SOC 2700 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Stanford Prison Experiment, Frank Tannenbaum, Labeling Theory
Document Summary
Symbolic interactionism argues that human actions are best understood in terms of the meanings that those actions have for actors. People first define the meaning of the situations they find themselves in and then act toward those situations in ways that make sense within the context of those meanings. The meanings themselves are created to some extent by the individual, but mostly they are derived from personal communications and interactions with other people. The meaning of crime to the self: labeling theory. One of the most important meanings within symbolic interaction theory is the meaning that people give to themselves - their self-image. They act toward themselves according to those meanings. Each person s self-image is constructed primarily through social interactions with other people - what mead called the self as a social construct and what cooley called the looking-glass self .
