Synopsis of Symbolic Interactionism

For George Herbert Mead, " Symbolic Interactionism" is the process of interaction in the formation of meanings for individuals. It means that our actions are based from the meanings that we give other people.

It also focuses on the theories about symbolic activity, both verbal and non-verval are used to show the significance of symbols in the daily interactions of human.

The term "symbolic interaction" refers, of course, to the peculiar and distinctive character of interaction as it takes place between human beings. The peculiarity consists in the fact that human beings interpret or "define" each other's actions instead of merely reacting to each other's actions. Their "response" is not made directly to the actions of one another but instead is based on the meaning which they attach to such actions. Thus, human interaction is mediated by the use of symbols, by interpretation, or by ascertaining the meaning of one another's actions. This mediation is equivalent to inserting a process of interpretation between stimulus and response in the case of human behavior. (Blumer, p. 180).

Symbolic interactionists are often criticized by other sociologists for being overly impressionistic in their research methods and somewhat unsystematic in their theories. These objections, combined with the fairly narrow focus of interactionist research on small-group interactions and other social psychological issues, have relegated the interactionist camp to a minority position among sociologists, although a fairly substantial minority.

Given the example, when we come to interact with others, we oftentimes think of what meanings would they put on the way we act or speak.

Like, during our class discussions, we have discussed the different views some selected authors. Most of them differ on the words used but have the same thought.