Interactionism

• It is a micro theory. It believes that all actions are meaningful to individuals. Just because an action happens in the same place doesn't mean that everyone will have the same meaning/opinion on it. For example we could all go to the cinema and watch the same film but come out and have different opinions on it.
• Labelling - when we think of someone in terms of a few characteristics that we have decided are important and use these to label them
• Master Status - a label that has become the most important thing about an individual
• Negotiation - not accepting the way that people have labelled you are trying to change it
• Self-Concept - how you see yourself is how others see you. Act how you want to be seen or labelled as.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: when someone tries to live up to the label that has been given to them and change their attitude for it
• Positives:

  • It allows people to change their labels and how society sees them
  • It also shows how people change how they treat them differently depending on their label
  • It focuses on individuals not groups
  • Shows how labelling is happening
  • Still relevant today
• Negatives:

  • Some people just accept a label that has been given to them and do nothing to change it - self-fulfilling prophecy
  • If some people want to negotiate their label it can be very hard to change it and they might not even be able to change it
  • Ignores the big structures of society
  • Just because you have been labelled doesn't mean that you are going to change your behaviour to fit that label