action theories

What are the 3 action theories

Symbolic interactionism

Labelling & looking glass

Phenomenology

What are 2 symbolic interactionalists

George Herbert-Mead

Blumer

What does Mead argue

Humans act towards things based on the meanings those things have, meanings are created & shared through symbols

We have a shared understanding of how to respond to symbols

Meanings change thorough interaction & aren’t fixed

What did Blumer do

Developed Meads ideas into 3 principles

Actions are based on meanings

Meanings come from interaction

meanings are modified through an internal interpretive process

2 examples of symbols

Union jack (football-celebration, protest-intimidation)

Olympics demonstration 1968

What symbols were used in the olympics demonstration 1968

Raised fist & black gloves - power & unity

No shoes - poverty

Beads - honour victims of lynching

Strengths of symbolic interactionism

Moves away from deterministic assumptions & emphasises the conscious involvement of the actor in social life

Recognise human conduct is meaningful & essential

Weaknesses of symbolic interactionism

Exaggerates the extent we consciously interpret our environment, most act on autopilot

What are 2 labelling sociologists

Cooley

Becker

What is Cooley’s theory

The looking glass self

Self-concept arises out of our ability to take on the role of the other, we see ourselves mirrored in the way people respond to us

Self fulfilling prophecy occurs, we become what others see us as

What is Becker’s theory

The self is shaped thorough the definitions people impose on situations & people (labels)

Self fulfilling prophecy occurs, internalise label & act accordingly

Who has the power to make labels & examples

Moral entrepreneurs (teachers & police)

Working class - teachers pay less attention to them, viewed as underachievers → low self-esteem, fall behind, drop out

Black boys - labelled as aggressive & troublemakers so they’re over disciplined, school → prison pipeline

What is a link to labelling theory

Goffman - the dramaturgical model

What is the dramaturgical model

Society is like a stage & we are all actors acting out our scripts using props, resting backstage between performances (actively construct our self using impression management)

Labels can shape the roles we perform as we feel pressure to act the part (self fulfilling prophecy)

Examples of self fulfilling prophecy

School - a student labelled as ‘naughty’ may perform this in class but act quietly at home

Workplace - uniform (prop) & acting professionally (customer service voice)

Weakness of labelling theories

Determinism, treats individuals as passive victims who immediately become what they’re labelled as rather than actors that can reject labels

Fuller - study of year 11 black girls

Who is the Phenomenology sociologist & theory

Schutz - typifications & recipe knowledge

What does Schutz argue about typifications

The world only makes sense because we impose meaning & order onto it, we interpret how to act through the mental frame-works we have constructed

Typifications - shared meanings that make the world understandable & allow us to act confidently, without them life would be chaotic

What does Schutz argue about recipe knowledge & examples

Tells us what steps to follow without thinking too hard, we don’t constantly question reality but rely on shared ‘recipes’ to know how to act

School - know when to sit, listen, answer because of shared meanings of teachers & students

Strengths of phenomenology

Highlights the importance of individual meanings & experiences which is overlooked by structural theories

Weaknesses of phenomenology

Fails to explain how his idea works in a multicultural society where we are socialised into different norms

Berger & Luckmann - once something is constructed it takes on a life of its own (norm)