Sociology Assignment
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Intro_Module5.pptxSocial Interaction and Groups
Introduction to Sociology: Module 5
Social networks - micro-level contacts and exchanges between individuals and other individuals, small groups, and large (even global) organizations
Networking - using our social networks to get information, favors, or resources
The Social Network
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Network links
casual and personal
based on official positions and channels
Close Networks
Personal ties
Shared personal interest
Micro Network
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How are we linked:
The internet
Local civic, sports, and religious organizations
Community or national institutions
Our nation
Global entities
Networks can open opportunities
But obligations can limit freedom
Meso- and macro-level interactions more formal
Meso and Macro Networks
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Social interaction is two or more individuals purposefully relating to each other
All interaction has three important components:
An action
A common goal
A social context
The action, goal, and context helps us interpret the social meaning
Social Interaction
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How has technology changed social interaction? The good? The bad?
For Discussion
People interact using verbal and non-verbal communication
Non-verbal communication are interactions using facial expressions, the head, eye contact, body posture, gestures, touch, walk, status symbols and personal space
Non-verbal communication is:
Culturally specific
Learned through socialization
Used in all cultures
Non-Verbal Communication
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Personal space is an aspect of non-verbal language
The amount of personal space needed varies by:
Cultural setting
Gender
Status
Social context
Personal space communicates social positions
Higher positions and status have greater control of physical space
Gender differences
Personal Space
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Intimate distance
Private and affectionate relationships
0 – 18 inches
Personal distance
Friends and family
18 inches – 4 feet
Social distance
Acquaintances and impersonal business relations
4 – 12 feet
Public distance
Used in formal settings
Especially with high-status speakers
12 feet and beyond
Social Distance Categories (Hall)
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Rational Choice Theory (or Exchange Theory)
Assumes that relationships are formed (and persist) based on the rewards and costs of the interaction to the individual
When benefits of the interaction are high and costs are low, interaction will be valued and sustained
If the benefits of interaction are low and if the costs are high, the interaction will not be valued and sustained
For exchange theorists, every interaction involves:
Calculations of self-interest
Expectation of reciprocity (give and take)
Actions that have current or eventual pay-off for actors
Rational Choice
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Harold Garfinkel
Ethnomethodology – the use of empirical methods to study how people develop shared meanings and consider how common rules originate
Break norms to discover rules of interaction
Interested in people’s responses to norm violations
Do not take interaction norms for granted
Ethnomethodology
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Symbolic interaction theory
Dramaturgy – the study of social life from the framework that life is similar to a play or drama on stage, with scripts, props, and scenes to be played (Erving Goffman)
Dramaturgical analysts believe interaction occurs on two stages
Front stage behavior
Backstage behavior
Working to create a definition of self through social interaction
Symbolic Interactionism
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Assumptions of Dramaturgical analysts:
We create an impression for our audience through the play
Individuals learn new lines to add to their scripts through socialization
Individuals perform scripts for social audiences in order to maintain certain images, much like the actors in a play
Individuals use props as visible symbols to create or reinforce our roles
Individuals perform according to society’s script for the situation
Individuals work to create a positive, advantageous impression through impression management
Individuals use tact, humor, and other strategies to try to create positive impressions
Dramaturgical analysts believe interaction occurs on two stages
Dramaturgy
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Dramaturgy is the study of social life as theater.
Terms have parallels in theater.
Roles - image being projected (or attempted)
Audience - people who observe our behavior
Script – communication with others
Costume – clothes that help performance
Props - objects used to present image
Dramaturgy Terms
Front stage - where appropriate appearance is maintained. Ex: Teacher’s classroom
Back stage- where preparation for performance is made and where impression management can be relaxed, limited to a select few. Ex: Teacher’s lounge
Performance team- Set of individuals who cooperate in staging a performance that leads an audience to form an impression of one or all team members
Dramaturgy Terms 2
Mystification- keeping front and back stages separate
Dramatic Realization – disclosing information not easily known, things you cannot tell by looking at a person
Idealization – portraying one’s self in a favorable light
Dramaturgy Terms 3
Social Statuses are positions that individuals hold in the social world
Define interaction with others
A status set is the combination of statuses held by an individual
Ascribed statuses are statuses that are assigned at birth and do not change during an individual’s lifetime
Achieved statuses are statuses that are chosen or earned by decisions one makes or by personal ability
Master statuses are statuses that are most important and take precedence over others
Social Statuses
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Roles are the expected behaviors, rights and obligations associated with a status
Statuses (positions)
Roles (behavioral obligations of the status)
Statuses and roles form the link with other people in the social world
Individuals hold formal and informal statuses
Roles
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Role strain is tension between roles within one status
Usually in a status with lots of roles
Role conflict is conflict between the roles of two or more statuses
The individual feels pulled in different directions
Role Strain and Role Conflict
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Groups are two or more people who interact with each other because of shared common interests, goals, experiences, and needs
Create a sense of belonging among members
Share a common goal
Members are in contact with one another
Defined membership norms
Rules for members’ behaviors
Groups form through a series of steps:
Initial interaction between potential members
A collective goal emerges
Attempt to expand collective goals by building membership and pursuing new goals
Groups
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Groups establish our place in the social world
Anomie - a state of normlessness
Suicide (Durkheim)
Egoistic suicide – social isolation
Anomic suicide – loss of identity or too much freedom (celebrities)
Altruistic suicide – give life up for the group
Fatalistic suicide – facing continuous group oppression, extreme regulation
Suicide: The Group Connection
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Types of Groups (Cooley)
Primary groups are groups with close contacts between members with whom members have lasting personal relationships
Characteristics of primary groups:
Strong sense of belonging
Strong group loyalty
Strong influence on behavior
Main purpose is belonging
Primary groups have intrinsic value
Secondary groups are groups with formal, impersonal, businesslike relationships between members
Characteristics of secondary groups:
Large membership base
Task-oriented
Relationships based on accomplishing
A clear division of labor
Specialized communication
Membership can be short-term or long lasting
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Reference groups are groups composed of members who act as role models to one another and establish standards against which members measure their conduct
Peer groups are people who share similar age or social status; they can also serve as reference groups
In-groups are groups to which individuals feel a sense of loyalty and belonging
Out-groups are groups to which individuals do not belong, but that exists in competition or opposition to an in-group
More Types of Groups
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Organizational structure depends on society type
Modern organizations and bureaucracies began with industrialization
Rationality or the attempt to reach maximum efficiency, is the governing principle of most modern organizations
Formal organizations are complex secondary groups formed to pursue and achieve certain goals
Bureaucracies are specific types of very large formal organizations with the primary goal of maximizing efficiency
Organizational societies are societies where a majority of the members work in organizations
Modern Organizations
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Individuals require organizations for human interaction and to meet their needs
Organizations need humans in order to hold positions and carry out tasks, or fill roles
Some organizations provide us with work necessary for survival
Some analysts propose that new types of affiliations and interactions, including the Internet, are replacing some older affiliations
Characteristics of Organizations
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Max Weber examined the transition from traditional society to bureaucratic, capitalistic society
Weber found 6 characteristics of ideal type bureaucracies
Division of labor based on technical competence
Administrative hierarchy
Formal rules and regulations
Impersonal relationships
Emphasis on rationality and efficiency
Provision of life-long careers
Bureaucracies also have an informal structure
Weber’s Bureaucracy
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Professionals
May face conflicting loyalties to their profession and to the bureaucratic organization
Minority groups
Glass ceilings - the barriers which keep females and other minority group members from reaching high levels of management in organizations
Disproportional representation
Individuals in Bureaucracies
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Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy
Alienation (Marx)–disconnection from work
Worker dissatisfaction
Oligarchy
The iron law of oligarchy –the rule of the many by the few
Alternatives to Bureaucracy
Alternative organization structure
Democratic-collective organization
Problems in Bureaucracies
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Multinational corporations contribute to the transfer of ideas and money around the world
National systems and international organizations are governed through rational bureaucratic systems
The Internet and communications-related technologies contribute to the rise of national and global networks
Bureaucracy and Globalization
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Around the world, women are the most economically, politically, and socially marginalized group of people
The United Nations has created may policies to help raise the status of women worldwide
Education initiatives
Micro-lending agencies
Global Issues: Women’s Rights
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