Interacting with society to find the meaning one’s identity
Period III - Albaran, Ang, Pow, Young
Symbolic Interaction
Sociologist/Thinker
and its meaning to the society
Charles Horton Cooley Human nature is a product of society
interactions through use of symbols
George Herbert Mead People act on what they believe in rather
than what is objectively true, as a result
society is constructed through human
interpretation. When individuals interpret
each other’s behaviour, a social bond is
formed.
Sigmund Freud Psychoanalysis and symbolic interactionism
are polar opposites since symbolic
interactionism views reality as social and
developed interaction with others, but for
psychoanalysis, we are conscious of the reality
which is why we try to balance our id and
superego.
Self-visualization
How you see yourself through
other people
An image of yourself as having
an identity separate from other
people
The self emerges from social
interactions such as observing,
interacting, and responding to
other individuals. The self is
not inherent from birth.
Having the id, ego, and superego
balanced makes us healthy adults
who developed good personality
traits.
Self-image
from the perspective of the society
- We imagine how others see us.
- We imagine the judgments
others make about us.
- We create our self-image
according to the comments of
others.
- “Me” is developed by the
knowledge of society and social
interactions that the individual
has gained
- “I” allows the individual to
express individualism and
understand when to possibly
bend and stretch the rules that
govern social interactions.
- The “I” and “Me” are didactic.
- “Me” exercises control over
oneself.
- Every individual has innate sexual
desires but we get to control it as
we age
Erving Goffman The interaction order is the structure, process,
and products of social interaction
In an interaction an individual is
an actor and at the same time an
audience
An actor/individual’s front is the
image or impression he or she
gives off to the audience.
- Social life is viewed as a staged
drama
- We act accordingly to the type of
environment or setting we are in