Adult Self‐Change from a Radical Interactionist Perspective: The Case of “Ray Charles”

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I propose a theory for explaining both major and minor adult self‐change from a radical interactionist perspective. According to our new proposed theory, adult self‐change takes place over a five‐stage, multi‐directional process, which in the order of their occurrence are: (1) fragmentation, (2) provisional unity, (3) praxis, (4) consolidation, and (5) social segregation. The basic dynamic underlying both major and minor adult self‐change is the loss or gain of status in the dominance hierarchy of people's grand primary groups which, in turn, can significantly affect, for better or worse, the ranks that they hold in their petite primary and secondary groups. What makes this theory relatively unique is, first and foremost, its basis on the master principle of domination. Second, it explains both minor and major self‐change, not just one or the other. This distinction is important because the stages undergone during these two different degrees of self‐change not only overlap, but as people pass through them, minor self‐change can often mutate into major self‐change, making the formulation of separate explanations untenable. The main conclusion this article draws is that the proposed explanation of adult self‐change from a radical interactionist perspective is superior to explanations proposed by conventional interactionists which are based on sociality. This is because the model I introduce here can explain both major and minor adult self‐change and explicitly takes into account, instead of ignores, the integral part that super‐ordination plays in both forms of self‐change, and thereby, breaks new theoretical ground. Snippets from the autobiography of American blues and jazz legend, Ray Charles, are used to illustrate the theory.