Thomas theorem

Whether there even is an objectively correct interpretation is not important for the purposes of helping guide individuals' behavior.

In 1923, W. I. Thomas stated more precisely that any definition of a situation would influence the present.

[2] Consequently, Thomas stressed societal problems such as intimacy, family, or education as fundamental to the role of the situation when detecting a social world "in which subjective impressions can be projected on to life and thereby become real to projectors".

This definition may thus become an area contested between different stakeholders (or by an ego's sense of self-identity).

The construction, presentation, and maintenance of frames of interaction (i.e., social context and expectations), and identities (self-identities or group identities), are fundamental aspects of micro-level social interaction.