Social Psychology:
Sociological Perspectives
David E. Rohall
Melissa A. Milkie
Jeffrey W. Lucas
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Social Psychology:
Sociological Perspectives
Chapter 2: Perspectives in
Sociological Social Psychology
Perspectives in Review
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Symbolic interactionism (SI) is the study of
how people negotiate the meaning of
social life during their interactions with
other people
The social structure and personality (SSP)
perspective focuses on the connections
between larger societal conditions (i.e.,
social structure) and the individual
Group processes (GP) studies how basic
social processes operate in group contexts
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SI: Society and Agency
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From the SI perspective, society exists as
a network of interactions between people
Society imposes restrictions on us but we
also have agency, the ability to act and
think independently from those constraints
Society exists in a complex series of
relationships; we negotiate these
relationships internally and externally
There are three principles of SI
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
Blumer’s 3 Principles
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Meanings arise through social
interaction among individuals
People use the meanings they
derive from interaction to guide
their own behavior.
People employ an interpretive
process regarding these
interactions.
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SI: Principle #1
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The first principle of SI is that meanings
arise through social interaction among
individuals
George Herbert Mead believed that the
study of human gestures is at the center of
social psychology
To have meaning individuals need an
exchange of symbols and language
The process by which we use symbols and
language to give meaning and value to
objects and people is known as the social
construction of reality
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SI: Principle #2
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The second principle of SI is that people
use the meanings they derive from
interaction to guide their own behavior
According to SI, we are motivated to do so
to overcome problems and achieve goals
in life
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In other words, to get the things we want in life,
we have to negotiate with other people.
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SI: Principle #3
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The last principle of SI states that people employ
an interpretive process regarding these
interactions
People may come away from an interaction with
different interpretations of it; we act on our
interpretations
People base future behavior on their subjective
interpretations of a present situation
This principle is the basis for the Thomas
theorem: when people define situations as real,
those situations become real in their
consequences
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SI: The Chicago School of SI
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The birthplace of symbolic interactionism
is the University of Chicago, where both
George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer
worked in the early- to mid 20th century
Chicago school of symbolic
interactionism focuses on the study of the
social processes involved in a given
situation; the goal is not to quantify those
processes or try to predict future behavior
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SI: Indiana and Iowa Schools of SI
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The second school of symbolic
interactionism is associated with scholars
from Indiana University (such as Sheldon
Stryker) and the University of Iowa (such
as Manford Kuhn)
This school started after WWII
The Indiana and Iowa schools of
symbolic interactionism emphasize the
stable nature of social reality, hence, it is
predictable and can be studied using
quantitative techniques
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SSP: Social Structure and Personality
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The social structure and personality
perspective focuses on the connections
between larger societal conditions and the
individual
There are three main principles of this
perspective
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SSP: Principle #1
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The components principle states that we
must be able to identify the elements or
components of society most likely to affect
a given attitude or behavior
SSP scholars study the impact of social
structure, persisting patterns of behavior
and interaction between people or social
positions, on important life outcomes like
our health and well-being
Social structure is studied in terms of our
statuses, roles, and social networks
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SSP: How Social Networks Link People
and Groups Together
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SSP: Principle #2
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The proximity principle states that we
often feel the effects of society through
interpersonal interaction and
communication with people around us
Most of society’s impact on us comes
through institutions like work and family
People “feel” the effects of an economic
downturn, for instance, through the loss of
a job or if someone close loses a job
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
SSP: Principle #3
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The Psychology principle focuses on
how individuals internalize proximal
experiences
Social forces include any way in which
society compels individuals to act in
accordance with an external norm, rule, or
demand
This principle emphasizes the processes
that lead people to follow the rules (or not)
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
GP: The Group Processes Perspective
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Group processes refers to the study of
how basic social processes operate in
group contexts
Groups are any interaction involving more
than one person
Group processes scholars study basic
processes and the impact of group
structures on members
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
GP: Basic Group Processes
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Some of the processes studied by group
scholars include:
 Power
 Status
 Justice
 Legitimacy
They try to understand how these
processes develop in groups and/or how
they impact relationships in those groups
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
GP: Group Processes and Group
Structures
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Group structure exist in the form of its size
and function
Small groups are defined as groups of
two or more individuals—typically between
2 and 20 people—whose members are
able to engage in direct, face-to-face interactions
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
GP: Dyads and Triads
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Georg Simmel argued that group size can
have a strong impact on relationships
within groups
Dyads are two-person groups and triads
are three-person groups
Moving from a dyad to a triad
exponentially increases the number of
relationships in the group while
simultaneously decreasing intimacy levels
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
GP: Model of the Relationship Changes
in Dyads and Triads
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
GP: Types of Groups
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Charles Horton Cooley argued that there
are two essential groups in society:
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Primary groups
Secondary groups
Reference groups include people we look
to as a source of standards and identity
The type of group we are in can effect how
we think, feel, and behave
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
GP: Relationships among Groups
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Social psychologists are also interested in
inter-group dynamics, the relationships
between two or more groups
They are also interested in individual
behaviors in large-group settings
Collective behavior refers to the action or
behavior of people in groups or crowds, a
major subfield of sociological social
psychology
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007
Chapter 2: Bringing It All Together
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Sociological social psychology includes
scholars from three perspectives:
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Symbolic interactionists emphasize the social
construction of reality
Social structure and personality scholars
emphasize the direct impact of social structure
on the individual
Group processes scholars study important
group interactions related to power, status,
justice, and legitimacy on members
These perspectives are not exclusive but
emphasize different theories and
processes
Copyright (c) Allyn Bacon 2007