Chapter 5 Flashcards
status
can be positive or negative, honor or prestige is given a group by other members of society, display distinct styles of life, group members follow patterns of behavior
social position
the identity an individual has in a group/society
roles
expected behaviors of people occupying particular social positions
impression management
preparing for the presentation of one’s role
central insight from Goffman’s work
every human being is sensitive and vulnerable to embarrassment or humiliation at every turn. People care what others think about them
civil inattention
the process where individuals in the same physical setting glance at each other but quickly look away to indicate awareness of each other but not intrusiveness
characteristics of facial expressions and gestures
general facial expressions are universal, specific types and gestures vary among cultures
response cries
involuntary exclamations made when something happens/changes
unfocused interaction
occurs when individuals exhibit awareness of someone else’s presence, but they are not engaged in each other
focused interaction
individuals attend to what others say and do, happens between engaged individuals, interaction is influenced by gestures and facial expressions just as much as words
encounter
instance of focused interaction, require openings this discard civil inattention
regionalization
the division of social life into different settings or zones
back region
areas apart from the front region performance, specified by Erving Goffman, individuals relax and behave informally
Front region
settings of social activity in which individuals seek to put on a performance for others
Erving Goffman beliefs in sociology
sociologists should be concerned with seemingly trivial aspects of behavior
Reason’s behind Goffman’s theory
- We can learn a lot about the structure of our daily lives by studying the individual interactions between people, we can also learn a lot about ourselves and social life
- Studying microsociology reveals how humans creatively make reality
- studying individual interactions sheds lights on larger social systems and institutions
agency
the ability to think, act and make choices independently
ethnomethodology
made by Harold Garfinkel, study of methods of people(ethnomethods) to help us make sense of what people do and say on a microsociological method. We usually apply this field subconsciously.
interactional vandalism
the deliberate breaking of subconscious rules in a conversation
which age group uses online dating services the most?
young adults (18-24)
preferences of women in online dating services
men with more income and education than them
preferences of men in online dating services
women with a college education
racial hierarchy in online dating services
white men get the most attention, while black women and men get the least
which group is most likely to make the first move in online dating services?
men
advantages to online dating services
provides a large number of potential partners, anonymity makes it easier for introverted people, online questionnaires weed out incompatible people(in some aspects) before they ever meet
disadvantages to online dating services
more deception, lack of information gained from face to face contact
disadvantages of electronic forms of communication
less face to face communication and more isolation, more room for misinterpretation, confusion and abuse
advantages of electronic communication
electronic communication can decrease discrimination by hiding the user’s gender/age/ethnicity etc, people can create their own online identities and speak more freely than they can elsewhere
compulsion of proximity
People’s need to interact with others in their presence
