Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Symbolic interactionism is a sociological theory that develops from practical considerations and alludes to humans' particular use of shared language to create common symbols and meanings, for use in both intra- and interpersonal communication.
William Isaac Thomas (August 13, 1863 – December 5, 1947) was an American sociologist, understood today as a key figure behind the theory of symbolic interactionism. [ 1 ] Collaborating with Polish sociologist Florian Znaniecki , Thomas developed and influenced the use of empirical methodologies in sociological research and contributed ...
Blumer's theory of symbolic interaction, although fascinating, received criticism on its subjectivity and emphasis on different aspects of society. His theory was said to be too subjective and that it had too much emphasis on day-to-day life and the social formation of the individual while ignoring social structure.
Symbolic interactionism as a pragmatic philosophy was an antecedent to the philosophy of transactionalism. [15] Mead's theories in part, based on pragmatism and behaviorism, were transmitted to many graduate students at the University of Chicago who then went on to establish symbolic interactionism. [6]: 347–50 [16]
Symbolic interactionism is a "micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions". [11] This theory, as opposed to macrosociology , is focused on how face-to-face interactions create the social world.
Methods include symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology; ethnomethodology in particular has led to many academic sub-divisions and studies such as micro-linguistical research and other related aspects of human social behaviour. Macrosociology, by contrast, concerns the social structure and broader systems.
Symbolic interaction—often associated with interactionism, phenomenological sociology, dramaturgy (sociology), and interpretivism—is a sociological approach that places emphasis on subjective meanings and, usually through analysis, on the empirical unfolding of social processes.
Symbolic interactionism is “a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, originations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind peoples’ actions." [27] In symbolic interactionism, face-to-face interaction creates the social world. Individuals act on perceived meanings that appear to be self-constituting. [28]