Topic 4: Social Action Theory Flashcards
(21 cards)
Who are the 3 theories we can use to write about symbolic interactionism?
- Mead
- Labelling theory
- Goffman’s dramaturgical model
What does mead say?
- we respond to the world by giving meanings to the things that are significant to us
- we get our sense of self from our family
- we manage other people’s meanings by taking on the role of others and putting ourselves in their place
- we aren’t animals and we interpret a stimulus’ meanings before responding to it
according to mead, how do we manage other peoples meanings?
we manage other peoples meanings by taking on the role of others and putting ourselves in their place
according to mead were do we get our sense of self from?
our family
what does blumer say abut society?
- our actions are based on meanings we give to situations
- everything is negotiable
Cooley is a labelling theorist, how do we develop a self concept?
- we develop a self concept based on our ability to take on the role of other, and see ourselves as they see us
Becker is a labelling theorist, what does he say?
- individuals take on a status based on a given label and this becomes their master status and shapes their interactions with others
What is Goffman’s dramaturgical model?
- we actively construct our ‘self’
- we are all actors who present ourselves in a favourable impression to an audience
- back stage (at home) we can step out of our roles and be ourselves
how can action theory be criticised?
- it is a loose collection of theories
- ignores wider social structures
Cicourel is a phenomenologist, what does he discuss in terms of crime?
- negotiation of justice - mc parents can use expensive lawyers to negotiate their way out of the cjs
- police have typifications - they have an idea of who is criminal and arrest based on this
according to the phenomenology approach how do we make sese of the world?
- schutz
- we make sense of the world through shared typifications without them social order would be impossible
What is Schutz phenomenological sociology?
- we make sense of the world through shared typifications, and they allow us to communicate and cooperate
- typifications enable us to organise our experiences into a shared world of meaning
Garfinkel is a ethnomethodologist, what does he say?
- social order is an accomplishment
- look at how we make sense of the world
- interest in the methods we use to produce the meaning
- everything is based on decisions
how can the labelling theory view of society be criticised?
- its deterministic as it assumes individuals are passive and can’t reject their labels
- fails to explain origins of the labels
what are interactionists interest in?
interactionists are interested in the effects of meanings
What are ethnomethodologists interested in about suicide?
- they’re interested in how coroners make their decisions, for example, to label a death a suicide
- ethnomethodologists say coroners have a common sense idea of what a suicide is
briefly describe action theories?
- voluntaristic
- small scale
- look at choice and free will
which sociologist unifies both action and structural?
neo-marxism
eg willis
what is gidden’s structuration theory?
- there is a duality of structure
- action and structural can’t exist without each other
- we produce and reproduce structures over time and space
Is action theory interpretivist or positivist?
interpretivist
like validity and verstehen
Which research methods does action theory favour?
- participant observation
- documents
- unstructured interviews
- group interviews
