View source for Interactionism

{{Short description|Sociological theory}}
{{About|the sociological perspective|3=Interactionism (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Symbolic interactionism}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=August 2016}}
{{weasel|date=March 2009}}
{{Sociology}}

In [[Microsociology|micro-sociology]], '''interactionism''' is a theoretical perspective that sees [[social behavior]] as an [[Interactivity|interactive]] product of the individual and the situation.<ref>Baumeister, R. F., and J. M.Twenge. 2001. "Personality and Social Behavior." Pp. 11276–81 in ''[[International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences]]'', edited by [[Neil Smelser|N. J. Smelser]] and [[Paul Baltes|P. B. Baltes]]. {{doi|10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/01779-4}}.</ref> In other words, it derives social processes (such as [[Social conflict|conflict]], [[Social cooperation|cooperation]], [[identity formation]]) from [[social interaction]],<ref>[http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/interactionism Interactionism – The Free Dictionary]</ref> whereby [[Subjectivity|subjectively]] held [[Meaning (semiotics)|meanings]] are integral to explaining or understanding social behavior.<ref name=":0">"[https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/interactionism Interactionism | Topics]." ''ScienceDirect''. Retrieved 2021 March 12.</ref>

This perspective studies the ways in which individuals shape, and are shaped by, society through their interactions. Interactionism thus argues that the individual is an active and [[Consciousness|conscious]] piece of the social-context [[Systems theory|system]], rather than merely a passive object in their environment.<ref name=":1">Millová, Katarína, and Marek Blatný. 2015. "Personality Development: Systems Theories" Pp. 879–83 in ''International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences'' (2nd ed.). {{doi|10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.23035-3}}.</ref> It believes interactions to be guided by meanings that are attached to [[Self (sociology)|the self]], to others with whom each individual interacts, and to situations of interaction; all of which are altered in interaction themselves.<ref name=":0" /> In this sense, interactionism may stand in contrast to studies of [[socialization]], insofar as interactionism conceives individuals to influence groups at least as much as groups influence individuals.<ref name=":2">Hodapp, Robert M. 1999. "Indirect Effects of Genetic Mental Retardation Disorders: Theoretical and Methodological Issues." ''International Review of Research in Mental Retardation'' 22:27–50. {{doi|10.1016/S0074-7750(08)60130-5}}</ref>

[[George Herbert Mead]], as an advocate of [[pragmatism]] and the subjectivity of social reality, is considered a leader in the development of interactionism.<ref name=":0" /> [[Herbert Blumer]] expanded on Mead's work and coined the term ''[[symbolic interactionism]]''.

Through this perspective (under modern techniques), one may observe human behavior by three parts: trait, situation, and interaction (between trait and situation). 'Trait' refers to the extent to which [[personality]] directly affects behaviour, independent of the situation (and therefore consistently across different situations); 'situation' takes into account the extent to which all different people will provide basically the same response to a given situation; and 'interaction' involves the ways in which the same situation affects individual people differently.<ref name=":2" />

==Subcategories and scholars==
Interactionism has several subcategories:

* Classical interactionism<ref name=":1" />
* [[Ethnomethodology]]
* Holistic interactionism<ref name=":1" />
* [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|Phenomenology]]
* [[Social action]]
* [[Social constructionism]]
* [[Symbolic interactionism]] (Blumerian interactionism)
* [[Verstehen]]

=== Influential scholars ===

* [[George Herbert Mead]]
* [[Charles Cooley]]
* [[W. I. Thomas]]
* [[Herbert Blumer]]
* [[Everett Hughes (sociologist)|Everett Hughes]]
* [[Erving Goffman]]
* [[Anselm Strauss]]
* [[Ralph H. Turner|Ralph Turner]]

==Interactions==
Interactionism is [[Microsociology|micro-sociological]] perspective that argues meaning to be produced through the interactions of individuals.

The [[social interaction]] is a face-to-face process consisting of actions, reactions, and mutual adaptation between two or more individuals, with the goal of [[Communication|communicating]] with others. (It also includes animal interaction such as [[mating]].) The interaction includes all language (including [[body language]]) and mannerisms. If the interaction is in danger of ending before one intends it to, it can be conserved by conforming to the others' expectations, by ignoring certain incidents or by solving apparent problems.

[[Erving Goffman]] underlined the importance of control in the interaction: one must attempt to control the others' behaviour during the interaction, in order to attain the information one is seeking and to control the perception of one's own image. Important concepts in the field of interactionism include the "[[social role]]" and Goffman's "[[The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life|presentation of self]]."

==Methodology==
Interactionists are interested in how people see themselves in the broader [[social context]] and how they act within society.

In extreme cases, interactionists would deny [[social class]] to be an issue, arguing that people from one class cannot be generalized to all think in one way. Instead, these interactionists believe everyone has different attitudes, values, culture, and beliefs. Therefore, it is the duty of the sociologist to carry out the study within society; they set out to gather [[qualitative data]].

===Rejection of positivist methods===
Interactionists reject statistical ([[Quantitative research|quantitative]]) data, a method preferred by [[Postpositivism|post-positivists]]. These methods include: [[experiment]]s, [[structured interview]]s, [[questionnaire]]s, [[non-participant observation]], and [[secondary source]]s. This rejection is based in a few basic criticisms, namely:
*[[Statistical data]] is not "[[Validity (statistics)|valid]];" in other words, these methods do not provide people with a true picture of society on the topic being researched.
*Quantitative research is [[bias]]ed and therefore not objective. Whilst the sociologist would be distant, it is argued that the existence of a [[hypothesis]] implies that the research is biased towards a pre-set conclusion (e.g., [[Rosenhan experiment]] in 1973). Therefore, such research is rejected by interactionists, who claim that it is [[Social artifact|artificial]] and also raises [[ethical issues]] to experiment on people.

===Preferred interactionist methods===
Interactionists prefer several methods to contrast those of structuralism, particularly: [[unstructured interview]]s, [[covert participant observation]], overt [[participant observation]], and [[content analysis]] via analysing historical, public, and personal documents.

Interactionist methods generally reject the absolute need to provide statistics. Statistics allows [[Causality|cause-and-effect]] to be shown,{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} as well as isolating [[Statistical variable|variables]] so that relationships and trends can be distinguished over time. Instead, interactionists want to "go deep" to explain society, however this draws criticisms, including:
*Information and sociological research cannot be compared or contrasted, hence one can never truly understand how society changes.
*Data is not [[Reliability (statistics)|reliable]].
*Gathered information is interpreted (hence the name "[[Interpretivism (social science)|Interpretivist]]") by a sociologist, therefore it is not [[Objectivity (philosophy)|objective]].

Despite these criticisms, interactionist methods do allow flexibility. The fact that there is no [[hypothesis]] means that the sociologist is not rooted in an attempt to prove dogma or theory. Instead, researchers react to what they discover, not assuming anything about society. (This is not entirely true: there can be hypotheses for many studies using interactionist methods. The researcher may then be inclined to observe certain events happening while ignoring the bigger picture. This will still bias the results, if such studies are not well conducted. This is arguably why some theorists have turned to this method.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} It also shows how human behaviour is affected and altered through interactions i.e. socialization.)

===Case studies===
*[[Field experiment]]s:
**In the [[Rosenhan experiment]], [[David Rosenhan]] (1973) found 8 normal researchers to carry out a study, at 12 hospitals, of the treatment of mental health in California. Critics argue that the method was unethical, and the vast majority of interactionists concur.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}
*[[Unstructured interview]]s:
**[[Aaron Cicourel]] and [[John Kitsuse]] (1963) conducted an [[ethnomethodology]] study in American schools.
**[[Howard S. Becker|Howard Becker]] (1971)
**[[William Labov]] (1973) conducted a study of [[sociolinguistics]].
**[[Joan Smith (psychologist)|Joan Smith]] (1998)
*[[Participant observation]]:
**[[John Howard Griffin]]
**[[Michael Haralambos]].

==Links to other theories==
{{empty section|date=December 2013}}Interactionism, or the idea that individuals have more awareness, skill and power to change their own situation, links to several other theories.

* [[Neo-Marxism]] is a loose term for various 20th-century approaches that amend or extend [[Marxism]] and [[Marxist theory]], usually by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions, such as [[critical theory]], [[psychoanalysis]], or [[existentialism]].
* [[Pluralism (political theory)|Pluralism]] is the idea that the "public gets what the public wants." It is the notion that our lives offer choice like a [[representative democracy]]. This idea of [[Choice#Choice and evaluability in economics|consumer choice]] means that each individual has power as a consumer to change any aspect of life if he/she wishes to do so. The situation that exists is, according to the theory, a reflection of the norms, values and beliefs of the majority of people. It fits with the idea of individual power, although interactionist sociologists may not accept the idea that we are all labeled as "consumers".

==See also==
* [[Interpersonal relationship]]
* [[Niklas Luhmann]]
* [[Situational ethics]]
* [[Social interactionist theory]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sociological theories]]