Giving meaning to communication: symbolic interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a theory that emerged in sociology that spread to other fields such as anthropology and social psychology. This theory analyzes interactions and their meanings. With this he is able to understand the processes by which people become members of societies. In other words, studies social activities and the construction of the “I”.

Symbolic interactionism is based on interpretations. People are going to give different interpretations to reality. and these interpretations will be more similar among the people around us. One of the biggest cultural differences that create problems when traveling are symbols. If someone extends the palm of their hand towards another person, I would understand that it means stop, be still, but a Greek would take it as an insult and for a Lebanese it would be neutralizing the evil eye.

Beginnings of symbolic interactionism

Symbolic interactionism positions itself against absolute truths. Submits that There is not a single truth, but rather different situated truths.. That is, the “truth” is going to be different in each community. To understand these different “truths”, interactionism studies the relationships between people and symbols: the ultimate goal is to understand individual identity and social organization.

A classic example of symbolic interactionism is found in tea. This drink can be consumed accompanied by different rituals, in turn with different symbolism. For example, tea does not represent the same thing for a European person as it does for a Japanese person. Possibly, Europeans drink tea to activate themselves and do not give much importance to the preparation or consumption of tea. However, the Japanese will carry out a preparation ritual and drink tea in company, just like the Pakistani. The meanings of tea are going to be different for all three.

Summarizing, symbolic interactionism suggests that People define ourselves taking into account the meaning of being an individual in a specific context.. Since we are social animals, this meaning of “individual” will depend largely on the interactions we have with other people.

Generations of symbolic interactionists

There are two great generations of symbolic interactionists that propose different interpretations: the first considers that actions always have meaning, while the second considers that social life is a theater.

First generation

Initially the proposal was that Personal identity is built through relationships with other people. These relationships always had meaning, they were symbolic. Therefore, each person’s identity was formed in specific situations and places when interacting with others. The meaning given to these interactions was going to define personal or individual identity.

This proposal declared that actions were more than habits or automatic behaviors. All actions could be interpreted. Thus, language was understood as the representation of the speaker’s attitudes, intentions, positions and objectives. Language was a form of interaction: through it reality was constructed.

The individual, from this perspective, is a representation that is constructed through language. That is to say, The individual is constructed through the meanings that circulate while interacting with other individuals.. However, what is constructed is not the person but the “self” of that person, the “myself,” the identity.

Second generation

The second generation introduced a strong change. For them, Identity was also understood as the result of the roles that people adopt. When we act with other people we usually adopt social roles. These are behavioral patterns defined by society. One way to understand the roles is to see the reality shows of TV. In them, the participants adopt the same roles each season. There is always one who contradicts the others, another who is alone and won’t stop crying, two who end up being a couple, etc.

With this second generation, a new perspective also emerges according to which people are actors. Individuals act and represent a role that is determined by social roles. We do what we are expected to do depending on our role. But the interpretation of this role not only occurs when we interact with other people, but also in the spaces and moments in which those other people are not seeing us. That is, in some way it is a role that we end up internalizing and adapting to our identity.

Methodology and main authors

Symbolic interactionism as a concept was born in the Chicago School. Here the interaction between the individual and society begins to be considered and studied and the importance of interpretation as a fundamental factor in communication becomes evident.

Although there are several relevant authors, George Herbert Mead is considered its greatest representative. However, it was the sociologist Herbert Blumer who coined the term and proposed the influential essence of this school of thought.

Erving Goffman, with his dramaturgical perspectiveacquires special relevance within the second generation by stating that human beings are actors constantly interpreting our social roles.

Other figures such as Charles Horton Cooley, Harold Garfinkel and Robert Park also made interesting contributions.

Regarding the methodology, symbolic interactionism adopts qualitative approaches in which symbols, content and words are analyzed in social interaction. Participant observation is usually used (considering that the researcher has to enter the reality of the actors in order to understand it) and an empirical inductive procedure.

Symbolic interactionism in social psychology

The relationship of symbolic interactionism with psychology is explained above all in the context of social psychology. According to this branch, People form social identities that have specific norms and values.. At times when social identities become more important, people will be more likely to act according to those norms and values.

Although social psychology goes beyond roles and accepts that behavior is guided by social norms, it finds its beginnings in symbolic interactionism. Something undeniable is that People develop our identities, both individual and social, when we interact with other people.. Therefore, interacting with people from different cultures while maintaining an open mind will help us get to know ourselves better, redefine our personal identity and change the way we understand the world.

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