1. Social Structure, Social Interaction and Collective Behaviour
Chapter Four

2. Outline Components of social structure
Social Interaction: the microlevel perspective
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3. Groups
Social Group: consists of two or more people who interact frequently and share a common identity and feeling of interdependence
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4. Two Types of Groups Primary Secondary
Small, less specialized group in which members engage in face-face, emotion-based interactions over a long time
Secondary
Larger, more specialized group in which members engage in more impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time
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5. Groups
Social solidarity: relates to a group’s ability to maintain itself in the face of obstacles
Social network: a series of social relationships that link an individual to others
Variation for women and men
Variation for ethnic groups and social class
Mostly visible minorities and women have been excluded from “old-boy” networks
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6. Groups
Social network
For homeless people, there are few social networks
They are separated from family and former friends
They suffer from social isolation
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7. For many years, capitalism has been dominated by powerful “old-boy” social networks. Professional women have increasingly turned to sporting activities such as golf or tennis to create social networks that enhance their business opportunities.
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8. Groups
Formal organization: highly structured group formed for the purpose of completing certain tasks or achieving specific goals
Examples:
Universities
Corporations
The government
All formal organizations are a very important component of social structure in modernity
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9. Social Institutions
Function: to provide for basic needs of people (example, the need for the socialization of children is provided by the family and the educational institution)
Social Institutions: a set of organized beliefs and rules that establish how a society will attempt to meet its basic social needs
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10. Contrasts between Social Groups and Social Institutions
Composed of specific, identifiable people
A family is a good example
Specific families do not always conform to the ideologies and standardized patterns of the family as a social institution
Social Institution
Standardized patterns of behaviour that organize life
The family as an institution consists of ideologies and standardized patterns of behaviour that organize a specific family
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11. Functionalist Theorists
Needs
1. Replacing members
2. Teaching new members
3. Producing, distributing, and
consuming goods
Institutions
1. The family
2. The family and education
3. The economy
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12. Functional Theorists Needs 4. Preserving order
5. Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose for life
Institutions
4. The State or the government
5. Religion and other cultural institutions
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13. Social Institutions
Conflict theorists argue that many institutions do not fulfill these functions well
Homeless people lack the power and resources to promote their own interests when they are opposed by dominant social institutions
Urban renewal is good for the wealthy but takes away affordable housing for marginal people-leaving them without homes
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14. Social Institutions Other dysfunctions of social institutions
Some families abuse children
States tend to support the wealthy but not the marginalized
Religion often controls people rather than giving them meaning and freedom
Corporations tend not to care for their employees and leave them when sales drop
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15. Social Interaction: The Micro-Level Perspective
Focus: social interaction among individuals, especially face-to-face encounters
Social Interaction and Meaning
The Social Construction of Reality
Dramaturgical Analysis
Nonverbal Communication
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16. Social Interaction and Meaning
Focus: we give meaning to our social action
Terms:
Civil inattention: that we show awareness that others are near us but we do not make them an object of special attention
Interaction order: interaction does have a pattern which regulates the form and processes but not the content
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17. Social Interaction and Meaning
Variations in how we interpret social interaction
rituals:
From ethnicity
From gender
From social class
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18. Social Interaction and Meaning
Attention deprivation: the marginalized people tend to feel this way because of their rejection by members of dominant classes
Example of attention deprivation: Sixty percent of Canadians feel uncomfortable when they meet homeless people
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19. The Social Construction of Reality
The Social Construction of Reality: the process by which our perception of reality is shaped largely by the subjective meaning that we give to an experience
Theory: we act on the reality as we see it and not necessarily as it is—the definition of the situation
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20. The Social Construction of Reality
Definition of the situation: we analyze a social context in which we fine ourselves, determine what is in our best interest, and adjust our attitudes and actions accordingly
Self-fulfilling prophecy: a false belief or prediction that produces behaviour that makes the originally false belief come true
Example: If I am told repeatedly that I am not a good person, I will begin to believe that I am not a good person
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21. The Social Construction of Reality
Further theme is that others tend to define our own reality in their terms
Often, it is a dominant group that defines this
Example: the media defining what it’s like to be homeless
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22. Sharply contrasting views of the same reality are evident in these people’s views about the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City in September 2001.
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23. Dramaturgical Analysis
Dramaturgical analysis: the study of social interaction that compares everyday life to a theatrical presentation
Elements:
Others are considered to be the audience
People acting are termed actors
Impression management: people’s efforts to present themselves to others in ways that are most favourable to their own interests or image
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24. Dramaturgical Analysis
Elements:
Face-saving behaviour: the strategies we use to rescue our performance when we experience a potential or actual loss of face
Front stage action: our action in front of others at work, in school, in the public
Back stage action: our action away from the public in the private sphere
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25. According to Erving Goffman, our day-to-day interactions have much in common with a dramatic production.
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26. Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication: the transfer of information between persons without the use of speech
Types:
Intentional
Unintentional
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27. Nonverbal Communication
Functions of Nonverbal Communication:
Supplements verbal communication
Regulates social interaction
Establishes power relations
Deference: the symbolic means by which subordinates give a response to those in power
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28. Nonverbal Communication
Facial Expression, Eye Contact, and Touching:
Facial expressions reflect gender-based patterns of dominance and subordination
Women are more likely to sustain eye contact during conversations
No direct eye contact from subordinates to those in power: reflects rank
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29. Nonverbal Communication
Facial Expression, Eye Contact, and Touching:
Touching: Wide variety of meanings
Intimacy
Friendship
Sexual connotations
Gender differences
Who touches first may reflect rank
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30. Nonverbal communication may be thought of as an international language
Nonverbal communication may be thought of as an international language. What message do you receive from the facial expression and gestures of each of these people? Is it possible to misinterpret their messages?
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31. Nonverbal Communication
Personal Space: the immediate area surrounding a person that the person claims as private
Theme: when others invade our space, we may retreat, stand our ground or become angry
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32. Types of Personal Space In North America
Public
Over 3.6 meters
More formal and makes inter-personal speech nearly impossible
Intimate:
Contact to 0.5 meter
Spouses, lovers, and close friends
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