Symbolic Interactionism

G.H. Mead (U.S., 1863-1931)

• influenced by Pragmatism, school of American philosophy

• focus on practical conditions and consequences of action

• the self

  • active, ongoing reflexive processing and evaluation of the self

  • self: subject (“I”) and object (“Me”)

  • dynamic interaction between the “I” and the “Me”

The Self

• the individual takes on or internalizes the attitudes of others toward him/her (“Me”)

• the individual responds or reacts to those attitudes (“I”)

• the self emerges out of social interaction

  • selves can only exist in definite relationships to others selves

• the looking-glass self (Cooley)

• the self is maintained through ongoing interaction with others

Role Taking

• central to Mead’s theory

• look at self as an object

• the mind - ability to use symbols, to interpret another’s gestures, to anticipate and wait for a stimulus to respond, to imagine

• stages of role taking

  • play stage

  • game stage

  • generalized other

Self & Society

• self as a perspective, conversation, and a story

• develops through role taking and internalization of language

• “I” is the impulse to act while “Me” is the product of role taking and made up of socially legitimated responses

• mind, self, and society mutually constitute one another

  • negotiated interaction between the individual, the situation, and society

Socialization

• teaches us how to be social

• we learned to interpret symbols, language

• primary group: the family typically first and most enduring source of influence on the individual

• we learn what’s what in our social environment

• how things are defined; generalized and generalizable definitions of the situation (W.I. Thomas)

The Act

• similar to behavioralism - look at the individual’s action

• 4 stages as part of the act

  • impulse - immediate sensuous stimulation (ex. hunger)

  • perception - actor searches for and responds to stimuli related to impulse

  • manipulation - taking action in regard to stimuli

  • consumption - taking final action that satisfies impulse

Meaningful Interaction

• human interaction, not simply conditioned

• emphasis on shared meanings; shared interpretations of symbols and of how to respond to symbols, gestures, ither selves

• communication: the exchange of symbols whose meanings are shared

Symbolic Interaction

• focus: centrality of symbolic exchange to human-social life

• ongoing exchange of symbols in social interaction

• self-other interpretive processes in social interaction

• focus on face-to-face interaction

• face-to-face interaction a micro process that has macro societal implications

Socially Contextualized Meaning

• the meaning of things - objects, events, interaction, other people - changes in different societal contexts

• meaning is socially structured

• different social environments, different social situations (work, classroom, home), impose different social expectations

Mead on…

• intelligence