soci 341 - chapter 1: meaning of symbolic interactionism

george h. mead (1863-1931): classic symbolic interactionism - emergence

• applied pragmatist philosophy into a theory & method for the social sciences, later called symbolic interactionism

• human beginnings are distinct because of capacity of language to use symbols to…

  • think & imagine

  • reason

  • communicate

  • coordinate

  • create social worlds & social reality

george h. mead (1863-1931): classic symbolic interactionism - symbols, the mind, process & agency pt. 1

• exchange of symbols is the basis of

  • human social interaction

  • exchange shared meanings & communicate with others

  • anticipate the likely actions of others in certain situations to coordinate our actions with theirs

  • distinguish our coordinated actions & interactions inside * outside of public view

george h. mead (1863-1931): classic symbolic interactionism - symbols, the mind, process & agency pt.2

• mead’s symbolic interactionist theory: social origins of the human mind, consisting of self-interaction & reflection based on social symbols

• emergence of the mind depends on brain development & social interaction

  • ex: infants are born with potential of mind (brain) & develop mind to adjust & adapt to a social world of symbolic interaction & social organization

  • satisfying biological impulses & desires (nature), & to use significant symbols to navigate a complex social world (nurture)

george h. mead (1863-1931): classic symbolic interactionism - symbols, the mind, process & agency pt.3

• taking the role of the other

  • aka role-taking

  • placing of oneself in the position of others & viewing the world & ourselves as objects

  • we acquire systems of shared meaning, ability to think (engage in internal conversation)

  • emergence of the mind through role-taking is crucial to the maintenance of society

george h. mead (1863-1931): classic symbolic interactionism - symbols, the mind, process & agency pt. 4

• process

  • processual nature of human interaction

  • “the key elements of human behavior, consciousness, interaction, role-taking, selfhood, & society, are continuously in flux, no static, or fixed

  • human behavior arises out of communication & is sustatined & transformed through process

george h. mead (1863-1931): classic symbolic interactionism - symbols, the mind, process & agency pt.5

• agency

  • creative nature of the human spirit, or free will

    • people are active & creative who shape their own behavior & social worlds, in contrast to behaviorist social psychologists emphasis on instincts & stimuli

    • subjective behavior (mental events) involving the mind process are central to human behavior, action & interaction in social context

      • aka social character of the human act

    • people are active, conscious, symbol-using agents who..

      • designate meanings & define situations

      • construct new realities & lines of action

herberet blumer (1900-1987): modern symbolic interactionism - blumer & mead

• blumer & mead

  • blumer was a student of mead

  • recognizes mead as the founder of symbolic interactionism (si)

  • si was a new social psychology that integrated, critiqued, & transcended the dominant social psychology approaches of the time

herberet blumer (1900-1987): modern symbolic interactionism - boundaries/premises of symbolic interactionism

• boundaries/premises of symbolic interactionism

  • humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings those things have for them

  • meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social action that one has with one’s fellows

  • meanings are handled in, & modified through, an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things someone encounters

herberet blumer (1900-1987): modern symbolic interactionism - modern symbolic interactionism

• guiding assumptions of symbolic interactionism

  • human begins are unique creature bc of their ability to use symbols [language]

  • people become distinctively human through interaction

  • people are conscious, self-reflexive beings who shape their own behavior

  • people are purposive creatures who act in & toward situations

  • society consists of people engaging in symbolic interaction

  • emotions are central to meaning, behavior, & the self

  • “social act” should be the fundamental unit of social psychological analysis

  • sociological methods should enable researchers to grasp people’s meanings