Psych Chapter 9: Social Interaction

ascribed status

status give involuntarily (at birth) due to race, ethniicity, sex, and family background

master status

the status by which a person is most identified, generally how people view themselves and holds symbolic value

in-group

social group with a person experiencing a sense of belonging or identifying as a member

out-group

a social group where an individual does not identify

reference group

groups that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves

primary group

interactions between members of the group are direct, with close bonds providing warm, personal, and intimate relationships to members; often last a long time and may include a core circle of friends, a tightly knit family, or members of a team

secondary group

interactions are impersonal, businesslike, with few emotional bonds and with the goal of accomplishing a specific purpose, last a short amount of time and dissolve without any significance to those involved

Gemeinschaft

community; groups unified by feelings of togetherness due to shared beliefs, ancestry, or geography

Gesellschaft

society; refers to less personal groups formed out of mutual self-interests working together toward the same goal

SYMLOG (system for multiple level observation of groups)

based on belief that there are three fundamental dimensions of interaction:

dominance vs submission

friendliness vs unfriendliness

instrumentally controlled vs emotionally expressive

group conformity

individuals are compliant with the group’s goals even when they may be in direct contrast to the individual’s goal

network redundancy

overlapping connections with the same individual

bureaucracy

rational system of political organization, administration, discipline, and control with six characteristics: paid, noneelected officials on a fixed salary, provided rights and privileges as a result of making careers out of holding office, regular salary increases, seniority rights, and promotions upon passing exams/milestones

iron law of oligarchy

states that democratic or bureaucratic systems naturally shift to being ruled by an elite group

McDonaldization

refers to a shift in focus toward efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control in societal practices

basic model (of emotional expression)

established by Darwin stating that emotional expression involves a number of components; facial expressions, behaviors, postures, vocal changes, and physiological changes

expression is consistent with evolution and should be similar across cultures

social construction model

assumes that there is no biological basis for emotions and they are based on experiences and the situational context alone

certain emotions can only exist within social encounters

display rules

cultural expectations of emotions; govern which emotions can be expressed and to what degree

cultural syndrome

shared set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, values, and behaviors among members of the same culture that are organized around a central theme; they influence the rules for expressing or suppressing emotions and can influence the ways emotions are experienced

Impression management

our attempts to influence how others perceive us by regulating or controlling info we present about ourselves in social interactions

tactical self

who we market ourselves to be when we adhere to others’ expectations of us

dramaturgical approach

using the metaphor of theatrical performance to describe how individuals create images of themselves in various situations

generalized other

based on a person’s established perceptions of the expectations of society