WEEK 2: Symbolic interactionism and the Self Flashcards
What did Mead establish?
A shared world of meaning
What does Mead mean by ‘a shared world of meaning’?
What does it produce?
Things like sounds, written signs, objects and actions have the same meaning as well as significant gestures.
Arouse the same response
How do we achieve a shared world of meaning? (2 ways)
Social interaction and socialisation
Mead and the social self
How does the self emerge?
What does it not depend on? Therefore when will the self not emerge?
The self emerges from social experience and communication with others and is not dependent on biological drives therefore the self will not emerge if there is no social interaction
Mead and the social self
How do we form an understanding of ourselves? term for other?
Theorist and term?
Therefore how could the self be described (2 ways)
We form an understanding of ourselves by referring to the perspectives of others ‘The generalised other’
Cooley- ‘looking glass self’ (Characterize ourselves based on how others see us)
As the self can change based on the perspective of others it means that the self is reflective and reflexive
Mead: ‘I’ and ‘Me’
What is the ‘me’?
What is the ‘I’?
Mention objective and subjective
The ‘me’ = The self eg the picture i paint - subjective
The ‘I’ = Actions eg the painter of the picture - objective
Mead: ‘I’ and ‘me’
Development of the self
What do infants have no self?
What does this mean infants do not know?
Infants do not have ‘self’ as they mimic action through imitation meaning that they do not know the intension behind actions
Goffman: Dramaturgical Model
What does this approach develop the idea of? ( How do people present themselves? What kind of impression are they hoping to make?
This approach develops the idea that individuals present themselves to others with the intention of creating a favourable impression
What did Goffman propose?
Dramatical model
What did Mead establish? (2 things)
‘I’ and ‘Me’
A shared world of meaning
What does the Dramaturgical model suggest life is?
Everyday life is a stage
Dramaturgical Model
Terms? Similar to?
Front stage and backstage
similar to Meads ‘i’ and ‘me’
According to Goffman’s Dramaturgical model how do people establish a definite sense of self?
What does the performance have to relate to (context)?
Which idea is this similar to?
People establish a definite sense of self when they believe in their performance. (Performance is based on a shared ‘definition of the situation’
This idea is similar to Meads shared world of meaning
Goffman: Dramaturgical model
What do people use to give a successful performance? (two things)
To give a successful performance, people use strategic ‘impression management’
Use of ‘props’
Goffman: Dramaturgical model
Successful performance
How do individuals create a smooth successful interaction? ( What does one need to think about their performance? )
By successfully performing roles and believing in them, it leads to a smooth social interaction
Belief in the role = A definite sense of self ( Meads ‘me’)
