Social Action Theory Flashcards
What are the main beliefs of Social Action Theory;
Less deterministic, believe individuals posses agency, we shape society through out choice, actions and meanings.
What does Weber believe?
- To gain a true picture of society and achieve verhensten, we should look at structure and action:
- The level of cause; we should understand structures that are imposed and shape peoples behaviour
- Level of Action; understand meanings that individuals attach to actions
What four categories did Weber identify, that enable sociologists to understand society and study the social world;
- Traditional Action: routine actions that require little conscious levels of thought
- Affective Action: actions based on emotions of the social world
- Value-Rational Action: actions taken to achieve a goal that is important to the social actor
- Instrumentally Rational Action: social actor calculates the most efficient way to achieve a goal
Which if the categories that Weber identified are measurable as they are based on decision making processes and not natural reflexes;
Value Rational and Instrumentally Rational
How can we critique Weber?
Weber said we should strive to achieve Verhensten, but how can we ever be sure we have truly understood the motivation of the other person?
Outline key beliefs of Symbolic Interactionism;
- We create a social world through our actions and interactions which are based on our meanings
-Meanings are conveyed through symbols ( language, behaviours ) which we interpret and select an appropriate response too. - Our actions develop our interactions.
What does Mead believe?
- We interpret meanings by taking the place of the other person and taking their role.
Who develops Meads theory and what do they say?
Blumer;
1. Actions are not automatic, they are based of meanings.
2. Meaning are not fixed.
3. Meanings arise from taking the role of the other.
How can we critique SI in general?
Functionalists believe individuals are passive puppets who passively accept and respond to the needs of the social system.
Who develops the Looking Glass Self Theory?
Cooley
What is the LGS Theory?
- Our idea of who we are
- We form our self concept via our ability to take on the role of the other
-Via our interactions, we come to see ourselves as others see us which is therefore a SFP
Who discusses the Dramaturgical Model?
Goffman
What is the dramaturgical model?
- The way in which we actively construct our ‘self’ by manipulating what others think about us.
- We rehearse our performance on a social stage and engage in two processes.
What are the processes in the DM?
Impression Management- we seek to present a certain image to our audience, and we constantly study our audience to see their reactions.
Roles- there is a role distance between our real self and our roles, the roles are loosely scripted and there is a freedom in how we play them.
How does Reynolds criticise SI?
SI lacks structure and doesn’t analyse the effect that structures have on your actions.
Outline beliefs of the Structuration theory?
- Structure and individual choice have an important part to play when understanding society
What does Giddens believe (ST)?
Structure and action depend on one another, the actions of individuals shape the social world, but they themselves are shaped by structure; The duality of Structure.
What do we mean by the reproduction of structure via agency?
We tend to reproduce structures rather than change them for two main reasons:
1. Rules contain knowledge about how to live our life so we go about routine activity responding to structure.
2. Our need for ontological security- the belief that the world is how it appears to be.
How can we change structure through agency?
- As we constantly reflect on our actions and therefore can choose a new course of action.
- Actions have unintended consequences that produce change.
