Following Goffman and bridging Mead and Athens, there seem to be two modes of behavior: (1) a general form of sociation where people generally intend to get along with each other as friends and associates, and (2) a strategic form of interaction that looks more like bargaining behavior where one has a sense of seeking specific monetary or other gains. These can be seen in birthday parties in a family (group to individual that is closed by family members) or birthday parties at work where the exact people in the group may be constantly changing as employees come and go. 2000; Sandstrom et al. [1] This theory is elaborated by Samuel Bacharach and Edward Lawler (1980, 1981; Cook and Rice ) as power being the inverse of the number of valued alternatives that one may have in the sense of not being dependent on the relationship with the other. Interactionists often consider the question of how power is exchanged in a situation. Schwalbe et al.s (2000) view of blockages goes beyond Merton to state that higher elites impose oppressive othering on low status people through emotion, discrimination, and self-processes of internalization or counter-othering. Oppressive othering has been largely ignored as a general social process though labeling theory comes close to it. With higher divorce rates, there is a direct correlation between the way we view the roles in a marriage/family and the overall health of said . The whole process of oppressive othering is linked to highly charged emotions on the part of both the oppressors and the subordinates. The family can also be a source of conflict, including physical violence and emotional cruelty, for its own members. Also, Richard Titmus in the The Gift Relationship (1997) describes the difference between exchanging blood based on it being a gift or being paid for the donation. Symbolic interaction has a particular weakness concerning a concept critical to political sociology and that is the concept of power. Third, there are individual to societal exchanges whereby an individual agrees to various terms with a larger societal group. In row 2 (items 4, 5 and 6) high ranking people have largely inherited their rank by ascriptive principles and they rely on their traditional positions but may need to engage in defensive othering and internalization, In row 3 (items 7, 8 and 9), some people have high rank due to bias and discrimination and they are quite insecure and very much subject to downward mobility. But Athens does point to a critical weakness of symbolic interactionism as he comes up with a contrary view of the good socialization process described by George Herbert Mead, which is the process of violentization thesis. But until that day, accept this justice as a gift on my daughters wedding day.. There are also many examples of people gaining great wealth or political influence through more restricted exchange. Most often, more distant others are in restricted exchange relationships. They have deference and may have shame, but they seek to avoid these emotions by building negative subcultures where they are accepted with their deficiencies. However, I want to move Schwalbe et al.s view of inequality further in the direction of social mobility. Exchange theory then leads to bargaining processes, which will be discussed more fully in chapter 9 on the macro-level. Collins theory is based on people being unequal in their resources, which links to power resources theory but he is a bit vague about the connection. They engage in counter-othering which is the angry rejection of the imposed reflected appraisals of high-status people that intend to demean and reject them. These are examples of generalized exchange through acquaintances rather than family. This involves two aspects of networking. However, a weak norm of generalized reciprocity (i.e., restricted exchange) will create weaker social bonds. In a formula this might be: Your Power = 1 / Others dependencies on you, The others power = 1 / Your dependencies on the other, Relative power in = (Your power) (Others power). Symbolic interactionism is a sociological theory that emphasizes the role of symbols, language, and meaning in shaping social interactions and the development of social norms and institutions. Although the favored Joe Jr. died in World War II, Joseph Kennedys sons John F., Robert and Ted Kennedy had peak political careers. And you know that the funeral director will not only do it to repay his debt, but if he does not, the Don will most certainly take a pound of flesh. Differentiating these relationships gives meaning to positive and negative types of generalized others in the social mobility process. . Generalized exchange looks to the betterment of the group as a whole, while restricted exchange is about the individual gaining for themselves. They actively construct a generalized other that recognizes their abilities and rejects oppressive othering, and they often will create positive sub-cultures among other low status but talented people that reflect their own more positive views (through ressentiment which was discussed earlier). Exclusive group negotiations may be harder to maintain than overlapping negotiations. Their internalizations are highly manipulative and can often be violent because they are located closest to the boundary between high and low status, and they know it. Differentiating these relationships gives meaning to positive and negative types of generalized others in the social mobility process. Fourth, there are two kinds of group-to-group exchange. In a formula this might be: Your Power = 1 / Others dependencies on you, The others power = 1 / Your dependencies on the other, Relative power in = (Your power) (Others power). The purposes of these oppressions are boundary maintenance processes to indicate that the oppressors belong to a superior group and the subordinates belong to a less worthy group. But again, the social mobility boundary is fought most between row 3 of the vulnerable high-status people, and row 6 of the discriminated against but talented low-status persons. As we have seen with the Trump-base, many of these people state I want my country back and Make America Great again. While one might self-righteously declare them as unjustified, they do not agree, and they are a political force to be reckoned with. In row 6 (items 16, 17 and 18) lower status persons with perhaps certain abilities and talents that they themselves recognize view their low status as being due to discrimination and bias coming from higher status persons. Joseph married Rose Fitzgerald, the daughter of the then Irish Mayor of Boston. They are not as subordinated as those with degraded status, and they may achieve some limited mobility. All of the families used internal generalized exchange which can be referred to as bonding capital (Putnam 2000, 2020). The daughter complains to her grandmother, who has been an underpaid domestic for many decades to a prominent old and respected family. They largely do not see their bad luck as deserved but nonetheless it is what it is. They will often engage with higher ranked persons with cooperation and attempts at patronage and opportunism. Symbolic interactionism is a perspective employed, explicitly and implicitly, by communication scholars and others within the social sciences and humanities. The middle category of high and low status persons could move up or down depending on the circumstances. However, a weak norm of generalized reciprocity (i.e., restricted exchange) will create weaker social bonds. Symbolic Interactionism. Sociologists working from this perspective would be interested in understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way people interact with each . Each one of these families utilized various aspects of generalized exchange in what they perceived as their social mobility prospects. Social networks of kin and association in social mobility settings can occur in different formats according to bonding and bridging capital. The mother reluctantly buys the dress for the ecstatic daughter, but angrily tells her mother (the daughters grandmother) that the scion has underpaid you for years, and that this is exactly what keeps us in our place.. The low-status people will have negative generalized others vis--vis the high-status othering persons. Power and Inequality in Symbolic Interaction, Social Psychology of Citizens and Subjects: Generalized Others and the Pathways to Inequality and Social Structure, Symbolic Interactionist Theory Revised for Political Sociology, Interactional Ritual Chains and Differential Association, From Generalized Others to Social Networks and Groups to Social Structure and Culture. In network terms, these processes are more reliant on strong ties than weak ties (Granovetter 1973). And downward mobility is much more painful than lack of mobility. For example, consider the following: In Chapel Hill in the early 2000s, an African-American nurse promises to buy her daughter a dress for the prom, but her choice at a reasonable price at the department store is deemed mundane by her daughter. [2] Later on, Don Corleone does call in the favor to take care of a dead body using the mans funeral parlor. Inequality and Social Mobility in Symbolic Interactionism. Third, there are individual to societal exchanges whereby an individual agrees to various terms with a larger societal group. In row 2 (items 4, 5 and 6) high ranking people have largely inherited their rank by ascriptive principles and they rely on their traditional positions but may need to engage in defensive othering and internalization, In row 3 (items 7, 8 and 9), some people have high rank due to bias and discrimination and they are quite insecure and very much subject to downward mobility. Trust may develop. All too often, the processes of the generalized other are portrayed as supportive othering such as mothers and fathers interacting with their children in the socialization process. Oppressive othering has been largely ignored as a general social process though labeling theory comes close to it. While this more or less goes back to Thomas Hobbes and the war of all against all, we do not have to flip flop on the basic motivations of humans and see that we all are motivated by both love and hate, cooperation or conflict, or caring and violence. Symbolic Interactionist Theory Revised for Political Sociology Interactional Ritual Chains and Differential Association Power and Inequality in Symbolic Interaction From Generalized Others to Social Networks and Groups to Social Structure and Culture Conclusion Power and Inequality in Symbolic Interaction Sometimes these exchanges are made more long-term, but they are carefully guarded by contracts assuring each partys interests are protected. This type of exchange is favored by rational choice proponents and economists who see it as the paramount exchange that exists in markets. She informally entertains family and friends in a manner that reflects her idea of prevailing respectable social norms of her communitynothing more and nothing less. In row 6 (items 16, 17 and 18) lower status persons with perhaps certain abilities and talents that they themselves recognize view their low status as being due to discrimination and bias coming from higher status persons. Thus, social mobility is not just achieving skills by merit, but it is also about self-work or personhood about countering and converting elite processes of oppressive othering with generalized others. The end result is a more nuanced and extended theory of power in society with elements of motivation at the individual and group level. Medical doctors rising above homeopaths with the Flexner Report are a good example, but the process also applies to nurses seeking bachelors degrees to promote the status of RNs (Larson 1977; Abbott 1988). Political sociology can use these exchange processes to show how various political interactions can be negotiated. Most often, more distant others are in restricted exchange relationships. 2014: 185-86) speaks of a negotiated order and mentions bargaining. Addressing systemic inequalities within the . Not all interaction is bargaining, and if someone in our personal lives is constantly keeping score and pursuing the maximum goods and services in our relationships, we most often regard this person as a taker who is too instrumentally interested in outcomes in a friendship relationship. Oppressive othering penetrates the generalized other of Mead and indicates that people may promote or justify their positions in society by providing looking glass-self messages to others that they are inferior, inept, unworthy or otherwise inferior to themselves. Although the favored Joe Jr. died in World War II, Joseph Kennedys sons John F., Robert and Ted Kennedy had peak political careers. Most often, more distant others are in restricted exchange relationships. Or if the exchange is to take place over a long period of time, perhaps for loans and bond purchases, the arrangement is firmly structured with a contract that covers many different aspects of the exchange. Symbolic interaction has a particular weakness concerning a concept critical to political sociology and that is the concept of power. They have deference and may have shame, but they seek to avoid these emotions by building negative subcultures where they are accepted with their deficiencies. Generalized exchange is more community and group interested rather than self-interested. Their internalizations are highly manipulative and can often be violent because they are located closest to the boundary between high and low status, and they know it. Lexington KY, 40506-0027859.257.8354, Power and Inequality in Symbolic Interaction, Online Graduate Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion, Social Psychology of Citizens and Subjects: Generalized Others and the Pathways to Inequality and Social Structure, Symbolic Interactionist Theory Revised for Political Sociology, Interactional Ritual Chains and Differential Association, From Generalized Others to Social Networks and Groups to Social Structure and Culture. Ones and the others alternatives are measured by the number of alternatives times their value, which is the value of the alternative times its probability. [3] In the professions literature, a particular profession often engages in a professional project to raise the status of the group as a whole. The middle category of high and low status persons could move up or down depending on the circumstances. In every day go along with the flow and follow established norms of proper conduct, citizens pursue a form of generalized exchange whereby the good of the community is pursued. Beverly Johnson combined bonding and bridging capital to maintain family solidarity and to advance her husbands career (since the husbands father died early, this limited greater bridging capital) both through the absence of the father and the tendency for widows sociality being restricted (i.e., there is no husband to promote and her lowered income makes the husbands mother a bit downwardly mobile). However, there are some people who are always in the restricted exchange mode (e.g., what have you done for me lately?). More market exchange, often among strangers, is restricted exchange where one expects immediate payback. A symbolic interactionist who does directly confront symbolic interactionism on questions of power is Lonnie Athens (1992, 1997). The two types are when the groups overlap or they do not. While this more or less goes back to Thomas Hobbes and the war of all against all, we do not have to flip flop on the basic motivations of humans and see that we all are motivated by both love and hate, cooperation or conflict, or caring and violence. He questions George Herbert Meads predication of symbolic interaction as being based on sociation, which is the general consensual pursuit of cooperate social relations. The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism, is a major framework of the sociological theory. The firm of Wilson and Wilson become quite successful, and eventually the younger brothers and two children who become lawyers then expand the business to six other states. Communicationthe exchange of meaning through language and symbolsis believed to be the way in which people make sense of their social worlds. For instance, if the exchange takes place repeatedly over time, norms evolve about the relationship. In every day go along with the flow and follow established norms of proper conduct, citizens pursue a form of generalized exchange whereby the good of the community is pursued. Thus, our goal is to present an overview of the territory that symbolic interaction and sociological studies of emotions share and then analyze the most challenging direction for interactionist research: understanding the reproduction of inequality. It is a further question of whether these negotiations or social bargains are involved with restricted or generalized exchange. 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