Social relation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In social science, a social relation or social interaction refers to a relationship between two (i.e. a dyad), three (i.e. a triad) or more individuals (e.g. a social group). Social relations, derived from individual agency, form the basis of the social structure. To this extent social relations are always the basic object of analysis for social scientists. Fundamental enquiries into the nature of social relations are to be found in the work of the classical sociologists, for instance, in Max Weber's theory of social action. Further categories must be established in the abstract in order to form observations and conduct social research, such as Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (lit. "Community and Society") or "collective consciousness".
Disputes over the conduct of investigating social interaction relate to the core debates in sociology and the other social sciences: positivism (quantitative research) against antipositivism (qualitative research), structure against agency, structural functionalism against conflict theory, as well as the philosophy of social science itself.
Contents |
[edit] Forms of relation and interaction
Forms of relation and interaction in sociology and anthropology may be described as follows: first and most basic are animal-like behaviors, i.e. various physical movements of the body. Then there are actions - movements with a meaning and purpose. Then there are social behaviors, or social actions, which address (directly or indirectly) other people, which solicit a response from another agent. Next are social contacts, a pair of social actions, which form the beginning of social interactions. Social interactions in turn form the basis of social relations.
These divisions are illustrated in the table below:
| Physical movement | Meaning | Directed towards others | Await response | Unique/rare interaction | Interactions | Accidental, not planned, but repeated interaction | Regular | Interactions described by law, custom or tradition | A scheme of social interactions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behavior | Yes | |||||||||
| Action | Yes | Yes | ||||||||
| Social behavior | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Social action | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Social contact | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Social interaction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Repeated interaction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Regular interaction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Regulated interaction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Social relation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
[edit] See also
- Social action
- Reflexivity (social theory)
- Affectional action
- Interpersonal relationship
- Instrumental action
- Traditional action
- Value-rational action
- Communicative action
- Dramaturgical action
- Symbolic interactionism
- Interpersonal relationships
- Group action (sociology)
- Social movement
- Social isolation
[edit] Related disciplines
[edit] References
- Max Weber The Nature of Social Action in Runciman, W.G. 'Weber: Selections in Translation' Cambridge University Press, 1991.
- Piotr Sztompka, Socjologia, Znak, 2002, ISBN 83-240-0218-9
| No global warming since 1995 |
|
"Professor Jones has been accused of ‘scientific fraud’ for allegedly deliberately suppressing information and refusing to share vital data with critics. "Discussing the interview, the BBC’s environmental analyst Roger Harrabin said he had spoken to colleagues of Professor Jones who had told him that his strengths included integrity and doggedness but not record-keeping and office tidying." * Data for vital ‘hockey stick graph’ has gone missing |
| PSA: send the Census packing |
|
This is a Public Service Announcement. |
| Libertarians launch counterattack in Dallas sign war |
|
The "sign war" against small business owners in Dallas is heating up again. Last fall, the city council outlawed advertising signs in the upper two-thirds of store windows and glass doors, and they cannot cover more than 15 percent of a store's facade. The city sees the issue as a matter of "security" and cleaning up "sign clutter" while business owners contend it's a matter of free speech and the life or death of their businesses. |
| Quote 2022 |
|
You cannot kill a breeze, a wind, a fragrance, you cannot kill a dream or an ambition. God, manufactured by mortals in their own quintessential image, exists only to make daily life bearable despite the path that every one of us treads toward extinction. As long as men are obliged to die, some of them, unable to endure the prospect, will concoct fond illusions. We cannot assassinate or kill an illusion. In fact, illusion is more likely to kill us — for God puts to death everything that stands up to him, beginning with reason, intelligence, and the critical mind. All the rest follows in a chain reaction. |
| North Texas LP candidate videos posted |
|
Videos of area Libertarian Party candidates are posted on YouTube. The videos of the Texas Libertarian Party debate among its four gubernatorial candidates have been posted on YouTube thanks to John Jay Myers who "edited these together in a frenzy" in an effort to make them available as quickly as possible. |