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Social Psychology Quarterly.
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Identitiesand SocialStructure:
The 2003Cooley-MeadAwardAddress*
PETER J.BURKE
University Riverside
of California,
Meaning To a certainextent,however,meanings
are veryoftenlocal. They are shared only
To further discussthelinkbetweeniden- withinlocal settingsof the social structure,
tityandsocialstructure, we mustexaminethe and allowcoordinatedinteraction, communi-
is
thingthat controlledby identities-self- cation,and controlof resourceswithinthe
relevantmeaning.Meaningis at the core of
setting.As we move into roles and join
bothICT andthesymbolic interaction frame-
groups,we learnthe specificsof the shared
workout of whichICT has grown.The con-
meaningsthat allow us to interactin that
tentof an identity, in thecontextof ICT, is a butwe findthatthesemeanings
local setting,
set of meanings held by an individualthat oftenare sharedless or notat all beyondthe
constitutes "whatitmeans"to be whoone is. local interaction
network.
Indeed,the beginningof myworkin identi- Further, although some dominant
tieswascenteredon themeasurement ofself- dimensions ofmeaningexistacrosssituations
meaning and the incorporation of such and even acrossculturessuchas evaluation,
measurement intoan empiricalresearchpro-
potency,and activity(Osgood, May, and
gram(BurkeandTully1977). Miron 1975),studiesof particularidentities
Whatan objector processmeanslies in such as student(Reitzes and Burke 1980),
our response to that object or process.
gender (Burke and Cast 1997; Burke and
Drawingon theworkof Osgood and hiscol- Tully 1977), old age (Mutran and Burke
leagues (Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum 1979a; 1979b),and spouse (Burke and Stets
1957),ICT understands theseresponsesto be
1999),have confirmed thatrelevantdimen-
bipolar,each responselyingalonga relevant sionsofmeaningvarygreatlyacrossdifferent
dimensionsuch as good and bad, dominant roles.Also,becauseitis thespecificmeanings
and submissive, or partygoingand studious. withinthe interactivecontextthatpersons
Yet because our responsesare not onlycog-
control,these specificmeaningsmust be
nitive,meaningis notonlycognitive; itis also measuredifwe areto understand theconnec-
affective.Futureresearchmuststriveto more tion betweenidentityand behavior(Burke
fullycapturewhatit meansto be who one is and Reitzes1981).
byexpandingtheareasofmeasuredmeaning
to includeboth the cognitiveand the more
Resources
affective or emotional dimensions of
responses. Identitiesare tied to social structure in
Some of the dimensions of meaning anotherwaythatcan be seenwhenwe takea
alongwhichwe respondmaybe wiredintous different view of the natureof social struc-
as biologicalorganisms, butmostare learned ture.Thisotherviewis moreecologicallyori-
through shared experience, observation, and ented, and focuses on the flow and
instruction.We learnthecategories, as wellas transformation of the resourcesthatsustain
the meaningsand expectationsassociated us. It suggeststhatsocial structure itselfmay
withthosecategories, fromothersaroundus be conceivedas the humanorganizationof
and fromtheculturein whichwe are embed- resourceflowsand transformations (Freese
ded (Stryker1980).To thisextent,themean- 1988).
ingsare shared,andwe can speakofsymbolic We are familiarwiththeidea thatpeople
meaning.Meaningsare theresponsesto per- in somepositionsin thesocialstructure have
ceptions,and perceptionsare tunedto the more access to resources,or to different
dimensions ofmeaningmadeavailableinour resources, thanpersonslocatedin otherposi-
cultureto all theroles,positions, and groups tions.Thisis partofourviewofthestratifica-
thatexistwithinit. Meaningsthereforeare tion system.It is not always recognized,
tiedto thesocialstructure and to theculture however,thatthisis thenatureof thesocial
in whichidentitiesare embedded.The self- system:theallocationofrightsand responsi-
relevantmeaningsheld in the identitystan- bilitiesforcontrollingresources.Fromthis
dardare thosemade availablebytheculture view,to repeatmyself, social structure is the
to definethesocialstructure itself. humanorganizationof resourceflowsand
Advancesin Identity
Theoryand Research,withTimothy Owens,PeggyThoits,and Richard
Serpe (Kluwer/Plenum,2003), "Interactionin Small Groups," in Handbook of Social
Psychology, 2003),and "A TheoryofSelf-Esteem,"
(Kluwer/Plenum, withAlicia Castin Social
Forces,80.