Interactionism And The Sociological Perspective Of The World

Viewing the World “Sociologically” When people view their world and society, they use their own individual worldview, which significantly impacts whether they have a negative or positive outlook on the world around them. In sociology, this worldview becomes evident as the person applies one of the three sociological perspectives in examining society. These three sociological perspectives (structural functionalism, the conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism) are distinct from each other and seek to describe society as it truly exists by means of interactions and structure. In the structural functionalism perspective, one sees the world as a machine, made of intricate and unique parts all functioning for the benefit of the whole. Kimberly

This theory examines society as a complex collection of relationships and beliefs among people (Claerbaut, 2004). These relationships among people consist of the core of society. According to this perspective, society could not function without them. In regards to how people interact in their relationships, Boundless.com states, “The basic notion of symbolic interactionism is that human action and interaction are understandable only through the exchange of meaningful communication or symbols. In this approach, humans are portrayed as acting, as opposed to being acted upon.” Ashley Crossman further describes the symbolic interactionalism perspective by

I believe each person in society has a certain task he must fulfill in order to keep society functioning. In my family, each person has a specific task that he must complete in order to keep our family running smoothly. My mother homeschools my four younger siblings, and my father works outside the house and provides for the family financially. Each of the children also has an assigned role he is responsible for. This system of roles and tasks is also evident outside our household. For example, in a company, a variety of people must fill specific positions in order to keep the company stable. One must fill the position of president or CEO and make the majority of decisions in the company (Hanly, n.d.). In addition to the president or CEO, a manager must preside over a group and communicate and assign certain positions to other employees (Hanly, n.d.). Furthermore, a group leader surveys work production and efficiency (Hanly, n.d.). Lastly, the general employees perform the majority of labor. Without people performing their specific roles in the company, the company will fail to be efficient and