Symbolic Interaction as a Pragmatic Perspective: The Bias of Emergent Theory

Abstract

The epistemology of symbolic interaction derives from the pragmatic model of Dewey and Mead, close associates. This paper argues that the methodology of pragmatism and symbolic interaction permits the perspectives of the researcher and the people in interactive situations to bias the research. Influenced by Hegel, Dewey and Mead adopted an evolutionary, holistic view of reality; progress was inevitable and people were naturally rational. In addition, their notion of the logico-theoretic component in science deviated sharply from the more common hypothetico-deductive model. In both the pragmatic and symbolic interaction approaches, the theoretic component is ambiguous; to formulate theory prior to research is thought to be risky for it may bias the research. Instead, theory emerges from the research process; the participants in an interactive situation contribute to it. Thus the social givens of the researcher and the participants serve as a theoretical framework, giving the research a bias which reflects the social perspective of the researcher and the distribution of power in the interactive setting. That many researchers in this tradition are liberal humanitarians obscures the problem of bias inherent in this approach.