Symbolic Interactionism, Self And Society

Symbolic interactionist perspective is the way you view yourself, and think of yourself when interacting or how you act towards other people using symbols. People use different symbols and gesture to interpret their feelings, language, culture, or point of view (Newman 41) . Depending on how you view the symbol effects the outcome of the interaction. The symbols can be anything from colors, clothing, flag, profession, food, hand gestures, actions, or anything that represents you. Whenever you are communicating with other people this represent the views you were taught showing symbolic interactionist. Conflict perspective is when there is conflict due to inequality based on power, class status, or resources. The more power you have the more

Another example of this is when two teenaged girls who were best friends were murdered in Detroit by gang members, the parents of these girls had to alter the meaning of their lives due to this horrendous life experience. This assumption leads to the assumptions that human beings have the capacity for thought and that the capacity for thought are developed by interacting with others. Unlike structured functionalism and social conflict, one of symbolic interactionalism’s limitations is that it focuses too much on the micro picture and not the macro. It also does not pay attention to power

Both self-perception and the perception of self by others are critical in the forming of identity. Consequently, relations with people are vital in the cultivation and expression of one’s identity. Whereas healthy relationships allow for the expression of oneself without fear of consequences, unhealthy relationships put pressure on one to change for one’s partner. Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God explores the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, focusing on how each affects the establishment of one’s individuality.

These self-feelings make self-esteem important both experientially and motivationally. Self-esteem can change over time, but individuals tend to maintain a consistent view of their self-worth due to the need for psychological consistency and the need to resolve cognitive dissonance. The motivation to maintain and enhance a positive conception of one-self is a major dynamic of many contemporary self-theories (Gecas 1991). There are several processes that can be used to develop self-esteem: reflected appraisal, social comparisons, and self-attributions. Reflected appraisal is the most important process because of its emphasis within symbolic interaction theory.

The way one portrays his or her self can very quite differently from person to person. Clothes, makeup and jewelry are all superficial ways one can depict one’s self. In contrast, one can portray him or herself on a deeper more intimate level. Establishing the way a person wants to be portrayed is like learning to walk, it takes small productive steps to gain the strength and knowledge to get to the desired destination. Trials and tribulations illustrate and shape one’s true self.

Erving Goffman is a twentieth century micro-sociologists. His dramaturgical approach is tied to symbol interactionism; a framework that states people develop symbolic meaning and rely on them for interaction. He looked at how face-to-face interactions build up to the human experience (Kivisto and Pittman). Goffman’s main argument in the dramaturgical approach is that we are all actors and we can change and manipulate how we are perceived through ‘sign vehicles’, just as actors in a theatre do. In supporting both Goffman’s and my own points, I will refer closely to the specific example of a Dunnes Stores worker’s daily interactions and presentation, although it could be applied to any social situation.

How we are treated and how we are accepted. In the shorts stories “Mirror Image” by Lena Coakley and “The pose” by Anwar Khan, the protagonists are having a difficult time understanding their identity and where they stand in society. In the beginning, the characters are put in a position where they are self-conscious of their own bodies. Eventually the further in the stories we see the characters more accepting of their bodies and their places in society. As a result, both begin to accept their identifies.

Immigration has been a major part of this country since the very beginning. It is what helped this country to become established. The subject of immigration has also created divided opinions about its immediate and long term impact. Even though migration itself is not a problem, who is allowed to migrate and live in a country “legally” is. The three basic sociological theories should bring to light some of the reasons why “illegal immigration” is controversial today and why immigrants are treated poorly.

In this essay, I will discuss the key premises of symbolic interaction as well as consider the ways in which symbolic interaction promotes the view that people have agency. I will then put forth the argument that conflict theorists make with respect to schools reproducing the culture of the dominant class. In relation, I will mention in what ways this perspective promotes the view that people are constrained by social structure. Finally, I will discuss the dialectical relationship between structure and agency

The subtle but accepted social norms can be categorised neatly into two categories; folkways and mores. While both of these are informal social rules; folkways carry almost no punishment, although, mores are rules that when broken reap heavy consequences. The study of social norms is best done under the symbolic interactionalism lens. Symbolic interactionalism allows us to look at society on a micro level, meaning, we are able to focus on individuals, particularly, emphasizing verbal and physical gestures and how we interpret them.

1. The two sociological perspectives that I will be writing about are conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. There are two conflict theories of a social problem Marxist Conflict theory and Non-Marxist Conflict theory. The importance of using social perspective when studying the Marxist and Non-Marxist conflict theories allows individuals a better understanding of the conflicts we face in average life such as class inequality, alienation, and conflicts in competing values in social groups.

Later, Hoagland says, “There is no expression, in English, at least, for avoiding the sight of your own body in the mirror”, presenting a new aspect of failure, personal failure (Poetry Foundation 13-15). The person fails to attain their own standards, similar to Hoagland’s poetry being “linguistically self-conscious” (Poets

Goffman does not deny what traditional symbolic interactionists argue. Instead he is more interested in how the presence of other individuals, social arrangements, social order, social hierarchy and the interaction order shape the image of ones ‘self’. Goffman studied & explored the nature of ones self and its relation to the broader moral codes & social attidudes that shape agents interaction

Schilder’s Body Image Earlier Sir Henry Head gave the concept of “Postural Schema” of the body. However, Paul Schilder (1950), whose writings originally appeared in 1935 he elaborates the development and importance of body image understood within the structure of “Psychoanalytic Symbolism”. It is the perceived body image from spatial relationships of one’s own body by visual sensation. Distorted or disrupted body images are formed within physically disability individual’s mind. They get conscious about self-appearance since few appearances may attract sympathy and few may get disgust in response.

“An individual perception of self, of body image, of time, of space influences the way he or she responds to object and events in his/her life. As individuals grow and develop through the lifespan, experiences with changes in structure and function, of their bodies over time influence their perceptions of self” (King, 1981, p. 19). These concepts give us the basis for understanding how individuals are personal systems. Perception, is “A process of organizing, interpreting, and transforming information from sense data and memory” (King, 1981, p. 24).