Article Review

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Symbolic Interaction

Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)

$ Lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan,

$ Professor at U of Michigan

$ 1890 married Elsie Jones, a very outgoing and energetic woman balanced his shy, retiring side

$ 3 children

$ Interested in studying why people behave the way they do: ideas we have of each other, attitudes, values

PRIMARY GROUP “by primary groups I mean those

characterized by intimate face-to-face association and

cooperation. They are primary in several senses, but chiefly

in that they are fundamental in forming the social nature and

ideals of the individual.”

from Cooley, Social Organization, p. 25

LOOKING-GLASS SELF

This theory begins with the idea of ‘self’

$ Cooley said that the ‘self’ refers to the ideas we have about our own person

$ How would you describe you to others?

$ What traits and characteristics do you think that you have? That is your ‘self’

How does a person acquire a ‘self?’

$ It is not biological or genetic.

$ Cooley insisted that the self arises during our interaction with other people.

Cooley called this the ‘Looking - glass Self’ and said it develops in three steps:

1. We imagine how we think we appear to others,

2. We imagine their judgment,

3. We react with some sort of self feeling.

paraphrased from Cooley, Human Social Nature and the Social

Order, p. 184

For example, why are we often nervous before speaking in front of a large crowd of people?

One professor summarized ‘self’ this way: “I am not what I think I am. I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.”

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

$ Born in Massachusetts, father a pastor and college professor

$ Mother a college president

$ MA from Harvard, went tom study in Germany

$ Never completed PhD because went to U of Michigan

$ In 1893 went to new U of Chicago, stayed there until death

$ Married Helen Castle in 1891, 1 child

Book: Mind, Self and Society from the standpoint of a social behaviorist

Social Behaviorism: “Behaviorism...is simply an approach to

study of the experience of the individual from the point of view

of his conduct, particularly, but not exclusively, the conduct as

it is observable by others.” p. 2 “We are not...building up the

behavior of the social group in terms of the separate individuals

composing it; rather, we are starting out with a given ...complex

group activity, into which we analyze...the behavior of each

of the separate individuals composing it.” p. 7

Behaviorism rejects the position that biology plays a part in

human social behavior.

Mead agreed with Cooley but added that some other people are

more important is our self development than other people.

Mead introduced the term:

Significant Other to refer to other people important to us in self

development. (Note: this is NOT how the term is used in

conversation these days)

$ In other words, Significant Others are people that we care what they think about us.

$ What these people think about us matters to us.

$ Thus, parents, siblings, friends are Significant Others.

In contrast Mead’s term Generalized Other refers to general

standards, norms, rules, that are important to us and that we

judge ourselves by.

$ For example, if you think of yourself as a good student and you do well on an exam, you are happy.

$ Mead’s example was a baseball player hitting a home run. Why is our baseball player happy?

$ Because the rules of baseball say it’s good to hit home runs.

$ Those rules and standards Mead called the Generalized Other.

Mead also insisted that to fully develop our ‘self’ we must be able

to ‘Take the Role of the Other,’ meaning that we must be able

understand other’s behaviors and perspectives.

A vital outcome of socialization is the ability to anticipate wha

others will do and to shape our behavior accordingly.

Mead insisted that children develop through three stages:

1. Preparatory or Imitation – under age 3 only look at the world from their viewpoint – children may imitate others around them, but they have little sense of self. For example, if you’ve been around small children you will note they think only of their own person. If the child is hungry, he/she

wants food right away. The child doesn’t really care if you’re sleeping or getting ready for work. Try to get a one-year old to pose for a photograph. It’s not always easy.

2. Play Stage – after age 3 they play at taking roles of specific others, their parents, for example. This is important because for the first time in his/her life the child is looking at the world from a point-of-view not the child’s

3. Game Stage – around 7 or 8 children are ready to participant in organized games where they must take the role of other people. For example, if a baseball player hits the ball, the player must know what other players in the game will do: the first baseman, outfielders, etc. and behave in response.

This stage lasts our entire lives.

Most important to Mead: All of this occurs through language.

Through the use of language wee can take the role of the other.

It is language that makes humans different from other living

things: only we have language.

‘Mind’ is a process or behavior that allows us to consciously

control our own language.

Mead also insisted that the ‘self’ has two parts: the ‘I’ and the ‘Me’

$ The I is the impulsive part of us; it is self-centered and selfish

$ The Me is the part of that takes others into account

$ For example, the I may tell you skip studying for a test and go out and with friends, but the Me says no you better study. So you study.

But both Cooley and Mead insist that our self identity develops as we interact with others. And that this interaction occurs mainly by the use of language which is all symbols.

Thus it is called the Symbolic Interaction Theory