Interactionist Theory

Interactionist Theory

Interactionist theorists see sports as meaningful interaction between people. This view is based on the assumption that human behavior involves choices, and that choices are based on “meaningful definitions of the situation” that people create as they interact with others. Human beings choose to behave in certain ways, and our identities are formed through the interaction with people. They are never set. In fact, interactions can change over time. That is the reason, for example, why so many couples get divorced when a partner goes back to school. The interactions between partners change, one is advancing and the other is remaining the same, which then leads to different patterns of interactions.
Interactionist theorists research what meaning people give to things and events in their world, which tells us a lot about a person. They do not believe in the cause-effect model, as is used a lot in animal research and then applied to human beings. In many situations, people might react similarly, but they think independently which leads to numerous behavioral variations. Research methods include: ethnographic studies, observational methods, interviews, and more. Questions interactionists try to answer include: Why do some people get involved in sport and physical activity and others do not? How do people see their social worlds and their connections to those worlds?
Weaknesses: Interactionist theories almost solely focus on the interactions and personal relations of people in sport and physical activity. Thus, any explanation on how sport and physical activity partake in the construction of social reality and material conditions in society is missing. The connection between the personal experiences and the sport cultures or the systems of power and inequality that exist in societies, communities, organizations, families, and small groups are not addressed (Coakley, 2004). Issues of power, for example, are of central concern to people who use feminist and race theories.