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Structure and agency
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<p>In the <a href="/facts/Social_science/hAbm1xtD">social sciences</a> there is a standing debate over the primacy of structure or agency in shaping human behaviour. <i><a href="/facts/Social_structure/MyCzKt4H">Structure</a></i> is the recurrent patterned arrangements which influence or limit the choices and opportunities available. <i><a href="/facts/Agency_(sociology)/bpq5KAks">Agency</a></i> is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. The structure versus agency debate may be understood as an issue of <a href="/facts/Socialization/0vv1uDNr">socialization</a> against <a href="/facts/Autonomy/5ne4C7N8">autonomy</a> in determining whether an individual acts as a free agent or in a manner dictated by <a href="/facts/Social_structure/MyCzKt4H">social structure</a>. </p>