Sociology 2271A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Symbolic Interactionism, George Herbert Mead

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 2271A/B
• Professor: Lina Sunseri

Document Summary

All interaction theories are concerned with the way in which meaning is constructed: example: curling stone (to us) symbol of curling as a sport, canada is good at this sport. Curling stone (to other) weird looking rock. Key assumptions and principles: humans have capacity for thought. Ex) animal see mushroom, eat mushroom. Human see mushroom, analyse mushroom, poisonous/ not, eat/don"t eat: thought is shaped by social interaction, through interaction, people learn symbols and meanings that allow them to think, meanings and symbols allow for human action. Ex) american flag (americans) pride, patriot, citizenship (means that have been attached to it) American flag (others) enemy, globalization, arrogance, economic imperialism. Therefore you won"t respect the flag: people can interpret a situation and modify their action or interaction, people can create own meanings, groups and societies are made up of patters of action and interaction. Emphasized the subjective meaning of human behaviour.