Essays on George Herbert Mead

The universe has never run out of wonderful mysteries, and perhaps one of the greatest mysteries that we will never grow weary of exploring is the mystery of life. In Biology, we learn of the many ways through which life manifests itself in our planet. In Taxonomy, we learn that there are, under different classes and kingdoms, thousands and thousands of names that we use to refer to living things, be it animal, bacteria, protist, or any other life form. This background and context only makes more interesting another one of those mysteries of the universe that we have ...

Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines

Throughout the history of psychological discovery, psychologists have proposed many ideas. One such theory, named by Herbert Blumer, is referred to as Social Interactionist Theory. Through the work of Blumer, as well as the efforts of George Herbert Mead, Blumer’s teacher, and Mead’s cohort, Charles Horton Cooley, the trio was able to devise an idea that explained our social selves and the world we inhabit. Unlike psychologists before them, Mead and Cooley attempted to explain human development and interaction as it occurred in small groups, rather than attaching people as one single unit. The theory also attempted ...

Description of the theory

A theory is an ideology or system of ideas developed by an individual to explain a phenomenon. Symbolic interaction theory was established by sociologist known as George Herbert Mead, who up to date is considered one of the great sociologists on earth. This theory states that symbolic interaction is the process of the interaction information of meanings for individuals. He says that people tend to behave in a particular manner or act to a situation based on the symbolic meaning they relate to a situation. Meanings and symbols allow individual to carry out the distinctively human action (Herman 2003). The reason for people ...

Throughout the history of the field of sociology, sociologists have studied sociology, or “human behavior in society (Anderson and Taylor, 2011, p.4)” using different theoretical frameworks. Sociologists examine how societies operate and take a closer look at social phenomena and problems using a variety of different theories. These several theories are generally categorized within three major, or macro, theories or perspectives: Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory and Symbolic Interaction. Each of these theories is valuable and they are often blended or used together to explain social happenings. Structural functionalism, or functionalism, approaches society as a system of interrelated parts. With this theory, ...

GEORGE HERBERT MEAD

George Herbert Mead: Social Interaction and the Creation of Identity

Much of George Herbert Mead’s concept of the “generalized other,” in which an individual develops expectations about actions within a given set of social parameters, is reflected in the writings of philosophers and behavioral theorists such as Adam Smith and John Dewey. Smith postulated that people interact with society based on an idea of how others view them. Dewey, a pioneer in the theory of pragmatism, held that people regard objects and actions within the context of their usefulness, or their practical applicability (Appelrouth and Edles, p. 312). These two ...

11th July, 2011

Sociological Movie Analysis: Passion of the Christ

Introduction

The film viewed is called “Passion of the Christ.” Mel Gibson presents the passion which is known by Christians as the sacred crucifixion of their Lord and Savior by Jews who did not accept him as the messiah. The major plot and characters were deducted from accounts given in the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Scenes included Sermon on the Mount; Mary Magdalene and the last supper. (Passion of the Christ) The predominant sociological perspective as espoused by the author is religion. In this discussion Functionalist theory of Herbert Spencer and Talcott Parson ...