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Microsociology is one of the main levels of analysis (or focuses) of
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
, concerning the nature of everyday human
social interaction A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
s and agency on a small scale: face to face.Smelser, Neil J. 1997. ''Problematics of Sociology.''. Microsociology is based on subjective interpretative analysis rather than statistical or empirical observation,Goffman, Erving. 1972. ''Relations in Public.'' and shares close association with the philosophy of
phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...
. Methods include
symbolic interactionism Symbolic interactionism is a sociological theory that develops from practical considerations and alludes to particular effects of communication and interaction in people to make images and normal implications, for deduction and correspondence w ...
and
ethnomethodology Ethnomethodology is the study of how social order is produced in and through processes of social interaction.Garfinkel, H. (1974) 'The origins of the term ethnomethodology', in R.Turner (Ed.) Ethnomethodology, Penguin, Harmondsworth, pp 15–18. I ...
; ethnomethodology in particular has led to many academic sub-divisions and studies such as micro-
linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
al research and other related aspects of human social behaviour.
Macrosociology Macrosociology is a large-scale approach to sociology, emphasizing the analysis of social systems and populations at the structural level, often at a necessarily high level of theoretical abstraction. Though macrosociology ''does'' concern itself ...
, by contrast, concerns the
social structure In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...
and broader systems.


Theory

Microsociology exists both as an umbrella term for perspectives which focus on agency, such as
Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...
's theory of
social action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ...
, and as a body of distinct techniques, particularly in American sociology. The term was conceived by Georges Gurvitch in 1939, borrowing the term from the micro-physics and referring to the irreducible and unstable nature of everyday forms of sociality. It also provided an extra dimension between the studies of
social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...
, sociology, and
social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...
—focusing more on individual interaction and thinking within groups, rather than just large social group/societal behaviour. At the micro level,
social status Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...
and
social role A role (also rôle or social role) is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by people in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behavior and may have a given indivi ...
s are the most important components of social structure. Microsociology forms an important perspective in many fields of study, including modern
psychosocial The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and their ability to function. This approach is ...
studies, conversational analysis and human-computer interaction. Microsociology continues to have a profound influence on research in all human fields, often under other names.


Competing frames of reference

Some have considered that
face-to-face interaction Face-to-face interaction is social communication carried out without any mediating technology. It is defined as the mutual influence of individuals’ direct physical presence with their body language and verbal language. It is one of the basic ...
can be studied in at least three distinct (if overlapping) ways:
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
;
intersubjectivity In philosophy, psychology, sociology, and anthropology, intersubjectivity is the relation or intersection between people's cognitive perspectives. Definition is a term coined by social scientists to refer to a variety of types of human interac ...
; and microsociology.
Erving Goffman Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born sociology, sociologist, Social psychology (sociology), social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth ...
however saw a central tension between Durkheimian approaches, and those drawn from
ethology Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...
, especially in respect of interpersonal ritual; while followers of him have seen in a Durkheimian microsociology the key to the understanding of large-scale social conflict as well.Collins, Randall. 2004. ''Interaction Ritual Chains.'' Erving Goffman's theories of social interaction challenged other sociologists to redirect their focus to the questionable aspects of social behavior. Contrary to Erving Goffman's theory,
Émile Durkheim David Émile Durkheim ( or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science, al ...
believed that advanced methodological principles should guide sociologists and that they should research
social fact In sociology, social facts are values, cultural norms, and social structures that transcend the individual and can exercise social control. The French sociologist Émile Durkheim defined the term, and argued that the discipline of sociology should ...
.


Influences

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...
, in his work on the phenomenology of social dynamics, ''
Critique of Dialectical Reason ''Critique of Dialectical Reason'' (french: Critique de la raison dialectique) is a 1960 book by the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, in which the author further develops the existentialist Marxism he first expounded in his essay '' Search for a Met ...
'', written in the late 1950s, called microsociology the only valid theory of human relations.
Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas (, ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas's wor ...
and
Pierre Bourdieu Pierre Bourdieu (; 1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influence i ...
are two more recent theorists who have put microsociological concepts to good use in their works. The famous psychiatrist,
R.D. Laing Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), usually cited as R. D. Laing, was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illnessin particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing's views on the causes and treatment of ...
, was much influenced by Garfinkel's ideas on "degradation ceremonies". Another famous English writer/polymath who is greatly influenced by the ideas of studying the minutiae of human social action is Jonathan Miller.


(Humanistic) social work

Key issues, categories and principles of the microsociology, such as human relations, face-to-face interaction, interpretive/ qualitative analysis, attachment and
empathy Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...
, micro-level analysis,
human behavior Human behavior is the potential and expressed capacity ( mentally, physically, and socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external stimuli throughout their life. Kagan, Jerome, Marc H. Bornstein, and Richard M. L ...
, micro-community, everyday human life, human context,
microculture Microculture refers to the specialised subgroups, marked with their own languages, ethos and rule expectations, that permeate differentiated industrial societies. A microculture depends on the smallest units of organization – dyads, groups, o ...
, focus on agency, have influenced and still influences today the
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
theory and practice, having a crucial role in the emergence of humanistic social work (Petru Stefaroi),Stefaroi, Petru. 2012. "Humanistic Paradigm of Social Work or Brief Introduction in Humanistic Social Work." ''Social Work Review'' 10(1):161–74. as response to the
structural A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such ...
and
system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...
ic social work, which theoretically originates from
macrosociology Macrosociology is a large-scale approach to sociology, emphasizing the analysis of social systems and populations at the structural level, often at a necessarily high level of theoretical abstraction. Though macrosociology ''does'' concern itself ...
or
mesosociology Mesosociology is the study of intermediate (''meso'') social forces and stratification such as income, age, gender, race, ethnicity, organizations and geographically circumscribed communities. Mesosociology lies between analysis of large-scale m ...
. This is why Malcolm Payne considers microsociology a fundamental theoretical-methodological source of this postmodern and innovative orientation from the contemporary social work, especially of the humanistic social work practice.Malcolm Payne. 2011. ''Humanistic Social Work: Core Principles in Practice''. Chicago: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 9.


Research

Research begins by evaluating the social life of the individuals with the goal of showing the reciprocal relationship between events/actions and the nature of the societal context in which they occur.Scheff, Thomas J. 2007
"Microsociology"
edited by G. Ritzer. .
Empirical evidence from recorded conversations and the microsociology of emotion has proved of particular interest to students of interaction ritual.


See also

* Generalized other *
George Herbert Mead George Herbert Mead (February 27, 1863 – April 26, 1931) was an American philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. He is regarded a ...
*
Human ethology Human ethology is the study of human behavior. Ethology as a discipline is generally thought of as a sub-category of biology, though psychological theories have been developed based on ethological ideas (e.g. sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, ...
*
Kurt Lewin Kurt Lewin ( ; 9 September 1890 – 12 February 1947) was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology in the United States. During his professional career Lewin applied hi ...
*
Proxemics Proxemics is the study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behaviour, communication, and social interaction. Proxemics is one among several subcategories in the study of nonverbal communication, including haptics ...
*
Socialization In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultur ...


References

{{Reflist, 40em


Further reading

* Turner, Jonathan H. ''Sociology'' Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2006.


External links


Thomas Scheff, 'Microsociology'
Methods in sociology