This theory speaks about the use of symbols in our
everyday life. A symbol is what one puts a certain meaning to. For instance my
husband spends a lot time with his friends, to me it is a sign that he doesn’t
find my company interesting. I feel sad and awful that he does not spend time
with me. To him this is just socializing with his friends, it is a symbol to
him that not because he is married that does not mean he can no longer spend
time with his friends. To me he is married and I should be his sole interest.
In this theory meanings changed in different
situations by society. For example my friend’s baby father rarely shows any
sign of emotions. He doesn’t say I love you neither does she. To me this is a
symbol that there is no love between them while to her they are both being
cautious. If it was me I would be on the next taxi out of that relationship as
action speaks louder than words. This is simply showing that people have
different meaning to the same thing. I believe that each person way of
socialization will give him or her different symbols. One has to bare in mind
how they were socialized and think about each other’s feelings so that a
relationship does not end. This is going for both social and intimate
relationship, as both my husband and I have different meanings to things and we
have found ways and means to compromise and make things work. Also my friend
and I have different meaning to things and even though we do not see eye to eye
we have found ways and means make our friendship last.
I can relate to the information because my partner spends a lot of time with his friends. I do not like this practice and I believe that he puts his friends over his family. He disagrees with me, to him this his just a means of entertainment because he gets bored at home.
ReplyDeleteSymbolic Interaction Perspective
ReplyDeleteIn my view this is a subjective micro theory which looks at how individuals ideas, beliefs and attitudes impacts their daily lives.
It is subjective in nature in that it compares individual behaviour and reaction to symbols and their meanings and how they are communicated. This could be either words, gestures, pictures, or symbols. Individuals who share the same view would have mutual understanding, but those who do not share the same view may have conflict arising between them. Symbols have different meanings in different societies.
The theorist also speaks of the “Significant Other” – how individuals basically see and understand things .Individuals who does not share the same understanding or meanings of certain facts, tension may arise.eg. A boy who goes out on his first date may want a kiss, but the girl would prefer to have a meaningful conversation.
We become cognizant of certain situations because of our interaction with other people such as parents, friends, relatives etc.
The theorist also thinks that family roles are symbolic, members of families get engage in multi tasks, eg. My sister is a mother, a grandmother and a wife.
However people roles are different based on the individual they are interacting with at the time.eg. Little Tommy would respond differently to his Grand Pa as compared to his big brother Josh.