Three Sociological Perspectives Of Symbolic Interaction

Symbolic Interaction is the view of social behavior that emphasizes linguistic or gestural communication. First example that I came across was towards the end of the book. The pigs became human like and had to rely

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)

Sociology views and analyzes people in multiple aspects as well as at a macro- and a micro-level. There are three main theories that sociologists have formulated which, when used together, help to explain our social lives and the different facets of it. Symbolic interactionism is one of these theories, and will be the focus of this essay. Each theory is a “lens” in which we can view social life, and so each theory differs in their interpretation of it. In order to evaluate and analyze how symbolic interactionism is utilized within sociology, there will be a focus on how it is applied to a certain aspect of U.S. culture. This aspect will be the symbols of fitness and muscle reflecting masculinity and femininity. However,

Symbolic interactionism is one of the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology. Symbolic interactionism is important in microsociology because interactionists emphasize the subjective meaning of human behaviors, while other theoretical perspectives like functionalism and conflict theory focus on society as a whole on the macrosociology level. Interactionists focus on the micro-lens of society because they base their theory on the image of humans, rather than on their image of society. The central theme of symbolic interactionism is that symbols are culturally derived social objects with shared meanings that are created and maintained through social interaction.

Symbolic Interactionism Theory focuses on the language and symbols that help us give meaning to the experiences in our lives (West & Turner, 2010, p. 77). SIT explains an individual in a society and their interactions with others and through that it can explain social order and change. The development

The Symbolic Interactionist Theory is a sociological theory with a micro sociological view. This is an action theory. It examines a way to explain behaviour within society by looking at small scale interactions i.e. between two people or smaller groups and explaining the aspects of wider society from these. Symbolic interactionists believe that we live in a world where symbols have shared meanings and we use these meanings when interacting with people. For example, our language is made up of symbols and we all share an understanding of this, so if we were to read the word “nurse” we would all share and understanding of what this word means without even having to have a description or picture shown to us. So, with most symbols there is always

Symbolic Interactionism is one of the three perspectives that uses symbols as the key to understanding how the world is view. These symbols have meaning to people and it can be the way they use these symbols to determine how they define their self and the world they live in.

Symbolic Interactionism focuses on face-to-face communication. It is also micro-level theory; meaning this theory covers very specific relationships between individuals or small groups. Micro level theories are more distinct then other perspectives. Micro theories are more scientifically testable. Symbolic Interactionism researchers are dependent on context and qualitative research methods such as interviews. (OpenStaxCollegeChap1). Social researchers who apply symbolic-interactionist thinking examine for patterns of relationships between entities. Researchers believe that individual’s rely on things such as dialogs, thoughts, ideas, symbols, and language to shape their own reality and social norm (OpenStaxCollegChap1).Understanding symbolic interaction theory helps one gain meaning and understanding of his or her experiences in life, not only their own life, but others as well .” This viewpoint sees people as active in shaping their world, rather than as entities who are acted upon

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.

Hundreds of years before written word, theories have been made about words, the symbolism behind them, and root meanings assigned by social construction. William Shakespeare can be shown as example of this with posed questions by characters in his writings. In Romeo and Juliet, the character Juliet poses questions that reflect the symbolism of the name of her and her star-crossed lover Romeo.

Symbolic Interaction is a type of theoretical perception that directs sociologists to contemplate the symbols and details of everyday life. It focuses on the definition of these symbols and the interaction

There have been many aspects of the human being that have been examined and many theories proposed to explain how we develop and why one person can be satisfied with a certain task and the other not. Symbolic interaction is one theory that strives to provide an explanation to our development. Simply put, this theory states that there is a link between the individual and social interactions. Through our interactions we develop a sense of self and knowledge about others and the world around us. Interactions give our lives meaning and this meaning guides our behavior

The three main perspectives of sociology include the following: Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. Functionalism emphasizes the contributions, or functions, that come from each part of society, such as family, economy, and religion. Functionalists see society as an integrated whole, wheres if one part of society changes, then that leads to other parts changing. For example, if there is a major change in the economy, then there is a possibility that family-life may change as well.

Symbolic interaction is the theoretical perspective that introduces the fact that people attribute meanings to different symbols in various aspects of social life (Brym and Lie 2012:6). An interactionist wants to look at why someone will

Symbols are very important to humans. Symbolic interactions is the symbols we use to attach meaning to things in the world. It is used to understand how we see the world and communicate with one another. It tells you how to act