THEORIES- SOCIAL ACTION THEORIES

Question 1

What are Social Action theories focused on?

Answer 1

Social Action theories are micro theories that focus on the actions and interactions of individuals, explaining human behavior in terms of free will and choice.

Question 2

How do Social Action theories differ from macro, structural theories?

Answer 2

Unlike macro theories, Social Action theories claim that human actions are not determined by society but are shaped by individuals’ agency— their ability to create and shape society through actions, meanings, and choices.

Question 3

What does Weber’s Social Action Theory combine?

Answer 3

Weber argued that both structural factors and the subjective meanings individuals attach to their actions must be considered for a full understanding of human behavior.

Question 4

What are the four types of action according to Weber?

Answer 4

Instrumentally rational action: Actions decided through the most efficient means of achieving a goal (e.g., a capitalist reducing wages to maximize profits).

Value rational action: Actions toward a goal regarded as desirable for its own sake (e.g., worshiping God to get to heaven).

Traditional action: Habitual actions done because they’ve always been done.

Affectual action: Actions that express emotion (e.g., crying out of grief).

Question 5

What is the concept of Verstehen in Weber’s theory?

Answer 5

Verstehen is the process of empathic understanding, where a sociologist seeks to understand the meanings behind people’s actions from their perspective.

Question 6

What are the strengths of Weber’s Social Action Theory?

Answer 6

It highlights the importance of combining structural factors with the understanding of the meanings attached to actions for a fuller explanation of behavior.

Question 7

What are the weaknesses of Weber’s Social Action Theory?

Answer 7

Weber’s view is too individualistic and doesn’t explain shared meanings.
His typology of meanings is difficult to apply.
The concept of Verstehen is idealistic and not achievable as we can never fully know another’s subjective meaning.

Question 8

What is Symbolic Interactionism?

Answer 8

Symbolic Interactionism is the theory that humans create the social world through actions and interactions, with meanings conveyed through symbols such as language.

Question 9

How do Mead and Blumer contribute to Symbolic Interactionism?

Answer 9

Mead argued that our behavior is influenced by the meanings we give to things and that we interpret situations before responding to them.
Blumer coined the term Symbolic Interactionism and developed three principles:
Actions are based on meanings we give to situations.
Meanings arise from interactions with others.
Meanings come from the interpretive process.

Question 10

What is the concept of role-taking in Symbolic Interactionism?

Answer 10

Role-taking is when individuals put themselves in another person’s shoes to interpret their perspective and understand their meanings in social interactions.

Question 11

What does the Looking Glass Self concept explain?

Answer 11

Developed by Cooley, it explains how individuals develop their self-concept by seeing themselves as others see them through interactions.

Question 12

How does labelling theory work in Symbolic Interactionism?

Answer 12

According to Thomas, if we define a situation as real, it will have real consequences. Becker and Lemert suggest that labelling someone (e.g., as a drug user) can lead to that label becoming their master status, influencing their future actions.

Question 13

What is Goffman’s dramaturgical model?

Answer 13

Goffman proposed that social interactions are like performances, where individuals use props, control their image through impression management, and behave differently in public (front stage) vs. private settings (backstage).

Question 14

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Symbolic Interactionism?

Answer 14

Strengths: Acknowledges free will, making it less deterministic than macro theories.

Weaknesses: It overlooks wider social structures like class inequality or patriarchy, and labelling theory can be deterministic.

Question 15

What is Phenomenology in Social Action theory?

Answer 15

Phenomenology, according to Husserl, argues that the world makes sense because we impose meaning on it through mental categories. Schutz added that these categories are shared among members of a society, providing a framework for understanding the world.

Question 16

What are Typifications in Phenomenology?

Answer 16

Typifications are shared categories of meaning or commonsense knowledge that help us understand and navigate social situations, such as knowing that a raised hand in class means someone wants to speak.

Question 17

How does Ethnomethodology explain social order?

Answer 17

Garfinkel argued that meanings are always unclear and depend on social context. Social order is maintained through reflexivity, where people use commonsense knowledge to create a sense of meaning in social interactions.

Question 18

What are breaching experiments in Ethnomethodology?

Answer 18

Breaching experiments, conducted by Garfinkel, involve deliberately breaking social norms to observe how individuals react to the disruption of expected behavior.

Question 19

What is Structuration according to Giddens?

Answer 19

Structuration is the idea that social structures are both produced by actions and make actions possible. Giddens argued that we reproduce social structures by following rules, but can also change them by monitoring our behavior and making new choices.

Question 20

What is the difference between top-down and bottom-up approaches?

Answer 20

Top-down approach: Conflict and consensus theorists study large groups and apply findings to individuals.

Bottom-up approach: Social Action theorists study individuals and then theorize about larger societal forces.

Question 21

What is ethnography?

Answer 21

Ethnography is a research method where the sociologist immerses themselves in the social world they are studying, often through participant observation.

Question 22

What is verstehen?

Answer 22

Verstehen is the process of understanding the meanings behind people’s actions through empathic insight.

Question 23

What does agent mean in Social Action theory?

Answer 23

An agent refers to an individual who has the capacity to act and make choices, exercising free will.

Question 24

What is master status?

Answer 24

A master status is a label that becomes the most dominant identity of an individual, often shaping how they are viewed by others.

Question 25

What is the looking glass self?

Answer 25

The looking glass self is a concept by Cooley explaining how individuals form their self-concept based on how they believe others perceive them.

Question 26

What does bottom-up mean in Social Action theory?

Answer 26

Bottom-up refers to studying individuals or small groups first and then developing broader theories about societal forces.

Question 27

What is grounded theory?

Answer 27

Grounded theory is an approach to research that involves collecting data and developing theories from that data, rather than starting with a preconceived theory.

Question 28

What is the dramaturgical analogy?

Answer 28

The dramaturgical analogy, introduced by Goffman, compares social interactions to a play where individuals perform roles and manage their social image.

Question 29

What are front regions?

Answer 29

In Goffman’s dramaturgical model, front regions are the public settings where people perform their roles and manage impressions during social interactions.

Question 30

What is symbolic interactionism?

Answer 30

Symbolic interactionism is a theory that focuses on how individuals create meaning through interactions with others, using symbols such as language.

Question 31

What is microsociology?

Answer 31

Microsociology focuses on the small-scale, everyday interactions between individuals, as opposed to large-scale social structures.

Question 32

What is secondary deviation?

Answer 32

Secondary deviation occurs when an individual internalizes a label (such as being called a criminal) and starts to act according to that label, often leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 33

What is social construction?

Answer 33

Social construction is the idea that social reality is created through interactions and the meanings attached to objects, behaviors, or events.

Question 34

What is interpretivism?

Answer 34

Interpretivism is a research approach in sociology that focuses on understanding the meanings individuals attach to their actions and behaviors through qualitative methods.

Question 35

What does it mean “to pass” in social terms?

Answer 35

“To pass” means to successfully present oneself in a way that aligns with social expectations or norms, often in the context of ide