Social Action and Postmodernism

AQA Sociology A Level Theory and Methods

Social action theory

Social action theory

A way of viewing socialisation, emphasising social action

Individualism

The unique importance of each individual

Max Weber

German sociologist that regarded the development of rational social orders as humanity's greatest achievement. Saw bureaucratization (the process whereby labor is divided into an organized community and individuals acquire a sense of personal identity by finding roles for themselves in large systems) as the driving force in modern society.

Interactionism

the idea that situations and personality interact to determine behavior

Free will

the freedom and ability to choose

Symbolic Interactionism

a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions

Erving Goffman's dramaturgical theory

views social life as a theatrical performance in which we are all actors on metaphysical stages with roles, scripts, costumes, and sets.

Voluntaristic

matter of choice as to how individuals will act

Howard Becker

labeling theory

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Giddens (1992)

Choice and even

Structuration Theory Giddens

Idea that suggests the social world is generated through the agency of active participants

value free

the view that a sociologist's personal values or beliefs should not influence social research

value-laden

presupposing the acceptance of a particular set of values

Garfinkle

Ethnomethodology: expectations of others. study of the way people make sense of their everyday surroundings

Labelling Theory (Becker)

• Based on reactions of others to an individual's act; response leads to the labelling of a person as deviant

• No act inherently deviant until a group with socially powerful statuses labels it as such

GH Mead

• We do not simply respond to external stimuli, we apply meaning to interpret symbols

• We become conscious of how other people may see us and respond to this accordingly

Schutz EVAL of Weber

argues that weber's view on action is too individualistic and cannot explain the shared nature of meaning

4 types of action Weber

• instrumental action

• value rational action

• traditional action

• affetctual action

instrumental action Weber

an action that is rationally thought out, the benefits and cons are equally thought of

value rational action Weber

an action that occurs due to the person seeking a desirable goal for their own sake, don't calculate effectiveness

traditional action Weber

routine, customary actions that have no choice into the action, it is done because ' it has always been done'

affectual action Weber

action determined by the emotional state of the actor, an irrational decision

GH Mead

founder of symbolic interactionism

Blumers 3 key ideas

1- actions aren't instinctive, they're based on the meanings we attach to the world around us

2- these meanings can changed due to the way we choose to relate them

3- we mostly relate to others by taking the

role of the other

Cooley (glass self)

looking glass self, we see ourselves the way others see us

Self Presentation

Presenting the person we would like others to believe we are

Criticisms of social interactionism

• It over-emphasises the significance of the individual and mostly ignores social structures

• It cannot explain certain power relationships (like Marxism of feminism does)

• It concentrates too much on trivial aspects of society and ignores the bigger picture of society

• The dramaturgical analogy is weak because at times we are both the audience & actors

What does Schutz suggest about typifications

Schutz suggest that we share typifications - these are categories allow us to classify the world with other members of society. They make social order possible as they give society a shared 'life world'.

What is the life-world

The life-world refers to the shared typifications and commonsense knowledge held by members of society.

Goffman

Impression management

What is recipe knowledge

The knowledge of how to use something without knowing the principles that govern its functioning. This is what Schutz suggests we use in everyday interactions

What is the natural attitude

\n Schutz suggests that the natural attitude leads us to assume that society is a real, objective thing existing outside of us, and this allows us to co-operate & achieve goals as we share the same meanings

How do Berger & Luckmann criticise Schutz

Whilst they agree with his concept of commonsense knowledge, they do not see society as simply being a shared reality. They suggest that once reality has been socially constructed, it takes on a life of its own, becoming an external reality that reacts back e.g. religion started as an idea but later became an oppressive structure.

What is Garfinkel's idea of indexicality

Meanings are always potentially unclear as nothing has a fixed meaning and everything depends on context. For this reason, indexicality threatens social order and our ability to communicate & co-operate

What is Garfinkel's idea of reflexivity

Despite indexicality, we behave as if meanings are clear, and this is because of reflexivity. We use commonsense knowledge to make sense of meaning & order. Language is also important in achieving this as describing something removes uncertainty

How does Craib criticise ethnomethodology

He sees ethnomodolody's findings to be trivial as it 'uncovers' rules that are in fact no surprise to anyone