chapter 4 social interaction in everyday life. status social position a person holds at one time...

Chapter 4

Social Interaction in Everyday Life

Status

• Social position a person holds at one time– Dance partner– Boss– Friend– Harley club member– Sports participant– Business manager

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Type of Status

• Ascribed: Involuntary positions

• Achieved: Voluntary positions

• Master status: Has special importance for social identity, shaping a person’s life


Role

• Role set: Roles attached to a single status– Example: status of mother

• Disciplinarian• Sports authority• Dietitian• Dr. Mom• Pretty mom


Role Conflict and Role Strain

• Role conflict – Involves two or more statuses

• Example: A police officer who catches her own son using drugs at home–mother and police officer


Role Conflict and Role Strain

• Role strain– Involves a single status

• Example: Manager who tries to balance concern for workers with task requirements–office manager


Role Exit

• Role exit: Becoming an “ex”– Disengaging from social roles can be very

traumatic without proper preparation

• The process of becoming an “ex” – Doubts form about ability to continue with a

certain role



Status Set and Role SetsA status set includes all the statuses a person holds at a given time. The status set defines who we are in society. The many roles linked to each status define what we do.

Role Exit

– Examination of new roles leads to a turning point; one decides to pursue a new direction

– Learning new expectations associated with new role

– Past role might influence new self


The Social Construction of Reality

• The process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction

• “Street smarts”

• The Thomas theorem– Situations that are defined as real are real in

their consequences



Housework in Global PerspectiveSource: United Nations (2010).

The Social Construction of Reality

• Ethnomethodology– The study of the way people make sense of

their everyday surroundings– Explores the process of making sense of

social encounters


Reality Building: Class and Culture

• How we act or what we see in our surroundings depends on our interests

• Social background also affects what we see

• People build reality from the surrounding culture


Goffman’s Dramaturgical Analysis

• Presentation of self or impression management– Efforts to create specific impressions in the

minds of others


Goffman’s Dramaturgical Analysis

• Role performance includes– Stage setting– Use of props: costume, tone of voice, gesture– Example: Going to the doctor and playing the

expected patient role


Nonverbal Communication

• Words

• Voice

• Body language

• Facial expressions

• Demeanor

• Personal space


Gender and Performances

• Gender is a central element in personal performances

• Demeanor– The way we act and carry ourselves

• Use of space


Gender and Performances

– Power plays a key role

• Staring, smiling, touching– Eye contact encourages interaction– Smiling: Trying to please or submission?– Touching: Intimacy and caring


Idealization

• We construct performances to idealize our intentions

• Professionals typically idealize their motives for entering their chosen careers

• We all use idealization to some degree


Embarrassment and Tact

• Embarrassment: Discomfort following a spoiled performance

• Goffman: Embarrassment is "losing face"

• Tact is helping someone "save face”


Embarrassment and Tact

• An audience often overlooks flaws in a performance; actor avoids embarrassment

• Goffman: Behavior is often spontaneous, but it is more patterned than we think


Emotions: The Social Construction of Feeling

• The biological side of emotions– Some emotion response “wired” into humans

• The cultural side of emotions– Ekman: Culture defines what triggers emotion

• Emotions on the job– Hochschild: Typical company tries to regulate

not only employees’ behavior, but emotions


Gender and Language

• Power and Value– Female pronouns and ownership– Women often adopt the husband’s surname.– Feminine terms are more likely to change to

negative meanings than masculine terms


Humor

• Humor is unconventional– It’s a violation of cultural norms

• Humor is tied to a common culture and doesn’t translate easily– “Not getting it”- a person doesn’t understand a

joke’s conventional/unconventional realities


Humor

• Humor acts as a safety valve by expressing opinions on a sensitive topic.

• Humor and conflict– “Put down” with jokes about race, sex,

gender, and the disabled


chapter 4 social interaction in everyday life. status social position a person holds at one time...

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