Social Action Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Phenomenology Ethnomenology and Structuration Theory

Question 1

what did Weber say an adequate social explanation involves?

Answer 1

explaining objective structural factors that shape people’s behaviour and understanding the subjective meanings that individuals attach to their actions

Question 2

Weber classifies actions into 4 types, which are…

Answer 2

• instrumentally rational action - where the actor calculates the most efficient means of achieving a goal, not about whether a goal is desirable
• value-rational action - action towards a goal that the actor regards as desirable for its own sake e.g. worship of god to get to heaven
• traditional action - customary, routine or habitual actions that are not rational because no choice goes into it
• affectual action - actions that express emotion

Question 3

how does Schutz criticise Weber?

Answer 3

Weber’s view of action is too individualistic and cannot explain the shared nature of meanings e.g. when a person at an auction raises an arm they are making a bid but Weber doesn’t explain how everyone else present comes to give the gesture the same meaning

Question 4

give an exaple of why webers typology of action is hard to apply?

Answer 4

among the Trobiland islands individuals exchange ritual gifts called Kula with others on neighbouring islands could be seen as a traditional action or as an instrumentally rational action as it is a good way of cementing trading links

Question 5

what did Weber advocate?

Answer 5

Vetstehen - using empathy to put ourselves into actors place to understand motives and meanings.

Question 6

what is symbolic interactionism?

Answer 6

it focuses on the ability to create the social world through our interactions and actions which are based on meanings we give to situations which we convey through symbols

Question 7

what did symbolic interactionist Mead say about our behaviour?

Answer 7

that unlike animals, our behaviour isn’t shaped by instincts, instead, we create a world of meanings by attaching symbols to the world. we don’t respond to stimulus in a pre-determined way, an interpretive phase comes between stimulus and our response to it.

Question 8

explain how Mead contrasted the behaviour of a dog to the behaviour of humans

Answer 8

dogs respond instinctively with no conscious interpretations of actions while humans have to interpret a symbol before they can respond

Question 9

according to Mead, how do we interpret others meaings?

Answer 9

by putting ourselves in their place and seeing ourselves as they see us. to function in society we need to see ourselves as others do. through shared symbols we become conscious of the ways of acting that others require of us

Question 10

who argues that although our actions are party predictable there is always room for negotiation and choice in how we perform our roles

Answer 10

Blumer

Question 11

how does labelling theory affect how we act?

Answer 11

thomas - if we believe something to be true it affects how we act e.g. if a teacher labels a boy as troublesome he may act differently and be punished more harshly

Question 12

How does Cooley suggest our self concept arises?

Answer 12

it arises out of our ability to see ourselves as others do, others act as a looking glass - we see ourselves mirrored in the way they respond to us

Question 13

explain Goffman’s theory that we actively construct our ‘self’ by manipulating other’s impressions of us

Answer 13

our aim is to carry out a convincing performance of the role we have adopted so we seek to present a paticular image of ourselves so must control the impression our performance gives - involves constantly studying our audience to see how they are responding and monitoring and adjusting our performance to present a convincing image. as in a theatre there is a front where we act our roles and a backstage where we can be ourselves.

Question 14

how does Reynolds criticise interactionism?

Answer 14

it lacks an idea of structure, such as class inequality and fails to explain the origin of labels.

Question 15

what is phenomenon?

Answer 15

used to describe things that appear to our senses

Question 16

what does Husserl argue about why the world makes sense?

Answer 16

the world only makes sense because we impose meaning and order on it by constructing mental categories that we use to classify information coming from our senses

Question 17

who argues that shared categories (typifications) of meaning enable use to organise our experiences into a shared world of meaning? without these typifications social order would be impossible because……

Answer 17

Schutz

people wouldn’t be able to agree on the meaning of things

Question 18

what does Schutz argue about recipe knowledge?

Answer 18

recipe knowledge is shared assumptions about the way things are and what situations mean
we can refer to recipe knowledge without thinking too much

Question 19

what is an example of Schutz’ recipe knowledge

Answer 19

we all know that red lights mean stop and this enables safe driving however it only means stop because we all agree on it

Question 20

how do Berger and Luckamn criticise Schutz? and give an example of what they argue

Answer 20

they argue he is right to focus on shared common sense knowledge but they reject his view that society is merely an inter-subjective reality. although reality is socially constructed it takes on a life of its own and becomes an external reality that reflects back on us
e.g. religious ideas start in our consciousness but become embodied in powerful social structures (churches) which then constrain us by influencing social life

Question 21

what is ethnomethodology interested in and whose ideas did it stem from?

Answer 21

Garfinkels,

interested in how social order is achieved

Question 22

how does Parsons say social order is achieved?

Answer 22

it is made possible by a shared value system into which we are socialised and shared norms ensure that we perform our roles in an orderly, predictable way that meets others expectations

Question 23

how does Garfinkel suggest social order is created?

Answer 23

from the bottom up - social order is not achieved because people are puppets of the social system but it is an accomplishment since it is something members of society actively construct.
ethnomethodolgy discovers how we do this by studying peoples methods of making sense of the world

Question 24

what does Garfinkel mean by indexicality and how can it be a threat to social order?

Answer 24

nothing has a fixed meaning everything depends on the context which can be a threat to social order because communication can become difficult

Question 25

according to Garfinkel what allows us to behave as if meanings are clear?

Answer 25

reflexivity - the fact that we use common sense knowledge in everyday interactions to construct a sense of meaning and order to stop indexicality from occurring

Question 26

humans strive to impose order by seeking patterns even though these patterns are just social constructs give an example

Answer 26

seeming patterns of suicides become coroners taken for granted knowledge about what suicides are like so when faced with future cases, cases fitting the pattern will seem to prove the pattern - the assumed pattern becomes self reinforcing but it tells us nothing about any external reality

Question 27

why does Craib criticise ethnomethodology?

Answer 27

its findings are trivial and spend lots of time uncovering taken for granted rules that turn out to be no surprise to anyone, e.g. one study found that usually only one person in a phone conversation speaks at a time

Question 28

what does ethnomethodology ignore?

Answer 28

how wider structures of power and inequality affect the meanings that individuals construct

Question 29

what is duality of structure?

Answer 29

the idea that structure and action are interlinked and neither can exist without the other.
through are actions we produce structures and these structures are what make our actions possible in the first place

Question 30

what example does Gidden’s use to show the duality of structure?

Answer 30

language is a structure made up with a set of rules that govern how we can use it to express meanings, it constrains behaviour like one of Durkheim’s social facts
if we use language to communicate we must obey its rules otherwise we won’t be understood - this shows how our action depends on the existence of structure but structure also depends on actions since language wouldn’t exist is no one used it, it is reproduced by individuals and these actions change the structure as people give words new meanings and create new rules

Question 31

what need encourages action that maintains existing structures?

Answer 31

the need for ontological security - a need to feel that the world really is as it appears to be - orderly, stable and predictable

Question 32

how does Giddens say we can change structure?

Answer 32

by reflexively monitoring our own actions and deliberately choosing a new course of action
actions may change the world but not always as intented e.g. Webers protestant work ethic of calvinism produced capitalism

Question 33

who suggests Giddens underestimates the capacity of structures to resist change and give an example

Answer 33

Archer

e.g. slaves may wish to abolish slavery but lack the power to do so