Symbolic Interactionism
Being one of
the most commonly used theories, there are many scholars and theorists who
contributed towards the idea of symbolic interactionism. To name a few, George
Herbert Mead and Charles Hortan Cooley originated this theory as key people
later inspired by them Herbert Blumer coined the term and put the theory
forward to the world.
It has to be noted that Blummer was greatly influenced by
John Dewey (the leader of sociological theory). The basic idea this theory put
forward is that people behave based on the meaning they have given to them.
THEORY
“Symbolic Interactionism is the way we learn to
interpret and give meaning to the world through our interactions with others.”-
Scott Plunkett.
The symbolic
interactionism analysis society by the descriptive meanings that people have
given to objects, events and behaviors. The behavioral pattern of the people
will be based on these descriptive meanings because people behave according to
their descriptive believes rather than objective truth.
These descriptive
believe and meanings are nothing but interpretations given by the people thus
the theory suggest that society is based on the interpretations of the people.
The people interpret each other’s behavior and a social bond is thus created
which is grounded on this interpretation. These interpretations are often
called “definition of the situation” because they just define the situations.
This theory
says how humans develop a complex set of symbols that gives meaning to the
world in their perspective. The meanings are molded from the interactions with
the society. And these interactions are subjectively interpreted by them to
suit the meaning in accordance with the existing symbols.
It can be said that
if we need to understand the behavioral patterns of the society we need to
understand the existing symbols. The Interactions which molded the symbols also
create a social structure. The symbolic interactionism also articulates that
the individuals build a sense of self identity through these interactions with
the society.
Blummer
suggests that there are three core principles of this theory.
They are
1.
Meaning
2.
Language
3.
Thought
1. Meaning :
It
suggests that people act and behave towards the other people and things based
upon the meaning that they have given to them. The principle of meaning is
central to the theory of symbolic interactionism.
Example: when we
think of a Buddhist Monk the image comes to our mind. We will have some
assumptions about these people and our behavior towards them will be based on
these assumptions that we have made.
2. Language :
The second core
principle which makes the symbols and interactions comprehensible to the mind.
And which helps in formulating assumptions. According to the theory, the naming
assigned through the language, the naming creates meanings to everything
because everything has its own name. To name a thing, the knowledge about the
thing is important and thus the name indicates some feature or any other kind
of knowledge about the things. This knowledge is converted into names through
languages.
Example: when we say
to have dinner outside, the people who listens makes sense of it based on their
perspectives and understanding. When I say dinner outside someone will
understand it as just go out and get something to eat and someone else may
think that having dinner outside as a date.
3. Thought :
The third core
principle of symbolic interactionism is thought. The thought implies the
interpretations that we have assigned to the symbols. The basis of thought is
language. It is a process of mentally conversing about the meanings, names and
symbols. The thought includes the imagination. Which have the power to provide
an idea even about an unknown thing based on known knowledge.
Example: The best
example of thought is ‘to think’
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