Symbolic Interactionism

What does symbolic interactionism focus on?

Our ability to create the social world through our actions and interactions, and sees these interactions as based on the meanings we give to situations. We convey these meanings through symbols, especially language.

What did Mead observe?

That, unlike animals, our behaviour is not shaped by fixed, pre-programmed instincts. Instead we respond to the world by giving meanings to the things that are significant to us. We do this by attaching symbols to the world.

What is a symbol?

Something that stands for or represents something else.

Unlike animals, who respond to a stimulus in an automatic, pre-determined way, what do humans do?

An interpretive phase comes between the stimulus and our response to it - before we know to respond to the stimulus, we have to interpret its meaning. Once we have done this, we can then choose an appropriate response.

How does Mead illustrate how humans respond to stimuli?

Mead illustrates this with an example. When one dog snarls at another, the snarl acts as a direct stimulus, to which the second dog responds instinctively, automatically adopting a defensive posture. There is no conscious interpretation by the dog of the other's actions.

By contrast, if I shake my fist at you, I am using a symbol - one that has a variety of possible meanings. To understand what is going on, you must interpret the meaning of this symbol. For instance, am I angry, or just joking? You may decide I am angry with you. Only then will you be able to choose how to respond.

In Mead’s view, how do we manage to interpret other people’s meanings?

We do so by taking the role of the other - putting ourselves in the place of the other person and seeing ourselves as they see us.

What does our ability to take the role of the other develop through?

Social interaction. We first do this as young children: through initiative play when we take on the role of significant others such as parents, and learn to see ourselves as they see us. Later, we come to see ourselves from the POV of the wider community - the generalised other.

For Mead, to function as members of society, what do we need?

The ability to see ourselves as others see us. Through shared symbols, especially language, we become conscious of the ways of acting that others require of us.

What did Blumer do after Mead’s death?

He tried to systemise his ideas and in doing so, identified three key principles.

What are the three key principles identified by Mead?

1. Our actions are based on the meanings we give to situations, events, people etc. Unlike animals, our actions are not based on automatic responses to stimuli.

2. These meanings arise from the interaction process. They are not fixed at the outset of the interaction, but are negotiable and changeable to some extent.

3. The meanings we give to situations are the result of the interpretive procedures we use - especially taking the role of the other.

What does Blumer’s view of human conduct contrast strongly with?

Structural theories such as functionalism. Functionalists see the individual as a puppet, passively responding to the system’s needs. Socialisation and social control ensure that individuals conform to society’s norms and perform their roles in fixed and predictable ways.

In contrast to functionalism, what does Blumer argue?

That although our action is partly predictable because we internalise the expectations of others, it is not completely fixed. There is always room for negotiation and choice in how we perform our roles/

What is one of the best-known applications of interactionist theory?

Labelling theory; theorists use interactionist concepts in the study of many areas, including education, health and crime and deviance.

What are three key interactionist concepts that underpin labelling theory?

• The definition of the situation.

• The looking glass self.

• Career.

What is the definition of the situation?

A definition of something is of course a label for that thing. Thomas argued that if people define a situation as real, then it will have real consequences. That is, if we believe something to be true, then this belief will affect how we act, and this in turn may have consequences for those involved.

What is an example of the definition of the situation?

For example, if a teacher labels a boy as 'troublesome' (whether or not he really is, the teacher will be likely to act differently towards him - for example, punishing him more harshly.

What is the looking glass self?

The looking glass self Cooley uses this idea to describe how we develop our self-concept - our idea of who we are. He argues that our self-concept arises out of our ability to take the role of the other. In interactions, by taking the role of the other, we come to see ourselves as they see us. In other words, others act as a looking glass to us - we see our self mirrored in the way they respond to us.

Through this process, a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs - we become what others see us as.

What do labelling theorists use the definition of the situation and the looking glass self to understand?

Labelling theorists use the definition of the situation and the looking glass self to understand the effects of labelling. For example, an individual may find that relatives or psychiatrists define him as mentally ill and respond to him differently, reflecting their view of him as sick or abnormal. Through the looking glass self, the label becomes part of the individual's self-concept. He takes on the role of 'mental patient' and a self-fulfilling prophecy is created when he acts it out. Even if the initial definition of him was false, it has become true and may have real consequences. For example he may find himself detained in a psychiatric hospital.

What is the career?

In normal usage, a career is the stages through which an individual progresses in their occupation, each with its own status, job title, problems etc. However, labelling theorists such as Becker and Lemert  have extended the concept to apply  it to groups such as medical students.

What is an example of the career?

add later

What is interactionism generally regarded as?

A volunaristic theory that emphasises free will and choice in how we act.

What has labelling theory been accused of?

Determinism - of seeing our actions and identities as shaped by the way others label them.

What does labelling theory describe?

How the self is shaped through interaction. It often sees the individual as the passive victim of other people’s label’s.

What does the work of Goffman describe?

How we actively construct out ‘self‘ by manipulating other people’s impression of us.

What is Goffman’s approach often described as, and why?

Dramaturgical because he uses analogies with drama as a framework for analysing social interaction/ We are all ‘actors‘, acting our ‘scrips‘ using ‘props‘, resting ‘backstage‘ between ‘performances‘ we present to out ‘audiences‘ and so on. Our aim is to carry off a convincing performance of the role we have adopted - just as the actor aims to persuade the audience.

What are the two key dramaturgical concepts?

The presentation of self and impression management. For Goffman, we seek to present a particular image of ourselves to our audiences.

What does impression management involve?

We must control the impression our performance gives. This involves constantly studying our audience to see how they are responding and monitoring and adjusting our performance to present a convincing image.

As social actors, what do we have?

Many techniques for impression management; we may use language, tone of voice, gestures and facial expressions, as well as props and settings such as dress, make-up, equipment, furniture, decor and premises.

What does Goffman use the dramaturgical analogy to describe?

The different settings of interactions. As in theatre, there is a ‘front‘ or stage where we act out our roles, while backstage, we can step out of our role and be ‘ourselves‘ .

What sociological perspective does Goffman’s view of roles differ sharply from?

Functionalism; functionalists see roles as tightly ‘scripted‘ by society and they see us as fully internalising our scripts through socialisation. As a result, they become part of our identity and society determines exactly how we will perform them.

Why does Goffman reject the functionalist view of roles?

He argues there is a ‘gap‘ or role distance between our real self and our roles. Roles are only loosely scripted by society and we have a good deal of freedom in how we play them.

What does the idea of role distance suggest?

That we do not always believe in the roles we play and that our role performance may be cynical or calculating.

What does interactionalism largely avoid?

The determinism of structural theories such as functionalism. IT recognises that people create society through their choices and meanings.

Why do some people criticise interactionism?

They argue it is more a loose collection of descriptive concepts than an explanation theory.

What does interactionism focus on?

Face-to-face interactions and ignores wider social structures such as class inequality, and it fails to explain the origin of labels. Similarly, it cannot explain the consistent patterns we observe in people’s behaviour.

Is all action meaningful?

No, like Weber’s category of traditional action, much is performed unconsciously or routinely, and may have little meaning for actors which interactionism fails to explain

What do ethnomedologists argue?

That interactionism is correct in focusing on actors’ meanings, but it fails to explain how actors create meanings.