Symbolic Interactionism And Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a theory is defined as, ”a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning,

“People think that the arts are optional and they aren’t. They teach a level of emotional depth that’s equally important to mathematical skill. You can replace some math skills with a calculator if you know how to operate the thing, but there’s no calculator for human interaction”. This is a quote by actor Hal Sparks depicting the importance and necessity of face to face interaction. These interactions are central to a stable society as it assumes meanings are created through interaction. This is a theory known as symbolic interactionism and is one of three major sociological perspectives. Symbolic interactionism is an essential part of a stable society and is very apparent in the novel Gang Leader For A Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, where the

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

In The Blind Side, Michael was raised in the projects of Memphis, Tennessee. One evening after a basketball game Leigh Anne Touhy notices Michael walking down the road, shivering in the cold. After having her husband stop the car to speak to him, she had learned Michael had planned to sleep at the school gym after everyone else had left. Leigh Anne offered Michael a warm place to sleep at her and her family’s home. This moment between these two was Michael’s first real feeling of family. This sparked the relationship that would give him a reason to keep living and gave him something to live for. Leigh Anne continued to include Michael in family gatherings which only enhanced the motherly feeling Michael got from her.

Everyday thousands of senior citizens and people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia suffer from abuse by a caregiver. Most of the abuse is in the form of emotional or physical abuse, but there are also a number of different types of abuse including financial abuse. The abuse can either take place in a medical setting such as a nursing home or hospital, or it can also be done by the victim’s own family members. These senior citizens are mostly targeted due to the fact that they are mentally incapacitated; they do not have a very strong short term memory, and sometimes they do not have the ability to talk to another individual about how their caregiver has been abusing them.

“Symbolic interactionists study how people use symbols to develop their views of the world and to communicate with one another. Symbols define for us what relationships are… without symbols, our social life would lack sophistication” (Henslin, 2006:15). The significance these happenings had on social change would mean nothing in our history if everyone and everything did not have a particular symbol. Unable to specify title, materials, or goals Albert Einstein would not have been labeled with the status he had achieved as world most famous physicist, Nazi Germany would not have been feared, Szilard would not have had the ideas he did, the President would

Symbolic interactionism focuses on the language and symbols that help us give meaning to the experiences in life. It also studies how people discuss the meaning of social life during interactions

Conflict and symbolic interactionism theories can help explain the necessary power level preconditions of police brutality against black bodies. Police brutality is a form of Institutional racism in the way policies and laws are crafted and put into practice, such as the decades-long set of policing and legal policies known as “The War on Drugs,” which has disproportionately targeted neighbourhoods and communities that are predominantly black. The police force is one of the most visible features of control and governance. Law enforcement officers engage in abusive behaviours against civilians despite their duty to ensure the public’s safety the weak in our society more prone to victimisation from police Social Conflict Theory state that the police function as an instrument of the dominant class, white and rich Government institutions, including police departments, are

Symbolic Interactionism – Micro level – This involves using symbols. The symbols generally have the same meaning to society, but may not mean the same thing to an individual. For example, a wedding band is a symbol used to show a person is married and it is generally assumed if a person is not wearing a wedding band they are not married or they are trying to hid the fact that they are.

Michael and his family would be placed under the sociological perspective of symbolic interactionism. In the beginning of the movie, Leigh Anne noticed Michael walking down the road while he was shivering in the cold. After talking to him for a short while, she learned about his situation and opened up her home to him. This interaction is when Michael first felt love and warmth from Leigh Anne. In the movie, Michael's background and family were driven by poverty. His mother was accustomed to drugs and alcohol. He did not know who his biological father was and he was homeless. Michael showed that he was very self aware; he was shy, distant and wasn't as open as other people. He knew that society viewed him differently and began to see himself

Symbolic interactionism and functionalist approaches are very different. The Symbolic interactionism approach focuses more on interpreting someone’s behaviors for how to act and what their intentions are. The functionalist approach focuses more on the functions they perform because these functions lead to the stability of our society (Giddens, A., Duneier, M., Appelbaum, R., & Carr, D. (n.d.). What is Sociology? In Introduction to sociology (Seagull 9E. ed., p. 18). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.).

The symbolic interactionism theory is the view of social behavior of individual that emphasizes linguistic and the gestural communication in a society and its subjective understanding of different matters, but especially the role of language in the formation of the child as a social being and social behavior in the society.

- do you believe that our level of in criminalization depends on our level of education? Or we can say it's depends on a type of crime?

Symbolic interactionalism is based on the idea that our self-concept and identity is defined by how we interact with other members of society. Two aspects of this perspective are the labeling theory and the looking-glass self-theory. Both concepts play huge roles today in the reintegration of ex-convicts into society. According to the Bureau of Justice, three out of four ex-convicts are rearrested within five years of their release from prison. 89% of the three re-arrested were not employed. Ex-convicts find themselves unemployed and often resort to unlawful means to survive in great part because of the label they have been given of “criminals”.

Symbolic interactions are a major part of how we socialize with others. It happens every day without us even realizing it. There are many concepts that assist in the formation of symbolic interactions, but to better understand them, we need to apply them to social settings. The four concepts of social interactionism theory I chose to observe at the social settings of my choosing were; definition of situation, symbols, front regions, and role playing. These concepts often interrelate as they all are a part of each other. To better understand these concepts, they were applied to two different social settings which were the bar and mass at the Catholic church. The concepts will be defined and reviewed in the order above.