Social Interaction Flashcards
Social Structure
Social patterns that guide our behaviour in everyday life; the building blocks are status and role.
Social Interaction
The process by which people act and react in relation to others
Status
Social position that is part of social identity and that defines our relationships to others
Ascribed Status
Involuntary (ex. teenager, orphan, Mexican American)
Achieved Status
Earned (ex. honours student, pilot, thief)
Master Status
Either ascribed or achieved; special importance for a person’s identity (ex. blind, doctor, Trudeau)
Status Set
All the statuses a person holds at a given time
Role
The behaviour expected of someone who holds a particular status
Role Conflict
Results from tension among roles linked to two or more statuses (ex. responsibilities of being a mother and CEO)
Role Strain
Results from tension among roles linked to a single status (ex. professor enjoys interaction with students but has to be professional)
Role Set
Number of roles attached to a single status
Thomas theorem
The reality people construct in their interaction has real consequences for the future (ex. teacher believes student is gifted may encourage exceptional performance)
Ethnomethodology
Strategy to reveal the assumptions people have about their social world; expose assumptions by intentionally breaking rules of social interaction and observing reactions
Dramaturgical Analysis
Explores social interaction in terms of a theatrical performance: a status operates as a part in a play, and a role is the script.
Performances
Way we present ourselves to others; both conscious and unconscious; include costume, props and demeanour.
Gender
Men typically have more social power than women; involves demeanour (men have more freedom), use of space (men command more space), smiling (more commonly done by woman to please another), and staring/touching (generally done by men to women).
Idealization
We try to convince others that our actions reflect ideal culture rather than selfish motives
Embarrassment
“Loss of face”
Tact
Used to “save face”
Personal Space
Surrounding area over which a person makes some claim to privacy
Emotions
Social construction of feeling; basic emotions programmed into all humans, but culture guides emotion triggers, how they’re displayed, and how people value emotions.
Language
Social construction of gender; defines women and men as different types of people, reflecting the fact that society attaches greater power/value to what is viewed as masculine
Reality Play
Social construction of humour; results from difference between conventional and unconventional definitions of a situation; people find different situations funny.
