Social Interaction and Social Thinking
Social interaction is how individuals act toward and respond to one another; social thinking concerns how we perceive and categorize other people and groups. The AAMC outline covers self-presentation and impression management, elements of social interaction (status, roles, groups, networks), and the trio of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination, plus interpersonal attraction and aggression.
Self-Presentation and Interaction
Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical approach compares social life to theater: we manage others’ impressions through front-stage (public performance) and back-stage (private) behavior. Impression management is the conscious effort to control how others see us.
- Status
- A position in society. Ascribed (born into, e.g., race), achieved (earned, e.g., doctor), and master status (dominant, shapes overall identity).
- Role
- Behaviors expected of a status. Role strain = tension within a single role; role conflict = tension between two roles; role exit = leaving a role.
- Groups
- Primary (close, personal, e.g., family) vs secondary (formal, goal-oriented). A reference group sets a standard for comparison.
- Networks
- Webs of social ties; weak ties can provide new information (Granovetter).
Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination
- Stereotype — a cognitive generalized belief about a group.
- Prejudice — an affective (emotional) negative attitude toward a group.
- Discrimination — the behavioral unequal treatment of a group.
Related terms: stereotype threat (anxiety about confirming a negative stereotype impairs performance — Steele), self-fulfilling prophecy (expectations elicit confirming behavior), ethnocentrism (judging other cultures by one’s own standards) vs cultural relativism. Discrimination can be individual or institutional (built into organizations and policy).
Attraction and Aggression
Attraction is shaped by proximity (mere exposure effect), physical attractiveness (halo effect), similarity, and reciprocity. Aggression is influenced by biology (amygdala, testosterone), the frustration–aggression hypothesis, and social learning (modeling). Altruism and prosocial behavior may reflect reciprocal altruism, kin selection, or the empathy–altruism hypothesis.
Worked MCQs
Five MCQs covering the high-yield testing patterns for social interaction and thinking.
Q1. A working parent struggles to meet the demands of being both an employee and a caregiver. This is best described as:
Role conflict is tension between the demands of two different roles (employee vs caregiver). Role strain would be tension among the demands of a single role.
Q2. Refusing to hire someone because of their ethnicity is an example of:
Discrimination is the behavioral component — unequal treatment based on group membership. A stereotype is the belief; prejudice is the negative attitude that may motivate the discriminatory act.
Q3. Goffman’s dramaturgical concept of "front stage" refers to:
Front stage is where individuals perform for an audience and manage impressions, following social conventions. Back stage is private behavior where the performance can relax.
Q4. A student underperforms on a math test after being reminded of a negative stereotype about her group. This illustrates:
Stereotype threat (Steele) is the anxiety of potentially confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group, which can impair performance on the relevant task.
Q5. Repeatedly seeing a classmate leads you to like them more, even without conversation. This is the:
The mere exposure effect is the tendency to develop a preference for stimuli simply due to repeated exposure — proximity increases attraction. The halo effect is inferring positive traits from attractiveness.
Quick Recap
- Goffman: dramaturgy, front/back stage, impression management.
- Status: ascribed, achieved, master; role strain (within) vs role conflict (between).
- Primary vs secondary groups; reference groups; weak-tie networks.
- Stereotype (belief) → prejudice (attitude) → discrimination (behavior).
- Stereotype threat, self-fulfilling prophecy, ethnocentrism vs cultural relativism.
- Attraction: proximity/mere exposure, similarity, reciprocity, physical attractiveness.
- Aggression: biological, frustration–aggression, social learning.