Theories Flashcards
What does Mead’s concept of symbolic interactionism suggest?
This concept by Mead suggests that society is built up by interactions that are based on the meanings held by individuals:
-Thus helping individuals to make sense of the world
What does Blumer (a follower of Mead) suggest about the concept of symbolic interactionism?
It has 3 features:
1.) People act in terms of “symbols”, where they attach meanings to objects, words, expressions or gestures.
2.) During interactions with another individual, meanings can develop and change
3.) People can picture the image of themselves through how others perceive them (therefore leading to behaviours adapting)
What does Cooley discuss which further describes the process of negotiated interaction?
The looking-glass concept, which is the idea that the image of our own selves is reflected back to us in the views of others on us (like a mirror)
-I,e “I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am”
(Your perception of external perceptions of you may affect how you act and your identity)
How are facial expressions another example of symbolic interactionism?
They have meanings attached to them:
-e.g smiling has a “warm and friendly” vibe (therefore encouraging people to reciprocate in smiling back when being smiled at) ; it’s a symbol of happiness
How are words an example of symbolic interactionism?
They have definitions and therefore meanings:
-e.g “little honey” has a different connotation and meaning to “cheating bastard/hag”
How can the labelling theory affect the way those behave?
It can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies:
E.g negative labelling and connotations enforced by the police onto the black teens may amplify deviance within the black youth
What is the dramaturgical theory?
The idea that society is a stage and people are actors, where they’re constantly putting on a performance in order to manage the impressions they give to others
How does Erving Goffman’s thinking tie perfectly to the dramaturgical theory?
Because he believes people use “impression management” (trying to assert identities of themselves to other people):
- As a result, people may manipulate others in the way they think in order to give the best impression of themselves
What are quotes that the dramaturgical theory advocates?
-“Life is a theatre”
-“Life is a process of self presentation”
-“Life is a series of masks”
-“People act roles”
-“People only want to put themselves in the best light”
What does Erving Goffman ultimately believe?
With people constantly managing the impressions they give to others, there is no true self
(as there are different versions of yourself)
What is structuralism?
The idea that people’s behaviours and the norms/values are dictated by institutions within society (e.g schools and government using ISAs for example)
-If people act outside of the norms, they may be socially excluded (e.g labelled as “deviant”, or even persecuted!)
How does the social action theory/ interactionism oppose structural theory?
-Interpretivism take a bottom-up approach (looking at the individuals and their interactions/relationships with one another); whereas structural theory takes a top-bottom approach (looking at higher ups and institutions that constitute the way people interact and behave)
-Interpretivists feel that people are active in the way they choose to behave and live (because of their free will), whereas positivists/ structural theory claims people are passive under the influence of institutions
-Social action theory (unlike structuralism) looks at the possibility of humans attaching meanings to things
What is one critique of symbolic interactionism?
It fails to explain people’s motivations in where they get their meanings and goals from
What do interpretivists think on the matter of sociology being a science?
They believe it shouldn’t be regarded as a science, as science has no room for opinions or meanings that may influence research.
-Interpretivists believe in ‘verstehen’ (a mutual understanding) and empiricism (knowledge gained through experience)
What is Karl Popper’s concept of deductive logic?
Drawing up a theory and then trying to falsify the hypothesis by searching for an exception in order to prove or disprove the original claim of the theory
-E.g “all swans are white” (search for a black swan then)
What is the positivist perspective on the matter of sociology being a science?
They believe it is a science, as the logic, methods and procedures of the natural sciences can be used to study human behaviour, in order to form reliable and factual hypotheses;
Scientific methods of investigation can result in finding patterns of topics like crime, which can help introduce social policies
How does August Comte support the idea that sociology should be a science?
He states that based on empirical evidence and objectivity, it’s possible to discover the laws that shape/control human behaviour
What is the positivist ideology of inductive logic?
This refers to following patterns in research and data to come to a general conclusion (without looking for exceptions, unlike the deductive logic)
-E.g YouTuber who consistently gets 2 mil views can more or less expect their next video to get around the same number of views
What is Thomas Kuhn’s cycle, and where does he think sociology stands within this cycle?
Pre-science to Normal science to revolutionary science
-He believes sociology is a pre-science as it’s in a period of discovery with no central paradigm (central belief), meaning there’s no unifying theory
What is the positive of sociology being seen as a science?
It’d gain more status in being viewed as a more important subject (may lead to more funding)
What is a negative of sociology being seen as a science?
It’ll be ignored that sociology takes into account the understanding of humans; sociology will only be seen as a subject of pure objective facts
What does postmodernist Lyotard think on the matter of sociology being a science?
It shouldn’t take on the model of a science, as sociology may have many truths, but science only has one absolute truth (a meta-narrative)
Why do positivists believe sociology should be value free?
Positivists such as Comte and Durkheim believe sociology studies empirical and objective data
(E.g Durkheim used official suicide stats in an objective manner to help establish social causes of suicide)
Why do interpretivists believe that sociology shouldn’t be value-free?
They’re interested in subjective meanings (Weber’s concept of “verstehen” is key)
-e.g Gouldner believes it would be a disservice for sociology being value-free, as it opposes the main purpose of the subject: understanding human behaviour through consideration and interpretations of values
Other than interpretivist views, what are other critiques of positivists viewing sociology to be value free?
-The steps in conducting the “scientific” research are all still influenced by values (e,g choosing the topic, finding the funding/publisher of the research, analysing the data in order to ALIGN WITH YOUR THEORY)
-Becker believes researchers should always state all the values involved in their research (so that there’s reflexivity - what influenced the research to be conducted)
What is the middle ground between positivists’ and interpretivists’ views of sociology being value free or not?
Sociology can be value laden, as Max Weber and postmodernists Lyotard and Baurdrillard proclaimed:
The whole process of sociological thinking and research can be scientific and in an objective manner, but there’ll always be values involved in what influenced the researchers to even start
Why do Marxists think sociology can’t be value free?
-Because they believe all research is influenced by social, political and economic contexts, therefore forming biases on certain societal groups (like the RC):
Therefore making it impossible to achieve objectivity
What do feminists advocate for in sociological researches?
More reflexivity (understanding of research) in gender dynamics.
What is the functionalist/positivist perspective on social policy?
They advocate for scientific methods and objective policies being enforced by the government
