INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE/ SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

- a theoretical perspective in which society is thought to be a product of the

everyday social interactions among millions of people.
- examines how different social actors make sense of or interpret the behavior
of those around us.
- assumes that people respond to elements of their environments according to
the subjective meanings they attach to those elements.
Key Interactionist Thinkers
1. George Herbert Mead
- Individuals develop a concept of ‘self’ through their interactions with others.
- self concept can only develop if people understand how others perceive them.
- People play roles to understand others.
2. Erving Goffing
- Individuals are social actors assuming a person in the same way an actor
assumes a role.
- Impression Management– people adapt to give particular impressions of
themselves through clothing language body language and behaviors to
present themselves in a desirable way.
3. Howard Becker
- Building on concept of the ‘looking glass self’. Becker suggested that labels
come to define the individual.
- Labels are internalized and people see themselves the way others see them.
- However labels can be rejected and self defeating prophecies form.
4. Herbert Blumer
- Individuals behave in certain ways because of it their interpretation of
situations and what is appropriate.
- Individuals can change their interpretation of a situation -showing freewill-
based upon this interaction.
5. George Homans
- Prefers to have and ‘exchange’ approach he stresses on the way people
control one another behavior by exchanging various forms of rewards and
punishment for approved or disapproved behavior.
6. Harold Garfinkel
- Adopt what he calls an ethno methodological approach.

ETHNOMETHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
- Focuses on how people view describe and explain shared meanings
underlying everyday social life and social routines.
- This approach is interested in how we produce meanings in the first place.
- It views that meanings is always potentially unclear
 2 Main Concepts
1. Indexicality
- Nothing is a fixed meaning and everything is dependent upon context.

Example:
You have found a ‘dead’ body in a room and you will decide what happened
to the body upon seeing the condition of the room ( suicide, murder, etc.)

2. Reflexivity
- Common sense knowledge.

Example:
When someone extends their hands towards us we can be sure they are
offering their hands for us to shake.

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
- a perspective that holds stratification is dysfunctional and harmful in the
society, with inequality perpetuated but because it benefits the rich and
powerful at the expense of the poor.

*The basic form of interaction in society is not cooperation, but competition

and this leads to conflict.

Cycle of Conflict
1. Controlling group oppresses another group.
2. The oppressed group becomes frustrated and conflict arises.
3. A solution is reached.
4. There is a new controlling order and oppressed group.
5. Repeat one to four.
2 General Categories of People
 Capitalist Class or elite, consists of those in positions of wealth
and power on the means of production or control access to the
means of production.
 Working Class, Consists over relatively powerless individuals
who sell their labor to the capitalist class.
2 Types of Crimes
 White-Collar Crime- or the non-violent crime committed by the
Capitalist class during the course of their occupations. (ex.
embezzlement, insider stock trading, price fixing etc.)
  Street Crimes- more violent and heinous crimes. (ex. robbery,
assault, murder)

Types of Conflict
1. Endogenous Conflict- These are sources of change from within a society
and indicate the most common area of conflict which may be unethically
distinguished as follows.

a. Conflict over distribution of desirable

b. Conflict of Authority
c. Conflict between individuals and society

2. Exogenous Conflict- These are sources of change outside the society and
normally fall into three categories.

a. Wars
b. Cultural Invasion
c. Conflict of Ideology

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
- Aims to critic and change society as a whole.
- it attempts to find the underlying assumptions in social life that keep the
people from fully and truly understanding how the world works.
*Critical Perspective asserts that through self awareness people can transform
society.
*What this means for social work is that critical theory provides a framework for
understanding how the social order runs what place and role each of us has
within it and the effect the system has on us and what we can do to change it.

The Key Component of Critical Theory (answers the question…)

1. Examine historical and cultural context . (What factors overtime contributed to
the issue?)
2. Consider Power Distribution. (Who is in power? who is not? How do classism
racism sexism and other forms of oppression impact this issue?)
3. Engage in self-reflection. (What are your own values, beliefs, and
experiences in regard to the issue? How are you impacted by power and
oppression?)
4. Practice nonjudgmental inquiry. (How do we maintain the perspective that
there is no right or wrong view.)
5. Acknowledge values. (What are the values of others particularly clients and
client systems how do they differ from your own?)
6. Realize that from greater awareness comes action. (How can we effect social
change to improve the well being of others?)