Sociology Midterm

Social Structure

The organized relationships among the parts of a social system

Social Interaction

The basis of culture and any form of social organization

-The foundation of social structure

Personal Space/Proxemic Bubble

The degree of physical closeness we will tolerate from others depend on culture, social roles (e.g., gender, authority), the nature of the interaction, and the people involved

Goffman’s “Front Stage”

The actual role performance

Goffman’s “Backstage”

Where we plan and rehearse our roles beforehand and critique our role performance when it’s over

Goffman’s “Impression Management”

An attempt to control the impressions we make on others

Garfinkel’s Ethnomethodology

An approach to studying human interaction that focuses on the ways in which we make sense of our world, convey this understanding to others, and produce a mutually shared social order. 

Garfinkel’s Breaching Experiments

Involved having collaborators exhibit “abnormal” or “atypical” behaviors in social interactions in order to see how people would react.

Status

A socially identifiable position

-Ex: Son, lawyer, student

Role

Social expectations regarding the behaviors and attitudes that are appropriate to that status

Ascribed status

One we are born with that is unlikely to change

-Involuntary status

-Ex: Race or sex

Achieved Status

Earned through individual effort or that is imposed by other

-Something you aquire

Master Status

A position that seems to supersede all others and affects all other statuses

Role Strain

Incompatibility or inconsistencies in the expectations associated with a single status

Role Conflict

Incompatibility or conflict between different roles; adhering to the expectations of one may lead a person to violate the expectations of another.

Social Groups

Form the building blocks for society and for most social interaction

Social Aggregate

People form groups when they are united by social relations

Social Group Characteristics

Regular interaction, shared values, norms, and goals, and consciousness of kind—or “group identity.”