Action Theories Flashcards
Weber’s social action theory.
Argued that an adequate sociological explanation involves two levels
Level of cause
O s f t s p B
Level of meaning
S m p a t t a
How does calvinism relate
Fini
Weber attempts to classify actions based on their meaning for the actor
• instrumentally rational action
Actor calculates most efficient means of achieving goal. E. G capitalist may calc most efficient way of maximising proft is to pay low wages.
•value rational
Involves action towards a goal that the actor regards as desirable for its own sale. E.g worship god to het into heaven.
• traditional action
Customary, tradition, routine habitual actions
Weber doesnt see as rational bc no conscious thought is put into action. Does it because “have always done it”.
• affectual action
Expressed emotion. E.g violence sparked by anger.
Weber evaluation
Affirmation that
Schutz:
Difficult to apply
Verstehen
✅webers ideas are an affirmation that we must also understand individuals’ subjective meanings if we want to explain actions adequately.
• schutz argues that webers view is too individualistic and cannot explain the shared nature of meanings.
E.g arm raised at auction. Doesnt explain how all give gesture same meaning.
• webers typology of action is difficult to apply
E.g among trobriand islanders individuals exchange gifts to neighbouring islands. Coukd be seen as instrumentally rational or traditional action.
• advocated use of verstehen for understanding actors subjecting meaning.
Symbolic interactionism
Mead- symbolic vs instinct
- interpretivist phase between stimulus and response to it.
- interpret others meanings by taking the role of the other. Ability to do so
Through social interaction
Goffman’s dramaturgical model
- analogy between drama as a framework for analysing social interaction.
Aim is to carry out convincing performance of re weve adopted.
Impression management
Roles
Ethnomethodology 1
- garfinkel. His ideas stem from phemonomogy.
How is social order achieved according to goffman?
Functionalists such as parsons and garfinkel are interested in hkw socail order is achieved.
Garfinkel takes opposite view
-social order is created from the bottom up.
Its an accomplishment, something that members of society actively construct using commonsense knowledge. Not achieved bc people are puppets.
Em attempts to discover how we do this by studying peoples methods of making sense of world.
Ethnomethodology 2
How does em differ from interactionist approached to understanding meaning ?
Interactionists interested kn effects of meanings. Eg effects of labelling.
Em is interested in methods or rules that we use to produce the meanings in the first place.
Ethnomethodology 3
Fini
