Social Action Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Phenomenology Ethnomenology and Structuration Theory Flashcards
what did Weber say an adequate social explanation involves?
explaining objective structural factors that shape people’s behaviour and understanding the subjective meanings that individuals attach to their actions
Weber classifies actions into 4 types, which are…
- 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
how does Schutz criticise Weber?
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
give an exaple of why webers typology of action is hard to apply?
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
what did Weber advocate?
Vetstehen - using empathy to put ourselves into actors place to understand motives and meanings.
what is symbolic interactionism?
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
what did symbolic interactionist Mead say about our behaviour?
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.
explain how Mead contrasted the behaviour of a dog to the behaviour of humans
dogs respond instinctively with no conscious interpretations of actions while humans have to interpret a symbol before they can respond
according to Mead, how do we interpret others meaings?
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
who argues that although our actions are party predictable there is always room for negotiation and choice in how we perform our roles
Blumer
how does labelling theory affect how we act?
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
How does Cooley suggest our self concept arises?
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
explain Goffman’s theory that we actively construct our ‘self’ by manipulating other’s impressions of us
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.
how does Reynolds criticise interactionism?
it lacks an idea of structure, such as class inequality and fails to explain the origin of labels.
what is phenomenon?
used to describe things that appear to our senses
what does Husserl argue about why the world makes sense?
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
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……
Schutz
people wouldn’t be able to agree on the meaning of things
what does Schutz argue about recipe knowledge?
recipe knowledge is shared assumptions about the way things are and what situations mean
we can refer to recipe knowledge without thinking too much
what is an example of Schutz’ recipe knowledge
we all know that red lights mean stop and this enables safe driving however it only means stop because we all agree on it
how do Berger and Luckamn criticise Schutz? and give an example of what they argue
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
what is ethnomethodology interested in and whose ideas did it stem from?
Garfinkels,
interested in how social order is achieved
how does Parsons say social order is achieved?
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
how does Garfinkel suggest social order is created?
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
what does Garfinkel mean by indexicality and how can it be a threat to social order?
nothing has a fixed meaning everything depends on the context which can be a threat to social order because communication can become difficult
according to Garfinkel what allows us to behave as if meanings are clear?
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
humans strive to impose order by seeking patterns even though these patterns are just social constructs give an example
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
why does Craib criticise ethnomethodology?
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
what does ethnomethodology ignore?
how wider structures of power and inequality affect the meanings that individuals construct
what is duality of structure?
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
what example does Gidden’s use to show the duality of structure?
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
what need encourages action that maintains existing structures?
the need for ontological security - a need to feel that the world really is as it appears to be - orderly, stable and predictable
how does Giddens say we can change structure?
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
who suggests Giddens underestimates the capacity of structures to resist change and give an example
Archer
e.g. slaves may wish to abolish slavery but lack the power to do so
