Symbolic Interationism

Have you ever made a decision based on what other people think or made a decision that you wouldn't normally make when you're around certain people? Symbolic Interaction is a term that best describes this behavior, Max Weber called it stage play (Henslin 28). George Herbert Mead introduced this sociological term in the 1920's to help explain why people act the way they do (about.com).
Think about it if you were to move to a new school and you are a smart kid, you finish your homework, but you also like to hang out with people on the weekend, you're not going to choose to hang around the people who are a bad influence e.g. people who skip class, smoke cigarettes, and don't care about their outcome in life. Instead you are going to center yourself around people who act and perform similar to your liking.
This type of interaction is noticed everyday. Symbolic Interaction is a micro level analysis, or small-scale patterns of social interaction. A german word best describing symbolic interaction is "verstehen" which literally means the empathetic understanding of human behavior. "Industrialization and urbanization changed marital roles and led to a redefinition of love marriage, children and divorce (Henslin 28)"
Symbolic Interaction will always shape how we as people make decisions everyday. To better understand it ask yourself "how do I act differently when I'm in the presence of someone?"

Henslin, James M. "13 Symbolic Interactionism." Sociology: A Down-to-earth Approach. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2011. 28. Print.

"What Is Symbolic Interaction Theory?" About.com Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.