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Symbolic interactionalism
Symbolic interactionalism
Symbolic interactionalism
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Symbolic interactionist’s like to understand the world through understanding the specific meanings and causes that society attributes to particular events. When analyzing health and illness symbolic interactionist’s like to look at individuals or groups and how they give meaning to their particular illness. Then they take that information and see how it affects their relationships with others and how it makes them view themselves. The symbolic interactionist theory also claims that we socially construct health and illness much like we do with race. For instance if someone spends his days staring at the sun and goes blind people blame him for staring at the sun. They believe that if they do not engage in sun staring then they will not go blind. The same reasoning usually follows people who get lung cancer or AIDS. The person is blamed for having the illness regardless of how they got it; people assume the sick brought it upon themselves. There is no doubt that there are biological attributes that can clearly define an illness however there is also a human arbitrary element. For instance at one point being homosexual was considered a mental illness, that is no longer the case. The process of giving nonmedical issues medical treatments and attributes is known as medicalization. This can occur on three levels; the conceptual level, the institutional level and the interactional level. The conceptual level usually just consists of using medical jargon to define the problem. The institutional level is where a doctor actually treats and monitors the problem. The interactional level is where doctors actually treat patients’ conditions as medical problems. To clarify think about a person with anxious legs, at the conceptual level ... ... middle of paper ... ... symbolic interactionist theory the main area of interest is deviance. Medical professionals and society as a whole tend to think of people with a mental illness as deviant. Many people view disabilities as deviant because the person with the disability either cannot conform to societal norms or it would be massively inconvenient for them to do so. People with mental illness often have their other labels and attributes overlooked and people focus on the illness. The degree to which mentally ill peoples’ other rolls are overlooked is dependent on three factors, if they were or where not responsible for their disability, the apparent severity of the condition, and the perceived legitimacy of their illness. Just as medicalization and demedicalization are societal constructs, the expectations for people that have mental illnesses are also constructed by society.
In sociology symbolic interactionism explains the individual in a society and their interactions with others and through that it can explain social order and change. This theory was compiled from the teachings of George Herbert Mead in the early 20th century. Mead believed that the development of the individual was a social process. People are subjected to change based on their interactions with other people, objects or events and they assign meaning to things in order to decide how to act. This perspective depends on the symbolic meaning that people depend on in the process of social interaction. This paper will examine the movie “The Blind Side” through the symbolic interaction perspective.
The stigma and negative associations that go with mental illness have been around as long as mental illness itself has been recognized. As society has advanced, little changes have been made to the deep-rooted ideas that go along with psychological disorders. It is clearly seen throughout history that people with mental illness are discriminated against, cast out of society, and deemed “damaged”. They are unable to escape the stigma that goes along with their illness, and are often left to defend themselves in a world that is not accepting of differences in people. Society needs to realize what it is doing, and how it is affecting these people who are affected with mental illness.
MSLC will focus on how relationships are shaped or established as it relates to the individual and societal interactions. If Jennifer does not acclimate to the changes in her life, Jennifer may go throughout life blaming others for the way her life turned out. A healthy intervention plan such as MSLC, could help Jennifer grasp a clear perspective of the changes and how they are affecting her life and the decisions that she is makes. Applying the symbolic interactionism theory will provide a plan of action to understand Jennifer’s societal perception and how it has shaped her life (Murphy-Erby et al.,
The next film that we watched in sociology was Libby Montana. This was about a little small town in Montana that was going through some very tough times due to the vermiculite plants that were built cause the air to be polluted. Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another. These people in Libby all felt that Earl Lovech who was the operating manager at WR Grace lied to them about the asbestos poisoning. They also feel deceived and have no respect to WR Grace. WR Grace was the company whose jobs created a lot of dust and dirt due to the vermiculite. Vermiculite is a type of
Mental illness stigma is an issue that plagues many members of society. The consequences are not well known by the public and include, but are not limited to; family discord, job discrimination and social rejection (Feldman & Crandall, 2007). The most common stigma is the assumption every mentally ill person is dangerous to themselves and others. There are many conflicting articles both supporting and refuting this claim.
It is important and difficult to define mental illness since mental stability varies from person to person. The definition of mental illness changes over time, in 1968, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder. It was until 1973 when the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from the manual (Thompson, 4). As defined by the National Association for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), “mental illness are disorders that disrupts a person’s thinking, feelings, moods, ability to relate to others and capacity for coping with the demands of life” (Qtd. In Thompson, 4). In other words, mental illness does not become a disorder until it prevents a person from living a normal life. For example, Bill Ford a patient with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), stayed up an entire night in a hospital feeling ashtrays for burning cigarette butts in fears one would start a fire. Like Bill Ford, there are 2.2 million peop...
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.
There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed. Most commonly, people are stated to be “depressed” rather than someone who “has depression”. It is a common perception that mental illnesses are not a priority when it comes to Government spending just as it is forgotten that most mental health disorders can be treated and lead a normal life if treatment is successful. The effect of this makes a sufferer feels embarrassed and feel dehumanized. A common perception is that they should be feared or looked down upon for something they have not caused. People experience stigma as a barrier that can affect nearly every aspect of life—limiting opportunities for employment, housing and education, causing the loss of family ...
The Symbolic Interaction theory offers a few different reasons and some possible solutions to Sam and Jackie’s issue at hand. Reasoning as to why two individuals can interpret or feel different about the same situation, can be explained by the assumption that meaning is an important element in human behavior. This assumption explains that individuals will respond to events based on the meaning it has for them. Looking at this a little deeper, it explains that something that has a great importance to one individual may have very little importance to another. This would explain why this party means so much more for Sam compared to Jackie. Sam is up for a big promotion, and thinks that this party is his ticket to be awarded this promotion. Jackie
the interaction the individual itself and how they interact within their surroundings. Through symbolic interactionalism you look at things and what they mean, and then determine the effects they have. There are many hand signs, both good and bad, that people exchange, as well as facial expressions in reaction to an event or statement that a symbolic interactionalist would look at. My observation period in the library allowed me to glimpse into the life of a sociologist. I realized that you could learn a lot about someone by just watching him or her. Their behavior is highly representative of the person they are; yet one cannot assume what specific reactions imply. Through the use of your sociological imagination you are able to gain a deeper understanding of behavior and how behavior is influenced by society.
George Herbert Mead studied and used an interactionist approach for many years. He was a philosophy professor at the university of Chicago. Mead thought that the true test to any theory is whether or not it is useful in solving complex social problems (EM Griffin, p.83). So Mead decided to study the procedures of communicating, specifically with symbols, the theory was titled Symbolic Interactionism.
The first perspective functionalism, is a macro perspective which focuses on how society is kept stable through the interaction of various social institutions which work together to keep society functioning. Generally, functionalists view dating as being an instrumental role in bringing individuals together in hopes of starting a family. Symbolic interactionism is a micro perspective which focuses on small scale interactions between individuals in society and through those interactions individuals interpret and act according to the meanings as well as the symbols they attach to those behaviours. Likewise, symbolic interactionist recognize the importance
George Herbert Mead begins his discussion of symbolic interactionism (talking with others) by defining three core principles that deal with meaning, language, and thought. The theory states that meaning is the construction of social reality. Humans act toward people or things on the basis of the meanings they assign to those people or things.
In this short essay we will discuss how the symbolic-interactionist perspective would analyze and explain the low posting rate of freshman students compared to other groups of students. As freshman students are new and unfamiliar with college, they can sometimes become overwhelmed. As a result, they are more focused on fitting in with the common crowds in school rather than the academic portion. This could be one reason why freshman students do not post in discussion threads as much as other students. Another reason why we find that freshman students may not post into discussion threads as much as other students is because the unfamiliarity among all students in the class. They might be shy and fail to become socially active with the other
Unfortunately, many individuals in our community today are stigmatized because of their mental or emotional disability. Stigma is a mark of disrespect against a person diagnosed with a mental illness. This practice has gotten worse over time, with false and demeaning stereotypes developing for these people. Social stigma can affect the lives of these people more that one could even imagine. To solve this problem, we as a society need to stop labeling people based on their mental illness diagnosis.