2. Interaction theory
Interactionist theories attempt to make the
“commonplace strange” by turning on their
heads everyday taken-for-granted
behaviors and interactions between
students and students and between
students and teachers.
3. Interaction theory
Is the relation of school and society.
Tends to focus on the language and
symbols that help us give meaning to the
experiences in our lives.
As we interact with the world we change
the way we behave.
4. Interaction theory
• Interaction mainly on face-to-face
experiences but now we can include;
(a) Texting and
(b) Messeging
• people behave based on what they believe
and not just on what is objectively true.
5. Constructing Reality
Basis of the Theory
Humans Act toward people or things based on how we assign
meaning to those people or things.
We assign meaning based on social interactions we have with other
people.
Meaning is not inherent in these words, but it is instead
treated socially through language.
eg. Teaches assign labels to students and things(The class
clown, the
studious, etc.)
These symbols (or naming) is fundamental to what it means to be
human.( Genesis 2:20 The man gave names to all…)
Within language are our assumptions and our understanding of
reality.
6. Interaction theory
The interactionists perspective emphasizes on how
people behave based on what is believed about
him/her.
For Example
why would young people
smoke cigarettes even
when all objective medical
evidence points to the
dangers of doing so?
One must know whether they
are in a movie theater, bank,
library, or market to know, in a
social sense, just whom they
are interacting with and for
what purpose.
both race and
gender are social
constructs that
function based
on what we believe
to be true about
people, given what
they look like.
8. Taking the other
Minding
The process of having an inner dialogue where we
think about the symbols we are using.
Different from animals who act instinctively instead of
symbolically.
Because of this we can imagine what it is like to be
another person, we can experience empathy.
Do you believe we can truly imagine what it is like to
be another person?
This also allows us to imagine how we look to other
people, who do other people think we are?
11. In the classroom the student-student and the
teacher-student interaction give students a meaning
of self.
Family members influence what we believe of
ourselves, oftentimes we are labelled at the home.
provides moral guidance and an outlet for worship.
Provides a spiritual meaning to life.
12. tenets of the theory
Creating reality.
Interaction is a social drama that is a constant
negotiation
Never finished, and meaning never fixed. We could
change it at anytime.
Generalized other
How we generally make sense of people
Are people good/bad? Etc.
What are other generalizations can we make about
people?
13. tenets CONT..
Naming
Names really matter, what we call people
truly affects who they are.
Does what people call you affect who you
are?
Self-fulfilling prophecy
We may tend to act in ways that come out of
how we understand ourselves symbolically.
14. Reference
• The Three Main Sociological Perspectives From
Mooney, Knox, and Schacht, 2007.
Understanding Social Problems, 5th edition
• Anderson, M.L. and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The
Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
• Anderson, M.L. and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The
Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
