1. Cwk Action theories
What: By the end of the lesson you will know all about action theories.
Why:
All – know and understand different sociological theory (AO1);
Most – interpret and apply different sociological thinking to the topic (AO2a);
Some – evaluate and analyse different sociologists ideas (AO2b).
Some – evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of action theories.
All – understand the difference between structural and action theories;
Most – know the differences between the main types if action theory;

2. What?
Structural theories claim that social forces shape behaviour and that individuals are generally passive in the process; for example Marxism and functionalism.
Social action theories argue that society is the product of small scale interactions in which individuals have free will in deciding and negotiating their position in society. In other words, people have agency; for example interpretivism.

3. Social action: Weber
People hold meanings about the world and consciously act on the basis of those meanings.
Weber saw behaviour in terms of the meanings people attach to actions.
Weber saw both structural and action approaches as necessary for understanding human behaviour. He argues that an adequate explanation involves two levels:
The level of cause
The level of meaning
Get students to read p. 225 and explain, with examples the two levels above.

4. Social action: Weber
Weber classified action into four types, based on their meaning for the actor:
Instrumentally rational action
Value-rational action
Traditional action
Affectual action
What criticisms do other sociologists make about Weber?
Get students to explain what these mean.

5. Symbolic interactionism:
This theory focuses on small scale interactions rather than on the social structure.
It tries to identify how meanings are constructed through social action.
These actions are based on the meanings we give to situations, conveyed through symbols.
It argues that people have a degree of control and influence over social behaviour.

6. Symbolic interactionism: Mead
People define and interpret the world through the meanings they attach to it.
Reality is therefore a subjective reality.
The meanings people hold are constructed from and communicated in the form of symbols.
Social life is a constant stream of symbolic communication with meanings being constantly negotiated and re-negotiated.
People can do this by being able to take the role of the other i.e. putting ourselves in their place and seeing ourselves as others see us.

7. Symbolic interactionism: Blumer
Blumer identified three key principles of interactionism:
Our actions are based on the meanings we give to situations, people etc. They are not automatic responses to stimuli.
These meanings arise from interactions and are to some extend negotiable and changeable.
The meanings we give to situations are mainly the result of taking the role of the other.
Blumer argues that although out action is partly predictable because we internalise the expectations of others, there is always some room for choice in how we perform our roles.

8. Symbolic interactionism: labelling theory
Labelling theorist use three key interactionist concepts:
Definition of the situation
Looking-glass self
Career
Use the info on p. 227 to explain these concepts.

9. Symbolic interactionism: Goffman
Labelling theory sees the individual as the passive victim of other people’s labels. Goffman disagrees and argues that we construct our ‘self’
Goffman’s approach is often described as ‘dramatical analogy’, it uses analogies with drama e.g. actors, scripts etc.
As in theatre, people’s roles are not fixed, and they can interpret their roles in many different ways. People are aware they are doing this and life is a process of self presentation. We use props, stages etc to control how we appear to others. This is made possible by our ability to see ourselves as others see us.
What criticisms are made of symbolic interactionism?

10. Phenomenology: Schutz
In philosophy, the term ‘phenomenon’ describes things as they appear to our senses. Some philosophers argue that we can never have definite knowledge of what the world outside is really like; all we can know is what our minds tell us about it.
Schutz applies this idea to the social world. We share typifications (categories) to classify the word with other members of society.
The meaning of an action varies according to its social context. Meaning is given by the context, not by the action itself.

11. Phenomenology: Schutz
Fortunately, typifications make social order possible, because they give society a shared ‘life world’ of common sense knowledge which helps in every day interactions.
Schutz calls this ‘recipe knowledge’, because we can follow it like a recipe and without having to think too much. The social world only exists when we share the same meanings.
The fact that society appears as real shows we share the same meanings and this allows us to co-operate with each other.

12. Ethnomethodology: Garfinkel
Ethnomethodology means the study of methods used by people. This approach was founded by the American sociologist Harold Garfinkel (1967). He argues that members of society assume that the social world is ordered and makes sense. However, this order and sense many not actually exist. Instead it may be constructed to make the social world appear knowable, reasonable and understandable.
Read p. 229 – 230, make notes then read p. 231.

13. Ethnomethodology:
Garfinkel argues that social order is created from the ‘bottom up’. It is something members of society actively construct in everyday life using their common-sense knowledge.
The sociologist’s task is this to uncover taken-for-granted rules people use to construct social reality.
Indexicality refers to the fact that meanings are always potentially unclear or unstable, communication and cooperation becomes difficult and social relationships will break down.
Reflexivity is the use of our common-sense knowledge to construct a sense of meaning and order, and so prevent indexicality occurring.
According to Garfinkel, how is social order created?
What does Garfinkel mean by inexicality and reflexivity?
Why is inexicality a threat to social order?

14. Ethnomethodology: Why is language vital in achieving reflexivity?
What is a breaching experiments and does it show social order is not inevitable but an accomplishment?
Language is of vital importance in achieving reflexivity. It gives us a sense of reality existing ‘out there’, although in fact all we have done is to construct a set of shared meanings.
Garfinkel used breaching experiments to disrupt people’s expectations of a situation (e.g. children behaving like lodgers in their parents home).
These show how the orderliness of everyday situations is not inevitable and how we use our common sense, taken for grated assumptions to actively create social order.

15. Evaluation of ethnomethodology:

16. Activate:

17. Consolidate:
Complete the quick check questions at the end of the chapter.

18. Homework
Hand in: