Sociology Chapter Summary

Chapter four of “Sociology: A Brief Introduction” first describes the sociological perspectives in dealing with social interactions, then goes on to explain symbolic communication, communication between men and women, interaction as dramaturgy, and lastly, the social construction of reality.

Interaction among the sociological perspectives varies. While the functionalist perspective focuses on exchange and cooperation, the conflict perspective focuses on the oppositional qualities of interaction like competition and conflict. While the functionalist and the conflict perspectives are both structural, the last perspective, the symbolic interactionist perspective, looks into the internal meanings of supportive and oppositional interactions.

Between human and animal communication, human is much more complex being

For example, while in the United States there is a greater adherence to one speaker at a time as a sign of respect, in many other countries people adhere to chiming in while someone is talking to show show excitement about the topic. Communication also differs among societies non-verbally. Communication even differs between men and women who speak the same language. Using different genderlects, a female will emphasize connection and intimacy in her speech, a man will emphasize status and independence. The different genders will also use kinesics, or body language, and proxemics, or space between two people, to communicate.

Sociologists say Shakespeare captured the essence of social interaction within his famous line, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Interaction involves people acting towards eachother as if they were performers and audiences, presenting themselves with positive attributes and concealing negative ones. Among interaction is interaction rituals, which is when participants perform certain acts to show respect for the occasion or to