Chapter 4: Social Interaction and Everyday Life in the Age of the Internet Flashcards
social interaction
the process by which we act with and react to those around us
microsociology
the study of human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction
civil inattention
the process whereby individuals in the same physical setting demonstrate to each other that they are aware of the other’s presence
agency
the ability to think, act, and make choices independently
structure
the recurrent patterned arrangements and hierarchies that influence or limit the choices and opportunities available to us
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 each other
encounter
a meeting between two or more people in a situation of face-to-face interaction
nonverbal communication
communication between individuals based on facial expression or bodily gestures rather than on language
status
the social honor or prestige that a particular group is accorded by other members of a society;
status groups normally display distinct styles of life - patterns of behavior that the members of a group follow;
status privilege may be positive or negative
social position
the social identity an individual has in a given group or society;
social positions may be general in nature (those associated with gender roles) or may be more specific (occupational positions)
What are social roles?
Roles are socially defined expectations that a person in a given status (or social position) follows.
ex: role = teacher
What are front and back regions in terms of social life?
Front regions are social occasions or encounters in which individuals act our formal roles - “on-stage performances”
Back regions are where people assemble the props and prepare themselves for interaction in the more formal setting - “back stage or off-camera activities”
impression management
preparing for the presentation of one’s social role
ethnomethodology
the study of how people make sense of what others say and do in the course of day-to-day social interaction;
is concerned with the “ethnomethods” by which people sustain meaningful exchanges with one another
Garfinkel argued that to understand the way people use context to make sense of the world, sociologists need to…
…study the “background expectancies” with which we organize ordinary conversations
ex: When someone says “How are you?” it’s just polite speech and it’s expected the response to be “Well, and you?” etc.
interactional vandalism
the deliberate subversion of the tacit rules of conversation
(cases in which a subordinate person breaks the tacit rules of everyday interaction that are of value to the more powerful)
response cries
seemingly involuntary exclamations individuals make when, for example, being taken by surprise, dropping something inadvertently, or expressing pleasure
personal space
the physical space individuals maintain between themselves and others
time-space
when and where events occur
regionalization
the division of social life into different regional settings or zones
ex: a house regionalized into rooms, hallways, and floors/stories - zoned in space and in time (bedroom for night, etc.)
clock time
time as measured by the clock, in terms of hours, minutes, and seconds
~before the invention of clocks, time reckoning was based on events in the natural world, such as the rising and setting of the sun
compulsion of proximity
people’s need to interact with others in their presence
Microsociology vs. Macrosociology
Microsociology is the study of everyday behavior in situations of face-to-face interaction
Macrosociology is the study of the broader features of society like race, class, or gender hierarchies
