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OVERVIEW
This theory focuses attention on the way that people interact through
symbols: words, gestures, rules, and roles.
MAJOR ASSUMPTIONS
ABOUT
SELF
AND
FAMILY
Individuals are not born with a sense of self but develop self concepts
through social interaction
These roles are based on the symbolic meaning attached to each role.
CORE PRINCIPLES
1.
OF
MEANING
Human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that
they have assigned to them
2.
Language
3.
Thought or Minding
An ability distinctly different from animals in that we have the ability
to think about things rather than simply reacting instinctually
Looking Glass Self - the mental image that results from taking the
role of the other. Imaging how we look to another person.
Roles within the family may include but not be limited to the
following: nurturer, socializer, provider, and decision-maker.
The Self
An individuals self-conception
The subjective self
Social Act Behavior that in some way takes into account the other
person, group or social organization, and is guided by what they do. It
emerges through the process of communication and interaction.
Since people are symbolic creatures, they can interpret and talk about
Their inner experiences, such as their thoughts or desires, thus enhancing
communication and interactions with others.
1963-1931
Professor at University of Chicago
Posthumous book: Mind, Self and Society
Influenced Sociology and Communications
Mead thought that the true test of any theory is whether it is useful in
solving complex social problems.
Symbolic interactionism The term described what Mead claimed to be
the most human and humanizing activity that people can engage intalking
to each other.
The three core principles of this theory are: meaning, language, and
thought.
Meaning: The Construction of Social Reality
Humans act toward people or things on the basis of the meanings they
assign to those people or things.
E.g. If Im a child psychiatrist and I see a feral child, that person would
become my field of study, perhaps to further my career (exploitation).
Language: The Source of Meaning
Meaning arises out of the social interaction that people have with each other.
E.g. Father and son in a car crash, boy taken to hospital, doctor
sees the boy and says omg this is my son because the doctor is the
MOTHER.
Mead said we paint our self-portrait by taking the role of the other
imagining how we look to another person.
Interactionists call this the looking-glass self and insist that its socially
constructed.