Simmel's Interactionalism Paradigm

Formal Sociology

Distinguishes between form and content of interactions.

Cogito Ergo Sum

I think therefore I am, foundational in Simmel's analysis.

Dyads

Interactive form with two actors fostering intimacy and intense conflict.

Triads

Interactive form with three actors, reducing conflict intensity.

Parties

Interactive form with four or more persons, leading to fleeting interactions.

Material Culture

Tangible artifacts shared in a society like art and technology.

Non-Material Culture

Abstract human creations influencing behavior, like norms and values.

Pyramid of Nonmaterial Culture

Shared characteristics common to all cultures.

Whose ideas were behind Cultural Universals

Durkheim

What are shared expectations for behavior?

Norms

Sanction

Response to norm violation, a form of social control.

Cultural Change

Involves discovery, invention, and diffusion of cultural elements.

Ideal Culture

Beliefs and values people in a society aspire to.

Real Culture

Beliefs and values people in a society actually subscribe to.

What is Cultural Lag Time

period between when material culture occur faster than changes in non-material culture

Who had the idea of Cultural Capital Theory (Endogamy)?

Pierre Bourdieu

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's own culture.

What is xenophobia?

fear and hatred of foreigners

Cultural Relativism

Understanding other cultures without judgment.

Dominant culture

represents ideas and practices of those in positions of power

Culture War

intense disagreement about core values and moral positions

High Culture

Appeals to the upper class, includes art forms and sports.

Popular Culture

Appeals to the working class, includes entertainment forms.

High Class

mechanism used by the elite to exclude people from the middle/working class

Endogamy

Marrying within one's social group or culture.

Culture Shock

Unease in unfamiliar cultural settings.

Subcultures

Distinctive cultures within a larger culture.

Countercultures

Oppose mainstream culture's values and norms.

Multiculturalism

Coexistence of distinctive subcultures, may be egalitarian.

Structural Functionalism

Culture helps people meet societal needs. "toolkit for survival"

Conflict Theory

Culture controlled by socially powerful to influence subordinate classes.

Symbolic Interactionalism

Culture created and modified through shared meanings in interactions.

Epistemology

Study of knowledge and ways of knowing.

Georg Simmel

German contemporary & Primary contributor to symbolic interactionalism in sociology, associated with Max Weber.

Weltanschauung

Worldview shaping understanding of the world.

Normative Approach

Worldview informed by legend, religion, and common sense.

Empirical Approach

Worldview based on observation and evidence.

Normative approach

Informed by legend, superstition, common sense, tradition

Descriptive Research

Illuminates hidden social data, useful for initial discoveries

Explanatory Research

Quantitative, explains cause-and-effect relationships

Correlation

Variables* occurring together more than by chance
* a concept with measurable traits

Perfect Correlation

One-unit increase on one dimension equals another
"Perfect = "1.0" ... No corr. = "0.0"

Ordering

Independent variable precedes dependent value

Spurious Relationships

False causation due to correlated variables
("A" apparently causes "C." In fact "A" is correlated with "B" that causes "C.").

Explanatory research is...

deductive

Qualitative Research

Uses words to interpret social reality

Qualitative research employs __________ which allows us to discover the "world-view" of those groups of interest to the researcher

Open minded-inquiry

Ethnography

Long-term field research, temporary membership role

Hawthorne Effect

Altered behavior when under observation

Socialization

Development of self-concept through interaction

Self-Concept

Beliefs and feelings about oneself

All of us are a combination of...

heredity and environment

George Hebert said...

self is a social product

Role Taking

Assuming another's perspective to understand

significant other

those whom you most wish to impress

imagination

sophisticated roleplay when a child starts to develop verbal skills

Sigmund Freud

"Father of psychology"

Psyche

Includes ego, primary driving force eros

Super Ego

Internalized cultural inhibitions. equivalent to conciseness

Social Structures

stable patterns imposing order on chaos

What does socially marginalized mean?

being expected to fulfill full range of responsibilities but not being afforded the full extent

Status

Socially defined position with responsibilities

Status Set

All statuses one occupies at a time

Ascribed Status

Conferred at birth

Achieved Status

Attained through effort

Phenomena

Subjectively assigned meaning in a social context

Sign equipment/sign vehicles

any and everything that we use to give information about ourselves to others.

Dramaturgical Analysis

Applying theatre concepts to daily life analysis

Impression Management

Engaged in when in the presence of others

Sign Equipment

Information tools about oneself to others

Face

Maintaining credibility and legitimacy

Studied Nonobservance

Intentionally ignoring or directing attention away

Team Performances

Involving informers and shills in a performance

Ethnomethodology

Technique to discover meaning assignment processes

Expressions given

that which the actor claims to be the truth about themselves

Expressions given-off

ALL other information that can be gleaned from the actor.

Losing Face

falling out of character; having the legitimacy or "credibility" of the character fall into doubt

Civil inattention

intentionally ignoring people and giving them their peace

Tactfulness

directing attention away from a performer's flaw

What's an informer

something that is directly told to the audience directly from the performer

shill

covertly assisting the performance by giving it apparent validity

Breaching Experiments

Violating norms to observe reactions

Deviance

Violation of norms, a cultural universal