Chapter Four
Society and Social Interaction
Society
Society is a large grouping that
shares the same territory and is
subject to the same political
authority dominant cultural
expectations
Types of Societies
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Pre-Industrial
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Hunters and Gather
Pastoral
Horticulture
Agriculture
Fiefdom
Types of Societies
Industrial
 Post-Industrial
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Theories of Society
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Durkheim
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Marx
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Mechanical and Organic Solidarity
Anomie
Alienation
False Consciousness
Weber
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Rationalization
Iron Cage
Society
Society is a large grouping that
shares the same territory and is
subject to the same political
authority dominant cultural
expectations
Social Structure in the Macro
Level Perspective
Social structure is a stable pattern of
social relationships that exist within a
particular group or society
 Structure is provided by status and
roles, groups, and social institutions

Social Structure in the Macro
Level Perspective
social structure creates boundaries
that define which persons or groups will
be the insiders in which will be the
outsiders
 social marginality is the state of being
part insiders in part outsider in the
social structure

Social Structure in the Macro
Level Perspective
social marginality results in
stigmatization
 a stigma is any physical or social
attribute or sign that shows a person's
social identity that disqualifies that
person from full social acceptance

Components of Social Structure:
Status
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A status is a socially defines position in a
group or society characterized by certain
expectations rights and duties
Ascribed status is a social position
conferred at birth or received involuntarily
later in life
Achieved status is a social position in
person assumes involuntarily as a result of
personal choice merit or direct effort
Status and Mobility

Ascribed statuses have a significant
influence on the achieve status as we
occupy
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Where you end up is predicted by where
you start!
Status
A master status is the most important
status a person occupies
 It dominates all of the individual other
statuses and is overriding ingredient in
determining the persons general social
position
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Being poor or rich is a master status
Status Symbols
Components of Social Structure: Roles
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a role is a set of behavioral expectations
associated with an any given status
role expectations -- a group's or society's
definition of the way a specific roll ought to be
played
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may sharply contrast to role performance -- -how a person actually plays a role
role conflict occurs when incompatible world
demands are placed on a person by two or
more statuses held at the same time
Components of Social Structure: Roles
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Role strain occurs when incompatible
demands are built into a single status that a
person occupies
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a doctor in a public clinic is responsible for
keeping expenditures down and providing highquality patient care simultaneously
sexual orientation, age, and occupation frequently
are associated with role strain
Role exit occurs when people disengage
social roles that have been central to their
self-identity
Components of Social Structure: Groups
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The social group consists of two more people
who interact frequently and share a common
identity and a feeling of interdependence
A primary group is a small or specialized
group in which members engage in face-toface emotion based interactions or extended
period of time

family, close friends, and peer groups
Components of Social Structure: Groups

a secondary group is a larger more
specialized group in which the members
engage in more impersonal goal-oriented
relationships for a limited period of time
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schools, churches, the military, and corporations
a social network is a series of social
relationships that link in individual to others
Social Solidarity is the unity that emerges
from long term interaction
Components of Social Structure: Groups

A formal organization is a highly structured
group formed for the purpose of completing
certain tasks or achieving specific goals
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colleges, corporations, and the government
a social institution is a set of organized
beliefs and norms that establish how society
will attempt to meet its basic social needs

examples of social institutions include the family, religion,
education, the economy, the government, mass media,
sports, science and medicine, and the military
Components of Social Structure: Groups
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Functional theorists emphasize the social
institutions exist because they perform five
essential tasks
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replacing members
teaching new members
producing, distributing, and consuming goods and
services
preserving order
providing in maintaining a sense of purpose
Components of Social Structure: Groups
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Conflict theorists agree that social
institutions are organized to meet basic
social needs
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However, they do not believe that social
institutions work for the common good
of everyone in society
Social Interaction: The
Microlevel Perspective
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social interaction within a society has a
certain share meanings across situations
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however everyone does not interpret social interaction
rituals and the same way
the social construction of reality is a process
by which our perceptions of reality is shaped
largely by the subjective meaning they begin
to experience
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our definition of the situation can result in a selffulfilling prophecy

a false belief or prediction that produces behavior that
makes the original false belief come true
Confusion Over Definitions
and Reality
Confusion Over Definitions
and Reality
Social Interaction: The
Microlevel Perspective

Dramaturgical analysis is the study of social
interaction that compares everyday life to a
theatrical presentation
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This perspective was initiated by Erving Goffman
who suggested that day to date interactions have
much in common being onstage or in a dramatic
production
Most of us engage in impression
management or presentation of self

People's efforts to present themselves to others in
ways that are most favorable to their own interest
or image
Dramaturgical Analysis

Social interaction, like a theater, has a front
stage area where a player performs a specific
role before an audience
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There is a backstage area where a player is
not required to perform a specific roles
because it is out of view of a given audience
Feeling Rules
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The sociology of emotions
Arlie Hochschild suggests that we acquire a
set of feeling rules which shape the
appropriate emotions for a given role or
specific situation
emotional labor occurs when employees are
required by their employers to feel and
display only certain carefully selected
emotions

gender, class, and race are related to the expression of
emotions necessary to manage one's feelings
Non-Verbal Communication

nonverbal communication is the transfer of
information between persons without the use
of speech
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personal space is the immediate area
surrounding a person that the person claims
his private
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facial expressions, had movements, body positions, and
other gestures
age gender kind of relationship and social class are
important factors and allocation of personal space
power differentials between people are
reflected in personal space and privacy
Importance of Nonverbal
Communications
Sociology
is cool!!
Words convey thoughts
Actions convey
feelings
Nonverbal Signals Convey
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Degree of Liking
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Degree of Dominance
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Degree of Responsiveness
Types of Nonverbal
Communication
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Kinesics-
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body movement
body orientation -- face person
facial -- eyes, expressions
gestural -- nodding, scratching head
postural -- lean toward
Types of Nonverbal
Communication (cont’d)
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Proxemics
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intimate-- 0-18”
personal-- 18”-4’
social-- 4-10’
public-- 10-22’
Types of Nonverbal
Communication (cont’d)
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Paralanguage
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Chronemics
-- use of time
late -- not responsible, not organized
early -- anxious, enthusiastic, excited
(15 min)
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Artifacts
-- use of voice
-- same word, different meanings
-- use of symbols -- (BMW)