5.1 Basic Concepts Flashcards
Roles
The expected behaviours of people occupying particular social positions
The idea of social role originally comes from the theater, referring to the parts that actors play in a stage production
In every society, individuals play a number of social roles
Status
The social honour or prestige that a particular group is accorded by other members of a society
Status groups normally display distinct styles of life — patterns of behaviour that the members of a group follow
Social Position
The social identity and individual has in a given group or society.
Social positions may be general in nature (those associated with gender roles) or more specific (occupational positions)
Impression Management
Preparing for the presentation of one’s social role
(How we try to shape what people think about us)
Audience Ségrégation
People try to keep what they do in each of their roles separate from what they do in their other roles
This allows people to have multiple selves
This encourages impression management to selectively portray an image of ourselves to the outside world
Civil Inattention
The process whereby individuals in the same physical setting glance at each other and quickly look away to indicate awareness of each other but not intrusiveness
Nonverbal Communication
Communication between individuals based on facial expression or bodily gesture rather than on language
In some cases, our nonverbal communication also called «body language» may convey a message that is at odds with our words
Response Cries
Seemingly involuntary exclamations individuals make when, for example, they are taken by surprise, drop something inadvertently, or want to express pleasure
Humans are expected to continually demonstrate to others our competence in the routines of daily life
Unfocused interaction
Interaction occurring among people present in a particular setting but not engaged in direct face-to-face communication
Focused interaction
Interaction between individuals engaged in a common activity or in direct conversation with one another
Encounter
À meeting between two or more people in a situation of face-to-face interaction
Our daily lives can be seen as a series of different encounters spread out across the course of the day
In modern societies, many of these encounters are with strangers rather than with people we know
Time-Space
When and where events occur
When we analyze the contexts of social interaction, therefore, it is often useful to look at people’s movement across time-space
Regionalization
The division of social life into different zones
Back region
Areas apart from front-region performance, as specific by Erving Goffman, in which individuals are able to relax and behave informally
Front Région
Settings of social activity in which people seek to put on a definite «performance» for others
Internet Rearranging Space
The internet rearranges space because users can interact with anyone without moving from their chair
The internet also alters our experience of time by making communication immediate
