Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory that focuses on the relationships

among individuals within a society. Communication—the exchange of meaning
through language and symbols—is believed to be the way in which people make
sense of their social worlds. Theorists Herman and Reynolds (1994) note that this
perspective sees people as being active in shaping the social world rather than
simply being acted upon.

George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) is considered a founder of symbolic

interactionism though he never published his work on it (LaRossa and Reitzes
1993). Mead’s student, Herbert Blumer, coined the term “symbolic interactionism”
and outlined these basic premises: humans interact with things based on
meanings ascribed to those things; the ascribed meaning of things comes from
our interactions with others and society; the meanings of things are interpreted by
a person when dealing with things in specific circumstances (Blumer 1969).

Social scientists who apply symbolic-interactionist thinking look for patterns of

interaction between individuals. Their studies often involve observation of one-on-
one interactions. The focus on the importance of symbols in building a society led
sociologists like Erving Goffman (1922–1982) to develop a technique called
dramaturgical analysis. Goffman used theater as an analogy for social
interaction and recognized that people’s interactions showed patterns of cultural
“scripts.” Because it can be unclear what part a person may play in a given
situation, he or she has to improvise his or her role as the situation unfolds (Goffman
1958).

HISTORY

George Herbert Mead

Symbolic interaction was conceived by George Herbert Mead and Charles

Horton Cooley. Mead argued that people's selves are social products, but that
these selves are also purposive and creative, and believed that the true test of
any theory was that it was "useful in solving complex social problems".

Herbert Blumer

Herbert Blumer, a student and interpreter of Mead, coined the term and put
forward an influential summary: people act a certain way towards things based
on the meaning those things already have, and these meanings are derived from
social interaction and modified through interpretation.
Blummer suggests that there are three core principles of this theory.

They are

1. Meaning
2. Language
3. Thought

Core Assumptions and Statements

The theory consists of three core principles: meaning, language and thought.
These core principles lead to conclusions about the creation of a person’s self
and socialization into a larger community (Griffin, 1997).

Meaning states that humans act toward people and things according to the
meanings that give to those people or things. Symbolic Interactionism holds the
principal of meaning to be the central aspect of human behavior.

Language gives humans a means by which to negotiate meaning through

symbols. Humans identify meaning in speech acts with others.

Thought modifies each individual’s interpretation of symbols. Thought is a mental

conversation that requires different points of view.

With these three elements the concept of the self can be framed. People use ‘the
looking-glass self’: they take the role of the other, imagining how we look to
another person. The self is a function of language, without talk there would be no
self-concept. People are part of a community, where our generalized other is the
sum total of responses and expectations that we pick up from the people around
us. We naturally give more weight to the views of significant others.