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 Review Notes on   Symbolic Interactionism
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  Syllabus
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  Resources
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Outline on  Symbolic Interactionism
  
  OVERVIEW OF SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM  
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 Intro to Symbolic Interactionism
 
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 The Communications Process  
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 Individual Factors in Communications  
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 Principles of Symbolic Interactionism
 
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        An Advanced Examination of Symnbolic Interactionism
 
 
 EARLY INFLUENCES ON SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
 
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 Dewey & Pragmatism
 
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 Intro to Mead
 
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      Mead on the Genesis of the Self
 
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      An Advanced Examination of the Genesis of the Self  
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      Mead on Mental Processes
 
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 Cooley
 
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      Cooley on the Looking Glass Self
 
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 W.I. Thomas
 
 
 CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCES ON SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
 
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 Intro to Blumer
 
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 Intro to Maines 
 
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 Intro to Stryker
 
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 The Dramaturgical Approach
 
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 Intro to Goffman
 
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       Goffman on Dramaturgy  
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 Intro to Baldwin 
 

 
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 Outline on   Intro to Symbolic Interactionism
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  INTRO:  S-I FOCUSES ON HOW WE CREATE MEANING IN AN INTERACTIVE PROCESS W/ OURSELVES, OTHERS, & SOCIAL STRUCTURES   
  Symbolic interactionism is a micro oriented paradigm which holds that: 
a.  societal level actions are aggregated by the actions of individuals/groups 
b.  what people believe to be true, becomes true in its consequences 
c.  society sends messages, gives rules 
d.  these messages are imprinted on us (through socialization) from childhood on 
e.  the content of these impressions is culture
 
  S-I metaphor: 
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men & women merely players.
They have their exits & their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven stages."
William Shakespeare, As You Like It ( Act II Scene 7 )
 
  The symbolic interactionist paradigm is a major micro sociological perspective stressing the importance of messages from others & society, how people understand & interpret these messages & how this process affects people's behavior 
 
  Societal level actions are aggregated by the actions of individuals or groups   
 
 FOR S-I, SOCIAL PROCESSES / RELATIONSHIPS ARE WHAT CONSTRUCT THE INDIVIDUAL & SOCIETY 
 
  Symbolic interactionism is the study of the processes 
  by which human interaction occurs 
  including the interactions 
  btwn individuals & larger society 
  & how that interaction creates society itself 
  & the individual itself 		  
  Symbolic interactionism holds that 
  Society, 
  social interactions, 
  & the self itself, 
  develop / are created through the use of 
  symbols, language, signs & gestures 
 
 
 A 3 WAY DYNAMIC AMONG THE SELF, SOCIETY, & THE PROCESSES CONSTRUCT THE SELF & SOCIETY 
 
  Symbolic interactionist holds that there is a THREE way dynamic which constructs the self & society 
 
    a.  The self (selves) creates social interactions 
 
    b.  Social interactions create society 
 
    c.  Society creates the self 
 
  Blumer coined the term symbolic interactionism in 1937 
 
 
 SOCIETIES INTERACT THROUGH SYMBOLIC PROCESSES W/ THEMSELVES & INDIVIDUALS   
  Societies do 
  - send messages 
  - give rules 
  - but it is on the individual level that these situations, messages, etc. occur 
 
 
 INDIVIDUALS INTERACT THROUGH SYMBOLIC PROCESSES W/ THEMSELVES & SOCIETY   
  Individuals also 
  - send messages 
  - give rules 
  - but most of these messages & rules are largely shaped by & constrained by society 
 
  Symbolic interactionism developed from social psychology, & still has a strong relationship w/ that field & has inspired a number of other  important subfields: dramaturgy, exchange theory, neuro linguistic programming 
 
  In sociology, most of the ideas of symbolic interactionist are found in the study of socialization   

 
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 Outline on the Communications Process
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 There are SEVEN components in the communications process that all interact 
1.  Sender  6.  Receiver 
2.  Message  7.  Feedback Loop 
3.  Encoding  8.  Communications Environment 
4.  Medium  9.  Noise
5.  Decoding 
 
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 The Figure on the Communications Process shows that communication is usually 2 way, & is a relatively fragile process   
 
 1.  THE SENDER IS AN INDIVIDUAL, GRP, OR ORG THAT NEEDS TO COMMUNICATE   
 
 The sender is the individual, group, or org that needs or wants to share info w/ some other individual, group, or org in order to accomplish one or more of the functions of communications 
 
  2.  THE MESSAGE IS THE TRUE MEANING OF WHAT ONE WANTS TO COMMUNICATE   
 
 The message is the info the sender needs or wants to share w/ others 
 
 
 Messages should be as clear & complete as possible to be effective 
 
 
 A message is clear when in contains info that is easily interpreted or understood 
 
 
 A message is complete when it contains all the info necessary to achieve a common understanding btwn the sender & receiver 
 
 
 If a message is vague or one is unsure about what a message should be, communications are likely to be ineffective
 
  Commo in orgs should provide accurate info w/ the appropriate emotional overtones to all members who need the communication system & that is is clear who can utilize the info that is available   
  Providing accuracy, emotional overtones, & the appropriate target audience is an impossible goal for commo in orgs   
  Feldman & March, 1981, claim that orgs gather more info than they use, & they continue to ask for more   
  The control of more info creates more legitimacy   
  3.  ENCODING OCCURS WHEN THE MESSAGE IF FORMED BY THE SENDER & THE MEDIUM INTO SPOKEN, WRITTEN WORDS OR SOME OTHER FORM 
 
 
 To send a message, the sender must engage in encoding 
 
 
 Encoding is the translating of the message into symbols or language that the receiver can understand 
 
 
 Typically to encode, the senders need basic writing & oral communication skills 
 
 
 The sender must take care to use words the receiver understands 
 
 
 Effective communication can be affected by the use of jargon 
 
 
 Jargon is specialized terminology or language that members of a profession, occupation, or other group develop to aid communications among themselves 
 
 
 The use of specialized language & jargon facilitates communication w/in an occupation or org because a single term can be used to describe a complex idea 
 
 
 But the use of specialized language & jargon usually leads to ineffective communication when receivers are outside the occupation or profession 
 
 
 4.  THE MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION IS OFTEN THE SPOKEN OR WRITTEN WORD VIA PERSONAL COMMO, TV, RADIO, INTERNET, NEWSPAPERS, ETC.   
 
 The encoded message is transmitted to the receiver through some medium 
 
 
 The medium is the pathway through which an encoded message is transmitted to a receiver 
 
 
 Verbal communications is the sharing of info by the means of works, either spoken or written 
 
 
 Verbal communications can take the form of face- to face oral communications; oral communications over the phone & written communication using memos, letters, & reports that can be transmitted electronically 
 
  Each medium has advantages & disadvantage   
  Choose a medium the receiver monitors   
  People differ in the media they prefer; some prefer face to face communications & others prefer seeing things in writing   
  The best way to get a message across is to use the medium the receiver pays the closest attention to   
  Select a medium appropriate for the message   
  Some types of messages are best conveyed face to face   
  A complex message is best conveyed in written form so that the receiver can refer back to it   
  Use multiple media when necessary   
  An important message should be given face to face & then followed up w/ a memo   
  Nonverbal communication is the sharing of info by means of facial expressions, body language, & even mode of dress   
  Nonverbal communication is used when people feel uncomfortable about expressing part of a message verbally   
  People tend to have less control over their nonverbal communication than over their verbal communication   
  It is difficult to conceal insincerity   
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 Nonverbal communication is also a good medium for communicating support, acceptance, and a sense of camaraderie   
  5.  DECODING OCCURS WHEN THE MESSAGE IF FORMED BY THE RECEIVER & THE MEDIUM INTO SPOKEN, WRITTEN WORDS OR SOME OTHER FORM   
  The words we hear, the images we see all have a meaning for the receiver that may be different from that of the sender, based on such variables as experience, context, nationality, etc.   
  Some messages that include a dialect, jargon, etc. are esp difficult to decode & errors are more likely to occur   
  Leaders often can only speak in generalities & must avoid details because of the difficulty of decoding; the audience does not have enough knowledge or context to meaningfully decode a complex message   
  6.  THE RECEIVER IS THE INDIVIDUAL, GROUP, OR ORG WHO RECEIVES THE MESSAGES   
  The receiver may or may not be the intended receiver; i.e., some people may receive the message who were not intended to receive the message, or who do not need the message   
  Any receiver must decode the message   
  Decoding is interpreting or trying to make sense of a sender's message   
  Decoding is easy if the message is clear but difficult if the message is ambiguous   
  When messages are ambiguous, they are subject to the receiver's interpretation & are more likely to be influenced by the receiver's own beliefs, attitudes, values, moods, perceptual biases, and so on   
  6.  THE FEEDBACK LOOP INCLUDES THE INTENTIONAL & UNINTENTIONAL MESSAGES THAT RECEIVER SENDS BACK TO THE SENDER UPON RECEIVING THE MESSAGE   
  The feedback is the communication that the receiver sends back to the sender indicating that they have received the message & demonstrating their interpretation of the message   
  Once the message is decoded, the receiver has to respond to it, thereby starting the feedback loop   
  A variety of types of feedback are available   
  One type of feedback is acknowledging the receipt of the message   
  One type of feedback is ignoring the receipt of the message   
  One type of feedback is responding to the message w/ the requested info   
  One type of feedback is asking for clarification   
  During feedback, encodes their feedback, chooses the medium the original sender monitors   
  During feedback the original sender decodes the response & determines whether the receiver properly interpreted the initial message   
  If the sender believes the receiver did not properly interpret or decode the original message, then the communication process usually continues until both parties are confident they have reached a common understanding   
  7.  THE COMMUNICATIONS ENVIRONMENT INCLUDES ANY FEATURES IN THE ENV THAT AFFECT COMMUNICATIONS   
  The communications environment includes any features in the env that affect communications   
  The env may enhance or degraded the communications process   
  Factors in the env that affect communications include everything from physical noise, the competing messages, to irrelevant messages to social factors such as language, dialect, beliefs, etc.   
  Part of the communications env includes the social relations in the env   
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 The social relations in the process involve & affect senders & receivers & their reciprocal effects on each other as they are communication 
 
  8.  NOISE INCLUDES MESSAGES OR OTHER EFFECTS WHICH CHANGE OR ENHANCE THE MESSAGE  
  Noise often includes factors that degrade the communications process   
  Noise sometime may include factor that enhance the communications process as when music is played to enhance, highlight, or otherwise improve verbal commo   

 
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Figure on the Communications Process

The Figure on the Communications Process shows that communication is usually 2 way, & is a relatively fragile process 


 
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Examples of nonverbal communication 

A hug can help reduce stress, raise self confidence, & make people feel connected w/ those around them 
Studies of newborns, the elderly, & children in orphanages have shown that touch is necessary for psychological well being 
Hugs can be used to express powerful emotions & feelings 


 
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Examples:  The social relations in the process involve & affect senders & receivers 

If a sender is intimidated by a receiver, the message itself & the interpretation of it will be affected 
Status differences, 
perceptual models, 
sex appeal, 
gender, 
age, 
etc. 
can enter the communications process & lead to clarification or distortion of the message 


 
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 Outline on  Individual Factors in Communication
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  PERCEPTION IS A KEY FACTOR IN COMMO   
  As is demonstrated in the communications process, the perceptual process is a key element in communications  
  Zalkind & Costello, 1962, note that even simple physical objects may be perceived differently
 
  Zalkind & Costello note that perceivers respond to cues they are not aware of, may be influenced by emotional factors, may use irrelevant cues, may weigh evidence in an unbalanced way, or may fail to identify all the factors on which their judgments are based  
  Personal needs, values, & interests enter the perceptual process
 
  How one perceives the "other" affects how a person perceives the communication
 
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 The Image of Internal Factors Affecting Communications depicts numerous factors including filters, physiology, internal representations, values, beliefs, language, memories decisions, time coding & metaprograms  
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 The Image of Social Communication Competencies depicts numerous factors including processing & executive functions, social cognitive abilities, language abilities, & conflict resolution skills  
  Interactions & perceptions are affected by the expectations of what another person will look like
 
  Perception that is uniform across all info recipients is impossible in any given situation
 
  Communications in an org are basically transactions btwn individuals
 
  IMPRESSIONS ARE A MIXTURE OF PRECONCEPTIONS & EXPERIENCE WHICH IMPACT COMMO  
  The impression that the receiver has of the communicator is crucial in how the message is interpreted
 
  These impressions are not created out of thin air; they are based on the receivers past knowledge & experience
 
  The sender & receiver use their own learned responses to interpret the message
 
  THE SETTING IS THE IMMEDIATE ENV IN WHICH THE COMMO OCCURS   
  The setting also can impact the message
 
  CATEGORIZATION IS STEREOTYPING PEOPLE BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS THE WIDER CULTURE   
  The perceptual process requires putting ideas & people into categories, so messages are subject to "instant categorization" as are people
 
  The role of a person in an org affect ow communications are perceived or sent
 
  People are subordinates in one communication & superordinates in another
 
  THE ROLES OF THE SENDER & RECEIVER IMPACT COMMO   
  Communication behavior differs according to one's position in a role set
 
  Unfamiliar roles create awkward communications
 
  Athanassaides, 1974, found that women who suffered discrimination had a lower feeling of autonomy than others in the same role
 
  STEREOTYPES AFFECT COMMO AS THEY SET EXPECTATIONS FOR THE COMMO, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE ACCURATE  
  A stereotype is where one assumes that the characteristic of a person is like those of the group  
  Stereotyping can occur before any communications or interactions has taken place
 
  Common stereotypes in orgs include:  labor, management, minority group or any other group membership   
  Common stereotypes are usually, but not always, gross distortions  
  Stereotypes often involve the imposition of negative characteristics on the members of the communication system  
  The reverse situation, attributing socially approved characteristics, also occurs   
  THE HALO EFFECT IMPACTS COMMO IN THAT ONE ASSUMES THE OTHER IS LIKE THEMSELF   
  The halo effect is the projection of characteristics:  assuming that others are like you; often involves altering inconsistent information to put it in line w/ the conceptual framework already developed  
  Zalkind & Costello promote FOUR methods to improve communications:  
  a.  Know oneself  
  b.  One's own characteristics affect the characteristics that are likely to be seen in others  
  c.  The person who is self accepting is more likely to be able to see favorable aspects of others  
  d.  Accuracy in perceiving others is not a single or simple skill  

 
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Image of Internal Factors Affecting Communications

The Image of Internal Factors Affecting Communications depicts numerous factors including filters, physiology, internal representations, values, beliefs, language, memories decisions, time coding & metaprograms

 
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Image of
The Image of Social Communication Competencies depicts numerous factors including processing & executive functions, social cognitive abilities, language abilities, & conflict resolution skills

 
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 Outline on the  Principles of Symbolic Interactionism
External
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  -  Project:  Messages
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  -  Video:  Cast Away:  Hanks & Wilson:      22.45
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  FOR SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM, BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL & SOCIETY ARE CREATED SIMULTANEOUSLY; THEY CREATE EACH OTHER IN AN ON-GOING PROCESS OF THE MEANING CREATION & INTERPRETATION OF SYMBOLS   
  There are SIX Common Principles in Symbolic Interactionism    ( a micro sociological theory )
1.  Individuals send messages 4.  The meaning we perceive shapes our behavior
2.  We receive thousands of messages per day 5.  Our interpretation & behavior creates our self
3.  We interpret messages 6.  The social construction of reality is a dynamic on going process
 
  Symbolic interactionism focuses on how messages are sent, received, interpreted, & shape our "reality" (individual behavior & society)  
  We sometimes notice this "meaning creation process" in stressful situations:
-  Does this person like me?
-  What do these people really want?
-  What is going on here?
-  What am I supposed to do?		  
  But the meaning creation process goes on all the time  
  The meaning creation process is routine in most situations  
  What makes society function smoothly, w/o conflict, w/o chaos, is that most behavior & meaning is routine  
  We establish "habits," "routines," life-styles," "personalities," etc. that create meaning for us  
  1.  INDIVIDUALS SEND MESSAGES  
 
 "Individuals" send messages 
 
  "Society" does & does not send messages  
  Does:  smiles, comments, rules, laws  
  Doesn't:  individuals create this, but as dictated by society  
 
 Examples:  shake hands, bow, hug, high five, look me in the eye; avoid eye contact, hug, kiss, etc.
 
  2.  WE RECEIVE THOUSANDS OF MESSAGES PER DAY   
  We receive thousands of messages per day
 
  Individuals receive messages through the senses, which are then interpreted by the mind  
  Society receives messages through individuals in the social institutions such as family, church, govt, etc.  
  3.  WE INTERPRET MESSAGES   
  We interpret messages:  i.e., we engage in meaning creation  
  Meaning is created, & is not inherent in the situation  
  So reality depends on the content of the messages & situations as well as how the person interprets them  
  The interpretation of reality can often be an important fact in determining the ultimate reality  
  Example:  Hello:  Someone on the street saying "Hello, it's a nice day" 
You may interpret this as a friendly gesture or as an attempt to get something from you		  
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 Example:  Shirtless at UVW  
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 4.  THE MEANING WE PERCEIVE SHAPES OUR BEHAVIOR   
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 Behavior sends messages.....  
  Examples:  interpreting situations  
  Common social situations for discussion of meaning include major life passages:  birth, marriage, death, retirement, etc.   
  Common situations where we impart meaning, but it is really not a topic of conscious thought include a party, a friendship, a major purchase such as a car, home, major toy etc.  
  For symbolic interactionists, common situations pre influence meanings, such as
 Example:  Religion:  what is the meaning of baptism, communion, confirmation, brisk, etc.?		  
  But as delineated by Marcuse, Habermas et al, major corps do try to create / understand the meaning of these acts so that they can manipulate the meanings to enhance consumption of their products  
  5.  OUR INTERPRETATION & BEHAVIOR CREATES OUR SELF   
  Our interpretation & our behavior, which are the result of messages we send & receive, creates the self  
  We create habits or routines of how we interpret behavior & messages, which are a major aspect of what psychologists call personality  
  We create habits or routines of how we behave & send messages  
  Our interpretations & behaviors become fixed for ourself; our self:  Can I reinterpret my impression of a tattoo?  
  6.  THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY IS A DYNAMIC ON-GOING PROCESS   
 
 These social psychological processes of symbolic interactionism result in the "social construction of reality" which  denotes that their is no objective reality 
 
  "Reality" is constructed via an ongoing social process  
  - The reality that an actor experiences is NOT the same as the objective reality  
  - The interpretation of reality can be as important as reality itself  
  Reality is not simply determined by what goes on in an objective sense  
  Reality is determined by one's subjective or interpretive understanding of the meaning of what happens  
  Meaning is a product of past social experiences because an actor's subjective, interpretive understanding is rooted in past social experiences  

 
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Example:  Topless at UVW  I see man in halls w/o shirt
I try to rationalize why he might be w/o a shirt:
  - came in from outside
  - is involved in sociology project
  - major spill
  - is showing off
He will receive combination of 
  - approval messages
  - disapproval message

I see woman in halls w/o shirt
This is such unacceptable behavior, 
I am shocked, but come up w/ different explanations
  - is mentally unstable; risking arrest
  - is streaking

Point is:  I try to create meaning/understand
My meanings shape my behavior


 
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4.  A message's interpreted meaning shapes reality     Meaning shapes behavior  (individual & societal behavior)

If I believe man is showing off, I sneer
If I believe man had major spill, I pity him or offer jacket if I have one

If I believe woman is streaking, I laugh
If I believe woman is unstable, I try to get her help


 
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5.  Behavior sends messages... cycle continues  If I offer my coat to the man or woman, if I have misinterpreted 
   & they do not want the coat, they may laugh & / or threaten me

 
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 Outline on an Advanced Examination of   Symbolic Interactionism
External
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  - Project:  Living the Tenets of Symbolic Interactionism
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  S - I SHOWS HOW A SET OF MICRO / INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES AGGREGATE TO FORM WHAT APPEARS TO BE LARGER SOCIAL STRUCTURES & PROCESSES BUT WHICH ARE ACTUALLY PATTERNS OF MICRO PROCESSES   
  S-I cannot be reduced to Watsonian behaviorism  
 
 S-I cannot be reduced to Parsonian structural functionalism
 
 
 Both Watsonian behaviorism & Parsonian structural functionalism focused on external stimulus & ignored processes inherent in actors that shape or interpret behavior
 
  An attitude is an "already organized tendency" that shapes behavior
 
 
 While attitudes do shape behavior, what is crucial is the defining process through which actors forge their act  
 
 Symbolic interactionists believe that behavior is not determined by large scale external forces, which is contrary to the perspectives of functionalism & conflict theory  
 
 Symbolic interactionists believe that behaviorism, structural functionalism, critical theory, etc. ignore the social construction of reality
 
  Culture consists of one group's unique set of knowledge, beliefs, values, & norms  
  But what most people believe make up culture is our attitudes, which may be understood as what we consciously believe, and thus "behavior" in the sense that behavior is the process through which we socially construct attitudes, culture, etc.  
  Culture appears to be attitudes & behavior, but beneath them lie a largely semi-conscious set of mental constructs  
  We get conflicting messages and have conflicting mental constructs  
 
       Review     KBVN     AOI  
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 There are SEVEN Tenets of symbolic interactionism that are strongly grounded in psychology
 
  1.  THOUGHT, INCLUDING FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, RATIONAL THOUGHTS, ETC. IS THE BASIC UNIT OF ANALYSIS OF SYM - INT
 
  Humans have thought in the form of words, which are symbols  
  Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am" and many philosophers believe this is all we know for certain  
  At the time of the early symbolic interactionists, in the late 1800s, the psychological practice of introspection was in wide use  
  Introspection is the process whereby the psychologist looks inward at the flow of their thoughts & emotions  
  2.  THOUGHT IS CONSTITUTED BY SOCIAL INTERACTION
 
  Socialization is one of the processes through which social interaction is constituted  
  The constitution of thought & social interaction is a dynamic process whereby the actor shapes information & information shapes the actor  
  Blumer found that there are three types of objects in thought & social interaction, including  
  - physical  
  - social:  student or mother  
  - abstract:  idea or moral principle  
  The dynamic process of the constitution of thought & social interaction creates a relativistic or subjective view in that different objects have different meanings to different people   
  3.  THOUGHT CRATES MEANING & MEANING IS CREATED THROUGH INTERACTION 
 
  Thought itself is an organizing force:   
  We see plants:  organize them into trees, bushes, etc.  
  We see animals: organize them into people, canines, etc.  
  Classification is considered the first step in the scientific method & is itself viewed as a form of knowledge  
  Through interaction we learn & create meanings & symbols which allow thought  
  We sometimes have a weak sense of what is going on & it is not until we join in the interaction, or observe the interaction that we 'know what is going on'  
  Sometimes if we are not involved w/ the observed behavior, we feel left out & have an anxious sense that we are not part of what is going on, & we do not understand what is going on  
  We could not have rational thought w/o meaning creation/organization  
  If we created meaning w/o interaction, we would not be "human"  
  For symbolic interactionists, if we created meaning w/o interaction, we would be 100% independent or autistic  
  4.  WE MODIFY MEANING VIA MEANING, SYMBOLS & BEHAVIOR 
 
  We can modify meanings, symbols, & behaviors  
  For symbolic interactionists, meanings & symbols:  
  -  allow us to name, categorize & remember objects  
  -  allow us to perceive the environment  
  -  improve our ability to think because they are more effective than pictographs, since all human relations & concepts cannot be visualized  
  -  improve problem solving beyond trial & error  
  -  allow us to transcend space & time  
  -  allow us to imagine metaphysical reality: e.g. heaven & hell  
  -  allow us to avoid being enslaved by the environment   
  5.  WE HAVE INTERACTION W/ THE SELF
 
  In both sociology & psychology, the self differentiates into various components  
  In psychology, a person may differentiate into the id, the ego, & the superego, etc.  
  In sociology, a person may differentiate into the self, the I, the me, the generalized other, the significant other, etc.  
 
 Sociologists view people as differentiating into constantly interact w/ our self 
 
  The self is a role player  
  6.  PATTERNS OF INTERACTION CREATE INSTITUTIONS
 
  Patterns of action & interaction make up groups, institutions & societies  
  As we discover or create habits, or regular ways of doing things, we formalize these into social institutions which have a life beyond that of the people w/in them  
  7.  DECISIONS ARE MADE IN A CONTEXT OF MEANING CREATION 
 
  We make choices through interpreting symbols, situations, people, reality, etc.  
  We define situations & those definitions are decisions  
  On defining situations, W.I. & Dorothy Thomas said, 'If men (sic) define situations as real, they are real in their consequences'  
  Most definitions / interpretations are provided by society, but we have the possibility of redefinition which allows us to alter & modify the world/society  
  CRITICS OF S - I NOTE IT'S WEAK METHODS, VAGUENESS, WEAK INTERACTION FOCUS, IGNORANCE OF SOC STRUCTURES, & FETISHISM OF EVERYDAY LIFE  
  The Critique of Symbolic Interactionism makes FIVE points
 
  a. Symbolic interactionism eschewed conventional scientific techniques including an avoidance of "mainstream" techniques such as surveys, observation, & experiments, or even "unconventional" techniques such as content analysis, participatory observation, etc.  
  b. Symbolic interactionism is vague, lacks theoretical depth, & ignores most other theory  
  c. Symbolic interactionism is not sufficiently interactionist in that it ignores the unconscious & emotions   
  d. Symbolic interactionism downplays or ignores social structures  
  e. Symbolic interactionism makes a fetish out of everyday life in that many theorists are over critical, & focuses on trivial matters while ignoring social problems such as poverty, crime, etc.  
  CULTURE CREATES MEANING THROUGH INDIVIDUAL INTERACTION & WELL AS THROUGH MEDIATED 'TEXTS' SUCH AS ART, MUSIC, LITERATURE, THE MASS MEDIA, ETC. 
 
  The mass media is using technology & science to mass merchandise meanings that supports monopoly, global capitalism  
  Cultures produce meaning  
  These meanings can be examined through textual analysis  
  Cultures are studied through lived experience including art, music, literature, news, TV, mass media  
  Cultural studies should avoid structural analysis & concentrate on critical studies of modern culture  

 
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  An Overview of  John Dewey & Pragmatism 1859-1952
External
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 -  Biography & Major Works  
  PRAGMATISM IS A PHIL THAT ATTEMPTS TO APPLY THE METHODS OF SCIENCES TO PHIL & THE SOCIAL SCIENCES   
  Dewey was strongly influenced by the then new science of psychology  
  Dewey was influenced by the English biologist Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution  
  Dewey took his cue from Darwin & viewed consciousness as presumably useful to a living organism   
  Dewey conceived of thought & of the mind as instruments developed in the course of evolution to allow human beings to reshape their env  
  Dewey's version of pragmatism, later called instrumentalism, stated that all ideas are instruments  
  Focusing his attn on the biological & social functions of cognitive operations, he asked: 
a.  what are thoughts for?
b.  how do thought work?
c.  what difference do thoughts make?		  
  THE PRAGMATIC VIEW OF TRUTH IS THAT WHAT IS TRUE IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE  
  For Dewey, true ideas are those that work best for attaining human goals  
  Like many early symbolic interactionists, Dewey advocated that pragmatism be used to deal w/ social problems & not used only for the intellectual exercise of social scientists  
  Dewey advocated that pragmatism should be used to reshape education, morals, politics, & society  
  INTELLIGENCE / KNOWLEDGE IS OUR PRIMARY INSTRUMENT / TOOL TO ADDRESS THE ENV, BUT MOST OF US LIVE BY CUSTOM OR HABIT   
  Dewey saw intelligence as a power people use to face a conflict or challenge  
  For Dewey, people live mostly by custom & habit  
  For Dewey, in most situations, it is sufficient to think and act as we have done in the past, but some physical & social situations present problems calling for new responses  
  According to Dewey, we cannot solve unique problems by habitual action & thought, & thus we must use intelligence as an instrument for overcoming any obstacles  
  Because Dewey views intelligence as an instrument through which we overcome unique problems, his philosophy is called instrumentalism  
  For Dewey, knowledge is a means of controlling the env  
  Dewey focused on the same problem of how to close the gap in our understanding of the relationship btwn thought & action  
  Dewey's interpretation of science shows how thought & action are united in that science is a method for inquiring into the behavior of things  
  The results of scientific inquiry are the joint product of thought & activity  
  Dewey regarded activity as conducting experiments under controlled situations & thought as those theories that guide our experiments  
  PRAGMATISM HAS A SUBJECTIVE VIEW OF REALITY; BASES TRUTH ON PRAGMATISM, USEFULNESS, UTILITY; VIEWS PEOPLE AS LIVING BY WHAT IS PRAGMATIC, NOT THEORETICALLY PRAGMATIC; VIEWS REALITY, TRUTH, BEHAVIOR AS DYNAMIC / CHANGING   
Link
 There are EIGHT principles of pragmatism
 
  1.  Reality is not "out there"  
  2.  People remember/base knowledge on what is useful to them  
  3.  People are likely to alter what no longer works  
  4.  People define social & physical objects by their use  
  5.  People base their understanding of people on what they actually do  
  6.  Pragmatism has a narrow focus on the actor & the world  
  7.  Pragmatism views the interaction btwn the actor & the world as dynamic, not static  
  8.  People interpret the world   
  THE MIND IS A PROCESS, IS SOCIAL, IMAGINES & CONSIDERS ALTERNATIVES, IN SEARCH OF OPTIMIZATION   
Link
 Dewey viewed the mind as   
  - a thinking process  
  - defining objects in the social world  
  - outlining possible modes of conduct  
  - imagining consequences of alternative actions  
  - eliminating unlikely possibilities  
  - selecting the optimal mode of action  
  TWO BRANCHES OF PRAGMATISM, WHICH EXAMINE SIMILAR PROCESSES, ARE PHILOSOPHICAL REALISM WHICH FOCUSES ON SOCIETY CONSTITUTING & CONTROLLING WHILE NOMINALIST PRAGMATISM FOCUSES ON INDIVIDUALS CONSTITUTING SOCIETY   
  There are two branches of pragmatism  
  1.  Philosophical realism which is similar to Mead's work  
       aka social realists  
       Society constitutes & controls mental processes  
       We are not free agents, rather we are "controlled" by community
 
 
 2.  Nominalist pragmatism is dominated by the work of Dewey & James
 
 
 For the nominalist pragmatists, the macro level does exist but does not have effects upon consciousness & behavior
 
 
 For the nominalist pragmatists, we are free agents who accept, reject, modify, & define norms, roles, & beliefs
 
  In every area of life, Dewey called for experimenting & trying out new methods  
  As an educator, Dewey opposed the traditional method of learning by memory under the authority of teachers  
  Dewey believed that ed should not be concerned only with the mind, they should develop manual skills  
  Learning must be related to the interests of students and connected w/ current problems  
  Dewey declared that ed must include a student's physical & moral well being as well as intellectual development  
  In Art as Experience (1934), Dewey connected works of art w/ the experiences of everyday life  
  Dewey wrote that daily experience can be glorious, joyous, sad, tedious, terrifying, & tragic  
  Daily experiences are the qualities that architects, composers, painters, & writers seek to capture and express in their works  
  Dewey regarded ed as incomplete if it ignores the experiences of the producers & production of great works  

 
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John Dewey
1859-1952

Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont.  He had a distinguished teaching career at several universities, especially at Columbia University from 1904 until his retirement in 1930. 

Dewey, John (1859-1952), was an American philosopher and educator.  He helped lead a philosophical movement called pragmatism.  He wrote widely on art, democracy, education, philosophy, and science. 

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Major Works of Dewey

Democracy and Education. (1916)
Reconstruction in Philosophy. (1920)
Experience and Nature. (1925). 
In Art as Experience. (1934)

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Additional Resources for Dewey

Campbell, James.   Understanding John Dewey.  Open Court, 1995. 
Tiles, Jim E.  Dewey.  1988.  Reprint.  Routledge, 1990. 
Westbrook, Robert B.  John Dewey and American Democracy.  Cornell Univ. Pr., 1991.


 
Internal
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 Overview of  George Herbert Mead  1863  -  1931
External
Links
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works
 
  THE SELF EMERGES AS A RESULT OF INTERACTION W/ THE ENV & OTHERS   
  Mead is the most important thinker of the Chicago School & of symbolic interactionism   
  Mead taught that people & their environment created the unity of the individual   
  Mead emphasized natural emergence of self & mind w/in the social order  
  For Mead, the emergence of self & mind comes about as a result of interaction w/ the environment & other beings 
 
  The self emerges from social experience & this social experience is based on the exchange of symbols   
  THE "I" & THE "ME" REPRESENT THE INSTINCTUAL & SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE SELF   
  When fully developed, the self is composed of the "I" & the "me"   
  The I is the self as subject & the me is the self as object   
 
 See Also:  Mead on the Genesis of the Self   
  WHILE BEHAVIORISTS' VIEW OF SOC INTERACTION WAS MECHANICAL, MEAD ADDED PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDING / CONSCIOUSNESS   
  Mead's work must be contrasted against psychological behaviorism 
 
  Mead accepted may of the tenets of psychological behaviorism, but also reject many others   
  Mead adopted the focus on the actor & his/her behavior 
 
  Mead accepted behaviorism's focus on observable behavior, rewards, & punishments 
 
  Mead & Cooley did not accept the behaviorists insistence on excluding any examination of the consciousness of the Actor 
 
  The term symbolic interactionism was not used during Mead's life, but his work on consciousness & Simmel's interest in action & interaction served as the foundation for that school 
 

 
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George Herbert Mead  1863  -  1931

American pragmatist, philosopher, & social psychologist
b South Hadley, MA
Educated at Oberlin College, Harvard University, & in Europe
Taught at the University of Chicago from 1894 - 1931
Influenced by theory of evolution & the social nature of experience & behavior
At the U of Chicago in the 1920's, Mead worked w/ colleagues
  Charles H. Cooley, W. I. Thomas, and others to develop field of Symbolic Interactionism
 
 Timeline on Mead: The Mead Project, Dept of Soc, Brock U, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1
Link

Image of George Herbert Mead
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Major Works of Mead

Mead published very little.  His students compiled his work
Mind, Self and Society.  1934, 1962


 
External
Links

Top
  Outline on  Mead on the Genesis of the Self  1863  -  1931
External
Links
  -  Project:  Play at Playing 
Link
  -  Project:  The Generalized Other & Ethical Dilemmas 
Link
  -  Video:  Cooley & Mead            5:36 
Link
  -  Video:  Cast Away:  Hanks & Wilson         22:45 
Link
  NEARLY ALL SOC SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE DEVELOP AS THEY AGE, MEANING THAT EACH OF US COULD BE DIFFERENT THAN WE ARE TODAY, BASED ON THE SOCIALIZATION / DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF THAT WE EXPERIENCE ESP IN REFERENCE TO OUR SOs & GOs   
  Mead worked in the paradigm of symbolic interactionism & is generally viewed as one of its founders
 
  The genesis of the self is accomplished through socialization & goes through FOUR stages
 
  Self is composed of TWO components:  the   I    & the   me  
  The I is the spontaneous, unsocialized, unpredictable self has awareness of a separate identity
 
 
 The me is the socialized part of individual
The I continues to exist
The self develops attitudes, behavior, & beliefs in order to fit in to society 
( Compare to Freud )
 
 
 For Mead, there are FOUR stages in the development of the self, including
- the tabula rasa stage
- the imitative stage
- the play stage
- the game stage
 
  1.  THE TABULA RASA STAGE: ESSENTIALLY A BLANK SLATE, CAN ONLY IMITATE, & HAVE NO IDENTITY      circa  birth  
  Tabula rasa means blank slate  
  The concept of the tabula rasa denotes that people are born without certain predispositions to develop any particular type of personality  
  During the tabula rasa stage a baby can only do simple imitation  
  Only the I exists  
  We believe that babies believe that only they exist.         The world is under their control  
  During the tabula rasa stage, we have little or no identity  
 
 2.  THE IMITATIVE STAGE:  CAN ONLY IMITATE SOs, 'ME,' I.E. IDENTITY BEGINS EXISTENCE            circa birth to 2 yrs. 
 
  During the imitative stage, we can only imitate others, especially significant others (SO), but the me begins existence  
  For Mead the concept significant other denotes people w/ whom one has a regular, face to face, emotional connection  
  The I continues to exist  
  In the me, the individual carries society w/ them  
  Child can copy / imitate & plays imitation games  
 
 3.  THE PLAY STAGE:  TAKE ON ROLES OF SOC, INTERACT IN STRUCTURED ACTIVITY W/ SOs; 'ME,' I.E. IDENTITY IS ESTABLISHED   circa 2 to 4 yrs.
 
  In the play stage, the child can take on roles of others, especially SOs  
  The me is more developed  
  Socialization begins through interaction w/ the SO  
  The Socialization that is achieved through the interaction w/ the SO:
- establishes sense of self, that is, a distinct identity & an awareness of that identity
- others are seen as having a separate identity
- learn social norms from (a) messages & (b) role models
(SOs from whom child learns to play a role)
- child wants to play 'real games,' but only w/ his or her flexible rules		  
  During the play stage, we develop a sense of identity  
 
 4.  THE GAME STAGE:  TAKE ON COMPLEX ROLES OF THE GOs; ABLE TO CONCEPTUALIZE THE OPINION OF 'SOCIETY'         circa 5 yrs. & older 
 
  In the game stage, a child can take on the complex roles of generalized others (GO)  
  The generalized other is the classes of people w/ whom a person interacts on the basis of generalized roles rather than on individual characteristics  
  The GO is interaction based on general roles of that individual rather than on specific traits   
  The GO represents actual games; the rules, standards of performance or the attitude of entire community  
  According to Mead, children at the game stage learn that certain positions are occupied by a variety of people & that people in similar social positions frequently behave alike  
  Children in turn are expected to behave in particular ways toward people w/ particular social positions  
  The me has gained all of it's capabilities, but still needs more socialization/knowledge  
  The child moves beyond interacting w/ particular individuals & interacts w/ roles  
  The child moves  from interacting w/ SOs to interacting w/ generalized others  
  At the game stage, the child has generalized from the behavior and expectations of particular individuals to those of anyone playing various roles that relate to whatever role the child is playing at the time  
  The child has gone from interacting with SOs to a new and higher stage of interacting w/ the GO  
  Games are a metaphor for all organized activity:   family, work, etc.   
  In the game stage, one plays actual games & is truly concerned about rules, performance  
  In the game stage, the child wants to appear grown-up  
  In the game stage, one becomes concerned w/ the attitude of the entire community  
 
 During the game stage, a person is expected to behave in particular ways toward people w/ particular social positions
 
  According to Mead, children at the game stage learn that different people behave differently, & that different people also expect children to behave in different ways  
  Children do not yet really understand that how they are expected to behave toward people   
  AT OUR HIGHEST STAGE OF DEV, THE SELF EVALUATES THE SELF   
 
 In the game stage, the self evaluates the self from the point of view of GOs & not merely from point of view of discrete others
 
  The evaluation of the self from the point of view of the GOs is the capacity for abstract thinking, objectivity, & morality
 
  While play requires only pieces of selves, games require a coherent self
 
  The self allows the individual to be a more efficient  member of the society and offers greater coordination of society  
  But the self is not a conformist robot because each self has a unique biographical make-up which shapes the self  
  SOME PEOPLE DEVELOP THE CONCEPT OF A 'HIGHER COMMUNITY' IN THAT THEY RELATE TO A GO WHOM THEY BELIEVE IF MORE MORAL THAN SOCIETY TODAY   
  People have multiple Generalized Others & Selves which provide them w/ an internal dialogue/debate that allows for moral reasoning  
  People can only react against society by setting up a higher sort of society which “out-votes” the one they find  
  To set up a 'higher society,' people must encounter the society of the past, present & future  
  For Mead, institutions, social structures, etc. are common responses of the community  
  The community often acts in an identical way to people  
  Institutions need not destroy or oppress the individual; in fact, many are flexible, progressive & foster individuality  
  Education is the process where the common habits of the community are internalized  
  Mead said, "The self, as that which can be an object to itself, is essentially a social structure, & it arises in social experience… it is impossible to conceive of a self arising outside of social experience”  .  
  Mead's statement that the self is a social structure that arises in experience indicates that he thought nurture was the primary source of human behavior  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on an Advanced Examination of the Genesis of the Self
External
Links
  -  Project:  Play at Playing
Link
 
 -  Project:  The Generalized Other & Ethical Dilemmas
Link
  THE GENESIS OF THE SELF DEPICTS HOW THE SELF ARISES FROM SOCIAL EXPERIENCE  
  W/o socialization, we lack language, culture, abstract thought, & a concept of the self
 
  The self arises in the the process of social experience & activity
 
  The individual is the result of its relationship to others & to the socialization experience
 
  IN THE IMITATIVE STAGE WE COPY OTHERS & JUDGE OUR ABILITY TO COPY & THUS BECOME AN OBJECT TO OURSELF  
  The self begins the process of socialization only by first becoming an object to itself
 
  We do not first become a subject to ourself
 
  Fully mature, "sophisticated," self actualized people gain an understanding that they are simultaneously both objects & subjects to themselves, and treat others according, in situation-, moral- specific contexts  
  We become an object to ourself by taking the attitudes of others on us w/in a social environment
 
  The self, as an object to itself, is a social structure that arises in social experience
 
  Social structures are patterns of behavior that have been institutionalized; i.e. widely accepted, & taken for granted by people everywhere  
  The self is a social structure in that each person develops a personality of regular behaviors & attitudes that the self & others accept & take for granted  
  A social experience is the relation that we have w/ others in a social environment  
  The person comes to carry on a conversation of gesture w/ themself
 
  A person say something that elicits a certain reply in themself, which makes them change what they were going to say
 
  We respond to ourself as another would respond by taking part in our own conversation w/ others, being aware of what we say & using that awareness of what we say to determine what we will say thereafter
 
  All children have imaginary companions
 
  A child's imaginary companion is only a problem when a child keeps & develops a permanent relationship w/ the "friend"
 
  Through the imaginary communication, kids organize the responses that they call out in others & in themselves
 
  THE PLAY STAGE  
  PLAYING AT BEING IS HOW CHILDREN TAKE ON / EXPERIMENT W/ INNUMERABLE ROLES & INTEGRATE THEM INTO THE SELF 
 
  Play is playing at being someone or something:  a mother, teacher, a monster, a truck, etc.
 
  Even dogs play at being something such as chase dog or chased dog  
  Through the playing at being someone, kids organize the responses they call out in others & in themselves  
  When a child takes on a role, this is calling out the set of responses that go w/ that role,  both in:
- performing the role
- the reaction of others to the role
- their reaction to the reaction of the others		  
  A child uses some of the responses to the role to develop the self  
  Actors integrate aspects of many roles into our self  
  A child offers herself something & buys it, gives a letter to herself & takes it away, addresses herself as a parent, then takes on the role of child, addresses herself as a teacher, then takes on role of student, arrests herself as a policeman  
  ROLE PLAYING IS THE ORGANIZATION OF SETS OF STIMULI & RESPONSES INTO PARTICULAR ROLES & CONTEXTS   
 
 A child has a set of stimuli which create a set of responses  
 
 A child takes set of responses & organizes them into a certain whole
 
 
 A child says something in one character & responds in another character then the responding character is a stimulus to the 1st character
 
  In play, child make rules on the spot to get the self out of a jam  
  Part of the fun of play is developing rules  
  Part of the fun of a game is knowing / using the existing rules  
 
 IN THE GAME STAGE, A CHILD IS CAPABLE OF TAKING ON THE ROLE OF EVERYONE IN THE GAME AS WELL AS THE 'GENERALIZED OTHER' WHO WATCHES / JUDGES PERFORMANCE   
  In play a child takes on a few roles while in  a game, a child must be able to take on role of everyone else in the game or else the child does not understand the game  
  In play, the child passes from role to role based on whim, while in a game roles change as dictated by rules of game, by the social organization of the game  
  Example:  Baseball  
  In baseball, one must understand roles of all other players  
  In a game, there is a set of responses that creates appropriate responses in others which creates responses in the self, etc. until the game ends  
  Mead said, "The game represents the passage in the life of the child from taking the role of others in play to the organized part that is essential to self consciousness in the full sense of the term."  
  The generalized other ( GO ) is the organized community or social group which gives unity of self to the person   
  In baseball, the team is the GO  
  In abstract thought, we take the attitude of the GO to ourself w/o referring to any particular other person  
  In concrete thought we imagine how specific others will react to us  
  ONLY BY TAKING THE ROLE OF THE GO CAN WE THINK  
  Only by taking role of GO can we think in adult manner  
  It is w/ the GO that we have internalized conversation of gestures which constitute thought  
  Only through taking attitude of specific others or the GO is the existence of a universe of discourse possible  
  The universe of discourse includes all of the possible roles, acts, gestures by all people in a given culture  
  The attitudes which are common to the group, the GO, make up the organized self  
  We all have something in common: the attitudes of the GO or society  
  SOCIETAL CONTROL OF THE PERSON IS EXERCISED BY THE COMMUNITY  
  Like Durkheim, Mead believes that the community (society) exercises control over conduct of individual  
  The community exercises control through our internalized GO  
  PERSONALITY DEVELOPS IN A COMMUNITY FROM WHICH WE ADAPT ROLES & FRAME A GO 
 
  We have personality because we belong to a community  
  We takes the institutions of that community into our own conduct  
  In the development  of a personality, we take:  
  -  on language, a style of language that is the language of our community  
  -  the roles available to us in the community  
  -  the attitudes of members in the community  
  The attitudes of  the members of the community are what we might call our principles or values
 
  We put ourselves in the place of the GO which represents the organized responses of all the members of the group
 
 
 ETHICS & MORALITY ARE A FUNCTION OF THE GO / COMMUNITY IN THAT WE THINK BEYOND OUR INTERESTS TO THE INTERESTS OF THE GO / COMMUNITY   
 
 The only way we react against the disapproval of entire the community is by setting up a higher sort of community which, in a certain sense, out votes the one we find ourself in
 
 
 A person may find themself going against whole world & to do that they have to speak w/ the voice of reason, & to comprehend the voices of the past & future
 
 
 To go against our community, we may also think ourself insane
 
 
 To go against our community, we may refer to the highest community: god
 
 
 Usually we assume the voice of the community is identical w/ the voice of past & future
 
 
 AS W/ THE GO, WE CONSIDER THE POSITION OF THE COMMUNITY & IN MORAL DILEMMAS, WE OFTEN EXPECT / HOPE IT WILL CHANGE
 
 
 We imagine what the GO or community will say to us
 
 
 We respond to that
 
 
 We may expect the community to change or alter it's morality
 
 
 We can reform the order of things
 
 
 We are not simply bound by the community
 
 
 We are engaged in a conversation w/ the community
 
 
 We all "have our day in court" when we respond to the community & hope that it will respond favorably to us
 
 
 Thus the individual has not only the right to engage in a conversation w/ the community, but also has a duty to do so
 
 
 The symbolic interatctionists concept of the right to converse is similar to the issues surrounding Habermas' communicative action and discourse
 
 
 For some symbolic interatctionists & Habermas, there is a duty to bring about those changes that we believe are needed
 
 
 Examples:  Against the World
Galileo:  before the Inquisition
Columbus:  before the Queen
Person:  should I fight (back)?		  

 
 External
Links

Top
  Outline on  Mead on Mental Processes  1863  -  1931
 External
Links
  -  Project:  Mental Processes
Link
  THE SELF IS A PROCESS WHICH ARISES THROUGH SOCIAL ACTIVITY & RELATIONS   
 
 "The self, as that which can be an object to itself, is essentially a social structure, & it arises in social experience… it is impossible to conceive of a self arising outside of social experience."
 
  The self has the ability to take oneself as an object and thus the self can be both subject & object  
  The self  presupposes the social process of communication  
  The self develops through social activity & social relations  
  The self is reflexive in that when responding to another, that response is heard by the self & responds to the self, as well as to the other  
  The self talks & replies as another would  
  The self has the ability to unconsciously put itself in the place of another and examine itself  
  We must be able to get outside of ourselves to evaluate our self  
  To act rationally we must be able to put the self in the same experiential field as we put everyone else:  we must be able to take ourselves & others into account  
  But we cannot experience ourself directly, so we must take the roles of others  
  OUR VERY MIND ARISES W/IN SOCIETY 
 
  As we see from the process of socialization, the mind arises w/in society  
  For Mead, society comes first, then the mind  
  W/o society, life as we know it could not exist  
  Society & mind are a dualism  
  For Mead, a micro orientation means that we explain the behavior of a group at that level and not in the terms of a sum of the acts of individuals  
  The act is the most "primitive" or basic unit for Mead
 
  The act has 4 interdependent, simultaneous stages including the impulse, the perception, the manipulation, & consummation  
  An act involves one person while a social act involves two or more people  
  Mead is somewhat of a behaviorist or pragmatist in that while he studied the mind, he insisted on a focus on observable, verifiable facts  
  1.  THE IMPULSE IS THE FEELING / EMOTION WE EXPERIENCE AS A RESULT OF EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL STIMULI  
  The impulse is the reaction to an immediate sensuous stimulation (stimulus) which may be external, internal or combination of both  
  The impulse is similar to emotion, or a lesser form of a psychological drive  
  An example of boredom as an impulse is to see others having fun & feel bored, or just to have the feeling arise independently or some both combination of external & internal cues
 
  For Mead, the impulse is shaped by our social definitions of it:  inappropriate to be bored at a party  
  2.  THE PERCEPTION IS THE SEARCH FOR & REACTION TO STIMULI RELATED TO AN IMPULSE   
  We perceive both external stimuli as well as the mental images we create  
  We actively select among stimuli  
  Stimuli may have several dimensions and we choose one set  
  Perception & the object of perception are interdependently related   
  3.  MANIPULATION IS ACTION OR THOUGHT BASED ACTIVITY AS A RESULT ON AN IMPULSE & PERCEPTION   
  Manipulation is action or thought based activity as a result of an impulse & perception  
  When we manipulate the object, we take action in relation to it
 
  Manipulation is a pause to contemplate various responses  
  Animals don't generally manipulate  
 
 4.  CONSUMMATION IS THE TAKING OF AN ACTION WHICH SATISFIES THE IMPULSE 
 
  Mead does not consider the consequences of no consummation or w/ dissatisfaction w/ the consummation  
  Gestures are movements which are specific stimuli calling forth socially appropriate responses  
  Nonsignificant gestures are unconscious, instinctive actions  
  Significant gestures are gestures which require thought   
  For Mead, humans do both nonsignificant & significant gestures while animals do only the former   
  Animal psychologists today would disagree w/ Mead because of their observations that dogs, cats, simians, dolphins, et al engage in play & appear to demonstrate other emotions & human traits   
  Language is vocalized significant gestures   
  Language & all social gestures stimulate speakers & listeners similarly   
  Physical gestures primarily are unconscious & so primarily affect others  
  SIGNIFICANT SYMBOLS ARE THE SYMBOLISM THAT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO HIGHER ANIMALS   
  Significant symbols allow communication, language, complex mental processes, & complex social interactions   
  Significant symbols allow for greater adjustment because both giver & receiver interpret them   
  Language makes thought possible   
  Thinking is an internalized or implicit conversation  w/ the self by means of the significant gestures of language   
  In Mead's view, animals cannot think, though many of them are conscious   
  Thinking is the same as talking to one another   
  Viewing language as a necessity for thought is a behaviorist view of thinking   
  During the time Mead introduced his ideas of language & thought, introspection & talking therapy were popular in psychology   
  In our conversations & actions, we strain to elicit automatic behavior   
  Prayer, meditation, focused exercise, artistic practice, etc. often results in the is stopping of the conversations in our mind   
  Prayer, meditation, focused exercise, artistic practice, etc. stops thinking & therefore enhances or expands consciousness   
  THERE ARE FIVE MENTAL PROCESSES INCLUDING:  INTELLIGENCE, REASON, CONSCIOUSNESS, MEANING MAKING, & MIND   
  1.  INTELLIGENCE IS THE MUTUAL ADJUSTMENT OF THE ACTS OF ORGANISMS & THE ENV   
  In relation to intelligence, both animals & humans can adjust to each other but only humans use significant symbols  
  In relation to intelligence, animals have unreasoning intelligence because they have no pause in action, no manipulation  
  2.  REASON IS BASED ON THE ABILITY TO POSTPONE ACTION, TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES   
  In relation to reason, we can test out these alternatives mentally w/ no consequences   
  In relation to reason, we can choose which stimuli to consider   
 
 3.  CONSCIOUSNESS IS AN AWARENESS OF THE SELF 
 
 
 The TWO aspects of consciousness are substantive consciousness & reflective consciousness 
 
  Substantive consciousness is that to which the individual alone has access   
  Only the individual has access to substantive consciousness because it is the pre consciousness of impulse, reason, etc. that is done w/o language or meaning in the social sense   
  Reflective consciousness is the social use symbols from the external world  
  Thus mental images are social because they arise only in relation to the external world & in gestures & symbols that are socially created   
  We often recognize the contrast btwn substantive & reflective consciousness when, in conversation, we admit the difficulty of putting our feelings into words, or when we know something but don't know how to explain it   
  4.  MEANING IS THE CREATION OF MUTUAL SOCIAL UNDERSTANDING   
  Meaning is the creation of mutual social understanding   
  Meaning is highly social as seen in a gesture given to another so that the other's behavior is predictable in that if we offer a person a compliment, we expect civil or friendly behavior in return   
  Giving a gift to a loved one only has meaning if both people agree on that meaning   
  5.  THE MIND IS A PROCESS, A CONVERSATION W/ ONESELF   
  The mind arises & develops w/in a social process & is an integral part of that process   
  Society is the processes that precedes both the mind & the self   
  The social processes precedes the mind, precedes meaning, & is not a product of the mind   
  The mind is not only the ability to create a response in another, but the response of the community as a whole   
  We give a particular gift because our society defines it as appropriate   
  It is difficult or impossible to give a gift that has solely individualistic meaning   
  Symbolic interactionism foreshadowed Giddens & the Post Modernists who see institutions as both constraining & enabling to the creative individual   
  For Mead, we need to grasp the emergence of society, self, etc. in that the whole is more than sum of its part just as water, i.e. H2O, is vastly different than 2 Hs & an O   

 
Internal
Links

Top
 An Overview on  Charles Horton Cooley   1864  -  1929
External
Links
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works   
  THE LOOKING GLASS SELF TAKES ACCT OF OTHER'S IMPRESSION OF US & OUR OWN IMPRESSION OF US   
  Cooley had an interest in the nature of consciousness  
  Cooley saw consciousness as integrally related to it's social context   
  Cooley's view of a social consciousness contrast's w/ Mead's view that consciousness is, at some level, independent of it's social context   
  Cooley developed his understanding of a social consciousness in the concept of the Looking Glass Self 
 
  PRIMARY GRPS ARE FAMILY & CLOSE FRIENDS; SECONDARY GRPS ARE ACQUAINTANCES OR LESS   
  Cooley also explored the nature of primary & secondary groups, where the former is characterized by intimate, face to face, regular contact that plays a key factor in linking the actor to the larger society 
 
  Critical primary groups include the family & the peer group 
 
  W/in the primary groups of the family & the peer group, the individual grows into a social being 
 
  It is w/in the primary group that the looking glass self emerges & the ego centered child learns to take others into account &, thereby, to become a contributing member of society 
 
  BEHAVIORISM COULD NOT ACCT FOR HOW WE INTERPRET OUR & OTHER'S ACTIONS & RESPOND TO THEM   
  Cooley & Mead rejected a behaviorist view of humanity where people blindly & unconsciously respond to external stimuli 
 
  Cooley & Mead's views directly contradicted the behaviorism that was important at that time (and remains a major force in psychology today) which held that psychologists should ignore people's consciousness, feelings etc. & instead focus only on observable behavior 
 
  For Cooley & Mead, people had consciousness & a Self 
 
  Cooley urged sociologists to try & put themselves in the place of those they were studying through a method called sympathetic introspection 
 
  Through sympathetic introspection, sociologists could understand meanings & motives that are at the base of social behavior 
 
  Cooley & Mead believed the focus of sociology should be on such social psychological phenomena as consciousness, action, & interaction 
 

 
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Charles Horton Cooley 

1864  -  1929

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Major Works of Cooley

Charles Horton Cooley. Social Organization: A Study of the Larger Mind. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. (1909).
Charles Horton Cooley,  Human Nature & the Social Order. Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1956.


 
Internal
Links

Top
  Outline on   Cooley's Looking Glass Self    1864  -  1929 
External
Links
  -  Project:  Communications & the Looking Glass Self 
Link
  -  Project:  Video:  The Looking Glass Self & the Iron Jawed Angels 
Link
  -  Video:  The Looking Glass Self & the Iron Jawed Angels 
Link
  THE LOOKING GLASS SELF DENOTES THAT OUR 'SELF' IS THE RESULT OF WHAT OTHERS THINK OF US & WHAT WE THINK OF OURSELVES   
  Cooley developed his understanding of a social consciousness in the concept of the looking glass self  
  The essential characteristic of social conduct, according to Cooley, was “taking the attitude of the other” toward one's own conduct  
  We are a mirror for ourselves
One's consciousness is a reflection of what one thinks others think of them
Our self is a reflection of the messages we get from others		  
Link
 Proverb:
A person is made up of three things:
    1.  what a person  thinks of themself
    2.  what others think of them
    3.  the real person
How can this be?  Aren't we one or the other? 
What is meant by this?
Is it correct?
Which part is correct?		  
  Cooley posits EIGHT major points on the development & action of the self  
  1.  THE LOOKING GLASS SELF IS THE CONCEPTION THAT OUR SELF IMAGE DEVELOPS THROUGH TWO WAY SOCIALIZATION  
  Our self image develops through socialization  
  Socialization is the process by which we hold up a mirror to ourselves & others hold up a mirror for us  
  2.  OUR BEHAVIOR IS OVER DETERMINED  
  Our behavior is over determined in that we get 1000's of messages everyday about who we are & who we should be  
  3.  THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF MESSAGES WE RECEIVE VIA THE MIRROR & OTHERS  
  Messages can be conflicting, (in)accurate, good/bad, explicit, implicit, supportive, damaging,   
  Messages can be about the self, others, knowledge, beliefs, values, norms, etc.  
  We gets messages from ourselves  
  We interpret the many diverse messages we receive based on our past experience & the situational norms  
  We gets messages from ourselves, SOs, RMs, GOs, social institutions, & the general public  
 
 4.  IN THE MIRROR, WE DEVELOP SELF FEELINGS  
 
 We imagine how we appear
 
  We imagine what others' judgment of us is  
  We develop self feeling out of our self perception & our perception of others' judgments  
  Children try to imagine what other people think about how they are doing in their various roles & look for explicit & implicit messages from others to find out  
  Once they get such messages they develop ideas about what kind of person they are based on their interpretation of these messages, effecting employing the looking glass  
  The looking glass self allows us to act rather than simply respond to stimuli  
  5.  THE LOOKING GLASS IS A RESERVOIR & IT STORES EVERY MESSAGE     ( Alice's mirror )   
  The reservoir theory of personality has SIX features  
  i.  Messages form a reservoir in us, in that we forget nothing  
  ii.  We are the sum of all the good, bad, & neutral messages we have received  
  iii.  Messages during childhood are imprinted  
  iv.  Messages in adulthood are also important  
  v.  The types of messages all mix together & the majority rules, w/ the exception of powerful messages  
  vi.  Our personality is the result of the "interaction" of all the messages we receive  
  6.  BAD MESSAGES ESSENTIALLY GET DILUTED IN A RESERVOIR OF GOOD MESSAGES   
  7.  A GOOD UPBRINGING IS THE RESULT OF POSITIVE MESSAGES, ATTENTION , EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, PRAISE, RECOGNITION OF LIMITATIONS   
 
 7.  For Cooley, a "good upbringing" is the result of FIVE social processes  
  a.  sufficient positive messages  
  b.  sufficient attention  
  c.  emotional support  
  d.  credit, praise, responsibility  
  e.  reassurance that everybody is not good at everything  
 
 8.  EXCESSIVE CRITICISM, SOME GREAT FAILURE, OR SOME GREAT FAILURE BY AN S.O. MAY LEAD TO LOW SELF ESTEEM & / NEUROSIS   
  For Cooley, we do not necessarily have an accurate understanding or view of the self  
  For Cooley, our limited view of the self is our self image  
  For Cooley, our self image is our sense of what kind of  person we are  
  Therapy, healthy personal growth, a challenge, a truth telling friend/lover, etc. brings our self image closer to our self  

 
Top  
Old Proverb: A person is made up of three things:
       1.  what a person  thinks of themself
       2.  what others think of them
       3.  the real person
What is meant by this?
Is it correct?
Which part is correct?

Cooley believes the self is the result of 
       1.  what a person thinks of themself
       2.  what others think of them
            & 
       3.  "the real person" is a misnomer:  no such thing: 
               we are in a constant state of being which is a negotiation btwn 
               what we believe ourselves to be 
               & what we believe others believe us to be


 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on  W. I. Thomas  1863 - 1947
External
Links
  -  Project:  Beliefs Becoming True in Their Consequences 
Link
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works   
  SOCI SHOULD BE ACTIVIST & REFORMIST; QUALITATIVE METHODS ARE EFFECTIVE   
  His landmark study, The Polish Peasant in Europe & America, (1918), co-authored w/ Florian Znaniecki, reflected the American, & the Chicago school position that sociology should be activist & work toward actual social reform rather than merely, in the European tradition, an academic endeavor  
  Representative of the ecological viewpoint, the Polish Peasant was a study of social disorganization among Polish immigrants  
  The Thomas' used a unique methodology using sources such as autobiographies, paid writings, family letters, newspaper files, public documents & institutional letters  
  PERCEPTIONS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS 'REALITY' IN UNDERSTANDING PEOPLES' SOCIAL ACTION   
  In the Polish Peasant, Thomas coined his now famous phrase, "If men (sic) define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." (Thomas and Thomas, 1928)
 
  Thomas made the connection which emphasized the importance of what people think and how this affects what they do
 
  Thomas' microscopic, social psychological focus contrasted w/ the macroscopic, social structural & social cultural perspectives of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, et al
 
  Symbolic interactionism was to become a major movement w/in the Chicago School
 
  SOCIAL SITUATIONS HAVE AN 'AGREED UPON' REALITY   
  Thomas' work, in emphasizing the power of people's definition of the situation, thereby emphasized the importance of the social situation
 
  The social situation is a reality that is "agreed upon" that is ad hoc (exclusively for a special purpose) for those who participate in it
 
  Each situation confronts one w/ specific expectations & demands specific responses to these expectations
 
  Powerful social pressures exist in just about any social situations to ensure that proper responses occur
 
  Most times, people's definitions of the situation at least approximately coincide even though there can be quite divergent interests
 
  Example of man w/o a shirt:  I construct meaning around this
 
  In actuality, there are only a few unique situations in our life that require definitions that are "societally new"
 
  Examples
Writer & publisher:  each has their expectations about what a book will be about, the style, etc.
Students in a class:  Different students have different preconceived notions about a
      discipline
      Professor
      the subject, etc.
People in a relationship:  friends or lovers or associates
Each of these social groups has expectations that will impact the social construction of their reality 
 
  DEFINITIONS OF SOC SITUATIONS CREATE 'SELF FULFILLING PROPHECIES'   
  Thomas is famous for his quote:  “If men (sic) define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”
 
  "You are my best friend." 
One's interpretation of a social situation influences the way they act
 
  Much of social behavior is a self fulfilling prophecy in that our expectations determine our behavior & the behavior of others
 
  You will come to believe your own act
You will believe it faster if others reinforce it		  

 
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W. I. Thomas  1863 - 1947

Thomas is noted for his pioneering work on the sociology of migration on which he co-operated with Florian Znaniecki, and for his formulation of what became known as the Thomas theorem, a fundamental law of sociology: "If men define situations as real they are real in their consequences". [Thomas, William I.; Thomas, Dorothy: The Child in America (Alfred Knopf, 1929, 2nd ed., p. 572)]

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Major Works of WI Thomas

Sex and Society.  1907
The Polish Peasant in Europe and America.  1918-1920
With Robert E. Park and Herbert A. Miller as main authors: Old world traits transplanted.  1921
The unadjusted girl. With cases and standpoint for behavior analysis.  1923
Edited by Morris Janowitz): W.I. Thomas on social organization and social personality.  1966


 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on an intro to  Herbert Blumer 
External
Links
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works  
  BLUMER COINED THE TERM SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM TO EMPHASIZE THE SOCIAL NATURE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SELF & SOCIETY THROUGH THE USE OF SYMBOLS   
  In 1937,  Blumer coined the term symbolic interactionism  
  Blumer found that there are three types of objects in thought & social interaction  
  - physical  
  - social:  student or mother  
  - abstract:  idea or moral principle  
  The dynamic process of the constitution of thought & social interaction creates a relativistic or subjective view in that different object have different meanings to different people   
  SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST TYPE INTERACTIONS ARE THE LINK BTWN INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, & SOCIETIES BECAUSE THEY AGGREGATE TO FORM RELATIONS THAT ARE QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT THAN A SIMPLE SUM OF INTERACTIONS   
  For Blumer, symbolic interactionism is the link btwn the micro & macro worlds  
  Blumer criticizes structural functionalists who see deterministic structures as external & coercive to individuals  
  Symbolic interactionism sees structures as acts which are built up by people through their interpretation of the situation  
  Blumer accepted Mead's idea of macro structures emerging from micro-structures  
  Blumer emphasized that structures are well established & repetitive in form  
  Structures both enable & coerce & are not all pervasive
 
  Structures must constantly be re-enacted or they will shatter
 
 
 Structures leave many unprescribed areas; i.e., social structures do not pervade every sphere of life
 
  BLUMER & SYM - INT BELIEVE THE SELF IS 'RADICALLY FREE;' I.E. CANNOT BE CONSTRAINED BY SOC STRUCTURES   
  Blumer does not take symbolic interactionism into the structural confines of communication, but it gives us the notion of the self as the free creator  
  For Blumer, Mead's conception of the self falls into a description of the I & the Me  
  For Blumer, Mead's Me is the retrospective traces that build up in a person, i.e. our history of adjustment  
  Blumer says that Mills incorrectly interprets one's history of adjustment as the place where structure impacts the person, whereas Blumer emphasized the I as the place where one adjusts & keeps a history of adjustment  
  Blumer is influence by his advisor, Robert Park & the Chicago School, as much as he is by Mead  
  Blumer agreed w/ Park that understanding would make the world better because we can we can get outside of the world through understanding, & we can get outside of ourself by understanding the self  
  But for Mills & Mead we can never get outside it because all we can do is create a different present which is always conditioned by something  
  By emphasizing the I, Blumer breaks free of the notion of constraint minding, & tends more to volitional interactions that we have
 
  By focusing on volitional interactions, Blumer tends toward a more micro system  
  In their time, both Blumer & Mills are taken as alternatives to structural functionalism  
  FOR MILLS, THE ROLES WE EMBRACE ARE PRE CREATED IN EARLIER HIST ERAS, BUT BLUMER NOTES THAT THESE ROLES ARE CREATED & RECREATED IN THE PRESENT   
  For Mills, the roles produced by society are handed over in history, for Blumer the roles produced by society are more parallel, & handed over in that they are created & recreated  in historical contexts  
  The parallel creations of roles are more of a dynamic realignment of behavior & thought than historical processes  
  Blumer gives little consideration to constraint in social action because his notion of S - I is very volunteristic  
  The article by Blumer, "Society as Symbolic Interaction," gives the sense that we act toward things on the basis of meanings  
  As w/ Mead, in acting toward things on the basis of meaning, there is an emphasis of how cognitive definitions of situations are arrived at in inaction w/ other people  
  We develop lines of interpretation & constraint is not considered in the interpretation  
  Compared to Blumer, Mead tends more to the I, but for Blumer the important part of the self is the me, where we jointly interact & find sequences
of interaction		  
  Blumer's self is usually focused on interactions, leaving out history  
  But as Mills notes w/ his conception of the sociological imagination, it is useful to see the interactions & sequences of interactions as constrained by history  
  Goffman's concept of ritual routines combines the concept of the self as constructed by interactions & sequences of interactions, & the constraints of history  
  When we live w/in the constraints of history, they give us the sense of life as inevitably having a past & future, & this sense acts an organizing constraint on the present.   
  BLUMER'S METHODOLOGY IS INDUCTIVE, & NON POSITIVISTIC, I.E. INTERPRETIVE   
  Blumer's major breakthrough is in methodology  
  Blumer developed concepts which sensitized micro sociologists to new points of view  
  Blumer's methods parallels the work of Anselm Straus & Barney Glasser in the Discovery of Grounded Theory, both which advocate the use of inductive methods where researchers explore interactions in order to discover the concepts of sociology  
  Concepts emerge or are derived & are not created then tested  
  Mills notes that S - I is not as radical in its confrontation w/ positivism as are other branches of soci, such as conflict theory  
  Mills uses the more radical potentials of S - I, but Blumer gives S - I a mainstream focus & S - I becomes an alternative to working in mainstream sociological models which were dominated by positivism  
  Blumer's S - I is also seen as an alternative to the quantification of all social relations aspects, i.e. statistical analysis  
  S - I provides a haven for those who do not embrace the concepts of positivism, but does not offer a radical critique of it  
  S - I explores the ability to sensitize oneself to the interpretive perspectives, trying to get into the participants' quality of life as it goes on  
  In Blumer's terms, sensitivity to the interpretive life we all live in is a preface to hypothesis development  
  Thus S - I produces sensitizing concepts getting us closer to what people are in the world so that ultimately once you understand that closeness you can develop statements about the nature of the world  
  The dominant mode of doing sociology from the mid 60s to now is the quantification of social relationships as if they were facts  
  FORMATION OF THE SELF IS THE ALIGNMENT OF MUTUAL DEFINITIONS BY MYSELF & OTHERS   
  For Blumer, it is in the alignment of mutual definitions that we take meaning & adjust our understanding of meaning while for Mead the self is the adjusted summation of the messages given to us from society, generalized others, significant others, & even the self  
  Thus for Blumer, being is more flexible or malleable than it is for Mead  
  For Blumer, our self is the fallout of so many ideas of knowledge about the world  
  Neither Blumer nor Mead deals w/ emotion or the non rationality of the our 'feeling world'  

 
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Herbert Blumer
 1900 - 1987

Studied under Robert Park

 Born in St. Louis, Missouri; was an American sociologist & a pupil of George Herbert Mead.

When Mead had to give up his position as a lecturer at the University of Chicago due to illness, Blumer took over & continued his work. In his 1937 article "Social Psychology", Blumer coined the term symbolic interactionism & summarized Mead's ideas into three premises:
a. The way people view objects depends on the meaning these things have for them. 
b. This meaning comes about as a result of a process of interaction. 
c. The meaning of an object can change over time. 

In 1952 Blumer became the Chair of the new Sociology department at the University of California, Berkeley. He was secretary treasurer, & later President, of the American Sociological Association. Blumer was presented with the association's Award for a Career of Distinguished Scholarship in 1983.

Anselm Strauss, who worked as a research assistant with Blumer, cofounded grounded theory.

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Major Works of Blumer

Blumer combined LeBon's & Park's 1939 ideas into his own version of Contagion Theory in "The Field of Collective Behavior."  1969
Movies & Conduct (1933) 
Movies, Delinquency, & Crime (1933) 
The Human Side of Social Planning (1935) 
Social Psychology, Chapter 4 in Emerson Peter Schmidt (ed.) Man & Society: A Substantive Introduction to the Social Science. New York, Prentice Hall (1937) 
Critiques of Research in the Social Sciences: An Appraisal of Thomas & Znaniecki's "The Polish Peasant in Europe & America" (1939) 
Symbolic Interaction: Perspective & Method (1969)


 
Internal
Links

Top
An Intro to  Maines
External
Links
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works
 
  WE ARE CREATED THROUGH JOINT ACTION BTWN THE INDIVIDUAL & THE COMPONENTS OF SOCIETY SUCH AS GROUPS, INSTITUTIONS, STRUCTURES, ETC.   
 
 Maines believes that Blumer's concept of  joint action
    - involves social organization since it has recurrent patterns
    - is interconnected & tends to be institutionalized
    - has a history & continuity
 
 
 Maines believes that Blumer's theory is not unscientific, subjectivist or astructural
 
  THE FAULTLINE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS SIMILAR TO THE MICRO MACRO SPLIT:  IT IS DIFFICULT TO DISCERN HOW MICRO & MACRO INTERACTIONS IMPACT EACH OTHER   
 
 In the past 70-80 years, the field of the social sciences has been thoroughly constructionist, in the sense that all sociological paradigms locate their explanations of the social in social phenomena themselves
 
 
 Sociology has developed a conceptual dichotomy, wherein practitioners describe work as falling into "social constructionist" or "nonconstructionist" categories
 
 
 The relation between the constructionist & nonconstructionist categories represents what Maines calls a "faultline of consciousness"
 
 
 For Maines, the "faultline" mystifies the constructionist nature of sociology, even from sociologists themselves
 
 
 In examining the contemporary literature in so called "mainline sociology," Maines finds a trend toward the use of standard concepts & propositions once held almost solely by pragmatist & interactionists
 
 
 Maines proposes that not only has the field as a whole become more interactionist, but that it never had any realistic option other than to do so
 
 
 Through the theories of Mead, Blumer, & Park, Maines reveals an enduring sociological relevance that has been hidden in professional myth & rhetoric
 
 
 For Maines, scholarly progress cannot be demonstrated in substantive terms but only rhetorically claimed, & thus can be understood today only as a political sociology of knowledge
 
 
 Maines provides an array of empirical studies drawn from pragmatist & interactionist precepts to illustrate how a credible general sociology can be framed & developed
 
  The faultline of consciousness refers to sociologists’ defective sense of the hist of our discipline, which distorts perceptions of the contributions of early sociologists  
  Maines adds a historical analysis of the field of S - I into symbolic interactionism  
  CULTURAL STUDIES ARE A STRONG SUPPLEMENT TO TRADL MODES OF SOCIAL INQUIRY   
  S - I is a precursor of cultural studies  
  Cultural studies reread the classic symbolic interactionist authors in order to fine tune their insights  
  For Maines the way disciplinary knowledge is passed from one generation to the next is flawed  
  Students can be encouraged to write more accurate summaries of published research or use a methodology in a more sophisticated manner if teachers are more assertive & controlling  
  Overly controlling teachers undermine the next generation's need for self expression & rebellion which motivates them to pursue academic careers  
  MAINES WISHES TO USE SYM INT MORE AS A GUIDE TO PRACTICAL ACTIVITY   
  Maines sees himself as a naive idealist who has a limited interest in abstract theorizing  
  Maines explores theoretical ideas including
-  Mead's notion of time
-  Blumer's theory of industrialization & social change
-  Parks theory of human ecology
-  contract research
-  reorganization of Catholic parishes in the US
-  the racial perception of Somali immigrants in Canada
-  narrative analysis		  
  "Unaware interactionists" & the "reluctantly interpretive" are the labels that Maines gives to S - Iists who have been so marginalized in mainstream sociology that many that they do not see their work as part of the perspective  
  S - I research is often misunderstood & thus is likely to be under appreciated by future generations  
  Students today are usually first exposed to S - I through its critics, who encourage them to see it as old fashioned  
  Maines notes that the critics of S - I hold that it: 
- is a subjectivist perspective
- is nothing more than a type of social psychology
- advocates deny the impact of social structures
- involves some sort of unique methodology		  
  Maines refutes these critics  
  Maines proposes a new research agenda:  “I would reverse the direction of scholarly accommodation suggested by cultural studies advocates ... and post modernist advocates ... and suggest that perhaps those newer fields of inquiry should engage the pragmatism / interactionism that preceded them” (p. 233)  
  Norman Denzin opposes Maines by supporting the contemporary theoretical & methodological diversity, & the inclusion of  contemporary European social theory   
  Maines welcomes diversity but notes that it would be more fruitful if it built on rather than ignoring, out of ignorance, the ideas of early S - Iists  
  NARRATIVE ANALYSIS APPLIES SYM INT & / OR OTHER THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS TO A STORY, BIOGRAPHY, ETC.   
  A basic premise of narratology is that all stories combine, to varying degrees, fact & fiction & even social scientist cannot escape this reality  
  Maines emphasizes the non rational factors influencing the development of social theory  
  Maines, Davis, MacCannell, & Plummer argue that early S - I had simplistic notions about the symbolic aspects of communication & that we are only beginning to understand this today  
  All types of symbols such as clothing, material artifacts, gestures, even language having layers of meaning  
  While Blumer did make researchers aware of the pliable nature of symbols, the way their meaning is established through negotiation, he did not provide a systematic methodology for studying the topic  
  Erving Goffman has also focused more on the symbolic in S - I  
  The problem is that we have both misunderstood the S - I classics & we have failed to move beyond them to the fruitful areas of investigation they proposed  
  Interest in more rigorous methodologies leads us to contemporary socio linguistics, semiotics & narratology, but these areas could & should be linked to the theories of Mead, Park, Blumer, et al, rather than seen as new subfields  
  Any theoretical perspective that continually denies or ignores it's theoretical foundations, claiming to pursue new directions, is likely to fragment in such a way that fruitful connections are missed.   
  Narrative analysis utilizes the insights of literary works, biographical works, auto biographical works, the media, etc.  

 
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David Maines

Title: Professor of Sociology
Office: 517 Varner Hall
Phone: (248) 370-4654
E-mail: maines@oakland.edu

Major Fields
Urban sociology, stratification, interactionism, narrative. 

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Major Works of Maines

A Sociological Account of the Persistence of Anorexic Identities," with Susan Haworth Hoeppner, Symbolic Interaction, 28:1-23, 2005. 
"Herbert Blumer," pp. 58-62 in George Ritzer (ed.), Encyclopedia of Social Theory, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005. 
"Evidence of and Speculations on Catholic de facto Congregationalism," with Michael McCallion, Review of Religious Research, 46, pp. 92-101, 2004. 
"Liturgical Influence on Tabernacle Location," Review of Religious Research 44:93-94, 2003 (with Michael McCallion). 
The Faultline of Consciousness: A View of Interactionism in Sociology, Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter, 2001. 
Musing and thrashing around at the intersection of symbolic interactionism and communication studies

Major Works on Maines

A.P. Bochner, Shing-Ling S. Chen.  Symbolic interaction and communication: NCA spotlight on the contributions of David R. Maines
BE. Gronbeck.  The idea of structure and communication in David Maines' work
P.M. Hall.  The Maines stream: a pragmatist perspective on social organization and policy production
G.A. Fine.  Framing norms: the culture of expectations and explanations
WK.. Rawlins.  Telling stories of David R. Maines: an admiring friend's sampler


 
Internal
Links

Top
An Intro to  Stryker
External
Links
Link
 - Biography & Major Works   
  Stryker developed EIGHT central principles of  symbolic interactionism including universal classification, designation of social position, emergent social structures, internalization, situation definition, constraint of behavior, role taking, role making & social change   
  1.  HUMANS, UNIVERSALLY, NAME & CLASSIFY THE WORLD   
  Classifications & names have meaning for the actors   
  We learn through interaction; we are socialized on how to classify   
  Classifications socialize us on how to behave   
  Stryker is emphasizing Mead's conception of classification as a primary form of thought & knowledge   
  The very act of classification, which for many social scientists & epistemologists is a very "low form of knowledge", but here Stryker is noting that a basic form of knowledge is powerful because it is the foundation of other forms of knowledge  
  2.  HUMANS USE SYMBOLS TO DESIGNATE SOCIAL POSITIONS OR ROLES   
  Roles are shared behavioral expectations attached to a position  
  3.  HUMANS CONSTRUCT LARGER ( EMERGENT ) SOCIAL STRUCTURES WHICH SEEM TO EMERGE ON THEIR OWN   
  Social structures are organized patterns of behavior  
  Social structures are frameworks in which people act  
  In social structures people label each other, recognized positions, & so have reciprocal behavioral expectations  
  4.  HUMANS INTERNALIZE THE SELF'S LABELS & EXPECTATIONS   
  Stryker is integrating the psychological idea of internalization into sociology & symbolic interactionism  
  5.  HUMANS DEFINE THE SITUATION BY NAMING IT & ENDOWING IT W/ PARTICULAR FEATURES   
  6.  SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IS CONSTRAINED BY ROLE MAKING  
  We do not simply take roles, we actively create our orientation to our roles  
  7.  SOCIAL STRUCTURE RESULTS IN PEOPLE TAKING, RATHER THAN MAKING ROLES   
  8.  THE POSSIBILITY OF ROLE MAKING MAKES SOCIAL CHANGE POSSIBLE   
  Change can occur in social definitions as seen in names, symbols, classifications, etc.  
  The cumulative effect of these changes can be alterations in the larger social structures  
  Stryker attempts to explain the:
-  dynamics of identity formation
-  salience of an identity
-  consequences of identity for role performances, & the 
-  shifting commitments to a particular identity		  
  Stryker holds that the self is always embedded in society  
  For Stryker, social positions become incorporated into the self & shape our social interactions  
  Symbolic interactionist thought can be used to develop a productive, empirical scientific study of social behavior  
  Most recently, Stryker's theoretical & research writings have centered on extending identity theory  
  Stryker has examined identity theory seeking to formulate & extend insights of Mead in a theory that is testable using reasonably rigorous empirical methods  
  Stryker applies identity theory to the social movement phenomena by developing the responsibility of a sociological social psychology to examine social psychological processes in their social structural contexts  

 
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Sheldon Stryker
SHELDON STRYKER is interested in the development & empirical testing of identity theory, a theory of the role related choice behavior that has emerged from a symbolic interactionist framework, as well as the continued development of the framework itself. He is also interested in the relations of social psychological theory deriving from sociology & psychology. He is currently involved in the analysis of survey data from a southern California sample that examines the interrelationships of large scale social structure, commitments to social networks, the salience of personal & social identities, & choice behaviors. 
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Major Works of Stryker

"Identity salience & psychological centrality: Equivalent, overlapping, or complementary concepts?" Social Psychology Quarterly 57:16-35, 1994. (with R. Serpe)

"Freedom & constraint in social & personal life: Toward resolving the paradox of self." In Self, Collective Action & Society: Essays Honoring the Contributions of Ralph H. Turner, G. Platt & C. Gordon editors. Greenwich, CN:JAI Press, 1994.

"Prior social ties & movement into new social relationships." In Advances in Group Processes E.J. Lawler, B. Markovsky, J. O'Brien, & K. Heimer editors, Vol. 10, 1994. (with R. Serpe)


 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the Dramaturgical Approach
External
Links
  -  Project:  Dramaturgical Life 
Link
  LIFE MAY BEST BE UNDERSTOOD AS THEATER, A PERFORMANCE, IN THAT WE ACT AT BEING OUR SELF   
  The dramaturgical approach uses the theater as a metaphor for life, assuming that we are all, more or less, acting at being our self   
  For many people, the theatrical approach of sociology is simultaneously dismaying & empowering   
  The theatrical approach of dramaturgical theory is dismaying in that lay people find it disturbing to believe that "we all simply put on an act"   
  The implication of dramaturgical theory is that we are, in existentialist philosophers' terms, inauthentic, or in Marxist terms, alienated   
  However, this lay view is inaccurate, because what the dramaturgical approach is saying is that we all must act at something & the act which we choose is authentic to the extent that we freely choose it, & alienated to the extent that we act an act that we did not choose   
  Dramaturgical theory is empowering, at least on the micro- or individual level in that, if I am merely acting, then I can choose to change my act   
  At times, dramaturgical theory can seem somewhat cavalier in its assumption of the ease w/ which one can change one's act   
  While symbolic interactionism emphasizes the extent to which we create ourselves, as does the dramaturgical approach, symbolic interactionism also emphasizes the extent to which others, socialization, & social structures impact our micro- level behavior, while the dramaturgical approach largely chooses not to address these factors   
  For the dramaturgical approach, we are not merely acting in that we never know who is the actor & who is the character we are portraying   
  The actor tends to actually become the character; the character becomes the actor   
  Because our life has a live audience, the actor shapes the character in relation to the audience setting, etc., thus our character is not only of our own construction, it is socially constructed   
  Because we have only our actor & our character, we have a 'true self' only to the extent that we know our actor, our character, & what we believe we can & cannot be   
 
 MANNING ( 1992) HOLDS THAT WE STRIVE TO POSSESS PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE, TO SHOW INVOLVEMENT, TO SHOW ALOOFNESS, TO BE ACCESSIBLE 
 
  1. Actors must display situational propriety in that they need practical knowledge of the social situation; i.e. the etiquette of the situation 
 
  2. In most situations, actors must show an appropriate level of involvement 
 
  3. In most anonymous situations, actors must show an appropriate level of civil inattention & maintain the appropriate role distance 
 
  4. In most situations, actors must be accessible to others & demonstrate similar meanings/symbols 
 
  A DIALECTIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE ORGANIZATION THEATER METAPHOR HOLDS THAT ORGS STRIVE TO PRESENT THE SELF THAT THEY WANT OTHERS TO EXPERIENCE   
  For Boje, Luhman, & Cunliffe, org studies uses "theater" as a metaphor for org life as:   
  -  organizing is like theater, a perspective adopted by those who subscribe to a Goffman approach to dramaturgy   
  -  the more literal organizing is theater, a perspective adopted by those who subscribe to a Burkean approach   
  -  a dialectic view wherein theater is both life & metaphor   
  -  a method for empowerment & consciousness raising   
  The dialectic view contrasts the theatrical opposition society of spectacle & society as carnivalesque resistance   
  The concept of the theater of the oppressed empowers spectators to be become spect - actors  
  The theater of the oppressed fosters the possibility of critical consciousness & praxis transforming formal spectacle through experiments in emancipatory carnival like theater   
 
 DRAMATURGICAL ANALYSIS EXAMINES "THE PRESENTATION OF SELF," I.E. HOW & WHY WE DEPICT PARTICULAR ASPECTS OF OURSELF 
 
 
 Dramaturgical analysis consists of the definition of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance 
 
 
 The presentation of self, an individual's effort to create specific impressions in the minds of others, is a central focus of dramaturgy 
 
 
 A.  PERFORMANCES ARE SHORT PRESENTATIONS OF THE SELF IN PARTICULAR CONTEXTS 
 
  Performances include dress, i.e. costume, objects carried along, i.e. props, & tone of voice & gestures, i.e. manner   
  1. An Application: The Doctor's Office   
  Performances have front & back regions   
  The reception area is the "front region" of a physician's office   
  The physician's private office & examination rooms are the "back region" of the setting   
  B.  NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IS OFTEN MORE INFLUENTIAL THAN WHAT IS SAID IN THE PRESENTATION OF THE SELF   
  Nonverbal communication consists of communication using body movements, gestures, & facial expressions rather than speech   
  Most of Nonverbal communication is culture specific   
  Close attention to nonverbal communication is often an effective way of telling whether or not someone is telling the truth   
  1. Body Language & Deception   
  The key to detecting lies is to view the whole performance w/ an eye for  inconsistencies   
  C.  GENDER, LIKE ANY DEMOGRAPHIC OR STRUCTURAL FACTORS, BOTH LIMITS & EXPANDS PERFORMANCE POSSIBILITIES   
  Gender affects personal performance in such areas as: 
a.  demeanor 
b.  use of personal space, the surrounding area over which an individual makes some claim to privacy 
c.  staring, smiling, & touching 		  
  D.  FOR THE SELF, OUR PERFORMANCE IDEALIZES OUR SELF TO OUR SELF, BUT OTHERS MAY BE ABLE TO 'SEE THROUGH IT'   
  Performances usually idealize our intentions   
  From the dramaturgical perspective, we are more likely to fool ourselves than others   
  E.  EMBARRASSMENT OCCURS WHEN WE FEEL OUR PERFORMANCE IN INADEQUATE   
  Embarrassment, i.e. discomfort following a spoiled performance, & tact, i.e. helping someone save face, are additional important dramaturgical concepts   

 
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 Outline on an Intro to  Erving Goffman   1922  -  1988
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 -  Biography & Major Works  
  PEOPLE INTERACT THROUGH DRAMTURGY OR IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT WHEREBY WE CHOOSE WHAT ROLES TO FILL, & WHAT ASPECTS OF THE SELF TO EMPHASIZE   
  Erving Goffman is often thought of as the last major figure from the original Chicago School  
  All the world’s a stage,
And all the men & women merely players.
They have their exits & their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven stages.
William Shakespeare, As You Like It ( Act II, Scene 7 )
  
  Goffman saw much in common btwn theatrical performances & the kinds of "acts" we all put on in our day to day actions & interactions.   
  Interaction is seen by Goffman as very fragile, & maintained by social performance  
  Actors both on the stage & in social life are seen as interested in appearances, wearing costumes, & using props
 
  Goffman saw strong tension btwn what we see ourselves as & what people expect us to be  
  For Goffman, people respond w/ dramaturgy or impression management to the tension we experience btwn what we want to be & what people expect us to be  
  Goffman believed that we are highly attuned to the needs of others:  the audience  
  Goffman believed that we attempt to control the audience  
  According to dramaturgy, people manage their self image that they present to others by choosing what roles to fill & emphasize in their lives  
  THE CONTEXTS OF LIFE PARALLEL THE ASPECTS OF A STAGE W/ FRONT STAGE BEING THE WORKPLACE, HOME BEING THE BACKSTAGE, ETC. 
 
 For Goffman, there is a front region in both the theater & in life
 
 
 The front region parallels the front stage in the theatrical performance
 
 
 The back region is the place to which actors retire to prepare themselves for their performance 
 
 
 Backstage / offstage, the actors can shed their roles & be themselves
 
 
 The major criticism of Goffman's work is that he examined esoteric topics rather than the essential aspects of everyday life  
  Other Resources on Dramaturgy & Goffman  

 
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Erving Goffman   1922  -  1988

Goffman was a Jewish Canadian sociologist & writer. Goffman received his B.A. at the University of Toronto in 1945 & his M.A. & Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1949 & 1953 respectively.  He taught at the universities of California & Pennsylvania.

b. Manville, Alta. 
Developed a performance oriented theory of behavior in Asylums (1961), which dealt w/ personality changes among inmates of a mental asylum.  This led to his study of other institutions

Died 1988    His Last Exit

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Major Works of Goffman

1959:  The Presentation of Self  in Everyday Life.
1961: Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients & Other Inmates. New York, Doubleday. 
1963: Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice Hall. 
1974: Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. London: Harper & Row. 
1981: Forms of Talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 


 
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 Outline on  Goffman on Dramaturgy
 External
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 -  Video:  Goffman  by the Standard Deviants          3:25
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  DRAMATURGY IS CONCERNED W/ HOW WE PRESENT OUR SELF IN A MORE OF LESS CONSCIOUS MANNER   
  Goffman's The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, 1959, provides a detailed description & analysis of process & meaning in mundane interaction  
  Goffman, as a product of the Chicago School, writes from a S - Iist perspective, emphasizing a qualitative analysis of the component parts of the interactive process  
  Through a micro sociological analysis & focus on unconventional subject matter, Goffman explores the details of individual identity, group relations, the impact of environment, & the movement & interactive meaning of information  
  His perspective, though limited in scope, provides new insight into the nature of social interaction & the psychology of the individual  
  Goffman employs a "dramaturgical approach" in his study, concerning himself w/ the mode of presentation employed by the actor & its meaning in the broader social context   
  INTERACTIONS ARE 'PERFORMANCES' THAT ARE IMPACTED BY & HAVE AN 'IMPRESSION' ON THE AUDIENCE & ENV   
  Interaction is viewed as a "performance," shaped by environment & audience, constructed to provide others w/ "impressions" that are consonant w/ the desired goals of the actor  
  The performance exists regardless of the mental state of the individual, as persona is often imputed to the individual in spite of his or her lack of faith in, or even ignorance of, the performance  
  Goffman uses the example of the doctor who is forced to give a placebo to a patient, fully aware of its impotence, as a result of the desire of the patient for more extensive treatment   
  OUR IDENTITY BECOMES OUR FRONT STAGE BEHAVIOR   
  In this way, the individual develops identity or persona as a function of interaction w/ others, through an exchange of info that allows for more specific definitions of identity & behavior  
  The process of establishing social identity, then, becomes closely allied to the concept of the "front," which is described as "that part of the individual's performance which regularly functions in a general & fixed fashion to define the situation for those who observe the performance" (22)  
  The front acts as the a vehicle of standardization, allowing for others to understand the individual on the basis of projected character traits that have normative meanings  
  As a "collective representation," the front establishes proper "setting," "appearance," & "manner" for the social role assumed by the actor, uniting interactive behavior w/ the personal front   
  The actor, in order to present a compelling front, is forced to both fill the duties of the social role & communicate the activities & characteristics of the role to other people in a consistent manner  
  Goffman called the process of fulfilling the duties of a social role & the communication of that role's characteristics "dramatic realization"   
  Dramatic realization is predicated upon the activities of "impression management," the control (or lack of control) & communication of information through the performance   
  In constructing a front, information about the actor is given off through a variety of communicative sources, all of which must be controlled to effectively convince the audience of the appropriateness of behavior & consonance w/ the role assumed  
  Believability, as a result, is constructed in terms of verbal signification, which is used by the actor to establish intent, & non-verbal signification, which is used by the audience to verify the honesty of statements made by the individual  
  Attempts are made to present an "idealized" version of the front, more consistent w/ the norms, mores, & laws of society than the behavior of the actor when not before an audience   
  Information dealing w/ aberrant behavior & belief is concealed from the audience in a process of "mystification," making prominent those characteristics that are socially sanctioned, legitimating both the social role of the individual & the framework to which the role belongs   
  Goffman developed the dramaturgical approach which utilizes the following THIRTEEN concepts:
 
 
 1.  SETTING IS THE PHYSICAL SCENE   
  2.  APPEARANCE IS THE SOCIAL STATUS 
 
  3.  MANNER IS THE ROLE THE ACTORS PLAYS IN THE SITUATION   
  4.  FRONT STAGE IS THE PERFORMANCES AIMED AT IMPRESSION MGT  
  The front stage takes place in setting where others can see us   
  The front stage may be thought of as the fixed & general definitions or performances that becomes institutionalized  
  5.  ACTORS DISPLAY AN IDEALIZED FRONT WHICH IS A PERFORMANCE THAT REPRESENTS OUR OWN BELIEF OF OUR 'BEST IMPRESSIONS'   
  An idealized front which has NINE basic qualities:  
  i.  conceals secret pleasure:  drugs, sex, etc.  
  ii.  conceals errors  
  iii.  shows only end products, hiding the struggle necessary to produce the end product  
  iv.  conceals the grunt work  
  v.  lets other standards slide  
  vi.  hides insults, humiliations, deals  
  vii.  tries to appear closer to the audience than they are  
  viii.  makes performance appear as the most important  
  ix.  And the audience participates in all of this  
  The front stage consists of fixed & general definitions/ performances which becomes institutionalized  
  The personal front consists of expressive equipment including dress, tools, etc.   
  When we take on a front, the stage, appearance, etc. are already set for us  
  6.  MYSTIFICATION OCCURS WHEN ACTORS RESTRICT CONTACT BTWN THE SELF & THE AUDIENCE   
  7.  THE BACK STAGE IS WHERE INTERACTION SUPPRESSED IN THE FRONT APPEARS   
  8.  OUTSIDE IS THE AREA OF INTERACTION WHERE WE ARE NOT AT HOME   
  9.  IMPRESSION MGT IS THE ACT OF MAINTAINING OUR FRONT   
  Actors accomplish impression management by:  
  a.  fostering in group loyalty  
  b.  changing the audience frequently  
  c.  avoiding slips, maintaining self control, & through our expressions, tone, etc.  
  d.  planning the performance  
  e.  undertones  
  10.  ROLE DISTANCE IS THE DEGREE TO WHICH WE SEPARATE SELF FROM OUR ROLE 
 
  Examples of role distance can be seen in an attitude which is non-committal or enthusiastic; in a distant father or a very warm father; in a stoic husband or a loving husband   
 
 11.  STIGMA OCCURS WHEN WE ARE DISCREDITED 
 
  A stigma that is known to audience discredits the actor  
  A stigma that is not known to audience must be concealed  
 
 12. FRAMES ARE GROUPS OF ASSUMPTIONS OR MEANINGS 
 
  Frames may include the rules or laws that fix interaction   
 
 Frame Analysis is the examination of the small scale structures of social life
 
  From the perspective of frame analysis, how actors define situations contributes little to our reality because actors do not ordinarily create the definitions of the situation  
  If there is disagreement on the frame, then there is often confusion or error   
  13.  RITUALS ARE REPETITIVE PERFORMANCES WHICH ESTB LEGITIMACY   
 
 Rituals provide others & selves w/ opportunities to affirm the legitimacy of the situation
 
 
 Rituals affirm the legitimacy of our position in social structure while obliging us to do the same
 
 
 Rituals are the methods of inferiors & superiors to affirm the hierarchy
 

 
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 Outline an Intro to  John C. Baldwin
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  BALDWIN HOLDS THAT MEAD DOES COVER MICRO TO MACRO INTERACTIONS & DISCUSSES THE VARIETIES OF INDIVIDUAL & INSTITUTIONAL AGENCY   
  Mead's work is sociologically integrative
 
  Mead covers the full range of micro macro interactions
 
  Mead interweaves contributions from all schools of social science
 
  Mead commits to scientific methods, ensuring all data & theories can be integrated
 
  INDIVIDUAL AGENCY IS THE CAPACITY FOR PEOPLE TO ACT IN THEIR OWN INTERESTS, OUTSIDE OF SOCIAL FORCES   
  A micro macro orientation implies agency whereby the actors act w/ both a subjective & objective component 
 
  Agency, acting w/ both a subjective & objective component, results in interaction & patterns
 
  INSTITUTIONAL AGENCY IS THE CAPACITY FOR PEOPLE, AS ORGL ACTORS, TO ACT IN THE ORG'S INTERESTS, OUTSIDE OF SOCIAL FORCES 
 
  Organizations, etc. can act as agents & use & are subject to symbolic interactionist processes such as gestures, impression management, etc.
 
  Organizations, institutions, social movements, social classes, nations, interest groups, races are characterized by subjective processes, & thus are agents
 

The End
 
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