This process involves one person imaginatively placing themselves in the position of the person with whom they are interacting so as to understand that person’s intentions. On the basis of this interpretation they will make response to the action of the other. For example when a person waves his hand, the second person interprets this gesture as a greeting or a ‘goodbye’ wave so he/she waves back. Therefore human interaction can be seen as a continuous process of interpretation, with each person taking the role of the other.
The Self
Mead argued that through the process of ‘role-taking’ individuals develop a concept of ‘self’. By placing themselves in the position of others they are able to look back upon themselves. Therefore in order to understand ourselves we observe ourselves from the standpoint of others, in the ability to take the role of another.
He distinguished two aspects of the ‘self’. The ‘me’ is your definition of yourself in a specific social role, for example you as a ‘good friend/parent’,
The ‘I’, or ‘self concept’, is your opinion of yourself as a whole built from the reactions of others towards you and your interpretations to those reactions. This can create considerable influence over your behaviour. For example if you’re commonly called ‘coward’ you start accepting that name and even living up to it.
However, the notion of ‘self’ isn’t inborn but it is learned through two stages according to Mead. The ‘play stage’ involves children playing roles which are not their own. For example when children play ‘police and thieves’ they are taking the roles of two opposite people, they learn the differences between these two characters and they build a better idea of ‘self’ through this game of role-taking. The ‘game stage’ involves children seeing themselves from the perspective of others. For example when playing football they become aware of their relationship with the other players, and by placing themselves in the role of others they appreciate more their role in the game. They see themselves in terms of the collective viewpoint of the other players.
To Mead, the process and development to learning ‘self’ is the basis for thought and action, the foundation for human society. Without the awareness of ‘self’ we wouldn’t interact with others or take their role. Only by acquiring a concept of self can one take the role of self and thought, ‘inner conversation’, would be impossible without learning the self first.
By building a concept of ‘self’ we are able to build thoughts and expectations for ourselves and we become self-conscious which allows us to direct our own action. When taking the role of others we understand more about ourselves and our role in society.
This provides the basis for cooperative action in society. People will become aware of themselves and they will modify their actions accordingly. Therefore conduct is regulated in terms of the expectations and attitudes of others.
Cultures, Social Roles and Institutions
Mead also says that our culture suggests appropriate types of behaviour for particular social roles. People will start acting in ways that are consistent both with the expected behaviour in a particular role, and with that person’s concept of ‘self’. Mead believes that every institution, such as the family, has a particular social role attached to it. For example in a ‘family’ there is the mother, father, son, sister, etc. Although a human’s behaviour is guided by culture and social roles, humans still have considerable choice as to how they behave because:
- Many cultural expectations are not specific.
- Individuals have considerable choice as to which roles they enter.
- Some social roles encourage a diversity of behaviour( ex; fashion designers are encouraged to be original and innovative)
- Society does not have an all-embracing culture, t has many subcultures.
- Many cultural meanings indicate possibilities rather than requirements. For example one may sit on a chair but is not forced to do so.
- At times it may be impossible to act in accordance with a social role. For example sometimes parents find that they can’t take adequate care of their children so they try to find innovative behaviour and methods to do so.
Social roles are therefore continuously being modified in the course of interaction.
The Individual and Society
Mead believes that humans are both creating a social environment and they are being shaped by it. Individuals control their own actions but at the same time they are influence by a society in general. The individual and society are one because individuals can only become human beings in a social context. In this context individuals create a sense of ‘self’, they learn to understand others’ roles and to interact. Without the use of symbols and communication human interaction wouldn’t be possible.
Symbolic Interaction Criticism
- Interactionists have focused on a small-scale-face-to-face interaction with little concern for its historical or social setting. Therefore, since these factors leading to interaction are so important, their omission in the study is considered serious because these influence have great influence on interaction.
- Critics argue that interactionism stresses to much on the corrective (to the excess) social determinism. In stressing the flexibility and freedom of human action, interactionists tend to downplay the constraints on action.
- Interactionists also fail to explain the origin or source of the symbols and meanings to which they give such importance. So when people engage in an interaction on the basis of presumed shared meanings, where do those shared meanings originate?
