Interactionism in Sociology

Social Order and Interactionism

• Interactionism posits that social order is created through everyday interactions and the meanings individuals assign to their actions.
• From the interactionism perspective, 'society' is viewed as an ongoing process of social interactions that form the basis of connections and relationships among individuals.

Garfinkel's Experiment

• Garfinkel's experiment highlights the assumptions individuals hold about social order by intentionally breaching social norms, revealing the fluidity of social meanings.

Imposing Order through Meaning

• People aim to impose order by interpreting and assigning meaning to their behaviors, thereby creating a shared understanding that facilitates social cohesion.

Giddens' Structuration Perspective

• Giddens emphasizes the duality of structure, suggesting that social structures are both the medium and outcome of social practices, influencing behavior while being shaped by it.
• Structuration informs how rules develop within social interactions, as individuals negotiate and redefine these rules through their ongoing interactions.

Reflexivity in Structuration

• Reflexivity refers to the ability of individuals to reflect on and influence their actions based on the social context, allowing for continual adaptation of behavior.

Acceptance or Rejection of Rules

• Giddens explains acceptance or rejection of certain rules based on individuals’ interpretations and the contexts in which they operate, highlighting the dynamic nature of rule adherence.

Focus of Interactionists

• Interactionists prioritize the micro-level of social interactions, analyzing how individuals create meaning through their everyday encounters.

Social Context and Behavior Meaning

• Social context significantly impacts the interpretation of behaviors, as meanings can shift based on situational factors and collective understanding.

Labelling Theory

• Labelling theory proposes that categorizing individuals influences their identities and societal roles, affecting how they are perceived and treated by others.

Schutz on Objective Social World

• Schutz argues that an objective social world emerges from intersubjective experiences, where shared understandings create a sense of reality among individuals.

Wrong's Criticism

• Wrong criticized the ‘over-socialized conception of man’, suggesting it underrepresents individual agency by overly emphasizing the role of socialization in human behavior.

Existence of Societies

• Societies emerge through the continuous interactions and shared meanings among individuals, fostering communities that evolve over time.

Changing Meanings

• Meanings assigned to various objects and behaviors are subject to change based on evolving social contexts and interactions among individuals.

Wrong Against Socialization Effects

• Wrong contends that human behavior cannot be entirely explained by socialization, advocating for recognition of individual agency and unique personal experiences.

Impact of Labelling Theory

• Labelling theory emphasizes that the act of naming and categorizing can reinforce societal stereotypes, affecting individuals' self-concept and behavior in significant ways.

Test your understanding of interactionism, a general microsociological approach which claims that order and control are created 'from the bottom up' through people's daily routines and behavior. Explore how 'society' is viewed as a term used to explain the limits placed on behavior.