Examination of student identity development will be preceded by presenting an epistemological framework that employs symbolic interactionism theory which has been widely used to investigate an array of issues within the field of social psychology including identity. On a very basic level that explains the interrelationship combining symbols, objects and meanings, Hewitt (2003) points out that “human beings employ symbols, carve out and act toward objects rather than merely respond to stimuli, and act on the basis of interpreted and not only fixed meaning.” (p. 307) He maintains that:
“the symbolic interactionist view of the human world is symbolically constituted, socially constructed, and emergent… Interactionists have just grasped how external and constraining this humanly created world can be: its symbol system already in place when we are born, …show more content…
Emergence is contingent upon conditional interactionism, with two primary factors impacting the outcome: “(1) the nature of the interaction (or “interrelation”) that gives rise to the emergent and (2) the nature of the preexisting conditions that underlie the realization of this interaction (or interrelation).” (2004, p. 406) He further states that “In human society, the most basic interrelations are those between the individual and his or her social and nonsocial environment and between collective acting units (social groups, communities, nations, etc.) and their social and nonsocial environments. The emergence they produce includes, among numerous other things, the reproduction and change of self as well as the reproduction and change of society (e.g., the formation, reproduction, and change of a specific system of social stratification, a culture, an institution) (2004, p.
“the symbolic interactionist view of the human world is symbolically constituted, socially constructed, and emergent… Interactionists have just grasped how external and constraining this humanly created world can be: its symbol system already in place when we are born, …show more content…
Emergence is contingent upon conditional interactionism, with two primary factors impacting the outcome: “(1) the nature of the interaction (or “interrelation”) that gives rise to the emergent and (2) the nature of the preexisting conditions that underlie the realization of this interaction (or interrelation).” (2004, p. 406) He further states that “In human society, the most basic interrelations are those between the individual and his or her social and nonsocial environment and between collective acting units (social groups, communities, nations, etc.) and their social and nonsocial environments. The emergence they produce includes, among numerous other things, the reproduction and change of self as well as the reproduction and change of society (e.g., the formation, reproduction, and change of a specific system of social stratification, a culture, an institution) (2004, p.