SOC 110 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Birds Eye View, Erving Goffman, Ascribed Status
Chapter 5: Social Interaction and Social Structure
Society = a system of social interaction that includes culture and social organization
– Members of a society have a common culture though there may be great diversity
within it
– Social interaction = behavior between 2 or more people that is given meaning by
them
Macro- vs. Microanalysis
– Macroanalysis = “birds eye view” of society – sociological approach that takes the
broadcast view of society by studying patterns of social interaction that are complex
and highly differentiated
– Microanalysis = studies patterns of social interactions that are less complex and less
differentiated
Social Organization = the order established in social groups at any level
– Brings regularity and predictability to human behavior and is present at every level of
interaction – from the whole to the smallest groups
Social Institutions = an established and organized system of social behavior with a recognized
purpose
– Broad systems that organize specific functions in society
– Example: Family provides for the care of the young and the transmission of culture /
Religion organizes sacred beliefs
– Purpose:
o Socialization of new members
o Production and distribution of goods and services
o Maintain stability and existence
o Provide members with a sense of purpose
Social Structure = the organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that
compose society
– Example: Social class distinctions
o Class shapes the access different groups have to the resources of society, and
many interactions people have with each other
Durkheim: Collective Consciousness
– Collective Consciousness = beliefs common to a society that give people a sense of
belonging and a feeling of moral obligation
o Gives groups solidarity because members feel like they are part of one society
Durkheim: Social Solidarity
– Mechanical solidarity arises when individuals feel bonded by their similarity
– Organic solidarity arises when individuals are bonded through their division of labor
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft Societies
– Gemeinschaft = (mechanical) characterized by a sense of ‘we’, a moderate division of
labor, strong personal ties, strong family relationships, and a sense of personal loyalty
– Gesellschaft = (organic) characterized by less prominence of personal ties, a
somewhat diminished role of the nuclear family, and a lessened sense of personal
loyalty to society
Types of Societies
– Different types of societies produce different kinds of social relationships
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– Some may involve more direct and personal relationships, whereas others produce
more fragmented and impersonal relationships
– Examples:
o Foraging = low division of labor – no property
o Pastoral = nomadic – no property – little technology
o Horticultural = property – hierarchies – technology - violence
o Agricultural = plantation system – property passed down
o Industrial = $ system – capitals
o Postindustrial = new technology/services - contemporary U.S
Characteristics of Groups
– A collection of individuals who
o Interact and communicate with each other
o Share goals and norms
o Are aware of themselves as a distinct social unit
Social Groups = organized around different kinds of relationships, but involve a ‘we’ feeling
Statuses = a rank in society
– Statuses occur within institutions (high school teacher is a status within the education
institution)
– Typically, an individual occupies many statuses simultaneously
Status
– A status set is the complete set of statuses occupied by a person at a given time
– Status Inconsistency = exists where statuses occupied by a person bring different
amounts of prestige and differing expectations
– Achieved Status = those attained by individual effort (job)
– Ascribed Status = are those occupied from the moment a person is born (daughter,
gender)
Debunking Society’s Myths
– Myth = Gender is an ascribed status where one’s gender identity is established at birth
o Sociological Perspective: Gender is a social construct and thus is also an
achieved status
Roles = expected behavior associated with a particular status
– Statuses are occupied; roles are acted or ‘played’
– A person’s role set includes all the roles occupied by the person at a given time
– Role Modeling = a person imitates the behavior of an admired other
– Role Strain = changes in the roles for women who are mothers can create role strain
Nonverbal Communication
– Touch
– Pitch, loudness and rhythm of the voice
– Gestures, facial expressions
– Use of personal space
Proxemic Communication
– Meaning is conveyed by the amount of space between individuals
– The friendlier people feel toward each other, the closer they will stand
– E.T. Hall – Proxemic Bubble = our personal, three-dimensional space
o When people we don’t know enter our proxemic bubble, we feel threatened
Factors in Attraction
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– Close proximity
– Exposure
– Physical attractiveness
– Similarity in status, race, ethnicity, religion, personality, attitudes, and opinions
Social Construction of Reality
– Perception of what is real is determined by the subjective meaning we attribute to an
experience
– There is NO objective reality
W.I. Thomas: The Definition of the Situation
– ‘Situations’ defined as real are real in their consequences
– How do we know what is ‘real’ or ‘fact’?
Ethnomethodology = disrupting social norms and observing how individuals attempt to restore
normalcy
– Human interaction takes place within a consensus and interaction is not possible
without consensus
Erving Goffman: Impression Management and Dramaturgy
– Dramaturgy = a way of analyzing interaction that assumes participants are actors in
the drama of everyday social life
– People present different faces (give different impressions) on different stages (in
different situations) with different others
Goffman: Impression Management
– People control how others will perceive them
– The ‘con game’ = putting forward an impression in order to get something from
others
– Believed that most people put on different faces to hide stigma from others
Goffman: Dramaturgical Analysis = social life as a stage play
– Front Stages = where the performance is given
– Back Stages = where the people (actors) rest from their performances
– Staging = using costumes and props to create an illusion
Characteristics of Cyberspace Interaction
– Nonverbal communication is eliminated
– One is free to become a different self
– Anonymity allows a new kind of relationship in society
Chapter 6: Groups and Organizations
Types of Groups
– Dyad – Reference Group
– Triad – In-group
– Primary Group – Out-group
– Secondary Group
Dyads and Triads
– Dyad = group consisting of two people
– Triad = group consisting of three people
– Triadic Segregation = the tendency for triads to segregate into a coalition of the dyad
against the isolate
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Document Summary
Society = a system of social interaction that includes culture and social organization. Members of a society have a common culture though there may be great diversity within it. Social interaction = behavior between 2 or more people that is given meaning by them. Macroanalysis = birds eye view of society sociological approach that takes the broadcast view of society by studying patterns of social interaction that are complex and highly differentiated. Microanalysis = studies patterns of social interactions that are less complex and less differentiated. Social organization = the order established in social groups at any level. Brings regularity and predictability to human behavior and is present at every level of interaction from the whole to the smallest groups. Social institutions = an established and organized system of social behavior with a recognized purpose. Broad systems that organize specific functions in society. Example: family provides for the care of the young and the transmission of culture /
