Symbolic interactionalism (1)

Foundations of Sociological Thought

• Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical perspective emphasizing the role of symbols and interactions in shaping human behavior.
• Key figures in symbolic interactionism include Herbert Blumer, Erving Goffman, and Arlie R. Hochschild.
• Blumer, Goffman, and Hochschild significantly contributed to the development and expansion of symbolic interactionism.

Symbolic Interactionism and Dramaturgy

• Herbert Blumer's work focused on social interaction.
• Erving Goffman's focus centered on dramaturgy, viewing social interaction as a performance.
• Arlie Hochschild explored emotional labor in the context of social interaction.

Actors Not By Our Own Choosing

• Shakespeare's quote highlights the stage-like nature of social life
• Wilde's view emphasizes flaws and unevenness in the social narrative.

Readings

• The Methodological Position of Symbolic Interactionism (1969)
• The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959)
• Asylums (1961)
• The Managed Heart (1983)

Social Status and Social Roles

• Social life is structured by interactions between people with specific statuses.
• Social statuses are positions within the social hierarchy.
• Roles are the expected behaviors associated with specific statuses.
• Role strain and role conflict can arise when expectations conflict or are numerous.

Status Sets and Role Sets

• Individuals often hold multiple statuses simultaneously.
• A status set comprises all the statuses a person holds.
• A role set encompasses all the roles associated with a particular status.
• Each role has specific rights and duties.

Ascribed vs. Achieved Status

• Ascribed statuses are assigned based on inherent characteristics.
• Achieved statuses are earned through effort and personal choices.
• Social capital can impact the achievement of desired statuses.

Master Status

• Master statuses profoundly influence individuals’ lives, affecting their overall identities.
• Disability status is a frequent example in the study of master statuses
• Elected office (presidents) is a further example of voluntary master statuses.

What Statuses/Roles Do You Hold/Perform?

• Individuals consider current statuses and roles, identifying whether they are ascribed or achieved.
• Participants consider roles associated with both statuses.
• Individuals write down chosen statuses and roles for analysis.

The Reality of Social Interactions

• Social interactions are not always "natural" or purely based on objective reality.
• People construct meaning in their interactions.

Erving Goffman and the Presentation of Self

• Goffman (1922-1982) explored how individuals present themselves to others.
• Dramaturgy and everyday interactions.
• Goffman focused on social interactions, particularly how individuals construct their self-image to others.
• Performances and defined situations.

Key Terms

• Interactions are characterized by reciprocal influences in the immediate proximity of individuals
• A performance in any interaction involves all activities of a particular participant directed towards others.
• Parts and routines represent structured ways of behaving which arise from and within social roles.

The Definition of Situation

• Individuals constantly seek information and try to discern the situation when they encounter new people.
• Information gathering improves expectations about what to expect.
• This in turn generates a form of social script of what someone may do or expect.

Erving Goffman and the Presentation of Self 2

• Individuals actively attempt to create positive impressions on others (idealization).
• Motives are frequently rationalized to make interactions seem more intentional than just happenstance.
• Embarrassment and "saving face" are important to ensure smooth interactions.
• Individuals play out roles and utilize a back and front stage to maintain decorum

Erving Goffman and the Presentation of Self 3

• Individuals may act as if they have an ideal self to others, which is not how they might always act.
• Some social roles have special status and responsibility associated with them (doctors).

Resocialization

• Resocialization is the effort to change a person's attitudes and behaviors in a setting.
• This often occurs in a total institution.
• The transition into total institutional settings frequently leads to a form of forced resocialization.

Total Institutions

• Total institutions organize all aspects of individuals' lives.
• They often use standardized practices and approaches.
• Life in total institutions often involves strict schedules and rules.

Role Distancing

• Role distancing refers to when individuals engage in actions associated with a role but do not fully adhere to it.
• It is characterized as a form of social distancing.
• Secondary adjustments characterize unwillingness to adhere to role expectations.

Ethnomethodology

• Ethnomethodology studies how people interpret and make sense of social norms and interactions.
• Individuals frequently use preexisting shared norms and understandings to interpret or adhere to actions of others.
• Breaching experiments disrupt patterns of social interaction

Breaching Experiments

• Individuals purposefully disrupt everyday social interactions to illustrate the underlying assumptions.
• Observation of reactions can showcase the extent that interactions are built on assumptions.

Emotional Labor

• Hochschild introduced the concept of emotional labor in the 1970s.
• Emotional labor involves producing or suppressing emotions to meet job expectations.
• Significant amounts of emotional labor are required across numerous social roles (particularly feminine ones).

Goffman and Hochschild

• Goffman had a profound impact on Hochschild's conceptualization of emotions.
• Goffman's perspective highlights how interactions rely on particular emotional performances given the social setting.

Goffman and Hochschild 2

• Emotional work (deep acting) is important and significant, as are feeling rules and emotional labor.
• It plays several roles in shaping social interactions, creating and maintaining societal structures. (e.g. flight attendants).
• Emotional labor and feeling rules often influence interactions, resulting in both individual and collective psychological responses.

Emphasized Femininity

• Female flight attendants enact expectations and roles associated with womanhood, such as nurturing, caring, and sensitivity to others in their interactions and performances.

Emotional Labor in the Workplace

• Service-based jobs often involve significant emotional labor.
• Employees may experience stress from emotional labor.

Emotional Labor in the Workplace 2

• Research has shown that men are not immune to crying and feeling emotions over work, but the context of who it is in front of can change the overall behaviour shown. (e.g. back stage/ washroom versus front stage)

Discussion Questions

• How do feelings impact emotion, work, and emotional responses?
• What are the implications for individual identities?
• Social inequality and societal structures influence individuals.

Conclusion

• Social life is a form of enacted behavior, and individuals enact self-presentations within particular social contexts.
• Individuals strive to maintain order to avoid disruption from various social encounters.
• Elements such as emotional labor, feeling rules, and resocialization are frequently used to promote and maintain social control.

Test your knowledge on key concepts in sociology related to emotions at work. This quiz covers theories from Goffman, Soares, and others, exploring emotional labor, role performance, and social status. Perfect for sociology students aiming to understand the interplay between emotions and social roles.