Chapter 4Social Interaction

Chapter Outline• What is Social Interaction?• The Sociology of Emotions• Modes of Social Interaction• Micro, Meso, Macro and Global

Structures

Elements of Social Interaction

• Status means recognized positions occupied by interacting people.

• Social interaction requires roles or sets of expected behaviors.

• Social interaction requires norms or generally accepted ways of doing things.

Polling Question• Most of the time you can be sure that

other people want the best for you.A. Strongly agreeB. Agree somewhatC. UnsureD. Disagree somewhatE. Strongly disagree

Role Conflict

Role Strain

Emotions and Social Interaction

• Emotions are less spontaneous and uncontrollable than we commonly believe.

• Your status in an interaction and in larger society affects how much you laugh and what you laugh at.

• People manage their emotions in personal life and at work according to “feeling rules” that reflect cultural standards and the demands of organizations.

Laughter and Humor• When people of different statuses

interact, people with higher status get more laughs.

• People with lower status laugh more.

• Laughter in everyday life is often a signal of dominance or subservience.

How We Get Emotional

Emotion Management• We have expectations about:

– What we should feel. – How much we should feel.– How long we should feel it.– With whom we should share our

feelings.

Grief in Historical Perspective

• In Europe as late as 1600, life expectancy was only 35 years.

• Many infants died at birth. • People invested less emotionally in

their children than we do. • As health conditions and the infant

mortality rate improved, emotional investment in children increased.

Modes of Social Interaction

• Exchange theory - involves trade in attention and other resources.

• Rational choice theory - try to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

• Dramaturgical analysis- social interaction is role-playing.

Polling Question• People who are better off should

help friends who are less well off.A. Strongly agreeB. Agree somewhatC. UnsureD. Disagree somewhatE. Strongly disagree

Ethnomethodology• The study of how people make

sense of what others do and say by adhering to preexisting norms.

• Everyday interactions could not take place without pre-existing shared norms and understandings.

NonverbalCommunication

• Facial expressions• Gestures• Body language• Status cues

Power and Social Interaction: 4 points

1. Competitive exchange of valued resources: – People communicate to get

something out of the interaction. – If they prevent others from getting

much out of the interaction, communication will break down.

– This is exchange and rational choice theory.

Power and Social Interaction: 4 points

2. We mold values, norms, roles, and statuses to suit us as we interact with others. – We engage in impression

management so others see us in the best possible light.

– This is a major argument of dramaturgical analysis.

Power and Social Interaction: 4 points

3. Norms exist before interaction takes place. – Sustained interaction would be

impossible without shared understandings.

– This is the core argument of ethnomethodology.

Power and Social Interaction: 4 points

4. Nonverbal communication greatly facilitates social interaction.– These include: facial

expressions, hand gestures, body language, and status cues.

Theories of Social Interaction

Theory Focus of Attention

Exchange theory

Exchange of valued resources

Rational choice theory

Maximization of gains and minimization of

losses

Theories of Social Interaction

Theory Focus of Attention

Symbolic interactionism

Interpretation, negotiation, and modification of

norms, rules, and statuses

Dramaturgical analysis

Impression management

Theories of Social Interaction

Theory Focus of Attention

Ethnomethodology

Influence of preexisting

norms

Conflict theoryInfluence of

status hierarchies

Big Structures, SmallProcesses

Modes of InteractionMode of

InteractionLevel of

Inequality Emotion

Domination High Fear

Competition Medium Envy

Cooperation Low Trust

Quick Quiz

1. Role strain occurs when:a. people communicate face-to-face,

acting and reacting in relation to other people

b. a cluster of roles are attached to a single status

c. a single individual occupies an entire ensemble of statuses

d. incompatible role demands are placed on a person in a single status

e. none of these choices

Answer: d• Role strain occurs when

incompatible role demands are placed on a person in a single status.

2. According to sociologists, the reason women laugh more than men do in everyday conversation is:a. when dealing with men, women

have more to laugh atb. people with lower status laugh morec. speakers laugh more than listenersd. all of these choicese. none of these choices

Answer: b• According to sociologists, the

reason women laugh more than men do in everyday conversation is people with lower status laugh more.

3. Rational choice theory focuses on:a. the resources that are exchanged in

the course of social interactionb. the way interacting parties weigh

the costs and benefits of interactionc. impression managementd. the way pre-existing norms shape

social interactione. the influence of status hierarchies

on social interaction

Answer: b• Rational choice theory focuses on

the way interacting parties weigh the costs and benefits of interaction.

4. Dramaturgical analysis focuses on:a. the resources that are exchanged in

the course of social interactionb. the way interacting parties weigh

the costs and benefits of interactionc. impression managementd. the way pre-existing norms shape

social interactione. the influence of status hierarchies

on social interaction

Answer: c• Dramaturgical analysis focuses on

impression management.

5. Ethnomethodologists stress that everyday interactions could not take place if people were not willing to deviate from shared norms and understandings.a. Trueb. False

Answer: b• Ethnomethodologists do not

stress that everyday interactions could not take place if people were not willing to deviate from shared norms and understandings.