Symbolic interactionism

Question 1

Symbols verus instinct

Answer 1

Mead

• Observed, unlike animals, our behaviour is not shaped by fixed, pre-programmed instincts
• We respond to the world by giving meanings to the things that are significant to us
• We create and inhabit a world of meanings - attaching symbols to the world

Question 2

The looking glass

Answer 2

Cooley

• Uses this idea to describe how we develop our self concept
• Arises out of ability to to take on the role of the other, we come to see ourselves as they see us
• Others act as a looking glass to us, we see our self mirrored in the way they respond to us

Question 3

Dramaturgical model

Answer 3

Goffman

• We actively construct our ‘self’ by manipulating other’s impressions of us
• Uses analogies with drama as a framework for social interaction
• We are all ‘actors’ using props, resting backstage between performances

Question 4

Evaluation of symbolic interactionism

Answer 4

• Focuses on face to face interactions and ignores wider social structures such as class inequality, fails to explain the origin of labels , does not explain consistent patterns we observe in people’s behavior