Action Theories Flashcards
What do Action Theorists believe?
They see individuals as ‘social actors’ who ‘act’ rather than ‘react’.
Say that people make their own choices, rather than reacting to the structure.
Argue that society is created from people’s meanings and behaviour.
Micro theory.
What do action theorists argue about social order?
It’s a part of everyday life, and life is a series of interpretations.
Social order is a product of people’s minds.
What do action theorists argue about sociology?
Sociology is subjective.
Everybody interprets an action slightly differently, so behaviour cannot be predicted (as structural theorists would).
Actions and behaviours are subjective to opinions and circumstances.
What are the criticisms of action theories?
Too subjective.
If nothing is true of false, sociology would become a mess of opinions.
What are the 3 types of action theory?
Social action theory - Max Weber.
Symbolic interactionism - Mead.
Ethnomethodology - Garfinkel.
What is Weber’s Social Action Theory?
Argues a sociologist needs a structural and action approach to understand society.
Human behaviour is described on two levels: the level of cause and the level of meaning e.g gay marriage.
What are Weber’s 4 types of action?
Instrumentally rational action (achieving a goal efficiently) Value-rational action (because you want to do it) Traditional action (based on habit) Affectual action (based on emotions)
What are the criticisms of Weber’s social action theory?
Too much focus on individuals and not enough on how shared values are developed.
Difficult to classify actions into just one type.
What is Mead’s Symbolic Interactionism?
Most interaction is symbolic e.g waving.
There is gap between seeing the symbol and responding, where you put yourself into their position - this is called ‘taking the role of the other’.
We learn to interpret symbols through social interaction which allows us to be accepted by society.
What is Garfinkel’s theory of Ethnomethodology?
Say society is created from the ‘bottom up’.
Studies the methods we use to create meanings.
Define indexicality.
The idea that meanings are always unclear because they depend on context.
Define reflexivity.
We use common sense to determine meaning of behaviour and communication.
What is Giddens’ theory of Structuration?
Sociologists should look at interactions and the social structures that influence them.
Says structures depend on people living by them, assumes people can easily change society if they want to (Marxists and Feminists would disagree).
