Social action theories

• Social action theory is the idea that people act according to their own interests, which can be rational or irrational.
• Symbolic Interactionism


  Focuses on how people interact and communicate through symbols, such as words, gestures, and objects.
• Praxeology


  Emphasizes the importance of practical action and experience in shaping social interactions.
• Critical Theory


  Analyzes power structures and ideologies that influence social relations.
• Habitus


  Refers to the invisible cultural and social rules that shape our behavior.
• max weber said in order to gain a full understanding of human behaviour, sociologists should analyse the meanings behind the actions taken by the individual. E.g. Instrumentally rational actions, value rational actions, traditional actions And affective actions
• Social action theories


  Sociologists should analyse the meanings behind the actions taken by the individual in order to gain a full understanding of human behaviour
• Weber's four ideal types of social action

  • Value-rational action
  • Instrumental-rational action
  • Traditional action
  • Affective action
• Value-rational action


  Actions where the actor pursues a good based on how desirable it is, rather than on its logical benefits
• Instrumental-rational action


  Actions where the actor aims to achieve a given goal in the most effective manner
• Traditional action


  Actions that occur through custom or routine that happens because it always has been done and therefore isn't challenged
• Affective action


  Actions based on feelings and emotions that have no rational reasoning
• Symbolic interactionism


  Theory that individuals shape their identities based on the labels that other people attach to them
• Dramaturgical model


  Theory that suggests our lives are like a theatrical performance, where we are constantly changing character by moving back and forth between being upstage and backstage
• Looking-glass self


  Theory that individuals form their own view of themselves based on how they believe others perceive them
• The self-concept is an altered version of the self, formed by internalising the labels that their social audience places upon them