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

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

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

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

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

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

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,…

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

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

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)

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)

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)