Social Interaction Flashcards
Statuses
Positions in society used to classify individuals
- exist in relation to other statuses
- 3 key types
Ascribed status
One that is given involuntarily
-like race, ethnicity, gender, or family background
Achieved status
One that is gained by effort and/or by choices
Master status
Status by which a person is most often identified
- often how people view themselves
- has symbolic value
Role
Set of beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms that define the expectations for someone holding a certain status
Role performance
Carrying out the behaviours associated with a given role
- can change based on the situation or context
- some people are better at it than others
Role partner
Person with which someone is interacting (while in their role)
Role set
Various roles associated with a status
Role conflict
Difficulty of satisfying the requirements of multiple roles
Role strain
Difficulty in satisfying multiple requirements of the same role
Role exit
Dropping one role/identity for another
Group
Two or more people who share similar characteristics and a sense of unity
Share things like:
-values, ethnicity, social background, family ties, politics
Can provide protection, safety, and support
-as well as a place to belong/be accepted
Peer group
Association of self selected equals of similar ages, interests, and statuses
-opportunity for friendship
Family group
Not self selected: determined by birth, adoption and marriage
-joins people of multiples generations via emotional ties
In groups
Groups to which an individual belongs
Out groups
Groups with which an individual competes or is in opposition
Reference groups
groups that establish terms by which individuals evaluate themselves
-eg: comparing yourself to other med school applicants
Primary group
Interactions are direct
Close bonds provide warm and personal relationships
Often last long periods of time
-close friends or tight knit family
Secondary group
Interactions are superficial with few emotional bonds
Last a short period of time
-people working on a project together
Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft theory
Translates to community and society
Community: groups united by feelings of togetherness
- shared beliefs, ancestry, or geography
- families and neighbourhoods
Society: groups that are formed because of mutual self-interests & working towards the same goal
-companies and countries
Dyads
2 membered group
-smallest group size
Interaction process analysis
Technique for observing, classifying and measuring the interactions within small groups
-revised later to SYMLOG
SYMLOG
System for multiple level organization of groups
Based on the belief that there are 3 dimensions to interactions
- Dominance vs. Submission
- Friendliness vs. Unfriendliness
- Instrumentally controlled vs. Emotionally expressive
Group conformity
Individuals are compliant with the groups goals even if they oppose their own personal goals in an attempt to be accepted
Groupthink
Occurs when members of a group begin to focus solely on the ideas generated within the group and ignore outside ideas
Network
Observable pattern of social interactions and relationships among individuals in a group
Can be used to study the actions of individuals and groups as well as the broader social structure
Organizations
Entities that are set up within cultures to achieve specific goals
-have structure and culture
Formal organizations
Different from groups in many ways
- continue even if an individual leaves
- have expressed goals
- have enforcement procedures to control member activity
- have formal roles or duties
Characteristic institution
Basic organization of society
-modern is bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
Rational system of political organization, administrations, discipline or control
-tend to be slow to change and less efficient than other kinds of organizations
Iron law of oligarchy
the democratic or bureaucratic system naturally shifts to being governed by an elite group
McDonaldization
Common term to refer to the shift in focus towards efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control in societies
Self-presentation
Process of displaying oneself through culturally accepted behaviours
Also called impression management
Basic model of emotional expression
Established by Darwin
Says that emotional expression depends on
- facial expression
- behaviours
- posture
- vocal changes
- physiological changes
Based on evolution he thought that it should be consistent across cultures
Social construction model
Assumes that there is no biological basis for emotions
- they are based on experiences and the situational context
- certain emotions can only be present within social contexts
- emotions are different across cultures
Display rules
Cultural expectations of emotions
Cultural syndrome
shared set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, values and behaviours among members of the same culture
- organized around central theme
- influences rules for expression or suppressing emotions
Impression management
attempts to influence how others perceive us
-regulation of information in social situations
Authentic self
Describes who the person actually is
-both positive and negative attributes
Ideal self
who we would like to be under optimal circumstances
Tactical self
Who we market ourselves to be
-adhere to other’s expectations
Dramaturgical approach
Metaphor of theatrical performance to describe how individuals create images of themselves in various situations
Front stage self
the actor (individual) is in front of the audience and performs a certain way according to the setting, role, and script
Back stage self
where the individual is not being observed by an audience
-can act in ways not necessarily congruent with his desired public image
Animal communication
Defined as any behaviour of one animal that affects the behaviour of another
