symbolic interactionism

Meaning: Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level sociological theory in which society is built from everyday face-to-face interactions. People communicate through symbols such as words, gestures and objects, and they act toward things based on the meanings those things carry. Meanings are not fixed; they are negotiated and revised during interaction, and the self and social roles develop the same way. George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer are the names usually tied to it.

On the MCAT: A passage describes a small-scale situation, such as a handshake, a student labeled a troublemaker, or a patient interpreting a doctor's tone, and asks which perspective explains it. Cues are meaning, symbols, labels, interpretation and self-concept. Ideas commonly grouped with it include Cooley's looking-glass self, labeling theory, Goffman's dramaturgical approach (impression management) and the social construction of reality. Contrast it with functionalism (institutions promote social stability) and conflict theory (competition for resources and power), which are macro-level.

Common confusion: Students choose it for any social topic. The deciding feature is its level and focus: it explains how shared meanings arise in interaction, not how large institutions or inequality shape society. Its meanings are also social, not private thoughts.