social action theories

structuralism

any theory that is concerned with the structures of society and how they affect individual behaviour

social action theory

any theory that is concerned with individual behaviour and its affect on society

macro level

theories that are lager scale and focus on institutions affecting individuals such as functionalism

micro level

theories that ficus on small scale interactions between individuals such as interactionism

max weber

german sociologist that decided peoples actions are down to both macro and micro reasoning

what was webers theory called and what did it mean

verstehen, meant being able to be in someones shoes and empathise

why did weber not like how sociology currently ran

sociologists studied people like they studies species in a lab ad did not empathise or realise that people have freewill and don’t follow a structured behavioural programme

what were the two levels of explanation during webers research

level of cause and level of meaning (what they were doing in relation to the external society and why they were doing it)

what were webers 4 motives for action

instrumental rational- most efficient way

value rational- action to get to a desirable goal

traditional action- habitual action that doesn’t change due to routine

affectual action- action to evoke emotion

example of instrumental rational action

businesses cutting wage costs

example of value rational action

praying to get into heaven in the afterlife

example of traditional action

making a cake every birthday party

example of affectual action

crying at a funeral

what theory did becker introduce

labelling theory

labelling theory

the idea that every individual is given a label that they stick to through a self fulfilling prophecy, this also applies to events

self fulfilling prophecy

if you are told you have a particular characteristic, you are likely to adopt this and live it

who created the dramaturgical theory

Goffman

what is the dramaturgical theory

the idea that we are all living as actors in society and present ourselves in different ways based on the environment we are placed in

why do we act differently according to goffman

different individuals project what idealised image we are to be and we fulfil that role in order to feel more accepted

what did goffman mean by back stage areas

we all have spaces and people that we feel safer and more comfortable around and thats only where we show our true selves and drop our fronts

who developed symbolic interactionism

Mead and Blumer

symbolic interactionism

our behaviour is controlled by the meanings we assign objects and individuals in society which are given by social interaction, our response to society rather shapes how we interact with one another

what are some strengths of social action theories

people are given the right to their own motives, applies to our contemporary society of social media, overcomes the idea that we are controlled by institutions like puppets, can be more valid

what are some weaknesses of social action theories

can be deterministic, doesn’t highlight structural difficulties such as cultural deprivation, ignores power dynamics referring to cage, can lack reliability and validity, doesn’t explain why people choose to be normal

deterministic

people do not have choice and all actions and events result from other actions and events