From what philosophical tradition did symbolic interactionism (SI) arise?
Pragmatism, which challenged classical rationalism
What are the basic assumptions of this tradition (which differentiate it from classical rationalism)?
1.) The nature of reality:
Unfinished, in the making, meanings change during interaction
2.) The nature of the human knower:
We acquire knowledge through ongoing experiences, we give meaning to things based on how we respond to them
3.) The relationship b
How did George Herbert Mead develop SI (3 themes)?
1.) Humans differ from animals because we have language and thus can think, reason, communicate and coordinate our actions with others; the symbolic nature of language allow us to use significant symbols (words or gestures that mean the same thing to us a
According to Blumer, what are the three guiding assumptions of SI?
1.) Human beings act toward things on the basis of the meaning those things have for them
2.) The meaning of such things is derived from the social interaction that one has with one's fellows
3.) These meanings are handled in an interpretive process used
How are our actions constrained?
By language, culture, and social hierarchies
Our freedom is not unlimited; it is conditioned by our social experiences, contexts and relationships, comes with the price of responsibility because we must consider how our actions will affect others
What is society?
Consists of people engaging in symbolic interaction; role taking
What is the role of emotions?
Emotions are central to meaning, behavior, and the self; shaped by "feeling rules" or social guidelines for how we should feel in certain situations; how we view ourself guides our interactions
What should be the fundamental unit of social psychological analysis?
The "social act
What is the Social Act or Joint Action?
A behavior that takes account of others and is guided by what they do
What are joint actions three key features?
1.) Often routine and repetitive; we draw on a set of shared and ready made meanings
2.) Linked to a larger and complex network of actions; dependent on the actions that other people made that led up to you making a decision or action
3.) Connected to pre
How might SI be relevant and beneficial to your life?
Interactionism is relevant because it calls for individuals to be more aware of how their actions are influenced by others, and influence others, particularly in joint actions. You may become better able to recognize and take responsibility for these cons
What is SI's primary (humanistic) methodology and why?
Naturalistic inquiry (Qualitative); because is focuses on peoples behavior in natural social settings and advocates the use of informal and unobtrusive techniques to acquire a first hand understanding of this behavior
What are the two key phases of SI's primary humanistic methodology?
1.) Exploration: the researcher familiarizes himself with a topic by becoming immersed in a specific social world by doing interviews and participant observation (ethnography)
2.) Inspection: analyzing data collected during ethnography
What is grounded theory?
When researchers code and analyze data as soon as they collect it; collecting and analyzing at the same time
How are sensation and conceptualization distinct yet linked?
All senses pick up stimuli; Perception involves interpretation of these senses and understanding them; One type of perception is conceptualization-using common ways of understanding something in order to give it meaning or put it into a category to help u
What's the difference between a sign and a symbol?
A sign is directly connected to an object or event and calls forth a fixed response; its meaning is associated with its physical form and can be grasped through the senses; both animals and people understand signs
A symbol is something that humans create
What is somatic work and how does it reflect the relationship between sensation and conceptualization (Box 3-1)?
The act of smelling is marked by somatic work (making sense of it in terms of relevant memories and associations with it) We sense a smell and then understand or categorize it by using past experiences
Why are symbols important?
Allow us to go beyond our immediate environments and have experiences that are not based on the here and now. Allow us to remember, imagine, plan and have vicarious experiences that let us learn about the world and understand others' experiences through o
How are symbols linked to culture and ideoculture?
Through symbolic interaction we learn, create, and pass on culture. The boundaries of the spread of culture are linked to the boundaries or effective communication using these symbols. Groups develop their own symbol systems, thus creating their own idioc
How does Florida' Palmetto bugs reflect the importance of naming?
Palmetto bugs are actually cock roaches, but by changing their name, people believe they arent as scary and disgusting
How does Helen Keller's story reflect the importance of language and naming?
Our genetically acquired capacity to learn a symbolic language can only be activated through its use in interaction with other humans. We rely on language to realize our full human capacities for thinking, acting, and forming relationships with others
What is social cognition?
Picking up sensory data, sorting and organizing it through naming or applying categories to it to interpret the meaning
How do we form impressions about others?
Making inferences about others based on social and physical attributes, apparent character traits, and verbal and nonverbal expressions. We fill in the gaps by drawing on prototypes (mental images or schemas that we use to represent a typical set of featu
What is a social identity?
A mental category we use to locate a person in relation to others, highlighting how they are different from and similar to others
On what bases do others identify others' social identities?
social status, gender, age, race/ethnicity, physical appearance
How do interactionists view socialization?
They stress that human beings acquire beliefs and preferences by means of the process of socialization-an ongoing, interactive process through which individuals develop identities and learn the ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that characterize their
What are Mead's three stages of development and how does the generalized other fit in? (each stage is also a concept)
1.) Preparatory stage: imitation of parents without understanding, learning that our actions evoke responses in others, recognize that we have a name, start to think about ourselves as social objects (a self that others respond to)
2.) Play stage: acquire
Is socialization completely predictable?
No, it is dynamic, reciprocal and unpredictable
Is flipping someone off a social object?
Yes. A social object is something that we give meaning to through our interaction with one another. An object (the middle finger) becomes a social object when we name it and act toward it in terms of that name
What are the components of the dialectical self?
The "I" (initiating subject) and the "Me" (self as social object)
Does socialization lead to conformity? Why or why not?
Not necessarily because we have the ability to act creatively, spontaneously and unpredictably rooted in the dialectical nature of ourselves.
What's the difference between primary and secondary socialization?
Primary socialization is the process by which children learn to become mature, responsible members of society - learn the culture and develop a sense of self (through social institutions like the family)
Secondary socialization is the more specific, forma
What are the phases of the looking glass self?
First, the child imagines how she appears to others around her, trying to see herself through their eyes
Second, and at the same time, she imagines how others judge her; based on their actions she gauges whether they see her as good or bad
Third, going of
What are agents of socialization and reference groups?
The group whose perspective you use to organize your thoughts, actions, and self images in a given social world is your reference group.
Agents of socialization include parents, siblings, teachers, peers, the mass media and also language
What elements of masculinity are emphasized in boys' peer cultures?
Toughness, emotional self control, a strong desire to win, and in group unity or loyalty
What elements of femininity are emphasized in girls' peer cultures?
The values of niceness, emotional intimacy, romance, and concern for others
How do young children learn to adopt and display gender identity?
Children draw on cultural cues (clothing and hair length) to learn how to display their gender appropriately. They are guided by the gender label that their parents give them
What is a status passage?
Movements in and out of social statuses, some guided by rules and rituals(weddings, graduations) and some that are not as structured.
What is gendered borderwork and transgression?
Interaction that goes across gender boundaries but instead of challenging these boundaries, it reflects and strengthens them. Transgression is going beyond the boundaries of gender
How do status passages involve rites of passage, turning points, and epiphanies?
Rites of passage are rituals and ceremonies that accompany and help us to handle the changes in status that we experience in our lives. These changes are status passages. Turning points and epiphanies also go along with these major changes in a persons li
What are the three phases of a status passage? (each phase is also a concept)
1.) Separation- involves separating from previous status. Ex. high school graduation -> summer to become college student
2. Liminal- Phase between statuses. ex. College graduate looking for work.
3. Incorporation- Incorporating new status into who you are
What strategies do caretakers use to socialize children to public civility?
They explicitly or implicitly instruct their children regarding ritually important aspects of behavior in public places; "Civil inattention"- a common negative interpersonal ritual which involves two strangers acknowledging each other but then looking awa
How are the strategies caretakers use to socialize children similar or different from each other?***
1. Instruction:
-Rule statements ("It's not polite to stare!")
-Commands ("stop!")
2. Coaching:
-Prompts ("Say you're sorry")
-Priming moves (What do you say?")
What does Cahill seek to understand (his research question) and how does he go about investigating ? (the religion of civility is a concept)
How children are socialized into civility; How our contemporary civil society is characterized by a kind of religion or civility; He spent 2 years observing young children in public settings, then reviewed field notes to find patterns
Religion of civility
What does it mean to say children are "waiting for their quota of Mana?
Children are engaged at will and do not get the choice of whether or not they want to interact with an adult or not, they do not have the right to be left alone, they are often not given the chance to correct themselves in public, are given "nonperson tre
What is "playful terrorism against the ceremonial order? (or "ceremonial terrorism?")
Strategically disruptive acts through which children express their alienation from the social circle of adults that deny them their quota of mana
Does ceremonial deviance undermine the stability of the ceremonial order? Why or why not? (should point to another concept)
No, it may promote social stability, may teach children important lessons about civility. "Meaningful nonadherences"-through which children express their alienation from the social circle of adults that deny them their quota of mana
Provides occasions for
How did Van Ausdale and Feagin collect and analyze their data?
Extensive observations of 58 three-five year olds over 11 months in a large preschool which employed an antibias curriculum. Field notes were taken during observation
In what five ways do children use racial and ethnic concepts? (each strategy is a concept)
To include, exclude, define themselves, define others, and control
How do children use racial and ethnic concepts to include others?
To engage others in play or teach them about racial and ethnic identities; Ling uses her knowledge of different languages to draw an adult into a child initiated game; Jewel's use of her native name increased interaction with an adult of another cultural
How do children use racial and ethnic concepts to exclude others?
Rita defined rules for entering play on the basis of language because she was aware that a child did not look like the others and spoke a different language; she created a social rule based on her understanding of ethnic markers; used this as an exclusion
How do children use racial and ethnic concepts to define others?
Show awareness of visible characteristics of race and ethnicity and how visible markers are passed from generation to generation; demonstrate a strong awareness of the importance of skin color and defining others by it
How do children use racial and ethnic concepts to control others?
Used the power of skin color as a tool to dominate interaction with another child "Blacks cant have white bunnies"
The children are aware of the authority given to whites and not confused about the meanings of harsh racial words and actions
How do children use racial and ethnic concepts to define oneself?
Demonstrating awareness of what is and is not a part of their culture; A child picked two different paint colors to represent her skin color because she was thinking in terms of her parents' different racial identities
What does the study contribute to traditional theories or models of early socialization?
Three year old children have constant, well defined and negative biases toward racial and ethnic others; Researchers should not assume that young children do not understand racial or ethnic ideas, and should instead determine the extent to which these con
How did race and social class shape parents' approaches to childrearing? (her discussion of race is less central than her discussion of class, and this is significant)
Social class made more of a difference in childrearing than race because both the black and the white middle class parents actively participated in the child's life by planning activities and having more daily structure(organization) and engaging the chil
What are the two main childrearing approaches, how are they related to social class, and what are their "key elements"?(Concerted cultivation and the accomplishment of natural growth)
Concerted cultivation: Parent activity fosters and assesses child's talents, opinions and skills (middle class families because they could afford to put their child in these activities and sacrifice time)
Natural growth: Parent cares for child and allows
How did Lareau collect data?
Took field (home) observations of 12 families with children 8-10 years old in middle class, working class, and ones that were not involved in the labor market
What were the differences between the two approaches to childrearing with regard to the organization of daily life?
Natural growth had less organization and activities planned for the children as they would mainly just hang out with kin. In contrast, the parents using concerted cultivation participated in structuring the child's life
What were the differences between the two approaches to childrearing with regard to interventions in institutions and consequences (sense of entitlement or constraint)?
Those parents who raised their children through natural growth did not intervene in institutions because of their fear and distrust of authority figures, therefore they did not teach their children that they were able to talk and negotiate with adults lea
What were the differences between the two approaches to childrearing with regard to language use and social connections?
The natural growth parents did not speak as much to their children or engage them in continuous conversation about their lives, nor did they allow them to negotiate. They mainly just said short commands (directives). The concerted cultivation parents freq