Social Action Theory Flashcards
What do social action theories disagree with
Disagree with the idea of determinism and reject that social structures determine how individuals in society live their lifes. Instead we are social actors who act on our own free will
Symbolic interactionism
Rejects determinism. Emphasises status of people as social actors, with their own free will, consciousness, meanings and motives
Labelling theory - Cooley and Becker
Cooley suggests we get our sense of self from our interactions with others. We know what we are like by looking at the reactions of others, this is why he calls it our ‘looking glass self’.
Other researchers like Becker took this further and suggested we tend to apply labels to other individuals in society and this influences how we interact with them. Self fulfilling prophecy and master status
Role taking - Mead
Humans interpret the meaning of each others behaviour and we need to view the situation from another persons perspective which he called role taking. It is learning our sense of self which allows us to role take. It views humans as being self conscious. They are not the mindless products of external social norms over which they have no control
Goffman - Dramaturgical Analogy
Goffman sees society as like a drama and people are trying to create impressions (impression management).
Elements like:
Front
Regions
Performance Failure
Role Distance
Power and Roles
Phenomenology
Works on a fundamental level than symbolic interactionism. It examines the way in which meaning is constructed in the first place rather than the way taht is is exchanged and understood in social situations
Phenomenology - Schutz
Suggested that reality is constructed out of the understanding and meanings that individuals give to the objects and individuals that they interact with.
Central idea is that humans make sense and understand the world by classifying objects within it and such classifications are not an individual process but a collective one.
The categories we use are not particular to ourselves but are shared with other members of society - typifications - any shared concept - they are the basis and build up a bank of commonsense knowledge
Ethnomethodology - Garfinkel
Suggests that every individual in society is a skilled member and is constantly engaged in interpreting and giving meaning to social situations.
Ethnomethodology refers to the methods used by individuals to make sense of their world. The idea is that social meanings are ambiguous and shifting but most of the time we dont realise it
Weberian sociology - Max Weber
Sociological theory should look at the level of cause - means that people are influenced and shaped by social structures and it influences their behaviour
However he says you cannot just look at structural factors you must look at the level of meaning - meaning and thoughts that guide individual behaviour
