symbolic interactionism
symbolic interactionismA leading American social psychological theory which focuses upon the ways in which meanings emerge through interaction. Its prime concern has been to analyse the meanings of everyday life, via close observational work and intimate familiarity, and from these to develop an understanding of the underlying forms of human interaction. Heavily influenced by pragmatism, the Chicago tradition of sociology and the philosophical writings of George Herbert Mead, the term itself was coined by Herbert Blumer in 1937.
The theory has four key foci. The first highlights the ways in which human beings are distinctly symbol-manipulating animals. It is through symbols that they, alone of all the animals, are capable of producing culture and...
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