The Theory Of Social Life

Symbolic Interactionalism: One of the three perspectives of sociology is Symbolic Interactionalism, this is a microlevel theory that concerns

The last sociological perspective and the most challenging to recognize is symbolic interaction. Symbolic interaction focuses on how human beings interpret symbols and communicate and forge a sense of self ( Halperin, 2/13/15). Symbolic interaction has five/six questions that need to be answered “What communication is taking place? What symbols are being used &/or how is the communication taking place? How does the communication shape perception? How are the parties being influenced by their interaction with one another? What social roles are being played out? (Halperin. 2/13/15).

Consequently, fundamental aspects of our social experience and identities, like race and gender, can be readily understood through the symbolic interactionist lens. Because both race and gender have no biological basis whatsoever, both race and gender can be understood as social constructs that function based on what we believe to be true about people, given what they look like. We use socially constructed meanings of race and gender to help us decide who to interact with, how to do so, and to help us determine, sometimes inaccurately, the meaning of a person's words or actions. Symbolic interaction perspective is a useful

Symbolic interactionism of sociology is defined in our book as “a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed and composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another (Henslin Pg 162)”. In medical terms, this means that illness and health are merely social constructs constructed by doctors and physicians. The concept of an illness or medical condition only exist if it is accepted by a society.

Society has a way of making assumptions based on one’s physical characteristics. Often at times we categorize individuals to a particular social group. In regard to society’ perception of an individual this however, contributes to the development of social construction of racism. Most people want to be identified as individuals rather than a member of specific social group. As a result, our social identity contains different categories or components that were influenced or imposed. For example, I identify as a, Jamaican, Puerto Rican and a person of color. I identify racially as a person of color and ethically as Jamaican and Puerto Rican. According to Miller and Garren it’s a natural human response for people to make assumptions solely

Symbolic Interactionism (1)- The theory of symbolic interactionism conveys how society is made up of symbols that create meaning, develop communication, and produce world views. At the North Hanover Mall all interactions and even moods were established because of simple symbols. The overall mood of the mall was almost the same form person to person, a look of boredom was on the faces of many whether young or old. The attitude seemed to appear in people shortly after they entered the mall, once they had observed other individual’s body language and expressions, they shifted theirs as if they were trying to fit in with the crowd. Contrastingly when an employee

Race and gender are two facets that inherently dominate individuals everyday lives. A person’s social environment, work environment, and educational environment is congruent to their race and gender. From birth, it has been set up that everyone is assigned to a label. A pink or blue blanket is swaddled around a newborn child and a box is checked signifying that child’s place in society. These two actions ultimately define how a child is to be viewed and treated. As children grow into young adults they either decide to stick with their original assignment, while others decide to deviate from it. These individuals deviation results in many of them being viewed harshly and looked down upon because they strayed from their social norms. This constant cycle of being classified and labeled from birth is the social institution of gender and race. These social institutions aid in the inequality that is present in society, and race and gender are shaped by this. However, if these social institutions were removed, race and gender could dissipate. This is due to the fact that race and gender are not real, but are socially constructed concepts used to organize the power, or dominance, within our society to one social group over the other groups.

As race continues to be an important factor across the United States, we increasingly become aware, of who we are and where we have come from, culturally and ethnically. Our ethnicity is what defines us, and is how we are defined by others. In their book, Diversity, Oppression, and Change, Flavio Francisco Marsiglia and Stephen Kulis, explain to us, the concept of Social Identity Theory. A theory that can very well give insight to our need to hold onto our past, and our ancestors’ history. Originally derived from Tajfel and Turner, they go on to further explain ‘Symbolic Interactionism’, a concept based on the identity that we developed about ourselves around our surroundings and how we believe others to

Throughout the film, many sociological concepts were seen in the movie. Symbolic interactionism, values, mores, coercion, gender socialization, and total institutions were apparent in the film. Symbolic interactionism is defined as “a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning,

People associate actions with a meaning. As one grows up actions seem to obtain a connotation, weather it be positive or negative. The symbols or meaning people attach to the actions are influenced by one’s socialization. Edward Alsworth Ross, a progressive American sociologist, eugenicist, and major figure of early criminology, suggested socialization is the development of one’s feelings and the will to act based on an influence by a variety of different circumstances and conditions (652). The connotation of an action can differ based on the experiences and circumstances one has lived through. The act of identifying that action with the interpretation is an example of symbolic interactionism. Monica A. Longmore, a professor of sociology at Bowling Green State University, explains symbolic interactionism is the relationship between a behavior and how it is identified (44). Behaviors are comprehended by how it is symbolized in one’s socialization. The thesis of this essay is some basic social behaviors taught in one’s culture are best understood using symbolic interactionism to interpret what is meant on a conscious and subconscious level.

The Symbolic Interaction theory refers to ways in which a family or society attaches meaning to verbal communication, non-verbal communication, people, and objects. We are taught from a young age communication using verbal language and accepted ways to express our needs. The theory represents perception of objects or actions (Macionis, 2007, p.17).

Sociology is the function of the human society, and social problems among us. There are three different theories that I will be discussing in this essay. The theories are symbolic interactionism, The conflict theory and functional analysis perspectives. These perspectives help make up the way society thinks as a whole. All three of these perspectives are alike, as much as they are different.

Symbolic interactionist’s Conflict sociological perspective is a micro level of analysis, it explains individual aspects broadly, it is concerned with interactions in small groups. It suggests that couples’ behaviours are shaped by the way they interact with each other. They develop their self-concept by looking at how they are seen by society and making reflections on themselves.

The subject of race, within the field of sociology, can often be viewed as both a fluid concept and a cultural experience. Contrary to popular belief, race is not biological, but is a socially constructed category of people that share the same biological traits. Race can often change over time and is formed primarily by our personal views and the views of others. These can range from ethnicity to self-presentation and feelings of place within society. One example of the fluidity of race can be seen based upon the classification of the White or Caucasian race. In today’s culture, this race has been drastically increased to include a vast array of “white” individuals.

Symbolic interaction offers a dramaturgical perspective of how people identify and create their social self through social interaction. Many social theorist studies social interaction/ self as a function to our society. In addition, microsociology develop the idea of applying social interaction on a smaller sample size within the society. Therefore, there were an increase in the study of human interaction and the self. Mead develop his idea through symbolic interaction and social psychology of the human mind. Simmel develop his idea through the perspective of symbolic interaction of urban sociology. Both sociologist focus on the inter social aspect of the human life.