SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM Ume Habiba

Symbols Establish meanings Develop their views Communicate with each other Society

18 th C, Scottish Philosopher individuals evaluate their own conduct by comparing themselves with others (Stryker 1990) American psychologist William James (1842–1910) and the educator John Dewey (1859–1952), who analyzed how people use symbols to understand their experiences. University Of Chicago George Herbert Mead bought this perspective to sociology by his work After Mead’s death in 1931 his students Herbert Blumer at the University published his teachings. Herbert Blumer, Mead’s pupil, coined “Symbolic Interactio nism.” Mead, Cooley, William I. Thomas and Erving Goffman

Symbolic Interactionism Visualized Husband and Wife Talk You greet Your neighbor on the way to work Society You respond to your boss’s Give up your seat on the bus for the elderly woman Move to the next lane on highway for the car on exit ramp Tuck the children into bed Text your friend about the sale Smile at the barista at the coffee shop

Herbert Blumer (1969) set out 3 basic premises of symbolic interactionism: Construction of social realityMeaning To us humans the word “grass” is something that can be defined as green, or something needed to be cut. To animals, the word “grass” could mean shelter or food. The source of meaningLanguage Meaning is developed through the use of language with each other. Mead believed that when you named something, it is assigned a meaning. An example of this would be me naming my dog Lucifer. The meaning of this name would be the devil, because maybe the dog is extremely mean or bites people all of the time. The process of taking the role of others Thought Interpretation of symbols is modified through his/her own thought processes. Thinking is described as inner conversation, called Minding that is reflecting & figuring out your next move depending on imagining how we look to another person.

Charles Horton Cooley George Herbert Mead Self Defined through interconnection of meaning, language and thought Development of Self Self is a social product that is created & modified through interaction Theories about development of Self W. I. Thomas Erving Goffman Aspects of self I is Impulsive(unsocial) & Me is reflective(social) Stages of Self 1. Preparatory Stage (imitate significant others) 2. Play Stage (taking the role of others) 3.Game Stage (Generalized others) Looking Glass Self 1. Imagine how we look to others 2. Evaluate other reaction 3. Develop self concept on basis of evaluation Thomas Theorem If people define as real, they are real in their consequences Definition of situation Subjective component of experiences, an agreement to others about “what's going on” in a given circumstance He looks the definition of situations not just cognitively but interactionally by 1. Expression of behavior 2. Expression Givens 3. Expression Given off Impression management Dramaturgy