1. Objectives: Differentiate between the macrosociological and microsociological approach to studying social life Define stereotypes and explain their significance Differentiate between role conflict, role strain, and provide examples Chapter 4: Social Structure & Social Interaction

2. Symbolic Interactionists examine small-scale, face-to-face social interactions from a microsociological perspective especially interested in symbols that people use to define their worlds and how these definitions, in turn, influence human behavior Microsociological Perspective: Social Interaction in Everyday Life

3. Stereotypes assumptions of what people are like, whether true or false assumptions are based upon previous associations with “similar types” of people and/or what we have been told about those people affect how people define and treat others, which influences how these “other people” define themselves can be based upon gender, race, ethnicity, ability, and intelligence See Down-to-Earth Sociology Box—page 107 Areas of Social Life that Microsociologists study

4. Personal Space “personal bubble” Different groups have different perceptions of personal space; this distant varies from culture to culture, and activity to activity 4 Different “distance zones” for North Americans 1) Intimate Distance: to 18 inches, comforting, lovemaking, hugging, etc… 2) Personal Distance: 18 inches to 4 feet, friends/acquaintances for normal conversation 3) Social Distance: 4 to 12 feet, impersonal/formal relationships, job interviews 4) Public Distance: beyond 12 feet, more formal relationships, public speakers, general public Areas of Social Life that Microsociologists study cont…

5. Personal Space Invader…

6. Touching frequency of touching varies from culture to culture In general, high-status individuals do more touching Touching experiment: women: soothed by touching, lowered blood pressure men: upset by touching, blood pressure and anxiety increased Areas of Social Life that Microsociologists study cont…

7. Eye Contact another way to protect your “bubble” is through eye contact how long or short, directly or indirectly a person looks into your eyes longer eye contact can be seen as a sign of attraction, or as an invitation for intimacy Areas of Social Life that Microsociologists study cont…

8. All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts,… Dramaturgy

9. Erving Goffman social life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage; also called dramaturgical analysis everyday life consists of social actors playing assigned roles people play many roles (ie: daughter, student, wife, teacher) Impression Management—people’s efforts to control the impressions that others receive of them Dramaturgy

10. Example of impression management

11. Front Stages—where performances are given Back Stages—where people rest from their performances, discuss their presentations and plan future performances Role Performance—the ways in which someone performs a role within the limits that the role provides; style/personality Role Conflict—conflicts that someone feels between roles because the expectations attached to one role are incompatible with the expectations of another role Role Strain—conflicts that someone feels within a role Dramaturgy cont…

13. sign-vehicles–term used by Goffman to refer to how people use social setting, appearance, and manner to communicate information about the self. social setting: place where action unfolds (office, classroom, dorm, gym) appearance: how we look when we play our roles (make-up, hairstyles, clothing, uniforms, props) manner: attitudes we show as we play our roles (anger, indifference, sincerity, good humor) Dramaturgy cont…

14. Teamwork—the collaboration of two or more people to manage impressions jointly face-saving behavior—techniques used to salvage a performance that is going sour. we can ignore flaws in someone’s performance (tact) 9-11 (Bush speaking from oval office) Dramaturgy cont…

15. Each focuses on different aspects of the human experience Macro: larger framework (structure) Micro: smaller scale (interaction) Both are needed to understand social life example: Saints vs Roughnecks (pg. 117/120) The Need for both Macro & Micro