Ethnomethodological Theory Of Social Interaction

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Social interaction is a constant and innate part of human nature. It is the contact between two or more persons. Humans were not made to be alone and therefore social interaction comes naturally to us. However, this interaction also influences our behaviors depending on how and who we are interacting with. Simply put, the society influences how we interact with each other. There are various terms, concepts and explanations surrounding human interaction and the way it helps us to function in society.
A Social Status is defined as “a social position that a person holds” (J. Maconis., 2010). This shapes your identity, meaning who you are as an individual and in the society, and is most commonly thought as your role. For instance, something as simple as an occupation. Generally, your job or how you make a living defines your social status. Everyone holds multiple …show more content…

The theory studies the manner individuals are able to understand their everyday situations. People come from different backgrounds and they tend to view their surroundings differently from those around them. Their background provides them with basic assumptions about everyday life such as values and beliefs. Ethnomethodology investigates what those background assumptions are, how we came to that assumption and how do they affect our perception of reality. For example a background assumption is that Policemen wear their respective uniforms when on duty. A policeman at a crime scene, wearing citizen clothes, would have difficulty controlling a crowd because they don’t obey due to the fact that he claims to be a policeman but isn’t wearing a uniform. When the background assumption is not fulfilled, onlookers will not respond respectfully as they would if the policeman was wearing his uniform. Therefore one can assume that people have a predisposed idea that they must respect authority figures as a result of the symbols associated with their

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