9. Social Interaction (7%)

Statuses

Elements of Social Interaction

Perceived positions in society that are used to classify individuals.

Ascribed Status

Elements of Social Interaction - Ascribed vs. Achieved Status

A status that is given involuntarily

EX: race, ethnicity, gender, family background

Achieved Status

Elements of Social Interaction - Ascribed vs. Achieved Status

A status that is gained as a result of one's efforts and choices

EX: being a doctor

Master Status

Elements of Social Interaction - Status

A single social position or label that dominates an individual's identity, overriding other roles and influencing how they are seen by others and themselves

The status by which a person is most identified

Typically the most important status the individual holds and affects all aspects of that person’s life

Can also cause pigeonholing

Role

Elements of Social Interaction

A set of beliefs, value, attitudes, and norms that define expectations for those who hold the status.

A set of expected behaviors, norms, and obligations associated with a specific social position (like parent, student, or employee), defining how an individual should act in different contexts

Role Performance

Elements of Social Interaction - Role

The carrying out of behaviors associated with a given role

Can change depending on the social situation and context of the interaction

Role Partner

Elements of Social Interaction - Role

The person with whom one is interacting.

Role Set

Elements of Social Interaction - Role

The various roles associated with a status.

Role Conflict

Elements of Social Interaction - Role Conflict vs. Role Strain

Difficulty in satisfying the expectations of multiple roles.

A state of stress from holding multiple social roles that have incompatible demands, forcing you to choose between differing expectations

EX: being both a father and a physician, being both a boss and a friend

Role Strain

Elements of Social Interaction - Role Conflict vs. Role Strain

Difficulty in satisfying multiple expectations of the same role.

The stress an individual experiences when they cannot meet the competing and incompatible demands of a single social role.

EX: a parent might feel torn between the role of a provider who must work long hours and the role of a caregiver who should spend more time at home.

Role Exit

Elements of Social Interaction - Role

The dropping of one identity for another.

The process of disengaging from a significant social role (like a career, marriage, or religious identity) and creating a new self-identity in a different role

EX: quitting being a doctor in favor of becoming an expert witness in the courtroom for malpractice cases.

Social Group

Elements of Social Interaction - Groups

Consists of two or more people who share similar characteristics and a sense of unity.

Peer Group

Elements of Social Interaction - Peer Group vs. Family Group

A group of people of approximately the same age, status, and interests.

These groups provide an opportunity for friendship and feelings of belonging.

These groups are often self-selected or chosen.

Family Group

Elements of Social Interaction - Peer Group vs. Family Group

Group of not self-selected individuals, but rather determined by birth, adoption, or marriage.

In-Group

Elements of Social Interaction - In-Group vs. Out-Group

Group to which an individual belongs.

Out-Group

Elements of Social Interaction - In-Group vs. Out-Group

Group with which an individual competes or is in opposition of.

Reference Groups

Elements of Social Interaction - Groups

Any group (family, friends, celebrities, even aspirational figures) that individuals use as a standard for evaluating their own behaviors, attitudes, and values, influencing choices and self-perception, whether they belong to the group or not

Primary Groups

Elements of Social Interaction - Primary vs. Secondary Groups

Groups in which interactions are direct, with close bonds providing warm, personal, and intimate relationships to members.

EX: members of a sports team.

Secondary Groups

Elements of Social Interaction - Primary vs. Secondary Groups

Groups in which the interactions are superficial and businesslike, with few emotional bonds and the goal of accomplishing a specific purpose.

EX: a group of students working together on a group project.

Community

Elements of Social Interaction - Community vs. Society

Groups unified by feelings of togetherness due to shared beliefs, ancestry, or geography

According to the theory created by Ferdinand Tonnies

Society

Elements of Social Interaction - Community vs. Society

Groups that are formed because of mutual self-interests working together towards the same goal

According to the theory created by Ferdinand Tonnies

Interaction Process Analysis

Elements of Social Interaction

A technique for observing, classifying, and measuring the interactions within small groups.

A systematic method to observe and categorize small group discussions, breaking down verbal/nonverbal acts into 12 categories (task-focused or socioemotional) to understand group dynamics, leadership roles (task vs. social), and the balance between work and relationships, helping reveal patterns like how groups achieve goals.

It focuses on the function of an act (e.g., gives opinion, shows solidarity, disagrees) rather than content, aiming to understand the process of interaction

System for Multiple Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG)

Elements of Social Interaction

A psychological theory and observational tool by Robert Freed Bales

Used to analyze and improve group dynamics by mapping member behaviors and values across three core dimensions — Dominance/Submissiveness, Friendliness/Unfriendliness, and Acceptance/Nonacceptance of Authority — helping groups understand interactions and foster positive change.

Assesses behavior, content, and attitudes, providing graphical "field diagrams" to visualize group patterns, identify issues, and guide leadership and teamwork.

Group Conformity

Elements of Social Interaction

Adjusting thoughts or actions to match group standards, often due to perceived pressure.

Occurs when a group holds power over its members, creating group pressure that ultimately shapes members' behaviors.

Groupthink

Elements of Social Interaction

Related to group conformity

Occurs when members begin to focus solely on ideas generated within the group, while ignoring outside ideas.

Network

Elements of Social Interaction

Describes the overall pattern of social relationships among individuals or groups.

Organizations

Elements of Social Interaction

Complex secondary groups that are set up to achieve specific goals

Characterized by having a structure and culture

Formal Organizations

Elements of Social Interaction

Different from groups in multiple ways.

They continue despite the departure of a single member, have expressed goals, have enforcement procedures to control the activities of the members, and are characterized by hierarchical allotment of formal roles and duties to members.

Developed during the Industrial Revolution as a way to maximize efficiency.

Characteristic Institution

Elements of Social Interaction

What the basic organization of a society is found on

Nowadays it is usually bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy

Elements of Social Interaction

A rational system of political organization, administration, discipline, and control.

A formal, rule-bound organizational structure (like government agencies) with hierarchies, specialization, and standardized procedures, seen both positively (order, clear roles) and negatively (inflexibility, dehumanization, red tape)

Iron Law of Oligarchy

Elements of Social Interaction

Law stating that democratic and bureaucratic systems naturally shift to being ruled by an elite group.

McDonaldization

Elements of Social Interaction

Refers to a shift toward efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control in societies.

Self-Presentation

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

The process of displaying oneself to society through culturally accepted behaviors, often to make sure others see us in the best possible light

A form of impression management

Basic Model of Emotional Expression

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

First established by Charles Darwin

Stated that emotional expression involves facial expressions, behaviors, postures, vocal changes, and physiological changes.

Appraisal Model

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - Appraisal vs. Social Construction Model

Accepts that there are biologically predetermined expressions once an emotion is experienced, but that there is a cognitive antecedent to emotional expression.

Social Construction Model

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - Appraisal vs. Social Construction Model

Assumes that there is no biological basis for emotions and that they were based on experience and situational context alone

Suggests that certain emotions can only exist within social encounters and that emotions are expressed differently across cultures

Display Rules

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

Cultural expectations of emotions

Govern which emotions can be expressed and to what degree

The social and cultural norms that teach us how, when, and where it's appropriate to show (or hide) our emotions, governing facial expressions and body language to fit the situation, like smiling at a party versus masking disappointment at a bad gift

Cultural Syndrome

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

A shared set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, values, and behaviors among members of the same culture that are organized around a central theme

Influence the rules for expressing or suppressing emotions and can even influence the ways emotions are experiences

A recurring, localized pattern of troubling symptoms, behaviors, and beliefs that are specific to a particular cultural group, often considered a coherent illness locally but not fitting standard psychiatric diagnoses, reflecting unique cultural understandings of distress, like Japan's hikikomori (severe social withdrawal) or West African zar (spiritual possession experiences).

Impression Management

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

Our attempt to influence how others perceive us.

Authentic Self, Ideal Self, Tactical Self

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

The three selves that describe impression management.

Authentic Self

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - Authentic vs. Ideal vs. Tactical Self

The self of impression management that describes the person we actually are, including both positive and negative attributes

Ideal Self

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - Authentic vs. Ideal vs. Tactical Self

The self of impression management that describes the person that we would like to be under optimal circumstances

Tactical Self

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - Authentic vs. Ideal vs. Tactical Self

The self of impression management that refers to who we market ourselves to be when we adhere to others' expectations of us.

Dramaturgical Approach

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

Erving Goffman's metaphor of using a theatrical performance to describe how individuals create images of themselves in various situations

Relates a person’s attempts to manage the impressions of others to an actor’s performance in a play

Front Stage Self

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - Front Stage vs. Back Stage Self

The persona a person presents to an audience

A person will adapt it depending on the social situation

Part of Goffman's dramaturgical approach where the actor is in front of the audience, and performs according to the setting, role, and script in order to conform to the image that he wants the others to see.

Back Stage Self

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - Front Stage vs. Back Stage Self

The persona adopted when not in a social situation and there is no concern about upholding the performance of a desired public image

Part of Goffman's dramaturgical approach where the actor is not in front of anyone and they can act in whatever way they chose.

George Herbert Mead

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

This person described the self in two parts called the Me and the I

the Me

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others - the “Me” vs. the “I”

The part of the self that is developed through interaction with society

Its development comes from considering the generalized other, which is based on a person’s established perceptions of the expectations of society

Part of George Herbert Mead’s theory of the self

the I

Self-Preservation & Interacting with Others

The part of the self that is the individual’s own impulses

It is not totally independent of the OTHER self, as a person’s impulses are shaped by their interpretation of society’s expectations

Part of George Herbert Mead’s theory of the self