Deck 9: Symbolic Interactionism

Question 1

______ was a major symbolic interactionism theorist.

A) Weber
B) Mead
C) Marx
D) Chenault

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Symbolic interactionism views ______ as central to everything humans do.

A) role of self
B) self-identity
C) social interaction
D) primary group

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which statement is true about social interaction, as understood by symbolic interactionlism?

A) It creates an image of the passive determined organism.
B) It changes individuals but not the society.
C) It means that actors simply influenced by others.
D) It is achieved through the use of symbols and language.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following statements is consistent with symbolic interactionlism?

A) Humans are simply shaped by nature and culture.
B) Humans can act upon their environments and heredity.
C) The self is understood a static entity, not a process.
D) Humans think based on how they act.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is consistent with symbolic interactionlism?

A) Everything about humans is stable and fixed.
B) Society is a static, not dynamic, entity.
C) Humans are always acting according to earlier influences.
D) Human action is unpredictable due to situational factors.

Question 6

A two-year-old child uses quite foul language and carries a beer without having any understanding of what she is saying or doing. According to symbolic interactionlism, the child is in the ______ of the emergence of self.

A) reference group stage
B) play stage
C) preparatory stage
D) game stage

Question 7

A four-year old child enjoys playing Uno with the "rules" he comes up with during the course of the game. According to symbolic interactionlism, he is in the ______ of the emergence of self.

A) reference group stage
B) play stage
C) preparatory stage
D) game stage

Question 8

When playing a soccer game, an 8-year girl knew where everyone was supposed to be on the field and what they were supposed to be doing. She yelled at the coach when she saw the defenders on her team were NOT focusing on defending. According to symbolic interactionlism, the child is in the ______ of the emergence of self.

A) reference group stage
B) play stage
C) preparatory stage
D) game stage

Question 9

An American-born-Chinese youth only speaks English at school with her peers and only speaks Chinese at home with her parents. According to symbolic interactionlism, the individual is in the ______ of the emergence of self.

A) reference group stage
B) play stage
C) preparatory stage
D) game stage

Question 10

______ is generally credited with the development of the looking glass self concept.

A) Cooley
B) Mead
C) Goffman
D) Weber

Question 11

Mead defined the ______ as the larger social context which gives meaning to our individual behaviors.

A) symbolic interaction
B) generalized other
C) reference groups
D) the looking glass self

Question 12

Our concept of self develops from seeing how others respond to us. This phenomenon is defined as ______.

A) Symbolic interaction
B) Generalized other
C) Reference groups
D) The looking glass self

Question 13

______ developed a dramaturgical approach that analyzed the social order of human interactions, which includes common rituals and routines.

A) Cooley
B) Mead
C) Goffman
D) Weber

Question 14

According to Cooley, which of the following statement about the self is correct?

A) The self arises as a reflection of others on the self.
B) The self is separable from social dimensions.
C) The self is separable our autonomous interpretations.
D) The self is developed from how others respond to us.

Question 15

A straight "A" student who would avoid a difficult teacher is best explained by which of the following concepts?

A) face
B) stigma
C) total institution
D) role

Question 16

According to Goffman, any aspect of an individual's identity that is discredited, rejected or devalued in his/her social context is called ______.

A) face
B) stigma
C) total institution
D) role

Question 17

Mental health patients who are institutionalized start with at least a portion of citizen rights or freedoms and ends up stripped of almost everything. This can be best explained by which of the following concepts?

A) face
B) stigma
C) total institution
D) role

Question 18

______ is a mind activity and involves imagining the world from the perspective of others and directing one's actions accordingly.

A) Meditation
B) Dialectics
C) Mindfulness
D) Role-taking

Question 19

Which of the following concept is relevant to symbolic interactionism theory?

A) operant conditioning
B) social interaction
C) social learning
D) classical conditioning

Question 20

Regarding symbolic interactionism theory, which of the following statement is TRUE?

A) People define their situation as action unfolds rather than sensing their environment directly.
B) A social reality exists independent of people's interpretation, definition, and interaction with themselves.
C) People respond to an objective reality directly rather than defining the situation as it exists.
D) Humans only exist in a social reality which is created by interacting with themselves and a social world.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is consistent with symbolic interactionists' interpretation of human behavior?

A) Human behavior is simply shaped by nature.
B) Human behavior is caused by past experiences.
C) Human behavior is determined by observed stimuli.
D) Human behavior is constantly growing and changing.

Question 22

What is TRUE about early forms of the social work profession?

A) Its professionals developed an academic discipline focusing on a "value free science" perspective.
B) It focused on macro-level social phenomena that allowed for collection of observable data.
C) It placed the emphasis on developing a set of skills that were identifiable as "professional" in nature.
D) Its research was based on quantitative methods that placed an emphasis on the value of science.

Question 23

What is the similarity between the major two social work thinkers, Mary Richmond and Jane Addams?

A) They used a more medically-based perspective in their attempt to arrive at the "social diagnosis."
B) They emphasized the importance of understanding the cultural and social conditions in which clients existed.
C) They acknowledged the importance of both person and environment when developing strategies to try to help clients.
D) They emphasized the importance of relationship between the worker and the client as a product of their interactions.

Question 24

According to the "functional" perspective beginning in the 1920s, it is the ______.

A) interaction between the client and the worker that accounts for the process of change
B) interaction among different professions that accounts for the process of change
C) interaction between the client and the environment that accounts for the process of change
D) interaction among different systems that that accounts for the process of change

Question 25

Interactionists believe that as humans evolved with language and the ability to reason, they were able to turn back on nature itself, actively directing how natural forces act. This statement demonstrates the importance of which of the following symbolic interactionist theme?

A) the definition of the situation
B) the role of the active human being
C) everything about humans as a process
D) the combined role of thinking and action

Question 26

According to Mead, behavior only includes action that can be directly observed.

Question 27

Symbolic interactionists do NOT believe that there is an objective reality that exists independent of our interpretation or definition.

Question 28

This development of self and meaning-making which occurs through social and intrapersonal dialogue is a hallmark of symbolic interactionist thought.

Question 29

Maintaining a micro and meso focus, symbolic interactionists do NOT critique different forms of stigmatization, e.g., based on race, gender, sexual orientation and sexual expression, ability or religious belief.

Question 30

In symbolic interactionism, people are at least somewhat free to interact, think, define, and make decisions in the present based on the immediate situation.

Question 31

What are the three theoretical assumptions of symbolic interactionism?

Question 32

Elaborate on Mead's idea of the self.

Question 33

Compare and contrast reference groups and primary groups.

Question 34

Why is symbolic interactionism critical of social science's emphases on the use of scientific methods? What kind of research does symbolic interactionism value?

Question 35

How is symbolic interactionism theory consistent with social work values including social justice, self-determination, the dignity and worth of each person, and the importance of human relationships?