Symbolic Interactionism Flashcards
Social Action
action oriented towards shared meanings and actions of others
instrumental rationality
when an individual calculates how to achieve a goal most efficiently
Value rationality
action is determined by belief in a moral or other value, regardless of practicality
Affectual Behaviour
action is determined by emotional responses
Traditional behaviour
action performed out of habit because thats what was always done
3 types of behaviour Weber looks for as motivation in protestants
- identifying certain ‘spirit of capitalism’- tendency to calculation, organized work, and accumulation of wealth
- Protestant doctrine that encourage believers to behave in this way
- wealthier because of motivation by religion to act in certain ways
Methodological Individualism
method of explaining brand features of society by first understanding what individuals so and seeing how millions of such actions produce social consequences
Symbolic Interactionism
theoretical paradigm focused on microsociological interactions between individuals.
George Herbert Mead
Develops pragmatist explanation for our motivations:
-Learning from response of others what is good or acceptable behaviour
Dramaturgical Method
Goffman’s method of understanding individaulas as “actors” portraying specific “roles” in interactions
Erving Goffman
Explores how individuality is expressed in terms of certain pre-existing social roles
Normal
a general set of characterstics that society treats as the default or as things we are all presumably aspiring to be
Stigma
Social disapproval of features that deviate from the norms
Passing stigma
trying to hide stigma completely, so others see you as normal
Covering stigma
Minimizing stigma so as to reduce its shock value for others
