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Isolating individual social actions is very useful in studying social processes. At the same time, even simple observation shows that social action rarely occurs in a single, isolated form. In fact, people are connected to each other by thousands of invisible threads and depend on each other. Dependence arises in cases when each of us can say about ourselves: “Specific objects, values, conditions (and we can talk about both material and moral values), which are required to me, are situated in his disposal." It can be elementary, direct dependence on parents, friends, colleagues, or it can be complex, indirect. Among the latter is the dependence of our individual life on the level of development of society, the effectiveness of the economic system, the efficiency political system etc. Social life arises, reproduces and develops precisely due to the presence of dependencies between people, because it is they who create the prerequisites for the interaction of people with each other. In the case when dependence is realized through a specific social action, we can talk about the emergence social connection. Social communication, no matter what form it takes, has a complex structure. But it is always possible to identify the main elements in it: the subjects of communication, the subject of communication and, most importantly, the “rules of the game” by which this connection or the mechanism of conscious regulation of relationships between subjects is carried out.

Social connection appears in the form of social contact and social interaction. Let us take a closer look at these phenomena.

Every day each of us enters into a huge number of social contacts: a random passerby asks us how to get to such and such a street, we go into the store and ask the seller to give us the goods we need. We encounter people at work, in transport, at university. Without thinking, we pass by people, but we constantly remember their existence. This is expressed in a change in our behavior in the presence of other people: talking out loud to ourselves alone is not such a rare occurrence, but on the street we do the same mentally, “to ourselves” and only because there are others next to us.

Contacts can be sporadic (as in a situation with a random passer-by) or regular (with the saleswoman of “your” store). We can join them as individuals or representatives of a team or institution.

Despite all their diversity, social contacts have common features. During contact, the connection is superficial, fleeting. The contact partner is fickle, random, and can be easily replaced (you may also be served by another saleswoman; you can find out what time it is, if not from this person, then from another passerby). The expectation and orientation towards the other in each of the partners does not extend further than this social contact (having satisfied the curiosity of the passer-by regarding the route, we part, without trying to renew contact). In other words, social contact is a fleeting, short-term connection in which there is no system of associated actions in relation to the partner. This does not mean that social contacts are unimportant and insignificant in our lives: a quarrel with another passenger on a tram or a conflict with an inattentive cashier can significantly determine our well-being. But still, they do not constitute the leading basis of our social life, its foundation.

The leading importance is social interaction – systematic, fairly regular social actions of partners, aimed at each other, with the goal of a very specific (expected) response on the part of the partner, which generates a new reaction of the influencer. It's about about the exchange of actions that are mutually related. It is these moments: the conjugacy of the systems of action of both partners, the recurrence of actions and their coordination, a stable interest in the response actions of one’s partner - that distinguish social interaction from a single social contact

A striking example of interaction is the educational process. Each teacher, preparing for classes, selects material, mentally imagining, predicting the reaction of students: will they be interested in certain questions, will the examples given reveal the essence of the problem posed, etc. During classes, students behave differently depending on how important they consider the subject to be for their professional training, and how interesting, intelligible and convincing the teacher presents his material. Some work with interest, with passion, others are not very interested in the subject, but they also try to work in order to avoid possible troubles, others do not hide their lack of interest in the subject, mind their own business or do not attend classes at all. The teacher records, “catch” the current situation and, in preparation for new meeting with students, adjusts his actions taking into account past experience.

As we can see, in the given example there is a main characteristic feature of social interaction - deep and close coordination of the system of actions of partners regarding the subject of social communication - study.

Social interactions come in three main options: social relations, social institutions and social communities. Let's give a brief description of each of them.

Social relations is a stable system of interaction between partners, which is distinguished by the fact that relationships are established according to to a wide circle phenomena and have a long-term, systematic, self-renewing nature. This feature applies to both interpersonal and intergroup relations. When we talk, for example, about interethnic relations, we mean an established, recurring connection between ethnic entities across a fairly wide range of interactions (we are, as a rule, talking about political, economic, and cultural ties).

Concept “social institution” captures the fact that the process of satisfying the basic human needs to a greater or lesser extent guaranteed against randomness, sporadicity, that it is predictable, reliable, regular. Any social institution arises and functions as the interaction of groups of people regarding the implementation of a certain social need. If such a need, due to some circumstances, becomes insignificant or completely disappears, then the existence of the institution turns out to be meaningless. It may still function for some time due to inertia or as a tribute to tradition, but in most cases it disappears.

The birth and death of a social institution is clearly illustrated by the example of the institution of noble duels of honor. The duel was an institutionalized method of settling relations between nobles for three centuries. It arose due to the need to protect the honor of the nobleman and streamline relations between representatives of this social stratum. Initially, quarrels and duels occurred spontaneously, by chance, but gradually a certain system of procedures emerged that regulated the behavior of all participants in duels, distributing roles between them (duelists, manager, seconds, medic). This institution provided for strict adherence to rules and norms in situations of honor protection. But with the development of industrial society, ethical standards also changed, which made it unnecessary to defend noble honor with arms in hand, as a result of which this institution is gradually dying out. An example of its decline is the absurd choice of weapons of a duel by A. Lincoln: he proposed throwing potatoes at the enemy from a distance of twenty meters.1

From the above example it is clear that the institutionalization of social connections presupposes:

· formation of common goals for interacting subjects;

· the emergence of social norms and rules, as well as procedures for their implementation;

· establishing a system of sanctions that stimulate desirable behavior and discourage and deter undesirable behavior;

· clear distribution of functions, rights and responsibilities of participants in interaction, creation of a system of statuses and roles, as a result of which individual behavior within the institution is more predictable;

· impersonality of requirements for those who are involved in the activities of the institute; status and role expectations for each object are presented as instructions for a given institution;

· division of labor and professionalization in the performance of functions.

The above makes it obvious that the more developed, streamlined and effective social institutions are, the more stable and sustainable the development of society will be. Particularly dramatic periods are marked in the development of a particular society, when there is a transformation of the main social institutions, when the rules and norms that underlie the functioning of each institution change. In essence, we are talking about reconsidering basic value systems. For example, in our society the institution of property is being renewed. If yesterday Russians did not own, did not manage property, were controlled, but had a guaranteed minimum standard of living, today many want to own, manage, take risks and at the same time have only a chance to live prosperously and independently. Naturally, not all participants in social interaction regarding property perceive the established institution of property in the same way, hence the inconsistency, severity, and drama of the formation of new stable norms in this area. The same can be said about the institutions of the army, family, education, etc.

A characteristic feature of such social interaction as social communities, is that they arise from the need for solidarity and coordination of joint actions. The basis of social community is the human desire for the benefits that come from combining efforts. Individuals who form united forms of social interaction can qualitatively increase the effectiveness of individual actions, the ability to improve, defend their interests, and survive. Based on the types of communication (social contacts and social interactions), two main types of social communities can be distinguished: social circles, i.e. people between whom there are contacts, communication, and social groups, which are based on the exchange of related, coordinated systems of actions regarding the coordination of joint efforts, unification, and solidarity. Modern society demonstrates a huge diversity of social groups, which is due to the variety of tasks for which these groups were formed. More details about the types, types and methods of functioning of various groups can be found in other sections of this manual. In the meantime, it is important for us to note that the desire for solidarity and joint efforts means the emergence of shared expectations of each member of the community regarding the other: for example, from your neighbor down the street, whom you meet from time to time, you expect one type of behavior, and from your loved ones, members family is different. Violation of these expectations can lead to mismatch, depression, and conflicts.

The variety of social interactions makes it necessary their typology. First of all, social interactions can be divided according to the following criterion: as the nature of the action. In accordance with it, we obtain the following types:

· physical interaction;

· verbal interaction;

· sign or symbolic interaction.

In addition, sociologists distinguish between social interactions by methods, with the help of which partners agree on their goals and means of achieving them. In connection with this criterion, we can distinguish the two most general types of interaction - cooperation and competition (sometimes in the sociological literature you can find another division - cooperation, competition and conflict). Cooperation involves the interrelated actions of individuals aimed at achieving common goals, with benefits for all parties. Interaction based on rivalry is based on attempts to remove and suppress an opponent striving for identical goals.

Finally, interactions can be studied using micro and macro level. In the first case we are dealing with interpersonal interactions, in the second - with the existence of social relations and institutions. It should be noted that in any given social context elements of both levels are combined. Everyday communication between family members occurs at the micro level. At the same time, the family is a social institution studied at the macro level.

So social interaction is special kind social connection, which is characterized by the actions of social partners based on mutual expectations of a response. This means that everyone, in their interaction with another, can predict (with varying degrees of probability) his behavior. Consequently, there are certain “rules of the game” that are observed to one degree or another by all participants in social interaction, otherwise it is either impossible at all or ineffective.

Therefore, it is necessary to find out how and by what means people’s relationships are regulated in the process of social interaction.

In order for two or more individuals to constitute a “society”, to give rise to “social phenomena”, it is necessary that they interacted with each other, exchanged mutual actions and reactions.

Social interaction in society

Only in this case will they constitute a social phenomenon; only in this case will their relationships give rise to social processes, only in this case will they create their interactions, not studied by other disciplines.

Hence, the model of a social group should be only two or more individuals interacting with each other. The model of social processes can only be processes of interaction between individuals; Only phenomena of human interaction can be a model of social phenomena

The family can serve as a model for a number of social relationships, but not all; we know that a number of social groups, even the majority of the latter, are not formed on family principles and have nothing to do with the family. An assembly of friends, an assembly of believers, a political party, members of a scientific society and many other associations are non-family associations.

Therefore, the family cannot be taken as a model everyone social groups, interaction between family members - as a model of all social interaction. The family represents only a particular type of generic phenomenon - a group of interacting individuals.

All social life and all social processes can be decomposed into phenomena and processes of interaction between two or more individuals; and vice versa, by combining various interaction processes, we can get any, the most complex of the most complex social process, any social event, from the passion for tango and futurism to world war and revolutions.

All social relations fall into interaction relations, starting with production and economic relations and ending with aesthetic, religious, legal and scientific relations.

In short - interaction between two or more individuals is generic concept social phenomena; it can serve as a model for the latter. By studying the structure of this model, we can understand the structure of all social phenomena. By decomposing interaction into its component parts, we will thereby decompose the most complex social phenomena into parts.

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In their daily life, all people constantly interact with each other. The personality of any person represents the totality of those social qualities that were formed and developed in certain networks of interpersonal interactions. Communicating with peers, acquaintances, relatives, and random fellow travelers, each person carries out certain social interactions.

Give examples of social interactions based on your life experiences.

During the interaction process the following occurs:

1) people’s perception of each other;

2) mutual assessment of each other;

3) joint action - cooperation, competition, conflict, etc.

Social interaction is a system of socially conditioned individual or group actions connected by mutual causal dependence, in which the behavior of one of the participants is both a stimulus and a reaction to the behavior of the others.

Main signs of interaction:

· objectivity – the presence of a goal, reason, object, etc., external to the interacting individuals or groups, which encourages them to interact;

· situationality - a fairly strict regulation of interaction with the specific conditions of the situation in which this process takes place: the behavior of friends at work, in the theater, at the stadium, at a country picnic is significantly different;

· explication – accessibility for an outside observer of the external expression of the interaction process, be it studying at college, playing or dancing.

· reflective ambiguity - the opportunity for interaction to be a manifestation of both basic subjective intentions and an unconscious or conscious consequence of the joint participation of people in inter-individual or group activities (for example, joint study).

Parties and types of social interaction

Two sides of the interaction process

The social mechanism of interaction is quite complex.

In the simplest case it includes the following Components:

1) individuals or their groups performing certain actions in relation to each other;

2) changes in outside world performed by these actions;

3) changes in the inner world of the individuals participating in the interaction (in their thoughts, feelings, assessments, aspirations, etc.);

4) the impact of these changes on other individuals;

5) the latter’s backlash to such influence.

Give examples from history where all the components of the social mechanism of interaction are manifested.

IN real life there is an extremely wide variety of interactions. But in this diversity stand out two main types of interaction:

1) cooperation,

2) rivalry.

Explain these types of interactions.

The variety of social interactions from the point of view of the subjects of these processes and the scale of the latter are divided into five main types:

I. interpersonal,

II. intragroup,

III. intergroup,

IV. intrasystem,

V. intersystem.

I. B interpersonal interactions processes of perception, expectation, fulfillment of words, promises, actions, roles, etc. are carried out. two, three, four interacting individuals, their mutual assessment, response in the form of appropriate actions.

Give examples from your life experience.

II. The processes are even more complex intragroup interactions. Along with the listed elements of interpersonal interactions, they include five more types of interactions:

1. status-positional,

2. value-normative,

3. cohesion (integration),

4. disintegration,

5. leadership and decision making.

Give examples from your life experience.

Intergroup interaction becomes even more complex and fully includes elements of interpersonal and intragroup interaction. But all these elements are reinforced by other types of assistance or resistance characteristic of the relationships between different social groups. This includes the following types of interactions:

1. cooperation,

2. assimilation,

3. device,

4. neutrality,

5. rivalry

6. conflict,

7. suppression.

IV. Intrasystem interactions rise to the next, even more complicated level of versatility. This includes components of interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup interactions. But they all begin to group around several types of interactions specific to social system. They are:

— emergence (irreducibility of the integrity of a system to the sum of its parts);

— operational closure (determinability of the functioning of the system of its internal states);

— self-reflexivity (inclusion of oneself in the subject of consideration);

— integration;

- differentiation,

— disorganization;

— chaos;

— ordering (formation of order from chaos).

V . Intersystem interactions are becoming even more diverse and complex. They include components of all previously discussed types of interactions. However, these processes are complemented and transformed by new transformation processes that are characteristic only of intersystem objects. One of the most significant interactions in this set of interactions is the process of globalization.

Under the influence of what processes of a global nature are intersystem interactions taking shape in the modern world community of states?

Task: complete a syncwine with the words “action” or “interaction”.

Lesson topic No. 12

Social statuses and roles

Questions and tasks for review

1. What is social activity?

2. Name the functions of social activity and give examples.

3. What is social interaction? Why does it play an important role in the development of the individual and society?

4. Name the main signs of interaction.

5. List the types of social interactions.

6. Tell us what elements are included in the structure of intragroup interactions.

7. Give a description of those components, the totality of which is characteristic of intergroup interactions. Name which of these components are specific to this type of interaction.

8. Characterize the structural components of intrasystem interactions. Which of these components are system-forming in this case, i.e. characteristic specifically for the social system?

9. Under the influence of what global processes are intersystem interactions taking shape in the modern world community of states?

Plan

Social interaction

Concept and types of social statuses

2. Social and role identification

Do you agree that each person occupies a certain place or position in society?

Have you heard the expression “this person is not our circle”, or

“she’s not a match for him”?

Are marriages common between a man worker and a woman minister, a man teacher and a woman dishwasher? Why?

Social status - the position occupied by a person in society, associated with certain rights and responsibilities. The concept of social status characterizes the place of an individual in the social structure of society.

Society’s assessment of an individual’s activity is expressed by:

— prestige; - salary;

— privileges; - awards, title, glory

Try to determine how many statuses a person can have?

Status set- a set of statuses that characterize a given personality.

Main status- this is the one that determines the attitude and direction of the individual, the content and nature of its activities.

Name your main status, mine, E. Petrosyan, A. Pugacheva, Beethoven, Maradonna, Aristotle...

Personal status differs from social in that the position occupied by a person is determined individual qualities personality (kindness, responsiveness).

Prescribed status – this is the one , which an individual occupies regardless of his desire, will, efforts (gender, nationality, race).

Achieved status is an individual’s reward for his efforts, perseverance, and will to achieve his goal (professor, world champion).

What do you think is better for an individual, low or high self-esteem?

Personal assessment of one's status

Do you consider social status to be constant or dynamic? Explain your point of view.

Each individual in his life strives to maintain or increase his social status, although objectively it may decrease. The more democratic a society is, the less importance prescribed statuses have in it, determined by social origin, nationality or gender, the greater the role played in it by achieved statuses, which are the result of a high level of education, competence, professionalism, purposeful activity of the individual, his successes and merit.

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Social interaction: forms, types and spheres

Interaction is a process of influence of people and groups on each other, in which each action is determined by both the previous action and the expected result from the other

Any social interaction has four characteristics:

§ it substantively, that is, always has a purpose or cause that is external to the interacting groups or people;

§ it outwardly expressed, and therefore accessible to observation; This feature is due to the fact that interaction always involves character exchange, signs that decrypted by the opposite side;

§ it situationally,T. e. usually tied to some specific situations, to the conditions of the course (for example, meeting friends or taking an exam);

§ it expresses subjective intentions of participants.

I would like to emphasize that interaction is always communication. However, you should not equate interaction with ordinary communication, i.e., messaging. This is a much broader concept because it involves not only direct exchange of information, but also an indirect exchange of meanings. Indeed, two people may not say 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. If people perform some actions in front of each other that can (and will certainly be) somehow interpreted by the opposite side, then they are already exchanging meanings. A person who is alone will behave slightly differently than a person who is around other people.

Hence, social interaction characterized by such a feature as Feedback. Feedback assumes presence of reaction. However, this reaction may not follow, but it is always expected, accepted as probable, possible.

Depending on how contact is made between interacting people or groups, there are four main types of social interaction:

§ physical;

§ verbal, or verbal;

§ non-verbal (facial expressions, gestures);

§ mental, which is expressed only in inner speech.

Social interaction is possible in any sphere of social life.

Therefore, we can give the following typology of social interaction by area:

§ economic (individuals act as owners and employees);

§ political (individuals confront or cooperate as representatives political parties, social movements, as well as as subjects of state power);

§ professional (individuals participate as representatives different professions);

§ demographic (including contacts between representatives of different genders, ages, nationalities and races);

§ family-related;

§ territorial-settlement (there are clashes, cooperation, competition between locals and newcomers, permanent and temporary residents, etc.);

§ religious (implies contacts between representatives of different religions, as well as believers and atheists).

Three main forms of interaction can be distinguished:

§ cooperation - cooperation of individuals to solve a common problem;

§ competition - individual or group struggle for the possession of scarce values (benefits);

§ conflict - a hidden or open clash between competing parties.

Forms of mass behavior

Mass behavior is a spontaneous reaction of people to a social situation that affects their interests. Forms of mass behavior include actions of crowds and masses of people, panic, pogroms, riots, riots, etc.

Sociological research These questions began with the development of crowd theory. The concept of the French social psychologist and sociologist G. Le Bon (1841–1931) is the most famous in this area.

SOCIAL INTERACTION

In accordance with this concept, the crowd has its own collective psyche, in which the psyche of individual people seems to dissolve.

The crowd often becomes an object of manipulation by extremist parties and organizations that use the unconscious irrational motivational mechanisms of participants in mass actions.

A slightly different type of mass behavior is represented by social movements, which are commonly understood as collective actions that promote or hinder social change.

The diversity of social movements allows them to be classified according to a variety of criteria. Social movements can be progressive or regressive in their orientation. The first are focused on the future, promoting changes in society, the formation of new values, norms, and institutions; the latter appeal to the past and advocate a return to old orders, traditions, and beliefs (for example, monarchical movements, various kinds of religious movements).

According to the scale of the proposed changes, social movements are divided into reformist and revolutionary. Reformist social movements advocate gradual change in the existing social system and do not involve radical transformation of basic institutional structures. Revolutionary social movements strive for a radical transformation of society, its political system and system of ideological values.

Social movements also differ in their level: 1) mass movements with global goals (for example, movements for environmental protection, against nuclear testing, the arms race, etc.); 2) regional movements limited to a certain territory (for example, the movement against the use of the landfill in Semipalatinsk); 3) local movements pursuing specific pragmatic goals (for example, a movement to remove a member of the local administration).

In a broader historical context sociologists identify utopian movements aimed at building a perfect society. Communes of the English theorist utopian socialism R. Owen, the phalanx of followers of the French utopian C. Fourier and other similar experiments lasted a short time and disintegrated due to internal contradictions and conflicts with the external environment. The same fate typically awaits today's communities attempting to implement alternative lifestyle models.

Thus, in modern society the widest range of social movements is represented. Their importance is determined by their unique contribution to the development of civil society (6.8). As the famous Polish sociologist P. Sztompka emphasizes, a society that wants to use its full creative potential must not only allow, but also encourage social movements. If society suppresses social movements, then it destroys its own mechanism for self-improvement and self-development.

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The starting point for the formation of a social connection can be the interaction of individuals or groups forming a social community to satisfy certain needs. Interaction is interpreted as any behavior of an individual or group that has significance for other individuals and groups of a social community or society as a whole. Moreover, interaction expresses the nature and content of relations between people and social groups, which, being constant carriers of qualitatively different types of activities, differ in social positions (statuses) and roles.

Social interaction is one of the types of social communication - a mutually directed process of exchange of social actions between two or more individuals. The connection is always mutual, present and feasible (at least in the imagination). There are two types of connections: direct (usually visual, interpersonal) and indirect (when communication is carried out through intermediaries; in this case, the phenomenon of deindividuation arises - the illusion that all social relationships exist independently of the will and desires of people).

There are three main forms of social interaction: 1) cooperation of several individuals to achieve a common goal; 2) competition (individual or group struggle) for the possession of necessary resources; 3) conflict between competing parties. Features of social interaction: 1) conjugation of actions of both partners; 2) renewability of actions; 3) sustained interest in the partner’s response; 4) coordination of partners’ actions.

Types of social interactions: 1) hard exchange (exchange based on certain agreements (most often in the economic sphere, in manager-subordinate relationships, in political life)); 2) diffuse (non-rigid) exchange (mainly in moral and ethical interactions: friendship, neighborhood, relationships between parents and children, partnership); 3) direct-indirect interactions (direct - immediate (two-way) interactions between individuals, indirect - complex, mediated through 3-4 persons (indirect interactions predominate in modern society)); 4) individual-group interactions (individual-individual, individual-group, group-group).

I. Goffman, within the framework of a phenomenological perspective, offers a slightly different view of social interactions. To analyze them, he uses a "dramatic approach", based on the premise that individuals are actors playing social roles. Accordingly, interaction is a “representation”, “ actor play", designed by the actor in order to "make an impression" that corresponds to his goals. The actions of the actor, according to I. Goffman, correspond to the concept of "self-presentation and impression management." "Self-presentation" includes gestures, intonations, clothing, with the help of which the individual strives to make a certain impression on a partner, to evoke one or another reaction in him.In this case, the individual in the process of interaction, as a rule, provides only selected, partial information about himself, trying to manage the impression he makes on others.

P. Blau, relying on the theory of exchange and structural functionalism, argues that not all social interactions can be considered as exchange processes. The latter include only those that are focused on achieving goals, the implementation of which is possible only in the process of interaction with other people and to achieve which requires means that are also available to other people. That part of human behavior that is governed by the rules of exchange underlies the formation of social structures, but the rules of exchange themselves are insufficient to explain the complex structures of human society.

However, it is social exchange that largely determines the interactions of each individual. The success or failure of our interactions ultimately depends on the knowledge and ability (or ignorance and inability) to practically use the principles of their regulation formulated within the framework of exchange theory.

Social interaction represents mutual influence various fields, phenomena and processes public life carried out through social activities. It takes place both between isolated objects (external interaction) and within a separate object, between its elements (internal interaction).

Social interaction has objective and subjective sides. The objective side of interaction are connections that are independent of individual people, but mediate and control the content and nature of their interaction. The subjective side is understood as the conscious attitude of individuals towards each other, based on mutual expectations of appropriate behavior. These are, as a rule, interpersonal (or socio-psychological) relationships that develop in specific social communities in certain moment time. The mechanism of social interaction includes individuals performing certain actions; changes in a social community or society as a whole caused by these actions; the impact of these changes on other individuals who make up the social community, and, finally, the reverse reaction of individuals.

Interaction usually leads to the formation of new social relationships. The latter can be represented as relatively stable and independent connections between individuals and social groups.

In sociology, the concepts of “social structure” and “social system” are closely related. A social system is a set of social phenomena and processes that are in relationships and connections with each other and form some integral social object. Individual phenomena and processes act as elements of the system.

Social interaction and its signs

The concept of “social structure” is part of the concept of a social system and combines two components - social composition and social connections. Social composition is the set of elements that make up a given structure. The second component is a set of connections between these elements. Thus, the concept of social structure includes, on the one hand, the social composition, or the totality of various types of social communities as system-forming social elements of society, on the other hand, the social connections of the constituent elements that differ in the breadth of their action, in their significance in the characteristics of social structure of society at a certain stage of development.

Social structure means the objective division of society into separate layers, groups, different in their social status, in their relation to the method of production. This is a stable connection of elements in a social system. The main elements of the social structure are such social communities as classes and class-like groups, ethnic, professional, socio-demographic groups, socio-territorial communities (city, village, region). Each of these elements, in turn, is a complex social system with its own subsystems and connections. Social structure reflects the characteristics of social relations of classes, professional, cultural, national-ethnic and demographic groups, which are determined by the place and role of each of them in the system of economic relations. The social aspect of any community is concentrated in its connections and mediations with production and class relations in society.

Forms of social interactions

The concept of social connections, their types

Obviously, in order to satisfy his needs, a person must interact with other individuals, enter social groups, and participate in joint activities.

The central idea of E. Durkheim’s sociological realism, to which all of his scientific work was essentially devoted, is the idea social solidarity- the question of what is the nature of those connections that unite and attract people to each other. The desire of any person for contacts with other people is due to basic human needs. These include: sexual (reproduction); group self-defense; communication with others like you; intellectual activity; sensory and emotional experiences. Without contacts, it is impossible to satisfy these needs.

Throughout life, a person is connected with other people through social connections, which manifest themselves in various types and forms.

Social relationships between members of a society or social group are extremely diverse. In the process of communicating with other people, a person constantly selects from a large number of diverse connections exactly those that he considers necessary to strengthen and develop. In this regard, each individual goes through several stages in the development of social connections before reaching the state of social relations.

In addition, social connections are the basis group-forming processes, the first step in the formation of social groups (Fig. 1).

Fig.1. Types of social connections

So, let's look at the main types of social connections:

Social contacts. Social contacts should be recognized as the simplest type of connections. These contacts are the simplest, most elementary connections between individuals.

The first step in building social connections is spatial contacts. They reflect the orientation of people in social space, in which individuals imagine where other people are and how many there are. They may assume the presence of other people or see them. The mere assumption of the presence of a certain number of other people can change the behavior of individuals in society. Note that during spatial contact, an individual cannot identify any separate isolated objects from the total number of people around him. He evaluates the people around him as a whole.

Isolation of some special objects from the spatial environment can only occur through contact of interest. With such contact, the individual identifies from his social environment a certain individual or social group to which he turns his attention, whom he can use to deepen social ties.

The last type of contacts are exchange contacts. During such contacts, a short-term exchange of values occurs between individuals. J. Szczepanski, describing exchange contacts, notes that they represent a specific type of social relationships in which individuals exchange values without the desire to change the behavior of other individuals. This means that during such sporadic and short-term exchanges, the individual's attention is concentrated on the object of the exchange itself, and not on the other individual entering into the exchange. An example of such contact is the purchase of a newspaper, when the buyer, not paying attention to the seller, gives money and receives a newspaper.

Every time an individual begins to communicate with other people, he must go through all three types of contacts in order to move on to more complex social connections.

More complex look social connections are social action. Its significance is due to the fact that it represents the simplest unit, the simplest element of any type of social activity of people. For the first time in sociology, the concept of “social action” was introduced and scientifically substantiated by Max Weber.

In the understanding of M. Weber, social action has at least two features: firstly, it must be rational, conscious, and secondly, it must necessarily be oriented towards the behavior of other people.

Social Actions - This is a certain system of actions, means and methods, using which an individual or social group seeks to change the behavior, views or opinions of other individuals or groups.

Any social action is a system in which the following elements can be distinguished:

ü subject of action influencing individual or community of people;

ü action object, the individual or community at whom the action is directed;

ü means (instruments of action) and methods of action, with the help of which the necessary change is carried out;

ü result of action- the response of the individual or community at which the action was directed.

It is necessary to distinguish between the following two concepts: “behavior” and “action”. If behavior is the body’s response to internal or external stimuli (it can be reflexive, unconscious or intentional, conscious), then action is only some types of behavior.

When performing social actions, each person experiences the actions of others. An exchange of actions or social interaction occurs.

Social interaction- this is a systematically sustainable performance of some actions that are aimed at a partner in order to cause a certain (expected) response on his part, which, in turn, causes a new reaction from the influencer.

P. Sorokin studied social interaction in the most detail. In his opinion, a single individual cannot be considered as an elementary “social cell” or the simplest social phenomenon.

In his work “Systems of Sociology” he noted: “... the individual as an individual cannot in any way be considered a microcosm of the social macrocosm. It cannot because from an individual one can only obtain an individual and one cannot obtain what is called “society”, nor what is called “social phenomena”... The latter require not one, but many individuals, at least two.” However, in order for two or more individuals to be considered as an element of society, it is necessary that they interact with each other.

Sorokin calls the conditions for the emergence of any social interactions:

ü presence of two or more individuals, determining each other’s behavior and experiences;

ü doing something by them influencing mutual experiences and actions;

ü presence of conductors, transmitting these influences and the influence of individuals on each other (for example, speech signals or various material media).

Human social connections are a set of interactions consisting of actions and responses. A complex network of interactions is emerging, covering a varying number of individuals. In the process of these interactions, social relationships can develop.

Social relations - this is a system of normalized interactions between partners regarding something that connects them (subject, interest, etc.). Unlike social interaction, social relationships are a stable system limited to certain standards(formal and informal).

Social relationships are divided into one-way and reciprocal. One-sided social relationships are characterized by the fact that their participants attach different meanings to them. For example, love on the part of an individual may be met with contempt or hatred on the part of the object of his love.

The reason that sometimes similar interactions differ from each other in content is values. Value in this context can be defined as a target desired event. The content and meaning of social relations depends on how the need for values and their possession are combined in interactions. If one individual has resources in the form of wealth, and the other is not interested in acquiring them, then in this case only one type of relationship is possible - the independence of each of the individuals, disinterest and indifference.

For example, the case when Alexander the Great, who had power, wealth and prestige, offered to use these values to the philosopher Diogenes of Sinope. The king asked the philosopher to name a desire, to make any demand, which he would immediately fulfill. But Diogenes had no need for the proposed values and expressed his only desire: for the king to move away and not block the sun. The relationship of respect and gratitude that Macedonian had hoped for did not arise; Diogenes remained independent, as did the king.

The following elements can be distinguished in the system of relations:

ü communication subjects- two individuals, two social groups, or an individual and a social group;

ü their connecting link, which may be some object, interest, general value that creates the basis of a relationship;

ü a certain system of duties and obligations or established functions that partners must perform in relation to each other.

Among all the variety of social relations, there are those that are present in all other relations and are their basis. These are, first of all, relations of social dependence and power.

For example, if we consider a relationship of love, it is obvious that the love of two people for each other implies mutual obligations and dependence of one person on the motives and actions of the other. The same can be said about friendship, respect, management and leadership, where relationships of dependence and power are most obvious.

Forms of social interactions

Social interactions in society can be viewed from the point of view ways to achieve desired values. Here we are dealing with categories such as cooperation, competition and conflict. The first two concepts were developed in detail by American sociologists Robert Park and Ernst Burgess.

Word cooperation comes from two Latin words: " co" - "together" and " operari" - work. Cooperation can take place in dyads (groups of two individuals), small groups, as well as in large groups (in organizations, social stratum or society).

Cooperation is primarily associated with people's desire to cooperate, and many sociologists consider this phenomenon to be based on selflessness (social altruism). However, research and simply experience show that selfish goals in to a greater extent serve the cooperation of people than their likes and dislikes, desires and reluctances. Thus, the main meaning of cooperation is, as a rule, mutual benefit.

Competition(from lat. concurrere- run together) is a struggle between individuals, groups or societies for the mastery of values, the reserves of which are limited and unequally distributed between individuals or groups (this can be money, power, status, love, appreciation and other values). It can be defined as an attempt to achieve rewards by alienating or outpacing rivals striving for identical goals.

Competition can manifest itself on a personal level (for example, when two managers fight for influence in an organization) or be impersonal (an entrepreneur fights for markets without personally knowing his competitors).

Experiments conducted in groups show that if the situation is such that individuals or groups cooperate to pursue common goals, then friendships and attitudes are maintained. But as soon as conditions are created under which unshared values arise, giving rise to competition, unfriendly attitudes and unflattering stereotypes immediately arise.

Conflict. Conflict analysis (from Lat. conflictus- clash) it is useful to start from the elementary, simplest level, from the origins of conflict relations. Traditionally it starts with needs structures, a set of which is specific to each individual and social group. All these needs Abraham Maslow(1908 – 1970) is divided into five main types: 1) physical needs(food, sex, material well-being, etc.); 2) security needs; 3) social needs(needs for communication, social contacts, interaction); 4) needs to achieve prestige, knowledge, respect, a certain level of competence; 5) higher needs for self-expression, self-affirmation(for example, the need for creativity).

All desires, aspirations of individuals and social groups can be attributed to some type of these needs. Consciously or unconsciously, individuals dream of achieving their goals according to their needs. Consequently, all social interactions of a person can be simplistically represented as a series of elementary acts, each of which begins with an imbalance in connection with an emerging need and the emergence of a goal that is significant for the individual, and ends with the restoration of balance and the achievement of the goal.

The Sociology of Conflict was developed by Randall Collins as a general theory. Unlike K. Marx and R. Dahrendorf, who focused on the macro theory of conflict, Collins focused on everyday interactions. From his point of view, conflict is the only central process of social life. Collins extended his analysis of stratification (as a phenomenon that generates conflict) to relations between genders and age groups.

He took the position that the family is an arena of gender conflict in which men emerge victorious and women are suppressed by men and subjected to various types of unfair treatment. Collins turned to consider the resources available to different age groups.

Thus, the older generation has a variety of resources, including experience, influence, power and the ability to satisfy the physical needs of the younger ones. In contrast, one of the few resources young people have is physical attractiveness. This means that adults tend to dominate the youth. However, as a person grows older, he acquires more resources and is more able to resist, resulting in increased generational conflict.

Collins also considered formal organizations from a conflict perspective. He saw them as networks of interpersonal influences and arenas of conflicting interests.

As is known, the structural features of any complex system, whatever the nature of its origin, depend not only on what elements are included in its composition, but also on how they are connected to each other, connected, what influence they have on each other friend. Essentially, it is the nature of the connection between elements that determines both the integrity of the system and the emergence of emergent properties, which is its most characteristic property as a single whole. This is true for any system - both for fairly simple, elementary ones, and for the most complex systems known to us - social ones.

The concept of “emergent properties” was formulated by T. Parsons in 1937 in his analysis of social systems. In doing so, he had in mind three interconnected conditions.

¦ Firstly, social systems have a structure that does not arise on its own, but precisely from the processes of social interaction.

¦ Secondly, these emergent properties cannot be reduced (reduced) to a simple sum of biological or psychological characteristics of social figures: for example, the characteristics of a particular culture cannot be explained by correlating it with the biological qualities of the people who bear this culture.

¦ Thirdly, the meaning of any social action cannot be understood in isolation from the social context of the social system within which it manifests itself.

Perhaps, Pitirim Sorokin examined the problems of social interaction most scrupulously and in detail, devoting a significant part of the first volume of “Systems of Sociology” to them. Let's try, following the classic of Russian and American sociology, to deal with elementary concepts this most important social process, connecting many disparate people into a single whole - society and, moreover, transforming purely biological individuals into people - that is, into intelligent, thinking and, most importantly, social beings.

Just as in their time O. Comte, P. A. Sorokin expressed confidence that an individual individual cannot be considered as an elementary “social cell” or the simplest social phenomenon: “... an individual as an individual cannot in any way be considered microcosm of the social macrocosm. It cannot because from an individual one can only obtain an individual, and one cannot obtain either what is called “society” or what is called “social phenomena”... The latter require not one, but many individuals, at least two.”

However, for two or more individuals to form a single whole, which could be considered as a particle (element) of society, their mere presence is not enough. It is also necessary that they interact with each other, that is, exchange some actions and responses to these actions. What is interaction from the point of view of a sociologist? The definition that Sorokin gives to this concept is quite broad and claims to embrace the almost immense, that is, all possible options: “The phenomenon of human interaction is given when: a) mental experiences or b) external acts, or c) both of one (one) people represent a function of the existence and state (mental and physical) of another or other individuals.”

This definition is, perhaps, truly universal, because it includes cases of immediate, direct contacts of people with each other, and options for indirect interaction. It is not difficult to verify this by considering a wide variety of examples found in the everyday life of each of us.

If someone (accidentally or intentionally) stepped on your foot on a crowded bus (external act) and this caused you to be indignant (psychic experience) and an indignant exclamation (external act), then this means that an interaction occurred between you. If you are a sincere fan of the work of Michael Jackson, then probably every appearance of him on the TV screen in the next video (and the recording of this video probably required the singer to perform many external acts and feel many mental experiences) will cause you a storm of emotions (mental experiences), or maybe you will jump up from the couch and start singing along and “dancing along” (thus performing external acts). In this case, we are no longer dealing with direct, but with indirect interaction: Michael Jackson, of course, cannot observe your reaction to the recording of his song and dance, but there is little doubt that he was counting on exactly such a response from millions of his fans, planning and carrying out their physical actions (external acts). So this example also shows us a case of social interaction.

Tax officials developing a new fiscal project, deputies of the State Duma discussing this project, amending it, and then voting for the adoption of the corresponding law, the president signing a decree putting the new law into effect, many entrepreneurs and consumers whose income will be affected influence of this law - they are all in a complex intertwined process of interaction with each other, and most importantly - with us. There is no doubt that there is a very serious influence here of both external acts and mental experiences of some people on the mental experiences and external acts of other people, although in most cases the participants in this chain may not even see each other (at best, on the TV screen).

It is important to note this point. Interaction always causes some physical changes in our biological organism. For example, our cheeks “flare up” when looking at a loved one (the blood vessels under the skin expand and experience a rush of blood); listening to an audio recording of our loved one popular singer, we experience emotional arousal, etc.

What are the basic conditions for the emergence of any social interaction? P. A. Sorokin introduces and subjects to detailed analysis three such conditions (or, as he calls them, “elements”):

3) the presence of conductors that transmit these influences and the influence of individuals on each other.

We, in turn, could add a fourth condition here, which Sorokin does not mention:

Now let's try to look a little closer at each of these four conditions.

1. Obviously, in an empty space (or in a space filled only with plants and animals) no social interaction can occur. It is unlikely that it can happen even where there is only one human individual. Robinson's relationship with his parrot and goat cannot be recognized as patterns of social interaction. At the same time, the mere fact of the presence of two or more individuals is not enough for interaction to arise between them. These individuals must have the ability and desire to influence each other and respond to such influence. Among the ten basic needs homo sapiens, which P. A. Sorokin identifies in his classification, at least five are closely related to the desire of any person for contacts with other people, and without such contacts, their satisfaction is simply impossible.

True, it should be noted that most of these needs are by no means innate; they arise only in the course of interaction. However, the question of which of them - needs or the interaction process - is ultimately the cause and which is the consequence, has as much chance of being answered as the question of what is primary - the chicken or the egg.

2. As stated in the definition given at the beginning of this paragraph, interaction occurs only when at least one of two individuals influences the other, in other words, performs some act, action, act aimed at the other. In fact, it is possible (albeit with difficulty) to imagine an arbitrarily large number of people gathered on one territory within direct reach (visibility and audibility) of each other, but at the same time completely not paying any attention to each other, busy exclusively with themselves and your inner experiences. And in this case we can hardly say that there is interaction between them.

3. The condition of the presence of special conductors that transmit the irritating effect from one participant in the interaction to another is quite closely related to the fact that the information transmitted during the interaction is always imprinted on some kind of material media.

Strictly speaking, information cannot exist outside of material media. Even at the deepest and most unconscious – genetic – level, information is recorded on material media – in DNA molecules. Elementary information that animals exchange with each other is also transmitted using material media. The loose tail of a male peacock is perceived by the female through the perception of light waves by her visual organs. Alarm signals (warnings of potential danger) are transmitted and perceived by members of the flock (either a rook or a wolf) using sound waves; the same applies to the calling trills of the male nightingale, perceived by the female with the help of air vibrations. Ants communicate with each other by secreting portions of certain odorous substances through special glands: the olfactory organs of insects perceive molecules of a particular substance as an odor, deciphering the information contained in it. In short, in all cases, information is transmitted and received using certain material media. However, these natural material carriers are extremely short-lived; most of them exist only during the period of transmission and reception, after which they disappear forever. They must be created anew each time.

Perhaps the most significant difference between human (and therefore social) interaction and communication between animals is the presence of the so-called second signaling system! This is a system of conditioned reflex connections unique to humans, formed under the influence of speech signals, i.e., in fact, not the direct stimulus itself - sound or light, but its symbolic verbal designation.

Of course, these combinations of sound or light waves are also transmitted using short-lived material carriers, however, unlike momentary, instantaneous information transmitted by animals, information expressed in symbols can be recorded (and subsequently, after any length of time). long period time reproduced, perceived, deciphered and used) on such material media that are preserved for a long time, being imprinted on stone, wood, paper, film and magnetic tape, magnetic disk. They, unlike natural carriers that exist in nature in ready-made form, are produced by people and are artificial objects. Information is imprinted on them in a sign-symbolic form by changing certain physical parameters of the media themselves. This is precisely the fundamental basis for the emergence and development of social memory. The second signaling system itself, being the basis for the emergence of generalized abstract thinking, can only develop in the course of specific social interaction.

One way or another, if there are no conductors acting as carriers of material carriers of information, there can be no talk of any interaction. However, when the conductors are present, neither space nor time will be an obstacle to interaction. You can call from Moscow to Los Angeles to your friend located on the other side of the globe (conductor - telephone cable or radio waves transmitted using artificial satellite Earth), or write him a letter (conductor - paper and means of postal delivery) and thus interact with him. Moreover, you interact with the founder of sociology, Auguste Comte (who has been dead for fifteen hundred years), by reading his books. Look at what a long chain of interactions runs between you, how many social actors are included in it (editors, typesetters, translators, publishers, booksellers, librarians) - they, in turn, also act as conductors of this interaction.

Thus, with the presence of conductors, “in fact, neither space nor time is an obstacle to human interaction.”

We have already noted above that sociology, unlike scientific disciplines such as, for example, psychology or social psychology, studies not only direct and immediate interaction that occurs during direct contacts between individuals. The object of her research is all types of social interactions. You interact with many people you know and don't know when you speak on the radio, publish an article in a magazine or newspaper, or, as a high-level official, sign a document that affects the lives of a fairly large number of citizens. And in all these cases it is impossible to do without material carriers of information, as well as certain conductors transmitting this information.

4. We considered it necessary to supplement the list of conditions for the emergence of social interaction proposed by P. A. Sorokin with one more - what we called the presence of a common basis1 for contacts between social subjects. In the most general case, this means that any effective interaction can only occur when both parties speak the same language. We are talking not only about a unified linguistic basis for communication, but also about an approximately identical understanding of the norms, rules, and principles that guide the interaction partner. Otherwise, the interaction may either remain unrealized or lead to a result that is sometimes directly opposite to what both parties expect.

Finally, the most general approach to considering the essence of social interaction requires classifying them, that is, creating a certain typology of interactions. As is known, the compilation of any typology is made on the basis of the choice of a certain criterion - a system-forming feature. P. A. Sorokin identifies three main features that make it possible to develop, respectively, three different approaches to the typology of social interactions. Let's take a brief look at them.

1. A typology of social interactions is compiled depending on the quantity and quality of individuals participating in the interaction process. If we talk about quantity, then only three options for interactions can arise here:

a) occurring between two single individuals;

b) between a single individual and a group;

c) between two groups. Each of these types has its own specificity and differs significantly in character from the others, as Sorokin points out, “even under the premise of qualitative homogeneity of individuals.”

As for quality, this criterion indicates, first of all, the need to take into account the homogeneity or heterogeneity of the subjects entering into interaction. A great variety of criteria for homogeneity or heterogeneity can be identified; it is hardly possible to take into account even a somewhat complete set of them. Therefore, Sorokin provides a list of the most important of them. In his opinion, special emphasis should be placed on belonging to:

a) one family

a") to different families

b) one state

b") to different countries

c) one race

c")" races

d)" language group

d")" language groups

e) same sex

e")" floors

f)" age

f")" ages

m) similar in profession, degree of wealth, religion, scope of rights and obligations, political party, scientific, artistic, literary tastes, etc.

m"), different in profession, property status, religion, scope of rights, political party, etc.

“The similarity or difference of interacting individuals in one of these relations is of enormous importance for the nature of the interaction.”

2. The typology of social interactions is compiled depending on the nature of the acts (actions) performed by the interacting subjects. Here it is also impossible or extremely difficult to cover the entire range of options; Sorokin himself lists some of them, the most important. We will simply name these options, and the interested reader can familiarize themselves with them in more detail in the original source.

1) depending on doing and not doing (abstinence and patience);

2) one-way and two-way interaction;

3) interaction is long-term and temporary;

4) antagonistic and solidaristic interaction;

5) interaction is template and non- template;

6) interaction conscious and unconscious;

7) intellectual, sensory-emotional and volitional interaction.

3. And finally, the typology of social interactions is compiled depending on the conductors. Here Sorokin identifies: a) forms of interaction depending on the nature of the conductors (sound, light-color, motor-facial, object-symbolic, through chemical reagents, mechanical, thermal, electrical); b) direct and indirect interaction.

In addition, in the first volume of “Systems of Sociology” there is a reference to other methods of classification developed by other sociologists.

§ 2. Interpretations of social interaction in special sociological theories

So, the concept of social interaction is central in sociology due to the fact that a number of sociological theories have emerged that develop and interpret its various problems and aspects at two main levels of research, as we have already mentioned, the micro level and the macro level. At the micro level, the processes of communication between individuals who are in direct and immediate contact are studied; Such interaction occurs mainly within small groups. At the macro level of social interaction, the interaction of large social groups and structures arises; Here the interest of researchers primarily covers social institutions. In this section we will briefly look at just some of the most common theories and their “branches”.

One of the most well-known and thoroughly developed concepts describing social interaction is exchange theory. In general, the conceptualization of social interaction, social structure and social order in terms of exchange relations has long been the focus of such a scientific discipline as anthropology, but only relatively recently has it been adopted by sociologists. The intellectual foundations of the idea of exchange are described in detail in classical political economy, the founders of which Bentham and Smith believed that the main driving factor in the activity of any human being should be considered the desire for utility and benefit. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, many works on social anthropology pointed to the important role of exchange transactions in the life of primitive tribes.

One of the initial premises on which the theory of exchange is based is the assumption that in the social behavior of any person there is a certain rational principle that encourages him to behave prudently and constantly strive to obtain a wide variety of “benefits” - in the form of goods, money, services , prestige, respect, approval, success, friendship, love, etc. In the early 60s, the American sociologist George Homans came to the conclusion that concepts such as “status,” “role,” and “conformity” that were established in sociology , “power”, etc., should be explained not by the action of macrosocial structures, as is customary in functionalism, but from the point of view of the social relations that give rise to them. The essence of these relationships, according to Homans, is the desire of people to receive benefits and rewards, as well as the exchange of these benefits and rewards.

Based on this, Homans explores social interaction in terms of the exchange of actions between the “Doer” and the “Other”, suggesting that in such an interaction each party will strive to maximize benefits and minimize their costs. Among the most important expected rewards, he considers, in particular, social approval. The mutual reward that arises during the exchange of actions becomes repeated and regular and gradually develops into relationships between people based on mutual expectations. In such a situation, violation of expectations on the part of one of the participants entails frustration and, as a consequence, the emergence of an aggressive reaction; At the same time, the very manifestation of aggressiveness becomes, to a certain extent, a source of satisfaction.

These ideas were developed by another modern American sociologist, Peter Blau, who argued that practically “all contacts between people rest on the scheme of giving and returning the equivalence.” Of course, these conclusions were borrowed from the ideas of market economics, as well as behavioral psychology. In general, exchange theories see similarities between social interactions and economic or market transactions carried out in the hope that services rendered will be returned in one way or another. Thus, the basic paradigm of exchange theory is a dyadic (two-person) model of interaction. We repeat that the emphasis is on mutual exchange, although the basis of interaction still remains calculated and, in addition, includes a certain amount of trust or mutually shared moral principles.

This kind of approach almost inevitably faces a number of criticisms. The content of these comments is as follows.

The psychological premises of exchange theory are too simplistic and place excessive emphasis on the selfish, calculating elements of individuality.

¦ Exchange theory, in fact, is limited in development because it cannot move from the two-person level of interaction to social behavior on a larger scale: as soon as we move from the dyad to a wider set, the situation acquires significant uncertainty and complexity.

¦ Exchange theory is not able to explain many social processes, such as, for example, the dominance of generalized values, which cannot be extracted from the paradigm of dyadic exchange.

Finally, some critics argue that exchange theory is simply an “elegant conceptualization of sociological triviality.”

Taking this into account, Homans' followers (Blau, Emerson) tried to show greater flexibility to overcome the gap between the micro and macro levels that the exchange theory created. In particular, Peter Blau proposed to conduct research on social interaction using a synthesis of the principles of social exchange with the concepts of such macrosociological concepts as structural functionalism and conflict theory.

One of the modifications of exchange theory is the theory of rational choice, which emerged in the 1980s. This is a relatively formal approach, which argues that social life can in principle be explained as the result of the “rational” choices of social actors. "Facing several possible options actions, people usually do what they believe will, with some degree of probability, lead them to the best overall outcome. This deceptively simple sentence sums up rational choice theory." This form of theorizing is characterized by a desire to employ technically rigorous models of social behavior that help draw clear conclusions from a relatively small number of initial theoretical assumptions about “rational behavior.”

Another influential theory that aims to explain social interaction is symbolic interactionism. This theoretical and methodological direction focuses on the analysis of social interactions primarily in their symbolic content. In essence, Sorokin pointed out that, unlike animals, people endow their actions and the actions of other people with certain symbolic meanings that go beyond their purely physical meaning. Followers of symbolic interactionism argue: any actions of people are manifestations of social behavior based on communication; communication becomes possible due to the fact that those people who come into contact to exchange information give same values the same symbol. In this case, special attention is paid to the analysis of language as the main symbolic mediator of interaction. Interaction is thus seen as “an ongoing dialogue between people in which they observe, understand, and respond to each other’s intentions.” The very concept of symbolic interactionism was introduced back in 1937 by the American sociologist G. Bloomer, who summarized the basic principles of this approach in terms of three assumptions:

a) human beings perform their actions in relation to certain objects on the basis of the meanings that they attach to these objects;

b) these meanings arise from social interaction;

c) any social action stems from the adaptation of individual lines of behavior to each other.

One of the sociologists who founded the concept of symbolic interactionism is George Herbert Mead (N. J. Smelser generally calls him the author of this theory). Mead was a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, he never considered himself anything other than a philosopher, and indeed carried out quite complex research within this science. Nevertheless, his contribution to American philosophy remained, as is considered, very superficial, but his influence on American sociology and social psychology was enormous. The work most responsible for this influence was not published until after his death. In fact, it was a series of lectures compiled by his followers into a book they called Mind, Self and Society. In this work, Mead analyzes in great detail how social processes create the human self (a person's awareness of himself and his special place in society), emphasizing that it is impossible to understand the individual without understanding him in a social context. At the same time, Mead uses the concept of role as a key one. Later, Mead's work on social philosophy became the basis for the development of the so-called “role theory”, which found its place in American sociology. Mead's influence remains very strong to this day, and he is generally regarded as one of the most significant figures in that school of sociology and social psychology that is today called symbolic interactionism.

“Playing roles,” in addition to the general educational function, also has the function of conveying social meanings “for reality.” How Russian children portray the roles of policemen and crooks in their games will depend greatly on what that role means in their immediate social experience. For a child from an intelligent, wealthy family, a policeman is a figure full of authority, confidence, and readiness to protect ordinary citizens, whom one can turn to in case of trouble. For a child from a marginalized family, the same role is likely to involve hostility and danger, a threat rather than a trust, someone to run from rather than to resort to. We can also assume that in the games of American children the roles of Indians and cowboys will have different meanings in a white suburb or on an Indian reservation.

Thus, socialization occurs in the continuous interaction of a person with other people. But not all others with whom the child deals are equally important in this process. Some of them are clearly of “central” importance to him. For most children, these are parents, and also, to one degree or another, brothers and sisters. In some cases, this group is supplemented by figures such as grandparents, close friends of parents and playmates. There are other people who remain in the background and whose place in the socialization process can best be described as background influence. These are all types of random contacts - from the postman to a neighbor whom they see only occasionally. If we consider socialization as a type of dramatic performance, then it can be described from the point of view of ancient Greek theater, where some of the participants act as the main characters of the play (protagonists), while others function as a chorus.

Mead calls the main characters in the drama of socialization significant others. These are the people with whom the child interacts most often, with whom he has important emotional connections, and whose attitudes and roles are decisive in his situation. Obviously, who these significant others are is very important in what happens in a child's life. By this we mean not only their individual characteristics and quirks, but also their location within the structure of the larger society. In the early phases of socialization, whatever attitudes and roles the child accepts, they are accepted precisely from significant others. They are, in a very real sense, the social world of the child.

However, as socialization proceeds, the child begins to feel that these specific attitudes and roles relate to a much more general reality. The child begins to understand, for example, that it is not only his mother who is angry with him when he wets himself; that this anger is shared by every other significant adult he knows, and indeed by the adult world at large. It is at this moment that the child begins to relate not only to specific significant others, but also to the generalized other (another Meadian concept), which represents society in its entirety. This process is easy to follow if you analyze the baby’s language. In the earlier phase, the child seems to say to himself (in many cases he actually does this): “Mom doesn’t want me to wet myself.” After the discovery of the generalized other, it becomes something like this statement: “This cannot be done.” Specific attitudes are now becoming universal. Specific commands and prohibitions of individual others become generalized norms. This stage is very decisive in the process of socialization.

According to some sociologists, symbolic interactionism provides a more realistic view of the mechanisms of social interaction than exchange theory. However, he concentrates his attention on the subjective perceptions of interacting individuals, each of whom is, in essence, unique and inimitable. Therefore, on its basis it is quite difficult to make generalizations that could be applied to a wide variety of life situations.

Let us briefly mention two more influential sociological concepts of interaction - ethnomethodology and the concept of impression management.

The first of these, ethnomethodology, attempts to take on the research methods used by anthropologists and ethnographers to study primitive cultures and communities, making them sociologically universal. The basic assumption here is that the rules governing contacts between people are usually accepted by them on faith, in ready-made form. Thus, ethnomethodology aims to study how people (“members”) construct their world. Its subject is hidden, unconscious mechanisms social communication between people. Moreover, all forms of social communication are reduced to a large extent to verbal communication, to everyday conversations. One of the ethnomethodological research methods is illustrated by some of the experiments of their founder Harold Garfinkel to destroy the stereotypes of everyday life. Garfinkel asked his students to behave as if they were boarders or hotel guests when they arrived home. The reactions of parents and relatives were dramatic, at first perplexed, then even hostile. According to Garfinkel, this illustrates how the social order of everyday life is carefully, even delicately, constructed. In other studies (for example, the behavior of jurors), he studied how people construct their order in various situations, completely taking it for granted. J. Turner formulated the program position of ethnomethodology as follows: “The features of rational behavior must be identified in the behavior itself.”

The second sociological concept of interaction - the concept of impression management - was developed by Erwin Goffman. The main interest of his research was related to the elements of fleeting encounters, the possibilities inherent in momentary encounters, that is, with the sociology of everyday life. In order to study and understand the order of such social encounters, Goffman used drama as an analogy for their production, which is why his concept is sometimes called the dramaturgical approach (or dramaturgical interactionism). The main idea of this approach is that in the process of interaction people usually play a kind of “show” in front of each other, directing impressions of themselves as perceived by others. Social roles are thus similar theatrical roles. People project their own images, usually in ways that best serve their own purposes. The regulation of interactions between people is based on the expression of symbolic meanings that are beneficial to them, and they often themselves create situations in which, as they believe, they can make the most favorable impression on others.

1. By universal definition P. Sorokin, the phenomenon of social interaction “is given when: a) mental experiences or b) external acts, or c) both of one (some) people represent a function of the existence and state (mental and physical) of another or other individuals.”

2. The conditions for the occurrence of any social interaction are determined as follows:

1) the presence of two or more individuals who determine each other’s behavior and experiences;

2) their performance of some actions that influence mutual experiences and actions;

3) the presence of conductors that transmit these influences and the influence of individuals on each other;

4) the presence of a common basis for contacts and common ground.

3. In accordance with the concept of P. Sorokin, three typologies of interaction can be distinguished depending on the choice of system-forming features:

1) quantity and quality of interaction participants;

2) the nature of the acts performed by the participants in the interaction;

3) the nature of interaction conductors.

4. A number of sociological concepts have been developed that describe and interpret the mechanisms of social interaction. According to exchange theory, any social interaction can be likened to the relationship between a buyer and a seller in a market; The rewards that arise during the interaction become repeated and regular, gradually developing into relationships between people based on mutual expectations. According to the concept of symbolic interactionism, social life depends on our ability to imagine ourselves in others social roles, and this acceptance of the role of the other depends on our ability to have internal conversation with ourselves. Proponents of ethnomethodology proceed from the fact that the rules governing contacts between people are usually accepted by them on faith, in ready-made form. The concept of impression management (dramatic interactionism) argues that the regulation of interactions between people is based on the expression of symbolic meanings that are beneficial to them, and they often themselves create situations in which they believe they can make the most favorable impression on others.

Control questions

1. What are “emergent properties”?

2. How does human interaction differ from interaction between any other living beings?

3. Describe four conditions for social interaction to occur.

4. What is the main feature of the conductors of social interaction?

5. What are the main foundations of the typology of social interactions defined by P. A. Sorokin?

6. What is the essence of exchange theory?

7. On what fundamental principles is the concept of symbolic interactionism based?

8. What is a “significant other”?

9. What basic assumption is ethnomethodology based on? 10. What is the essence of dramatic interactionism?

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6. Cooley Ch. Primary groups // American sociological thought. – M., 1994.

7. Kultygin V.P. The concept of social exchange in modern sociology // Sociological studies. – 1997. No. 5.

8. Merton R.K. Social structure and anomie // Sociological studies. – 1992. No. 3–4.

9. Mead J. From gesture to symbol. Internalized others and the self // American Sociological Thought. – M., 1994.

10. Risman D. Some types of character and society // Sociological studies. – 1993. No. 3, 5.

11. Smelser N.J. Sociology. – M., 1994.

12. Modern Western sociology: Dictionary. – M., 1990.

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14. Turner D. The structure of sociological theory. – M., 1985.

15. Freud Z. Psychology of masses and analysis of the human self // Dialogue. -

16. Fromm E. Anatomy of human destructiveness // Sociological studies. – 1992. No. 7.

The ancient Romans said that man is a social animal and, therefore, a person living in society depends on it. This means that he depends on other individuals with whom he enters into contacts, forming a kind of social community.

For social communication to occur, three components are required:

subjects of communication (from two or more people);

subject of communication (what the communication is about);

mechanism for regulating relationships.

If the subject of communication is absent, individuals do not contact each other and vice versa. For example, a guy is trying to meet a girl he likes. It depends on the girl how much she likes the subject and object of the connection. If she likes you, she gives you a phone number, agrees to a meeting, etc., in other words, she performs certain actions to implement social communication.

Social connections represent the dependence of people, realized through social action, carried out with a focus on other people, with the expectation of a corresponding response from the partner.

Social connections are divided into social interactions and social relationships. These are different concepts, moreover, in the sociological hierarchy, social relations are broader than social behavior, social action, social contact and social interaction. What are these concepts?

the most basic concept - animal behavior, i.e. physical movements of the body (eating, movement);

action– a movement that has a purpose and meaning (you pick berries to eat them);

social behavior– behavior oriented towards other people;

social action assumes a response from another person (a guy gives his girlfriend a diamond ring);

social contact– a pair of social actions;

social interaction(interaction) – sequence of social actions.

As a type of social connection, social interaction also means the dependence of people on each other: my further action depends on the response of my partner. However, this does not mean that partners must see each other or interact physically. In social terms, both pen pals and generals who are preparing for battle with the enemy interact. It is important that during interaction, the mutual orientation of the partners in relation to each other and their response are taken into account. Spying on someone is not a social interaction unless the person being spied on knows it. Two competitors who deliberately ignore each other also interact socially, because they depend on each other and carry out their actions in the market in accordance with the actions of the competitor.

Social interactions are also based on social dependence. The problem of social dependence reflects two aspects: firstly, we can talk about dependencies that arise between people living in society, and secondly, about dependencies arising from the conscious influence of people on each other as representatives of society. The expression “A depends on B” in the first case means that A in his actions must take into account the existence of B, his duties and rights. In other words, dependence arises from common membership in an organized system. In the second case, this expression means that B can directly impose a certain way of behavior on A. In other words, in both cases, a person (or group) builds his behavior in accordance with these dependencies, behind which individuals stand.

The question quite naturally arises about the extent to which this dependence determines human behavior and consciousness. The Polish-Austrian sociologist L. Gumplowicz noted in his work “Foundations of Sociology” that the mistake of psychologists lies in the assumption that a person thinks. In this regard, they are always trying to find the source of thinking in the individual and determine why he thinks this way and not otherwise. However, it is not he who thinks in a person, but a social group, and the source of his thoughts lies not in him, but in the social environment in which he lives. This means that a person can only think in the way that the surrounding social environment forces him to think.

We can agree with L. Gumplowicz’s statement that personality is the result of interactions with the social environment. And not only because it has a strong social impact on a person, but also because the integration of a person into the social environment provides him with comfortable life in the form of rewards and encouragements. Consequently, a person’s need to integrate into the social environment is not only a biological, psychological, but also a social necessity for his survival. This kind of interaction gives rise to territorial, national, linguistic, and professional communities.

However, these processes are associated not only with the changing interests and needs of the person himself, but also with the interests of the social environment in which he is included. For example, a worker studied by correspondence, received a higher education and moved to a higher social stratum; in this case we are talking about disintegration with representatives of the lower stratum. He became a manager, learned the behavior patterns of managers of his echelon (creativity, leadership, etc.) and actively demonstrates them - integration with representatives of the new stratum. If he doesn't do this, he won't be promoted.

So, social interactions - these are systematic, regular social actions of partners, aimed at each other, with the goal of causing a very specific response on the part of the partner, and the response generates a new reaction of the influencer.

Types of Social Interactions. They are divided into:

random(social contacts) - not planned and not repeated (the question of a random passer-by on how to get to BSEU). Social contact does not imply continuation or consequences: if the object (subject) of the connection is not liked, it can be replaced by another;

repetitive– not planned, but take place from time to time (meeting with a neighbor from another entrance);

regular– not planned, but very common, the question arises if interaction does not take place (daily meeting with a familiar student from another department);

normalized– are planned and regulated by tradition or law (labor and family relations, educational process at a university), always raise questions if they do not happen (a student skipped class).

Characteristics social interactions. The American scientist R. Rummel classifies interactions according to their meaning, direction, intensity, extensiveness, duration and degree of organization.

Meaning social interaction - understanding an individual's behavior as a specific action, act or practice.

Direction depends on how the partners’ actions are directed: in relation to each other or not, whether they include common interests, etc.

- solidary interactions– acts with joint intentions and partners’ orientation towards helping each other to realize these intentions (parental actions in raising children).

- antagonistic interactions occur when partners prevent each other from achieving their goal (two employees collecting dirt on each other in order to get a promotion).

Intensity (= depth) . Social interactions can be high intensity(deep, highly motivated interactions occur in marriage, organizing a strike, in war) and low intensity(take place when discussing what movie to watch, how to spend the weekend, etc.).

By degree extensiveness (= length) interactions can be extensive(wide) and limited(narrow). If interactions are aimed, for example, at winning an enemy in a war or winning an election, they are extensive. If they are limited to specific actions (who should wash the dishes after eating), then these are limited interactions.

Duration : interactions can be long-lasting(family relationships) and short-lived(picnic outside the city).

By degree organization interactions can wear organized nature, if they are regulated by the laws and norms of society (the activities of trade unions, the educational process) and unorganized(preparing for an outing, deciding to run away from a lecture).

In general, social interactions have different combinations of characteristics. They can be solidary, intense, short, limited and unorganized (sexual relations), antagonistic, intense, extensive, long and organized (war), etc.

These characteristics were also used by P. Sorokin to identify 3 types of interactions (in Russian-language literature: relationships): family type (interactions are total, extensive, intense, consistent in direction and long-lasting, internal unity of group members); contract type (the relations of the parties interacting within the framework of the agreement are limited in time and aimed at obtaining mutual benefit or “as much as possible for less”); forced type (antagonism of relationships with various forms of coercion: economic, physical, psychological, etc.). The transition from one type to another can occur smoothly or unpredictably. Mixed types of social relationships are often observed in society.

Levels withsocial interactions. When analyzing social interactions, three levels are distinguished. Interpersonal interactions can be represented by an interaction between two individuals ( dyad or pair); between three individuals ( triad ); between one individual and many (for example, actor - audience); between many, many individuals (buyers - sellers). In interactions at the interpersonal level, factors associated with the attitudes and orientations of the subjects of interaction play an important role. Subjects also predetermine the nature of interactions, since the formation of attitudes and value orientations is associated with the processes of socialization of individuals and their assimilation of social experience. Interpersonal interactions are largely determined by mental and physiological factors, which is associated with the fact of direct communication between subjects and the nature of their social behavior.

Group interactions represent a higher level of interaction in which the social attitudes of the group and the values shared by the majority or almost all members of the group are manifested. Their subjects are not individuals, but groups. Group interactions can also be observed (clashes between classes - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, ethnic groups in Yugoslavia - Serbs and Croats) and their nature can be empirically recorded, the type of relations between groups can be determined, etc.

Societal interactions (community and society level) are often called social relations. They are difficult to observe because... subjects of interactions (countries) may not be in direct contact. If countries are at war or cooperating, these interactions can be observed and recorded in the form of political, economic treaties, etc. At this level of relations, different laws operate. They are presented in the form of culture, morality, and law, which give interactions a normalized character.

Indeed, social interactions often serve as the basis for social relationships—relationships between people as representatives of social groups and social institutions. Based on this, it can be argued that group interactions can also be considered social relationships. Social relations is a stable system of normalized interactions between subjects based on a specific platform (i.e., an interest or goal that the united people want to achieve). For example, institutions of coercion (court, prison) are created with the aim of maintaining public order, punishing those who do not want to obey moral and legal norms, and who encroach on public values (spiritual or material).

It is a common statement that any social action inevitably gives rise to social interaction. At the same time, some scientists believe that social action traditionally involves social interaction, but it may remain without a response, i.e. in some cases, social action does not generate social interaction.

In educational and reference literature, the concept of “social interaction” is interpreted differently. Attention is focused either on the exchange of actions, or on the method of implementing social connections, or on a system of interdependent social actions, or on the process of influence of social subjects on each other, or on the relationships between people and social groups, or on the behavior of the individual. To summarize, we can give the following definition.

— ϶ᴛᴏ the process of exchange of social actions between two actors (participants in interaction) or more.

A distinction must be made between social action and social interaction.

Social action -϶ᴛᴏ any manifestation of social activity focused on other people. Social interaction is the process of exchange of social actions between two or more social subjects, the process of direct or indirect influence of these subjects on each other. In this case, social action can be initiated by the social subject himself (individual, group) and then it is considered as a “challenge”, or it can be a reaction to the social actions of others as a “response to a challenge”.

Social interaction will be the basic life need of a person, since a person, exclusively interacting with other people, can satisfy the vast majority of their needs and interests, realize both value and behavioral intentions. We should not forget that the most important component of social interaction will be the predictability of mutual expectations or, in other words, mutual understanding between actors. If the actors “speak different languages” and pursue mutually exclusive goals and interests, then the results of such interaction are unlikely to be positive.

Concept of social interaction

Interaction- ϶ᴛᴏ the process of influence of people and groups on each other, in which each action is determined by both the previous action and the expected result from the other. Any interaction requires at least two participants—interactants. Therefore, interaction is a type of action distinctive feature who will be focused on another person.

Any social interaction has four characteristics:

it substantively, that is, it always has a goal or reason that will be external to the interacting groups or people;
it outwardly expressed, and therefore accessible to observation; This attribute is due to the fact that interaction always presupposes character exchange, signs that decrypted by the opposite side;
it situationally,T. e. usually tied to some specific situations, to the conditions of the course (for example, meeting friends or taking an exam);
it expresses subjective intentions of participants.

I would like to emphasize that interaction is always communication. At the same time, you should not equate interaction with ordinary communication, i.e., messaging. This is a much broader concept because it involves not only direct exchange of information, but also an indirect exchange of meanings. Indeed, two people may not say a word and 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 of their activities social interaction. If people perform some actions in front of each other that can be (and will certainly be) somehow interpreted by the opposite side, then they are already exchanging meanings. A person who is alone will behave a little differently than a person who is in the company of other people.

Hence, social interaction characterized by such a feature as Feedback. Feedback assumes presence of reaction. Moreover, this reaction may not follow, but it is always expected, accepted as probable, possible.

American sociologist of Russian origin P. Sorokin identified two mandatory conditions for social interaction:

havepsyche And sense organs, i.e., means that allow you to find out what another person feels through his actions, facial expressions, gestures, voice intonations, etc.;
participants in the interaction must express in the same wayϲʙᴏfeelings and thoughts, i.e. use the same symbols of self-expression.

Interaction can be seen as at the micro level, and on macro level.

Interaction at the micro level - 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 takes place within social structures, institutions, and even society as a whole.

Considering the dependence on how contact is made between interacting people or groups, there are four main types of social interaction:

physical;
verbal, or verbal;
non-verbal (facial expressions, gestures);
mental, which is expressed only in inner speech.

The first three refer to external actions, the fourth - to internal actions. All of them have the following properties: meaningfulness, motivated, focused on other people.

Social interaction is possible in any sphere of social life. Therefore, we can give the following typology of social interaction by sphere:

economic (individuals act as owners and employees);
political (individuals confront or cooperate as representatives of political parties, social movements, and also as subjects of government);
professional (individuals participate as representatives of different professions);
demographic (including contacts between representatives of different genders, ages, nationalities and races);
family-related;
territorial-settlement (there are clashes, cooperation, competition between locals and newcomers, permanent and temporary residents, etc.);
religious (implies contacts between representatives of different religions, as well as believers and atheists)

Three main forms of interaction can be distinguished:

cooperation - collaboration of individuals to solve a common problem;
competition - individual or group struggle for the possession of scarce values (benefits);
conflict - a hidden or open clash between competing parties.

P. Sorokin considered interaction as an exchange, and on this basis he identified three types of social interaction:

exchange of ideas (any ideas, information, beliefs, opinions, etc.);
exchange of volitional impulses, in which people coordinate actions to achieve common goals;
exchange of feelings when people unite or separate on the basis of their emotional attitude towards something (love, hatred, contempt, condemnation, etc.)

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