Symbolic Interaction Theory

Symbolic theory is the idea that society is based on things that people attach meaning to such as symbols. Symbols help people around the world communicate with one another. Attaching meaning to something helps understand the way we view the world and how things operate. George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley were the two sociologists who coined the idea of symbolic interaction-ism and how it shows up in our daily lives. It is hard to imagine that without symbols there would be no such thing as having aunts, uncles, siblings, teachers, bosses, or employees. Symbols are what define our relationships and help us know who we owe our respect and obligations to. Without symbols we could still reproduce but there would be nothing there to tell us who our family is. Symbols go much further than just family though. Society and our lives depend on symbols every day. Face-to-face interactions would change tremendously without the use of symbols. Holidays, such as Christmas would not have the meaning and significance as it does today. If one is it think about it, symbols are the core to any social society and is what help us make sense of everything in our world. This theory makes the most sense to me because without I would not know my place in life. I would not know who my mother and father was and could not know if I was dating my brother. Every day I use symbols to communicate with friends, teachers, and employees. Life would have no meaning without symbols and people would not know their place in society. 


Works Cited

Henslin, James M. Sociology ;a Down-to-earth Approach: Core Concepts. 12th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012. Print.