Understanding Social Interaction

Intro to Sociology

• Social interaction describes acting and reacting to individuals around you
• Studying social interaction provides insights into how humans creatively shape reality by balancing agency and structure
• Agency is the capacity to act, think, and make independent choices
• Structure encompasses patterned arrangements and hierarchies that influence or limit available choices and opportunities
• Civil inattention involves individuals in the same setting showing awareness of each other without being intrusive
• Nonverbal communication is the exchange of information through facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, and body movements
• Emojis and GIFs serve as examples of nonverbal communication
• Front region behavior involves acting out formal roles, while back region behavior occurs in informal settings
• Impression management is the effort to control or influence how others perceive you
• Edward Hall distinguished four zones of personal space between 1969-1973
• Intimate distance ranges from 1 to 1.5 feet, typically for lovers and parents
• Personal distance ranges from 1.5 to 4 feet, for friends and acquaintances
• Social distance ranges from 4 to 12 feet, usually in formal settings
• Public distance is beyond 12 feet
• Sorokowska et al. conducted "Preferred Interpersonal Distances: A Global Comparison" in 2017
• Focused interaction involves direct conversation, while unfocused interaction occurs in large gatherings without direct engagement

Encounters, Groups, and Interaction

• An encounter happens when two or more people meet face-to-face
• A social group is a collection of individuals sharing a common identity who regularly interact based on shared expectations and behavior
• A social aggregate is a collection of people in the same place at the same time who do not necessarily share anything in common or interact
• In-groups are groups towards which one feels loyalty and respect, while out-groups are groups towards which one feels antagonism and contempt
• Primary groups have intense emotional ties, face-to-face interaction, intimacy, and strong commitment, and can endure for a long time
• Secondary groups are large, impersonal, often involve short relationships, seen in schools, work groups, and athletic clubs
• Reference groups provide standards for judging one's attitudes or behaviors, such as family, peers, classmates, and coworkers
• Dyads consist of two people and are intense but unstable
• Triads consist of three people and are more stable because the third person relieves pressure
• As group size increases, intensity decreases while stability and exclusivity increase

Leadership, Obedience, and Society

• Transformational leadership instills a sense of mission in members, changing the group's nature (Ex. Martin Luther King Jr.)
• Transactional leadership focuses on tasks, ensuring the group achieves its goals through routine leadership
• Leaders are responsive, work within organizational culture, and motivate followers by appealing to their self-interest
• The Asch Task involved assessing which of three lines matched the length of a fourth line
• The Milgram Experiment involved a teacher administering shocks to a learner for incorrect answers, ranging from 15v to 450v
• Groupthink happens when group members ignore alternative ways of thinking that go against the group consensus
• McDonaldization is the process by which fast-food restaurant principles dominate more sectors of society
• Efficiency involves satisfying hunger quickly
• Calculability emphasizes quantitative aspects of products (portion, size, cost) and services
• Predictability assures products and services are consistent
• Control involves limited menus and uncomfortable seating to encourage quick dining

Food, Norms, and Deviance

• A "Scarecrow" animation video highlighted themes of food production, contrasting natural and artificial methods, and ethical concerns
• Mores are moral norms derived from generally accepted practices, reflecting established societal practices rather than written laws
• Folkways are customs or beliefs common to society or culture members
• Deviance is nonconformity to accepted norms within a community
• Corporate crimes can be administrative, environmental, financial, labor-related, manufacturing-related, or involve unfair trade practices
• Primary deviance refers to initial acts of deviance, while secondary deviance refers to deviance in response to societal reaction
• Examples of crime and deviance intersection exists
• Theories of deviance includes but not limited to conflict theory
• "Stand Your Ground" law exists in Florida
• There was a Rana Plaza tragedy of April 2013 in Savar, Bangladesh
• Great crime decline can results from prisons, death penalty, and policing
• Reasons exist for higher violent crime record in the U.S.