Symbolic Interactionism, Architecture, and the Self
Overview of Symbolic Interactionism
Origins and Key Figures:
The framework originated in the United States.
It is largely based on the seminal works of George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley.
George Herbert Mead is most often viewed as the founding theorist of the discipline.
Theoretical Scope:
It is a micro-level lens rather than a macro-level lens.
It contrasts with structural functionalism and conflict theory; while those emphasize objective and real social conditions, symbolic interactionism focuses on subjective experiences.
Core Tenets:
Human thinking is shaped by social interactions.
Through interactions, people learn meanings and symbols that allow them to exercise their capacity for thought.
Meanings are fluid and change based on context and how a social situation is interpreted.
Multiple people can experience the exact same event and derive entirely different meanings from it.
The Looking Glass Self and Physical Environment
Cooley’s Looking Glass Self:
This concept summarizes how we develop a self-image via cues received from others or what we believe others are communicating to us.
Step 1: We imagine how we appear to others.
Step 2: We imagine how other people would judge that appearance (e.g., "What do they think of me?").
Step 3: We reflect on that perceived judgment and develop a feeling about ourselves (e.g., pride, fear, shame), leading us to edit our self-presentation.
Relationship to the Physical World:
This framework applies not just to people but to our relationship with the built environment and the objects within it.
The design of the physical environment and the self are intertwined; the environment finds expression in the self and vice versa.
Architecture contains and communicates a society's shared symbols.
We assign agency to designed physical environments, which invites us to engage in self-reflection.
Foundational Perspectives on Environment and Self
George Herbert Mead: Mind, Self, and Society:
Mead analyzed how inanimate objects and the physical environment constitute the generalized other.
Definition of Generalized Other: The set of rules, expectations, and attitudes that we believe people in our society hold.
This set of attitudes guides behavior and conformity to social norms.
By taking the attitudes of the "generalized other" toward ourselves, we become conscious of ourselves as an individual/object and develop a personality.
Verbatim Quote: "Anything, any object or set of objects, whether an animate or inanimate, human or animal, or merely physical, toward which he acts or to which he responds socially is an element in what for him is the generalized other by taking the attitudes of which toward himself, he becomes conscious of himself as an object or individual and thus develops a self or personality."
Erving Goffman and Design Forms:
Goffman focused on self-presentation and the meanings attached to designed forms.
He argued people use visible signs to communicate social and economic status.
Categories of Social Design:
Status Symbols: Buildings, objects, or places expressing a prestigious lifestyle (e.g., gated communities, formal gardens, unusual lighting, expensive fabrics, metallic finishes, or a large wooden office desk).
Indigenous and Exotic Objects: Decorative objects evoking other times and places used for impression management to indicate worldliness (e.g., antique Japanese woodblock prints, Chinese antique furniture, early colonial American art, antique Persian rugs).
Collective Objects: Objects representing community, group, or class ties that promote social solidarity or act as mechanisms for exclusion (e.g., the Eiffel Tower).
Stigma Objects: Objects associated with "spoiled identities" or groups labeled as deviant (e.g., homeless shelters, slums, old-style prisons, asylums, Stalinist architecture).
Disidentifying Objects: Objects intended to evoke meanings that are inauthentic or misrepresentative of the occupant (e.g., homes filled with antiques or high-literary books that have never been read, used only to symbolize respectability).
Architectural Determinism vs. Agency
The Debate:
Some social scientists assume a direct, linear impact of design on behavior, known as architectural determinism.
Critics argue this is too simplistic and falls into the "structure versus agency" debate.
Giddens’ Perspective:
Built forms influence us, but we also negotiate, interpret, and reinterpret their meanings.
This is an ongoing process; meaning is not fixed and varies between different people and over time.
Case Study: Montreal Olympic Stadium:
Built for the Summer Olympics.
Initial Meaning: A symbol of progress and ambitious design (inclined tower, retractable roof).
Modern Meaning: Referred to as the "Big O"; seen as a symbol of wasted public money and impracticality (not paid off until , frequent roof repairs).
The Three Goals of Design Professionals
1. Preserving Existing Thought Systems/Ways of Life:
Historical Example: Mental Illness treatment and asylums.
Prior to the , the mentally ill were viewed as possessed and kept in dungeon-style prisons.
At the end of the , Philippe Pinel advocated for humane treatment (removing chains, ending beatings) and the construction of asylums.
From the late to the , asylums were isolated single buildings reflecting the ideology of separation.
In the and , deinstitutionalization occurred; professionals argued for integration, leading to the design of hospital wards, day centers, and community health centers.
Core Insight: Architecture reflects the authority of professionals to define the nature of illness and appropriate treatment.
2. Conveying Control:
Architecture can allow one group to exercise control over another.
Examples: Jim Crow laws in Canada and the United States used design to reinforce social inequalities.
Daphne Spain’s Research (): American women in the workforce were often spatially segregated in offices that lacked privacy and were under constant surveillance, limiting their access to information required for promotions.
3. Promoting Change:
Frederick Law Olmsted: Designed Central Park in New York City in the mid- to repair social divides during a wave of German and Irish immigration. He aimed to counteract private, gated areas like Saint John’s Park and Gramercy Park by creating a space for a collective urban identity.
Gender-Neutral Washrooms: Reflects a shift away from traditional ideas about sex and gender.
Universal Design: The goal is to make spaces usable by the entire population (age, ability). Requirements: These must be seamless integrations, not afterthoughts.
Universal Design Features: Curb cuts, ramps, lever handles (instead of knobs), automatic doors, auditory/visual instructions, and adjustable countertops.
Design Guidelines for Low-Rise, High-Density Housing
Key Resource: Housing as If People Mattered by Claire Cooper Marcus and Wendy Sarkisian ().
Methodology: Analysis of post-occupancy evaluations (surveys of tenant likes/dislikes) in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and New Zealand.
Critique of Industry: Governments and corporations focus on cost and speed, whereas Marcus and Sarkisian argue design should focus on how housing works for residents.
Design and Behavior: Design doesn't cause behavior, but it offers the possibility for certain activities. (Example: A waterfront with rough rocks discourages walking; a wooden path and lawn encourage it).
Recommendations and Preferences:
Density and Form: No linear relationship with satisfaction, but residents dislike uniform, institutional facades. Preference for "clusters" (smaller building groups) and more entrances with fewer units per entrance.
Window Placement: High satisfaction is linked to views of greenery and human activity. Residents hate views of blank walls, parking, or monotonous facades. (Tip: Use vines on blank walls if necessary).
Building Facade: Too much variation between units creates "relative deprivation" and jealousy. Units should look unique but within the same aesthetic parameters.
Materials: Residents prefer wood, red brick, and rectangular windows. They dislike steel, metal, gray brick, and circular "porthole" windows.
Personalization: Working-class residents often personalize exteriors (lawns, doors) to cultivate territory and identity. Wealthy residents do this less because the house/car itself is the status symbol.
Privacy vs. Community: Marcus and Sarkisian argue privacy is a more basic, universal need than community. Privacy must be established before neighboring can occur. They suggest low fences or hedges to demarcate public and private space.