**4.3. Ethnomethodology**

"simultaneity... for it means that I grasp the subjectivity of the alter ego at the same time as I live in my own stream of consciousness... and this grasp [of] simultaneity of the other as well as his reciprocal grasp of me, makes possible 'our' being in the world together". The foundation of this concept is based on the social world, on the lifeworld; therefore, it is an intersubjective world, not a private world, one that is common to all. However, the inter‐ subjective world is not only composed of subjective sensitivities, that is, what is received by the senses, but also of subjects' interpretations of those sensations. Therefore, it is based on how the subject interprets his/her surrounding world, as well as on the elements that condition this surrounding world and that make it possible to change or maintain the

**• Typifications and recipes:** in the social world or lifeworld, people have a store of knowl‐ edge. A great part of this knowledge comprises what are known as "typifications" and "recipes". Typifications are schemes of reference, "knowledge that the world we live in is a world of more or less well circumscribed objects with more or less definite qualities, objects among which we move, which resist us and upon which we may act" [27]. Typifications exist in society; they are socially approved and are acquired through the socialization process and throughout the course of life. In contrast, recipes concern the knowledge used to understand or control aspects of experience, in other words, aspects that are related to situations and actions in the lifeworld, whereas typifications refer to the knowledge used

**• Meanings and motives:** action constitutes a human conduct consciously projected by the actor; hence, social action is that which involves the attitudes and actions of others, and is aimed at them during the course of the action. Meanings refer to the way in which actors determine what aspects of the social world are important to them, whereas motives attempt

**• Roles:** defined as the typifications of what actors are expected to do in certain social situations. In the field of HIV research, the study of gender roles, both male and female, has been used to understand the reasons for why people maintain unsafe HIV behaviours

**• Reification:** this concept is an analytical tool used by the authors from an integral perspec‐ tive of the social world. Reification is the tendency to perceive human products "as if they were something other than human products – such as facts of nature, results of cosmic laws,

**• Legitimizations:** these centre on the knowledge of reality in order to legitimize their

In short, phenomenological sociology constitutes an important conceptual tool for approach‐ ing the study of HIV. This is the case because it is a theoretical perspective that permits for capturing the subjective meanings that people attach to their actions; additionally, it serves to describe and understand interpretations of meanings within the world, as well as for gaining

a sense of the actions and interactions of people who are HIV-positive.

subject's interpretations and actions.

36 Trends in Basic and Therapeutic Options in HIV Infection - Towards a Functional Cure

to understand people or objects.

or manifestations of divine will" [27].

[28-30].

existence.

to reveal the reasons that explain the actions of the actors.

The primary objective of this theory is to analyse the individual's actions in daily life. Thus, it analyses how people define and construct, face-to-face (through interaction), each social situation. The traits that constitute social order are products of the activity itself. This order is "produced by the participants" and essentially carried out by means of verbalization [31]. Therefore, the study of language (the decoding of cultural meanings) acquires great impor‐ tance. The study of social representations of HIV has been very relevant for understanding the perceptions and meanings related to HIV among the general population. For instance, a study recently conducted in South Africa analysed the discourse on risk perception that adolescents have in order to assess whether the contents of HIV prevention campaigns were suitable [32].

For an ethnomethodology, social reality is above all a reflexive and interactive activity that is socially constructed. According to this theoretical model, human society is the result of repeated interpretations that occur during the course of interaction. Ethnomethodologists' concern is that which Weber calls "significant behaviour" [21]. In order to understand this theoretical approach and its relevance for the study of the HIV phenomenon, it is necessary to know how it views social reality, the most significant premises in this context being the following five situations [33]:


Authors such as Caballero (1991) have described and analysed some basic concepts developed by ethnomethodologists, which constitute highly useful analytical tools for understanding and studying the HIV phenomenon [34], namely:

**• Explanations:** by means of the explanation process, people make sense of the world [35]. Explanations are used by actors to do things such as describing, analysing, criticizing and idealizing specific situations [36]. As such, this theory has been applied for identifying the reasons why people living with HIV leave treatment services [37]. Additionally, this theory has been applied for identifying the reasons why certain preventive practices, such as making an early diagnosis, are not acquired by certain populations [38-40].

