symbolic interactionism
sim-BOL-ik in-ter-AK-shun-iz-um
sɪmˈbɒlɪk ˌɪntərˈækʃənɪzəmListen
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a sociological perspective, associated with George Herbert Mead, Herbert Blumer, and Erving Goffman, that focuses on the micro-level processes through which individuals create meaning in social interaction through the use and interpretation of symbols, gestures, and language; symbolic interactionists argue that society is constituted through the ongoing, negotiated interactions of its members rather than by structural forces operating above and beyond them; the approach illuminates how identity, roles, and social reality are constructed in everyday encounters
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