Action theories Flashcards
(18 cards)
1
Q
How do action theories differ from structural theories?
A
- they are micro level, bottom up approaches focusing on the actions and interactions of individuals
2
Q
What are the 4 main action theories?
A
- social action theory, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, ethnomethodology
3
Q
What does Weber’s social action theory argue?
A
- argues that structural and action approaches as necessary for understanding human behaviour arguing that an adequate explanation involves two levels
1) the level cause > explaining the objective structural factors that shape behaviour
2) the level of meaning> understanding the subjective meanings that individuals attach to their actions
4
Q
How can Weber’s point be illustrated?
A
- in his study of the rise of capitalism, at the level of the structural cause the Protestant reformation introduced a new belief system (Calvinism) > this changed peoples worldview leading to changes to their behaviour
- at the level of subjective meaning work had a religious meaning for the Calvinists as a calling by God > as a result they accumulated wealth and became the first modern capitalists
5
Q
How does Weber classify action?
A
- based on the meaning of the actor
- 1) instrumentally rational action> where the actor calculates the most efficient means of achieving a goal
- 2) Value-rational action > involves action towards a goal that the actor regards as desirable for its own sake e.g. worshipping God to get into heaven
- 3) traditional action> is customary, routine, or habitual action
- 4) affectual action > expresses emotion e.g. weeping out of grief
6
Q
Evaluation of Weber
A
- Schutz argues that Weber’s view of action is too individualistic and cannot explain explain the shared nature of meanings
- typology of action is difficult to apply > different actions fit into more than on typology
7
Q
What is Mead’s take on symbolic interactionism?
A
- Mead observed that unlike animals our behaviour is not shaped by fixed pre-programmed instincts
- we respond to the world by giving meanings to things that are significant to us > we create a world of meanings by attaching symbols to the thing around us
- therefore there is an interpretive phase between a stimulus & our response to it in which we interpret its meaning
- e.g. if i shake my fist at you, I am using a symbol with several possible meanings (anger, humour etc.) that you have to interpret
- Mead argued that we learn to interpret other peoples meanings by taking the role of the other > putting ourselves in their place seeing ourselves as they see us
- this ability develops through interaction > young children internalise significant others such as parents then later we come to see ourselves from the point of view of wider community > generalised other
- this is important as it helps society function through shared symbols
8
Q
Evaluation of Meads view
A
- too micro level . fails to account for structural factors that shape social interactions > Marxist and feminists argue that they ignore power, class & gender inequalities e.g. Marxist > individual meanings are not freely chosen but shaped by the dominant ideology
- positivism > highly subjective > focus on personal interpretation rather than observable structures
9
Q
How does Goffman’s dramaturgical model differ from labelling theory?
A
- Goffman describes that we actively construct our self by manipulating other peoples impressions of us
- two key dramaturgical concepts: presentation of self & impression management > we seek to present a particular image to our audiences, controlling the impression our ‘performance’ gives by studying our audiences to see how they are responding & monitoring & then adjusting our performance to present a convincing image
- techniques for impression management includes tone of voice, gestures, props & settings
- as in the theatre, there is a ‘front’ stage where we act out our roles while backstage we can step out of our role & be ourselves
10
Q
What is Goffman’s view of roles?
A
- there is a role distance between our real self and our roles which are only loosely scripted by society & allows us a lot of freedom in how we play them
- role distance implies that we do not always believe in roles we play > we may be calculating, manipulating audiences into accepting an impression that conceals our true self
11
Q
Evaluation of Goffman’s symbolic interactionism
A
- Goffman’s approach is criticised for simply being a loosed collection of descriptive concepts rather than an explanatory theory
- interactions are often improvised and not rehearsed
- Goffman’s theory is highly relatable and observable in everyday life e.g. impression management can be seen in the way people create their social media profiles to present an idealised version of themselves/in the office
12
Q
What is the phenomenological view on behaviours?
A
- Schutz’s phenomenological sociology > applies Husserl’s concept of mental categories to the social world
- arguing that we share the categories that we use to classify the world with other members in society
- shared categories= typifications which enable us to organise our experiences into a shared world of meaning
- in his view the meaning of any action varies according to its social context (makes them unstable & unclear) > thus he argues typifications make social order possible because they give members of society a shared life world of commonsense knowledge that we can use to make sense of our experience
- Schutz refers to this as recipe knowledge like a recipe we can follow it without thinking too much
- For Schutz, the social world is a shared inter subjective that can only exist when we share the same meanings
13
Q
Evaluation of phenomenology
A
- Berger & Lukkman reject that society is merely a intersubjective reality, argue that one society is constructed it takes on a life of its own & becomes a external reality that shapes our lives (e.g. religious ideas)
- applicable in contemporary society e.g. such as the use of share symbols such as emojis in online spaces to convey meaning
- neglects how some meanings are imposed by those in power > Foucault would argue that some typifications are not neutral but part of a power structure that serves elite interest
14
Q
What is the ethnomethodological view on society?
A
- also rejects the idea that society is a real objective structure out there
- Garfinkelargues that social order is created from the ‘bottom up’ > it is an accomplishment > something members of society actively construct using common sense knowledge
- EMs are thus interested in the methods that individuals use to produce meanings of the world
- EMs see meanings as potentially unclear which they call indexicality > this is a threat to social order because if meanings are unclear communication becomes difficult
- Yet they argue that individuals are reflexive > we use our common sense knowledge to construct a sense of meaning & order to prevent indexicality from occurring (language= important for achieving reflexivity)
- e.g. Garfinkel used breaching experiments to disrupt peoples expectations of a situation > by challenging peoples taken for granted assumptions it shows how orderliness is not inevitable but that we actively create order
- When applied to suicide, EMs show how suicide rates are constructed by coroners interpretations of what suicide is like
15
Q
Evaluation of ethnomethodology
A
- similar to phenomenology >
- qualitative methods that can’t be replicated and generalised
16
Q
What is Giddens structuration theory?
A
- a combination of both structural and action into a single unified theory
- according to Giddens, their is a duality of structure > structure and action are to sides of the same coin neither can exist without the other
- our actions produce, reproduce & change structures over time & space while these structures are what make our actions possible in the first place > she calls this relationship structuration
- this can be applied to language, it is a structure with rules that make it possible to communicate but our use of it also can also change its structure e.g. by giving words new meanings
17
Q
How do we reproduce structures through agency?
A
- for Giddens, structure has two elements
- rules (norms) and resources (economic, power)
- rules and resources can be either reproduced or changed through human action > are actions generally tend to reproduce (maintain & reinforce existing norms etc.)
Two reason for reproduction: - **because society rules contains a stock of knowledge about how to live our live, our routine activities (follow rules unconsciously) tend to reproduce the existing structure of society
- we also reproduce existing structures because we have a need for security > need to feel that the world is orderly and stable
18
Q
How do we change structure through agency?
A
- by being reflexive > reflecting upon our actions and we can deliberately chose a new course of action which is more likely in late modernity e.g. feminism
- actions may change the word unintentionally> producing changes that were not part of the goals
