Understanding Social Interactions: Content Category 8C

Content Category 8C: Social Interactions Elements of Social Interaction (PSY, SOC) Status (SOC) • Types of status (e.g., achieved, ascribed) • Statuses and Roles o Status – broad term in sociology that refers to all the socially defined positions within a society ▪ president, parent, resident of Wisconsin, etc o master status – the one that dominates the others and determines that individual’s general position in society o Ascribed status – those assigned to a person by society regardless of the person’s own efforts ▪ race, gender o Achieved statuses – considered to be largely due to the person’s efforts (doctor) Role • Role conflict and role strain (SOC) • Role exit (SOC) • Roles o o o o Social roles – expectations for people of a given social status Role conflict – happens when there is a conflict in society’s expectations for multiple roles held by the same person (male nurse, or gay priest) Role strain – when a single status results in conflicting expectations ▪ Homosexual man may feel pressure to avoid being “too gay” and also “not gay enough” Role exit – process of disengaging form a role that as become closely tied to one’s self identity to take on another Groups • • • Primary and secondary groups (SOC) In-group vs. out-group Group size (e.g., dyads, triads) (SOC) Primary groups – play a more important role in an individual’s life; usually smaller and include those with whom the individual engages with in person, in long-term, emotional ways (family, friends, peer groups) • meet for expressive functions, meeting emotional needs Secondary Group – larger and more impersonal, may interact for specific reasons for shorter periods of time • meet for instrumental functions, meeting pragmatic needs in-group – a group that an individual belongs to and believes to be an integral part of who he is out-group – a group that an individual does not belong to • We tend to have favorable impressions of our in-groups and negative impressions Reference group – standard measure that people compare themselves to Group size • dyad – 2 people o more intimate and intense o can be equal or unequal • triad – three members, are apparently more stable than dyads?? o can be hierarchical or unequal Networks (SOC) • Networks and Organizations o Social network – a web of social relationships, including those in which a person is directly linked to others as well as those in which people are indirectly connected through others (Facebook) o Social network theory – posits that people’s networks are important and necessary for the spread of ideas and resources; there is much strength in weak ties because weak ties allow the sharing of new resources to a vast network ▪ It is more likely for participants to find jobs through an acquaintance (weak tie) compared to a close friend (strong tie) Organizations (SOC) o Organization – large, more impersonal groups that come together to pursue particular activities and meet goals efficiently ▪ businesses, governments, religious groups ▪ serve the purpose of increasing efficiency, predictability, control, and uniformity in society ▪ Utilitarian organizations – those in which members get paid for their efforts, like businesses ▪ Normative organizations – motivate membership based on morally relevant goals (mothers against drunk driving) ▪ Coercive organizations are those for which members do not have a choice in joining (prisons) • Formal organization - secondary groups that serve a specific need or goal. Ex: Governments, corporations, universities, • Bureaucracy hospitals Bureaucracy – term used to describe an administrative body and the processes by which this body accomplishes work tasks • arise from an advanced division of labor in which each worker does his or her small task o Characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy • Max Weber considered bureaucracy to be a necessary aspect of modern society o Ideal bureaucracy: ▪ Covers a fixed area of activity ▪ hierarchically organized ▪ workers have expert training in area of specialty ▪ organizational rank is impersonal, advancement depends on technical qualification ▪ Workers follow set procedures to increase predictability and efficiency • Rationalization – describes process by which tasks are broken down into component parts to be efficiently accomplished by workers within the organization o Ford’s assembly line o McDonaldization – rationalization of fast food production ▪ Four components • efficiency • calculability (assessing performance through quantity and/or speed of output • predictability o Perspectives on bureaucracy (e.g., iron law of oligarchy, McDonaldization) • • • control (automating work where possible in order to make results more predictable) Problems: set procedures (something might change, unprepared), may lose sight of overall target, and inflexibility As bureaucracies becomes more complex, it becomes more conservative and less able to adapt o revolutionary organizations inevitably become less revolutionary as their organizational structures develop and become entrenched—Iron Law of Oligarchy – tend to shift toward being ruled by an elite group Self-presentation and Interacting with Others (PSY, SOC) Expressing and detecting emotion Social Interactions • Expressing and Detecting Emotion o vital in explaining how we react to situations and others o Some emotional responses, such as likes/dislikes, involve no conscious thought. More complex emotions, like hatred, love, and guilt, can have important influences on our memories, expectations, and interpretations • The face is very revealing in conveying emotion o if we glimpse a face for a mere tenth of a second, we can accurately judge the emotion it portrays o eyes and mouth convey the most emotion ▪ fear and anger in the eyes ▪ happiness in the mouth • The role of gender in the expression and detection of emotion Gender shapes expression • Women may surpass men at reading emotional cues o greater emotional literacy, or ability to describe their emotions o also demonstrate greater emotional responsiveness in positive and negative situations, with the exception being anger—considered a masculine emotion • Empathy – ability to identify with others’ emotions, relatively equal between the sexes o women, however, are more likely to express empathy by crying or reporting genuine distress at another’s misfortune • The role of culture in the expression and detection of emotion Culture Shapes Expression • Different ways to express common emotions across different cultures • Gestures vary widely between cultures o thumbs up is positive in American culture, negative in others • Certain facial expressions seem to be universal • Cultures that promote individuality also encourage emotional expressiveness Presentation of self • Impression management Impression Management • Impression management/self-presentation – conscious or unconscious process whereby people attempt to manage their own images by influencing the perceptions of others • Expressing parts of oneself, depending on the person on the receiving end of the interaction o Assertive strategies – use of active behaviors to shape our self-presentations, such as talking oneself up and showing off flashy status symbols to demonstrate a desired image o Defensive strategies include avoidance or self-handicapping ▪ Self-handicapping – a strategy in which people create obstacles and excuses to avoid self blame when they do poorly • Ex: student loudly declaring he didn’t study • Front stage vs. back stage self (Dramaturgical approach) (SOC) • • Front Stage vs Back Stage Self Dramaturgical perspective – stems from symbolic interactionism and posits that we imagine ourselves as playing certain roles when interacting with others. Our identities are not necessarily stable, but dependent on our interactions with others Front Stage – we play a role and use impression management to craft the way we come across to other people Back stage – we can let down our guard and be ourselves • • Verbal and nonverbal communication Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication involves all of the methods for communication that we use that do not include words • include gestures, touch, body language, eye contact, expressions, etc • act of communicating verbally also employs a lot o nonverbal cues, like pitch, volume, intonation, etc Animal signals and communication (PSY, BIO) Animal signals and communication Visual cues • poisonous animals have warning colors – bright colors meant to advertise their toxicity o mimicry – mimicking the color of an actual poisonous animal, even though they are not Auditory communication Chemical signals • pheromones – chemical messengers employed by animals to communicate with each other Touch or movement • mating dances Social Behavior (PSY) Attraction Attraction between members of the same species is a primary component of love • Appearance – physical attractiveness is an important predictor of attraction • Similarity between people impacts attraction Aggression Aggression – broadly defined as behavior that is forceful, hostile, or attacking • Considered an innate instinct • Three predictors: genetic, neural, and biochemical • Frustration-aggression principle – suggests that when someone is blocked from achieving a goal, this frustration can trigger anger, which can lead to aggression Attachment Proximity – most powerful predictor for friendship • Mere exposure effect – people prefer repeated exposure to the same stimuli—familiarity breeds fondness Social Development and Attachment Stranger anxiety – from approximately 8-12 months, young children display this, crying and clinging to the caregiver. Faces that do not fit an already developed schema leads to distress. Gradually declines around 13 months. Harry Harlow and Margaret Harlow – infant monkeys were separated from mothers at birth and provided with a baby blanket. When blankets were removed, they became distressed. This physical attachment seemed to counteract the idea that attachment was formed base on nourishment. Two artificial mothers, one nourishing, and the other not nourishing (only had blanket). The monkeys still preferred the blanket mother, rather than the nourishing mother. Mary Ainsworth- “strange situation experiments.” Mothers leave their infants in an unfamiliar environment to see how the infants react. Securely attached infants will play and explore in the presence of their mother, but become distressed when mother leaves, and is easily consoled when she returns. Insecurely attached infants in the presence of their mother are less likely to explore their surroundings, and when mother leaves, they will cry loudly, and will remain upset or become indifferent when she returns. Securely attached infants grow up to demonstrate better social skills, a greater capacity for effective intimate relationships, and are better able to promote secure attachments in their children. Altruism Social support (PSY, SOC) Social support – major determinant of health and wellbeing for humans and other animals Biological explanations of social behavior in animals (PSY, BIO) • Foraging behavior (BIO) • Foraging behavior – describes the search for food resources by animals • Mating behavior and mate choice Mating Behavior and Mate choice – involve courtship rituals, copulation, and the building of nests • random mating ensures the largest amount of genetic diversity, and protects against genetic drift and bottlenecking • Associative mating is nonrandom – similar genotypes or phenotypes mate more frequently • Negative assortative mating – nonrandom, more likely between disparate traits • Applying game theory (BIO) Applying game theory • Game theory – used to try and predict large, complex systems, such as the overall behavior of a population • might be useful in predicting behavior of a large crowd of people in an enclosed space during a disaster, for instance • Altruism Inclusive fitness – defined by the number of offspring that an organism has, how it supports its offspring, and how its offspring support others in a group • inclusive fitness theory proposes that an organism can improve its overall genetic success through altruistic social behaviors • altruistic behavior – one that helps ensure the success or survival of the rest of a social group • Inclusive fitness (BIO) Discrimination (PSY, SOC) Discrimination – involves acting a certain way toward a group (prejudice involves thinking) • Processes like affirmative action can lead to reverse discrimination Individual vs. institutional discrimination (SOC) Institutional discrimination – refers to unjust and discriminatory practices employed by large organizations that have been codified into operating procedures (“don’t ask, don’t tell” policy) The relationship between prejudice and discrimination Prejudice – refers to the thoughts, attitudes, and feelings someone holds about a group that are not based on actual experienced. Can be subconscious Discrimination – involves acting a certain way toward a group (prejudice involves thinking) How power, prestige, and class facilitate discrimination (SOC) power (ability to obtain goals), prestige (respect), and class (socioeconomic status) divides people into haves and have-nots. This leads to prejudice and discrimination.