Dr Alan Sears is a Professor of Sociology at Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada. He can speak with authority on sociological concepts that aid in illustrating the Cycles in Algorithmic Cultivation concept, such as agency and symbolic interactionism. Both of these concepts are important in aiding considerations about algorithmic cultivation. Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical framework that explains how cultures are formed through groups of values and behaviours that constitute a symbolic world. [1] 

Symbolic interactionism is also concerned with how the range of symbols within a culture demands performative behaviours for cultural inclusion, and how these demands influence the behavior of individuals. [2] Symbolic interactionism can be a useful tool for highlighting the vitally structural characteristics of a culture and the range of behaviours that mandate inclusion.

[1] Peter M. Hall, “Symbolic Interaction,”  in The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, ed. George Ritzer (Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2016), 1–5, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405165518.wbeoss310.pub2.

[2] Richard L. West and Lynn H. Turner,  Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application, Sixth  edition (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2018).