Social Interaction
Chapter OutlineWhat is Social Interaction? What Shapes Social Interaction? The Sociology of EmotionsModes of Social Interaction
Social InteractionInvolves people communicating face-to-
face and acting and reacting in relation to other people.
Structured around: a person’s status: recognized social
position that people occupya person’s role: set of expected behaviors
that people performa culture’s norms: a generally accepted
way of doing things
Statuses and RolesStatus set: the group of positions that a
person occupies at the same time
Each status is composed of several sets of expected behaviors, or a role set
Role Set and Status Set
Role Conflict Occurs when different
role demands are placed on a person by two or more statuses held at the same time.
A flight attendant might experience role conflict due to contradicting demands of these statuses?
Role Strain
Occurs when incompatible role demands are placed on a person in a single status.
Why was the status of stewardess in the 1960s and 1970s high in role strain?
Consider this…Draw a map illustrating your role set and
status set.
Identify any role conflict or role strain that exists in your life.
How We Get Emotional
Emotion ManagementInvolves people obeying “feeling rules” and
responding appropriately to the situations in which they find themselves.
Emotion labor is emotion management that people do as part of their job and for which they are paid.
Conflict Theories of SocialInteractionWhen people interact, their statuses are often
arranged in a hierarchy.Those on top enjoy more power and attention
than those on the bottom.Social interaction involves competition over
valued resources such as attention, approval, prestige, information, and money
Symbolic Interaction Theories of Social InteractionWe learn norms and adopt roles and statuses
through our social interaction
We are constantly negotiating and modifying the norms, roles and statuses that we encounter as we interact with others
Goffman’s Dramaturgical AnalysisPeople always play roles, especially in
“front stage” public settingsWe may be our “true” selves during our
“backstage” performanceAlways engaging in role-playing and
impression management
Impression managementMay use role distancing to illustrate a lack
of role commitment if we find a role beneath us or embarrassing
Furthermore, we regularly try to place ourselves in the best possible light by engaging in impression management
Nonverbal CommunicationFacial ExpressionsGesturesBody LanguageStatus cues - Visual indicators of a person’s
social positionthese can turn into stereotypes that impair
interactions
Theories of Social Interaction
How Social Groups Shape Our Actions1. Norms of solidarity demand conformity.
When we form relationships, we develop norms of solidarity about how we should behave to sustain the relationships.
The Nazis who roamed the Polish countryside to shoot and kill “enemies” felt they had to get their job done or face letting down their comrades.
How Social Groups Shape Our Actions2. Structures of authority tend to render people
obedient. Most people find it difficult to disobey
authorities because they fear ridicule, ostracism, and punishment.
Demonstrated in experiment conducted by social psychologist Stanley Milgram.
How Social Groups Shape Our Actions3. Bureaucracies are highly effective structures
of authority. The Nazi genocide machine was so effective
because it was bureaucratically organized.
Social NetworksOur world is small because we are enmeshed
in overlapping sets of social relations
Social Networks are a bounded set of unites (individuals, organization, countries and so on) linked by the exchange of material or emotional resources
Groups vs. CategoriesSocial groups: one or more social networks,
the members of which identify with one another, routinely interact, and adhere to defined norms, roles and statuses
Social categories: people who share similar status but do not routinely interact or identify with one another
GroupthinkGroupthink: the pressure to conform,
despite individual misgivings
Can be positive (e.g., being a “team player), but can also be dangerous, if people no longer feel confident challenging the group consensus
Reference GroupWe generally evaluate ourselves in
comparison to othersThese “role models” can be our reference
groupThey may represent an imaginary ideal
Primary vs. Secondary GroupsPrimary groups: norms, roles and statuses
are agreed on but not put in writing (e.g., our family)
Secondary groups: larger and more impersonal that creates weaker emotional ties
Formal organizations: secondary groups designed to achieve explicit objectives
BureaucracyWeber regarded bureaucracies as the most
efficient kind of secondary group
1.Was using older organizational forms2.Only discussing ideal case
Bureaucratic InefficiencyThe larger the bureaucracy, the more difficult
it is for functionaries to communicate
Given the hierarchy of most bureaucracies, power differentials will affect communication across levels
1. The verbal and nonverbal communication between people acting and reacting to one another:
a. conversationsb. social interactionc. group processesd. front stage performance
Answer: b Social interaction involves verbal and
nonverbal communication between people acting and reacting to one another. It is ordered by norms, roles, and statuses.
2. Role strain occurs when:a. people communicate face-to-face, reacting to
other peopleb. a cluster of roles are attached to a single
statusc. an individual occupies many statusesd. incompatible role demands are placed on a
person in a single status
Answer: dRole strain occurs when: incompatible role
demands are placed on a person in a single status.
3. Which of the following approaches to studying groups focuses on how people create meaning in the course of social interaction?
a. Conflict approachb. Symbolic interactionistc. Functionalistd. Feminist
Answer: bSymbolic interactionists focus on how
people create meaning in the course of social interaction and on how they negotiate and modify roles, statuses, and norms
4. Which of the following types of groups involve intense, intimate, enduring relations?
a. primary groupsb. secondary groupsc. reference groupsd. front stage performances
Answer: aPrimary groups involve intense, intimate,
enduring relations
5. Which of the following types of groups involve less personal and intense ties?
a. primary groupsb. secondary groupsc. reference groupsd. front stage performances
Answer: bSecondary groups involve less personal and
intense ties than primary groups
6. The idea that no more than 6 degrees of separation separate any two people in the United States reveals the importance of _______________.
a. Facebookb. friendshipsc. social networksd. families
Answer: cThe idea that no more than 6 degrees of
separation separate any two people in the United States reveals the importance of social networks.
7. The more levels in a bureaucratic structure:
a. the more efficiently it operates.b. the less likely is oligarchic rule to emerge.c. the more difficult communication becomes.d. the greater the number of dyadic
relationships.
Answer: cThe more levels in a bureaucratic structure:
the more difficult communication becomes.