SOCI 1001 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Symbolic Interactionism, Double Consciousness, Social Reproduction
26 Feb 2017
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Chapter 4:
• What is the basic insight of symbolic interactionism? How does this differ from a view of
human personality/selfhood as purely natural/biological?
• Symbolic interactionism is the idea that people have to look at themselves through
the eyes of others. This is different from the idea that selfhood is purely natural,
because it implies that without other people, we would not even be aware of
ourselves.
• Who are the main theorists associated with theories of symbolic interactionism?
• Cooley
• The looking glass self
• Mead
• Reference groups, significant others, role models, generalized other
• Goffman
• All of life is a stage
• How does the theory of the “looking-glass self” compare to the idea that “all of life’s a
stage”?
• The theory of the looking glass self is the idea that everyone is able to see
themselves through the eyes of others. It is similar to Du Bois’ theory of double
consciousness.
• The idea that all of life is a stage implies that people are acting based on the
situation they are in. There is the front stage, which is the performance you put on
in public that you want others to see. There is also the back stage, where you are
more private and prepare for going out into the front stage (pick out clothes, put
on makeup, etc.).
• The theory of the looking glass self explains that everyone sees themselves
through the eyes of others, while the life is a stage theory explains the ways that
people present what others are seeing to the world.
• Describe the different groups of “others” whose approval matters to us? How do they
differ?
• Significant others are people who are close enough to us to have a significant
impact on how we act and think.
• Reference groups are groups that we look at and what to be a part of, so we
emulate the aspects of those groups that we like (good student, attractive woman)
• Role models are specific individuals within the reference groups that we look up
to and want to be like, so we try to emulate them
• Generalized other is a term to consider the norms of society and how they impact
how people act and think. One example of the generalized other might be wearing
clothes when you go out in public, because that is the norm that everyone knows
to follow.
• How does technology (e.g., social media) shape the dynamics of social interaction?
• Social media allows you to control your presentation of yourself to the world, by
posting pictures and more that you want others to see as you.
Chapter 5:
• What is social structure? How does it 1) enable and 2) constrain individuals’ behavior?
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Document Summary
How does this differ from a view of human personality/selfhood as purely natural/biological: symbolic interactionism is the idea that people have to look at themselves through the eyes of others. It is similar to du bois" theory of double consciousness: the idea that all of life is a stage implies that people are acting based on the situation they are in. There is the front stage, which is the performance you put on in public that you want others to see. Social hierarchies are relationships between individuals or groups that are unequal and provide one person or group with more status or power than another. How do they compare to rules: norms are the unwritten rules of society that tell us what is and is not appropriate in any situation. Social reproduction occurs every time that someone plays along with the social hierarchy and plays their role.
