Symbolic interactionism is one of the most popular theories in sociology, which studies human behavior in society and how people themselves interpret other people's behavior.
The essence of the theory of symbolic interactionism
Man is a social being. But, unlike other living things that also have their own society (for example, bees and ants), people do not have innate patterns of behavior. We are like plasticine, from which you can mold anything you want. Then why do we need a society, how did it arise, and what place in society does each of us assign to himself? These questions ask the theory of symbolic interactionism.
The author of the theory, American sociologist George Herbert Mead, believed that it was all about the ability of people to communicate using symbols. Without communication, there is no human society, we simply could not agree without calling the same thing by the same word. In addition to words, a person actively uses sign language, facial expressions, which are also symbols.
The followers of this theory believe that we create our reality ourselves, choosing and interpreting facts from life as it is convenient for us. For example, almost everyone knows the constellation Ursa Major, but few people see the bear directly in this cluster of stars, people see the bucket. They know that if a bucket is visible in the sky, it means that this is a big bear, a symbol.
People are not robots, they do not always act predictably in response to any stimulus. From a variety of facts, a person chooses certain, significant symbols and "digests" them in his own way, making further appropriate conclusions and actions. Sociologists believe that it is impossible to understand either an individual person or a society without knowing how a person “digests” these symbols.
Cons of the theory of symbolic interactionism
Any theory has its merits and demerits. Symbolic interactionism considers a person free to do what he wants. However, each of us has certain frameworks, obligations and rules of society. Even if you really want to, you cannot come to work without clothes, of course, if you do not work in a strip club. Society has boundaries and limitations, and we ourselves actively support them.
The theory of symbolic interactionism is very ephemeral, difficult to measure or conduct a case study. It is aimed at studying the individual, its relationship with society, without taking into account history, culture, labor activity. Social inequality is also not reflected in this theory in any way.
The big disadvantage is that it does not consider emotions and their impact on human behavior.
