Abstract
Symbolic interactionist perspectives or frames underlie most sociological interest in identity. We focus first on the presentation of these perspectives, beginning with the eighteenth-century Scottish moral philosophers and the later work of the philosopher-psychologist George Herbert Mead, tracing their influence on current sociological thinking about social psychology and identity. Two important variants in symbolic interactionist thinking, “traditional symbolic interactionism” and “structural symbolic interactionism,” share fundamentals but exhibit significant variation making for differences in utilities. The essay then focuses on a structural interactionist frame and issues of identity emergent from that frame. The evaluation of a frame rests traditionally on its capacity to serve as supplier of images, assumptions, and concepts used to develop testable theories. That structural symbolic interactionism has this capacity is evidenced in discussions of identity theory, affect control theory, and identity control theory incorporating empirical tests. A second criterion for judging the utility of a frame rests on its capacity to bridge to alternative frames. Discussions of the reciprocal relation of structural symbolic interaction and frames and theories in cognitive social psychology, personality psychology, self-esteem theory, and the social psychology of organizations illustrate that value.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1991). Backboards and blackboards: College athletes and role engulfment. New York: Columbia University Press.
Bales, R. F. (1950). Interaction Process Analysis: A method for the study of small groups. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Bales, R. F. (1970). Personality and interpersonal behavior. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Berger, J., Connor, T. L., & Fisek, M. H. (1974). Expectation states theory: A theoretical research program. Cambridge, MA: Winthrop.
Berger, J., Fisek, M. H., Norman, R., & Zelditch, M. (1977). Status characteristics and social interaction. New York: Elsevier.
Blumer, H. (1937). Social psychology. In E. P. Schmidt (Ed.), Man and society (pp. 144–198). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bryson, G. (1945). Man and society: The Scottish inquiry of the eighteenth century. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Burawoy, M. (1979). Manufacturing consent: Changes in the labor process under monopoly capitalism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Burke, P. J. (1980). The self: Measurement requirements from an interactionist perspective. Social Psychology Quarterly, 43, 18–29.
Burke, P. J. (1991). Identity processes and social stress. American Sociological Review, 56, 836–849.
Burke, P. J. (2004). Identity and social structure: The 2007 Cooley-Mead award address. Social Psychology Quarterly, 67, 5–15.
Burke, P. J., & Cast, A. D. (1997). Stability and change in the gender identities of newly married couples. Social Psychology Quarterly, 60, 277–290.
Burke, P. J., & Harrod, M. M. (2005). Too much of a good thing? Social Psychology Quarterly, 68(4), 359–374.
Burke, P. J., & Reitzes, D. (1981). The link between identity and role performance. Social Psychology Quarterly, 44, 83–92.
Burke, P. J., & Reitzes, D. (1991). An identity theory approach to commitment. Social Psychology Quarterly, 54, 239–251.
Burke, P. J., & Stets, J. E. (2009). Identity theory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Burke, P. J., & Tully, J. C. (1977). The measurement of role identity. Social Forces, 55, 881–897.
Callero, P. L. (1985). Role-identity salience. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48, 203–215.
Cast, A. D., Stets, J. E., & Burke, P. J. (1999). Does the self conform to the views of others? Social Psychology Quarterly, 62, 68–82.
Cook, K., & Rice, E. (2003). Social exchange theory. In J. DeLamater (Ed.), Handbook of social psychology (pp. 53–76). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human nature and social order. New York: Scribner.
Deaux, K., & Martin, D. (2003). Interpersonal networks and social categories: Specifying levels of context in identity processes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 66, 101–117.
Deaux, K., Reid, A., Mizrahi, K., & Cotting, D. (1999). Connecting the personal to the social: The function of social identification. In T. R. Taylor, R. Kramer, & O. John (Eds.), The psychology of the social self (pp. 91–113). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Dewey, J. (1930). Human nature and conduct. New York: Modern Library.
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1991). Introduction. In W. W. Powell & P. J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 1–38). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ervin, L. H., & Stryker, S. (2006). Theorizing the relationship between self-esteem and identity. In T. J. Owens, S. Stryker, & N. Goodman (Eds.), Extending self-esteem theory and research: Sociological and psychological currents (pp. 29–55). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Francis, L. E. (1997). Ideology and interpersonal emotion management: Redefining identity in two support groups. Social Psychology Quarterly, 60, 153–171.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday.
Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gouldner, A. W. (1970). The coming crisis in western sociology. New York: Basic Books.
Harris, S. R. (2001). What can interactionsism contribute to the study of inequality? The case of marriage and beyond. Symbolic Interaction, 24, 455–480.
Heise, D. R. (1979). Understanding events: Affect and the construction of social action. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Heise, D. R. (1986). Modeling symbolic interaction. In J. S. Coleman, S. Lindenberg, & S. Nowak (Eds.), Approaches to social theory (pp. 291–309). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Heise, D. R. (2007). Expressive order: Confirming sentiments in social actions. New York: Springer.
Heise., D. R., & Calhan, C. (1995). Emotion norms in interpersonal events. Social Psychology Quarterly, 58, 223–240.
Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340.
Hogg, M. A., Terry, D. J., & White, K. M. (1995). A tale of two theories: A critical comparison of identity theory with social identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 58, 255–269.
Huber, J. (1973). Symbolic Interaction as a pragmatic perspective: The bias of emergent theory. American Sociological Review, 38, 274–284.
James, W. (1890). Principles of psychology. New York: Holt.
King., A. B. (2001). Affective dimensions of Internet culture. Social Science Computer Review, 19(4), 414–430.
Kornhauser, W. (1962). Scientist in industry: Conflict and accommodation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Kraatz, M. S., & Block, E. S. (2008). Organizational implications of institutional pluralism. In R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, R. Suddaby, & K. Sahlin-Andersson (Eds.), The handbook of organizational institutionalism (pp. 243–275). London: Sage.
Kroska, A. (1997). The division of labor in the home: A review and reconceptualization. Social Psychology Quarterly, 60, 304–322.
Kroska, A. (2001). Do we have consensus? Examining the relationship between gender ideology and role meanings. Social Psychology Quarterly, 64, 18–40.
Kroska, A. (2008). Examining husband-wife differences in the meaning of family financial support. Sociological Perspectives, 51(1), 63–90.
Kuhn, M. H. (1964). Major trends in symbolic interaction theory in the past twenty-five years. Sociological Quarterly, V, 61–84.
Kuhn, M. H., & McPartland, T. S. (1954). An empirical investigation of self-attitudes. American Sociological Review, 19, 16–76.
Lawler, E. J. (2001). An affect theory of social exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 107, 321–352.
Lawler, E. J. (2003). Interaction, emotion, and collective identity. In P. J. Burke, T. J. Owens, R. T. Serpe, & P. A. Thoits (Eds), Advances in identity theory and research (pp. 135–150). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Lawler, E. J., Thye, S. R., & Yoon, J. (2000). Emotions and group cohesion in productive exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 106, 616–657.
Lee, J. D. (1998). Which kids can “become” scientists? Effects of gender, self-concepts, and perceptions of scientists. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61, 199–219.
Lee, J. D. (2002). More than ability: Gender and personal relationships influence science and technology involvement. Sociology of Education, 75, 349–373.
Lee, J. D. (2005). Do girls change more than boys? Gender differences and similarities in the impact of new relationships on identities and behavior. Self and Identity, 4, 131–147.
Lucas, J. W. (2003). Status processes and the institutionalization of women as leaders. American Sociological Review, 68, 464–480.
MacKinnon, N. J., & Keating, L. J. (1989). The structure of emotion: A review of the problem and a cross-cultural analysis. Social Psychology Quarterly, 52, 70–83.
MacKinnon, N. J., & Langford, T. (1994). The meaning of occupational prestige scores: A social psychological analysis and interpretation. Sociological Quarterly, 35(2), 215–245.
March, J. G. (1994). A primer on decision-making. New York: Free Press.
March, J. G. (1999). The pursuit of organizational intelligence. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Markus, H. R. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 63–78.
McCall, G. J., & Simmons, J. L. (1978). Identities and Interactions: An examination of human associations in everyday life. New York: Free Press.
Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Merolla, D., Serpe, R. T., Stryker, S., & Schultz, P. W. (2010). Identity processes and intentions for behavior: The impact of proximate social structures. Unpublished manuscript.
Merton, R. K. (1957). Social theory and social structure. New York: Free Press of Glencoe.
Merton, R. K., & Kitt, A. S. (1950). Contribution to theory of reference group behavior. In R. K. Merton & P. F. Lazarsfeld (Eds.), Continuities in social research: Studies in the scope and method of the American Soldier (pp. X–XX). Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83, 340–363.
Mutran, E., & Burke, P. J. (1979). Personalism as a component of old age identity. Research on Aging, 1(1), 37–63.
Nuttbrock, L., & Freudiger, P. (1991). Identity salience and motherhood: A test of Stryker’s theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 54, 146–157.
Osgood, C. E., Suci, G. J., & Tannenbaum, P. H. (1957). The measurement of meaning. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Owens, T. J., & Serpe, R. T. (2003). The role of self-esteem in family identity salience and commitment among Blacks, Latinos, and Whites. In P. J. Burke, T. J. Owens, R. T. Serpe, & P. A. Thoits (Eds), Advances in identity theory and research (pp. 85–104). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Park, R. E. (1955). Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology, and modern society. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Powers, W. T. (1973). Behavior: The control of perception. Chicago: Aldine.
Pratt, M. G., & Foreman, P. O. (2000). Classifying management responses to multiple organizational identities. Academy of Management Review, 25, 18–42.
Prentice, D. A., Miller, D. T., & Lightdale, J. R. (1994). Asymmetries in attachments to groups and to their members: Distinguishing between common-identity and common-bond groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 484–493.
Pugh, M. D., & Wahrman, R. W. (1983). Neutralizing sexism in mixed sex groups: Do women have to be better than men? American Journal of Sociology, 88, 746–762.
Rao, H., Monin, P., & Durand, R. (2003). Institutional change in Toque Ville: Nouvelle cuisine as an identity movement in French cuisine. American Journal of Sociology, 108, 795–843.
Reid, A., & Deaux, K. (1996). Relationship between social and personal identities: Segregation or integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1084–1091.
Reitzes, D., & Burke, P. J. (1980). College student identity: Measurement and implications. The Pacific Sociological Review, 23(1), 45–66.
Ridgeway, C. (2006). Status construction theory. In P. J. Burke (Ed.), Contemporary social psychological theories (pp. 301–323). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Roberts, B. W., & Donahue, E. M. (1994). One personality, multiple selves: Integrating personality and social roles. Journal of Personality, 62, 199–210.
Robinson, D. T., & Smith-Lovin, L. (2006). Affect control theory. In P. J. Burke (Ed), Contemporary social psychological theories (pp. 137–164). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Schneider, A. (1999). The violent character of sexual-eroticism in cross-cultural comparison. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 19(12), 81.
Selznick, P. (1949). TVA and the grass roots. Berkeley, CA: Univiversity of California Press.
Serpe, R. T. (1987). Stability and change in self: A symbolic interactionist explanation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50, 44–55.
Serpe, R. T. (1991). The cerebral self: Thinking and planning about identity-relevant activity. In J. A. Howard & P. L. Callero (Eds.), The self-society dynamic: Cognition, emotion and action (pp. 55–73). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Serpe, R. T., & Stryker, S. (1987). The construction of self and the reconstruction of social relationships. In E. J. Lawler & B. Markovsky (Eds.), Advances in group processes: Theory and research (Vol. 4, pp. 41–82). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Serpe, R. T., & Stryker, S. (1993). Prior social ties and movement into new social relationships. In E. J. Lawler, B. Markovsky, K. Heimer, & J. O’Brien (Eds.), Advances in group processes (Vol. 10, pp. 283–304). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Snyder, M., & Swann, W. (1976). When actions reflect attitudes: The politics of impression management. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 1034–1042.
Snyder, M., & Swann, W. (1978). Hypothesis-testing processes in social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1202–1212.
Stets, J. E., & Burke, P. J. (1996). Gender, control, and interaction. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59, 193–220.
Stets, J. E., & Carter, M. J. (2006). The moral identity: A principle level identity. In K. McClelland & T. J. Fararo (Eds.), Purpose, meaning, and action: Control systems theories in sociology (pp. 203–223). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Stets, J. E., & Harrod, M. M. (2004). Verification across multiple identities: The role of status. Social Psychology Quarterly, 67, 155–171.
Strauss, A. L. (1978). Negotiations: Varieties, contexts, processes and social order. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Stryker, R. (1989). Limits on technocratization of law: The elimination of the National Labor Relations Board’s Division of Economic Research. American Sociological Review, 54, 341–358.
Stryker, R. (1994). Rules, resources and legitimacy processes: Some implications for social conflict, order, and change. American Journal of Sociology, 99, 847–910.
Stryker, R. (2000). Legitimacy processes as institutional politics: Implications for theory and research in the sociology of organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 17, 179–223.
Stryker, S. (1968). Identity salience and role performance: The relevance of symbolic interaction theory for family research. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 30, 558–564.
Stryker, S. (1977). Developments in two social psychologies: Toward an appreciation of mutual relevance. Sociometry, 40, 145–160.
Stryker, S. (1980/2000). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin-Cummings/Blackburn.
Stryker, S. (1994). Freedom and constraint in social and personal life: Toward resolving the paradox of self. In G. Platt & C. Gordon (Eds), Self, collective behavior, and society: Essays honoring the contributions of Ralph H. Turner (pp. 119–138). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Stryker, S. (1997). In the beginning there is society: Lessons from a sociological social psychology. In C. McGarty, & S. A. Haslam (Eds.), The message of social psychology: Perspectives on mind in society (pp. 315–327). Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Stryker, S. (2000). Identity competition: Key to differential social movement involvement? In S. Stryker, T. J. Owens, & R. W. White (Eds.), Self, identity, and social movements (pp. 21–40). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Stryker, S. (2002). Identity competition: Key to differential social movement participation? In S. Stryker, T. J. Owens, & R. W. White (Eds.), Self, identity, and social movements (pp. 21–40). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Stryker, S. (2004). Integrating emotion into identity theory. In J. H. Turner (Ed.), Theory and research on human emotions (pp. 1–24). New York: Elsevier.
Stryker, S. (2008). From Mead to a structural symbolic interactionism and beyond. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 15–31.
Stryker, S., & Burke, J. (2000). The past, present, and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63, 284–297.
Stryker, S., & Serpe, R. T. (1982). Commitment, identity salience, and role behavior. In W. Ickes & E. S. Knowles (Eds.), Personality, roles, and social behavior (pp. 199–218). New York: Springer.
Stryker, S., & Serpe, R. T. (1983). Toward a theory of family influence in the socialization of children. In A. C. Kerchoff (Ed.), Research in sociology of education and socialization: Personal change over the life course (Vol. 4, pp. 47–74). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Stryker, S., & Serpe, R. T. (1994). Identity salience and psychological centrality: Equivalent, overlapping, or complementary concepts? Social Psychology Quarterly, 57, 16–34.
Stryker, S., Serpe, R. T., & Hunt, M. O. (2005). Making good on a promise: The impact of larger social structures on commitments. In S. I. Thye & E. J. Lawler (Eds.), Advances in group process: Social identification in groups (Vol. 22, pp. 93–124). Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
Stryker, S., & Vryan, K. D. (2003). The symbolic interactionist frame. In J. Delamater (Ed.), Handbook of social psychology (pp. 3–28). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Stryker, S., & Wells, L. E. (1988). Stability and change in self over the life course. In P. B. Baltes, D. L. Featherman, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Life span development and behavior (pp. 191–229). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Swann, W. B., Jr. (1981). Self-verification processes: How we sustain our self-conceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 17, 351–372.
Swann, W. B., Jr. (1983). Self-verification: Bringing social reality into harmony with the self. In J. Suls & A. G. Greenwald (Eds.), Social psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 2, pp. 33–66). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social identity and intergroup relations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of inter-group conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole.
Thoits, P. A., & Virshup, L. K. (1997). Me’s and we’s: Forms and functions of social identities. In R. Ashmore & L. Jussim (Eds.), Self and identity: Fundamental issues (pp. 106–133). New York: Oxford University Press.
Thomas, W. I., & Thomas, D. S. (1928). The child in America: Behavior problems and programs. New York: Knopf.
Tsoudis, O. (2000). Relation of affect control theory to the sentencing of criminals. Journal of Social Psychology, 140, 473–485.
Tsoudis, O., & Smith-Lovin, L. (1998). How bad was it? The effects of victim and perpetrator emotion on responses to criminal court vignettes. Social Forces, 77, 695–722.
Tsoudis, O., & Smith-Lovin, L. (2001). Criminal identity: The key to situational construals in mock criminal court cases. Sociological Spectrum, 21(1), 3–31.
Weinstein, E. A., & Deutschberger, P. (1963). Some dimensions of altercasting. Sociometry, 26, 454–466.
Weinstein, E. A., & Deutschberger, P. (1964). Tasks, bargains, and identities in social interaction. Social Forces, 42, 451–456.
Wiggins, B., & Heise, D. R. (1987). Expectations, intentions, and behavior: Some tests of affect control theory. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 13, 153–169.
Zald, M. (Ed.). (1970). Power in organizations. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Serpe, R.T., Stryker, S. (2011). The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective and Identity Theory. In: Schwartz, S., Luyckx, K., Vignoles, V. (eds) Handbook of Identity Theory and Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7987-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7988-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)