Social Action Theory

Social action or interpretive perspectives focus on

interactions in everyday small group settings; the classroom,
police station, college.
How do people defne themselves? Each other? Their
situation?
What are the conseuences of these defnitions for their
actions?
The emphasis is on negotiation! the meanings people
give to situations are negotiated "y the social factors
concerned.
#n $arriage, a functionalist perspective e%amines
roles of hus"and&father, wife&mother supplied and
shaped "y the system.
roles are structured! eg. To meet socialisation and
economic reuirements as a functioning unit in society.
Social action theory argues these roles are not f%ed
they are negotiated
people construct their own meanings, their own
defnitions a"out what marriage consists of
they construct their own social reality rather than "eing
constrained "y the social system.
'ey Terms in Social (ction Theory
)egotiation! a process where the outcome is not f%ed or
predetermine. #nstead it is open to discussion and
modifcation! it is negotia"le.
#mpression management! a process used in social
interaction designed to manage the impression others
have of ourselves.
*efnition of the situation! the way people defne, interpret
and give meaning to situations. +eople then act terms of
their defnition of the situation.
#nteraction! social action theory focuses on the
interactions "etween people, when people are together in
social situations they interact.
Sym"olic #nteractionism! an e%ample of social action
theory. #t starts from the idea that people interact in terms
of sym"ols, the most important of which is langauge. To
understand human action it is necessary to discover the
meanings which people use to guide, interpret and ma,e
sense of their own actions and those of others.