Sociology Chapter 4

an emotional script provided by an employer

Janie works as a flight attendant. While on the job, she smiles and talks cheerfully with travelers. Janie's actions are an example of...

Gender

affects performances because men typically have greater social power than women; an important element of everyday interaction

Social structure

refers to social patterns that guide our behavior in everyday life; the building blocks of this are status and role

humor

results from the difference between conventional and unconventional definitions of a situation; because this is a part of culture, people around the world find different situations "_____ous"

role strain

The following is an example of what: A parent attempts to be a best friend to her child while still maintaining discipline over the child.

begin to doubt their ability to continue in a certain role

The process of role exit typically begins as people...

level of economic development

The share of housework that is the responsibility of women decreases as a nation's __________________________ increase.

"street smarts"

The story of Piri Thomas growing up in Spanish Harlem involves ___________ as a form of constructing social reality.

a number of different roles attached to a single status

The term "role set" refers to...

Technology connects people in new ways and over distances but sometimes weakens ties among those who share physical space.

The text explains that increasing use of social media in the United States has resulted in what transformations?

Biological, cultural

The text explores the roots of emotions and concludes that emotions have both a _______ and a _______ basis.

Performances

The way we present ourselves to others; both conscious (intentional action) and unconscious (nonverbal communication); Include costume (the way we dress), props (objects we carry) and demeanor (tone of voice in the way we carry ourselves).

Social interaction

Through this we can strike the reality we experience; For example two people interacting both try to shape the reality of their situation; Thomas theorem says that the reality people construct in their interaction has real consequences for the future; For example, a teacher who believes a certain student to be in intellectually gifted may well encourage exceptional academic performance.

with confusion and perhaps some irritation

Tim is interested in ethnomethodology and decides to investigate people's understanding of their social reality. He visits a local bookstore, buys a few paperbacks, and heads to the checkout line. When the clerk asks if he found everything he was looking for, Tim replies in all seriousness that his watch has been missing for several days, and he thinks that he left it in a friend's car. He then observes the clerk's response. How is the clerk likely to react to Tim's behavior?

role

Using dramaturgical analysis, a _______ is like a script in a play, supplying dialogue and action.

Intentionally breaking the rules of social interaction and observing the reactions of other people

We can expose the assumptions people have about their social world by...

It reduces embarrassment, which is a source of discomfort for everyone

We commonly make use of tact in everyday life because...

conflict

We experience role ________ when we find ourselves pulled in various directions as we try to respond to the many statuses that we hold.

It is the efforts of a person to convey information to others and control the impressions that other people have of him or her.

What best describes Erving Goffman's concept of "presentation of self"?

"If you believe in yourself strongly enough, you will succeed."

What statement best illustrates the main point of the Thomas therorem?

devalue the word

When added to a word, the suffixes -ette and -ess usually...

Emotional Scripts

When people's partners and friends define situations in specific ways and encourage them to experience specific feelings, they are providing people in these situations with what sociologists call...

being pretty average in relation to others around you

Which of the following is *not* likely to operate as a master status? [being the only girl on a Little League team, being pretty average in relation to others around you, being poor on a campus in which almost all students are well off financially, being the only Asian student in an elementary school classroom]

a teenage mother who is still attending high school

Which of the following people is the most likely to experience role conflict? [a lawyer who wants to practice tort law, a teenage mother who is still attending high school, a college professor who wants to take a sabbatical to Italy, a business manager who is dating her employee]

Detecting deception involves carefully tracking all elements of a performance and looking for inconsistencies.

Which of the following statements about deception in social situations is correct? [Deception is always discovered in the end, detecting deception involves carefully tracking all elements of a performance and looking for inconsistencies, pulling off a 'perfect performance' is easy for most people, humans can easily detect deception on the part of another person]

honor roll student

Which of the following statuses is an example of an achieved status? [Cuban, honor roll student, widow, daughter]

Men typically make use of more space than women when they act in a situation.

Which statement about gender and people's "performances" in social situations is correct? [men have to be more careful about their behavior because women have more power than they do, women touch men in social situations more than men touch women, men typically make use of more space than women when they act in a situation, men smile more than women in social situations]

Blindness can become the personal trait that others respond to more than any other.

Why is blindness sometimes classified as a master status?

personal space

the surrounding area over which a person makes some claim to privacy

smiling

(gender differences) As a way to please another, this is more commonly done by women.

use of space

(gender differences) Men typically command more space than women.

staring, touching

(gender differences) These are typically done by men to women.

demeanor

(gender differences) With greater social power, men have more freedom in how they act.

Role conflict

* conflict among the worlds connected to two or more statuses*; Results from tension among roles linked to two or more statuses (for example, a woman who juggles her responsibilities as a mother and a corporate CEO).

Social media

* technology that links people in social activity*; The expansion of this has dramatically changed how people interact

Thomas theorem

*(so-and-so)'s claim that situations defined as real are real in their consequences*; Says that the reality people construct in their interaction has real consequences for the future space (theorem)

Dramaturgical analysis

*Erving Goffman's term for the study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance*; Explores social interaction in terms of theatrical performance: status operate as a part in a play, and a role is a script.

Ethnomethodology

*Harold Garfinkel's term for the study of the way people make sense of their everyday surroundings*; a strategy to review of the assumptions people have about their social world

ascribed status

*a social position a person receives at birth or takes on involuntarily later in life*; involuntary (ex. teenager, orphan, Mexican American)

achieved status

*a social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort* earned (ex. honors student, pilot, thief)

status

*a social position that a person holds*; a social position that is part of our social identity and that defines our relationship to others; can be described as either ascribed or achieved (or master)

master status

*a status that has special importance for social identity, often shaping a person's entire life*; can be either ascribed or achieved, has special importance for a person's identity (for example being blind, a doctor, or Kennedy).

Social construction of reality

*the process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction*; no longer requires people to have face-to-face interaction

language

*the social construction of gender*; defines women and men as different types of people, reflecting on the fact that society attaches greater power and value to what is viewed as masculine

reality play

*the social construction of humor*

emotions

*the social constructs of feeling*; same basic ones are biologically programmed into all human beings; culture guides what triggers these, how people display these, and how people value these; in everyday life, the presentation of self involves managing these as well as behaviors

Role set

A number of roles attached to a single status

status set

A person who is a parent, a student and a waiter can be said to have a(n) _________.

nonverbal communication

A person's hands, face, and body are all used in the process of...

master

A(n) ______ status, which can be a matter of race, extreme poverty or wealth, or physical disability, often shapes a person's entire life in terms of identity.

personal effort

Achieved status is typically based on...

Status set

All the statuses a person holds at a given time

choices and tensions

Because many cultural systems are marked by cultural diversity, reality construction usually involves...

Role

Behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status

Culture, social class

Both ________ and ______ _____ shape the reality people construct. (Ex. A "short walk" for a New Yorker is a few city blocks, but for a peasant in Latin America, it could be a few miles.)

requiring the audience to "fill in" the reality construction with their own knowledge

Comedians create an "inside" joke by...

Social interaction

Erving Goffman's concept of dramaturgical analysis involves studying ________ in terms of theatrical performance.

presentation of self

Erving Goffman's term for a person's efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others

the way people make sense of their everyday lives

Ethnomethodology is the study of...

An ascribed status is assigned and involuntary, whereas an achieved status is largely earned.

How do ascribed status and achieved status compare?

Demeanor, use of space, and smiling, staring, and touching

Gender differences involve...

universal emotions

Happiness, surprise, and fear are examples of...

By contrasting conventional and unconventional reality

How is humor created?

a "part" or character

In a dramaturgical analysis, the concept of "status" is comparable to what theatrical element?

Asian American

Laura is an Asian American girl born to a young mother and adopted by a middle-aged African American couple. She is raised in relative wealth, attends college, and goes on to become a district attorney and now has a daughter of her own. What is an example of Laura's ascribed status?

worker, aunt, student

Martha works part-time doing house cleaning and watches her ten-year-old niece in the mornings. At night she takes courses at the local community college in hopes of receiving her MA degree in business. Which three terms correctly describe her status set?

Ethnomethodology

One approach that allows us to study the way people understand everyday realities is called...

He acted in a worthy way and so he became worthy in the eyes of the other boys

Piri Thomas's clever and courageous effort to gain social acceptance by fighting gang leader Waneco demonstrates the validity of the Thomas theorem because...

Role strain

Results from tension among roles linked to a singular * tension among the roles connected to a single status*; status (for example, the college professor who enjoys personal interaction with students but at the same time knows that social distance is necessary to evaluate students fairly).

embarrassment creates discomfort for everyone

Tact is an important and widely used element if everyday interaction because...

a role

The behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status is called...

nonverbal communication

communication only using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions rather than speech

Idealization of performances

means we try to convince others that our actions reflect ideal culture rather than selfish motives

social structure

members of every society rely continuously on this to make sense of all everyday situations

tact

people use this to help others "save face"

embarrassment

the "loss of face" in a performance

social interaction

the process by which people act and react in relation to others