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Action Theories, micro level, bottom up, focus on actions + interactions…
Action Theories
Symbolic Interactionism
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focusses on ability of individuals + groups to make sense of society through their own interpretations + meanings
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Mead
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role taking
social actors put themselves in the shoes of the other to determine meaning of their behaviour + to respond appropriately
the I (unfiltered, freely acts) + the me (socially learned, censored) make up the self
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EVALUATION
:) sees people as active, not passive
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:( offers 'shared meaning' interpretation despite criticising functionalism for being deterministic in saying norms + values are societally shared
:( Blumer argues action is standardised to some extent, suggesting structure does have inffleunce
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:( ignores wider structures of inequality as it cannot explain power relationships in way marxists or feminists have done
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:( concentrates too much on small scale, trivial aspects of social lift, ignoring bigger picture of life at society wide level of analysis
Labelling Theory
once people define situation as real, it will have real consequences, affecting how we act
Becker
Labelling
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Master Status
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Internalisation
individual comes to see themself as different + associate with others who are also seen as different/deviant
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EVALUATION
:( Becker accused of suggesting once label attached, individual immediately accepts label which is deterministic
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:( no explanation as to where labels originate from, overemphasising the significance of the individual with little concept of structure
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Phenomenology
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Husserl
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world only makes sense because we impose meaning + order on it by creating mental categories to file info
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EVALUATION
:( Berger + Luckman reject view society inter-subjective reality as although society may be socially constructed, once it's been constructed, it takes on a life of its own + becomes an external reality
:( knowledge may be subjective but once it forms a shared meaning, it becomes structural + that in turn shapes us
Ethnomethodology
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Garfinkel
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reflexivity = use of common sense knowledge to limit indexicality, behaving as if meanings are clear + fixed
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used breaching experiment to challenge peoples taken for granted assumptions, showing how orderliness of everyday situations not inevitable, but an accomplishment of those who take part in them
EVALUATION
:( findings are trivial as findings often uncover 'taken for granted' rules that are actually of no surprise to anyone (e.g. one study found that in phone conversations, generally only one person speaks at a time)
:( argues everyone creates order + meaning by identifying patterns + producing explanations that are essentially fiction so this must also apply to ethnomethodology itself meanings we've no particular reason to accept its views
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:( denies existence of wider society yet by analysing how members apply general rules or norms to contexts, it assumes a structure of norms exists beyond these contexts (functionalists see these norms as social facts)
Social Action Theory
Weber
instrumentally rational action is where actor calculates most efficient means of achieving given goal
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traditional action involves customary, routine or habitual actions
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EVALUATION
:) valuable corrective to over emphasis on structural factors + affirmation we must also understand actors subjective meanings to explain their actions
:( Schutz argues Weber's view of action is too individualistic + can't explain shared nature of meanings
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:( advocates use of verstehen but we can't actually be the other person so can't ever be sure we've truly understood their motives
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create + shape society through our choices, meanings + actions