Microsociology is one of the main levels of analysis (or focuses) of sociology, concerning the nature of everyday human social interactions 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. Methods include symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology; ethnomethodology in particular has led to many academic sub-divisions and studies such as micro-linguistics research and other related aspects of human social behaviour. Macrosociology, by contrast, concerns the social structure and broader systems.
Theory
Microsociology exists both as an umbrella term for perspectives which focus on agency, such as
Max Weber's theory of
social action, 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, sociology, and social anthropology—focusing more on individual interaction and thinking within groups, rather than just large social group/societal behaviour. At the micro level,
social status and
are the most important components of social structure. Microsociology forms an important perspective in many fields of study, including modern
psychosocial studies, conversational analysis and human-computer interaction. Microsociology continues to have a profound influence on research in all human fields, often under other names.
["...The theoretical premises and methodological approaches developed by microsociologists created a sharp juxtaposition with more conventional ways of prosecuting social science, and the ensuing debates can be said to have formed a primary fault line, at least in U.S. sociology" (Elliot B. Weininger and Omar Lizardo. Ritual, Emotion, Violence: Studies on the Micro-Sociology of Randall Collins, p. 3 [1]).]
Competing frames of reference
Some have considered that face-to-face interaction can be studied in at least three distinct (if overlapping) ways:
psychology; intersubjectivity; and microsociology.
Erving Goffman however saw a central tension between approaches, and those drawn from ethology, especially in respect of interpersonal ritual;[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.
Influences
Jean-Paul Sartre, in his work on the phenomenology of social dynamics,
Critique of Dialectical Reason, written in the late 1950s, called microsociology the only valid theory of human relations.
[Stack, George J. 1977. Satre's Philosophy of Social Existence. p. 56] Jürgen Habermas and
Pierre Bourdieu are two more recent theorists who have put microsociological concepts to good use in their works.
[Calhoun, Craig, et al. 2012. Contemporary Sociological Theory. p. 33.] R.D. Laing was much influenced by Garfinkel's ideas on "degradation ceremonies".
[Laing, R. D. 1984. The Politics of Experience. p. 86.]
(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, micro-level analysis,
human behavior, micro-community, everyday human life, human context,
microculture, focus on agency, have influenced and still influences today the
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 and
social work, which theoretically originates from
macrosociology or
mesosociology. 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 George Ritzer. .]
Empirical evidence from recorded conversations and the microsociology of emotion has proved of particular interest to students of interaction ritual.
See also
Further reading
-
Turner, Jonathan H. Sociology Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2006.
External links
