Approaches in The Social Science August 28 2021

DON CARLO CAVINA SCHOOL
Chrysanthemum Street, Hansuyin Village, Talon IV, Las Pinas City

8805-0319 / 8805-0344 / doncarlocavinaschool@yahoo.com

Prayer

Let us pray for the Church,

that She may receive from the
Holy Spirit the grace and
strength to reform herself in
the light the Gospel.


Venerable Don Carlo Cavina…

Pray for us.

Checking of
attendance
DOMINANT
APPROACHES AND
IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES
What is your symbol?
Choose an object that best

describes you as a person.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
Symbolic interactionism is a sociological framework that focuses on the different
meanings individuals attach to objects, peoples, and interactions as well as the
corresponding behaviors that reflect those meanings and/ or interpretations. It is a
framework that actualizes the nature of humans to make sense of their actions and
interactions through external cues from their everyday life and environment (Vejar
2015). George Herbert Mead was an influential figure in the field of symbolic
interactionism. Gestures, according to him, are important in communication.
When we interact with others, our posture, tone of voice, voice inflections, as well
as hand and facial movements convey significance. They can either accentuate or
contradict that which we are verbally stating (Vejar 2015).
George Herbert Mead
Mead's central concept is the self, "the part
of an individual's personality composed of
self-awareness and self-image" (Macionis
2007, 124). The process of self-discovery
or self-development is enacted by the
usage of gestures threefold through the
play stage, the game stage, and through a
stage called generalized other.
The term "generalized other" refers to

"widespread cultural norms and values
we use as a reference in evaluating
ourselves" (Macionis 2007, 126). Verja
(2015, 3-4) describes each stage.
In the play stage, young children identify with key figures in their
environments, such as the mother or father, as well as
occupational or gender-specific roles to which they have been
exposed (e.g., police officer, nurse) and replicate the behavioral
norms that correspond with such roles. A young boy might sit on
the edge of the bathroom counter, attentive to the way in which
his father goes about shaving, and emulate this action by scraping
the edge of a blunt object across his own face.
During the game stage, children extrapolate from the
vantage point of the roles they have simulated by assuming
the roles that their counterparts concurrently undertake.
While engaging in a team sport, for example, it behooves a
child to conceptualize the roles of his teammates and
opponents in order to successfully maneuver throughout the
game within his own particular position.
As people developmentally evolve, their anticipation of the
generalized other helps them construct morally sound and
appropriate behavior, such as the employee who arrives promptly to
work in order to avoid scrutiny from his colleagues. Moreover, self
identity continuously fluctuates between the 1, which is the
impulsive, automatic, "knee-jerk" responses we have to stimuli
(Lane, 1984), and the me, which is the socially refined reactions that
were instilled through the process of adopting social standards
(Baldwin, 1988).
There are three overarching premises that

constitute symbolic interactionism. These
three premises are outlined below with
examples as concrete illustrations.
The first assumes that meaning is an important element of

human existence, a concept that is both subjective and
individualistic, and that people consequently act in
accordance with the meanings they construe. Imagine the
scholar who, upon drawing on the Concept of a book (i.e.,
object), generates stimulating and intellectual constructs,
Meanwhile, someone who struggles academically may harbor feelings of fear

and resentment toward that object. A dyadic Conversation (1,e„ interaction)
may consist of one person disclosing emotionally-laden personal accounts to a
person who is furrowing his brow. Interpretations derived from such a
nonverbal gesture can be varied, and the speaker might either conclude that he
has an attentive audience, or that he is being critiqued. Another example shows
how the role of "parent" (i.e. people) might generate the image of a warm,
nurturing, and supportive role model to one person, while eliciting
visualizations of an autocratic and punitive figure to another.
A second premise asserts that people identify and mold their unique symbolic
references through the process of socialization. This postulation suggests that
people are not inherently equipped with interpretive devices that help navigate
through the complex realms of human behavior. Through the act of establishing
an intricate series of relationships they come to certain symbolic determinations,
which create a sturdy platform on which subsequent behavior is structured. When
a young child engages in pleasant behavior that causes his parent to smile, he
equates the concept of "good behavior," with that of "a specific facial expression
resulting in an upturned mouth." As the child encounters pleasurable deeds
throughout the course of his life, he will be prompted to implement the symbolic
demonstration (i.e., a smile) he initially corresponded with such acts.
Behaviors are adapted through an obscurely subtle learning process, and
the third tenet of symbolic interactionism affirms that there is cultural
dimension that intertwines the symbolic “educational” development. For
example, in conversation, the amount of physical space in which we
distance our bodies has culturally symbolic significance (Rothbaum,,
Morelli, Pott, & Liu-Constant, 2000). Likewise greetings in the form of
demonstrative affection, such as hugs and kisses can be warmly regarded
by one culture and deemed as the obstruction of personal space and the
crossing of inappropriate boundaries by another (Graham 2007, Vejar 2015,
1-2)

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DON CARLO CAVINA SCHOOL

Chrysanthemum Street, Hansuyin Village, Talon IV, Las Pinas City

Let us pray for the Church,

Venerable Don Carlo Cavina…

Choose an object that best

The term "generalized other" refers to

There are three overarching premises that

The first assumes that meaning is an important element of

Meanwhile, someone who struggles academically may harbor feelings of fear

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