Symbolic interactionism Flashcards
“founder” of symbolic interactionism
Mead (1863-1931)
Symbolic interactionism sees society
as built up by the interactions of people which take place on the basis of meanings held by individuals
Blumer suggests interactionism has 3 basic features
- people act in terms of symbols (things like objects, words, expressions, gestures) that stand for something else and to which individuals attach meanings which affect their actions
- these meanings develop from interaction with others and can change during the interaction
- meanings arise from an interpretative process as people try to interpret the meanings other people prescribe by imagining themselves in their position, and successful interaction happens when these interpretations of meanings are correct
symbol (definition)
something, like an object,word, expression or gesture that stands for something else and to which individuals have attached some meaning
Cooley (symbolic interactionism) - the ‘looking glass self’
the idea that the image of ourselves is reflected back to us in the views of others. As we consider the reflection of ourselves in the reactions of those around us, we change our behaviour and our view of ourselves.
Cooley (symbolic interactionism) - looking glass self quote
“I am not what I think I am and I am not what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am”
Symbolic interactionism views the task of sociology as to understand
- how the meanings individuals give to situations are constructed in face-to-face interactions
- how individuals and situations come to be defined or classified and labelled in particular ways
- the consequences for individual behaviour of such definitions, as people will behave according to the way they and others see situations
Symbolic interactionism and labelling theory
suggests that labels will affect the way those who are labelled will behave
for example, black youth who are labelled as deviant may become more hostile to the police
sociologists should study how and why people are labelled and what happens to the behaviour of people who have been labelled
Goffman (symbolic interactionism) - impression management
used a dramaturgical model, suggesting that like actors on stage, people in society are constantly trying to manage the impressions of others by putting on a ‘show’ based on the identities they wish to assert
Goffman (symbolic interactionism) - Impression management definition
the way individuals try to convince others of the identity they wish to assert by giving particular impressions of themselves to other people
Symbolic interactionism - critique of structural approaches
they do not penetrate micro interactions and the generation and interpretation of meanings that people attach to their behaviour and to that of others, which influence people’s behaviour constantly
