Jack Douglas & Max Atkinson

Which Interactionalists consider how sociologists should conduct research into deviant behaviour?

• Jack Douglas

• Max Atkinson

What does Douglas argue about how suicide should be studied?

Exploring the means and definitions that individuals give to their actions

• official statistics are socially constructed

Why does Douglas suggest that suicide statistics are socially constructed?

Depends on how people label deaths and the cultural meanings around suicide

• e.g. Catholic Church = sinful

Statistics are therefore invalid and fail to reveal the individual meanings behind deaths

What did Douglas conclude to use instead of official statistics in studying suicide?

• Use of documents (suicide notes and diary entries)

• Un-structured interviews with family and friends

What does Atkinson argue about how suicide should be studied?

Interactional process

• involved when people talk about or report suicides

Why did Atkinson argue about that we should use the interactional processes to study suicide?

There was no way of finding the meanings behind individual suicides since those who committed suicide could not be interviewed

• all that can be studied are the way individuals make sense of deaths and come to label deaths as suicide

What did Atkinson study to about the understanding of suicide?

Coroners’ inquests - showed the way people present and define the death affects whether it is officially classified

What did both Douglas and Atkinson emphasis about suicide?

Suicide is not just an objective facts but a socially constructed event

• shaped by interaction, meaning, and interpretation

How is Douglas’ and Atkinson’s interactionalist approach helpful in understanding suicide?

Helps us understand suicide from the perspective of those involved, rather than just imposing outsider definitions