Symbolic Interactionism

The objective of this study is to contrast and compare the work of Simmel and Mead on Symbolic Interactionism. Toward this end, a review of literature in this area of inquiry will be conducted.

Symbolic interactionism is a primary sociological perspective that George Herbert Mead advanced through bringing "rigorous substance to this emergent micro-level analysis." (Bloch, nd) From the view of symbolic interactionism, "society is the sum total of the countless daily interactions that people engage in." (Bloch, nd) Symbols are reported to be differentiated from signs "in that a sign is something that stands for itself." (Bloch, nd)

The Approach of Mead

The approach of Mead to symbolic interactionism is such that was developed through "synthesis of other schools of thought" including pragmatism which view the social world as a growing and developing creation that in order to be understood must be observed both systematically and scientifically....
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