Action theories

• What type of theories are they ?

  Small scale(micro approach) who see individuals as having free will and our actions are not determined by society
• Marx Weber 


  internationalism: how individuals create and interpret meaning in their social interactions

  • Verstehen (understanding the meaning individuals attach to their actions): should interpret social behaviour from the perspective of the individuals involved
• Types of action

  1. instrumental rational: calculating the most efficient way of achieving a given goal
  2. Value rational: action towards a goal that the person regard as desirable for their own sake
  3. Traditional action: routine, no conscious thought is going into it. it is done because we have always done it
  4. Affectual: action that expresses emotion
• Give examples for each type of action

  Instrumental : capitalist realising the most efficient way of profit is to pay low wages

  Value rational: worshipping God to go to heaven

  Traditional: weddings / family gatherings at christmas

  Affectual: weeping out of grief
• Labelling theory

  Howard Becker: we attach label to other people, objects and actions which might lead to self fulfilling prophecy of the person internalises the label.
• Looking class self 


  Developed by Charles Cooley and describes how a persons sense of self develops through social interactions

  • How we imagine we appear to others
  • How we imagine others judging that appearance
  • We develop our self concept based on our perceptions of others judgement
• symbolic interactionism


  • developed by Mead, we attach meaning to symbols (facial expressions, body language).
  • we respond to the world by giving meanings to things that are important to us by attaching symbols.
  • we don't automatically respond to a stimulus, we have to interpret the meaning and then choose a response
• strengths of symbolic interactionism

  • acknowledges society's dynamic nature as people interact and redefine meanings which makes it relevant for studying social change
  • shows how conversations and gestures contribute to identity formation and relationships
  • focuses on small scale interactions, providing insights in everyday life & personal experiences which can be overlooked in broader theories
• weakness of symbolic interactionism

  • minimises the influence of larger social structures eg institutions/economic systems, leading to an incomplete understanding of social phenomena
  • subjectivity: relies heavily on individual interpretations, can be difficult to generalise findings or establish objective facts.
  • focuses on small interactions so may overlook social factors eg power dynamics, social inequalities, and their impacts on individuals
• Blumer's three premises of symbolic interactionism

  1. our actions are influenced by the meanings we attach to objects, people, situations. eg feeling happy about a gift as it represents love and thoughtfulness
  2. meaning are derived from social interactions
  3. as we encounter new experiences or receive new information, we can change the meaning we've previously attached to things.
• Goffman's dramaturgical model


  we are all 'actors' who each pay different roles in order to give particular impression.

  • we think about and alter our language, tone of voice, gestures etc based on audience's response
• what is one weakness of Goffman's dramaturgical model?

  interactions are often improvised and unrehearsed.
• what are two weakness of the labelling theory?

  1. deterministic: others shape our identity
  2. ignores wider social structures eg inequality