1. Symbolic Interactionism:
Symbolic interactionism is a social psychological theory developed from the work of Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead in the early part of the twentieth century (the actual name of the theory comes from Herbert Blumer, one of Mead's students). According to this theory, people inhabit a world that is in large part socially constructed. In particular, the meaning of objects, events, and behaviors comes from the interpretation people give them, and interpretations vary from one group to another. Cooley, in his theory of a "looking glass self," argued that the way we think about ourselves is particularly apt to be a reflection of other people's appraisals (or more accurately, our imagining of other people's appraisals) and that our self-concepts are built up in the intimate groups that he called "primary groups." Mead emphasized that human beings do not react directly to events; they act based on their interpretation of the meaning of events.
3. An example of symbolic interactionism:
- A student who built a clock or a terrorist?
- Unfit to be president?
- Our society's greatest problem?
- Does it have to mean those things?
4. How does symbolic interactionism connect to social labels and categories?
5. Social Labels Project - Adobe Slate
A. Choose ANY social label. Describe that label. When people use that label to describe someone, what are the unstated assumptions about the person are implied by the use of that label. Does the label carry a positive or negative connotation? Is the label one that a person would give themselves, or that someone would give someone else, or both?
B. Ask 5 people (only one can be from your table) to describe what they think of when asked to imagine a person who is given the label you are investigating. Record their answers.
C. Analyze the possible social advantages or disadvantages of being given this label. Is it more likely to positively or negatively impact a person's life, self-esteem, or social status? Move them up or down the social ladder? Make them an "us" or a "them."
D. Identify and analyze one label that others have placed on you? What impact has that label played in how you live your life? Have you ever done anything that you personally did not want to do in order to fulfill the expectations of your label? Explain.
- Your project must include the information from letters A-D above.
- Grading Rubric
1. The project contains all necessary information (A-D), and is accurate - 40 pts
2. The information is presented in an aesthetically pleasing and creative way - 10 pts
3. The project is free of grammar and punctuation errors - 10
Due - 2/24
Late Policy - 6 points deducted for each day late, up to one week. After one week, the maximum grade is a 50%.
5. Social Labels Project - Adobe Slate
A. Choose ANY social label. Describe that label. When people use that label to describe someone, what are the unstated assumptions about the person are implied by the use of that label. Does the label carry a positive or negative connotation? Is the label one that a person would give themselves, or that someone would give someone else, or both?
B. Ask 5 people (only one can be from your table) to describe what they think of when asked to imagine a person who is given the label you are investigating. Record their answers.
C. Analyze the possible social advantages or disadvantages of being given this label. Is it more likely to positively or negatively impact a person's life, self-esteem, or social status? Move them up or down the social ladder? Make them an "us" or a "them."
D. Identify and analyze one label that others have placed on you? What impact has that label played in how you live your life? Have you ever done anything that you personally did not want to do in order to fulfill the expectations of your label? Explain.
- Your project must include the information from letters A-D above.
- Grading Rubric
1. The project contains all necessary information (A-D), and is accurate - 40 pts
2. The information is presented in an aesthetically pleasing and creative way - 10 pts
3. The project is free of grammar and punctuation errors - 10
Due - 2/24
Late Policy - 6 points deducted for each day late, up to one week. After one week, the maximum grade is a 50%.
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