Interactionism Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Interactionism?

Interactionism is a social theory that emphasizes the influence of social interactions on individual behavior and how those interactions shape our everyday lives. It is based on the premise that individuals are not isolated, but rather partake in numerous relationships with other people, families, organizations, and societies. Interactionism views these relationships as integral to understanding an individual’s identity and actions within society. Interactionism has roots in symbolic interactionism, a sociological perspective developed by George Herbert Mead in the early 20th century. Symbolic interactionists focus on how individuals interpret symbols through interpersonal communication and reflect upon those interpretations during their own decision-making processes. This concept of interpretation has since been extended to encompass nonverbal communication as well as verbal communication between humans. Interactionists believe that all aspects of human behavior are affected by social interaction, including both conscious and unconscious influences like emotions and values. They believe experience shapes an individual’s perception of reality because each person interprets situations differently depending on their past experiences or cultural expectations. For example, two people may have different interpretations of a situation based solely on their gender or race without even realizing it because they bring different perspectives to the table due to these factors influencing them beforehand. Interactionists also recognize that power dynamics play an important role in social interactions; some people have more power than others due to factors such as wealth or status within society which can affect how one behaves or reacts when interacting with another person who holds higher power than themselves. They argue that this unequal distribution of power can lead to feelings of oppression or manipulation from those with more power which can lead to negative outcomes for both parties involved in the interaction if not addressed properly by all parties involved. Overall, Interactionism is a theoretical perspective focused on understanding how individuals interact with each other through symbols and shared experiences within their environment in order to shape our identities and behaviors within society; it pays special attention to unequal distributions of power between those involved in interactions which can affect outcomes for everyone involved if not acknowledged properly by all parties during conversations had between them.