Society and Social Interaction

Society and Social Interaction Social Construction of Reality • Habitualization: “any action that is repeated frequently becomes cast into a pattern” (Berger and Luckmann 1966) • Thomas theorem: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (Thomas and Thomas 1828) • Things about our culture appear to be fact, but we forget that they were created by humans. Social Interaction • Social interaction o The process by which people act and react in relation to others o Social interaction is a complex negotiation that builds reality • Status o Generally, refers to “prestige” but for this topic, it refers to: o A social position that a person holds • Status set o All the statuses a person holds at a given time  Changes over life Ascribed and Achieved Status • Ascribed status o A social position a person receives at birth or takes involuntarily later in life  Matters about which we have little choice • Achieved status o A social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort Master Status • A status that has special importance for social identity, often shaping a person’s entire life o May occupy most of one’s time o May be how others identify a person  Examples: Parent, Student, Veteran o Social characteristics like Gender or Race can serve as a master status because it can shape one’s identity o Physical disability or sickness can serve as a master status because is can consume one’s time or identity Role • Behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status • Duties and responsibilities that go along with a status o A person holds a status and performs a role Role Conflict and Role Strain • Role Conflict o Conflict among the roles connected to two or more statuses • Role Strain o Tension among the roles connected to a single status DRAMATURGICAL ANALYSIS: THE PRESENTATION OF SELF • Dramaturgical analysis o The study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts” (William Shakespeare. As You Like It. Act 2, Scene 7) • • Erving Goffman (1922-1982) o Analyzed social interaction Presentation of Self o A person’s efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others o Also called “impression management” Explained how people live their lives like actors performing on a stage • How do people on a first date or in a job interview present themselves, and in the process, construct reality? What kind of information does each offer? Is there a goal that is trying to be achieved? o Idealization – “putting our best foot forward”  Attempting to conduct our statuses the best we can Nonverbal Communication • Communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions rather than speech • Body language o Using parts of the body to convey information to others o Eye contact is another crucial element o Gestures add meaning to spoken words • Props Staring? Touching? Space & Communication • How does culture influence performance space? o Personal space  The surrounding area over which a person makes some claim to privacy • How does culture influence performance space? • Average Westerner likes 24 inches between himself and his conversation partners  Also, difference exists based on social relationship as well as scene  Boyfriend/Girlfriend vs. Friend vs. stranger?  Classroom vs. the subway? Invisible boundary around us- when someone doesn’t respect the boundary, it makes us feel uncomfortable and we may move to increase the distance. Embarrassment and Tact  Embarrassment o Discomfort after a spoiled performance o “Losing face”  Think of an embarrassing moment in your life…. o What kind of performance were you trying to give? o How/why did it fail? Embarrassment is an ever-present danger because idealized performances typically contain some deception  Tact o Helping someone “save face” o Members of an audience actually help the performer recover from a flawed performance o What if I came into class with my fly open? How would you respond to this embarrassing moment? Types of Societies  Theorists have divided societies according to their level of industrialization  Preindustrialized o Hunter-Gatherers o Pastoral o Horticulture o Agricultural o Feudal  Industrialized  Postindustrialized Theoretical Perspectives on Societal Interaction   Structural-functional Emile Durkheim posited in his 1893 book, The Division of Labor in Society, that preindustrial societies and industrial societies are held together by different mechanisms.  Mechanic Solidarity - cohesion and integration comes from the homogeneity of individuals—people feel connected through similar work, educational and religious training, and lifestyle  Organic Solidarity – People are connected by interdependence of work Durkheim  Preindustrial Societies o Hunter-gatherer o Pastoral o Horticultural o Agricultural o Feudal   Industrial Societies Postindustrial Societies Anomie – weakened norms and collective conscience Theoretical Perspectives on Societal Interaction  Social Conflict  Karl Marx used the word “Alienation” to describe modern societies o Alienation from the product of one’s labor o Alienation from the process of one’s labor o Alienation from others o Alienation from one’s self Example: Mass production     Symbolic Interaction Max Weber said that modern society brings on Rationality o A way of thinking that emphasizes deliberate, matter-of-fact calculation as the most efficient way to accomplish a particular task Bureaucracy o An organizational model designed to be “rational”, or to perform tasks efficiently Characteristics of Bureaucracy o Specialization o Hierarchy of offices o Rules and regulations o Technical Competence o Impersonality  o Formal, written communications Iron Cage – the situation in which bureaucracies come to dominate our lives Socialization Nature vs. Nurture:  Nature : Inborn, genetics o Personality is inherited  Nurture : Learned by internalizing our surroundings o Personality is affected by our experiences  Both are at play, however, sociologists focus on the nurture side Nurture  Socialization o The lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture Socialization and the Life Course  Learning continues throughout our lives o Childhood o Adolescence o Adulthood o Old age  Age is not just a matter of biology o Life course presents us with new roles o We transition in ways that involve learning something new and unlearning familiar routines For example, consider how “childhood” is defined Childhood  Most North Americans view childhood as a carefree time of learning and play  Concept of childhood is culturally rooted and has changed over time  Americans (high income countries) have extended childhood. Socialization and the Life Course  Anticipatory Socialization –learning the standards and values of a new group  Resocialization-process of replacing old behaviors with new Agents of Socialization  Family  Peer group  Institutions o School o Workplace o Religion o Government o Mass media **Total Institutions o Military o Boarding schools o Hospital in-patient setting, or nursing home Mass media – tv movies, internet, books, magazines, billboards, radio Resocialization: Total Institutions  Total Institution o A setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society and manipulated by administrative staff  Resocialization o Radically changing an inmate’s personality by carefully controlling the environment  Prisons  Mental hospitals  Military What are the three characteristics of a total institution? Supervision Control and standardization Formal rules and daily routines Two-part process Break down existing identity Build a new self through a system of reward and punishments Studies of Isolated Children  What do studies of isolated children teach us about the importance of social experience? o Victor o Genie  Evidence points to the crucial role of social experience in forming personality  Humans need social experience to learn their culture and to survive  Humans can sometimes recover from abuse and short-term isolation, long-term isolation can cause permanent damage Ethically, researchers cannot place humans in total isolation to study what happens Theories of socialization  Six researchers made lasting contributions to our understanding of human development o Sigmund Freud – Elements of Personality o Erik H. Erikson – 8 Stages of Development o Jean Piaget – Theory of Cognitive Development o Lawrence Kohlberg – Theory of Moral Development o Carol Gilligan – Theory of Gender & Moral Develop. o George Herbert Mead – The Social Self The Social Self  For Mead, the self is part of the individual’s mind that is composed of self-awareness and self-image  The self is not inborn, the self is created through social experience  Like other theorists, Mead says that we internalize cultural norms and values that we use as reference in evaluating ourselves in an ongoing, dynamic process  Language (verbal and gestures) is key for this development to happen Cannot be reduced to physiology. The mind is a “process” rather than “product”. Constantly changing and growing. The Social Development of the Self in Stages  As small children we imitate significant others in our lives, o e.g. mom, dad, sister, brother  Stage 1 : Then we engage in a process of play, in which we begin to participate in different social roles, e.g. doctor and patient, cops & robbers. Imitation often doesn’t have a lot of meaning. For example, think of a child picking up a phone and putting it beside their ear. They may not understand the concept of someone else being on the other line. Instead, they’re just doing it because that is what they’ve seen their loved ones doing. It’s a pretty self-centered view. Play develops and kids take on roles and playing out with a little more mastery over the parts. Often in dyads. Learning to become 2 roles, communicating and expecting certain responses from the other. However, this is limited because it’s only distinct others. The Social Development of the Self  Stage 2: The self develops further as we participate in more complex games; e.g. board games or sports. Now, we have the ability to take on the role of multiple other people.  Note: Position Exchange – In social interaction, we often switch positions or roles – Talking/Listening, Buying/Selling, Giving/Receiving b-day gift Games with more people and roles involve rules strategy and the ability to take on the role of all the other people simultaneously. It’s not enough to know only your role, you must understand the roles of the others for the game to work.  Stage 3: The Generalized Other is the point in our development when we have the ability to take on the role of other people generally.  In learning about others’ roles and perspectives, we are learning about ourselves because we imagine how others view us.  We’ve internalized “society” and come to see ourselves through others. In learning about others’ roles and others’ perspectives, we are learning about ourselves because we imagine how others view us. Formation of the self. We achieve this developmental milestone and in any given situation we are able to navigate social interaction and be reflective of the way that we fit into the scenario. In fact, maybe there doesn’t have to be interaction…. The generalized other becomes so internalized that we can imagine others’ responses/reactions – Getting dressed in the morning. FIGURE 3–1 Building on Social Experience George Herbert Mead described the development of the self as a process of gaining social experience. That is, the self develops as we expand our capacity to take the role of the other.  Our capacity to enact social roles progresses as we enter into more complex play o We move from one role to multiple roles, and o The roles go from specific to general  In taking the role of others, we are able to become reflexive, or to understand how others view us