Chapter Info (Click Here)
Book No. – 24 (Sociology)
Book Name – The Social System
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. EXPRESSIVE SYMBOLISM AND COLLECTIVITIES
2. ROLE DIFFERENTIATION WITH RESPECT TO EXPRESSIVE SYMBOLISM
3. THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST
4. EXPRESSIVE SYMBOLISM AND THE REWARD SYSTEM
Note: The first chapter of every book is free.
Access this chapter with any subscription below:
- Half Yearly Plan (All Subject)
- Annual Plan (All Subject)
- Sociology (Single Subject)
- CUET PG + Sociology
LANGUAGE
Expressive Symbols and the Social System: The Communication of Affect
Chapter – 9
Table of Contents
- Expressive symbolism is one of the least developed aspects of theory of action and not as well defined as belief systems.
- Expressive symbols are part of the cultural tradition related to expressive interests, where immediate gratification is primary, and neither instrumental nor evaluative considerations dominate.
- Expressive interests are not “hedonistic”; they focus on the immediate gratification of relevant need-dispositions, which can be needs to care for others or create abstract ideas or cultural forms.
- The central focus is on acting out need-dispositions rather than subordinating them to an external goal or norm.
- Expressive action parallels instrumental action and is culturally patterned. Expressive symbols are the systems through which expressive action is oriented to situations.
- Like all cultural elements, expressive symbols have a normative aspect, with appreciative standards used to judge expressive actions.
- In expressive action, expressive symbols and appreciative standards are similar to how belief systems function in instrumentally oriented actions.
- Cognitive patterns or beliefs may become the focus of instrumental activity (e.g., investigation), while expressive symbols may be developed through artistic creation, which is distinct from expressive action itself.
- Most expressive symbolism in a culture is not the result of deliberate artistic creation but evolves spontaneouslythrough action processes driven by other interests.
- Expressive and evaluative interests can be fused, particularly in religious symbolism, or in acts symbolizing solidarity or attachment to social objects.
- Expressive symbolism is involved in all types of action but is most directly integrated with the cathectic interests of the actor.
- Expressive symbolism is organized relative to the reciprocal attitudes of ego and alter, creating a dynamic in social interaction.
- Expressive symbols have three functions: 1) aid in communication of cathectic meanings, 2) organize interaction through normative regulation and appreciative standards, 3) serve as objects for gratification of relevant need-dispositions.
- The organization of orientations within interactive relationships about reciprocity of attitudes constitutes the development of an expressive symbol-system.
- Acts acquire symbolic meaning beyond their intrinsic significance, being embedded in a complex association and acquiring cathectic significance.
- Example: The mother’s response to a child’s crying becomes symbolic of her attitude toward the child, not just an instrumental act.
- The prototype of the expressive symbol in interaction is the symbolic act, and in a stabilized interaction system, all acts have symbolic significance to some degree.
- In interactive relationships, a symbolic act is both gratifying to ego and symbolically meaningful to alter. Both ego and alter internalize the expressive symbolism, which affects both participants’ emotional states.
- Ego’s act holds gratificatory significance for alter if it meets alter’s expectations, and it can be deprivational if it frustrates those expectations.
- Symbolic acts acquire expressive significance for alter, meaning they can be either gratifying or deprivational to alter depending on the context and reciprocal attitudes.
- Symbolic acts within the interaction process serve as the starting point for the genesis of expressive symbolism.
- The symbolization of relevant attitudes is generalized to objects beyond acts, drawn into an associational complexorganized around ego and alter.
- Ego and alter are treated as actors, and their acts become symbols that can be interpreted as manifestations of action-relevant qualities, such as being “honest” or “friendly.”
- The bodies of ego and alter are closely associated with action, and physical traits (e.g., stature, body shape, hair color) acquire symbolic significance.
- Anatomical differences like those between the sexes also fit into the context of symbolic significance, especially in terms of erotic symbolism.
- Freudian theory suggests that many objects are symbols of the penis, but the penis itself is also a symbolic object with substantial psychological significance.
- Symbolic significance is generalized so that elongated objects may symbolize the penis, which in turn symbolizes masculinity and related qualities.
- Physical objects besides the bodies of ego and alter, such as clothing, become involved in expressive symbolism due to their direct relation to the body and their manipulability.
- Clothing becomes a medium for expressive purposes because it can be modified and directly influences visual impressions.
- Cultural objects also participate in the associational complex. Objects like works of art symbolize expressive significance beyond their physical aspects.
- Works of art represent a symbolic creation whose physical form is secondary to its cultural and expressive significance.
- Expressive symbolism can be classified based on the types of objects to which symbolic significance is attached and the fundamental types of attitudinal orientation in the interaction process.
- The four basic types of attitude around which interaction is organized are receptiveness-response, love, approval, and esteem.
- Symbolic entities (acts, qualities, objects, cultural patterns) can be symbolic of any of these four attitude types.
- An example is the erotic love relationship, which is characterized as diffuse and affective, with mutuality of erotic gratification as a core aspect.
- In the erotic love relationship, the bodies of the partners, particularly genital gratification, have symbolic priority, and certain practices are acceptable, while others (like “perversions”) are tabooed.
- The setting and context of erotic activities have expressive symbolism, including privacy and aesthetically attractive surroundings.
- Expressive symbolism in love relationships extends beyond immediate erotic gratification to include acts like affectionate speech, gift exchanges, and shared gratificatory activities.
- The erotic love relationship is also tied to broader social structures, such as marriage, reproduction, and parenthood, integrating with the larger culture of the kinship system.
- The orientation toward romantic love intersects with sex roles and the kinship system, but also presents a potential field for deviance, especially in youth culture’s partial isolation from marriage and parenthood.
- This isolation from the broader kinship context constitutes a form of deviance, which should be analyzed in terms of structured strains in the social system.
- Erotic activities are an integral part of the system of expressive symbolism, serving not just as sources of gratification but as symbols within the larger system.
- Erotically relevant features of the organism, such as the penis and breast, are expressive symbols with a significant part of their erotic significance derived from this symbolic function.
- These symbols can be elaborated further but remain connected to a broader symbolization complex, extending to all aspects of interaction and behavior.
- The same principle applies to relationships based on approval or esteem, like the teacher-student relationship, where symbolic acts hold expressive significance.
- In the teacher-student relationship, the student’s admiration for the teacher’s competence and the teacher’s respect for the student’s ability are central.
- The relationship involves both evaluative and cathectic symbolism, with the attachment being affectively neutral but still involving emotional investment.
- Expressive symbolism in these relationships reflects evaluative categories, such as respect and admiration, with acts of professional achievement as symbolic.
- The acts of professional achievement, like lectures or research demonstrations, acquire symbolic significance in relation to the attachment.
- The context of professional activity, such as the teacher’s work environment, buildings, and furnishings, also becomes part of the symbolic complex.
- The attachment can extend beyond the professional realm to include admiration for the teacher’s general lifestyle, tastes, and even personal life.
- The student becomes sensitive to the teacher’s attitudes toward them, interpreting acts of recognition (e.g., grades or praise) as expressions of positive attitudes.
- Symbolic acts may extend to acts of kindness or other non-professional behaviors, and the sentiments of approvaland esteem are often closely linked with friendliness.
- Selection of appropriate symbolic acts from the situation ranges from strategic acts to more arbitrary associations, reflecting both core and peripheral elements.
- In the erotic case, gratification opportunities have symbolic significance, and arbitrary associations extend the complex of symbolism.
- In the affectively neutral case, core symbolization focuses on the instrumental acts essential to fulfilling role expectations, such as professional performances and their associated objects.
- Symbolic acts may extend to more remote associations, like a teacher’s taste in neckties, becoming significant despite a lack of direct relevance to the professional competence.
- Institutionalization occurs in both the erotic and professional contexts, stabilizing the symbolic system and allowing it to be transmitted as part of cultural norms.
- The institutionalization of erotic gratification (e.g., heterosexual norms) and professional admiration (e.g., respect for competence) are patterns of expressive symbolism that become universal.
- The contextual elements involved in institutionalization include aspects like the privacy of sexual activities or the teacher’s adherence to dignity in dress.
- Institutionalization introduces an evaluative element to the actor’s orientation, such as the obligation to respect the teacher’s authority or the common values of a community.
- The institutionalized relationship to the teacher involves a common value of respect for competence, distinguishing it from the basic evaluative element of discipline necessary for role acceptance.
- Institutionalization ensures the stabilization and transmission of the symbolic system as an organized cultural entity.