Final answer:
Middle-range theories option (c) are less complex, contain fewer ideas, and focus on specific phenomena, unlike grand theories which cover broader, more abstract concepts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of theories that are the least complex, contain fewer concepts, and refer to specific, well-defined phenomena are c. Middle-range theories. These types of theories are narrower in scope than grand theories, which try to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions about societies.
Whereas, middle range theories are more precise and deal with a particular aspect of social phenomena. They lie between the minor but necessary working hypotheses that evolve in abundance during day-to-day research and the all-inclusive systematic efforts to develop a unified theory that will explain all the observed uniformities of social behavior, social organization, and social change.
An example of a middle-range theory would be a theory that predicts the relationship between educational attainment and job opportunities.