INTERACTIONALISM

Question 1

How does SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONALISM see SOCIETY? and Who was Founder

Answer 1

sees SOCIETY as BUILT UP by INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE which TAKE PLACE on the BASIS Of MEANINGS HELD by INDIVIDUALS

Question 2

BLUMER suggessted INTERACTIONALISM has 3 BASIC FEATURES, what are they?

Answer 2

1. PEOPLE ACT In Terms of SYMBOLS e.g. things, objects that STAND for SOMETHING ELSE and to which Individuals Have ATTACHED MEANINGS and they ACT TOWARDS PEOPLE and THINGS IN ACCORDANCE WITH These MEANINGS
2. these MEANINGS DEVELOP OUT of the INTERACTION Of an INDIVIDUAL With Others and CAN CHANGE the COURSE of INTERACTION
3. MEANINGS ARISE from an INTERPRETIVE PROCESS, as PEOPLE TRY to INTERPRET the MEANINGS OTHERS GIVE To Their Actions BY IMAGINING THEMSELES In THEIR POSITION and TAKING ON THEIR ROLE

Question 3

What are ACTION THEORIES?

Answer 3

• those FOCUSED on the INDIVIDUALS and the WAY they INTERACT with EACHOTHER
• REASON for THIS is THEY BELIEVE OUR BEHAVIOUR is the RESULT of The WAY We INTERACT and NEGOTIATE WITH OTHERS over Norms and Values
• state PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOUR and LIFE CHANCES AREN’T DETERMINED by Their SOCIAL BACKGROUND

Question 4

What are the 4 MAIN FEATURES of ACTION THEORIES?

Answer 4

1. SOCIETY & INSTITUTIONS are SOCIALLY CONSTRCUTED
2. PEOPLE Have FREE WILL To DO THINGS and FORM Their OWN IDENTITIES
3. PREFER to RESEARCH on SMALL GROUPS of INDIVIDUALS
4. PEOPLE’S BHEAVIOUR is DRIVEN By THEIR BELIEFS, MEANINGS and EMOTIONS Gives to a Situation

Question 5

What are the 3 Symbolic Interactionist SOCIOLGISTS?

Answer 5

COOLEY - the LOOKING GLASS SELF
BECKER - LABELLING THEORY
GOFFMAN - the DRAMTURGICAL MODEL

Question 6

Explain COOLEY’s - LOOKING GLASS SELF

Answer 6

• IDEA that OUR IMAGE of Ourselves is REFLECTED BACK to US (like mirror) IN the VIEWS Of OTHERS
• As we CONSIDER the IMAGE Of OURSELVES REFLECTED in the REACTIONS of OTHERS To US, we MAY MODIFY and CHANGE OUR VIEW Of OURSELVES and OUR BEAHVIOUR
• our SELF CONCEPT and SOCIAL ROLE AREN’T Therefore Simply HANDED DOWN BY the SOCIAL STRUCTURE, but SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED and SUBJECT To CONSTANT CHANGE THROUGH the PROCESS of INTERACTION

Question 7

Explain BECKER’s LABELLING THEORY

Answer 7

• people LABEL or DEFINE INDIVIDUALS and Situations in particular ways -> AFFECTS BEHAVIOUR
• e.g. SOCIOLOGIST’s Task might be to Understand POINT of VIEW and Experience of the Disillusioned Black Youth who is Very Hostile to Police and Feel Picked On because of racist assumptions
• INTERACTIONISTS might also STUDY the Way TEACHER ATTITUDES, STREAMING and LABELLING can INFLUENCE EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT and LEAD to SFP , as Students can INTERNALISE the LABEL Attached By the Teacher

Question 8

Explain GOFFMAN’s DRAMATURGICAL MODEL

Answer 8

where Labelling Sees people as Passive Victims of Their Labels, GOFFMAN elieeves PEOPLE USE ‘ PRESENTATION Of SELF ‘ and ‘ IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT ‘ to CONTROL How we Come Across , and the Roles We Play

Question 9

Explain the DRAMATURGICAL ANALOGY - Goffman

Answer 9

• AS IN the THEATRE, ROLES AREN’T FIXED, PEOPLE can INTERPRET Their ROLES in Many DIFFERENT WAYS
• PEOPLE ARE AWARE They’re doing this and LIFE is a PROCESS Of ‘ SELF-PRESENTATION ‘
• WE USE PROPS, Stages etc , To CONTROL HOW We APPEAR to OTHERS. This is MADE POSSIBLE By OUR ABILITY to SEE OURSELVES as OTHER SEE US
  front stage, back stage - e.g. teaching

Question 10

What is a PHENOMENON ?

Answer 10

is SOMETHING We CAN APPRECIATE THROUGH Our SENSES

a Phenomon ONLY MAKES SENSE When we ATTACH a MEANING To It
e.g. a Plate only has Meaning As We Know about Plates, Otherwise , Would Simply be a ‘ flat round object ‘

Question 11

What are SCHUTZ’s 4 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS of PHENOMOLOGY When Applied to Social World

Answer 11

• PHENOMENOLOGISTS DENY OBJECTIVE REALITY - Things have No Meaning In Themselves, but Through Experience We Attach Meaning
• FOR HUMANS to Have ‘ SHARED MEANINGS ‘ and to UNDERSTAND EACHOTHER, we CREATE TYPIFICATIONS - when we Organise our Experience and Knowledge of Things into Mental Catgeories
• TYPIFICATIONS MAKE SOCIAL ORDER POSSIBLE, they Build Over Time and Allow Us to Share ‘ Common Sense Knowledge ‘
• The MEANING OF an ACTION VARIES ACCORDING to Its SOCIAL or CULTURAL CONTENT

Question 12

What does SCHULZ mean by TYPIFICATIONS

Answer 12

SHARED CATEGORIES which ENABLE Us TO ORGANISE Our EXPERIENCES Into a SHARED WORLD Of Meaning

Question 13

For SCHULZ , Why might MEANINGS May be UNCLEAR + example

Answer 13

for Schulz , the MEANING of ANY GIVEN EXPERIENCE VARIES ACCORDING to its SOCIAL CONTEXT
e.g. Raising Arm in Class is a Different Meaning when Raising in an auction

Question 14

for Schulz - How do TYPIFICIACTIONS STAVLISH and CLARIFY MEANING ?

Answer 14

by ENSURING that we’re ALL SPEAKING The SAME LANGUAGE - ALL AGREEING On the MEANING of THINGS –> Makes It POSSIBLE for Us to COMMUNICATE and COOPERATE With ONE ANOTHER + ACHIEVE our GOALS
Without Shared Typifications , Social Order would Become Impossible

Question 15

What does SCHUTZ mean by the NATURAL ATTITUDE

Answer 15

the STATE Of CONSCIOUSNESS in WHICH WE ACCEPT the REALITY Of EVERYDAY LIFE - ASSUMING that the SOCIAL WORK is a SOLID NATURAL Thing out there
SOCIETY APPEARS to US as Real Objective Thing Existing Outside of Us

Question 16

Explain BERGER & LUCKMANN’s Criticism of Schutz

Answer 16

• While SCHUTZ is RIGHT to FOCUS on Shared Commonsense Knowledge , they REJECT his VIEW that SOCETY is MERELY an INTER-SUBJECTIVE REALITY
• ALTHOUGH REALITY is SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED - as Schutz believes, ONCE it’s BEEN CONSTRCUTED, it TAKES ON a Life of Its Own and Becomes an External Reality that Reacts Back on Us

Question 17

What are 3 WAYS that ETHNOMETHODOLOGY DIFFERS from Other Sociological Theories

Answer 17

• they REJECT that SOICETY has ANY SOCIAL STRUCTURE or SOCIAL ORDER
• unlike INTERACTIONIST APPROACHES, they AREN’T CONCERNED with the OUTCOME of INTERPREATITIONS such as the ‘ Self ‘ and ‘ Labels ‘
• are CRITICAL of the PHENOMENLOGIAL APPROACH as they QUESTION the USE of the ‘ COMMON SENSE ‘ KNOWLEDGE we Use when we Interact to Make Sense of the World

Question 18

What are the 3 ASSUMPTIONS of ETHNOMETHODOLOGY?

Answer 18

• SOCIAL INTERACTION is VARIABLE and ANYTHING Could HAPPEN Within it
• SOCIAL ORDER is an ILLUSION In OUR MINDS - we UNCONSCIOULY Make SOCIAL LIFE APPEAR to Be ORDERED
• are INTERESTED in the PROCESS of HOW PEOPLE COMMUNICATION with each other and CONSTRUCT Their SOCIAL WORLD

Question 19

How does GARFINKEL believe SOCIAL ORDER is CREATED ?

Answer 19

SO is CREATED from the BOTTOM UP.
ORDER & MEANING Aren’t Achieved as People are ‘ Puppets ‘ whose Strings are Pulled by the Social System
Instead SO is an ACCOMPLISHMENT - something that MEMBERS of SOCIETY actively CONSTRUCT in EVERYDAY LIFE USING their Commonsense knowledge

Question 20

How does GARFKINEL’s View DIFFER from FUNCTIONALIST PARSONS ?

Answer 20

PARSONS - SO is POSSIBLE by SHARED VALUE SYSTEM into Which we are Socialised - a TOP DOWN Structure - SHARED NORMS ENSIRE we PERFORM our ROLES in ORDERLY PREDICTABLE WAY that MEETS EXPECTATION

GARFINKEL is Opposite - Bottom Up

Question 21

How is ETHNOMETHODLOGY DIFFER From INTERACTIONALISM

Answer 21

INTERACTIONALISTS - focus on EFFECTS of MEANINGS ( e.g. labelling )
EM - focus on the METHODS we USE to PRODUCE the Meaning

Question 22

GARFINKEL - what is INDEXICALITY and WHY is a THREAT to SOCIAL ORDER

Answer 22

Indexicality - MEANINGS are ALWAYS POTENTIALLY UNCLEAR

IF MEANINGS are INHERENTLY UNCLEAR , COMMUNICATION and COOPERATION Become DIFFICULT and SOCIAL RELATIOSNHIPS may Begin to BREAK DOWN

Question 23

What does GARFINKEL mean by REFLEXVITY

Answer 23

that we USE COMMONSENSE KNOWLEDGE in EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS to CONSTRUCT a SENSE of MEANING and ORDER and STOP INDEXCILITY

LANGUAGE is VITALLY IMPORTANT in ACHIEVING REFLEXIVITY
when we Describe Something , we are Simulatenously Creating it Our Description Gives it Reality , removing uncertainty about what’s going on and making it meaningful

Question 24

GARFINKEL - What is a BREAKING EXPERIMENT and in what way do they SHOW that ORDER Isn’t Inevitable but is an ACCOMPISHMENT

Answer 24

sought to DEMONSTARTE the NATURE of SOCIAL ORDER
By Challenging People’s Taken For Granted Assumptions, the EXPERIMENTS SHOW how the ORDERLINESS of EVERYDAY SITUIATONS ISN’T INEVITABE But is an ACCOMPLISHMENT of Those who Take Part in them
Social Order is Produced by Members themselves

Question 25

GAARFINKEL - what is the EFFECT of HUMANS STRIVING to IMPOSE ORDER by SEEKING PATTERNS

Answer 25

HUMANS STRIVE to IMPOSE ORDER by SEEKINGPATTERNS , Even Though these Patterns are Really Just SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS

Question 26

Outline GARFINKEL’s CRITICISM of CONVENTIONAL SOCIOLOGY .
How can his Crticism be Applied to Durkheim’s theory of study

Answer 26

• ACCUSES CONVENTIONAL SOCIOLOGY of it USING the SAME METHODS as ORDINARY MEMBERS of SOCIETY to CREATE ORDER and MEANING. If so, it’s Little More Common Sense, Rather than True and Objective Knowledge
• e.g. positivists e.g. Durkheim - take it for Granted that Official Suicide Statistics are Social Facts that Tell Us the Real Rate of Suicide.

Question 27

What are 2 EVALUATION POINTS of ETHNOMETHODOLOGY

Answer 27

• EM DENIES the EXISTENCE of WIDER SOCIETY, seeing it as Merely a SHARED FICTION. Yet, by Analysising how Members Apply General Rules or Norm to Specific Contexts , it ASSUMES that a STRUCTURE Of NORMS REALLY EXISTS BEYON
  Functionlists sees such Norms as Social Facts, Not Finction
• EM IGNORES How WIDER STRCUTUES of POWER and INEQUALITY AFFECT the MEANINGS that INDIVIDUALS CONSTRUCT

Question 28

What is WEBER’S SOCIAL ACTION THEORY

Answer 28

believed to Have a DEEPER UNDERSTANDING of HUMAN BHEAVIOUR you NEED to CONSIDER BOTH the STRURTUAL and ACTION Approach
His ANALYSIS of Soceity EXPLAINS How the 2 LEVELS INTERPLAY and INFLUENCE Eachother

Question 29

State and Explain the 2 Levels in WEBER’S SOCIAL ACTION THEORY

Answer 29

• STRUCTURAL LEVEL : how SOCIAL STRUCTURES such as economic factors can DETERMINE a PERSON’S CLASS which Ultimately INFLIUENCES BEHAVIOUR of PEOPLE
• INDIVIDUAL LEVEL : the SUBJECTIVE ‘MEANING’ an INDIVDUAL GIVES to A SITUATION and the INDIVDUAL’s SUBSEQUENT BEHAVIOUR and ACTIONS Must All be Understood
  ‘ Meaning also Includes Constraints and Limitations on action , as a result of social structure