Lecture 5: Social Interaction

Anne-Marie Jeannet

Comparative Social Systems (2021-2)

Intro
Daily Interactions
Example: Civil Disattention (Goffman 1967)

▶ each individual indicates recognition of other people

▶ BUT avoids any gesture that might be seen as intrusive or
hostile
▶ is not being ’rude’ but is considered a form of ’respect’ or
’politeness’
▶ it is a learned form of social interaction
Personal Space
Social Interactions involving Human Body

Figure: Henslin and Biggs (1997) studied 12,000 gynecological examinations by male doctors

▶ in order for interaction to run smoothly and everyone to

feel comfortable it is desexualized with a common ’script’
▶ example: role of doctor and patient
▶ rituals help us navigate difficult social encounters involving
human body
What is social interaction?

Everyday interaction depends on subtle relationships between

what we convey with our faces and bodies and what we express
with our words.
▶ focused interaction: individuals attend directly to what
others say or do. For example: chatting with a friend or an
encounter with a shopkeeper
▶ unfocused interaction: people exhibit mutual awareness of
each other’s presence, and communicate continually
through body posture and gestures. For example: a busy
street, people at the cinema, a discotheque
What is social interaction?

Verbal Communication
▶ language: meaning comes from words AND social context
▶ response cries, utterances (”oops!”)
What is social interaction?

Non-Verbal Communication
1. exchanging meaning and information through facial
expressions, gestures and movements of the body
2. facial expressions of emotions seem to be innate
3. gestures and movements differ by society
4. humans read people’s non-verbal communication to detect
deceit or trust

Figure: Paul Elkman’s photographs of the facial expressions of a tribesman from a remote
community in Papa New Guinea.
The world as a stage

Goffman: Front Stage vs. Backstage

The Self in Social Interaction
Self-concept is built not in solitude, but rather within social
settings.
▶ social identities are constructed through continued process
of interaction
▶ personal identity: what marks us as unique and different
▶ collective identity: what marks as similar, what do we share
▶ embodiment: living in a body that is inscribed a social
meaning (e.g. physical disability)

Figure: Charles Cooley and the ’looking-glass self’: the process wherein individuals base their
sense of self on how they believe others view them
The Rules of Social Interaction

Goffman: smooth-running of everyday existence, people need to

take for granted certain aspects of social interactions
▶ ethnomethodology: the study of
’ethno-methods’ or how lay
people make sense of what others
do and say
▶ shared understandings: meanings
in interactions do not belong to
the individual but are created
through the interaction Figure: ”small talk” carries a shared
understanding of social meaning
▶ timing, smooth openings and
smooth closings are all
fundamental
When the rules are violated?

Conversations are one of the main ways our daily lives are
maintained as stable and coherent.
▶ if people perceive rules are violated, they feel insecure or
uncomfortable
▶ sometimes people are uncooperative in making interactions
smooth even intentionally
▶ interaction vandalism: when a subordinate person breaks
the tacit rules of interaction that are of more value to the
powerful
▶ are closely tied to gender, class or ethnic tensions
What about Online Social Interaction?

New Patterns of Social Interaction Online

▶ netiquette: norms and rules

about governing online
communication and networking
▶ role conflict (e.g. social media)
▶ building ’trust’ online?
Thank You!