Symbolic Interactionism

1
Symbolic Interactionism

• Of George Herbert Mead
• Chapter 4 of Em Griffin (4th ed)

2
Symbolic Interactionism

• Mead was a philosophy Professor at U. Of Chicago
  during the first third of the 20th century
• Mead thought that the true test of any theory is
  whether or not it is useful in solving complex
  social problems
• After Mead died in 1934, his students wrote up
  his ideas in Mind, Self, and Society

3

• Mead claimed the most human activity that people
  can engage in is talking to each other
• Blumer stated 3 core principles of symbolic
  interactionism
• MEANING THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL REALITY
• Language The Source of Meaning
• Thought Taking the Role of the Other

4
Meaning

• Blumer starts with the premise that humans act
  toward people or things on the basis of the
  meanings they assign to those people or things

• The construction of social reality refers to our
  perceptions, how we interpret things around
  us--what is real in social reality is what we
  perceive

5
Language

• Blumers 2nd premise is that meaning arises out
  of the social interaction that people have with
  each other. Meaning is not inherent in objects.
  Meaning is negotiated through the use of
  language--hence the term symbolic interactionism

• Mead believed that symbolic naming is the basis
  for society knowing and naming are closely
  linked together

6
Language

• Symbolic interaction is not just a means for
  intelligent expression its also the way we
  learn to interpret the world the story of the
  surgery who couldnt operate on the boy, p. 55

• The words we use have default assumptions
• The subtle tyranny of symbols--we usually dont
  consciously think about our mental jumps to the
  defaults.

7
CLICKER QUESTION

• According to symbolic interactionism, the meaning
  we get from talking to someone is found in the
  words uttered.

A TRUE B FALSE
8
Thought taking the Role of the Other

• Blumers 3rd premise is that an individuals
  interpretation of symbols is modified by his/her
  own thought processes. Thinking is described as
  inner conversation, called Minding

• Minding is reflecting, figuring out your next
  move, anticipating, testing alternatives
• Meads greatest contribution to our understanding
  of the way we think is his notion that human
  beings have the unique capacity to take the role
  of the other.

9
CLICKER QUESTION

• Inner conversation plays no role in the
  communication process.

A TRUE B FALSE
10
Taking the Role of the Other

• Taking the role of the other allows us to see our
  self
• Through meaning (interpreting the world),
  language (social interaction), and thought (role
  taking) we arrive at the self (a reflection in a
  looking glass)

• We see our self not by introspection, but by
  taking the role of the other and imagining how
  we look to another person (the looking-glass
  self)

11
The Looking-Glass Selffrom Ralph Waldo
Emersons Poem
Emerson wrote that each close companion
Is to his friend a looking-glass Reflects his
figure that doth pass
12
According to the Looking-Glass Idea

• Self-concept derives from talk one has to be a
  member of a community before consciousness of
  self sets in
• The self changes--as we interact, our self
  changes

• For Mead, the self consists of the I and the
  me
• The I is the spontaneous driving force (we
  cant observe it)
• The me is viewed as an object
• The I of this moment is present in the me of
  the next moment (p. 58)

13
CLICKER QUESTION

• The I of this moment is present in the me of
  the next moment

• The statement on the left means that
• A. LIFE IS EVER CHANGING
• B. WE ONLY KNOW OURSELVES THROUGH OTHERS
• C. WHEN WE PERCEIVE OURSELF, WE ARE IN A
  DIFFERENT MENTAL STATE FROM OUR PERCEIVING MIND

14
Community The Socializing Effect of Others
Expectations

• The picture we get from the many looking-glass
  self reflections is called the generalized other
  It is the me
• The me is formed through symbolic interaction
  with others--the me is the community within the
  person

15
Applied Interactionism

• Creating Reality
• Goffmans idea that we are involved in a constant
  negotiation with others to publicly define our
  identity and the nature of the situation (the
  example of a gynecological examination)

• Meaning
• Participant observation is recommended. Mead had
  little sympathy for clinically controlled
  behavioral experiments or checklist surveys
• The results of expts and surveys are quantifiable
  but ignore the meaning of the experience for the
  person

16
Applied Interactionism

• Naming
• Name-calling can be devastating because the
  epithets force us to view ourselves in a warped
  mirror The grotesque images arent easily
  dispelled

• Self-fulfilling prophecy
• Each of us has a significant impact on how others
  view themselves
• The tendency for our expectations to evoke
  responses in others that confirm what we
  originally anticipated

17
QUESTION

• True or False
• Self-concept derives from talk one has to be a
  member of a community before consciousness of
  self sets in.

18
QUESTION

• True or False
• The words we use have default assumptions means
  that every word has many meanings and we choose
  the right one for the right situation.