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Social relation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Social relation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In social science, a social relation or social interaction is any relationship between two or more individuals. Social relations derived from
individual agency form the basis of social structure and the basic object for analysis by social scientists. Fundamental inquiries into the nature
of social relations feature in the work of sociologists such as Max Weber in his theory of social action.
Categorising social interactions enables observational and other social research, such as Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (lit. "Community and
Society"), collective consciousness, etc. However different schools and theories of sociology and other social sciences dispute the methods
used for such investigations.

Contents
1 Forms of relation and interaction
2 See also
3 Related disciplines
4 References
5 Bibliography
6 Further reading

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.
Symbols define social relationships. Without symbols, our social life would be no more sophisticated than that of animals. For example,
without symbols we would have no aunts or uncles, employers or teachers-or even brothers and sisters. In sum, Symbolic integrationists
analyze how social life depends on the ways we define ourselves and others. They study face-to-face interaction, examining how people
make sense out of life, how they determine their relationships.
This sociological hierarchy is illustrated in the table below:[1]

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Social relation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Accidental,
Interactions
not
Directed
described A scheme
Physical
Await Unique/rare
planned,
Meaning towards
Interactions
Regular by law,
of social
movement
response interaction
but
others
custom or interactions
repeated
tradition
interaction
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

See also
Affectional action
Communicative action
Dramaturgical action
Instrumental action
Interaction frequency
Interpersonal relationship
Group action (sociology)
Reflexivity (social theory)
Social action
Social isolation
Social movement
Symbolic interactionism
Traditional action
Value-rational action

Related disciplines
Engaged theory
Sociology
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Social relation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Social philosophy
Political science
Social psychology

References
1. ^ Sztompka (2002), p. 107

Bibliography
Piotr Sztompka, Socjologia, Znak, 2002, ISBN 83-240-0218-9

Further reading
Max Weber The Nature of Social Action in Runciman, W.G. 'Weber: Selections in Translation' Cambridge University Press, 1991.
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