Social Exchange Theory And Symbolic Convergence Theory Analysis

The book is filled with dark, gruesome moments. Moments that leave the reader with a destroyed faith in humanity. At surface value this is all true, but after looking deeper into the book many values are present. These value pertain to societal change and conformity. In the book, Piggy is the stereotypical fat boy with the glasses. The book portrays Piggy to be the victim of the society the boys have established on their small island. Despite what he has been through, Piggy makes an effort to contribute to the society the boys have built. The book says, “Piggy was … so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society … that he helped to fetch wood.” (Golding 186). The book also contains values of conformity for the better. The book tells of Jack who became upset with the tribe. He decides that he will break away from the tribe and invites everyone but Ralph to join him. One by one all the boys follow Jack to restart their society; leaving Ralph behind. The boys in the new tribe began to succeed more while Ralph begins to struggle. If Jack did not break away, then that success would have been

Toy Story 2 deals with both sides of the conflict surrounding ‘identity versus confusion’, typically occurring during adolescence between the ages of 12 and 18 (Cherry, 2016). Towards the beginning of the film, an incident occurs in which Woody’s arm is torn by Andy. From here, Woody is placed on a shelf, segregated from Andy and the rest of the group. Visible and dramatic facial expression to exaggerate his emotions to the younger viewers. Audible confusion and sadness as Woody exclaims ‘Andy!’ and the body language implies his confusion regarding his personal identity, as well as not being sure about himself or his place in society (McLeod, 2013) In relation to the humans in this film, when Woody’s arm is torn, his self-worth has decreased

From high school girls desperately trying to be one of cool kids in school to corporate warriors rubbing elbows for that next promotion, nearly everyone has fantasized about being a part of the “in crowd”. What is it that makes the bonds and barriers of “in crowd” so unbreakable? Through sharing stories and reaching conclusions through discussion of those stories, members of small groups develop a common bond that shapes their social reality. An example of this bond is prominent in the CW’s hit show, Gossip Girl, which focuses on the world of high society elite at a private high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York. Circumstances in Gossip Girl show how concepts in symbolic convergence describe the formation of group bonds

When a group of individuals have similar thoughts about a certain topic in a group conversation, they can relate to similar issues, experiences, and situations. This phenomenon has a term called symbolic convergence theory, developed by Ernest Bormann, John Cragan, and Donald Shields This theory has different levels of communication, which enhance the relationships between people. The symbolic-convergence theory is also known as the fantasy-theme analysis, which can be created in small groups or interaction between two people, thus creating a similar perspective.

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

Symbolic interactionism perspective is a theory that is used to study social life. To do this, this theory relies on studying and observing the interactions among people and how they form meanings to things from those interactions. Although, there is much more to this theory than that. Blumer, the man who invented the term symbolic interactionism, presented three premises which help to understand this theory. The first one is, people act a certain way towards things depending on their meaning for that thing. The second premise is that we get meanings from social interaction, so we are taught meanings or we witness them from others. Lastly, the third premise is that meanings are able to change because people have the mental capacity to

Our analysis is on the film The Italian Job. While we view the movie and determine the various norms, behaviors, roles and interaction between group members, as well as individuals the examination within the realm of film can present many of the same components. Thus, our group selected this movie to analyze based on its formation of a cohesive problem-solving group full of unforgettable characters. The Italian Job portray many different theories and aspects of small group communication.

As they are all escaping the daycare, Lotso approaches and pushes them into the dumpster. Thankfully for Woody, the baby expresses his good heart and throws in Lotso into the dumpster with them. Sadly, the dumpster was just picked up and was off to the landfill. As they were fighting to get out of the landfill before the big fire, Lotso escapes and leave Woody behind. Woody and his friends were doomed, but at the last second the claw came down (controlled by the Aliens), and were picked them up and brought to safety. Finally, Woody returned and brought the gift of, being a hero to his friends, and the gift of remembering his past mistakes. The hero's journey in Toy Story 3 was expressed through the toy cowboy: Woody. Throughout his journey, he learned to be courageous and to be determined. As he was being taught through the journey and by the mentor he was learning how to become a hero. Without this key journey, the story of the movie would not be the same. Instead, the path of the story could have been accepting your mistakes because of the mistake of going to daycare. But from the journey, he learned a different lesson and is now a hero for helping his friends get out of the daycare.

This scene is significant to illustrate how both characters are formed by their social constructs while wanting different intentions.

Symbolic interaction theory emerged in the early 1900s and is still one of the more frequently used theories in the family studies (Smith & Hamon, 2012). The theory assumes that people have different interpretations of situations due to their personal experiences (Smith & Hamon, 2012). By looking at the behaviors of individuals, symbolic interaction theory explains how multiple people have different reactions to the same situation (Smith & Hamon, 2012).

The Symbolic Convergence Theory was developed by University of Minnesota Professor Ernest Bormann in 1972, along with his colleagues John Cragan and Donald Shields. It emerged from studies conducted in small-group communication, and is a message-centred theory that explores symbolic facts in communication (Shields, 2008). This theory was also based upon previous work from social psychologist Robert Bales, who established the concept of small-group fantasies and shared symbolic themes (Vaughan, 2009, 944). The University of Minnesota researchers saw a theme emerge in group communication of a shared symbolic consciousness through common meanings, values, emotions and experiences (Shields, 2008). Based on these empirical findings, as well as the work of Robert Bales, Bormann established a theory of rhetorical analysis called The Symbolic Convergence Theory (Vaughan, 2009, 944). The Symbolic Convergence Theory is a three-faceted theory. Firstly, it handles the discovery of these recurring communicative forms and patterns. It then describes the factors and events in a group that explain the emergence of a group consciousness. This addresses the ‘how’ of the theory. And finally, the question of ‘why’. Why do these patterns emerge in group communication; why do people share fantasies (Bormann, 1996, p.88 ). This theory works upon the assumptions that reality is created by communication, as well as that individuals can share symbolic meanings and realities (Vaughan, 2008).

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.

At the beginning, the author addresses the issue that children do not play with the toy to imply the cavity and innocence in their childhood. However, with the development of the story as well as the time, children grow up and become adults. They do not care about the fantasies, mysteries and stories about toys because Gaiman indicate that they are trapped in the dullness of life and losing the innocence. This structure brings out a contrast of people. Death and age have already taken over their lives and the memories of childhood. Life is used to be colourful, joyful and imaginative, but it becomes a boring, depressed and vacuous one. This reflects how the time shaped their mind and force them to forget the happiness they used to have,

Communication is essential in our society today. There are many different types and methods of communication that people use. Throughout life, people learn to use communication in order to interact in the everyday world. People form groups to place themselves where they think they belong in society. Whether people know they are doing it or not, they consciously or subconsciously place themselves into certain groups. There are many different reasons for people to join different groups, these being for learning, activity, personal growth, and problem solving. Members of groups must all contribute in order to complete a task. People can have both positive and negative effects on groups. There are many concepts that

Ernest Bormann's Symbolic Convergence Theory offers a promising method of looking at small group interaction and cohesiveness. When individuals who are not familiar with each other come together for the sake of achieving a common goal, be it a group in an organization or students working on a school project, the symbolic convergence theory presents an understandable and generally accurate stance on how cohesiveness within the group is attained.