Scholarlink

<p>The social pragmatist G. H. Mead proposed nearly a century ago that rather than begin&#xa0;the study of social psychology with the individual in isolation, followed by considering&#xa0;the social group as a composite of individuals, that instead one begin inquiry about the&#xa0;social dimensions of an individual’s experience and actions with an appreciation for&#xa0;their developmental history as a participant in the “organized conduct” of groups. This&#xa0;unconventional suggestion from a psychological perspective turns out to be compatible&#xa0;with the view in the ecological sciences that the natural order is organized as a nested&#xa0;hierarchy of processes. That viewpoint recognizes the significance of higher-order&#xa0;social structures that psychologists have historically neglected. Conversely, social&#xa0;scientists with their focus on higher-order social structures have typically given short&#xa0;shrift to psychological processes at the individual level that are nested within and&#xa0;constitute those social structures. This neglect has prompted some social theorists to&#xa0;examine the role of individual agency in the constitution of social structures. Those&#xa0;writings create opportunities to synthesize sociological writings on social practices with&#xa0;the psychological study of human developmental processes. A bridge between these&#xa0;domains may be found if we adopt a realist approach to the perceived meanings of&#xa0;objective, relational structures at both levels of analysis.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Bridging the Gap between Social Structures and Individual Action: Pursuing Mead’s Social Pragmatism

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月5日

查看全文
  • Harry Heft

摘要

The social pragmatist G. H. Mead proposed nearly a century ago that rather than begin the study of social psychology with the individual in isolation, followed by considering the social group as a composite of individuals, that instead one begin inquiry about the social dimensions of an individual’s experience and actions with an appreciation for their developmental history as a participant in the “organized conduct” of groups. This unconventional suggestion from a psychological perspective turns out to be compatible with the view in the ecological sciences that the natural order is organized as a nested hierarchy of processes. That viewpoint recognizes the significance of higher-order social structures that psychologists have historically neglected. Conversely, social scientists with their focus on higher-order social structures have typically given short shrift to psychological processes at the individual level that are nested within and constitute those social structures. This neglect has prompted some social theorists to examine the role of individual agency in the constitution of social structures. Those writings create opportunities to synthesize sociological writings on social practices with the psychological study of human developmental processes. A bridge between these domains may be found if we adopt a realist approach to the perceived meanings of objective, relational structures at both levels of analysis.