Social Interaction Perspective – General Propositions

 

📘 Notes

1. Social Interaction Perspective – General Propositions

• Also called Symbolic Interactionism.

• Focus: Everyday social interaction between individuals.

• Society = result of continuous interaction through symbols (language, gestures, meanings).

• Key Assumptions:

  1. Human beings act toward things based on the meanings those things have for them.

  2. Meanings are derived from social interaction with others.

  3. Meanings are modified through interpretation in daily life.

• Method: Micro-sociological → studies small-scale face-to-face interaction.

• Importance: Explains identity, self-concept, and social roles.

---

2. Views of George Herbert Mead

---

3. Views of Herbert Blumer

---

❓ Questions and Answers
Q1. What is the main idea of Social Interaction Perspective?
Q2. Who is considered the founder of Symbolic Interactionism?
Q3. What are the “I” and the “Me” in Mead’s theory?
Q4. What is meant by “Generalized Other”?
Q5. Who coined the term “Symbolic Interactionism”?
Q6. State Blumer’s three principles of symbolic interactionism.

• Founder of Symbolic Interactionism.

• Self and Society:

  • The self develops through social interaction.

  • Not innate → created through communication.

• Role-Taking:

  • Individuals understand others by putting themselves in others’ positions.

• The “I” and the “Me”:

  • I = spontaneous, creative part of self.

  • Me = socialized self, shaped by society’s expectations.

• Generalized Other:

  • Awareness of society’s rules and norms that guide our behavior.

• A student of Mead → coined the term “Symbolic Interactionism.”

• Three Core Principles:

  1. People act toward things based on meanings.

  2. Meanings come from interaction.

  3. Meanings are interpreted and modified by individuals.

• Emphasis on interpretation: Society is not a structure but an ongoing process of meaning-making.

• Advocated for qualitative research (like participant observation) to study human interaction.

Ans: It explains society as the outcome of everyday interactions where people create, share, and modify meanings through symbols.

Ans: George Herbert Mead.

Ans: “I” is the spontaneous, creative self; “Me” is the socialized self shaped by societal norms.

Ans: It is the internalized sense of society’s expectations and rules that guide individual behavior.

Ans: Herbert Blumer.

Ans: (1) People act toward things based on meanings, (2) Meanings arise from social interaction, (3) Meanings are interpreted and modified through interaction.