Ethnomethodology

History and Definition

In the United States in the 1960s, Harold Garfinkel first coined the term and developed the school of ethnomethodology. The term means the study (ology) of people (ethno). Its foundation lies in Europe, generally based on the work of phenomenologists Edmund Husserl and Alfred Schutz. Schutz's writings redevelop Max Weber's verstehen (sympathetic introspections or understanding behavior from the perspective of those engaged in it). Phenomenology is the counterpart to scientific positivism, which views the social world as objective reality. Positivism perceives society as external to, and dominant over, the individual. In ethnomethodology, nature and culture influence human experiences in an intersubjective manner, given that interaction with others creates social worlds. Early ethnomethodological studies involved college students “bargaining” in a grocery store by insisting on paying more for jelly beans than the sale price indicated and pretending to be boarders in their own homes.

Focus and Application

Although ethnomethodology links symbolic interaction and dramaturgy, it differs in methodology and focus. It requires that the researcher shed preconceived notions of how social order is maintained and instead focus on the fluidity, the constantly changing nature of social structure. Social order occurs through member interaction and cooperation; it is not something detached from, and imposed on, members.

People tend to share the manner in which they experience the social world. Our culturally shared understanding of how social life is conducted facilitates interaction. Interaction rests not on anonymous relationships but on the subjectivity of membership categories (e.g., mother, employer, female, white, etc.) that identify those engaged in the interaction. [Page 337]In human interaction, nothing in the interactive process is completely objective or subjective. Explanations individuals provide result from their cultural and personal experiences and expectations (biographies).

Ethnomethodology thus focuses on the documentary evidence (accounts) that members provide by questioning the taken-for-granted to reveal the norms that help maintain social order. Ethnomethodologists analyze mutually related factors regarding the interrelations of actors in a given situation in everyday life. These factors refer to the indexical and reflexive character of the interaction process. Indexicality is a term used to explain the interpretive nature of human interaction. The context in which, or vantage point from which, to view an individual or social situation impacts the “construction” of the “reality.” The term reflexivity refers to the intuitive nature and common-sense component of interaction. Based on the appropriateness of manner and circumstance, individuals are accountable for engaging in socially acceptable behavior.

Communication in general, and the use of language in particular, play important roles in ethnomethodology, as these reveal the organization of people's ideas. Words have meaning in the context of their use; that is, individuals use words that fit their circumstances and the language patterns of those with whom they interact. Labels attached to behavior are given symbolic meaning through the subjective understanding of situations in everyday life.

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