Symbolic Interactionism

There's a reason why we act how we act. Symbolic interactionism basically is, as what Herbert Blumer has said, is the process of interaction in the formation of meanings for individuals.


Blumer created three core principle to his theory. Griffin 1997, showed that those three was the meaning: human react base on the meanings that are given to certain things and what that things are meant for them, language: negotiating meaning through symbols and thought or minding: the modification on people's interpretation towards symbols.

The video above (from the hit American sitcom comedy Friends by David Crane and Marta Kauffman), shows how Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) reacted when Joey (Matt Leblanc) seems to look as if he was about to propose.


This shows how Rachel interacted in a manner where she thought that Joey was proposing to her because we act toward people based on the meanings we assign to them. The meaning here to her was that Joey was proposing to her since he was down on one knee and holding out a ring. Joey in the other hand, was just looking at the ring which wasn't his. This leads to miscommunication between the two.


This also explain on how we have "shared meanings". That going down on one knee and holding out a ring means marriage proposal.


Mead, 1934, said that meaning can be describe, accounted for, or stated in terms of symbols or language. He sees the term "Me" and "I" as two different elements. "Me" was to him, is developed from the society perception towards oneself so one is able to function in society, while "I" is your own perception so you are able to function in the society.


It is similar to the continuation of the above video, how Joey's other friends, asked him to straighten things up with Rachel so she can know that it wasn't a proposal. This talks about the "Me" situation where his friends told him what to do so he is then able to function in their society.  Griffin (2009, p. 65) states that 'generalized other' is "the composite mental image a person has of his or her self based on community expectations and responses.


In conclusion, symbolic interactionism helps in evaluating human interaction. It shows how certain thing can have different meanings to different individuals. It also shows how society can be a factor on how a person interacts, that he's decision can also be clouded by what people around him has influence him to do.


References:


Griffin, E. (1997). A First Look at Communication Theory. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.


The Society for More Creative Speech. (1996). Symbolic Interactionism as Defined by Herbert Blumer. http://www.thepoint.net/-usul/text/blumer.html