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Symbolic Interactionism and Rational Choice

The document discusses symbolic interactionism and rational choice theory. Symbolic interactionism views society as created through social interactions, with culture and language shaping interactions and the self developing socially. Rational choice theory sees individuals as acting rationally to maximize personal benefits through choices within social and economic interactions, with society resulting from individuals optimizing their resources. Both theories emphasize the role of social interactions and individual agency in shaping society.

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Darryl Louie Labial
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144 views

Symbolic Interactionism and Rational Choice

The document discusses symbolic interactionism and rational choice theory. Symbolic interactionism views society as created through social interactions, with culture and language shaping interactions and the self developing socially. Rational choice theory sees individuals as acting rationally to maximize personal benefits through choices within social and economic interactions, with society resulting from individuals optimizing their resources. Both theories emphasize the role of social interactions and individual agency in shaping society.

Uploaded by

Darryl Louie Labial
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Symbolic Interactionism

and Rational Choice


Learning Objective

• To define and analyze the role


of social interaction and rational
choice
Key Understanding
• Understanding the role of social
interaction and rational choice in the
shaping of our consciousness and
social reality

Key Question
 What is social interactionism and
rational choice?
Social (Symbolic) Interactionism

• It is a school of thought that gained prominence,


especially in the United States in the early 20th century,
and whose philosophical pedigree is traced back from the
American school of thought, Pragmatist Philosophy.

• This philosophy states that knowledge has a practical


reason and concrete purpose that must be fulfilled. As
knowledge is “in the making” instead of the usual belief
that it is a fixed, pre-existing, and objective aspect of life,
knowledge must be used as a tool for action and problem
solving.
Social (Symbolic) Interactionism

• Thus, social interactionism cultivated a social theory and


method anchored on the idea that instead of having
predetermined knowledge about a certain phenomenon,
we have a society, for example, that is a product of our
constant efforts and of our continuing creative actions.
• “Social interaction” (hence, the name of the theory of
idea) served as the root of human society, the reason
why there is such thing as “society” in our lives and why it
is true to us. Society is both a product and a project that
must be achieved and accomplished through constant
interaction among deliberately participating actors and
performers.
Social (Symbolic) Interactionism

• According to Robert Park, a well-known sociologist of the


Chicago School of Sociology in the US, society is the
“sum total of all interactions.” When we document
(usually, through qualitative data) what is happening in
society, at a given location and in a specific period of
time, we see that society is a construct—a product of
microlevel interactions among individual players and
performers.
• Social interactionists believe that society is not a static
entity that appears before the individual but, on the
contrary, it is the actors/individuals that carry out the
“leading role”.
Social (Symbolic) Interactionism

• Further strands of this social theory underscore the


importance of “culture” in shaping what would be the
basis of social interaction: scripts, languages, and all.
Language plays a central role in the creation of this social
construction.

• It is viewed here as having a greater role in producing


and sustaining social interaction. This includes nonverbal
language as well as facial expressions, which all have a
say in how interaction between and among individuals
should take place.
Social (Symbolic) Interactionism

• Getting a little bit more psychological in perspective, the


individual “self” gets primary attention—how does an
individual develop his or her selfhood within society? This
is done against the backdrop of other people’s opinions
and perceptions. In other words, as what George Herbert
Mead explained, the self is the product of combined
social experiences and interactions. It was nonexistent
upon birth; it is developed over the years as the individual
grows. Here we can say that the “self” is profoundly a
social creation.
Rational Choice

• This mid-20th century rational choice theory is a type


of social inquiry that makes use of economic and
game principles as applied in the field of political
science and sociology.

• In a microlevel of economic transaction, say, in a


market, everyone wants to get the most benefit for
less. In Filipino, we call this sulit. We hope to
makasulit in whatever we buy or purchase. Getting
more for less.
Rational Choice

• In similar fashion, the said theory can also be


understood in the context of a game or contest,
where every player hopes to play smart and come up
the sole winner.

• Rational choice theory relies heavily on the concept


of “rationality,” albeit in the narrow connotation of the
word—individuals doing, choosing, and selecting the
most cost-beneficial method of coming up with the
most benefit, and getting results that would serve his
or her goals and pursuit in life.
Rational Choice

• The keyword here is “individual” because the theory


does focus on the individual who is being viewed
here as rational and active agents or individuals.

• It is a theory strongly based on the idea of a social


actor who generally wishes to optimize gains through
rationality, albeit limited by the object realities
surrounding him or her.
Rational Choice

• Rational choice theory also sees society as the creation


of individuals interacting with one another—only that
when they interact, they strive to get the most out of their
limited resources and given capacities in order to
maximize the benefits that he or she may get.

• Hearing about this makes us remember neoliberal


economics, which also states the same principles and
mode of behavior for nations—free trade, privatization,
less government spending, etc. It is in rational action, in
economic action, that social behavior is patterned or
modeled after.
Rational Choice

• Choices and personal judgments, however, must be


done on a regular basis to be able to count as a
rational action affecting society. They must be more
or less patterned and with distinct modality in order to
impact society as a whole.
Rational Choice

• As opposed to the notion of society consisting of


structures with objective existence and assumption of
holism, rational and deliberately acting human
agents—who are individuals—shape mostly what
society will be like or what it will become. Social
structures, which are largely macrolevel entities, are
explained by the choices that people make, a
situation considered to be microlevel
activities of humans.

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