Final answer:
Antipositivism is a theory in social science that seeks to understand the subjective experiences of individuals, asserting that reality is socially constructed and influenced by individual perspectives, culture, and power relations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The theory that rejects positivism and aims to embrace subjectivity and collaboration in the study of social processes, cultural norms, and societal values is known as antipositivism. This approach aligns with qualitative sociology, which comprises information that is subjective and often based on observations in natural settings. Antipositivism is a view within social science that challenges the traditional positivist approach which sought objective truth through quantifiable data. Instead, antipositivists believe that reality is a social construction, heavily influenced by culture, power relations, and individual perspectives. This epistemological stance is reflected in various theoretical frameworks such as constructivism and postmodernism, which argue that knowledge and reality are not fixed entities but are complex and ever-changing as constructed by individuals and societies.
Constructivism extends from symbolic interaction theory and suggests that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be. Therefore, researchers adopting an antipositivist approach tend to rely on qualitative methods to gain an in-depth understanding of how individuals and groups perceive their social worlds. Moreover, dramaturgical analysis and conflict theory are examples of sociological approaches that resonate with antipositivism, focusing on the metaphor of society as a theatrical performance and the competition for limited resources, respectively.