Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Manford H. Kuhn

– A Legacy in the Age of Inquiry

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Interactionist Imagination

  • 1670 Accesses

Abstract

Manford H. Kuhn created a school of thought in symbolic interaction, known as the Iowa School, that made the social self its central concept and that galvanized systematic empirical research. In so doing, Kuhn taught and trained several notable interactionists, including Robert Stewart, Carl Couch, and Norman Denzin. Kuhn’s legacy remains, although not often in explicit writings. This essay intends to convey how important Kuhn was in not only providing a foundation for the study of the social self, ‘a universal variable’, as he called it, but for moving symbolic interaction into, again using his word, ‘the age of inquiry’. In providing homage to Kuhn, I wish to articulate his intentions, results, and his legacy, mostly embodied in printed works that represent a new Iowa School, spearheaded by his aforementioned student Carl Couch. It is this writer’s hope that in providing a summary and interpretation of his contributions, readers will be able to identify more precisely how he is important to the study of symbolic interaction today.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Athens, Lonnie (1995): ‘Dramatic Self Change’. Sociological Quarterly, 36:571–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, Howard S. (1963): Outsiders:Studiesin the Sociology of Deviance. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, Howard S. (1988): ‘Herbert Blumer’s Conceptual Impact’. Symbolic Interaction, 11:13–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumer, Herbert (1931): ‘Science Without Concepts’. American Journal of Sociology, 36:515–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumer, Herbert (1956): ‘Sociological Analysis and the Variable’. American Sociological Review, 21:683–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumer, Herbert (1969): Symbolic Interaction: Perspective and Method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buban, Steven L. (1986): ‘Studying Social Processes: The Chicago and Iowa Schools Revisited’, in Carl J. Couch, Stanley L. Saxton & Michael A. Katovich (eds.): Studies in Symbolic Interaction: The Iowa School. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, Charles H. (1902): Human Nature and the Social Order. New York: Scribner’s.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, Charles H. (1918): Social Process. New York: Scribner’s.

    Google Scholar 

  • Couch, Carl J. (1987): Researching Social Processes in the Laboratory. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Couch, Carl J. & Robert A. Hintz (eds.) (1975): Constructing Social Life. Champaign, IL: Stipes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Couch, Carl J., Michael A. Katovich & Steven L. Buban (1994): ‘Beyond Blumer and Kuhn: Researching and Studying Across Time Data Through the Use of Point-in-Space Laboratory Procedures’, in Nancy J. Herman & Larry T. Reynolds (eds.): Symbolic Interaction: An Introduction to Social Psychology. Dix Hills, NY: General Hall Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Couch, Carl J., Stanley L. Saxton & Michael A. Katovich (eds.) (1986): Studies in Symbolic Interaction: The Iowa School. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, Norman K. (1970): The Research Act: A Theoretical Introduction to Sociological Methods. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, Norman K. (1992): Symbolic Interaction and Cultural Studies: The Politics of Interpretation. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, John (1896): ‘The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology’. Psychological Review, 3:356–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, John (1929): The Quest for Certainty: A Study of the Relation of Knowledge and Action. London: Allen & Unwin Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, Émile (1938): The Rules of the Sociological Method. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, Barney G. & Anselm L. Strauss (1964): ‘Awareness Contexts and Social Interaction’. American Sociological Review, 26:669–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, Barney G. & Anselm L. Strauss (1967): The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, Erving (1959): The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hickman, C. Addison & Manfred H. Kuhn (1956): Individuals, Groups and Economic Behavior. New York: The Dryden Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland, John H. (1998): Emergence: From Chaos to Order. Reading, MA: Perseus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, Everett C. (1971): The Sociological Eye: Selected Papers. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katovich, Michael A. & Carl J. Couch (1992): ‘The Nature of Social Pasts and Their Use as Foundations for Situated Action’. Symbolic Interaction, 15:25–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katovich, Michael A. & William A. Reese (1993): ‘Postmodern Thought in Symbolic Interaction: Reconstructing Social Inquiry in Light of Late-Modern Concerns’. The Sociological Quarterly, 34:391–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katovich, Michael A., Dan E. Miller & R. S. Stewart (2003): ‘The Iowa School’, in Larry T. Reynolds & Nancy Herman-Kinney (eds.): Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Lanham, MD: Alta Mira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, Manford H. (1954): ‘An Empirical Investigation of Self Attitudes’. American Sociological Review, 19:68–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, Manford H. (1960): ‘Self-Attitudes by Age, Sex and Professional Training’. The Sociological Quarterly, 1:39–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, Manford H. (1962): ‘The Interview and the Professional Relationship’, in Arnold M. Rose (ed.): Human Behavior and Social Processes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, Manford H. (1964a): ‘Major Trends in Symbolic Interactionist Theory over the Past Twenty-Five Years’. The Sociological Quarterly, 5:61–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, Manford H. (1964b): ‘The Reference Group Reconsidered’. The Sociological Quarterly, 5:6–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, Manford H. & Tom S. McPartland (1954): ‘An Empirical Investigation of Self-Attitudes’. American Sociological Review 19:68–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindstrom, Fred B. & Ronald Hardert (eds.) (1988): ‘Kimball Young on the Chicago School: Later Contacts’. Sociological Perspectives 31:298–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lofland, John (1971): Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

    Google Scholar 

  • McCall George & Jerry L. Simmons (1966): Identities and Interactions. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mead, George Herbert (1925): ‘The Genesis of the Self and Social Control’. International Journal of Ethics, 35:251–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mead, George Herbert (1930): ‘Cooley’s Contribution to American Social Thought’. American Journal of Sociology, 35:693–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mead, George Herbert (1932): The Philosophy of the Present. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mead, George Herbert (1934): Mind, Self and Society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mead, George Herbert (1936): Movements of Thought in the 19th Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mead, George Herbert (1938): The Philosophy of the Act (edited by Charles Morris). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meltzer, Bernard N. & John Petras (1970): ‘The Chicago and Iowa Schools of Symbolic Interactionism’, in Tamotsu Shibutani (ed.): Human Nature and Collective Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Molseed, Mari (1994): ‘Naturalistic Observations in the Laboratory’. Symbolic Interaction, 17:239–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musolf, Gil R. (2003): ‘The Chicago School’, in Larry T. Reynolds & Nancy Herman-Kinney (eds.): Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Lanham, MD: Alta Mira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musolf, Gil R. (2013): ‘Domination and Resistance: The Political Theory of John Dewey’. Studies in Symbolic Interaction 41:83–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, Dan E., Robert A. Hintz & Carl J. Couch (1975): ‘The Elements and Structure of Openings’. The Sociological Quarterly 16:479–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shibutani, Tamotsu (1955): ‘Reference Groups as Perspectives’, in Herbert Hyman & Eleanor Singer (eds.): Readings in Reference Group Theory and Research. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shibutani, Tamotsu (1988): ‘Herbert Blumer’s Contribution to Twentieth Century Sociology’. Symbolic Interaction 11:23–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmel, Georg (1950): The Sociology of Georg Simmel (edited by Donald Levine). New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmel, Georg (1971): On Individuality and Social Forms (edited by Donald Levine). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer, Stephen, Carl J. Couch & John Stratton (1994): ‘Kuhn’s Formulation of the Self’, in Nancy J. Herman and Larry T. Reynolds (eds.): Symbolic Interaction: An Introduction to Social Psychology. Dix Hills, NY: General Hall Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, Gregory P. (1962): ‘Appearance and the Self’, in Arnold M. Rose (ed.): Human Behavior and Social Processes. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, Anselm L. (1959): Mirrors and Masks. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stryker, Sheldon (2007): ‘Identity Theory and Personality Theory: Mutual Relevance’. Journal of Personality 75:1083–1102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, William I. (1923): The Unadjusted Girl. Boston, MA: Little-Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, Ralph H. (1953): ‘The Quest for Universals in Sociological Research’. American Sociological Review, 24:604–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, Ralph H. (1955): ‘Reference Groups of Future Oriented Men’. Social Forces, 34:134–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, Ralph H. (1978): ‘The Role and the Person’. American Journal of Sociology, 84:1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, Alfred North (1925/1997): Science and the Modern World. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, Kimball & Raymond W. Mack (1959): Sociology and Social Life. New York: American Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zurcher, Louis A. (1977): The Mutable Self: A Self-Concept for Social Change. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, United States

    Michael A. Katovich

Authors
  1. Michael A. Katovich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Aalborg at Esbjerg, Aalborg Oest, Denmark

    Michael Hviid Jacobsen

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Katovich, M.A. (2017). Manford H. Kuhn. In: Jacobsen, M. (eds) The Interactionist Imagination. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58184-6_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58184-6_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58183-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58184-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation