Abstract:

Western sociology is a social science that took root and developed in a particular historical context. It has been providing service to the government and other social institutions. For this reason， its intellectual heritage engenders a certain professional incentive structure， which makes it relatively difficult， in comparison with other related disciplines， to bring much benefit to individuals， a professed aim of sociology. To change this situation， sociology must revisit the relationship between social structures and behavioral agency to develop a deductive intellectual system built on the social exchange theory and its extensions， which is the precursor of a directional shift in sociology. It gives hope to a kind of “sociology for individuals” and an opportunity to reconstruct an indigenous sociology in China.

Key words:
individual’s standpoint, professional standpoint, social behavior, hypothesis and deduction of human nature