Structure and Agency in Everyday Life is the only social interacionist text that emphasizes in all aspects of everyday life the tension between social constraints and social transformation. This second edition greatly expands the discussion of the relationship between structure and agency and coverage of the role of human emotions. Unique also is the text's review of the social and ideological context in which symbolic interactionism arose: the nature/nurture debate, the rise of corporate capitalism, and the decline of social Darwinism. It explores contemporary interactionism under the rubrics of society, self, and mind, highlighting Erving Goffman's work. New also is a comparison and contrast between "personality" and "self" as explanatory concepts for understanding social behavior.

New in this edition
1. The Structure and Agency perspective greatly expanded.
2. More on race, gender, power, and ideology and discourse.
3. New coverage of Phatic Communication.
4. More on the history of personality, sources of decline of personality, challenges to personality concept and theory, and role-taking.