Interactionist views on identity Flashcards
What are the three points of the Postmodernist views on Identity?
- Interactionists focus on small-scale interactions (typical settings are classrooms, workplaces, hospitals)
- They use qualitative methods of participant observation
- They try to understand how the way we interpret the actions of others influences our sense of who we are.
How many components do Social Action theorists argue we have to our Identity?
Name Them
Three.
Personal Identity
Social Identity
The “Self”
Define Personal Identity as suggested by Social Action theorists.
How you feel uniquely different from others. These are indicated through your name, signature, nickname, passport etc.
Define Social Identity as suggested by Social Action theorists.
Refers to the personality characteristics and qualities that particular cultures associate with certain social roles or groups. For example, in our culture, mothers are supposed to be loving and nurturing and therefore women who are mothers attempt to live up to this social identity
Define The “Self” as suggested by Social Action theorists.
This is our own internal sense of our uniqueness and identity. The self is partly the product of what others think is expected of a person’s social identity. For example, a mother may see herself as a good mother because she achieves society’s standards in that respect. Therefore our ‘self’ is based on what we think and also what we think others think of us too.
Who created The “Self” for defining part of the Identity for Social Action theorists?
Date
Mead
1934
Mead created The “Self” for defining part of the Identity for Social Action theorists.
Who developed this to the “Looking Glass Self”?
Date
Cooley
1998
After Mead developed The “Self” what was the name of the further analysis of this idea and who proposed it?
Looking Glass Self
Cooley 1998
Define Mead’s (1934) The “Self” as part of the Identity for Social Action theorists.
Mead (1934) created the “Self” where she argued that as children grow up, they learn to develop a sense of themselves – their self-concept – and the qualities that make them different from others. As they interact with others they begin to see how people respond to them and then they begin to see how others see them. This means that an individual’s self-concept and identities are constantly changing and developing all the time through daily interaction.
Define Cooley’s (1998) Looking Glass Self as part of the Identity for Social Action theorists.
n 1998, Cooley developed the ‘Looking Glass Self’ further by explaining that it is the idea that our image is reflected back to us like a mirror. As we see others’ reactions to us, we then modify our image and behaviour accordingly. Our self-concept is therefore ‘socially constructed’ through our interactions with others.
What is Goffman’s 1959 argument about interaction on the formation of our Identity for Social Action theorists?
Goffman (1959) argues that interaction is basically a form of role-playing. We are all actors engaged in a drama of everyday life. Goffman argues that our social identity that we display in public is a ‘performance’ which is designed to give a particular image of who we are. We change this according to who we are interacting with, for example our social identity will be different with friends in comparison to parents or teachers. We ‘manage’ our performance according to who we are with. This is known as ‘impression management’. Goffman also argues that our social identity is like acting on a ‘front stage’ where we can use physical props, such as computers, or clothing to give the impression of who we are which then allows us to distance ourselves from other groups, such as teachers wearing a suit to distance themselves from students wearing a uniform.
What is Impression Management according to Goffman (1959)?
We ‘manage’ our performance according to who we are with. This is known as ‘impression management’.
What is Goffman argue about how we form our Identity for Social Action theorists?
Goffman argues that identities result from how we try to manage the impression we give to others in our everyday interactions (impression management). We do this in order to convince them of the identities we are trying to assert. We achieve this through the use of B: dress, language, body language, ‘props’ (accessories we carry or hold) In particular, we are trying to create a positive impression. To do this, we offer different behaviours in different contexts. So we put on a persona (a mask) to suit the role we are playing and the context we are in.
What is the concept of Impression Management?
The concept of impression management suggests we can control how others see us. But control is limited: sometimes the impression we try to create contradicts how others see us. Then it’s difficult to achieve a stable identity. Some groups find it particularly difficult to construct a positive social identity. This is because some characteristic results in negative reactions from other people.
Goffman identified 3 main characteristics that form stigmas:
- Physical defects (e.g. missing a limb)
- Personal weaknesses (e.g. being a criminal, a paedophile)
- Social stigmas (e.g. being gay)
