Exam 5: Interaction, Groups, and Organizations: Connections That Work

Explain the importance and characteristics of interaction from a rational choice theory, ethnomethodological, and dramaturgical perspective. Include the key assumptions of each theory. Also, detail the motivation of interpersonal interaction from each of the three perspectives, and integrate at least one critique of each theory in your discussion.

Because of the success of affirmative action policies, minorities are equally promoted within bureaucratic organizations.

All of the following are problematic by-products of bureaucracies except:

Ethnomethodology and dramaturgy draw from symbolic interaction theory.

Michael enjoys being the most popular boy in his high school. All of his popular friends are on the soccer team, but Michael doesn't like soccer because he doesn't like running. Despite his dislike for soccer, he tries out for the school team. Dramaturgists would categorize his behavior as "impression management."

Using either yourself or someone you know as an example, describe a status set of an individual using at least five statuses. Which of these statuses are ascribed and which are achieved? Does this individual have a master status? Describe some corresponding roles for each of the statuses. How might this individual experience role strain? What about role conflict?

What are the different ways people use their social networks? Detail at least two ways individuals develop their micro-level networks and contrast this with at least two ways individuals develop the meso-level networks.

Describe a norm that an ethnomethodologist could violate to learn something about social interaction. In your description, state why this norm is a good example to violate and what the ethnomethodologist might learn from the violation.

Role strain is the tension between roles within one status.

After working at a local fast-food restaurant for two years, Chris becomes uninvolved and unconnected to his job. He finds his job boring and feels he will not be promoted to a better position. Chris is most likely experiencing:

All of the following are characteristics of ideal type bureaucracy except:

Cindy just changed her major from psychology to sociology and is trying to make friends in her sociology class. One day, Jack, a fellow sociology major, says, "psychology is only for people interested in studying rats." Cindy laughs, even though she disagrees with him and did not think the joke was funny. According to dramaturgists, Cindy is performing ___________ behavior.

Which of the following theories would be most likely to argue that people take the underlying rules of interaction for granted?

It is easy for individuals to maintain morals and values when working in an extremely large organization.

Most of the time, we engage in _________________ behavior, the behavior safest with casual acquaintances because it is scripted.

___________________ is interaction using facial expressions, the head, eye contact, body posture, gestures, touch, walk, status symbols, and personal space.

Which of the following traits is not characteristic of in-groups?

Our social networks include:

The A-OK sign is an insult in Japan.

When Stanley Milgram set out to understand the distance between individuals in society, he found that we need to go through an average of __________ individuals before accessing a previously unacquainted target.