SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

SOCIOLOGY

• It is the study of the complex web of human relationships discussing the

diversity of topics – from culture, religion, family, to social classes – focusing
on how institutions and societal structures affect people’s personal lives
(Graaff, 2010).
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Definition
Symbolic Interactionism explains the self through the concept of identity.
Sociologists believe that the interactions of a person makes with other people
shape one’s identity.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

There are three underlying assumptions in Symbolic Interactionism:

1. We act based on the meanings we attach to things (including people)
2. Each one of us attaches different meanings to things
3. The meanings we attach to things change over time
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

We tend to perform different characters based on the person’s status to show

what kind of impression a person wants to make to people.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

The Looking Glass Self

• The looking glass self is a metaphor for explaining how people act and react
based on how they see themselves in society.
• Imagine looking at the mirror, and the reflection you see tells you, “you are a
funny person.”
• When you see that reflection, you have a high tendency to act based on what
you see; your reaction should be something that a funny person does.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Impression Management
We can actually change how other people think about us through our actions
and reactions we show them
LOOKING GLASS SELF IS MORE ABOUT HOW YOU THINK YOU APPEAR TO
OTHERS WHILE IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT IS MORE ABOUT HOW YOU
MANIPULATE THE WAY OTHERS PERCEIVE.
THE SELF IN INTERACTION WITH TECHNOLOGY

• Interaction with society also affects a person’s identity (Liffick,2014).

• We interact with people indirectly by watching movies, TV shows, and even by
reading online news and blogs.
• Like Facebook, social media platforms influence people, especially the youth,
in shaping their identities.
SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
ON SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION…

• It is our tendency to connect personal issues to public concerns (Mills, 2000).

• In other words, it is “thinking about the box” in evaluating yourself as a person
in the wider scope of society.
IDENTITY CRISIS
ON IDENTITY CRISIS…

• This refers to the struggle to find individuality in a social group.

• This phenomenon is observed in modern society where people can quickly
change their lifestyles.
ON IDENTITY CRISIS…

Traditional directed people Other-directed people

They are those who do not follow the latest trends They are those who follow the latest buzz and ever-
and practices because they hold steadfast to their changing identity.
cultural norms.
ON IDENTITY CRISIS…

• The thirst for approval from people of the same age rather from elders poses
a problem that sociologists call identity crisis.
• This phenomenon is also evident, especially among teenagers who succumb to
peer pressure instead of asserting their own identities, imitating what is in
their group age instead of showing who they are.
END.