Symbols, Selves, and Social Reality: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Social Psychology and Sociology Book

Preface vii

Acknowledgments ix

About the Authors xi

Chapter 1 The Meaning of Symbolic Interactionism 1

The Origins and Development of Symbolic Interactionism 2

Pragmatism and Sociology: The Contributions of George Herbert Mead 4

The Emergence of Symbolic Interactionism 7

Guiding Assumptions of the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 7

How Is Interactionism Relevant and Beneficial to You? 13

Understanding Yourself and Your Choices 13

Understanding Joint Action 14

Summary 15

Glossary of Key Terms 16

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 17

Suggested Readings for Further Study 17

Chapter 2 The Interactionist Toolkit: Methods, Strategies, and Relevant Perspectives 20

Methodological Traditions and Practices 20

Changing Directions in Interactionist Ethnography 22

Alternatives to Ethnography: The Iowa School and Conventional Scientific Methods 28

Related Social Psychological Perspectives 30

Dramaturgical Theory 30

Exchange Theory 32

Social Cognition Theory and Cognitive Sociology 33

Ethnomethodology 35

Emerging Voices and Perspectives Within Interactionism 37

Feminism 37

Conflict Theory 38

Postmodernism 40

Summary 41

Glossary of Key Terms 41

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 44

Suggested Readings for Further Study 44

Chapter 3 People As Symbol Makers and Users: Language and the Creation of Reality 48

Creating and Transforming Reality 48

Sensation 49

Conceptualization and Categorization 51

Symbols, Signs, and Meanings 52

The Importance of Symbols 53

Naming "Reality" and Creating Meaningful Objects 54

Language, Naming, and the Construction of Reality 55

The Necessity of Language 58

Language,Naming, and Our Constructions of Others 59

Language, Naming, and the Construction of 'Inner' Reality: Emotional Experience 68

Summary 71

Glossary of Key Terms 72

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 73

Suggested Readings for Further Study 73

Chapter 4 Socialization: The Creation of Meaning and Identity 77

Self-Development and the Stages of Socialization 79

The Preparatory Stage 82

The Play Stage 83

The Game Stage 83

Refinements of Mead's Theory of Socialization and Self-Development 85

Socialization and the Creation of Gender Identity 88

Creating Gender Identity in Early Childhood 88

Re-creating Gender Identity: Preadolescent Culture and Play 89

Boys and Girls Together: Learning and Maintaining Gender Boundaries 94

Socialization as an Ongoing Process: Turning Points in Identity 98

Passage to Adulthood 99

Turning Points and Epiphanies: The Case of HIV/AIDS 101

Summary 103

Glossary of Key Terms 105

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 106

Suggested Readings for Further Study 107

Chapter 5 The Nature and Significance of the Self 111

What Is the Self? 113

The Self as Social Process 115

The Self as Social Structure 117

The Self-Concept: Its Structure and Contents 118

Self-Esteem and Its Sources: Beyond the Looking-Glass Self 122

The Impact of the Self-Concept 124

The Self as Dramatic Effect 125

Staging the Self in Everyday Life 125

Regions of Self-Presentation 128

The Self as Situated Identity 129

Beyond Goffman: The Drama of Self Versus the Experience of Self 133

The Experience of Self in Postmodern Society 134

Summary 137

Glossary of Key Terms 138

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 140

Suggested Readings for Further Study 141

Chapter 6 Role Taking, Role Making, and the Coordination of Action 145

Defining Situations and Their Reality 145

Roles, Role Taking, and Role Making 148

Role Taking 149

Role Making 150

The Coordination of Social Behavior: Aligning Actions 152

Aligning Actions and Motive Talk 153

Emotions and the Coordination of Behavior 154

Emotions and Role Attachments: Role Embracement Versus Role Distance 155

Power, Constraint, and the Coordination of Behavior 156

Relationships, Power, and Constraint 158

The Characteristics of Asymmetrical Relationships 158

Social Life as a Negotiated Order 162

Summary 164

Glossary of Key Terms 165

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 167

Suggested Readings for Further Study 167

Chapter 7 The Politics of Social Reality: Constructing and Negotiating Deviance 170

What Is Deviance? 171

The Absolutist View 172

The Relativist View 172

Labeling Theory and the Social Construction of Deviance 173

The Banning Process: Moral Entrepreneurs and the Making of Deviance 174

The Detection Process: Seeing Deviance and Deviants 176

The Attribution Process: Imputing Motives and Negotiating Identities 180

The Reaction Process: Sanctioning and Its Effects 185

Challenging and Transforming Deviant Labels: Tertiary Deviance 186

Limitations and Extensions of Labeling Theory 189

The Construction of Social Problems 191

The Media and the Construction of Terrorism 192

Summary 194

Glossary of Key Terms 195

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 197

Suggested Readings for Further Study 199

Chapter 8 Collective Behavior and Social Movements 203

Collective Behavior 203

Riots 205

Rumors 208

Panics 211

Social Movements 214

How Do Social Movements Emerge, and Why Do People Join Them? 214

Strategies and Bases of Movement Recruitment 215

Ideology, Identity, and Commitment 217

Emerging Directions in Interactionist Analysis of Social Movements 219

Frame Analysis and Alignment 219

The Culture of Social Movements 222

Conclusions 226

Summary 227

Glossary of Key Terms 228

Questions for Reflection or Assignment 230

Suggested Readings for Further Study 230

Author Index 235

Subject Index 237