Interactionism on socialisation Flashcards
Does Interactionism believe that Socialisation is a “negotiated process”?
Yes
Socialisation is a ‘negotiated process’ for Interactionists
Unlike structural approaches, who believe that society is more important that the individual (such as Marxism and Functionalism) ‘action theories’ or ‘interpretivist theories’ are concerned with the individual, the interactions between individuals, how we interpret things, how we define our identity and ultimately how we create the culture in which we live.
Interactionism on Socialisation
What is the relationship between Action Approaches and Structural Approaches?
Action approaches REJECT structural approaches.
Interactionism on Socialisation
Do Social Action theorists believe that we are governed by the social institutions in society?
No.
Social Action theorists, such as Interactionists REJECT that we are ‘Puppets on a String’ where our behaviour is governed by the social institutions in society.
According to Interactionists do Social Action theories place an emphasis on the structure of society?
No.
Social Action theories place an emphasis on the individual and everyday behaviour rather than the structure of society. Their focus of sociology is on the individual and of small groups in society. A good example of this is by interpretivists (they use a social action approach) in studying crime. Rather than looking at large trends and patterns, or books of statistical data on crime, interpretivists are more interested in why an individual may commit crime and also how we label deviants and then how can this affect future deviance. This therefore focuses on the ‘micro’/the individual and therefore this is seen as a ‘micro approach’.
How do Social Action approaches see people’s behaviour being guided according to Interactionism?
Social Action approaches see people’s behaviour being guided by the meanings that we attach to certain situations, for example a parent may interpret that a crying baby means that it is in pain or is hungry. In turn a parent’s response to the baby’s behaviour is likely to affect the baby’s future behaviour, e.g it will stop crying.
Socialisation: Does Interactionism believe that we are influenced by others’ attitudes?
Yes.
We ARE influences by others’ attitudes, values and actions. We are a product of our interactions with others.
Socialisation: Children constantly attach meanings to actions.
Continue this sentence with the viewpoint of interactionists.
Children constantly attach meanings to actions as they try to work out whether their behaviour, in any given situation, is acceptable or not. If acceptable, then they will continue with that, if not, then they will face informal social control from their parents by means of punishment.
Is the Socialisation process is crucial in the creation of our identity within the theory of interactionism?
Yes.
The socialisation process is crucial in the creation of our identity
Identity is seen as an ongoing creation of the interaction between the self and culture.
Can we reject our aspects of our culture according to Interactionism?
Yes.
But we can accept or reject aspects of those cultures. e.g. someone born Christian may convert to Judaism; communists in Russia defected to the West and vice versa, so we actively construct our identity. We do this as we learn what is expected of us in different social settings, through socialisation.
Interactionism: In the formation of our identity through Socialisation how important are language and other symbols?
The use of language and other symbols is crucial to this process. It allows us to conduct internal conversations, interpret signs and symbols… So, for example is you were talking in a place where you shouldn’t be, an adult may put their finder to their mouth and say ‘shhh’ – Therefore we are learning how our actions generate specific social reactions and then adapt these in the future.
Summarise Interactionism’s view on the formation of our identity.
Our identities are only formed in interaction with others and the meanings created through these interactions.
Interactionism. Importance of Socialisation. For social action approaches it is important to …
Continue this sentence.
For social action approaches, it is important to interpret the meanings attached to actions/behaviour.
Interactionism is a theory that is characterised by the social action approach.
Discuss further.
Interactionism is a theory that is characterised by the social action approach. We attach meaning to symbols, such as someone waving to us, or someone crying – this then affects our interpretation of that situation and therefore how we will behave in that situation. After time, we accumulate a ‘stock knowledge’ where we have been in similar situations in the past and therefore we know how to act accordingly in that situation.
According to Interactionism Socialisation allows us to learn our identity. We gather a stock knowledge of shared interpretations and meanings that we give to specific situations, so for example we have learned:
Three examples
- Not to speak when being spoken to.
- To wear black at a funeral.
- To be sensitive around someone who is crying
Interactionists on Socialisation:
Our understanding of how to act and interpret situations is complex and can be affected by…
Continue this sentence
Our understanding of how to act and interpret situations is complex and can be affected by who you are with or the context of a situation.
