The interactionist perspective in sociology is strongly influenced by which theorist?

• A. Karl Marx
• B. Emile Durkheim
• C. Max Weber
• D. Sigmund Freud

Answer: (C)

Interpreting everyday human action through the meanings people attach to it is what the interactionist perspective centers on. Max Weber is the best fit because he argued that to understand social life you must grasp the subjective meanings people give to their actions and to the actions of others—what he called verstehen, the interpretive understanding of social action. This micro-level focus on how individuals interpret and respond in social interactions is a hallmark of interactionist theory.

Other thinkers align with different directions: Karl Marx emphasizes conflict and economic structures; Emile Durkheim focuses on the functions of social institutions and the cohesion of society; Sigmund Freud centers on individual psychology and the unconscious.