social action theories Flashcards
what are social action theories
-look at individual rather than society as a whole
- individual has free will over their actions
-people have own belief, values and interpretations of diff situations
-individual creates social structure rather than social structure creating them
-society should be researched using qualitative methods to understand ppl
what did mead say about symbolic interactionism
-people act in terms of symbols which have meanings to them
-symbols can be words, gestures, images or objects
- such symbols can have diff meanings in different situations
- meanings develop out of interactions w others
contemporary example of symbolic interactionism
- emojis
evaluate meads argument
-doesn’t explain how we learn the meanings in the first place
- e.g functionalism = would explain it though socialisation but symbolic interactionism doesn’t explain this
what did cooley say about the looking glass self
- our image of ourselves is reflected and, to us through the reactions of others to us
- we may adjust or modify our behaviour as a result
-“i am not what you think i am and not what you think i am, i am what i think you think i am” - self concept is not given to us but based on interactions w others
what does becker say about the labelling theory in education
-teachers action on labelling a student in a good or bad way so child accepts the label becoming the self fulfilling prophecy
what is an ideal pupil
-middle class
-white
-girl
-dresses nice
-no slang
what does labelling lead to
-either accept their bad or good label and act according to it
how can we evaluate becker
- doesn’t explain why people are labelled in certain ways e.g racism
-ignores free will , too deterministic ( we can behave how we want)
how does labelling look in crime?
-only seen as deviant when labelled in that way
1.individual labelled as deviant e.g junkie
2.lead to other crimes e.g drug addiction
3. can’t get a job have to return to livelihood of crime
4.deviant career completed when join deviant group
5.deviant subculture develops
what is impression management according to Goffman
-interaction is ab successful role playing
-we all are social actors
-we present ourselves to make a particular impression
-present ourselves differently in different situations
-for example in school students are gonna be hardworking, bring books
what is meant by dramaturgical model
-society is like a stage we are all actors
strengths of action theories
-acknowledges people have free choice and free will and aren’t puppets as marx and func say
-addressed that structural inequalities may be linked to interactions e.g labelling or certain grps
-use of qualitative methods result in research findings which allows greater validity
weaknesses of action theories
-some groups don’t have free will and choice
- ignores some structural inequalities that some face e.g class , ethnic and gender
- doesn’t explain why some groups labelled positively and others negatively
- post mods= suggest action theory is a meta narrative and tries to explain everything in society
what is ethnomethodology
-refers to methods people use to make sense of the everyday world
-claims not only form of social order , structure, interaction isn’t real , only in peoples heads
-everything socially constructed = created by society
