An engaging text that enables readers to understand the world through symbolic interactionism
This lively and accessible book offers an introduction to sociological social psychology through the lens of symbolic interactionism. It provides students with an accessible understanding of this perspective to illuminate their worlds and deepen their knowledge of other people’s lives, as well as their own. Written by noted experts in the field, the book explores the core concepts of social psychology and examines a collection of captivating empirical studies. The book also highlights everyday life - putting the focus on the issues and concerns that are most relevant to the readers’ social context.
The Social Self and Everyday Life bridges classical theories and contemporary ideas, joins abstract concepts with concrete examples, and integrates theory with empirical evidence. It covers a range of topics including the body, emotions, health and illness, the family, technology, and inequality. Best of all, it gets students involved in applying concepts in their daily lives.
- Demonstrates how to use students’ social worlds, experiences, and concerns to illustrate key interactionist concepts in a way that they can emulate
- Develops key concepts such as meaning, self, and identity throughout the text to further students’ understanding and ability to use them
- Introduces students to symbolic interactionism, a major theoretical and research tradition within sociology
- Helps to involve students in familiar experiences and issues and shows how a symbolic interactionist perspective illuminates them
- Combines the best features of authoritative summaries, clear definitions of key terms, with enticing empirical excerpts and attention to popular ideas
Clear and inviting in its presentation, The Social Self and Everyday Life: Understanding the World Through Symbolic Interactionism is an excellent book for undergraduate students in sociology, social psychology, and social interaction.
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 An Invitation to Learn about Self, Situation, and Society 1
# ThisIsWhatAnxietyFeelsLike 2
Sociology, Psychology, and Social Psychology 3
Symbolic Interactionism and Other Perspectives 4
Overview of the Book 8
Chapter Previews 9
Note 13
References 13
2 Looking at Life from the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 16
Symbolic Interactionism as a Theoretical Perspective 19
Assumptions about Human Nature and Social Life 21
Premises of the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 24
The Development of Self 28
Society, Self, and Mind: The Social Psychology of George Herbert Mead 28
Charles Horton Cooley’s “Looking Glass Self” 32
Self, Self‐Concept, and Identity 34
Defining the Situation, Naming, and Knowing 35
W.I. Thomas and Dorothy Swaine Thomas’s Theorem 35
Anselm Strauss and Naming and Knowing 36
Erving Goffman’s Metaphor of the Theater: Dramaturgical Analysis 38
Conclusion 42
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 43
Notes 44
References 45
3 Socialization: Becoming Ourselves 48
What Is Socialization? 50
Sociological Perspectives on Socialization 50
Conceptualizing
Socialization 52
Theoretical Perspectives of Socialization 52
Types of Socializing Experiences 56
Socialization in Childhood 57
Infants and Agency 57
Parents and Children 59
Peers and Socialization 62
Adult Socialization 66
Involvements and Evolvements 66
Total Institutions and Remaking the Self 68
Conclusion 70
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 71
Notes 72
References 73
4 The Social Body: Appearances and Experiences 76
Bodily Appearances 77
Coping with Bodily Stigma 81
Defining Stigma 81
Responding to Being Stigmatized 85
Interpreting
Bodily Experiences 87
Conclusion 92
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 92
Notes 94
References 94
5 Health, Illness, and Disability 96
Meanings of Health, Illness, and Disability 97
Maintaining Health 99
Individual vs. Social Responsibility for Health 101
Individual Responsibility for Health 102
Gender and Individual Responsibility for Health 102
Extending Individual Responsibility through Online Participation 103
Social Responsibility for Health 105
Individual Responsibility and Neoliberalism 105
How Individual Responsibility for Health Complements Neoliberalism 105
Moral Failure and Victim‐Blaming 107
Experiencing Serious Illness 108
The Diagnostic Quest 109
Biographical Disruption and Loss of Self 111
Living with Illness and Disability 114
Medicalization, Biomedicalization, and Risk 118
Conclusion 119
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 120
Notes 121
References 121
6 Emotion Norms, Emotion Management, and Emotional Labor 125
Emotion Norms 126
Emotion Management 131
Interpersonal Emotion Management 135
Emotional Labor 137
Controlling Employees’ Emotions 138
The Unequal Distribution of Emotional Labor 141
Conclusion 144
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 145
Notes 146
References 146
7 All Our Families: Diverse Forms, Diverse Meanings 150
The Cultural Relativity of Family 152
Three Ways of Answering the Question “What Is Family?” 154
Family Discourse as Meaning‐Making 156
The Social Shaping of Family Descriptions 160
Who Knows Best about Families? 162
Conclusion 164
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 165
Notes 167
References 167
8 “Always On/Always On Us”: Technology, Interaction, and the Self 170
The Cyberbased Generalized Other and the Mediated Looking Glass 173
Music as a Technology of the Self 176
The Quantified Self 179
Conclusion 183
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 183
Notes 184
References 185
9 Amplifying Social Problems: Claimsmakers and Their Contexts 190
Objectivist and Interactionist Approaches to Social Problems 192
Amplifying Social Problems 196
The Contexts of Claimsmaking 201
Conclusion 205
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 206
Notes 207
References 207
10 Individuals and Institutions 209
How Institutions Shape Individuals 214
Creating “Good Ford Men” 217
Responses to Constraint 219
The Loss of Institutional Anchors 221
“Who am I Now?” 222
The Role of Place 223
Conclusion 225
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 226
Note 227
References 227
11 Inequality in Interaction 232
Studying Inequality 233
Reproducing Inequality through Interaction 238
Boundary Maintenance 239
Othering 240
Microaggressions 242
Subordinate Adaptation 243
Emotion Management 245
Resisting and Challenging Inequality 247
Conclusion 248
Learning by Using the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 248
Notes 249
References 250
12 Conclusion: The Benefits of Studying Symbolic Interaction 254
The Value of Studying Symbolic Interactionism 254
Social Interaction Is a Ubiquitous (and Enjoyable) Topic 254
SI Provides a Useful Vocabulary for Understanding Social Life, Via Its Focus on Generic Social Processes 255
SI Can Assist in Self‐Improvement 257
Altruism 258
Final Thoughts 259
References 259
Index 261
