Concepts of Symbolic Interactionism

Concepts of symbolic InteractionismAspects of the modern-day participation of Britain, such as the Education and Religion whitethorn be explained through the c all told of the sociological spatial relations, functionalism and symbolic interactionism. These positionings offer contrasting insights into the inner-workings of confederation and are multipurpose in onseting to determine these aspects of fond life, utilizing both macrosociology the study of widespread sociable processes and microsociology the study of connection at a interpersonal take.Symbolic Interactionism is a neighborly psychological speculation devised from the work of Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead that studies how individuals act within society (Symbolic Interactionism, no date). The premise of this theory is that individuals be put one over towards different situations based upon the inwardness that the situation holds to them, from physical objects such as trees to administrations such as the government, referred to as symbols. As Symbolic Interactionism is a microsociological theory, the perspective foc engagements on how the meaning of these symbols to a individual is derived from the interpersonal, social interaction in society. Then through an instructive process upon experiences, the meanings an individual holds towards symbols will change (Blumer, 1986). There are numerous examples where individuals find social meaning through symbolic interaction, one beness that without symbolic interaction many people would not smoke til now meaning is constructed through the media or peer groups and people rationalise that albeit the consequences fastball hold, smoking is desirable.Another social psychological concept of Symbolic Interactionism is Charles Horton Cooleys looking-glass ego (1902), which explores how identity is formed. Charles concept states that an individuals identity grows out of interpersonal interactions, and the cognizance of others. Thi s leads individuals in society to shape themselves around other peoples perspectives and opinions of themselves. The looking-glass self has three principal(prenominal) components firstly imagining how we appear to others, secondly imagining the judgement from others of that appearance and thirdly sustainment our identity through these judgements (Rousseau, 2002).Functionalism on the other hand is a macrosociological theory which originated from the works of mile Durkheim, Functionalism is also known as a consensus perspective theory as the perspective does not deal with the issue of social conflict but rather at looks at the ideal in society. Durkheims count on the functionalist perspective looks at the macro- aim of social structure, the social sanctuarys, as to explain how these contribute to the stability of society the core institutions being family, government, economy, media, statement and religion. To a functionalist these social institutions are designed to fill the r equire of society, then shaping society, creating stability (Crossman, 2016). The functionalist perspective argues that institutions all exist to serve a role in how society functions, if the role is no longer infallible the institution would not be needed either and if new ask arise in society, institutions will be created to address these roles.As fey upon, Symbolic Interactionism is a micro-sociological theory looking at the interpersonal level of society and Functionalism is a macro-sociological theory which looks at society on the geomorphologic level. The difference among the perspectives is considerable due to this difference. Using religion as an example mile Durkheim argued that religion encouraged individuals of society to follow the social norms which Functionalist theorists perceive as bringing about stability through institution (Emile Durkheim the sociology of religion, no date). that as Symbolic Interactionism focusinges on the micro level of society, instea d of looking at religion as a institution and how it causes people to adhere to social norms, Interactionism looks at the symbolic meaning croup religion. A symbolic interactionist would observe the meanings people attach to such things as religious symbols, like a cross or a mosque, to becharm how they affect individual behaviour in society (Symbolic Interactionism, no date). merely there are similarities between these perspectives, despite the differences as to what level of society the perspectives focus on, both theories are similar in how they group individuals together, be it through social class for functionalism and through symbols for interactionism.Education in Britain has changed drastically since the 20th century. The Education Act was introduced in 1944 which guaranteed upbringing for free, for every chela in England and Wales. This act also divided the schools into what is the norm today, primary pedagogy and secondary precept. Throughout the 20th Century, educati on in britain was a finish contrast to education in modern-day society, corporal punishment was astray used whereas today the education dodging has different methods of punishment and scholarly persons lay down rights which prevent corporal punishment such as caning. Education in contemporary britain has evolved to be inclusive of g closing curtainer and those with special educational needs as through the 20th century women and special needs were discriminated against and regarded as unintelligent. Education in contemporary britain has also integrated the use of technology, with the vast majority of students having access to smartphones and the like within school (Reporters, 2014)l. Education is at the forefront of modern day society with 33% of students earning a stop in 2000 in contrast to 3.4% of students in 1950. (Bolton, no date)Both perspectives attempt to explain this aspect of social life in contemporary britain in contrasting ways, the Functionalist perspective focus es on the the functions performed by the education system. A functionalist may argue that Education creates Social Solidarity. Social Solidarity is when individuals feel as though they are integrated into something bigger than themselves. Durkheims belief when it comes to education was that the system is create upon the common beliefs of individuals in society, Durkheim believed the system to be a product of collective thought rather than individual thought, hence making the education system a expression of the collective conscious which adapts over time as societys hold dears change, uniting society with shared values, which is known as value consensus (Hoenisch, 1996). Talcott Parsons (1961), an american functionalist which expanded upon Durkheims writings in the 1950s and 1960s, expressed his view on the education system can be related to contemporary britain as being useful to provide a trained childbed force as, this is useful to contemporary britain due to it being a ri pe industrial economy, which needs a complex division of labour in order to sustain (Cook, 2008). Talcott Parsons (1961) also argued that the education system is the bridge between family and society as a whole for students, preparing for their role in later on life after their initial primary socialisation which is where individuals learn and develop throughout their younger years (Agnihotri, 2008). Parsons (1961) believed that in the family, as the parents understand the ludicrous abilities of their child, the parents will judge the child to a particular set of standards they have come to expect, this is known as particularistic standards. However due to the education system, children learn that outside of the family individuals are judged by universalistic standards, which is where rules and laws apply to all people, regardless of the character of the person, education teaches this. From a functionalist viewpoint, education in contemporary britain is used to assign roles to peo ple in society through the use of examinations and qualifications. Education also introduces meritocracy, which is a equality of opportunity every student has a chance to succeed (Thompson, 2015).An interactionists perspective however will focus on studies on interpersonal interaction within the school, such as in the classroom, in the lunch hall and on the playground. Studies express that teachers perception of students can affect the learning environment, A study carried out by Robert Rosenthal (1968) and Lenore Jacobson (1968) focuses on a group of students throughout a school year, at the start of the school year the teachers where told which students where intelligent and which where unintelligent. The study showed at the end of the year that the students which the teachers had been informed where intelligent performed better throughout the year than the students deemed unintelligent, although the students where labeled to the teachers at random. A Interactionist will look at how due to the teachers having that familiarity inadvertently caused them to praise the intelligent students more often, and spend more time with them. Interactionists will also look at how Social Interaction contributes to gender-role socialization, studies show that teachers praise males more often (Jones Dindia, 2004)Functionalism is useful in sympathy how the education system is more work focused in contemporary society with increasing vocational courses. The perspective allows us to see how roles are allocated in society and how the education system brings around a value consensus in society. Its also useful in understanding how society teaches children what the universalistic standards are. However Functionalism tends to look at the macro elements of the education system rather than at the interpersonal level where functionalism can be criticized due to ignoring negatives such as bullying. It can also be criticised due to the fact the Marxist perspective argues education is not meritocratic due to the fact private schools only benefit the wealthy. Symbolic Interactionism on the other hand is useful in understanding the interpersonal relationships between parties such as the teacher and the student, allowing researchers to understand how individuals behavior shape society through observations and gathering qualitative data, understanding how society come to learn gender roles and how the labelling theory works as shown in the study aforementioned a student being given up more praise makes the student believe they are intelligent and therefore tries to fit that label, which is known in sociology as the self-fulfilling prophecy. According to Manis and Meltzer (1978) Symbolic Interactionism also makes it difficult to understand on a broad level the education system in contemporary society due to being limited to only micro-social structures and that the perspective neglects emotional conduct, focusing only on logical behaviour.Bolton, P. (no date) Commons Briefing papers SN04252. House of Commons.