Symbolic interactionism, or
interactionism for short, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in
sociology.
This perspective has a long intellectual history, beginning with the
German sociologist and economist, Max Weber (1864-1920) and the American
philosopher, George H. Mead (1863-1931), both of whom emphasized the
subjective meaning of human behavior, the social process, and pragmatism.
Herbert Blumer, who studied with Mead at the University of Chicago, is
responsible for coining the term, "symbolic interactionism," as well
as for formulating the most prominent version of the theory.
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Interactionists focus on the subjective aspects of social life, rather
than on objective, macro-structural aspects of social systems.
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One reason for this focus is that interactionists base their
theoretical perspective on their image of humans, rather than on their image of
society (as the functionalists do).
·
For the interactionist, society consists of organized and patterned
interactions among individuals.
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Research by interactionists focuses on easily observable face-to-face
interactions rather than on macro-level structural relationships involving
social institutions.
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Furthermore, this focus on interaction and on the meaning of events to
the participants in those events shifts the attention of interactionists away
from stable norms and values toward more changeable, continually readjusting social
processes.
·
Whereas for functionalists socialization creates stability in the
social system, for interactionists negotiation among members of society
creates temporary, socially constructed relations which remain in constant
flux, despite relative stability in the basic framework governing those
relations.
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For interactionists, humans are pragmatic actors who continually
must adjust their behavior to the actions of other actors. We can adjust to
these actions only because we are able to interpret them.
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This approach focuses attention on interactions between groups – peers,
teacher-student, teacher-principal, on student attitudes and achievement, on
students‘ values, on their self –concepts and their effect on aspirations and
the relationship between students‘ socio-economic status and their achievement.
Two
interaction theories are of great importance in sociology of education. They
are labelling theory and exchange theory.
1.
The labeling theory is concerned with how the self-identity and behavior
of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or
classify them, and is associated with the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy
and stereotyping. If a child is repeatedly told that s/he is stupid or lazy,
s/he will make the ‗label‘ a part of her/his self concept and behave
accordingly. Students almost always fulfill teachers‘ expectations.
2. Exchange theory emphasizes the idea
that social action is the result of personal choices made by considering
relative benefits and costs. The theory of social exchange predicts that people
will make choices with the intention of maximizing benefits. A key component of
this theory is the postulation of the "comparison level of
alternatives", which is the actor's sense of the best possible
alternative (i.e., the choice with the highest benefits relative to costs)based
on the assumption that there are costs and rewards involved in our interactions.
Þ The reasons that make people to
engage in a social exchange are:
1.
anticipated reciprocity;
2.
expected gain in reputation and influence on others
3.
altruism and perception of efficacy
4. direct reward.
Reciprocal interactions bind
individual and groups with obligations. From 1975 onwards, a growing number of
educationists felt that a radical approach was needed to understand educational
systems. As a reaction to ‗macrocosmic‘ approaches which had little emphasis on
interaction, they based their ideas on symbolic interaction.
Ethnomethodology is a partial
offshoot of phenomenological sociology with deep roots in classical social
theory and sociolinguistics. It is the descriptive study of the reporting and
accounting practices(‗methods‘) through which socially embedded actors
come to attribute meaning and rationality to their own and others‘ behavior.
Ethnomethodologists study interactive, ad hoc sense making at the sites where
social structures are produced and reproduced through talk and coordinated
action. Applied to education this has taken the form of studying interaction
processes in classrooms, the management and the use of knowledge, the question-
what is to be ‗educated‘, curriculum content etc. Interactionists tend to study
social interaction through participant observation, rather than surveys
and interviews. They argue that close contact and immersion in the everyday
lives of the participants is necessary for understanding the meaning of
actions, the definition of the situation itself, and the process by which
actors construct the situation through their interaction. Given this close
contact, interactionists cannot remain free of value commitments, and, in fact,
interactionists make explicit use of their values in choosing what to study but
strive to be objective in the conduct of their research.
Drawbacks
of Symbolic interactionism :
Symbolic interactionists are often criticized by
other sociologists for being overly impressionistic in their research methods
and somewhat unsystematic in their theories.
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