William I. Thomas observed that people respond not only to the objective features of a situation or person, but also to the social meaning that situation or person has for them. This observation reflects the <em>interactionist perspective</em>. According to the Thomas theorem, people do not react to reality but to what they perceive as real. Definitions of what is "real" differ between individuals. People interpret their world and they act accordingly. The way people interpret the world comes from social institutions such as family.
