Symbolic Interactionism

Problematic social situations or situations that demand new interpretations are the foci of analysis for symbolic interactionism (Wallace & Wolf, 1995, p. 206). Herbert Blumer argues the more unstructured the situation, the more likely it is symbolic interactionist analysis is indispensable to its understanding (Wallace & Wolf, 1995, p. 207). Unfortunately, a strong argument can be made that the subordination of non-European minority groups in the United States is a very structured occurrence, whereby the tradition and history of the nation has served to maintain that structure. However, the increasing influx of non-European immigrants (estimates state one-third of the U.S. population will be people of color shortly after the year 2000) and the country's obligation to educate the children of such immigrants demands a more multicultural, pluralistic perspective than has traditionally been the case. Symbolic interactionism offers the opportunity for educators, administrators, and students to study empirically the manifestations of prejudice and discrimination that would inhibit the induction of such a perspective.

Symbolic interactionism is essentially a social-psychological perspective that focuses primarily on the individual as a "self" and on the interactions between a person's internal thoughts and emotions and his or her social behavior (Wallace & Wolf, 1995, p. 183). Most of the a

. . .
r formative years with an unexamined set of traditions and beliefs about themselves and a limited knowledge about others (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 1995, p. 4). Today, educators and students are exposed to a social curriculum that makes positive and negative statements about ethnic, gender, racial, mental and other differences between people through radio, television, and newspapers, as well as through family attitudes. Often, distorted messages about people who are ethnically or religiously different from oneself are portrayed in the social curriculum (Gollnick & Chinn, 1990, p. iii). Decisions made by employers, educators, politicians, and neighbors are often based on such misconceptions (Gollnick & Chinn, 1990, p. iii). The ability of these messages to survive today is a result of the racial prejudice built into the structure of American society since its inception.  The concept of interpretation Blumer argues for the necessity of including subjective experience as well as observable behavior in scientific explanations of human interaction (Wallace & Wolf, 1995, p. 198). This argument logically follows from the importance symbolic interactionism places on understanding things from the actor's point of view because it vie
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Wallace Wolf, Gollnick Chinn, United Blumer, Wlodkowski Ginsberg, Colin Lacey, wolf 1995, wallace wolf 1995, wallace wolf, Consequently Blumer's, Herbert Blumer, Introduction Problematic, Hall Hewitt, symbolic interactionism, killian 1970, heiss 1981, Relations Human, race prejudice, hewitt 1984, chinn 1990, racial prejudice, gollnick chinn 1990, gollnick chinn, wolf 1995 204, wolf 1995 206, lindesmith 1968 7,
Approximate Word count = 2766
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Symbolic Interactionism