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Chapter 7 Interpersonal Communication
Relationship between parent and child
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On Tuesday morning my brother told me to take the dog out, and of course I said no because I am not going to do something my younger brother told me to do. However, ten minutes later my mom ask me to do the exact same thing, and at that point I did take the dog out. This an example of symbolic interactionism in my everyday life. I listen to my mom when she told me to take the dog out because I associate mom with someone I should respect and listen to. Even though they asked me the same thing their symbol is what made me act differently.
Barbara Katz Rothman, professor of sociology, once said "Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength." This illustrates clearly the symbol of the mothers in this society. This symbol could also shape people’s thinking about mothers. I totally agree with her assessment. For instance, I believe that everyone is using his or her own symbols during social interaction, such as languages, gestures and other sign language. In another way, this is called symbolic interactionism.
In order to effectively interpret the research and information provided by interviewees, I will be looking through the lens of symbolic interactionism. As defined in You May Ask Yourself, it is, "a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions" (Conley 2015). In terms of the American dream, this way of thinking perpetrates itself through shared meanings and the motivation of the assumption that the American dream is plausible. "The American dream's endurance attests to most Americans' insistence on the dream as an ideal, if not as a reality (Cohen-Marks 2011: 825). "
When using symbolism in a story, in a movie or in life in general it helps you understand the meaning of it and lets you get deep inside the topic for a better understanding. Symbolism is a person place or thing that can be interpreted in a different way. A example of symbolism can be related to the religious world. Many people see a tiny edible piece as just another item to eat, but Catholics that attend church see it as a religious piece that symbolizes the body of Christ. You will also see symbolism when you see a navy blue star or when you see a eagle face, a football fan may look at that star as The Dallas Cowboys Team and the eagles head as the Philadelphia Eagles Team.
Symbolic interactionism perspective is defined as “the study of how people negotiate the meanings of social life during their interactions with others” (Rohall, Milkie, and Lucas, 2014, p.27). It asserts that “we construct meaning about things that are important in our own lives and in our society” (Rohall, Milkie, and Lucas, 2014, p.28). These meanings derive from social interactions among individuals which
Chapter three of the text, Inside Social Life by authors Cahill, Sandstrom and Froyum; discusses the importance of symbolism and how each individual within society comprehends the realities which surround them. Humans have the capacity to relate, internalize and interpret in their own words; the objects they visualize, smell, taste, hear and see on a daily basis. The chapter discusses how symbolism helps regulate human life and activity; alongside forming cohesion and stability within society. For example, if humans stayed at the level of sensation, experiencing everything around them; soon all would become overwhelmed and utterly distracted. (Sandstrom, 2014). This short paper will aim to critique and analyze author Sandstroms’ chapter on Symbols and the Creation of Reality. Discussed within the paper will be points which to the reader are deemed as ones of great value; in conjunction with points which may have brought the chapter to lose its major emphasis.
I have plenty of African American friends. I just don’t stay in contact with them like I do with all of my other friends. I guess in the back of my mind I thought, “She is going to try to steal my boyfriend.” I didn’t realize this until now. The society has led me to believe that black women go after every single man. My conscience was telling me to not invite my African American friends or else they will disrespect me. However, my best friend Marie changed my mind about African American women. Marie is helpful, strong, and beautiful. I thought all African Americans didn’t how to talk properly, they lived up to every stereotype, and that they judged all the time. Through symbolic interactionism I believe all African Americans are different and need to be treated fairly.
D) They were among the first faculty members in the sociology department at the University of Chicago. The answer could not be B) They were all sociologists who won Nobel Prizes for their work in social reform, because that was Jane Adams and Frances Perkins. In addition, the answer could not be C) They all established major sub disciplines in sociology, because only of the three, George Herman Mead, was one of the founders of symbolic interactionism.
As with most group projects, I started out with a basic understanding of the issue; essentially pollution and environmental changes humans make impact the environment in very bad ways. I grew up with a family who believes in intelligent design, young earth theory, and they all vehemently deny that anything humans do cause damage to the planet- everything reported in the news or by scientists are part of a larger “Liberal Democrat conspiracy.” Thus, my views had become largely hazy and even though I pride myself on being a Liberal, educated, intelligent young person, sometimes I was unsure what was actually true or what had been dramatized or exaggerated by scientists or the media to actually get people to pay attention. In addition, I also
It views society as an active influence affecting everyday social interactions. Individuals manipulate symbols and create their social worlds through interactions that are maintained by a shared understanding of everyday behavior. Unlike functionalist and conflict theorists, integrationists view human interaction on a micro level and generalize about everyday social interactions in order to explain society as a whole. In interactionism, humans are viewed as living in a meaningful world of objects like symbols that play an important role in communication. Symbolic interaction is known as nonverbal communication, which includes facial expressions and many other gestures that are shared amongst all members of society. Erving Goffman came up with a popular method of interactionism that is called the dramaturgical approach. It compares everyday life in a theatre because just like actors, individuals only present certain features of their personality depending on the setting of environment. Thus, interactionism consists of communication and interaction on a micro level to understand the larger macro phenomena (Schaefer
For example, a college student who does not drink may learn from group of student who abuse alcohol that it is acceptable, and begins to practice the same behavior. It is also possible that this behavior could be learned from family or colleagues. Additionally, based on the acceptance level in the group it is either desirable or undesirable to have charges brought about as a result of driving under the influence, and acceptable or unacceptable to go to jail for the charge. The core belief in symbolic interactionalism relates to how people interact and how to groups get their norms from this interaction.
Sociologists view society in different ways. Sociologists use three major theories: symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory. The symbolic interactionist perspective, also known as symbolic interactionism, directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other (Cliff). Some examples of symbolic interactionism are the meaning of marriage, the meaning of divorce, the meaning of parenthood, and the meaning of love. Symbols may include wedding bands, vows of life‐long commitment, a white bridal dress, a wedding cake, a Church ceremony, and flowers and music. American society attaches general meanings to these symbols, but individuals also maintain their own perceptions of what these and other symbols mean (Cliff). Symbols have a shared social meaning that is understood by all members of society. Symbolical interactionism is analyzed at a micro-sociological level. It examines small-scale patterns of social interaction. It focuses mainly on face-to-face interaction and how people use symbols to create a social life.
Symbolic interactionism tends to observe things by paying full attention to the micro level of sociology. Instead of focusing on broader aspects you look at things depending upon the individual and their interactions in society. Through the use of symbols we are able to assign meaning to people and things and then develop our own interpretations of those symbols.
The sociology of everyday life focuses on studying people in their natural context, ie. the everyday social world. Social interactions is viewed as a fundamental aspect of understanding society and how social reality is constructed. The scrutiny of our social world in micro-sociology reveals that our everyday routines and social interactions produce an appearance of stability and continuity in our social life, when in fact, our social reality is profoundly fragile. This essay explores two different forms of sociological analysis, Symbolic Interactionism and Dramaturgy, through the arguments presented by George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman respectively, and are both equally influential in their contributions to micro-sociology. Both sociologists
The second principle of symbolic interactionism is language, which is the source of meaning. Meaning is negotiated through the use of language. For example, there is nothing small and furry about the word puppy. However, through symbolic interactionism we have learned to associate the word puppy with the real life animal.
According to Mead (1934) central to language and symbolist is human social life. Mead (1934) theory stated that there was three activities needed when developing the self; language, play and games. Language helps to develop the self by allowing people to interact with each other though not only words but also symbols and gestures. Mead’s (1934) theory puts more importance on symbols and gestures than language than words. (Giddens, 1989) Symbolic interactionism looks at how the way we interact with individuals shape how society is formed. (Gewirtz and Cribb, 2009) Children from a working class background may be at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding symbolism and gestures which they have not been exposed too.