Charles Cooley And Charles Cooley: Symbolic Interactionism

Labelling theory has also been used to apply the interactionist theory to society; the theory, like Mead, emphasises the importance of symbols and situations in which they are used. The main interactionist concepts are the definition of the situation – if we believe in something then it could affect the way in which we behave. The looking glass –self – this was created by Cooley who argues that we see ourselves in a way in which we think others see us. These concepts have been useful in explaining why people act in certain ways in certain situations; therefore, the labelling theory is effective in the study of society.

With the gang activity growing throughout the 80’s school officials realized that implementing uniforms or strict dress codes may help combat the problem with gang apparel in schools. Previously dress codes have been seen in the form of uniforms or strict rules in parochial, private and public school systems across the country. In private schools, uniforms were first implemented to mark a student’s social status (Motsinger par 8). Many people, according to Alfie Kohn, author of What to Look for in a Classroom…and Other Essays most people associate uniforms with, “the good ole days [when uniforms] symbolized [. . .] obedience.” Uniforms were a sign of respect, children respected their elders and presented themselves well while wearing them. As stated by Anderson in “School Dress Codes and Uniform Policies,” “[t]he first public school known to have adopted uniforms was Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1987. In 1994, Long Beach (CA) Unified School District (LBUSD) was the first school district to adopt a districtwide uniform dress code policy” (par 11). During the Clinton administration the talk of school dress codes and uniforms in public schools first surfaced after his State of the Union Address in 1996. Since Clinton’s speech, schools all around the country have revised and implemented new dress code policies.

Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective focused on the meaning people associate to objects, events and

Lastly I will discuss the elements of Symbolic Interaction. This theory was brought to sociology by Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929), William I. Thomas (1863-1947) and George Herbert Mead (1863-1931). They believed that symbols, things with meaning and face to face interactions are how society views the world and communicate with each other , without symbols our social life would have no meaning. Symbolic interactionists analyzed how our social life depends on the way we define ourselves and others, for example with out symbols we would have no mom, dad, teachers, brothers and sisters. We would not know who we should respect and whom we are obligated too.

Symbolic Interactionism is the “ongoing use of language and gestures in anticipation of how the other will react” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 54). George Herbert Mead, a philosopher at the University of Chicago, developed this theory. He believed “that our thoughts, self-concept, and the wider community we live in are created through communication, verbal and non-verbal” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 54). There are “three core principles of symbolic interaction: meaning, language, and thinking” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 54). The meaning is “humans act toward people and things according to the meanings they assign to those people or things” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 55). Language “arises out of the social

Four principal scholars explored the symbolic interaction theory, George Herbert Mead, Charles Horton Cooley, William Isaac Thomas, and Herbert Blumer (Smith & Hamon, 2012). George Herbert Mead proposed that through interaction with others, we learn about ourselves—this is done through three stages; play stage, game stage, and generalized other (Smith & Hamon, 2012). He identifies the movement between “I” and “me.” “I” being the spontaneous, immediate reactions to a situation, “me” being the roles learned from prior experiences (Smith & Hamon, 2012). Charles Horton Cooley had the idea of the “looking-glass self”—which explains individuals consider how they appear to others in order to create their own concept of themselves (Smith & Hamon, 2012). The third scholar, William Isaac Thomas, was known for the definition of the situation, which led to the idea that understanding perspective of the people involved in the situation was necessary to understand human behavior in general (Smith & Hamon, 2012). The Thomas Theorem stated

Symbolic interactionists reject structure and believe that to study society, the only way to do so is to concentrate on the individual. Both theories believe in understanding the individual through the use of empathy. George Herbert Mead was mainly concerned with the importance of language. Language distinguishes humans from animals and allows us to be aware of our individuality.

Uniforms have been around for centuries, from back in the day when women had to wear dresses or skirts and men had to wear pants. To now where students and employees have to wear certain pieces of clothing. People dress to express themselves, schools tell their students to be who they are and to be proud; however, when the student tries to do so they are sent home or held in the office which not only takes away their rights to express themselves, but takes them out of class. According to Friedrichs, “A shocking number of students are actually sent home or suspended for breaking dress code, which means even more time out of class.” A school's job is to prepare children for their futures, that can be quite hard when the student is not there to learn. Dress codes can be overwhelming to maintain. A student's wardrobe isn’t going to be full of polos and khakis because they most likely do not wear polos and khakis outside of school. Dress code should not be as strict, hoodies should be allowed, tank tops should be

Symbolic interactionism helps explain both of our individual personalities and the ways the human society is linked together (p.27). It also helps us differentiate social order and change through a process. The teachings of symbolic interactionism comes mostly from George Herbert Mead But,George was not the only one that influenced the thoughts and ideas of symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interaction is theoretical perspective so it is still changing and evolving. It also has four kinds of understandings in the population and environment. One of the understandings is that symbolic interactionism is to understand why people engage or do not engage in social growth of the population . Symbolic Interactionism assumes that people from different social backgrounds, and different cultures may see different social issues within their social community. George Mead,Charles Cooley and Herbert Blumer shaped symbolic interactionism on the predictions of yourself causing you to behave a certain way so it becomes true.

Blumer uses his writing on symbolic interaction to describe what the theory means, to discuss work by Mead that it draws on, and examine how it relates to the study of human societies. At no time does he use his theory to consider how humans should act in a situation, or to explain why they should act in that way. Rather, he simply describes the mechanics symbolic interaction. He discusses how an individual performs the activities required for symbolic interaction, and how that individual’s actions extend to social interactions.

Among others dominated. Eventually, the assimilation occurs (The Interactionist Perspective - Boundless Open Textbook, n.d). Symbolic interaction individual attention to the implications of their actions in the world based on their interpretation of Max Weber traces its origins to the claims, but the American philosopher George H. Mead (1863- 1931) is a American Sociological introduced this perspective in the 1920s. The symbolic interactionists serious thought to how people behave and individuals, as well as to others, trying to determine the meaning assigned their own actions and symbols (Three Major Perspectives in Sociology, n.d). For symbol interactionists, it provides a source of strong symbols of racial and ethnic identity. In fact, some

The concept of generalized other was first introduced by George Mead, to further explain symbolic interactionism. It relates to the expectations that one may have on the action and thoughts of others. It also refers to a person’s recognition that other society members hold certain values and expectations about expected behavior. These expectations are generally shaped by different factors such as the media or everyday observations that may be correct or incorrect.

Wouldn’t you appreciate that your children always know what to wear for school? School uniform is what makes it easy! A set of clothing that is mainly worn, school uniform is one of the school's policy and recommendation. Generally worn in elementary and middle school, this outfit is composed of specific colors of long or short pants and shirts for boys, sometimes with a tie. Girls usually wear a dress or a blouse worn either with a skirt or pants, all however have the same colors. This dress code determines even the type of shoes that should be worn at school. School uniform may vary from school to school, but it remains the basis dress code for the education system. The adoption of school extensive uniform mandatory has been encouraged

his death students gathered his lectures and made them into a book called Mind, Self, and Society. Charles Horton Cooley is the other founder of symbolic interactionism. He taught at the University of Michigan. Charles Horton Cooley stated that “our sense of self develops from interaction with others” (66) meaning the people in our lives influence who we are.

George Herbert Mead was trusted with expressing the foundations of the symbolic interaction (SI) theory. It is used to understand how families create meaning. The premise of this came from his curiosity to understand the way humans create, react to, and redefine the shared, symbolic meanings in their social environment. As the text mentions, Mead agreed that words and nonverbal behaviors are the primary symbols to which humans assign meaning. In addition to this idea, he also explained on the idea that symbolic meanings are heavily influenced by perceptions, including people’s own perceptions and other people’s perceptions of them and the social structure around them. This was particularly for Ms. Janine at Sunrise Senior Living. She was a social butterfly who seemed to know everything that was going on around the home and most things about the health conditions some residents were living with. Anytime she sat in the kitchen to unwind, more