Notes on the 3rd-week class (Symbolic Interactionism Theory + Expectancy Violations Theory)

Table of Contents:

Symbolic Interactionism Theory

A highly interpretive theory in the socio-cultural tradition. - people produce and reproduce culture in communication.

Theorist: George Herbert Mead

（He didn’t write the book. His students recorded his minds in the book Mind, Self and Society

1）Principle #1: Humans act toward people or things on the basis of the meaning they assign to them.

stimulus -> interpretation -> response

When we do verbal/non-verbal communication, we have guessings about what will be the response.
Human reactions towards stimuli are based on the meaning assigned to them.
Interpretation counts: A fact is a fact, but what it means to us is different. Acting based on the interpretation.
e.g., I hear people cry, and I assign meaning to that, and I assume that they are sad. I give him/her a hug.

2）Principle #2: Meaning arises out of the social interaction that people have with each other.

The object is meaningless until we assign meaning.

naming: the central aspect of the principle: As humans, we have the ability to name things. The ability sets humans apart from animals.

3）Principle #3: An individual’s interpretation of symbols is modified by their own thought process. (minding process)

Minding: The moment of reflective pause. We take a moment a think through what we are experiencing.

Looking glass self: We learn who we are (the self) through our socially constructed ideas about how others see us.

We know who we are through interaction and introspection.

What others believe about us.
- For, If you say lots of negative things about children, they will see themselves in that way.
Understanding ourselves based on our interaction with others.
The “self” concept will always change because of the different interactions with others.
“I” vs “me”:
- I: subjective, unpredictable, and even chaotic parts of ourselves.
- me: Objective, the thing you understand about yourself.
- The moment you become aware of yourself, it moves from I to me.
  - The real you: I.
  - The reflection: me.

The generalized other: the composite mental image of others in an overall community, their expectations, and possible responses.

That’s why trends become trends.
The more people in your generalized other, the harder to keep to society’s expectations.
The more people around you, the more you become aware of yourself.

1）Application for #1: The generalized other teaches us who “me” is in both positive and negative ways.

2）Application for #2: self-fulfillling pophecy - the tendency for our expectations to evoke responses that confirm what we anticipated.

our actions -> others belief -> others actions -> our beliefs

A highly objective theory in interpersonal communication, in socio-psychological tradition

Theorist: Judee Burgoon

She’s interested in non-verbal communication and personal space.

most people will be put in the social space (1.2m - 3.7m)

1）Expectancy: what is predicted to occur rather than what is desired.

It depends on what is expected.

context: rely on cultural norms.
- Where is the interaction taking place and playing a role in the way you hope the interaction to go?
relationship factors:
- similarity, familarity, and like
communicator charatertistics: demographic factors, personal features, and how they communicate.

2）Violation valence: the positive/negative value we place on an expected behavior.

3）Communication reward valence: the sum of positive and negative attributes that the person has plu their potential to reward or punish.