Symbolic Interactionism Theory

Historical Foundation

The interdisciplinary development of symbolic interaction has changed the way individuals, groups, and society are analyzed. No longer is it exclusively believed that people can be reduced to being studied as objects or animals. Social interaction theorists assume people communicate through socially created and used symbols, including language. People assume roles based on symbols interpreted in their group(s) and interact through these roles. By way of roles, people create ideas of self and mind, and through interaction, society forms.

The beginnings of interactionism theory development are found in the works of the Scottish moral philosophers during the 1800s. Although these men [Page 835]disagreed on the fundamentals of the human mind, especially important to the emergence of symbolic interaction was their conviction that it is not possible to study individuals without considering human interaction. Their emphasis on communication and on the emotion of sympathy was the foundation for interactionists' view of society and the origin of self.

The ideas of the moral philosophers can be found in the works of William James and John Dewey, who influenced philosopher George Herbert Mead, often referred to as the most influential scholar of symbolic interactionism theory. The theories of Mead and Dewey are founded in an understanding of the individual within society. Charles Horton Cooley furthered the concept by considering the self from a sociological perspective. He used a critical framework of a group and underscored the role societies play in shaping an individual's motivation. Cooley conceptualized society as existing in the minds of the people within a social unit, making it real to those people. He argued that there are any number of different minds that exist through a melding and sharing of histories, expectations, and experiences.

The works and class notes of philosopher George Herbert Mead provided his students at the University of Chicago with enough material to posthumously publish three influential books in the 1930s. Of these three books, Mind, Self, and Society is most relevant to the public relations community. Mead's arguments coincide with those of other pragmatists of the time, but his work was the foundation for symbolic interaction, a unique form of interpretive research.

At the core of Mead's intersubjective thoughts lies his notion of mind. Mead's mind is symbolic. It emerges and develops through interaction with others. According to Mead, our thoughts and identity are in response to and develop as part of a social process. The self is an object that develops through awareness; it is determined through the roles other people take, and by interaction with others through symbols, including language. As humans we are able to think, and according to Mead, thinking is a reflective process that develops through our interactions with others and through our recognition of ourselves from the viewpoint of others. Our reflective self is rooted in society, or in a “generalised other” (Prus, 1996, p. 53). This generalized other—a society, a community, a workplace—are people interacting with each other in a manner made possible through shared symbolic representations.

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