Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic Interactionism
 also known as symbolic interaction perspective, refers to a key
framework of sociological theory which depends on the symbolic
meaning developed by people in the process of interaction.
Society is examined by concentrating on the subjective meanings
that people impose on things, incidents, and actions.
Symbolic Interactionism
Subjective meanings are prioritized because of the belief that
people behave based on what they perceived to be true and not on
what are objectively true.
Hence, society is seen as socially constructed based on human
interpretation.
Historical Context
 a reaction to behaviorism of psychological theories dominant at the
time it was first formulated in the 1920’s and 1930’s
It stood out against structural-functionalism
In symbolic interactionism, humans are differentiated from animals
who merely react to their environment, because humans have the
ability to disrupt the process of stimulus-response
Key Concepts
Symbols
Self
Mind
George Herbert
Mead
 Born in South Hadley,
Massachusets on 1863
 Mind, Self, and Society
(1934); The Philosophy of
the Act (1938); The
Philosophy of the Present
(1932)
Herbert Blumer
• Founding chair of the
Department of Sociology
at the University of
California, Berkeley
• Symbolic Interaction:
Perspective and Method
Strengths & Criticisms