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Connecting Sociology and YOU!

Chapter 5: Social Interaction

Notes:social interactioninterpersonal relationships between two or more persons

social context, the environment of the interaction

definition of the situationan individual’s interpretation of the social setting, and stated that the complex interpretations of the situation are not always interpreted accurately.

 social construction of realityan individual’s perceptions of one’s social world as determined or influenced by social interactions

social attributionan explanation of how others appear, behave, or are motivated

fundamental attribution errorthe bias of attributing our behavior to our circumstances and others’ behavior to their character

Ethnomethodologythe study of people’s methods as it relates to the formation of society

breachingpurposely violating social norms to examine an individual’s reactions

dramaturgythe theory that we are all actors on the stage of life and we divide our world based on what we let others see or not see of us

face workthe efforts exerted by both actors during an interaction to get through unanticipated events without casting an undesirable light or disrupting the relationship of the participants

 social exchangethe process by which social decisions are based on perceived costs and benefits.

Social statusan individual’s position or rank within a social system (HP), impacts how we interact with others.

status setthe collection of statuses held at one time, can include student, teammate, worker, and kinship statuses such as son/daughter, brother/sister, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, and father/mother. 

 Ascribed statusassigned social status based on characteristics such as sex, race, and age, is a helpful measurement in determining your level of status.

Achieved statusearned social status based on merit, is another way to measure your social position within society.

master statusthe social position central to your identity

tatus symbolsmaterial signals that are meant to convey a message to others about an individual’s social position, are one way that people embellish their statuses. 

conspicuous consumptionthe public display of lavish and wasteful spending to enhance one’s social status 

social rolesexpected patterns of behaviors for specific statuses and positions

ole setthe complement of role-relationships within a single status, includes your role-relationships with your professors, graduate assistants, staff, and classmates.

Role strainincompatible demands, and expectations within a single role 

ole conflictcompeting demands resulting from two or more statuses

feeling rulesnorms about which emotions are appropriate to display in a given situation

emotion labora worker’s regulation of personal feelings in an effort to set an emotional tone for customers in a business setting

Thomas theoremthe idea that if we think something is real, then it is indeed real to us