Interpersonal Communication

Symbolic interaction comes from the socio-cultural perspective in that it relies on the creation of shared meaning through interactions with others. This theory focuses on the ways in which people form meaning and structure in society through interactions. People are motivated to act based on the meanings they assign to people, things, and events.

Symbolic interaction considers the world to be made up of social objects that are named and have socially determined meanings. When people interact over time, they come to shared meaning for certain terms and actions and thus come to understand events in particular ways. There are three main concepts in this theory: society, self, and mind.

Society

Social acts (which create meaning) involve an initial gesture from one individual, a response to that gesture from another, and a result.

Self

Self-image comes from interaction with others. A person makes sense of the world and defines their "self" through social interactions that indicate the value of the self.

Mind

The ability to use significant symbols makes thinking possible. One defines objects in terms of how one might react to them.

Constructs for this theory include creation of meaning, social norms, human interactions, and signs and symbols. An underlying assumption for this theory is that meaning and social reality are shaped from interactions with others and that some kind of shared meaning is reached. For this to be effective, there must be numerous people communicating and interacting and thus assigning meaning to situations or objects.