technology and Society in Seventeenth Century England (1938), Merton discussed cultural, economic, and social forces that influenced modern science. He concluded that many Protestant reformers, including the English Puritans, indirectly helped bring modern science into being by encouraging people to study nature.
In his work Social Theory and Social Structure (1949), Merton explored why individuals behave in ways that their society considers abnormal. He explained five types of behavior, ranging from conformity to rebellion. According to Merton, a person who conforms accepts society’s goals and its ways of achieving them. A person who rebels tries to change society with new goals and new ways of reaching them.
Merton was born on July 4, 1910, in Philadelphia. His given and family name was Meyer Robert Schkolnick. As a teenager, he adopted the name Robert Merlin, which he later changed to Robert Merton. He graduated from Temple University in 1931 and earned a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University in 1936. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1941. Merton became an emeritus professor in 1979—that is, he retired from full-time teaching but remained associated with the university. He died on Feb. 23, 2003. In 1997, his son, Robert C. Merton, won the Nobel Prize in economics.
