Action and Behavior
Action and Behavior
[Action]
• It is any unit(s) of activity that individual does purposefully.
• Often used in sociology.
[Behavior]
• It is contrast with “action,” and is conducted unconsciously.
• Often used in psychology.
[Behavior]
• It is a conduct which is driven by forces beyond individual knowledge and control.
• Impetus reaction.
• Used for experiment with lower animals such as a mouse.
[Action]
• It is a conduct based on fully-conscious decision- making.
• It gives meaning to a certain impetus.
• Impetus giving meaning reaction
• In sociology, Weberian and symbolic interactionists tend to see action.
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Basic Structure of Action
Weber’s Action Theory
• Max Weber sees sociology as the explanation of social action and understanding actors’
meanings, purposes, values, etc.
• Weber raised four main types of action.
• Traditional or customary: Because our people have always done it like this.
• Affective: Because it is emotionally satisfying.
• Value-oriented: because it is the right thing to do.
• Instrumental: because it is the most effective way to achieve a certain end.
[Review]Basics of Symbolic Interactionism by Blumer
• According to Herbert Blumer (1969a)…
• People act toward things (objects) based on the meaning (and symbols) those things have
for them.
• These meanings are given through social interaction.
• The meanings can be modified through interpretation.
Socialization
Socialization
• A specific form of social interaction is called socialization.
• It is a process by which people learn the things in order to survive in society.
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• For instance, children learn society rules or culture from parents or at school.
• It is a lifelong process.
• There are two types of socialization: anticipatory socialization and resocialization.
Anticipatory Socialization
• It indicates processes of socialization in which a person prepares for future positions,
occupations, and social relationships.
• People learn the norms, values, and behavior associated with a certain positions, etc.
• Its practice starts since childhood.
Resocialization
• It refers to the process of abandoning former behavior patterns and accepting new ones.
• It happens in, for example, therapy groups, prisons, religious conversions.
• Its process involves considerable stress.
Milestones in the Transition to Adulthood in the US
Social Anomie
• If people socialized perfectly, and always followed social rules and norms, society
becomes stable and orderly, and will not change. However, it cannot be possible.
• Anomie means a confusion (or disappointment) of people or society due to either the
absence of group rules or serious conflict over them.
• In sociology, anomie is a concept first used by Emile Durkheim.
• According to Durkheim, under capitalism, however much people acquire, they always
wish for more. (e.g. mobile phone)
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• It means people always threatened by constant yearning and unhappiness at not attaining
their ambitions.
• Yet, mostly, people follow social rules and norms, by giving up their yearning.
• When people CANNOT give up their yearning, they try to attain it even in an unlawful
way.
• It is a crime under anomie (= People confused due to strong desire and forget to follow a
rule).
• If they don’t conduct a crime, they may borrow money, fell into a heavy debt, and may
kill themselves.
• It is suicide under anomie. (= People confused due to strong desire and commit suicide).
• When sudden social, political, or economic change has occurred, conditions of anomie
increase. (e.g. economic depression, natural disaster)
Five Elements of Social Structure
• All social actions and interactions occur in social structure.
• Any social structure can break into five elements: (1) statuses, (2) social roles, (3) groups,
(4) social networks, and (5) social institutions.
• In this course, we will study (1) (2) and (5).
Statuses
• In sociology, the term status refers to any of socially defined positions within a large
group or society, from the lowest to the highest. (Not limited to higher position.)
• A person can hold plural statuses at the same time.
• There are two kinds of statuses: Ascribed status and achieved status.
Ascribed status
• It is given to a person by society, mostly at birth, such as a person’s nationality, racial
background, gender, and age.
• It often has social or cultural meanings.
• Mostly, we CANNOT change ascribed status.
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Achieved status
• It comes to us largely through our own efforts.
• For example, student, professor, president, pianist …
• The ascribed status often influences on achieved status. (e.g. Women face difficulty to get
a certain job.)
Examples of Social Statuses
• When a person has to do with somebody, mostly, s/he does so as a person of a certain
status with a person of another status.
• For example, a daughter with father, a friend with a friend, an employee and an employer.
Social Roles
• Throughout our lives, we acquire what sociologists call social roles.
• It is a set of expectation for people who occupy a certain status.
• It is actions that people of a certain status should do.
• Each social status comes with particular role expectations.
• For example,
A student: ____________________
A parent: _____________________
A taxi driver: ______________________________
• However, actual performance varies individual to individual. (e.g. student)
Me
Ascribed statuses Achieved statuses
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Social Roles and Responsibility
• According to functionalists, roles contribute to a society’s stability by enabling members
to expect the actions of others and to form their own actions accordingly. (e.g. taxi
driver).
• Thus, people have responsibility to act as expected in order to keep social stability.
Role Conflict
• Role conflict occurs when we are expected to conduct two or more incompatible social
roles at the same time.
• For example, working mother has a difficulty to go together as a mother, a wife, and an
office worker.
• Other examples: university students, middle-level executives.
• People solve the conflict by managing time, distributing energy effectively, or giving up
one role.
• Another role conflict also occurs when fulfilment of the roles of one status may violate
the roles of a second status. (e.g. as a member of student union, and as a friend)
• Other examples: When a person take occupations that are not common among people
with their ascribed status. (e.g. Male baby-sitter, or female police officer.)