What is symbolic interactionism, and how can I use it in an exam?

Symbolic interactionism is an interactionist concept, which essentially advocates for human agency through the active interpretation of your environment through the symbolic meaning individuals/ 'social actors' ascribe to it. For example, think of the different meanings you and someone else may ascribe to dogs, if you own and love a dog and the other person has previously been bitten by one. These varying internal perceptions then go on to affect your social behaviour, and how you respond to and interact with your environment. Whenever you're looking at macro-level 'meta-narratives' (for example, Marxism), you can use this theory to emphasise their potential determinism, in ignoring individual agency through the construction of meaning. You could also use this to emphasise the impact of free will. This approach was pioneered by Mead, who contended that our perception of our environment is mediated through our internalised sense of identity, which he divided into the 'I' (which constitutes someones individualised response to a social object) and the 'Me' (as a sense of collective identity which mediates social behaviour, which Mead regarded as the 'Generalised Other'). This conception of collective identity, mediated through perceptions regarding other social actors was furthered by Cooley's notion of the 'Looking-Glass Self', which highlighted our tendency towards internalised relation to others, and to construct our social behaviour based on the perceived reactions of others.