Social Interaction in Everyday Life

Social Structure Status Role

Status Ascribed status Received at birth or involuntarily assumed Achieved status Voluntary Master status Special importance for your identity Status set

Role Behavior expected on someone who holds a particular status Role set Role conflict Employee and husband Role strain Supervisor and friend Role exit

The social construction of reality People creatively shape reality through interaction Thomas theorem “Situations that are defined as real become real in their consequences” “Definition of the Situation”

Dramaturgical Analysis Erving Goffman Sees society as a theatrical performance Presentation of self Efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others Performance Costumes, props, tone of voice, etc.

Dramaturgical Analysis Tact is used in embarrassing situations When the constructed reality breaks down

Getting the humor in a joke Audience must inferentially complete the joke in their minds Audience must understand the two realities involved, and appreciate their difference What is funny in one culture may not be funny in another society. E.g. “Blond jokes” in Africa