User:Charlisomers/Symbolic interaction

= Symbolic Interactions = From this view, people live in both natural and symbolic environments.

R. Collins views symbolic interactionism as studying the way the social world is created through interaction between individuals and their environment.

Background
'''This theory was derived largely by Mead but also with Charles Horton Cooley. Cooley's work on connecting society and the individuals influenced Mead's further workings. Cooley felt society and the individuals could only be understood in relationship to each other. Cooley's concept of the “looking-glass self”, influenced George Herbert Mead’s theory of self and symbolic interactionism.'''

'''While not as influential, William Isaac Thomas is also known as a representative of symbolic interactionism. His main work was a theory of human motivation addressing interactions between individuals and the "social sources of behaviors." He attempted to "explain the proper methodological approach to social life; develop a theory of human motivation; spell out a working conception of adult socialization; and provide the correct perspective on deviance and disorganization." A majority of scholars agree with Thomas.'''

Content
'''The two main concepts of Symbolic Interactionism are symbols and interaction. Symbols are determined by the environment one lives in, rather than being naturally connected. By learning the the symbols and what they stand for, one learns how things are connected. As noted previously, it is through interaction that these symbols have meaning.'''

Three Core Principles
'''From the Blumer perspective, there are three core principles- Meaning, Language and Thinking- in which social constructs are formed. The principle of meaning is the center of human behavior. Language provides meaning by providing means to symbols. These symbols differentiate social relations of humans from that of animals. By humans giving meaning to symbols, they can express these things with language. In turn, symbols form the basis of communication. Symbols become imperative components for the formation of any kind of communicative act. Thinking then changes the interpretation of individuals as it pertains to symbols.'''

Application
Symbolic interaction can be used to explains one's identity in terms of roles being "ideas and principles on 'what to do' in a given situation," as noted by Hewitt. '''Symbolic Interactionist identity presents in 3 categories- situated, personal and social. Situated identity refers to the ability to view themselves as others do. This is often a snapshot view in that it is short, but can be very impactful. From this experience, one wishes to differentiate themselves from others and the personal identity comes to exist. This view is when one wishes to make themselves known for who they truly are, not the view of others. From the personal identity taking place, comes the social identity where connections and likeness are made with individuals sharing similar identities or identity traits.'''

'''This viewpoint of symbolic interactionism can be applied to the use of social networking sites and how one's identity is presented on those sites. With social networking sites, one can boast (or post) their identity through their newsfeed. The personal identity presents itself in the need for individuals to post milestones that one has achieved, in efforts to differentiate themselves. The social identity presents itself when individuals "tag" others in their posts, pictures, etc. Situated identities may present in the need to defend something on social media or arguments that occur in comments, where one feels it necessary to "prove" themselves.'''

'''Coming from the viewpoint that we learn, or at least desire, how to expect other people's reactions/responses to things, Bruce Link and his colleagues studied how expectations of the reactions of others can affect the mental illness stigma. The participants of the study were individuals with psychosis who answered questions relating to discrimination's, stigmas and rejection. The goal of the study was to determine whether these expectations affects the participants internalized stigmas, anticipated rejection, concerns with staying in, and other. Results found that high levels of internalized stigma were only present in the minority, however, anticipation of rejection, stigma consciousness, perceived devaluation discrimination and concerns with staying in were found to be more prevalent in participants. These perceptions were correlated with the outcomes of withdrawal, self-esteem and isolation from relatives. The study found that anticipation of rejection played the largest role in internalized stigmas.'''

Critique
'''Another problem with this model is two-fold; 1) not taking into account human emotions very much and 2) getting interested in social structure to a limited extent. The first, implies that symbolic interaction is not completely psychological. The second, implies that symbolic interaction is not completely sociological. These incompetencies picture meaning as something naturally occurring within an interaction under a certain condition, rather than taking into account the basic social context in which interaction is positioned. From this view, meaning has no source and does not perceive a social reality beyond what humans create with their own interpretations.'''

'''Another criticism of symbolic interactionism is more so on the scholars themselves. They are noted to not take interest in the history of this sociological approach. This has the ability to produce shallow understanding and can make the subject "hard to teach" based on the lack of organization in its teachings to relate with other theories or studies.'''