Social Interaction and Everyday Life

Social Structure: A Guide to Everyday Living

Members of every society rely on social structure to make sense out of daily situations. Social structure: network of interrelated statuses and roles that guide interaction

The world can be disorienting and even frightening when

society's rules are unclear.

What is Status?

Status is one of the basic building blocks of social organization.

Status is the social position a person holds. Status is part of our social identity and defines our

relationships to others Status: a socially defined position or group in society

Status set

All the statuses a person holds at a given time

Example: Teenage girl is a daughter to her parents, a sister to her brother, a student at her school, and a goalie on her hockey team

(Think about some of your status sets)

Status sets change over the course of life

Example:

THEN... NOW…..

Student Athlete: Teacher Coach

How do people attain statuses?

Ascribed status Social position a person receives at birth or takes

involuntarily later in life. Little or no choice Daughter, an American, a teenager, a widower, an

orphan Achieved status

Social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort

Honor student, Olympic athlete, a wife/husband, a criminal

Do some statuses matter more than others?

Master status A status that has special importance

for social identity, often shaping a person's entire life

A Job Reveals a lot about social

background and education A name

A “Bush” or a “Kennedy” Can be both +/-

Negative: diseases (cancer, AIDS) or disabilities

What is Role?

Each status has attached to it more than one role.

Role is the behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status.

A person holds a status and performs a role. Student (status) Attend class, finishing assignments

(roles)

Role Expectations and Role Performance

• Reciprocal Roles: define patterns of interaction between related statues

• Athlete-coach; student-teacher; friend-friend; parent-child

• When people interact with one another their behavior corresponds to a the particular roles they are playing.

• Role expectations: socially determined behaviors expected of a person performing a role

• Doctors are expected to treat patients with skill and care; parents are expected to provide emotional and physical security for their children

• Role performance: actual role behavior – does not always match the behavior expected by society

• Some doctors do not give their patients the best possible care; some parents mistreat their children

How do different roles cause conflict and strain?

People in the U.S. Juggle many responsibilities demanded by their various statuses and roles.

Role conflict Conflict among the roles

corresponding to two or more statuses

Working mothers: parenting vs, job

Role strain

Tension among the roles connected to a single status

Manager: being friendly with workers and meeting deadlines

Can you ever leave a role behind? Role exit

The process by which people disengage from important social roles

“exes” ex-nuns, ex-doctors, ex-husbands, and ex-alcoholics

Process of stages People begin to doubt their ability to continue in a certain role

Imagine new roles

Decide to pursue a new life

Past roles can continue to influence their lives Must rebuild relationships with people who knew them in

their earlier life

If someone was vandalizing and breaking into a car….what would you do? Would it matter what they looked like?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqMNhzcpTc&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

What is your reaction to this film? Does race really affect how people act in your opinion?

Types of Social Interaction

• When you play a role, most of the time you have to interact with others.

• This interaction can take many forms.

• Some kinds of interaction help stabilize the social structure.

• Others promote change.

What is Social Interaction?

5 types of social interaction take place in societies throughout the world

Exchange Competition Conflict Cooperation Accomodation

Exchange

A voluntary action performed in the expectation of getting a reward in return

Doing something in exchange for something else Reciprocity – idea that if you do something for

someone, that person owes you something in return – is the basis of exchange

Exchange theory – believe that people are motivated by self-interest in their interactions with other people

People do things primarily for rewards Behavior that is rewarded tends to be repeated

Competition

• Competition: when 2 or more people or groups oppose each other to achieve a goal that only one can attain

• Cornerstone of capitalist economic system

• As long as competition follows accepted rules of conduct, most sociologists view it as a positive means of motivating people to perform the roles society asks of them

• But competition can also lead to psychological stress, a lack of cooperation in social relationships, inequality, and even conflict

Conflict

Main emphasis in competition is on achieving the goal – with conflict the emphasis is on defeating the opponent

Conflict: deliberate attempt to control a person by force, to oppose someone, or to harm another person

4 sources of conflict: wars, disagreements within groups, legal disputes and clashes

Tend to think of conflict as negative but conflict serves some useful purposes

Cooperation

Interaction in which individuals or groups combine their efforts to reach a goal

Agreements

Accommodation

State of balance between cooperation and conflict Compromise Truce Mediation Arbitration

All help ensure social stability

Is social conflict necessarily a bad thing? Explain your position and give examples.

IT CAN BE BUT…

Not necessarily….conflict can be purposeful and bring about positive change

Examples: American Revolution, Civil Rights, Group Loyalty (9/11 Pearl Harbor)

Conformity

Behavior that matches group expectations Adapt to fit the behavior of those around us

How can we become more aware of the social reality in which we play a part?

Ethnomethodology The study of the way people make sense of their

everyday surroundings. Everyday behavior is based on assumptions

“How are you?” Interested in how the person is mentally, spiritually,

or financially The person assumes you are just being polite

Purposely break the rules From broken rules we learn what the rules are and

how important our everyday reality is.

What are performances?/ How do we interact??

As we present ourselves in everyday situations, we reveal information to others

Consciously and unconsciously The way we dress (costume) What we carry (props) Tone of our voice and gestures (manners) We craft our performance according to the setting

Loud in a restaurant Quiet in a church

Are we actually listening???Human Communication

55%-Non Verbal

38%-Vocal Tone

7%- Words

How do we use nonverbal communication in our performances?

Communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions rather than speech

Facial expressions are the most significant Smiling

Eye contact is another crucial element Make eye contact as an invitation to socially interact

Hand gestures

As insults, a request for a ride

How is body language used to deceive others?

Unintended body language can contradict our planned meaning

A teen explains why they are getting home late but his mother doubts him because he will not look at her in the eye

Nonverbal communication is hard to control therefore it can be used to help detect deception

There is no way to rid the world of dishonesty Researcher have discovered ways to detect lying

for nonverbal clues

Spotting Lies: What are the Clues? Clues to deception can be found in 4 elements of

performance Body Language

Jitters

Shallow or rapid breathing

Facial Expressions

Fake smiles= less laugh lines

Words Good liars go over their

lines

A slip of the tongue might suggest the person is hiding something

Voice Tone and pattern

Trembling, and speed

Fast= anger

Slow= sadness

Women are more sensitive to nonverbal communication than men

Men and Women differ in 3 ways Demeanor Use of space Staring, smiling, touching

Gender and Performance

Demeanor

The way we act and carry ourselves A clue to social power

Powerful people enjoy more freedom in how they act Cursing, being relaxed at work is ok for the boss

Women generally have lesser power--> demeanor of women is more reserved

Use of Space The more power you have the more space you use

Men use more Women less

Personal space

The surrounding area over which a person makes some claim to privacy

US has the greatest amount of personal space Invasion of personal space can make people feel

uncomfortable or suggest sexual interest

Staring, smiling, and touching

Eye contact encourages interaction. Women hold eye contact more than men Men stare as a sign of interest

Smiling is a symbol of appeasement or submission Women smile more than men

Mutual touching conveys intimacy and caring Shows dominance