Sociology Chapter 4
Does gender affects performances?
Gender affects performances because men typically have greater social power than women. Gender differences involve demeanor, use of space, and smiling, staring, and touching.
Language ( The social construction of gender)
Gender is an important element of everyday interaction. Language defines women and men as different types of people, reflecting the fact that society attaches greater power and value to what is viewed as masculine.
What are the three applications of interaction in everyday life.
Emotions, language, and reality play.
Presentation of self
Erving Goffman's term for a person's efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others.
Dramaturgical analysis
Erving Goffman's term for the study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance. Status operates as part in a play, and a role is a script.
Role set
a number of roles attached to a single status
Ascribed status
a social position a person receives at birth or takes on involuntarily later in life. For example, being a teenager, an orphan, or a Mexican American.
Achieved status
a social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort. For example, being an honors student, a pilot, or a thief.
Master status
a status that has special importance for social identity, which can be either ascribed or achieved status, often shaping a person's entire life. For example, being blind, a doctor, or a Kennedy.
Status set
all the statuses a person holds at a given time
Staring and touching
are generally done by men to women
Performances
are the way we present ourselves to others. Performances are both conscious (intentional action) and unconscious ( nonverbal communication). Performances include costume ( the way we dress), props (object we carry), and demeanor (tone of voice and the way we carry ourselves.)
Smiling
as a way to please another, is more commonly done by women.
Nonverbal communication
communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions rather than speech.
Harold Garfinkel
created the term Ethnomethodology which refers to the study of the way people make sense of their everyday surroundings.
Ethnomethodology
is a strategy t reveal the assumptions people have abut their social world. We can expose these assumptions by intentionally breaking the rules of social interaction and observing the reaction of other people.
Social Media
is technology that links people in social activity. It has dramatically changed how people interact. The social construction of reality no longer requires people to have face-to-face interaction.
Embarrassment
is the loss of face in a performance. People use tact to help others save face.
Idealization of performances
means we try to convince others that our actions reflect ideal culture rather than selfish motives.
Role strain
results from tension among roles linked to a single status. For example, the college professor who enjoys personal interaction with students but at the same time knows that social distance is necessary in order to evaluate students fairly.
Role conflict
results from tension among roles linked to two or more statuses. For example, a woman who juggles her responsibilities as a mother and corporate CEO.
Status
social position that person holds.
Personal space
the surrounding area over which a person makes some claims to privacy.
What shape the reality people construct?
Both culture and social class shape the reality people construct. For example, a short walk for a New Yorker is a few city blocks, but a peasant in Latin America, it could be a few miles.
Reality Play: The social construction of humor
Humor results from the difference between conventional and unconventional definitions of a situation. Because humor is a part of culture, people around the world find different situations funny.
Use of space
Men typically command more space than women
State the importance of role of social organization.
Role is behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status.
Explain how social structure helps us to make sense of everyday situations?
Social structure refers to social patterns that guide our behavior in everyday life.
State the importance of status t social organization.
Status is a social position that is part of our social identity and that defines our relationships to others.
Thomas theorem
The Thomas theorem says that the reality people construct in their interaction has real consequences for the future. (situations defined as real are real in their consequences.) For example, a teacher who believes a certain student to be intellectually gifted may well encourage exceptional academic performance.
What are the building blocks of social structure?
The building blocks of social structure are status and role.
Social interaction
The process by which people act and react in relation to others.
Social construction of reality.
The process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction.
Emotions: ( The social construction of feeling)
The same basic emotions are biologically programmed into all human beings, but culture guides what triggers emotions, how people display emotions, and how people value emotions as well as behavior.
Describe how we socially construct reality?
Through social interaction, we construct the reality we experience. For example, two people interacting both try to shape the reality of their situation.
Demeanor
with greater social power, men have more freedom in how they act.
