Social status of a person. Different social groups that occupy a certain position Since social status reflects the level

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1. The concept of the social structure of society

The concept of social structure refers to the social sphere of society. In the broadest sense of the word, the concept of “social” is used as a synonym for the concept of “public” when it comes to contrast with biological, natural phenomena. In this case, everything that covers the life of human society is social. In the narrow sense of the word, the concept of “social” means a special sphere of social relations that characterize different groups of people as carriers of different types of activities. The social sphere of society's life acts as a set of social relations and conditions that influence the content and nature of activities, people's behavior and covers the interests of people, social groups, relationships between society and the individual. Social relations are relationships between people (or groups of people) carried out in accordance with the laws of the social organization of society.

The structure of any relationship includes:

subjects (parties between whom the relationship arises);

object (that about which relations between subjects arise);

needs (subject-object relationships);

interests (subject-subject relations);

values (relations between the ideals of interacting subjects).

Social relations develop between groups of people, and even when individuals enter into social relations, or relations arise between an individual and a group, an individual and society, we cannot consider this individual in isolation, outside the community or society that prompted certain motives, social interests and influenced the formation of her values.

Associations of people in joint activities, during which they acquire similar characteristics and social qualities, are called social communities. The totality of social communities and the system of interconnections and relationships between them constitute the social structure of society. Relations between social groups are regulated and streamlined by social institutions operating in all spheres of society. Thus, we can say that the social structure of society is a set of interconnected and interacting social groups and institutions.

The social structure of society is often considered in terms of the division of society along class, demographic, and territorial lines. In this case, we are talking about the social-class, socio-demographic, socio-territorial structure of society.

The social class structure of society is the orderly and stable connections between the elements of the social system, determined by the relations of social groups, which are characterized by a certain place and role in material, spiritual production and in political life. Traditionally, the core of the social class structure was considered to be the class division of society. The definition of the concept “class” is given in the work of V. I. Lenin “The Great Initiative”. Classes are large groups of people that differ in their place in a historically defined system of social production, in their relationship to the means of production, in their role in the social organization of labor, and, consequently, in the methods of obtaining and the size of the share of social wealth that they have. It should be noted that some scientists consider the class approach to be outdated and inapplicable to modern society, the social structure of which has become significantly more complex.

The socio-demographic structure of society is based on its division into groups based on age and gender. These are primarily groups such as youth, pensioners, women, men, etc. Each of these groups faces serious social problems. In particular, problems of employment, crime, drug addiction, and AIDS are very acute for young people.

The socio-territorial structure of society is based on its division into territorial communities of various types (urban, rural, township, etc.). Territorial communities operate in different conditions of the natural and artificial environment, and their historical past is different. All this creates unequal conditions for people’s life and development, especially if we compare life in a village and a metropolis. Territorial communities differ in the social composition of the population, the level of its education, general culture and professional training. Many social problems arise from the uneven development of territorial structures, such as uneven provision of housing, hospitals, clubs, theaters, different opportunities for education and decent work, different accessibility to socio-economic infrastructure.

2. Social groups

A social group is one of the main components of the social structure. The social structure consists of a wide variety of social groups. The people who make up these groups participate in intra- and intergroup interactions, which characterizes the sociality of the individual, which can be defined as the individual’s involvement in social interaction through determining his place in the activities of various groups.

In its most general form, a social group can be defined as a collection of people characterized by certain common characteristics. Among these features may be similarity, the proximity of people’s living conditions, the commonality of their needs, the presence of joint activities, interconnected exchange of activities, social identification of members of the community, their self-ascription to this community, etc. The American sociologist R. Merton defines a social group as a set of people defined interacting with each other, recognizing their belonging to a given group, and being recognized as members of that group from the point of view of others. In modern sociology, one can find a large number of criteria for dividing into groups, for example, according to the time of existence of the group, the basis of formation, the nature of organization, the content of activity, the principle of communication between group members, etc.

Depending on the density, form of implementation of connections and their constituent members, large and small, primary and secondary are distinguished social groups. The main object of sociological research is small social groups, including from several people to several dozen people, since the results of these studies can be extrapolated to increasingly larger social communities. A small social group is small in composition; its members are united by common activities and are in direct personal communication. A type of small social groups are primary groups. The term “primary groups” was introduced into sociology by the American scientist Charles Cooley. The distinctive features of these groups are the direct interpersonal contact of their members, characterized by high level emotionality. These groups are primary in the sense that it is through them that individuals gain their first experience of social unity. Through the primary group, the socialization of individuals is carried out, their development of patterns of behavior, social norms, values and ideals. Through it, a person realizes his belonging to certain social communities. Examples of primary social groups are family, school class, group of friends, sports team, etc.

A secondary group is formed from people who do not necessarily have an emotional relationship. Their interaction is subordinated to the achievement of certain goals, individually unique personality traits do not matter, the main thing is to perform certain functions. The main type of secondary social group is a large social group formed to achieve certain goals, for example, a political party, a large production team, etc. Large social groups are collections of people who, as a rule, are united by one socially significant feature (belonging to any religion, professional affiliation, etc.). Members of a large group may never come into contact with each other. This means that a particular group member never comes into contact with all members of the group, although he undoubtedly has contacts with some group members, which can be quite intense and wide in scope.

3. Formal and informal groups

Depending on the presence or absence of official socio-legal status, social groups are divided into formal (official) and informal.

Formal groups are associations of people that are built on the basis of official documents: charters, service instructions, regulations, etc. Members of a formal group are aimed at performing some type of activity and are in a hierarchical subordination (for example, a production team, a sports team , military unit, etc.). The formality of groups is manifested not only in the presence of a more or less rigid hierarchy, it usually also manifests itself in a clear specialization of members performing their special functions. The formal group is rational, that is, it is based on the principle of expediency, conscious movement towards a known goal. It is fundamentally impersonal, that is, it is designed for abstract individuals, between whom no relationships are provided, except for official ones, taking place according to a certain program.

Informal groups arise and function spontaneously, based on common interests, goals and values, and personal sympathies. Relations within such a group are largely determined by the individual characteristics of its members. A spontaneously emerging informal group (for example, a yard group of children, a friendly company, etc.) does not have any special documents regulating its functioning. As a rule, the behavior of members of such a group is regulated by special unwritten rules. The consolidation of an informal group is carried out mainly through the authority of its leader. A formal group can have two leaders, both formal and informal. An informal group has only an informal leader, who stands out due to his personal characteristics, ability to organize and direct its activities, and influence its members.

The division of groups into formal and informal is, to a certain extent, conditional. In any formal group, informal relationships arise between its members, and such a group breaks up into several informal groups. In some cases, formal and informal relations strengthen and support each other, while in other cases, on the contrary, they contradict each other and undermine overall unity.

4. Social role and social status person

Every person living in society is included in various social groups (family, school class, friendly company, etc.). In each of these groups he occupies a certain position, and certain actions are expected of him. The same person must behave differently in different situations. In one case he behaves like a father, in another - like a friend, in a third - like an employee, in a fourth - like a buyer, etc., that is, he acts in different roles. A person, being in a society, is a reflection of the entire set of relations of a given society. Therefore, a person has not one, but a whole set of social roles that he plays in society. The main social roles include the roles of citizen, family member, worker, owner, consumer, etc.

There are many different definitions of the concept “social role”. According to the definition of the famous Russian sociologist I. S. Kon, “a social role is what is expected in a given society from every person occupying a certain place in the social system.” Social roles are usually viewed in two aspects: role expectation and role performance. Our roles are determined primarily by what others expect of us. If someone does not play a certain role according to our expectation, then he comes into conflict with society. For example, parents must take care of their children, a policeman must suppress violations of public order. If they don't do this, they cause our indignation. In the normative structure of a social role, 4 elements are usually distinguished: 1) a description of the type of behavior corresponding to this role; 2) requirements associated with this behavior; 3) assessment of the performance of the prescribed role; 4) sanction - the social consequences of a particular action within the framework of the requirements of the social system. Social sanctions can be moral, legal, political, etc. in nature. The meaning of social sanctions is to encourage a person to a certain type of behavior. They are one of the most important elements of social regulation.

Social status is the position of a person in society, which he occupies in accordance with gender, age, profession, origin, family ties, marital status, level of income, education, etc. Varieties of social status are ascribed and achieved status. Ascribed is a status into which a person is born (innate status), but which is later necessarily recognized as such by society or a group. This includes gender and race. In the strict sense, ascribed is any status acquired against one's own free will and over which the individual has no control. The achieved or acquired status depends on the profession, education, and place of work. This status is acquired as a result of a person’s choice, his personal efforts and is under his control. These are the statuses of a student, professor, manager, member of a political party, etc.

It is necessary to distinguish between social and personal statuses. If social status is associated with the position a person occupies in society as a representative of a large social group, then personal status is the position of a person in a small social group, depending on how he is assessed and perceived by members of this group (acquaintances, relatives) in accordance with his personal qualities. To be a leader, the soul of a company or an expert means to occupy a certain place in the structure of interpersonal relationships, to have a certain personal status.

One person has many statuses because he participates in many groups and organizations. The set of all statuses occupied by one person is called a status set. In a status set, there must be a main status. This is the most characteristic status for a given person, with which other people identify him or with which he identifies himself. Most often this is a status associated with the main place of work (engineer, professor, lawyer, etc.). In modern society, a person has the opportunity to change his status by getting an education, showing business and scientific activity.

Since social status reflects the level of assessment of a person’s position in society, this concept is closely related to the concepts of “prestige” and “authority”. Prestige is a special category used to indicate the social importance of positions held by various groups or individuals in society. Prestigious in society can be professions, residential areas and streets, individual houses, resorts, car brands, shops, educational institutions, clothes from famous fashion designers, and other consumer goods. Signs characterizing prestige do not always adequately reflect a person’s position in certain groups of society. For example, a situation may arise when a person has a prestigious profession, but it does not allow him to provide himself and his family with a decent standard of living, or, conversely, non-prestigious professions and occupations allow a person to receive high incomes or any benefits, thereby providing him with the most access to prestigious consumer goods. The concept of “authority” has a different meaning. It means recognition by a group or society as a whole of the personal and business qualities of members of the group or society. Authority usually reflects the degree of influence an individual has in a group or society. This is a personal characteristic that always relates to a very specific person and is not always associated with prestige. Thus, in politics or social activities, an academician, an engineer, or a worker can become authoritative.

The concept of social status is very close to the concept of social role. The difference between them lies mainly in the context in which they are used. If the concept of “social role” is applied mainly to how a person behaves, that is, to his behavior, then the concept of “social status” relates mainly to the social system. The social role is a more detailed unit of analysis, since behavior within a given interaction depends not only on the context of this interaction, but also on the status that a person has in a given society.

5. Ethnic communities

One of the significant types of communities in modern world are ethnic communities. The word "ethnos" (Greek) means tribe, people, clan. Ethnic groups represent one of the oldest types of social communities of people. Grouping of people according to ethnic principles is based on:

unity of language, norms of behavior, identity, customs;

sameness of food preferences, forms of housing, style of clothing;

common origin and culture;

settlement area.

An ethnos, as a community, has specific social institutions - an endogamous family (formed when representatives of the same ethnic group marry), an institution of elders, a cult organization. Ethnic groups act as associations of people, their union, solidarity.

Ethnic culture includes the following social institutions: custom, ritual, religion, morality, law. Culture creates special mechanisms for the accumulation and transmission of created ethnocultural information from generation to generation. Such mechanisms include language, printing, libraries, museums, television, education and other channels for transmitting information. Through their means, the most significant information for an ethnic group is transmitted - ideals, values, symbols, norms of behavior, etc.

Thus, an ethnos can be defined as a community that is distinguished by specific cultural traits that have developed over many centuries and are transmitted through generations.

Within the framework of industrial society, there are two types of ethnic processes caused by interethnic contacts - those that occur without changing ethnic identity (ethno-unification); and those that cause its changes (ethnic divisions). The most common unification processes at present include ethnic consolidation, ethnic assimilation and interethnic integration.

Ethnic consolidation is a process of internal cohesion of a fairly significant ethnic group, in which the differences between the local groups present in it are smoothed out or previously territorially separated parts are united. Several neighboring ethnic groups that are close in culture and language can also consolidate and unite into one, often turning into parts of this new ethnic group - subethnic groups.

Ethnic assimilation is a process in which a previously independent ethnic group (or part of it) dissolves into the environment of a larger ethnic group. For the assimilated people, this process occurs with a change in ethnic identity, loss of language and traditions. Ethnic assimilation is most characteristic of modern developed countries.

Ethnic separation processes take place in two types. This may be the division of a previously unified ethnic group into several parts, each of which recognizes itself as a new community. This process is called ethnic divergence. But even if the ethnic group is preserved, some part may break off from it, potentially capable of developing into an independent ethnic group. This process is more common today and is called ethnic separation.

The most common and comprehensive ethnic groups in the world are also called different types ethnic groups. They are characterized by such features as a common gene pool, a long history of coexistence, and self-assignment of the subject to a given ethnic group. Thus, we are dealing with both biological and social factors, which is why ethnic groups are also called socioethnic or ethnosocial.

The first ethnic group that replaced the primitive horde was a clan - a consanguineous association of people bound by collective labor and joint defense of their interests. The union of several clans constituted a tribe - a type of ethnic community and social organization of people of pre-class society.

The formation of tribal unions, accompanied by the strengthening of inter-tribal ties, military clashes, population migration, the emergence of classes and states led to the gradual mixing of tribes, to the replacement of previous consanguineous ties with territorial ones and to the emergence of a new ethnic community - a nationality. A nationality is a territorial, linguistic, economic and cultural community of people formed on the basis of slave-owning and feudal modes of production.

With the beginning of the New Age in Europe, with the advancement of commodity-money relations, the formation of the market, and the transition to capitalism, nationalities turned into nations. Unlike a nationality, a nation is a more stable community of people, and deep economic factors give it stability. Nations arose both from tribes and nationalities related to each other, and from people of unrelated tribes and nationalities. The historical features of the formation and development of a nation, the uniqueness of its economic system, culture, way of life, traditions, and geographical environment leave an imprint on the spiritual appearance of the nation, forming specific features of national character and national self-awareness. Each historically established nation rises to an awareness of its national interests, the characteristics of its culture, traditions, and development prospects. She has her own special way of thinking and form of expression of feelings, her own sense of national dignity. All this makes the nation a unique historical entity.

A nation was usually defined as a historically stable community of people, characterized by a common economic life, territory, language, and mental makeup. Currently, many scientists conclude that this definition no longer fully corresponds to modern realities. As a basis for developing a new definition of a nation, these scientists consider it necessary to introduce such a feature as spiritual culture. It is a key feature of a nation, the core that determines its essence. What concerns the community of mental makeup, then it is derived from the community of spiritual culture. Another important component of the national community of people is their self-awareness, which also belongs to the sphere of spiritual culture. National self-awareness is the core of the national spiritual culture. It is in self-awareness that a nation determines its common fundamental interests, goals and ideals, one’s own identity in a multinational world, one’s attitude towards other nations and states.

A nation is not only an objective, but also a subjective entity, whose representatives say in relation to themselves: “this is us,” and in relation to others: “this is them.” In most countries of the world, a person himself determines his nationality, i.e., belonging to one or another nation. The entire course of historical development of ethnic groups testifies to the growing role of sociocultural factors in their functioning. A modern nation can hardly be classified as an ethnic group at all.

6. Interethnic relations

The development of interethnic relations in the modern world is associated with two objectively existing and contradictory trends: the tendency towards the unification of nations - interethnic integration - and the tendency for each nation to function independently - national differentiation. The objective reasons for interethnic integration lie in the development of economic ties and relationships, the unfolding of globalization processes. In the course of these processes, nations overcome their isolation and enter into ever closer interaction with each other. Currently, integration processes have acquired visible forms in Europe, where 25 states are already members of the European Union. At the same time, the second trend is also making itself felt.

These two trends operate constantly, but without conflict. The contradiction between them is the main contradiction in the sphere of interethnic relations. Others follow from the main contradiction, for example, the contradiction between the interests of individual nations and the interests of society as a whole. The aggravation of the national question is associated with the contradictions between the growing scientific and technological revolution, which requires maximum cooperation, the international division of labor, and the national identity of states and peoples. Contradictions arise between the national states themselves due to the presence of specific interests: the use of natural resources, transport communications. Contradictions arise between representatives of different nationalities in work and other multinational teams. The reasons for the aggravation of national interests may be political, economic, or demographic in nature.

Where there are national conflicts, the ideology of nationalism and chauvinism always flourishes. Nationalism is the psychology and ideology of national superiority, which is based on the hypertrophy of national feeling. Nationalism is often associated with the ideas of the chosenness of a given people, the predetermination of its fate by Higher powers. At the same time, to substantiate the idea of national superiority, the facts of the actual history of a given people and the specific properties of its culture are interpreted in a special way. The nationalism of large nations in its most extreme form manifests itself in the form of chauvinism (named after the French grenadier Chauvin, an enthusiastic admirer of Napoleon’s aggressive policy, a satirical character in the Cognard brothers’ vaudeville “The Tricolor Cockade,” popular in the 19th century). Chauvinism is expressed in political, economic, spiritual suppression of other peoples, disregard for their rights and national values. The ways to resolve interethnic problems are not easy, but they cannot be resolved exclusively by force and military methods. Nothing can replace the political path to resolving conflicts, no matter how difficult and long such a path may be in each specific case.

When people interact in a multinational society, the easiest way in a conflict situation is to blame all the troubles on the national minority, and that, in turn, on the indigenous nation. Apparently, the harmonization of relations between people in a multinational society requires compliance with such conditions as the existence of a rule of law, the renunciation of separatism by national minorities, the provision of compactly settled minorities with broad autonomy and self-government, the right to decide their own local affairs, and recognition of the cultural autonomy of territorially dispersed national minorities. The basic principles of modern national policy are as follows.

A harmonious combination of national and international interests, finding optimal forms of correlation between the national and international.

This means, firstly, the prevention of legal norms and laws that perpetuate national inequality; Secondly, respect for cultural traditions and interests of all national groups; thirdly, condemnation of violence in resolving national issues; fourthly, restoration of the rights of repressed peoples.

Rejection of any forms of national chauvinism, special sensitivity and caution in everything related to interethnic communication, affects the national feelings of people.

A multinational society is, as a rule, also multi-confessional (the Latin word “confession” means religion). People can live peacefully and interact in such a society only if they are guided by the principles of religious tolerance and freedom of conscience. More. in the 17th century The English philosopher D. Locke, in his famous letters on religious tolerance, put forward the demands that the state must recognize freedom of religion, provide people with the right of religious self-determination, and should not deprive its subjects of civil and political rights depending on their belonging to a particular confession. In the 18th century French writer and philosopher Voltaire proclaimed that freedom of conscience is a right that a person received from nature, and no one can force him in matters of faith, everyone should be allowed to pray in his own way, everyone has the right to profess one or another faith in accordance only with his conscience . The principle of freedom of conscience is recognized by all modern democratic states, including Russia. It is important to actually realize freedom of conscience in relations between people. From an early age, it is necessary to cultivate feelings of mutual tolerance and respect between citizens who profess a religion and those who do not, between followers of different religions.

Bibliography

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Social status, its features and types.

Social status- the position occupied by an individual or a social group in society or a separate subsystem of society. It is determined by characteristics specific to a particular society, which can be economic, national, age and other characteristics. Social status is divided according to skills, abilities, and education.

Types of statuses

Each person, as a rule, has not one, but several social statuses. Sociologists distinguish:

· natural status- the status a person received at birth (gender, race, nationality). In some cases, birth status may change: the status of a member of the royal family is from birth and as long as the monarchy exists.

· acquired (achieved) status- the status that a person achieves through his own efforts (position, post).

· prescribed (attributed) status- a status that a person acquires regardless of his desire (age, status in the family); it can change over the course of his life. The prescribed status is either innate or acquired.

· Features of social status

· Status - it is a social position that includes a profession of this type, economic situation, political preferences, demographic characteristics. For example, the status of citizen I.I. Ivanov is defined as follows: “salesman” is a profession, “a wage worker receiving an average income” is an economic trait, “a member of the LDPR” is a political characteristic, “a man aged 25” is a demographic quality.

· Each status as an element of the social division of labor contains a set of rights and obligations.

Rights mean what a person can freely afford or allow in relation to other people. Responsibilities prescribe the status holder with some necessary actions: in relation to others, at his workplace, etc. Responsibilities are strictly defined, recorded in rules, instructions, regulations, or enshrined in custom. Responsibilities limit behavior to certain limits and make it predictable. For example, the status of a slave in the ancient world implied only duties and did not contain any rights. In a totalitarian society, rights and responsibilities are asymmetrical: the ruler and senior officials have maximum rights and minimum responsibilities; Ordinary citizens have many responsibilities and few rights. In our country during Soviet times, many rights were proclaimed in the constitution, but not all of them could be realized. In a democratic society, rights and responsibilities are more symmetrical. We can say that the level of social development of a society depends on how the rights and responsibilities of citizens are related and respected.

· It is important that the duties of an individual presuppose his responsibility for their high-quality implementation.

Thus, a tailor is obliged to sew a suit on time and with high quality; if this is not done, he must be punished somehow - pay a penalty or be fired. The organization is obliged under the contract to supply products to the customer, otherwise it incurs losses in the form of fines and penalties. Even in Ancient Assyria there was such a procedure (fixed in the laws of Hammurabi): if an architect built a building that subsequently collapsed and crushed the owner, the architect was deprived of his life.

This is one of the early and primitive forms of manifestation of responsibility. Nowadays, the forms of manifestation of responsibility are quite diverse and are determined by the culture of society and the level of social development. In modern society, rights, freedoms and responsibilities are determined by social norms, laws, and traditions of society.

· Thus, status- the position of an individual in the social structure of society, which is connected with other positions through a system of rights, duties and responsibilities.

· Since each person participates in many groups and organizations, he can have many statuses. For example, the mentioned citizen Ivanov is a man, a middle-aged man, a resident of Penza, a salesman, a member of the LDPR, an Orthodox Christian, a Russian, a voter, a football player, a regular visitor to a beer bar, a husband, a father, an uncle, etc. In this set of statuses that any person has, one is the main, key one. The main status is the most characteristic for a given individual and is usually associated with his main place of work or occupation: “salesman”, “entrepreneur”, “researcher”, “bank director”, “worker at an industrial enterprise”, “housewife”, etc. P. The main thing is the status that determines the financial situation, and therefore the lifestyle, the circle of acquaintances, and the manner of behavior.

· Specified(natural, prescribed) status determined by gender, nationality, race, i.e. characteristics given biologically, inherited by a person against his will and consciousness. Advances in modern medicine make some statuses changeable. Thus, the concept of biological sex, socially acquired, appeared. With the help of surgical operations, a man who has played with dolls since childhood, dressed like a girl, thought and felt like a girl, can become a woman. He finds his true gender, to which he was psychologically predisposed, but did not receive it at birth. Which gender - male or female - should be considered natural in this case? There is no clear answer. Sociologists also find it difficult to determine what nationality a person whose parents are of different nationalities belongs to. Often, when moving to another country as children, emigrants forget old customs and their native language and are practically no different from the native inhabitants of their new homeland. In this case, biological nationality is replaced by socially acquired nationality.

The status-role concept was developed in the works of American sociologists J. Mead And R. Minton .

The role theory of personality describes its social behavior with two main concepts: “social status” and “social role”.

So, according to this concept, each person occupies a certain place in society.

This place is determined by a number of social positions that presuppose the presence certain rights and responsibilities.

It is these positions that are the social statuses of a person. Each person has several social statuses at the same time. However, one of the statuses is always the main or basic one. As a rule, the basic status expresses the position of a person.

Social status- an integral indicator of the social status of an individual, social group, covering profession, qualifications, position, nature of the work performed, financial situation, political affiliation, business connections, age, marital status, etc.

In sociology, there is a classification of social statuses into prescribed and acquired.

Prescribed status- this is a person’s position in society, occupied by him regardless of personal merit, but imposed by the social environment.

Most often, ascribed status reflects a person's innate qualities (race, gender, nationality, age).

Acquired status- This is a position in society achieved by the person himself.

However, a person can also have a mixed status, which combines both types.

A striking example of mixed status is marriage.

In addition to these types, natural and professional-official statuses are also distinguished.

Natural status of personality- a person’s place in the system of social relations, determined by the essential and relatively stable characteristics of a person.

Professional and official status is a social indicator that records the social, economic and production position of a person in society. Thus, social status denotes the specific place that an individual occupies in a given social system.

The concept of “social role” is closely related to the concept of “social status”.

Social role- this is a set of actions that a person occupying a given status in the social system must perform.

Moreover, each status involves performing not one, but several roles. A set of roles, the fulfillment of which is prescribed by one status, is called a role set. Obviously, the higher a person’s position in society, that is, the greater his social status, the more roles he performs.

Thus, the difference in the role set of the President of the state and the worker of a metal rolling plant is quite obvious. The systematization of social roles was first developed by Parsons, who identified five grounds on which a particular role can be classified:

1) emotionality, that is, some roles involve a wide manifestation of emotionality, others, on the contrary, require its containment;

2) method of obtaining- depending on the type of status, they can be prescribed or achieved by the person independently;

3) scale- the scope of authority of one role is clearly established, while that of others is uncertain;

4) regulation- some roles are strictly regulated, such as the role of a civil servant, some are blurred (the role of a man);

5) motivation- performing a role for one’s own benefit or for the public good.

The implementation of a social role can also be viewed from several angles.

On the one hand, this is a role expectation, which is characterized by a certain behavior of a person depending on his status, which is expected by surrounding members of society.

On the other hand, this is role performance, which is characterized by a person’s real behavior, which he considers to be correlated with his status.

It should be noted that these two role aspects do not always coincide. Moreover, each of them plays a huge role in determining a person’s behavior, since social expectations have a strong impact on a person.

The normal structure of a social role usually has four elements:

1) description of the type of behavior corresponding to this role;

2) instructions (requirements) associated with this behavior;

3) assessment of the performance of the prescribed role;

4) sanctions - the social consequences of a particular action within the framework of the requirements of the social system. Social sanctions can be moral in nature, implemented directly by a social group through its behavior (contempt), or legal, political, or environmental.

no role is a pure model of behavior. The main link between role expectations and role behavior is the character of the individual. That is, the behavior of a particular person does not fit into a pure scheme.

Anastasia Stepantsova

Another result of socialization is the acquisition of different statuses by people, i.e. certain positions in society. There are statuses social And private.

Social status- this is the position of an individual (or group of people) in society in accordance with his gender, age, origin, property, education, occupation, position, marital status, etc. (student, pensioner, director, wife).

Depending on the role played by the individual himself in acquiring his status, two main types of social status are distinguished: prescribed And reached.

Prescribed status- this is one that is received from birth, by inheritance or by coincidence of life circumstances, regardless of the desire, will and efforts of a person (gender, nationality, race, etc.).

Achieved status– a status that is acquired thanks to the will and efforts of the individual himself (education, qualifications, position, etc.).

Personal status- this is a person’s position in a small (or primary) group, determined by how others treat him. (hardworking, diligent, friendly).

Also highlighted natural And professional and official statuses.

Natural status personality presupposes significant and relatively stable characteristics of a person (men and women, childhood, youth, maturity, old age, etc.).

Professional official- this is the basic status of the individual, for an adult it is most often the basis of the integral status. It records the social, economic, production and technical position (banker, engineer, lawyer, etc.).

Social status denotes the specific place that an individual occupies in a given social system. Thus, it can be noted that social statuses are structural elements of the social organization of society, ensuring social connections between subjects of social relations. These relationships, ordered within the framework of social organization, are grouped in accordance with the socio-economic structure of society and form a complex coordinated system.

Social connections between subjects of social relations, established in relation to the social functions provided, form certain points of intersection in the vast field of social relations. These points of intersection of connections in the field of social relations are social statuses.
From this point of view, the social organization of society can be presented in the form of a complex, interconnected system of social statuses occupied by individuals who, as a result, become members of society, citizens of the state.
Society not only creates social status, but also provides social mechanisms for distributing members of society into these positions. The relationship between social statuses prescribed by society to an individual, regardless of effort and merit (prescribed positions), and statuses, the replacement of which depends on the person himself (achieved positions), is an essential characteristic of the social organization of society. Prescribed social statuses are predominantly those whose replacement occurs automatically, due to a person’s birth and in connection with such characteristics as gender, age, kinship, race, caste, etc.

The correlation in the social structure of prescribed and achieved social statuses is, in essence, an indicator of the nature of economic and political power; there is a question about the nature of the social formation that imposes on individuals the corresponding structure of social status. The personal qualities of individuals and individual examples of social advancement in general do not change this fundamental situation.

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SOCIAL SPHERE

LECTURE 20. Social groups, social stratification,

social mobility; social status;

Social role.

Social sphere of society includes relationships between various social

communities and groups.

Social structure of society – This internal organization society, the totality of social

The key element of the social structure of society is the social group.

Social group - a collection of individuals (from two to millions) having a common

Social characteristics (gender, age, nationality, profession, hobby,

clothing style, place of residence...).

Types of social groups:

1. By number:

Small (from 2 to 30 people who know each other well, are engaged in some common business and are in direct relationships with each other (family, class, friends).

Large (large group of people; townspeople, students, Russians..)

2. By way of organization:

Formal – associations of people that are built on the basis of official documents

(school class, sports team).

Informal - arise on the basis of common interests, values, personal sympathies

(fans of sports teams, fans of artists).

3. Based on its existence:

Real (groups, the criterion for identifying which are people-conscious, sign

characteristics - gender, nationality, profession...)

Nominal (artificially constructed, existing for statistical accounting

airplane passengers..)

Different social groups occupy different positions in society.

Social differentiation(Latin “differentia” - difference) is the division of society into different

Social groups that occupy a certain position.

(for example, professional differentiation: teachers, doctors;

sexual differentiation: men, women….).

The study of the social structure of society from the point of view of social inequality has been carried out from the very beginning of the development of sociology. Here we can mention the name of Karl Marx with his theory of irreconcilable classes of exploiters and exploited.

G Sorokin Pitirim Aleksandrovich (1889-1968), after emigrating from Russia in 1922, became the founder of the American school of sociology and the author of theories of social stratification and social mobility.

Social stratification – the same as social stratification; it's hierarchical

location of social strata in society.

Concept "stratification" (“stratum” - layer) came to sociology from geology, where it denotes the vertical arrangement of layers of various rocks. Each layer consists of homogeneous elements.

Also stratum – social stratum of people with similar characteristics income ,

authorities , education And prestige. This stratification criteria.

Historically, four main types of social stratification are known:

slavery, castes, estates and classes(K. Marx as a criterion dividing society into classes suggested ownership of property and level of income; according to the class approach, each specific historical period has its own main classes: “slaves and slave owners”; “feudal lords and dependent peasants”; "bourgeoisie and proletariat").

Today there are many options for the stratification division of society.

In the stratification structure of modern Russian society, there are four main layers.

1) UPPER (6% of the employed population) – elite groups occupying key positions in the system

management, economic, law enforcement agencies. This is the most

educated layer (politicians, bankers, entrepreneurs,

prominent figures of science and culture...)

The income level of this layer is 17 or more times higher than the income

bottom layer.

2) MEDIUM (16% of the employed population) - small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, managers of small

enterprises, farmers, the most skilled workers

Almost 60% are employed in the non-state sector. Level

education is significantly higher than the national average.

3) BASIC (66%) - persons employed primarily in the public sector

economy (workers, a significant part of the intelligentsia,

military personnel, the bulk of the peasantry).

Only 25% have higher education.

The previously low standard of living is declining.

4) BOTTOM (10%) - persons with the least professional and

labor potential (cleaners, elevator operators, watchmen,

auxiliary workers...)

Two thirds of this layer are women. Extremely characteristic

low standard of living.

MAIN TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES OF THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE RUSSIAN COMMUNITY

- social polarization (large gap between rich and poor).

-decline in the social status of intellectual work

-complication of the social structure of society

-marginalization of society

-erosion of the intelligentsia (leaving the sphere of mental work or “brain drain”)

There is social inequality between strata that cannot be overcome. The main way to ease social tension is the ability to move from one stratum to another.

Social status-the position of a person in society that he occupies in accordance with age, gender, profession, origin, etc.

Types of statuses:

Statuses acquired or not acquired as a result of free choice:

-prescribed(given to a person from birth - gender, age, race, nationality, origin)

-acquired(achieved; a person acquires them in the process of life -

profession, marital status, position...)

-mixed(have signs of what is prescribed and achieved, but not achieved according to

person's desire: disabled person, refugee, unemployed)

Statuses determined by the influence on an individual’s life:

-basic(defines the main thing in a person’s life, the most characteristic for the person with whom he

identified by other people or himself; most often this status is associated with the main

place of work: engineer, professor, lawyer).

-non-core(affects details of behavior).

In primitive society there were few statuses: leader, man, woman, husband, wife, hunter...

In modern society, there are about 40,000 professional statuses alone, family-marriage-

about 200 relatives (daughter-in-law, cousin...)

One person has many statuses because he participates in many groups and organizations. The totality of all statuses occupied by one person is called status set.

Since social status reflects the level of assessment of a person’s position in society, this concept is closely related to the concepts of “prestige” and “authority”.

Prestige– society's assessment of the significance of certain human positions.

From a person occupying a certain social position, others expect appropriate behavior. For example, the status of a teacher presupposes a specific set of actions (conducting lessons, checking notebooks, meeting with students’ parents), a certain manner of behavior, and a fairly strict style of dress. Completely different behavior is expected from, for example, a pop star. Thus, when assessing the role behavior of an individual, we correlate it with a certain typical idea of how a person of a given social position should act, behave, and dress.

Social role – a behavior model focused on this status.

Role set- a set of roles performed by a person.

Role conflict - a situation in which individuals face conflicting demands from two or more roles(for example, professional growth requires significant personal effort to master a specialty and time investment. For a woman, this becomes especially difficult due to the fact that she has to fulfill the role of a mother and wife, which, in turn, involve a wide range of responsibilities.

Social status is the place in the social system that a particular person occupies.

There are two main meanings of the term “status”:

1. Social status can be considered as its own
its kind of brick, that is, an important element of any social
nal system, since the latter is necessarily
is a set of statuses that are defined
different relationships with each other. Such an understanding
party was proposed by R. Linton.

2. The concept of “status” can be associated with representation
ideas about authority, honor and prestige. In this case
it may underlie the stratification of society, from
personal from stratification based on the concept of class
sa. This use of this concept was proposed
married to M. Weber. They are most attracted to him
prescribed statuses such as social origin,
religious or ethnic affiliation, etc.

Usually a person has several statuses, but there is only one that truly determines a person's position in society; as a rule, this is a person’s profession, or more precisely, the position he holds (for example, teacher, professor). This status is called integral.

The following types of statuses are distinguished.

Acquired status is the status that a person has due to his own efforts made to achieve it. So, no one can be born the same professor - for this you need to acquire certain knowledge, defend a dissertation, gain authority in a professional environment, have certain social interaction skills, etc.

Prescribed status is the status that a person acquires by birth. A striking example of a prescribed status is the title of nobleman, which,

Social status

As a rule, it is inherited. In addition, the prescribed status is nationality, origin, place of birth, etc.

The boundary between prescribed and acquired statuses cannot be precisely established. On the one hand, a status that is usually prescribed can be acquired by a person through merit (as was the case with the granting of the title of nobleman in Russia). On the other hand, status, which is usually acquired, can in a certain sense be inherited (as, for example, in Soviet times, when the “son of a prosecutor” could well be equal in capabilities to a prosecutor).

As a rule, an acquired status can not only be acquired, but also lost, while a person loses a prescribed status much less often (for example, with significant transformations of the political system).

Society itself establishes mechanisms for distributing statuses. The distinction between prescribed and acquired statuses indicates not so much the types of statuses as the methods of their distribution, one of which may predominate. At the same time, in which areas acquired or prescribed statuses predominate and in what proportion they are located is an important indicator characterizing the structure of society and its type.

Natural status is a status that is based on a relatively permanent, usually biological, attribute of a person (for example, the status of a “man”). It is contrasted with professional legal statuses, that is, social statuses themselves, which exist only in the form of an agreement, as a convention, and do not have any “measurable” biological and, more broadly, natural basis.

If a person has statuses that are difficult to reconcile with each other, they speak of status inconsistency. J. Linsky proposed to distinguish four main dimensions of status:

b) education;

c) professional prestige and

d) ethnicity.
Status inconsistency occurs when

status dimensions are inconsistent. This leads to a feeling of dissatisfaction, which a person seeks to overcome in two ways: either by trying to bring the dimensions of status into line, or by trying to influence the status system itself. The inconsistency of status is opposed by status crystallization.

Social structure can be considered as a correlation between prescribed and acquired personality statuses. In slaveholding, feudal, caste societies, prescribed statuses and roles prevail, and family ties are highly valued. In democratic societies, acquired statuses clearly prevail over prescribed ones, and family ties are valued relatively little.

Social action

SOCIAL INTERACTION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

£ Social action

Max Weber was the first to introduce the concept of social action. He gave the following definition: “Social is an action that, in accordance with its subjective meaning, includes in the actor’s attitudes about how they will act other and is oriented in their direction.” Weber himself cites a collision between cyclists as an example. An accidental collision between cyclists is not yet a social action: it becomes social if the cyclists at least try to avoid the collision.

Weber included in the concept of social action only direct communication between people. Obviously, this point of view is a significant but unjustified limitation. Naturally, this distinction needs to be preserved, but not by excluding indirect interaction between individuals.

So, according to Weber, social action is characterized by two main features:

1) it has a subjective meaning, that is, it is associated with
subjective, personal, individual understanding
niya possible options behavior;

2) when performing an action, the subject consciously focuses on the landmark
depends on the response of others, that is, it has
place to wait for this reaction.

T. Parsons identified the following characteristics of social action:

1) normativity (depends on generally accepted values
tey and norms);

2) voluntarism (connection with the will of the subject, ensuring
giving some independence from the environment);

3) sign regulation mechanisms.

In Parsons' concept, the analysis of action involves two approaches: action is considered as a single act and as a system of action.

Action as a single act is associated with the release
actor (doer) and the environment, which includes physical
certain objects, cultural images and other individuals.

Action as a system is considered as open
a system that supports exchange with the external environment
doi, the existence of which is associated with the formation
we have the corresponding subsystems that provide
performing a number of functions.

The following system functions are distinguished, each of which corresponds to a specific subsystem:

a) adaptive function, which corresponds to biological
gical organism;

b) personal, which corresponds to the assimilation of values
sties and norms;

c) social, that is, the totality of social roles
lei (behavior patterns);

d) cultural, to which the learned goals correspond
and ideals.

You can show what social action is using almost any example, including how you read this text. Reading any text represents a certain mental and physiological activity, which is not the subject of sociology. However, any phenomenon of reality is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon, and there are many different points of view from which it can be considered.

The social aspects of such a simple action as reading this text are as follows:

1. When reading the text, you experience certain impulses and have certain motives. Perhaps this is the need to prepare for an exam, perhaps simple curiosity. This side can be considered as psycho-

Social action

logical. However, the Russian philosopher M.M. Bakhtin argued that psychology and sociology are two complementary disciplines, two sides of the same coin. And indeed, motivation and needs are not only psychological categories, since behind them are values enshrined by society. It doesn't matter why you are reading this text. It is important that behind this process there are values such as knowledge or approval of others. In the first case, if you read for curiosity, then you are interested in knowledge; if you just want to prepare for the exam, then you are most likely interested in encouragement in the form of a positive grade.

2. You know that it’s good to be a specialist, freedom
but possessing certain knowledge, and it’s good when
Yes, a person succeeds in what he does. These values
you received in the process of socialization, as part of the primary
social groups (in family, school, when communicating with friends).

3. The reading process was probably preceded by another
process - the process of making a decision: for which exam
Well, better get ready? or maybe it's better to rest?
And in making this decision you will undoubtedly take into account
Vali social factors, that is, possible reactions
those around you and the consequences of your choice, just before
opinions about what is good and what is bad, etc.

4. This text is included! into a complex process, because
which has an addressee (that is, you) and an addressee (that is, the author).
Therefore, this process can be considered as
exchange that takes place between two (or more) people
people who know what they want and understand that
the other side does. Whatever the motives
author, they will be clear to the reader.

5. Behind this interaction between the author and the reader
lem cost much more complex structures. Yes, when
In preparing this manual, the author sought to make it
as complete as possible and at the same time not over
loaded. On the one hand, there is social
educational institution that determines the rules

according to which all participants in the educational process act. Thanks to this, this manual will be useful not only in a particular university where the author teaches, but in the entire country in which the publishing house that published this book operates. And thanks to this, the author not only satisfies his own need for writing this book, but also fulfills the norms by which the institution of education operates in our society, and also satisfies the needs that the readers of this book have (and they need to pass a test or exam in order to what you need to have a certain amount of knowledge).

As psychoanalysis has shown, even such natural and seemingly entirely physiological acts as the fulfillment of natural needs, as well as sexual activity, are strictly regulated by social norms. Thus, premature or too rough teaching a child to “correct” defecation can leave a significant imprint on his personality, namely, the need for constant control and the need for a kind of constant silent sabotage. 3. Freud noted that traits such as punctuality, cleanliness, stubbornness, a tendency to restrain and conceal, which are inherent in some personality types, reflect the script according to which toilet training occurs.

The fact that any action is always performed within the framework of society is related to another category of sociology - social interaction. It is from the social actions that subjects direct at each other that social interaction is formed. Social action is therefore a simpler category. However, this does not mean that the structure of the action is simple.

From point of view structural plan any action includes two obligatory elements: a subject and an object (the one who performs the action and the one to whom this action is directed). Depending on the type of action subject

Social action

actions can be single (individual) and collective. Individual the subject is integral and therefore can act as a subject. In this capacity, he enters into interactions with other subjects and communities of people, and his interactions can be both constructive and conflicting. However, he may also be part of some community with which he will identify himself. Collective The subjects are various communities (groups, organizations). Being part of a collective subject, the individual acts on its behalf both in cases of cooperation and in cases of confrontation.

IN functional aspect stand out action steps: firstly, the stage at which the subject sets himself target, and secondly, the stage at which he achieves (or tries to achieve) the result.

The ability to set goals is an important ability that distinguishes human nature. A goal can be defined as an image of the process and result to which an action should lead.

To achieve a goal, a person needs means, understood very broadly, that is, objects, methods of action, skills, etc. The selection of means can be subject to both rational and value criteria, and can also be carried out on the basis of tradition.

In the first case, a person acts according to the principle “the best means are those that help to achieve the goal” (according to M. Weber, this is a goal-oriented type of action).

In the second case, a person tries to determine how good the means that are at his disposal are, whether they can cause harm to other people, etc. In this case, they speak of a value-rational type of action (this term was also proposed by M. Weber ). Such actions are determined by what the subject must do.

In the third case, a person will be guided by the principle “everyone does it this way”, and therefore, according to the Internet

ru, its action will be traditional. In this case, its action will be determined by the norm.

Finally, a person can take action and choose means under the pressure of feelings. Weber called such actions affective.

The process of implementing an action includes several important components, which are described by the “general functional formula of action”: needs - their reflection in the (collective) consciousness, development of ideal action programs - their operational implementation in the course of activity coordinated by certain means, creating a product capable of satisfying the needs subjects and stimulating new needs.

There is an urgent need for such a vision. If science did not have it, we would not be able to see anything in common behind all the variety of actions. Consequently, science, including sociology, simply could not exist, since any science presupposes a description of the general in abstraction from the particular.

The contact of the subject with the environment of his existence gives rise to needs- a special state of the subject, generated by the need for a means of subsistence, objects necessary for his life and development, and acting as a source of activity of the subject. There are different classifications of needs. The common features of all classifications are the variety of needs, as well as the phased nature of their satisfaction. So, like any living creature, a person needs food and shelter - this refers to physiological needs. But he also needs recognition and self-affirmation - these are already social needs.

Important characteristics of the subject of action also include the total life resource, level of aspirations and value orientations. Total life resource includes energy, time, natural and social benefits. People have different

Social action

life resources depending on their social status. Individual or collective actors have different sets of needs.

The level of aspirations is determined by the social status and individual qualities of the subject: the higher the level of aspirations, the more complex tasks the subject sets for himself, the higher will be the result towards which he focuses in his actions.

These orientations of the subject regarding any sphere of life act as his value orientations, that is, the ways in which the subject distinguishes the value of social phenomena, distributes them according to the degree of significance for himself. Such value orientations are a reflection of the values of society and constantly correlate with them.

To describe the attitude of an actor to a social object, the concept is also used interest. It can be either conscious or unconscious. In a narrow sense, interest implies an attitude towards reality in which emotions play an important role. In the broad sense of this concept, the state of the environment, the needs of the subject, as well as the conditions for their satisfaction are taken into account. Interest is inherent not only in the individual, but also in the collective.

Needs, interests and value orientations are factors motivation actions, i.e. the formation of his motives as direct incentives to action. Motive- a conscious urge to action that arises when needs are realized.

Being an internal drive, a motive can be contrasted with a stimulus as an external drive. Incentives represent additional links between need and motive; these are material and moral incentives for certain actions.

Three main groups of motives can be distinguished:

1. The first group of motives is related to socio-economic aspects of an individual’s existence. This:

A) motives for providing life benefits, b) motives for vocation and c) motives of prestige. Each of these motives determines the type of behavior that an individual chooses: this may be the desire for material benefits, for a certain type of occupation, or for positive evaluation from other people.

2. The second group of motives involves implementation
prescribed and internalized by the individual social
normal

3. The third group consists of motives associated with
optimization of life. Here they can replace each other
aspirations for accelerated social mobility and
overcoming role conflict.

Any activity involves many motives that are organized hierarchically. This means that among them there is always one dominant, which is contrasted secondary motives.

Social interaction and social attitude

Social action within the framework of sociology can be isolated as a separate act and thus become a unit of analysis, but it is extremely rare that it is found as a truly independent act. Social action cannot be imagined without social interaction.

Interaction (interaction) is the process of influence of subjects on each other, in which each action is determined by both the previous action and the expected result on the part of the other. Any interaction requires at least two participants - interactants. Consequently, interaction is a type of action, the distinctive feature of which is its focus on another person.

Social interaction is characterized by such a feature as feedback. Feedback presupposes the presence of a reaction, and therefore social interaction must be directed towards the other person.

P. Sorokin identified two mandatory conditions for social interaction:

a) the participants in the interaction must have psi
hikoy and sense organs, that is, means, I allow
to find out how another person feels through his
actions, facial expressions, gestures, voice intonations, etc.;

b) the participants in the interaction must have the same
express your feelings and thoughts at once, that is, use
use the same symbols to express yourself.

Interaction can be considered at both the micro and macro levels. Interaction at the micro level- this is interaction in Everyday life, for example, within a family, a small work team, a student group, a group of friends, etc. Interaction at the macro level unfolds within social structures, institutions, and even society as a whole.

Social interaction and social attitude

A person builds interaction at the micro level taking into account significant others- people (including close ones, relatives, but not only them) whose opinion about his actions seems valuable to him. As a rule, significant others include people who embody authority for the figure, as well as representatives of his circle and people who have the same position in society.

As for the typology of interactions, several independent classifications can be proposed here. Thus, there are three main types of social interaction:

1) verbal, that is, verbal interaction;

2) physical interaction (transfer of this or that
object, handshake, pat on the shoulder,
kiss);

3) nonverbal interaction, which includes
use of gestures and facial expressions.

However, interaction should not be equated with communication. This concept is much broader, since it involves not only a direct exchange of information, but also an indirect exchange of meanings. Indeed, two people may not speak a word and may not seek to communicate anything to each other by other means, but the very fact that one can observe the actions of the other, and the other knows about it, makes any activity of theirs a social interaction. A person who is alone will behave at least a little differently than a person who is in the company of other people.

In addition, we can distinguish 1) indirect and 2) direct interactions. Direct interactions occur when individuals interact face to face, are in direct contact, which implies the possibility of very close connections and the use of several communication channels at once (verbal, non-verbal, physical interactions) that characterize face-to-face communication, and

Social interaction and social attitude

also an active two-way exchange of opinions and assessments. An example of direct interaction can be any communication, including more formalized than an ordinary conversation between friends, for example, communication between a seller and a buyer, a teacher and a student.

Interaction is considered indirect when such possibilities are not detected, and the possibility feedback limited. Indirect interaction always occurs through some special, artificial communication channel, for example, printed text, television, etc. Therefore, the communication of the president with the citizens of the country, the writer with readers, etc. will be indirect.

Types of interaction can be distinguished in accordance with the division of social life into spheres. In this case we talk about:

1) economic interaction;

2) political interaction;

3) religious interaction;

4) family interaction;

5) labor interaction, etc.

Finally, types of interaction can also be distinguished on the basis of a system of roles and statuses.

Interaction is always concrete. This means that from the point of view of this concept, it is important what exactly one individual did and how the other reacted to it. Obviously, if you step back a little from this process, it becomes clear that such interactions as a whole are somewhat chaotic, disordered, irregular, and random.

However, over time, any interactions can turn into social relationships. Social relations are interactions that, to one degree or another, are recognized by individuals as repeating and, therefore, stable.

There are two main (not mutually exclusive) understandings of social relations.

Social interaction and social attitude

1. As a rule, when talking about social relationships,
mean content-specific and to a greater extent
or at least regulated (permanent or
temporary) connections between people, for example, love, not
hatred, sharing, etc.

2. In addition, social relations are called
also the connections that arise between individuals in
the process of interaction between social groups and communities
and institutions.

£ Theories of social interaction

Exchange theory. Exchange theory was created by George Homans based on the psychological concept of behaviorism. The main tenet of behaviorism is the following: the more often a person’s behavior is rewarded, the more often the person will reproduce this behavior.

According to exchange theory, human behavior is determined by the expected outcome, namely, the reward that he expects to receive. This theory as a whole is a sociological application of the behaviorist approach developed in psychology to the explanation of human behavior. The founder of behaviorism, F. Skinner, believed that any human actions can be explained using the “stimulus-response” scheme.

Homans identified four principles of social exchange:

1) the greater the reward for a certain type
behavior, the more often this behavior will be repeated;

2) if the remuneration depends on some conditions,
then the person “will strive to reproduce these conditions,
to receive a reward;

3) if the reward from a person’s point of view was
However, he will be ready to expend effort to overcome
obstacles to getting rewards;

4) if a person satisfied (or almost satisfied
ril) his needs, then his desire to receive
rewards will decrease.

Homans' theory allows one to analyze almost any interaction and makes it largely predictable. At the same time, there are contradictions in it. Harriet Zuckerman has shown that scientists who receive a Nobel Prize become less active. According to Zuckerman, this fact indicates that too much reward leads to loss of interest in the activity. However, most likely, this fact simply indicates a contradiction between the 1st and 4th principles.

Theories of social interaction

Homans formulated other principles that can also be applied in the analysis of social interaction. In particular, he proposed the “principle of least interest,” according to which the participant in the interaction who is least interested in it receives the right to dictate the forms of this interaction.

According to the “principle of distributive justice,” any exchange relationship involves the desire for a proportional reward to its participants (that is, a reward in accordance with the effort expended). Using this principle, Homans explained the emergence of social inequality.

Symbolic interactionism. The theory of social interaction, proposed by symbolic interactionists, primarily J. G. Mead, G. Blumer, and others, makes adjustments to Homans’ theory of exchange. From the point of view of symbolic interactionism, action cannot be reduced to the “stimulus-response” chain, since a person must interpret a stimulus before responding to it. To put it simply, a stimulus is not enough to explain human activity, since a person in most cases makes a more or less conscious decision about how to respond to a stimulus.

Therefore, a symbol must be placed between the stimulus and the response. First of all, by symbol we mean linguistic signs, although the meaning of this word is not limited to this. A symbol is almost any thing, any phenomenon, that is, everything to which we attach some meaning. For example, facial expressions and actions are always interpreted in the process of interaction: we need to understand what a person wants, what he experiences, what intentions he has, etc. Without this, interaction is impossible.

From the point of view of symbolic interactionism, human society consists of individuals who

Theories of social interaction

get along with the “personal self”. These individuals create their own meanings; therefore, individual action is not just the performance of an action, but also the construction of a certain meaning. From this point of view, meaning formation turns out to be a set of actions during which an individual notices an object, relates it to his values, attaches meaning to it, and, based on this meaning, makes a decision about how he will act.

This scheme can be extended to both inanimate objects and other people. Consequently, interpreting the actions of another is determining for oneself the meanings that certain actions of others carry.

J. G. Mead distinguished between significant and insignificant gestures. Insignificant gestures are reflexes, that is, movements that a person makes involuntarily. For example, if someone covers their face with their hands, we can assume that this person is ashamed. The gesture itself will be involuntary, but for the observer it will be filled with meaning, and therefore will become a significant gesture, or, more broadly, a symbol.

Ethnomethodology. This approach was developed by G. Garfinkel. From his point of view, interactions between people are governed by rules that people accept on faith. Such rules usually do not stand up to scrutiny because they are actually violated too often. Nevertheless, individuals constantly resort to them. So, for example, when coming to visit, it is customary not to steal things from the house, and therefore the owner will behave as if this cannot happen - even if he knows that this happens.

Dramaturgical theory of I. Goffman. Goffman builds his theory on the concept of “impression management.” In his opinion, people are interested in others treating them well, and therefore they themselves create situations in which they can produce good behavior.

neck impression on others. Since in this case the actor resembles an actor who plays a certain role in front of others (“spectators”), and his activity itself turns out to be a kind of theatrical performance, Goffman’s theory was called the dramaturgical approach. An elementary example would be deliberately being late to a party or event: the latecomer may thus strive to be the center of attention; if a significant person is late, then her action may be aimed at reinforcing the impression of her importance.

Social status of a person. Different social groups that occupy a certain position Since social status reflects the level

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