Editing Symbolic interactionism (section)

==Assumptions, premises, and research methodology==
=== Assumptions ===
Most symbolic interactionists believe a physical reality does indeed exist by an individual's social definitions, and that social definitions do develop in part or in relation to something "real". People thus do not respond to this reality directly, but rather to the [[Social reality|social understanding of reality]]; i.e., they respond to this reality indirectly through a kind of filter which consists of individuals' different perspectives. This means that humans exist not in the physical space composed of realities, but in the "world" composed only of "objects". According to [[Erving Goffman]], what motivates humans to position their body parts in certain manners and the desires to capture and examine those moments are two of the elements that constitute the composition of the social reality which is made of various individuals' perceptions, it's crucial to examine how these two elements occur. It appeals to symbolic interactionists to shift more emphases on the realistic aspect of their empirical observation and theorizing.<ref name=":05"/>

Three assumptions frame symbolic interactionism:<ref name=":1" />
# ''Individuals construct meaning via the communication process.''
# ''[[Self-concept]] is a motivation for behavior.''
# ''A unique relationship exists between the individual and society.''

=== Premises ===
Having defined some of the underlying assumptions of symbolic interactionism, it is necessary to address the premises that each assumption supports. According to Blumer (19f,.69), there are three premises that can be derived from the assumptions above.<ref name=":4" />

1) '''''"Humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things."'''''<ref name=":4" />

The first premise includes everything that a human being may note in their world, including physical objects, actions and concepts. Essentially, individuals behave towards objects and others based on the personal meanings that the individual has already given these items. Meaning is not automatically associated, it is ascribed through interactions.<ref name=crb>{{Cite journal |last1=Berger |first1=Charles R. |last2=Calabrese |first2=Richard J. |date=January 1975 |title=Some Explorations in Initial Interaction and Beyond: Toward a Developmental Theory of Interpersonal Communications |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1975.tb00258.x |journal=Human Communication Research |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=99–112 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2958.1975.tb00258.x |issn=0360-3989|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Blumer was trying to put emphasis on the meaning behind individual behaviors, specifically speaking, psychological and sociological explanations for those actions and behaviors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lundgren |first=David C. |date=April 2004 |title=Social Feedback and Self-Appraisals: Current Status of the Mead-Cooley Hypothesis |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/si.2004.27.2.267 |journal=Symbolic Interaction |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=267–286 |doi=10.1525/si.2004.27.2.267 |issn=0195-6086|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

2) '''''"The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and the society."'''''<ref name=":4" />

The second premise explains the meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with other humans. Blumer, following Mead, claimed people interact with each other by interpreting or defining each other's actions instead of merely reacting to each other's actions Their "response" is not made directly to the actions of one another but instead is based on the meaning which they attach to such actions. Thus, human interaction is mediated by the use of [[Significant symbols|symbols]] and [[Sign (semiotics)|signification]], by [[Language interpretation|interpretation]], or by ascertaining the meaning of one another's actions. Mead believed not in stimulus-response, but in stimulus-interpretation-response. The meaning we assign to our communication is what is important.<ref name=crb/> [[Meaning (linguistics)|Meaning]] is either taken for granted and pushed aside as an unimportant element which need not to be investigated, or it is regarded as a mere neutral link or one of the [[causal chain]]s between the causes or factors responsible for human behavior and this behavior as the product of such factors.

3) '''''"The Meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she [sic] encounters."'''''

Symbolic interactionists describe thinking as an [[Inner conversations|inner conversation]].<ref name=":2" /> Mead called this inner dialogue ''minding'', which is the delay in one's thought process that happens when one thinks about what they will do next.<ref name=crb/> These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process{{efn|This process occurs in the form of ''interaction with oneself'' or ''taking into account of taking into account''.}}<ref>Kuwabara T., and K. Yamaguchi. 2013. "An Introduction to the Sociological Perspective of Symbolic Interactionism." ''The Joint Journal of the National Universities in Kyushu, Education and Humanities'' 1(1):1-11.</ref> used by the person in dealing with the things that they encounter. We naturally talk to ourselves in order to sort out the meaning of a difficult situation. But first, we need language. Before we can think, we must be able to interact symbolically.<ref name=":2" /> The emphasis on symbols, negotiated meaning, and social construction of society brought attention to the [[role]]s people play. [[Role-taking theory|Role-taking]] is a key mechanism that permits people to see another person's perspective to understand what an action might mean to another person. Role-taking is a part of our lives at an early age, for instance, playing house and pretending to be someone else. There is an improvisational quality to roles; however, [[Free will|actors]] often take on a script that they follow. Because of the uncertainty of roles in social contexts, the burden of role-making is on the person in the situation. In this sense, we are proactive participants in our environment.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Garfinkel|first=Harold|title=Studies in Ethnomethodology|publisher=Prentice-Hall|year=1967|isbn=978-0745600055|location=Englewood Cliffs, NJ|oclc=356659}}</ref>

Some theorists have proposed an additional fourth premise:

4) '''''"It's the inherent human desire to acquire potential psychological rewards from interacting with others that motivates us to establish realities filtered through social interactions"'''''

Some symbolic interactionists point out the ineradicable nexus of the desire for potential psychological reward between individuals and their respective socially constructed realities that is commonly known as the "society", these experts have confirmed that one crucial premise for analyzing and dissecting symbolic interactionism is the psychological reward that drives individuals to connect with others and create meanings via social interactions.<ref name=":04">{{Cite journal |title=Interaction and Symbolic Interactionism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/si.2011.34.3.315 |journal=Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction |year=2011 |volume=34 |issue=3 |doi=10.1525/si.2011.34.3.315 |jstor=10.1525/si.2011.34.3.315|last1=Lehn |first1=Dirk vom |last2=Gibson |first2=Will |pages=315–318 |s2cid=56108733 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> We as humans instinctively discern individuals whom we want to be associated with, before we initiate an interaction with them, we would experience an internal emotional rush biologically that encourages us to initiate the interaction, thus beginning to form various socially constructed realities that enables symbolic interactionism to examine, namely it's our desires for emotional rewards that makes the theory of symbolic interactionism possible and viable.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kanter |first1=Rosabeth Moss |last2=Blumer |first2=Herbert |date=April 1971 |title=Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2094060 |journal=American Sociological Review |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=333 |doi=10.2307/2094060 |jstor=2094060 |issn=0003-1224|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Research methodology ===
The majority of interactionist research uses [[qualitative research]] methods, like [[participant observation]], to study aspects of [[social interaction]], and/or individuals' selves. Participant observation allows researchers to access symbols and meanings, as in [[Howard S. Becker|Howard Becker]]'s ''Art Worlds'' and [[Arlie Russell Hochschild|Arlie Hochschild]]'s ''[[The Managed Heart]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/sociology-and-social-reform/sociology-general-terms-and-concepts/symbolic-interactionism#symbolicinteractionism|title=Symbolic Interactionism|website=www.encyclopedia.com|language=en|others=International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family|access-date=2011-09-20}}</ref> They argue that close contact and immersion in the everyday activities of the participants is necessary for understanding the meaning of actions, defining situations and the process that actors construct the situation through their interaction. Because of this close contact, interactions cannot remain completely liberated of value commitments. In most cases, they make use of their values in choosing what to study; however, they seek to be objective in how they conduct the research. Therefore, the symbolic-interaction approach is a micro-level orientation focusing on human interaction in specific situations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hall |first=Peter M. |date=December 1980 |title=Structuring Symbolic Interaction: Communication and Power |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23808985.1980.11923793 |journal=Annals of the International Communication Association |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=49–60 |doi=10.1080/23808985.1980.11923793 |issn=2380-8985|url-access=subscription }}</ref>