Social Interaction and Social Structure - Chapter 4

macrosociology

analysis of social life that focuses on broad features of society, such as social class and the relationships of groups to one another; usually used by functionalists and conflict theorist

microsociology

analysis of social life that focuses on social interaction; typically used by symbolic interactionists

social structure

the framework of society that surroudns us; consists of the ways that people and groups relate to one another; this framework gives direction to and sets limits on our behavior (guides our behavior)

examples of social structure:

professor vs student, parent vs child, coach vs player, manager vs employee

components of social structure:

culture, social class, social status, roles, groups, social intsitutions

culture

a group’s language, beliefs, values, behaviors, and even gestures

social class

a large group of people who rank close to one another in property, power, and prestige

status

the position that someone occupies in a social group (aka social status, may carry prestige)

statuses or positions that an individual occupies:

college student, mother, daughter, wife, employee, homeowner, registered voter

ascribed status

a position an individual either inherits at birth or receives involuntarily in life

achieved statuses

positions that are earned, accomplished, involve at least some effort or activity on the individual’s part

status symbols

indicators of status; items that display prestige

master status

a status that cuts across the other statuses that an individual occupies: gender, disabled, wealthy, student

status inconsistency

ranking high on some dimensions of social status and low on others; also called status discrepancy

roles

the behaviors, obligations, and privileges attached to a status

group

people who interact with one another who believe that what they have in common is significant; also called a social group (values, interests, norms)

social institutions

organized, usual, or standard ways by which society meets its basic needs

functionalist perspective

how does society meet its basic needs for survival?

conflict perspective

social institutions were designed originally to meet basic survival needs, but do not work harmoniously for the common good

symbolic interaction

interested in how people view things and how this affects their behavior and orientations to life

symbolic interactions:

stereotypes, personal space, eye contact, body language

dramaturgy

an approach, pioneered by Erving Goffman, social life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage; aka dramaturgical analysis

dramaturgies:

impression management, role performance, role conflict, role strain

ethnomethodology

the study of how people use background assumptions to make sense out of life or how people do things by Harold Garfinkel

breaking assumptions, ethnomethodology:

bargaining with a cashier, addressing your parents as Mr. or Mrs., not wearing pants on the metro

construction of reality

the use of background assumptions and life experiences to define what is real

subjective interpretation

our definition of reality