Interactionism

what is interactionism

interactionists focus on individual behaviour in everyday social situations. these theories are concerned with discovering and thereby understanding the process by which iterations between individuals or small groups take place.

they study how people come to interpret and see things as they do, how they define their identities, and how the reactions of others can affect their view of things and their sense of their own identity.

what is labelling

a tag is applied to an individual which influences both their behaviour and the way others respond to them

whats a master status

being labelled can become their master status. the persons sense of self changes to make them think they are what they are labelled. its what they expect to be and what others expect

whats a self-fulfilling prophecy

this is a developed master status and the person becomes what they they should be it least in part as a consequence of the label that has been applied to them by others.

explain negotiation

interactist socialists believe that people have ‘free will’ and that they are not forced to behave accordingly to social norms, they choose to do so or not to do so. interactionalists that a process of negotiation occurs. a person does not have to follow the path set by others and may successfully change the view that others have of them