Relationships

Element IV: The Human Being

Social interaction, or the mutual responses of two or more individuals, is perhaps the most basic sociological concept, for such interaction is the elementary component of all the relationships and groups constituting human society. How people avoid bumping into each other on the street or how they open and close telephone conversations, or the entire range of economic, political, and other interdependencies among all peoples on Earth. However, your relationships with people will fall somewhere between these two extremes.

Human interaction both creates and is governed by social NORMS--rules or imagined models of conduct present in people's consciousness that guide and control their interactions. Social norms are the part of culture learned by members of a society. The laws enforced by the state are one kind of social norm but by no means the only kind; FOLKWAYS, etiquette, rituals, and fashion are also social norms. Not all norms apply to every member of society, for individuals differ in the parts they play in interaction with others. When these different parts become expectations to which people feel an obligation to conform, they are called social ROLES--clusters of norms and expectations that apply to different classes of persons.

Examples of social roles in various societies include those of son, wife, priest, beggar, worker, friend, companion, spouse, parent, adult, child, neighbor. You will play all these roles daily for the rest of your life. This is the way you will relate to others. Skillfully managing relationships with others through the many roles you will adopt during your life is one of the most important skills you can learn in LIFECRAFT.

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