Interaction Ritual: Essays in Face-to-face BehaviorSex, smoking, and social stratification are three very different social phenomena. And yet, argues sociologist Randall Collins, they and much else in our social lives are driven by a common force: interaction rituals. Interaction Ritual Chains is a major work of sociological theory that attempts to develop a "radical microsociology." It proposes that successful rituals create symbols of group membership and pump up individuals with emotional energy, while failed rituals drain emotional energy. Each person flows from situation to situation, drawn to those interactions where their cultural capital gives them the best emotional energy payoff. Thinking, too, can be explained by the internalization of conversations within the flow of situations; individual selves are thoroughly and continually social, constructed from the outside in. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Nature of Deference and Demeanor | 47 |
Embarrassment and Social Organization | 97 |
Copyright | |
3 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
action activity actor appear arette avoid become behavior bets bullfighting called capacity casino cere ceremonial cern chance chance-taking character contests cial communication composure concern conduct consequential conversation conveyed course deference and demeanor delict duel embarrassment Emile Durkheim employed example expected expected value expression face face-to-face face-work fact fateful feel flustered gamble gang Georg Simmel gestures give given honor individual individual's James Bond keno kind maintain matter means ment mental moral nurses obliged occasion occurs offender one's opportunity organization outcome participants patients payoff matrix perform person physical pit boss play player poise portunity possible practice present psychiatrist psychotic recipient regard relationship risk ritual role rules San Francisco Chronicle seems self-conscious Similarly society Sociology someone sometimes spoken interaction spontaneous involvement suggested sustained tact talk tends thing threatened tion toss vidual Ward