In table 5.1, I present eleven different exchange relationships divided between restricted and generalized exchange, but I will only go over the main points. In row 4 (items 10, 11 and 12), people with low rank view their social position due to their lack of ability, and they engage in accepting the other imposed upon them by higher ranking people. Generalized exchange looks to the betterment of the group as a whole, while restricted exchange is about the individual gaining for themselves. 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. Fourth, there are two kinds of group-to-group exchange. 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. 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). In row 1 (items 1, 2 and 3) high status persons who feel that their status is based on ability engage in self-justified othering where they are validated, and they develop powerful virtual selves. Symbolic Interactionism Whereas the functionalist and conflict perspectives are macro approaches, symbolic interactionism is a micro approach that focuses on the interaction of individuals and on how they interpret their interaction. Theories of Exchange in Social Psychology. And downward mobility is much more painful than lack of mobility. While they may have their differences, they show a lot of similarities when comparing certain traits within a certain theory including the economic inequality, deviance and gender as discussed above. 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. Inequality and Social Mobility in Symbolic Interactionism. However, in this book, I find that they can be profitably put together or synthesized. [2] Second, there are individual to group exchanges whereby a group might give a loan to an individual, and then the group expects payment by a particular date. It argues that reality is simply what people make it to be through their interpretation of interactions.. Constructivists believe that people have created social constructs based on their relationship to others, and the social constructs that have lasted over time are now the symbols . The other form of strategic exchange is much narrower in scope and as a result it is called restricted exchange. 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. [2] Second, there are individual to group exchanges whereby a group might give a loan to an individual, and then the group expects payment by a particular date. However, in tracking the patterns of social interaction to their troubling consequences, we heed the advice of an early interactionist, Blumer (1969), who urged symbolic interactionist researchers . But it is the high ranking but protected people and the low-ranking discriminated people who are the most likely to engage in social mobility conflicts. Generalized exchange looks to the betterment of the group as a whole, while restricted exchange is about the individual gaining for themselves. It is also discussed in a rather ethnomethodological form in Josh Pacewiczs Partisans and Partners (2016), though the gift relationship large resembles these other generalized exchange forms. A major difference between the two concerns how strategic people can be. First, in chain exchange (item 7) one person gives to another who then gives to a third party, and this continues to include more and more people as in pay it forward. Second, there are individual to closed group and open group exchanges (items 8 and 9). The middle category of high and low status persons could move up or down depending on the circumstances. 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. It integrates a bargaining theory of power into symbolic interactionism, and alters the symbolic interactionist discussion of power by putting it into a context of social exchange and types of social mobility. A symbolic interactionist who does directly confront symbolic interactionism on questions of power is Lonnie Athens (1992, 1997). 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. But on the other hand, the one large factory owner who does not give to the community was ostracized from society and politics. However, there are some people who are always in the restricted exchange mode (e.g., what have you done for me lately?). It is a form of group exchange where one person gives to another, who then in turn gives to a third person. Although the favored Joe Jr. died in World War II, Joseph Kennedys sons John F., Robert and Ted Kennedy had peak political careers. Second, Beverly Johnson comes from an ethnic and lower-middle-class family and marries a man whose family has a prominent background. They are not as subordinated as those with degraded status, and they may achieve some limited mobility. 2014: 46-47; Reynolds 1987). This generalized exchange does not demand immediate payback and helping one may lead to them helping another so that the initiator of the exchange does not expect immediate payback. First, Helen Hilton marries a musician who then becomes a factory worker. However, if a family member ignores his brothers and sisters, he will need to make up for bonding capital with an extensive focus on bridging capital to a higher social class. Their generalized others will have fewer long-term relationships and rely on a constant influx of new exchangers. For instance, Anselm Strauss (1978; Strauss et al. When people engage in sociation often with generalized exchange they are interacting according to the process of sociation. But when people engage in strategic interaction they are following interaction through power, which may be conscious by tough negotiators or may have been socialized into them through violentization. And further, there are processes in between. 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.. Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors. 2017; Sandstrom et al. In network terms, these processes are more reliant on strong ties than weak ties (Granovetter 1973). Communicationthe exchange of meaning through language and symbolsis believed to be the way in which people make sense of their social worlds. The grandmother mentions the specific dress that the young girl wants at the most expensive boutique in town, and the scion she works for says, I know the owner of the store; I can talk to her. The grandmother then tells her granddaughter that the dress has been marked down by 70% of the original price so that it is the same price as the department store dress. Michael Schwalbe and five others present a theory of critical interactionism on how inequalities are created in society, and these can also be related to social mobility. All of the families used internal generalized exchange which can be referred to as bonding capital (Putnam 2000, 2020). These reactions will also relate to the processes of positive, negative, and neutral generalized others discussed in the previous section. Inequality and the Self: Exploring Connections from an Interactionist Perspective Leon Anderson Ohio University David A. Sometimes these exchanges are made more long-term, but they are carefully guarded by contracts assuring each partys interests are protected. In it, gifts can be used to benefit the whole community through philanthropy, but they also may serve to create patrimonial relationships. In their fearful position, they intensify their oppressive othering through discrimination with high intensity and emotion. Reading across the tables columns, the first three rows represent higher status persons, and the latter three rows are lower status persons. This section interrogates the concept of power and its weak presence in symbolic interactionist theory, and then goes into the theorys conceptions of inequality. The end result is a more nuanced and extended theory of power in society with elements of motivation at the individual and group level. According to Macionis, symbolic interactionism is "a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of everyday interactions . There is a bond but it is contingent on tit-for-tat exchange. Afterwards, he says that no payment is necessary, but: Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. In other words, if you constantly depend on another person for food, income, entertainment and shelter (e.g., a child to a parent, or a worker to the managers of a company town), while you supply none of these and other values to the other, then your other has a high amount of power over you since they could deny you these values. 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. This inequality, is having an impact on the family and it is mostly negative. George Herbert Mead does not say much about power in his social psychological theory, and when encountering the topic, the authoritative symbolic interactionist text by Sandstrom, Lively, Martin and Fine (2014: 177-184) after a very brief review of the concept largely embraces the social exchange theory of Richard Emerson (1962) that sees power as dependency. Through your interactions with the letters 'dog', you see this as a furry, four-legged canine. 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. The other form of strategic exchange is much narrower in scope and as a result it is called restricted exchange. While her husbands father dies soon after they are married, she entertains guests with the purpose of advancing her husbands sales career in business machines. Sociologists working from this perspective would be interested in understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way people interact with each . The end result is a more nuanced and extended theory of power in society with elements of motivation at the individual and group level. However, in this book, I find that they can be profitably put together or synthesized. It integrates a bargaining theory of power into symbolic interactionism, and alters the symbolic interactionist discussion of power by putting it into a context of social exchange and types of social mobility. Afterwards, he says that no payment is necessary, but: Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. However, there are some people who are always in the restricted exchange mode (e.g., what have you done for me lately?). In simple terms, people in society understand their social worlds through communication the exchange of meaning through language and symbols. The second type of exchange is generalized exchange. This type of exchange is favored by rational choice proponents and economists who see it as the paramount exchange that exists in markets. Her idea for social mobility is to work herself at the telephone company and maintain kinship and neighborly social relations. And downward mobility is much more painful than lack of mobility. Economists would like to apply restricted exchange to all types of social exchange (e.g., Gary Beckers rational account of marriages and partnerships, and also sociobiological theories that see couples maximizing their gene pools for reproduction). 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. In generalized exchange, there are five different types (Ekeh 1974: 50; Janoski 1998: 82-85). These may be negotiated by a leader but the followers know the terms of the agreement and are quick to point out any violations. The central concepts of the approach. Consequently, it is also important to focus on the higher status persons who are subject to downward mobility because they will also be highly defensive, resistant and even violent. Symbolic interaction has a particular weakness concerning a concept critical to political sociology and that is the concept of power. Restricted and generalized exchange relate to how generalized others are constructed. Second, Beverly Johnson comes from an ethnic and lower-middle-class family and marries a man whose family has a prominent background. 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. 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. Addressing systemic inequalities within the . Power in Symbolic Interactionism via Social Exchange Theory. Communicationthe exchange of meaning through language and symbolsis believed to be the way in which people make sense of their social worlds. Generally, the talents or genius for bridging capital of a rising executive will need to be stronger than those rising through bonding capital in family promotion. The exchange is usually short (money paid for material objects, knowledge or personal services) and both parties are self-interested. Trust may develop. They see four factors as being important in the creation of inequality: oppressive othering, boundary maintenance, emotion management, and subordinate adaptations (Schwalbe et al. 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. But it doesn't just stop there. In row 5 (items 13, 14, and 15) people may be of low rank because of accidents or bad luck. Exchange theory then leads to bargaining processes, which will be discussed more fully in chapter 9 on the macro-level. And lastly, Joseph P. Kennedy was the son of a successful Irish businessman. These may be negotiated by a leader but the followers know the terms of the agreement and are quick to point out any violations. This involves two aspects of networking. But it is the high ranking but protected people and the low-ranking discriminated people who are the most likely to engage in social mobility conflicts. . Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory that focuses on meanings attached to human interaction, both verbal and non-verbal, and to symbols. Although the favored Joe Jr. died in World War II, Joseph Kennedys sons John F., Robert and Ted Kennedy had peak political careers. 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. We discussed in class today that "Symbolic interactionism" is how gender differences are reinforced and institutionalized through the process of "socialization". 2005 Jun;56 (2):191-213. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-4446.2005.00055.x. (2000) provide a more nuanced view of oppressive othering by viewing different attributions with external and internal reactions from generalized others. Sometimes these exchanges are made more long-term, but they are carefully guarded by contracts assuring each partys interests are protected. This involves two aspects of networking. Each one of these families utilized various aspects of generalized exchange in what they perceived as their social mobility prospects. This is presented in table 5.2 along with material from Jonathan Turner and Jan Stets (2004). This is when direct reciprocity is not expected except in a rather indirect way. 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, Strauss does not go far with this conception of bargaining as it might appear in political action. Social exchange theory and symbolic interactionism are often thought of polar opposites, and in some ways they are. Recall, the Mafia Don played by Marlon Brando in the opening scene of The Godfather taking care of an Italian fathers wish to revenge the shabby treatment of his daughter by some Anglo-boys. 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. The second one is how ethnicity and race are socially constructed. First, in chain exchange (item 7) one person gives to another who then gives to a third party, and this continues to include more and more people as in pay it forward. Second, there are individual to closed group and open group exchanges (items 8 and 9). Much of this type of exchange is linked to rational action as per Max Webers concepts of rationality. Their motto, Wilson and Wilson, For the People dominates the airwaves on TV and the internet decrying the greed of insurance companies. 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. However, I want to move Schwalbe et al.s view of inequality further in the direction of social mobility. Fourth, there are two kinds of group-to-group exchange. Michael Schwalbe and five others present a theory of critical interactionism on how inequalities are created in society, and these can also be related to social mobility. The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism, is a major framework of sociological theory. Sometimes these exchanges are made more long-term, but they are carefully guarded by contracts assuring each partys interests are protected. In one way or another, George convinces his three brothers and one sister to also become personal injury lawyers. Among her husbands business associates, it consists of being the life of the party and maintaining long-term friendships with business associates. One could make a similar comment about the Bush family as a political dynasty (Baker 2008). Economists would like to apply restricted exchange to all types of social exchange (e.g., Gary Beckers rational account of marriages and partnerships, and also sociobiological theories that see couples maximizing their gene pools for reproduction). Generalized exchange is more community and group interested rather than self-interested. 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. 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. However, when groups are involved in strategic action then these calculations, in as much as they can be made, become quite important. 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). Generally, the talents or genius for bridging capital of a rising executive will need to be stronger than those rising through bonding capital in family promotion. 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. 2014: 185-86) speaks of a negotiated order and mentions bargaining. Symbolic Interactionism is a theoretical framework in sociology that describes how societies are created and maintained through the repeated actions of individuals (Carter and Fuller, 2015). 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. Theories of Exchange in Social Psychology. Search in book: Search Contents. While the women largely stay at home, the male members of this kin group help each other to gain high paying jobs within the same industry as her husband with one becoming quite wealthy. In row 4 (items 10, 11 and 12), people with low rank view their social position due to their lack of ability, and they engage in accepting the other imposed upon them by higher ranking people. All of the families used internal generalized exchange which can be referred to as bonding capital (Putnam 2000, 2020). It integrates a bargaining theory of power into symbolic interactionism, and alters the symbolic interactionist discussion of power by putting it into a context of social exchange . Their generalized others will have fewer long-term relationships and rely on a constant influx of new exchangers. The whole process of oppressive othering is linked to highly charged emotions on the part of both the oppressors and the subordinates. 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