4 People in Interaction

social interaction

moments we spend with other people

social sanctions

reactions by others aimed at promoting conformity

also to discourage rule breaking by punishing it

can be brutal and painful, but not always

accounts

excuses that explain away our rule breaking

Herbert Blumer’s theory of symbolic interaction

the idea that social interaction depends on the social construction of reality

Erving Goffman’s dramatury

the practice at social life as series of performances

Harold Garfinkel’s ethnomethodology

a type of research aimed at revealing the underlying shared logic that is the foundation for social interaction

interpersonal discrimination

prejudicial behavior displayed by individuals

field experiment

an experimental method that involves a test of a hypothesis outside the laboratory

how does doing nothing relate to social norms

social norms expect us to do something in a certain way, if we were to do nothing, it would break some norms that expects us to do something since it is outside of the norm

what type of interaction allows for social norms to be possible

social interactions allow us to interact with one another, making it essential to upholding social norms (basically going hand in hand)
without social interaction (at all), there is no social norm and vice versa
even when doing “nothing” it is still a social interaction

why is it important for people to be normal

if most people aren’t, then there would be chaos

social rules

culturally specific norms, policies, and laws that guide our behavior

folkways

loosely enforced norms

taboos

extreme, proscriptive norms

policies

rules made and enforced by organizations

laws

rules made and enforced by cities, states, or federal governments

more (more-ray)

more tightly enforced norms that carry moral significance

name the different type of social rules

folkways, taboos, policies, mores, and laws

how can you fend off negative sanctions

through an account

account

excuse that explains our rule breaking but also affirms that the rule is good and right
it exists in two parts:

1. An acknowledgement that the rule is valid

2. an explanation for why we broke it that resonates with the observer

would go something like “i wouldn’t have…but….”

symbolic interactionism

the theory that social interaction depends on the social construction of reality

three key ideas of symbolic interactionism

1. we don’t generally respond to reality itself but to the meaning we give it

   1. like a hug, where it could mean hello, goodbye, congratulations, comfort, or seduction, and so on

2. the meaning of reality doesn’t exist prior to human understanding but is produced through social interaction, so it is learnt through other people

3. symbolic interactionism posits that meaning is negotiated in interaction, meaning that the interaction will have its meaning depending on how you do it/lead up to it/the cues you give

give an example of violating social interactionism

parents when they give children bad gifts on christmans, making them question their perception of christmas, which was learnt through interactions, which was supposed to be a special gift giving day symbolizing the love between parent and child

explain the fragility of social interaction

when the majority plays their roles and follows the rules, it will be easier to sway those who don’t to join them

similar to the example of the robber and the party

marked identity

something of a group that especially stands out. really as long as a man or a person is something more or different than itself will be considered marked. marked identities may vary examples below

like how stick figures would represent man or person but not woman. woman are especially thought of as woman rather than person or anything else

we can use lion to mean all members of the species but lioness to only mean female members

same with actor

same with NBA and WNBA, there is not MaleNBA

or gay or disabled