Archived
This content is available here strictly for research, reference, and/or recordkeeping and as such it may not be fully accessible. If you work or study at University of Kentucky and would like to request an accessible version, please use the SensusAccess Document Converter.
Abstract
Symbolic interactionist theories need to use the generalized in order to explain difference, but this essential term has been neglected. A "sense of group position" has been used to focus on difference, but this term is too structural. To bridge this gap in symbolic interactionism, we show that a generalized other is socially constructed through framing; this process of social construction involves internalization or externalization; multiple generalized others routinely exist and they create multiple selves; generalized others may be positive or negative; generalized others are ranked in terms of importance to the self; and difference springs from these different rankings.
Document Type
White Paper
Publication Date
2021
Repository Citation
Janoski, Thomas E.; Grey, Chrystal; and Lepadatu, Darina, "Integrating the Generalized Other into Theories of Difference: Balancing and Bridging in Symbolic Interactionism" (2021). Sociology White Papers. 3.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/sociology_reports/3
