Social Interaction Flashcards
Status
Socially defined position used to define someone
Master status
The status that overshadows all others and determines place in society
Ascribed status
Assigned by society
Ex: gender, ethnicity, race
Achieved status
Status gained or earned through one’s effort
Role
Collection of behaviors, values, norms, attitudes and beliefs that are expected of a person holding a particular status
Role partner
The people we interact with under a status that determine what role we will take on
Role performance
How well we carry out a particular role
Role conflict
Difficulty in fulfilling expectations of two or more roles at once
Role strain
Difficulty of fulfilling multiple expectations within same role
Group
Two or more people who identify and interact with one another
Generally share values, interests, family, social placement, political ideas
Family group
Determined by, adoption, marriage, blood
Peer group
People of similar ages, status, with similar interests
Self selected
Reference group
Social group against which individuals can evaluate yourselves
Primary group
Direct interaction between members with close and intimate relationships that tend to last a long period of time
Secondary group
Superficial interaction between members, with weak and not so intimate and relationships that tend to not last long
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
Gemeinschaft - groups united by shared values ancestry and geographic location
Gesellschaft - groups united by nations corporations formed for sake of mutual self interest
SYMLOG
System for multiple level observation of groups
Centers around 3 fundamental dimensions of interaction:
Instrumentally controlled vs emotionally expressive
Dominance vs submission
Friendliness vs unfriendliness
Group conformity
Power a group holds over its individual members
Network
Observable, chartable pattern of relationships between individuals and groups
Social network
Complicated, intricate web of social connections between people, with both direct and indirect links to different people and groups
Organization
Entity that comes together with a specific culture and structure set on achieving specific goals
Coercive organization
Organization where members don’t have a choice of joining
Ex: prison
Normative organization
Members join based on a shared normal goal
Ex: Red Cross
Utilitarian organization
Members paid for efforts
Ex: businesses and corporations
Bureaucracy
Rational system of administration, control and discipline
Has 6 defining characteristics
6 characteristics of bureaucracy
Formal hierarchical structure
Managed via set of defined, specific rules and regulations
Organized by functional specialty
Organized with united mission that is up-focused or in-focused
Purposefully impersonal
Employment based on technical qualifications
Parkinson’s law
That bureaucracies grow management and professional staff at a steady, predictable rate, regardless of what organization is doing
Iron law of oligarchy
Majority of bureaucratic and democratic organizations eventually shift to being ruled by oligarchs
Basic model of emotional expressions
Various forms of expression are consistent with evolutionary theory and are similar across different cultures
Social construction model
No biological basis for emotions and they are based entirely on experiences and social context
Display rules
Cultural expectations about how emotions should be expressed
Cultural syndrome
Attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, norms, values around some central theme and shared among members of same culture
Empathy
Ability to personally identify with another persons emotions
Self presentation
Displaying oneself to others and society through means of culturally acceptable behaviors
Impression management
Process through which we attempt to shape and influence how other people perceive us
Authentic self
Who we really are
Ideal self
Who we’d like to be
Tactical self
Who we pretend to be in order to meet the expectations other people have of us
Dramaturgical perspective
People imagine themselves playing certain roles while interacting in society
Identity depends on situations we are in and the people we are with
Front stage
Actor in front of audience, performance and dresses in accordance with audience, the stage, the script
Back stage
Actor not performing, can be herself, not having to worry about anything other than comfort and personal taste
Verbal communication
Communication that relies on the use of words - either written, spoken, signed
Nonverbal communication
Transfer of information without words - use eye contact, facial expression, gestures, tone of voice, body language, space between 2 people
Interpersonal attraction
Having positive feelings about another member of the species on basic element of love, friendship, admiration, lust, and other kinds of close social relationships.
Proximity
Geographical nearness to someone else
Mere exposure effect
People prefer repeated exposure to the same stimuli instead of new stimuli
Similarity
Your similarity in attitudes, backgrounds, beliefs, interest, values, make you more attracted to a person
Appearance
Strong influence on attraction
Self disclosure
Ability one has in a relationship to disclose one’s closest fears, dreams, thoughts, and goals to one’s partner
Reciprocal liking
When someone likes another more because they know the person likes them back
Reciprocity in general is important for a healthy relationship
Aggression
Opposite of attraction. The behaviors or attitudes that are hostile, assertive and attacking
Used to asset social dominance or to cause bodily harm
What controls aggression?
Amygdala - associates incoming stimuli with correspondent punishment and rewards
Pre-frontal cortex- controls amygdala and can diminish impulsive behaviors
Also controlled by genetics, neural control and bio chemicals
Cognitive association model
We are more likely to respond to stimuli in an aggressive manner when we are experiencing negative emotions or physiological feelings
Frustration aggression principle
More likely to behave aggressively when we are blocked from reaching a goal
Attachment
Emotional connection between child and caregiver that is established from birth
Secure attachment
Child has constant caregiver and is able to explore and learn about world, knowing they have a secure base to return to
Ambivalent attachment
Child’s caregiver is inconsistent, doesn’t always respond to child’s needs. On-off effect - child distressed when separated from caregiver, more ambivalent upon their return
Avoidant attachment
Child’s caregiver provides little to no response to child’s need, provides no safe base.
Show no preference between caregiver and total stranger
Disorganized attachment
Child’s caregiver behaves erratically and is typified by disorganized pattern of behavior in response to caregivers absence and presence
Social support
Perception that you are cared for and supported by social network
Can be emotional, esteem-based, material, informational, network-based
Foraging behavior
Refers to animals search for and use of food resources
Mating behavior
Social behavior rooted in need for reproduction and continuing species.
3 types: monogamy, polygamy( polygyny for male with many females, polyandry for female with many males), promiscuity
Mate choice
Deliberate selection of mate based on attraction and selectiveness
Can provide direct and indirect benefits
Mate bias
The selectiveness of choosing a mate
Benefits that come from mate choice
Direct phenotypic benefits - traits outwardly observed and make mate more attractive indicating that potential mate will have more viable offspring
Indicator traits - signals for overall good quantify of mate
Genetic capability- how well genes of two mating animals work together to make viable offspring
Sensory bias - trait that develops in non-mating context and is adapted or explored by animal to attract mate
Fisherian selection - trait has no effect on survival but becomes more bold or pronounced and makes them attractive
Inclusive fitness
Number of offspring animal has and how well it supports those offspring and how well they support organisms in group
Altruistic behaviors
Can boost inclusive fitness - it is acts that help members of group thrive and survive.
Game theory
Used originally to study decision making in terms of economics but now used to study social behaviors as well
How an act fits into the larger notion of natural selection
Payoff is typically sexual fitness
Discrimination
Active form of prejudice - acting in a particular, irrational way toward a particular group of people
Can be institutional when they are a part of an institutions core objective and operations
