Examples Of Symbolic Interactionism

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Sociological Theory Socl 2012 Term Paper Microsociological Approaches Matthew Sullivan 789607 The Symbol Interactionalist approach Symbol interactionalism is one of the key approaches when it comes to the study of sociology. Blumer explains the Symbol interactionalist approach as an approach that focuses on the interaction between people through symbols (Blumer 1969). This essay will sum up symbol interactionalism as a way of studying human interaction and society as a whole. The symbol interactionalist approach, according to Blumer (1969), consists of three important ideas that sociologists have to consider. The first is that people behave differently towards certain things because of meaning that they place on them so in other words what the symbols means to them personally (Blumer 1969). It is there for important to keep in mind that symbols can have different meanings to different people. Dickinson (2015) makes the point that symbols do not have to be physical items for example different people, society, the many different religions, cultures and languages can all be seen as symbols. The second step (or idea) is that the meanings of symbols are interpreted by the way other humans react towards the symbol (Blumer 1969). This means that meanings of symbols can be instilled into us as children by our parents, teachers, elders and/or the community, as well as when we are adults meanings towards a symbol are established through life experiences and the way we see

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