The Symbolic Interactionism Perspective On Conflicts

Sociology is the study of human social behavior, human groups, and how they change over time. Sociology has three major sociological perspectives on how the world is viewed; structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Structural functionalism is built on the idea that the social life depends on consensus and cooperation of the individuals living in that society. For example, society is always stable and at equilibrium. Conflict theory is the opposite of structural functionalism, societies are always in turmoil and constantly changing.

For example, conflict theory focuses on inequality and competition within society, and it believes that conflict is beneficial.

The last sociological perspective is symbolic interactionalism, the structure of society in this perspective is determined through social interactions. For example, it views society as being shaped from people’s reactions with each other within the society. I view the world through the symbolic interaction perspective because of personal experiences that have affected my life and through world events that have happened.

Get quality help now

Doctor Jennifer

Verified writer

Proficient in: Community

5 (893)

“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

One of the influences in my life that helped me choose the symbolic interaction perspective is my father. Growing up he always told me to view the world and life realistically. I feel like symbolic interaction is the most realistic because society is not always stable like structural functionalism believes, and it is not always in turmoil like the conflict theory believes; society is based on how people treat each other. I view the world as if it is on a balance, on one end there is conflict and war and on the other end there is peace and stability.

The thing that holds the balance even is symbolic interaction because the balance will always tip one of two ways depending on people’s interactions with one another. Social interactions are what put society either in turmoil or in peace, but society will not stay at that state forever because eventually social interaction will bring the scale back to the other side. I believe based on my personal experience that you should always treat a person in authority with respect no matter the situation. In symbolic interactionism people interact with each other based on their perceived roles. Society is developed through interactions between roles in the social drama that is life.

A world event that demonstrate symbolic interaction is Christmas. In the textbook Our Social World: An Introduction to Sociology explains that symbolic interaction views society as “relationships that are filled with common meaning and significance”. Christmas is celebrated all over the world and although it may be celebrated for different reasons ranging from it being for religious reasons to it being a traditional holiday, it still has a powerful meaning and is a significant event throughout the world. Symbolic interaction believes that the meaning of any situation is defined by the individuals involved. War is an example of a world event of this perspective. World War 2 was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers. The Allied Powers defines that war as a victory whereas the Axis Powers defines that war as a defeat. This war is meaningful because of the thousands of people who played a role in it. Although World War 2 is a sad time in history, the people who played a role in it unknowingly shaped society and the individuals in the society.

I view the world through the symbolic interaction perspective because I think that society is shaped based on people’s interactions with each other. I view through this perspective because of the personal experiences that have affected my life and through world events that have happened. I did not choose the other two perspectives because I feel that they are not as realistic as symbolic interactionism. I did not choose the structural functionalism perspective because it sees society at a constant consensus and think that conflict is destructive, but conflict is inevitable in today’s society. Also, social change creates instability, but the world is constantly changing and evolving which makes structural functionalism unrealistic to me. I did not choose the conflict theory perspective because it believes that conflict is beneficial to a society and that societies generate competition. I do not think that conflict is ever beneficial and although healthy competition is good sometimes, society should not be encouraging it. The symbolic interactionism perspective fits my beliefs the best because society is based on people’s roles and how they play them.