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This review discusses the continuing value of and problems in G.H. Mead's contributions to sociology from the standpoint of the contemporary discipline. It argues that the value is considerable and the problems largely avoidable with modifications to Mead's framework; it also offers necessary modifications via structural symbolic interactionism. Permitting the development of testable theories such as identity theory is a major criterion in evaluating a frame, and capacity to bridge to other frames and theories inside and outside sociology is another. The review examines bridges from the structural symbolic interactionist frame and identity theory to other symbolic interactionist theories, to other social psychological frames and theories in sociology, to cognitive social psychology, and to structural sociology.

Variations in forms & levels of participation in social movements are examined in terms of identity theory & commitment as functions of both individual differences & differences in social structure, location, & interaction. The concept of identity in social psychology is reviewed, noting its cultural & collective dimensions & the ways that it employs self-categorization in collapsing "group" & "social category." Ways that identity theory can explain social movement recruitment; the impact of identities related to friends, family, or other social networks on individual decisions to participate -- or not -- in social movements; commitment to a movement; & the salience of the collective identity gained through social movement participation are analyzed. 39 References. K. Hyatt Stewart