Which theoretical perspective views society as composed of symbols that establish meaning through social interactions?

The theoretical perspective that views society as made up of symbols that create meaning through social interactions is symbolic interactionism. This approach emphasizes the importance of symbols—language, gestures, and other forms of communication—in shaping human experience and social reality. According to symbolic interactionism, individuals develop their self-concepts and understandings of the world through their interactions with others and the meanings they attribute to those interactions.

This perspective is useful for understanding how people interpret their social environments, as it allows for a focus on the dynamic nature of human relationships and the context-dependent construction of meaning. In this framework, social realities are seen as fluid and created through ongoing social processes rather than fixed or predetermined.

In contrast, hermeneutics focuses on interpretation and understanding, particularly in texts and cultural artifacts, rather than the symbols in social interactions specifically. Triangulation refers to the methodological practice of using multiple data sources or perspectives to enhance the validity of research findings, which does not align directly with the concept of social meaning through interactions. Thematic analysis is a qualitative research method that identifies themes within data but does not specifically concentrate on the symbolic interactions that create meanings in society.