Interactions, Emotions, and Social Status

Question 1

Social constructionism

Answer 1

• developed by Peter Berger & Thomas Luckmann in 1996

Argues that reality is socially constructed. So the things that go on in our daily lives, big social structures, social interaction, etc. are not real things but are forged through social processes

Question 2

Emotion management

Answer 2

Involves people obeying “feeling rules” and responding appropriately to the situations in which they find themselves.

• we have expectations that people will manage their emotions in the expected way for specific circumstances

Question 3

Emotional labour

Answer 3

Emotional labour is emotion management that many people do as part of their job and for which they are paid

• Usually women are expected to do these jobs

Question 4

Civil inattenion

Answer 4

Our means of accommodating the overwhelming majority of people with whom we have some contact during routine day-to-day activities

• the idea that was mostly ignore each other, but our shared idea that we mostly wish to remain unbothered

Ex. Hiking

Question 5

Goffman’s Dramaturgy

Answer 5

The study of social interaction as a theatrical performance

• looks at social interaction as a play where we all constantly attempt to look our best

Question 6

Impression management

Answer 6

An individual’s efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others

Question 7

Symbolic capital

Answer 7

the resources available to an individual on the basis of honor, prestige or recognition, and serves as value that one holds within a culture.

A war hero, for example, may have symbolic capital in the context of running for political office.

Question 8

Charles Derber’s competition for “attention” (power)

Answer 8

Suggests that the typical conversation is a covert competition for attention

Question 9

Cultural scripts

Answer 9

A technique for articulating culture-specific norms, values, and practices in terms which are clear, precise, and accessible to cultural insiders and outsiders alike.

Question 10

Reading: Arlie Hochschild’s “The Managed Heart”

Answer 10

Explores the concept of emotional labour, particularly in service-oriented professions where workers are expected to manage their feelings to meet job requirements and create a certain experience for customers.

• the managed heart looks at how emotional labour is intertwined with economic, social, and gender dynamics, raising important questions about the human cost of commodifying emotions in the workplace.

Question 11

Reading: Fiers, Hiding traces of status seeking - contradictory tagging strategies on Instagram

Answer 11

The study explores instagram users tactics to balance showcasing status and seeming authentic. They use tags to signal status but hide explicit status-seeking actions to appear genuine.

• this highlights the tension between portraying an ideal self and masking the efforts behind such portrayals