Chapter06 Social Interaction in Everyday Life

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Sociology, 12 th Edition by John MacionisCopyright 2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Interaction InEveryday Life

The process by which people act and react in

relation to others




Social Interaction

• The symbolic interaction paradigm

• Humans rely on social structure to makesense out of everyday situations.






Type of Status

• Ascribed: Involuntary positions• Achieved: Voluntary positions

Often the two types work together. What we’re

ascribed often helps us achieve other statuses.

• Master status: Has special importance

for social identity, often shaping aperson’s entire life.




Role

• Role set

– A number of roles attached to a single

status – Example: status of mother

• Disciplinarian

• Sports authority

• Dietitian• Dr. Mom

• Pretty mom

The behavior expected of someone who holds a

particular status




Global Map 6.1 Housework in Global Perspective




Role Conflict and Role Strain

• Role conflict – Involves two or more statuses

• Example: Conflict between role expectations of a

police officer who catches her own son using drugs

at home –mother and police officer

• Role strain

– Involves a single status

• Example: Manager who tries to balance concernfor workers with task requirements –office manager




Role Exit

• Role exit: Becoming an “ex”

– Disengaging from social roles can be very traumatic without

proper preparation.

• The process of becoming an “ex” – Doubts form about ability to continue with a certain role.

– Examination of new roles leads to a turning point at which

time one decides to pursue a new direction.

– Learning new expectations associated with new role.

– Past role might influence new self.




Figure 6.1

Status Set and Role Sets A status set includes all the statuses a person holds at a given time. The status set defines “who we are” in society. The many roles linked to

each status define “what we do.”




The Social Construction

of Reality• The process by which people creatively shape

reality through social interaction.

• “Street smarts”

• The Thomas theorem

– Situations that are defined as real are real in their

consequences

• Ethnomethodology

– The study of the way people make sense of theireveryday surroundings

– Explores the process of making sense of social

encounters




• How we act or what we see in our

surroundings depends on our interests.

• Social background also affects what we see.

• People build reality from the surrounding

culture.

Reality Building:

Class and Culture




Goffman’s Dramaturgical Analysis

• Presentation of self or impression management

– Efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others.

• Role performance includes

– Stage setting

– Use of props: costume, tone of voice, gesture

– Example: Going to the doctor and playing the expected

patient role.

Examining social interaction in terms of theatrical

performances




Nonverbal CommunicationCommunication using body movements, gestures, and facial

expressions rather than speech

• Words

• Voice

• Body language• Facial expressions

• Demeanor

• Personal space

Goffman and idealization: We try to convince others that

what we do reflects ideal cultural standards rather than

selfish motives.




Gender and Performances

• Gender is a central element in personalperformances.

• Demeanor

– The way we act and carry ourselves

• Use of space – Power plays a key role.

• Staring, smiling, touching

– Eye contact encourages interaction.

– Smiling: Trying to please or submission?

– Touching: Intimacy and caring




Idealization

• We construct performances to idealizeour intentions.

• Professionals typically idealize their

motives for entering their chosencareers.

• We all use idealization to some degree.




Embarrassment and Tact

• Embarrassment: Discomfort following aspoiled performance.

• Goffman: Embarrassment is "losing face."

• Tact is helping someone "save face."

• An audience often overlooks flaws in aperformance, allowing the actor to avoidembarrassment.

• Goffman: Although behavior is oftenspontaneous, it is more patterned than wethink.




Emotions: The Social Construction

of Feeling• The biological side of emotions

– Ekman: Some emotional responses are “wired” intohumans.

• The cultural side of emotions – Ekman: Culture defines what triggers an emotion.

• Emotions on the job

– Hochschild: The typical company tries to regulatenot only its employees’ behavior, but also theiremotions.




Gender and Language

• Power and Value

– Female pronouns and ownership

– Women often adopt the husband’s surname.

– Traditionally feminine terms are more likely

to change to negative meanings thanmasculine terms.

Language communicates not only surface reality, but

also deeper levels of meaning.




Humor

• Humor is unconventional. – It’s a violation of cultural norms.

• Humor is tied to a common culture and

doesn’t translate easily. – “Not getting it” means a person doesn’t

understand a joke’s conventional and

unconventional realities.




Humor

• Humor acts as a safety valve by expressingopinions on a sensitive topic.

• Humor and conflict

– “Put down” with jokes about race, sex,gender, and the disabled

Chapter06 Social Interaction in Everyday Life

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