Social interaction and its types. Social connections and interactions Social connection

Social connections- this is the dependence of people, realized through social actions, carried out with a focus on other people, with the expectation of an appropriate response from the partner. M. Weber identified the following types of social action: 1) purposeful rational action - a person's clear idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhis goal and the means to achieve it, taking into account the reaction of others. Rationality is usually always oriented towards success;

2) value-rational action is performed through faith;

3) affective action occurs in the state of the unconscious, on a sensual level;

4) traditional action - habit, inertia.

In the theory of T. Parsons, social action is considered as a system in which the following elements are distinguished: the actor; object (individual or community on which the action is directed); the purpose of the action; mode of action; the result of the action (the reaction of the object).

In sociology, the following varieties social connections: social contact and social interactions. If the connection between people is superficial and the subject of communication can be easily replaced by another person, then they speak of social contact. Social interaction (interaction), in turn, implies a regular systematic influence of individuals on each other, as a result of which new social ties are renewed and created within the community or between its elements. Social interaction involves at least two subjects, which are called interactants. Their interactive actions must certainly be directed at each other, the purpose of which is to evoke a certain response from the partner.

Interaction can be of the following types:

- direct (interpersonal) with a variety of modifications associated with social position subjects and their social roles;

- indirect (through intermediaries) - involves the distribution of roles between the participants, the existence of agreed norms, a system of values ​​that regulate this interaction.

Social interaction can be classified:

By the number of participating entities: bilateral, multilateral;

Type of contacts: solidary or antagonistic;

Level of organization: organized or unorganized;

The nature of assessments: emotional, volitional or intellectual;

Level: interpersonal, group, societal.

Theories of social interaction(interactions) developed mainly within the framework of American sociological thought, in which the ideas of utilitarianism, pragmatism and behaviorism were strong. The behaviorist principle of "stimulus-response" was given a broad sociological meaning. Stimulus and reaction began to be considered in the aspect of human action and interaction, when one person (or group), acting on another, expects a certain positive reaction from the latter.

The classical theories of this direction include the theories of the “mirror self”, symbolic interactionism, and the “exchange theory”.

The concept of "mirror self": In the process of socialization, the transformation of individual consciousness into a collective mind takes place with the assimilation of social norms and a reassessment of one's personality from the position of perception by others, i.e. carried out

transition from intuitive "self-perception" to "social feelings". A person looks at another person, as if in a special mirror, and sees his own reflection in it. Moreover, this reflection does not always coincide with own assessment person. Socialization, according to Ch. Cooley, means the need to harmonize assessment and self-esteem, the transformation of the "individual I" into the "collective I".

Theories of symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism (from Latin interaction - interaction) is a direction in sociology that focuses on the analysis of social interactions mainly in their symbolic content.

Representatives of symbolic interactionism are G. Bloomer, J. Mead,

A. Rose, G. Stone, A. Strauss and others.

Meade George Herbert(1863-1931) - American psychologist, sociologist, philosopher, creator of the theory of symbolic interactionism, considers personality as a social product, discovering the mechanism of its formation in role interaction. Roles set boundaries for the appropriate behavior of an individual in a particular situation. What is necessary in role interaction is the acceptance of the role of another, which ensures the transformation of external social control into self-control and the formation of the human "I". The main characteristic of human action, according to Mead, is the use of symbols. The scientist distinguishes between two forms or two steps

social action: communication through gestures and symbolically mediated communication. Mead explains the emergence of symbolically mediated interaction functionally - by the need to coordinate the behavior of people, since they do not have reliable instincts, and anthropologically - by the ability of a person to create and use symbols.

General ideas of symbolic interactionism received further development in the work of an American researcher G. Bloomer ( 1900 - 1967), who in his work "Symbolic Interactionism: Perspectives and Method" proceeded from the definition of the meaning of an object, based not on its properties, but on its role in people's lives. An object is what it means in expected and actual interaction. Moreover, the stability of meanings makes interaction habitual, allows it to be institutionalized. In the interaction itself, two levels can be distinguished: non-symbolic (uniting all living things) and symbolic (peculiar to humans only). Through sign system a person sets distances, i.e. structures the outside world. By developing and changing meanings, people thereby change the world itself.

original version symbolic interactionism developed in the writings

E. Hoffman(1922 - 1982), who is called the author of the "dramatic approach", since he expressed manifestations of personal and public life in theatrical terminology. At the same time, a person simultaneously acts as an author, director, actor, spectator and critic, as if trying on different social roles.

Social exchange theory- a direction in modern sociology that considers the exchange of various social benefits (in the broad sense of the word) as a fundamental basis public relations, on which various structural formations (power, status, etc.) grow. Representatives of the theory of social exchange (action theory) - J. Homans and P. Blau. Homans George Kaspar(1910 - 1989) - American sociologist, according to whose views, people interacting with each other on the basis of their experience, weigh possible rewards and costs. Social action, according to Homans, is a process of exchange, which is based on the principle of rationality: participants strive to receive maximum benefit at minimal cost.

Unlike simple interaction, social relations differ in that they are perceived by individuals as long-term, repetitive, and, therefore, stable. Thus, social relations are a stable system of normalized interactions between two or more partners based on a certain interest.

1) What is religion in the broad and narrow sense of the word? Is it possible, in your opinion, to give such a definition of it, which will equally suit both people of faith and faith?

atheists? Why?

2) Describe the role of religion in the life of a person, society, state. What is the moral force of religion?

3) What is a world religion? What is the essence of the discussion about the number of world religions? What do you think, what criteria are used by those experts who name more than three world religions?

4) What role have world religions played and are playing in the history of mankind?

5) What role does the religious factor play in contemporary conflicts? Is it possible to say that often it is only a pretext for starting an armed confrontation?

Please check the understanding of the problem and the theoretical argumentation, and also help with the arguments) What is a society? Talking about

to this problem, Émile Durkheim says: "Society is not a simple sum of individuals, but a system formed by their association."

This statement by Emile Durkheim means that society is a systematized, regular community of people, and not just a sum of individuals.

We all know from textbooks that society is a part of the material world isolated from nature, which includes the ways in which people interact. This is a kind of integrity of people, which has a collective character. However, is society necessarily systematized?

I think so: originally people existed outside of society, united in small groups, just like animals. However, in the process of anthroposociogenesis, man became a social being. Sociums were formed: at first they were tribes, then peoples and nations. In them, a person has a set social roles that determine his place (son, student, Russian, and so on). Society, gradually becoming more complex, was divided into strata, classes, spheres, which are also divided within themselves. All this together forms a complex dynamic natural system - society.

1. What is the spiritual life of society? What components does it include?

2. What is culture? Tell us about the origin of this concept.

3. How do traditions and innovation interact in culture?

4. Describe the main functions of culture. On the example of one of the phenomena of culture, reveal its functions in society.

5. What kind of “cultures within a culture” do you know? Describe a situation in which the interaction of several cultures would manifest itself.

6. What is the dialogue of cultures? Give examples of interaction and
interpenetration of various national cultures, using knowledge,
obtained in the courses of history and geography.

7. What is the internationalization of culture? What are her problems?

8. Describe the manifestations of folk culture.

9. What is mass culture? Tell us about its symptoms.

10. What is the role of the media in modern society?
What problems and threats can be associated with their spread?

11. What is an elite culture? How is its dialogue with the masses?

In all episodes of his life, a person is connected with other people. To satisfy his needs, a person must interact with other individuals, participate in joint activities. After a series of interactions with others, a person enters into a certain relationship.

Social connections - it is a special type of contact between people. We can talk about the presence of a social connection when there are obvious three signs: 1) personal obligations of each member of the group to comply with the norms common to the group and protect common values; 2) the dependence of the members of the group on each other, arising on the basis of a common interest; 3) identification of the individual with the group.

Main elements that make up a social connection are contacts. They can be spatial, psychological (interest), social (exchange).

Social relationships have various bases and many different shades depending on the personal qualities of individuals. The formation of social ties occurs gradually, from simple forms to complex ones. The development of social ties leads to social interactions. Measuring the number and direction of social contacts makes it possible to determine the structure of social interactions and the nature of social relations.

social interaction(interaction) is a form of social communications; the process of communication between individuals, their influence and influence on each other. Social interaction is made up of individual social actions. An important role in the implementation of interactions is played by the system of mutual expectations presented by individuals and social groups to each other before performing social actions.

Typology. Interactions can be both short-term, situational, and stable, reusable or even permanent. According to the types of actions, interactions can be physical, verbal, gestural. Social interaction based on status systems is typified by spheres, as it includes people's communications in the economic, professional, family-related, demographic, political, religious, territorial-settlement spheres. The most common forms social interactions are cooperation (cooperation), rivalry (competition), conflict (collision).

As a result of the repetition of one or another type of interaction, different types social relations between people.

Social Relations - it is a certain stable system of connections and dependencies individuals, which has developed in the process of their repeated interactions with each other in the conditions of a given society; it is a set of forms of organization life together of people. Social relations are clearly divided in meaning and content, which depend on how the need for values ​​and possession of them are combined in interactions. Social relations are the stable element that unites people in society.

16. National-ethnic communities and relations

The ancient Greek word "ethnos" has about 10 meanings: people, crowd, tribe, mass, etc.

In ethnographic literature, “ethnos” is commonly understood as a stable community of people living, as a rule, in a separate territory, having their own original culture, language, and self-awareness. In Soviet sociology and ethnography, it was traditionally believed that ethnic division is a kind of social and ethnic groups are integral systems inextricably linked with socio-economic factors. Therefore, ethnos is a social phenomenon.

There are two opposite approaches to understanding the essence of an ethnos: natural-biological, sociocultural.

The origins of the first date back to the middle of the 19th century, and its representatives belonged to the so-called racial-anthropological school in naturalistic sociology, which we mentioned in our previous lectures. Representatives of this trend Zh.A. de Gobineau, S. Ammon, J. Lapouge believed that the ethno-cultural diversity of mankind is due to genetic differences.

The specificity of the sociological approach to the study of ethnic groups lies primarily in the fact that, unlike ethnography, which has a clearly defined historical and descriptive character, in sociology ethnic communities are considered as elements of the social structure of society, in close relationship with other social groups - classes, strata, territorial communities and various social institutions.

Sociologists have been looking for those protozoa for a long time. social elements, with the help of which they could describe and study social life as a set of infinitely diverse events, actions, facts, phenomena and relationships. It was necessary to find the phenomena of social life in their simplest form, indicate the elementary case of their manifestation, construct and recreate their simplified model, studying which the sociologist would be able to consider more and more complex facts as a combination of these simplest cases or as an example of this model complicated to infinity. The sociologist must find, in the words of P.A. Sorokin, the "social cell", by studying which he would gain knowledge of the basic properties of social phenomena. Such the simplest "social cell" is the concept of "interaction", or "interaction", which refers to the basic concepts of sociology as a science of the development of society. The interaction, which ultimately manifests itself as the social behavior of individuals in society, became the subject of analysis in the works of such outstanding sociologists of the 20th century as P.A. Sorokin, G. Simmel, E. Durkheim, T. Parsons, R. Merton, D. Homans and others.

Social interactions of people in society

Social contacts

The problems of forming relationships in society from the simplest to the most complex, the mechanism of social action, the specifics of social interaction, the very concept of "social system" are developed in detail and studied at two main levels of sociological research - the microlevel and the macrolevel.

At the micro level, social interaction (interaction) is any behavior of an individual, group, society as a whole, both at the moment and in the future. Each action is caused by the previous action and at the same time acts as the cause of the subsequent action. It is a system of interdependent social actions connected by a cyclic causal dependence, in which the actions of one subject are both the cause and effect of the response actions of other subjects. Interpersonal interaction can be called interaction at the level of two or more units. interpersonal communication(for example, a father praising his son for a good study). On the basis of experiments and observations, sociologists analyze and try to explain certain types of behavior that characterize the interaction between individuals.

At the macro level, the study of interaction is carried out on the example of such large structures as classes, layers, the army, the economy, etc. But the elements of both levels of interaction are intertwined. So, the daily communication of soldiers of one company is carried out at the micro level. But the army is a social institution that is studied at the macro level. For example, if a sociologist studies the reasons for the existence of hazing in a company, then he cannot adequately investigate the issue without referring to the state of affairs in the army, in the country as a whole.

A simple, elementary level of interaction are spatial contacts. We constantly encounter people and build our behavior in transport, shops, at work, taking into account their interests and behavior. So, when we see an elderly person, we usually give way to him at the entrance to the store, make room for him in public transport. In sociology, this is called visual spatial contact"(the individual's behavior changes under the influence of the passive presence of other people).

concept "intended spatial contact" used to refer to a situation in which a person does not visually encounter other people, but suggests that they are present in some other place. So, if it becomes cold in the apartment in winter, we call the housing office and ask them to check the hot water supply; entering the elevator, we know for sure that if the help of the attendant is needed, we must press the button on the control panel and our voice will be heard, although we do not see the attendant.

As civilization develops, society shows more and more attention to a person, so that in any situation he feels the presence of other people who are ready to help. Ambulance, fire brigade, police, traffic police, sanitary and epidemiological stations, helplines, rescue services, mobile operator service departments, technical support departments computer network and other organizations created to provide and support social order in society in order to instill in a person confidence in security and a sense of social comfort. All this, from the point of view of sociology, is a form of manifestation of supposed spatial contacts.

Contacts related to interests people are a more complex level of interaction. These contacts are determined by the clearly "targeted" needs of individuals. If you, while visiting, get acquainted with an outstanding football player, then you can experience a feeling of simple curiosity as to a famous person. But if there is a business representative in the company, and you are looking for a job with a diploma in economics, then in your mind there is immediately a need for contact where there is interest. Here, the actualized motive and interest is caused by the presence of a need - to make an acquaintance and, perhaps, to find with its help Good work. This contact may continue, but it may also end abruptly if you lose interest in it.

If motive - this is a direct impulse to activity associated with the need to satisfy a need, then interest - it is a conscious form of manifestation of need, which ensures the orientation of the individual to a certain activity. Before you went to visit, you asked a friend to help you find a job: introduce you to a businessman, give good performance, vouch for your reputation, etc. It is possible that in the future this friend will in turn ask you to help him with something.

IN exchange contacts social interaction becomes more difficult. This is a kind of contact, during which individuals are interested not so much in people as in the objects of exchange - information, money, etc. For example, when you buy a movie ticket, you are not interested in the cashier, you are interested in the ticket. On the street, you stop the first person you meet to find out how to get to the station, and the last thing you pay attention to is whether this person is old or young, handsome or not, the main thing is to get an answer to your question. Life modern man filled with similar contacts of exchange: he buys goods in the store and in the market; pays for tuition, goes to a disco, having preliminarily done a haircut at a hairdresser; a taxi takes him to the specified address. In modern society, exchange contacts are becoming more and more complicated. For example, wealthy parents send their daughter to a prestigious educational institution in Europe, believing that in exchange for the money they pay, workers educational institution will take care of all the concerns associated with the socialization, upbringing and education of their daughter.

Thus, under social contact is understood as short-term First stage interactions between individuals or social groups. Social contact, as a rule, takes the form of spatial contact, psychic contact, and exchange contact. Social contacts are the first step in education social groups. The study of social contacts makes it possible to find out the place of each individual in the system of social ties, his group status. By measuring the number and direction of social contacts, the sociologist can determine the structure of social interactions and their nature.

social actions

- the next level of complex social relationships after contacts. The concept of "social action" is considered one of the central in sociology and is the simplest unit of any kind of human behavior. The concept of "social action" was introduced into sociology and scientifically substantiated by M. Weber. He considered social action “the action of a person (regardless of whether it is external or internal, whether it comes down to non-intervention or patient acceptance) ... which, according to the meaning assumed by the actor or actors, correlates with the action others people and focuses on it.

Weber proceeded from the fact that social action is a conscious action and is clearly focused on others. For example, a collision between two cars may be nothing more than an accident, but an attempt to avoid this collision, the scolding that followed the incident, the growing conflict between drivers or a peaceful settlement of the situation, the involvement of new parties (traffic police, an accident commissioner, an insurance agent) is already a social act.

A well-known difficulty is the drawing of a clear boundary between social actions and asocial (natural, natural). According to Weber, suicide will not be a social act unless its consequences affect the behavior of acquaintances or relatives of the suicide.

Fishing and hunting do not in themselves appear to be social activities if they do not correlate with the behavior of other people. Such an interpretation of actions - some as non-social, and others as social - is not always justified. So, suicide, even if we are talking about a lonely person living outside social contacts, is a social fact. If we follow the theory of social interaction P.A. Sorokin, then any phenomenon that happens in a society cannot be isolated from it and characterizes, first of all, this society (in this case, suicide acts as a social indicator of the society's troubles). It is also very difficult to determine the presence or absence of awareness in a particular act of an individual. According to Weber's theory, actions cannot be considered social if the individual acted under the influence of affect - in a state of anger, irritation, fear. However, as studies by psychologists show, a person never acts fully consciously, his behavior is influenced by various emotions (likes, dislikes), physical condition (fatigue or, conversely, a sense of recovery), character and mental organization (temperament, optimistic mood of a choleric person). or phlegmatic pessimism), culture and intelligence, etc.

Unlike social contacts, social action is a complex phenomenon. The following components are distinguished in the structure of social action:

• individual who acts
• an individual's need for a specific action
• purpose of action
• action method,
• another individual to whom the action is directed
• action result.

The mechanism of social action was most fully developed by the American sociologist T. Parsons (“The Structure of Social Action”). Like Sorokin, Parsons considered interaction to be the basic process that makes possible the development of culture at the level of an individual. The result of interaction is social behavior. A person, being included in a certain community, follows the cultural patterns accepted in this community. The mechanism of social action includes need, motivation, and action itself. As a rule, the beginning of social action is the emergence of a need that has a certain direction.

For example, a young man wants to learn how to water a car. The urge to take action is called motivation. The motives of social action can be different: in this case, a young man either wants to distract his girlfriend from a rival who drives a good car, or he likes to take his parents to the country, or he wants to get additional income by “carriage”.

By performing social actions, the individual experiences the influence of others and himself, in turn, wants to influence others. This is how an exchange of actions takes place, which acts as a social interaction. In this process, an important role belongs to the system of mutual expectations, which makes it possible to evaluate the behavior of a given individual in terms of generally accepted norms.

Imagine that, while in a company, a young man met a girl and they agreed to meet. Each of them has a system of expectations of behavior accepted in society or a given group. The girl can consider young man as a potential groom, therefore, it is important for them to establish strong relationships, consolidate acquaintance, find out everything about his views on life, interests and affections, his profession, material opportunities. The young man, in turn, also thinks about the upcoming meeting, either seriously or as another adventure.

The meeting can take place in different ways. One will drive up in a foreign car and invite you to a restaurant with a subsequent drive to an empty cottage. Another will offer to go to the movies or just walk in the park. But it is possible that the first young man will soon disappear, and the timid young man will receive a diploma, enter the service, and become a respectable husband.

Forms of social interactions

Mutual expectations are often not justified, and the relationships that have arisen are destroyed. If mutual expectations are justified, they acquire a predictable, and most importantly, stable form, such interactions are called social relations. Sociology distinguishes between the three most common types of interactions - cooperation, rivalry and conflict.

Cooperation- a type of interaction in which people perform interconnected actions to achieve common goals. As a rule, cooperation is beneficial for the interacting parties. Common interests unite people, cause them feelings of sympathy, gratitude. Mutual benefit encourages people to communicate in an informal setting, contributes to the emergence of an atmosphere of trust, moral comfort, the desire to yield in an argument, to suffer some inconvenience for oneself personally, if necessary for business. Collaborative relationships have many advantages and benefits for doing business together, fighting competitors, increasing productivity, retaining employees in the organization, and preventing employee turnover.

However, over time, cooperation based on cooperation begins to acquire a conservative character. People, having studied each other's capabilities, character traits, imagine what should be expected in a particular situation from each. Elements of routine arise, the stability of relations becomes stagnation, gives rise to the need to maintain the status quo. Group members become afraid of change and do not want it. They already have a set of standard, time-tested solutions in almost any situation, have established relationships with the entire system of multilateral relations in society, know their suppliers of raw materials, informants, designers, and representatives of power structures. There is no road for newcomers to the group, new ideas do not penetrate this blocked social space. The group begins to degrade.

Interaction based on rivalry(competition) is one of the most common types interaction as opposed to cooperation. The peculiarity of rivalry is that people have the same goals, but pursue different interests. For example, several companies are applying for an order to build a large bridge across the Volga. Their goal is the same - to get an order, but their interests are different. Two young people love the same girl, they have the same goal - to achieve her favor, but the interests are opposite.

Rivalry, or competition, is the basis of market relations. In this struggle for income, feelings of hostility, anger towards the opponent, hatred, fear, as well as the desire to get ahead of him at all costs arise. The victory of one often means a catastrophe for another, loss of prestige, good work, well-being. Envy of a successful rival can be so strong that a person commits a crime - hires killers to eliminate a competitor, steals Required documents, i.e. goes into conflict. Such cases are a fairly common phenomenon, they are widely represented in the literature (T. Dreiser, J. Galsworthy, V.Ya. Shishkov and other writers), they are written about in newspapers, they are discussed on television. The most effective means of limiting this kind of competition is the adoption and implementation of appropriate laws and the appropriate education of a person. In economics, this is the adoption of a series of antitrust laws; in politics - the principle of separation of powers and the presence of opposition, a free press; in the sphere of spiritual life - the spread in society of the ideals of goodness and mercy, universal moral values. However, the spirit of competition is an incentive in business and in general in any work, which does not allow a person to rest on his laurels.

- open, direct confrontation, sometimes armed. In the latter case, we can talk about a revolution, an armed uprising, a riot, riots. For example, after the riots that engulfed Chisinau in 2009 and Bishkek in 2010, there was a change of government in Moldova and Kyrgyzstan. Prevention of violent conflicts, struggles that harm a person and violate public order is the task of the state. Studying the problem of social interaction, sociologists, in particular T. Parsons, developed the doctrine of equilibrium of the social system, which is a decisive condition for the preservation of the system, its viability. A system is stable or is in relative equilibrium if the relations between its structure and the processes occurring inside it, and between it and the environment are such that the properties and relations are unchanged.

However, there is another view that contains an explanation of the conflict not only as a negative, but also as a positive element of social life.

Thus, social action is such an action of a person that correlates with the actions of other people and focuses on them. Social action is a constitutive element, a "unit" of social reality. Many sociologists (for example, M. Weber, T. Parsons) saw it as the starting point of the entire system of social relations. Sustained and systematic implementation of actions, implying feedback, is called social interaction. Social interaction, as a rule, is expressed in the form of cooperation, rivalry or conflict.

77lyan lectures:

1. Social ties and relationships, their backbone role.

2. The concepts of social action and interaction as an expression of the dynamic characteristics of the social structure.

3. Theories of social interaction (interaction).

1. In the previous topics, the analysis of the social structure was associated with the identification of its main components, which are: a person (personality), family, group, team, community, organization and institution. The identification of these components helps to understand the nature of the "material" of which the social structure is composed. However, these elements do not represent some inert disparate material. Each element of the social structure is an example of a living, active, self-organizing and self-developing system that has internal and external connections, functions and relationships, thanks to which the structure of society acquires a living, dynamic character. Therefore, the analysis of the social structure involves the identification of not only its components, but also those connections, thanks to which this structure takes the form of a living, functioning, developing system. This side of the social structure is expressed by such concepts as "connection", "relationship", "relationship", "action", "interaction", revealing the mechanisms of social functioning, change and development. Let's consider these concepts in more detail.

Let's start with the most general concept, which is the concept of connection. This concept means the connection of the elements of the system into a single, holistic formation. Systems, as already noted, are divided into simple and complex, static and dynamic, organic and inorganic, natural and social. Any object of nature, society or technology is a complex connection of its constituent elements.

If it's about technical systems- machines and units, the presence, on the one hand, of individual parts that make up the unit, and on the other hand, the elements connecting them (bolts, nuts, welding, gluing, cementing, etc.) clearly appear. With the same obviousness, this connection appears in biological objects, i.e. in living organisms, which are individual bodies and their connecting elements (joints, tendons, muscles, etc.). From this point of view, society is no different from those listed above.

systems, it also represents a kind of organism with many interconnected elements. As a group of climbers is literally tied with a safety line, so people in a society are in a kind of connection with each other. True, this connection is special, it is not always amenable to direct observation. But it exists and must be taken into account when it comes to social structure.

So what is a social connection? In the most general terms, we can say that social communication is the connecting elements of the social structure that ensure the unity and systemic integrity of social objects from the family and the group to society, the state and humanity as a whole.

Society as an integral system is a complex combination various kinds connections between its constituent elements. This is first of all economic ties, which, in turn, break down into production, financial, trade, consumer, etc. In addition, class-political, legal, cultural, technical and other ties that make up the complex structure of social relations are distinguished. In the broad sense of the word, all these connections can be called social. But there is a special type of social relations that has a proper social meaning - these are relations that develop between people in a family, in a neighborly or friendly team, in a production team, in a student group, in a military unit, in a sports team, in a crowd, in a national or racial association, in a religious community, in an estate clan, in an age cohort, etc.

In this regard, social communication acts as a set of special dependencies of some social subjects on others, their mutual relations that unite people in the corresponding social communities and associations.

The basis for the formation of a social connection is direct contact between people in one or another primary social community (family, group, brigade), which then develops into a wider indirect connection of people who make up large social associations, within which feelings of belonging to a group or intragroup solidarity are formed. (within, for example, a nation, class, estate, confession, etc.).

There is a certain set of factors that determine the nature of social ties. These factors are divided into natural-biological, psychological-rational and socio-institutional. Natural and biological are set by hereditary traits, i.e. the very fact of the birth of a person, which op-

determines its ethnic, national or racial characteristics, and at the same time the nature of the connecting elements.

Among the factors that unite people in appropriate groups and communities, great importance have phenomena of a psychological nature, such as, for example, a sense of community with other people. Based on the feeling of such a community, a feeling of love, affection, passion, trust, recognition of authority, altruism, concern for one's neighbor or the weak, etc., is born, which allows individuals to become an element of an integral system that functions according to its own laws.

Social ties reach their highest manifestation when they become beliefs, acquire the character of rational attitudes, which reflect the traditions, norms and ideals that have developed in society.

If the latter are formed spontaneously in society, determining the socio-cultural code of social development, then institutional norms are specially created (formal, written) rules (norms) that regulate social ties and relations in a special way, determining the order of action of social objects within the framework of social institution and controlling them.

Considering all these factors, we can say that social ties are formal and informal, personal and collective, direct and indirect, stronger and less strong, direct and reverse, probabilistic and correlational, etc.

The subjects of social relations are not only individuals, but also their associations: family, group, collective, community, institution, etc., which also enter into complex relationships with each other. In this regard, we can talk about the ties between the city and the countryside, between education and culture, between philosophy and religion, between science and technology, between supporters of different faiths, about neighborly, business, friendly and other ties.

Social connection between individuals is realized as communication. Communication involves contacts. The latter have a physical and spiritual form of their manifestation. Physical contact is realized in such actions as shaking hands, kissing, hugging, performing marital functions, physical punishment etc., that is, it is realized as a physical impact of one person on another. Physical contact is also realized in the cohabitation of family members, in the joint performance job duties within the primary labor collective, in joint participation in political and public actions, etc. 156

The spiritual form of contact is a sensual-emotional coloring of physical connections and then itself acts as a prerequisite for productive connections between people. A positive spiritual coloration strengthens social ties, a negative one destroys them.

A special binding material is language, which accompanies both physical and spiritual forms of contact. Considering the technical possibilities of transmitting linguistic and figurative information, we can assume that the scope of direct communication is expanding significantly, acquiring a truly planetary and even cosmic character.

Considering the fact that in a society communications are not unidirectional, but reciprocal in nature, they are often expressed using the concept of “relationship”, which expresses the mutual influence of objects on each other, their mutual conditionality. Schematically speaking, we can say that A affects B and B affects A.

Within the framework of the constant functioning of the social system, social connection and interconnection acquire the character of a social relationship, i.e. a person is not just connected with another person, but in a certain way relates to this person, evaluating him from a positive or negative side. For example, such a relationship as friendship implies the need for direct physical and verbal contacts, i.e. realized in the desire to meet, exchange news, play some games, etc., which ultimately leaves a pleasant impression. In the mind, friendship is preserved as a kind attitude of one person to another, as mutual respect, as confidence in the repetition of such contacts and the hope for help in difficult periods of life. Service communication between managers and subordinates is also expressed by the concept of attitude, they talk about service relations, formal or informal. Their relations are established between communities, institutions and organizations, in this case they speak of industrial relations, class relations, party relations, interfaith relations, etc.

Thus, the concepts of social connection, social interconnection and social relations mutually presuppose and complement each other. Sometimes their meanings are so close that they are used as synonyms. Meanwhile, they also have their own distinctive features. If the concepts of connection and interconnection denote the harmonious integrity of a social object, then the concept of relationship has both positive and negative meanings. Some relationships strengthen, integrate social system, others

are negative and disintegrate the system. These are the relations of friendship and enmity, love and hatred, altruism and selfishness, peacefulness and aggressiveness, tolerance (tolerance) and intolerance, equality and inequality, obedience and disobedience, etc. Therefore, we can say that the concept of social relations expresses the qualitative side of social relations. Thus, objective ties, interconnections and relationships act as the unifying, cementing force that unites individual elements of society into integral social systems.

The concepts of connection, interconnection and relationship, in addition, are closely related to the concepts of law and regularity. Considering the fact that connections are essential and non-essential, internal and external, general and particular, random and necessary, repetitive and non-repeating, we can single out those that allow us to formulate the concept of law, including social law. Such is the expression of the universal, necessary, essential connection of objects, phenomena and processes that reveal the functioning, change and development of social systems.

If the law expresses the deep essence of social phenomena and processes, then the concept of regularity reveals its external, empirically fixed form of manifestation.

Of the two types of laws (dynamic and statistical), the latter prevail in the description of social phenomena, because in the study of social processes and phenomena, most often one has to deal with mass objects, using statistical calculations and probabilistic conclusions.

The concept of social connection has become one of the main categories of sociology. With its help, experts even sought to determine the specifics of the very subject of this science. So, O. Comte tried to imagine social structure(statics) as a complex organism in which special ties are established from the family to the systems of religion and the state. Another founder of positivism, G. Spencer, tried to deduce the specifics of the militaristic and industrial types of society through the analysis of the system of social relations.

Representatives of psychological trends (for example, V. Pareto) saw the basis of social ties in the structure of instincts. E. Durkheim, seeking to classify the types of connections, singled out mechanical and organic solidarity as peculiar stages in the development of society from its traditional forms to an industrial society with its special manifestation of the division of labor.

Proponents of formal sociology, based on the allocation of different types of social ties, also sought to derive different types of people's associations and show their evolution from community to society.

This interest itself emphasizes the great meaning and categorical significance of the concept of social connection, without which it is generally impossible to get an idea of ​​how human society is organized, how it functions and develops.

2. Further characterizing the nature of social ties, it should be noted that they are based on social actions and interactions. The latter are interpreted in the sociological literature as a manifestation of human activity aimed at changing the behavior, attitudes, value system of an individual, group or community. So, M. Weber believed that sociology is a science that seeks to understand social actions and interactions and thereby causally explain social processes. At the same time, he calls social actions such actions that contain a subjective meaning and are focused on the actions of other people, i.e. interaction of subjects of social action is supposed.

In the theory of T. Parsons, social action is considered as a system in which the following elements are distinguished:

Actor (actor or subject of action);

Object (individual or community on which the action is directed);

The purpose of the action;

mode of action;

The result of the action (reaction of the object).

Bearing in mind the fact that the result of an action does not remain indifferent to acting person, but affects it in a certain way, social action also expands its meaning to the concept of interaction, often referred to as interaction.

Interaction begins at the level of two individuals (a kind of interaction atom) as carriers social statuses, it can also manifest itself as the interaction of an individual with a group or community, and at the macro level as the interaction of social communities, institutions and states.

Thus, social interaction is made up of individual acts, called social actions, and includes statuses (range of rights and obligations), roles, social relations, symbols and meanings (Kravchenko A.I; General Sociology. - M., 2001.-S. 205).

Specifically, interaction in society manifests itself as cooperation, competition and rivalry. It may be related to conflict situations and with reasonable methods of their elimination.

Connections, relationships, actions and interactions are direct and indirect. It is the presence of the latter that makes it possible to consider all ties and relations (even such as production and even more so political ones) as social relations, and by no means only those that are built in the order of exchange. For even when a person is chopping wood in the summer, and in this action, it would seem, there is nothing social, in fact, a deep social meaning is hidden in it, because. a person takes care of his household, about their life in winter conditions. Therefore, social action cannot be considered only as an act of direct interaction (interaction) of two individuals, it manifests itself in any action, the meaning of which is determined by the laws of coexistence. However, the analysis of interaction helps to reveal the internal mental mechanisms of social action and thereby show its human significance, the analysis of which is the main task of sociology.

Social actions and interactions seem to be so significant for the study of social structure that it is through them that the essence and subject of sociology as a science are determined. So, M. Weber believes that sociology is a science that seeks, interpreting, to understand social action and thereby causally explain its process and impact (Weber M. Selected Works. -M, 1990.-S. 602).

Similarly defines the subject of sociology and P. Sorokin, who believes that sociology studies the phenomena of interaction between people with each other, on the one hand, and the phenomena arising from this process of interaction, on the other.

3. Theories of social interaction (interaction) developed mainly within the framework of American sociological thought, in which the ideas of utilitarianism, pragmatism and behaviorism were strong. The behaviorist principle of "stimulus-response" was given a broad sociological meaning. Stimulus and reaction began to be considered in the aspect of human action and interaction, when one person (or group), acting on another, expects a certain positive reaction from the latter. The classical theories of this trend include the theory of "mirror self", symbolic interactionism and the theory of exchange. Let's consider them in more detail.

The theory of "mirror self". The founder of this theory is the American sociologist and social psychologist C. Cooley (1864 -1929), who in his works “Human Nature and Social Order”, “ social organization”, “Social Process”, “Sociological Theory and Social Research” outlined his vision of the social structure, the essence of which is well expressed by a poetic line from Goethe’s work: “Only in people can one know oneself.” From the point of view of this author, society, group and individual are united into a kind of super-integrity. Society and the individual are not parts of the whole, but different sides, different manifestations of the whole. Society is a cumulative (rather than summative) aspect of integrity, an individual is a discrete essence of the whole. As the ancients said - everything is small and small in everything.

The integrity of society, group and individual is determined by such metaphysical concepts as "big consciousness", "human life", "social integrity", "social self".

An important system-forming category is the exchange of consciousness (information) between individuals. This exchange is achieved in the process of socialization of the individual within the framework of a small group, i.e. a group in which direct contact between people is realized. This is, first of all, a family, a neighborhood community, within which a person begins to form with his subsequent inclusion in various social structures (organizations and institutions).

In the process of socialization, the transformation of individual consciousness into a collective mind takes place with the assimilation of social norms and a reassessment of one's personality from the position of perception by others, i.e. the transition from intuitive "self-awareness" to "social feelings" is carried out. A person looks at another person, as if in a special mirror, and sees his own reflection in it.

Moreover, this reflection does not always coincide with a person's own assessment. Socialization, according to Ch. Cooley, means the need to harmonize assessment and self-esteem, the transformation of the individual "I" into a collective "I". From this follows the conclusion that the individual nature of a person acquires social meaning only in communication, in interpersonal circulation within the primary group. The “social self” is that mental element that passes through specific people from society into the individual, embedding it into the social structure, turns the personal “I” into the social “I”. At the same time, a special role is given to the feeling of "appropriation", which is realized in a person's life from the elementary appropriation of things (as objects of property) to

appropriation of mental objects, i.e. appropriation of other people's opinions about themselves. In this regard, C. Cooley writes: “The self manifests itself in the most noticeable way in the appropriation of objects of general desire of the corresponding individual need for power over such objects in order to ensure one’s own own development, as well as the threat of opposition from other people who also feel the need for them. This applies not only to material objects, but also implies the desire to capture the attention and affection of other people in the same way. And further this thought is expressed even more succinctly: "The feeling of appropriation is always, so to speak, the shadow of social life."

This appropriation by a person of the opinions of others about himself is the dominant part of his socialized "I", which determines the structure of the personality, its interaction with other people within the framework of the social self, within the framework of the primary social collective.

The peculiarity of direct interaction within the framework of a small group is that in it there is a “meeting” of individual and social consciousness, individual “I” and “social self”, moral norms and social traditions are born and transmitted. Considering the fact that in the theory of "mirror self" key term it turns out that the concept of "appropriation", this theory could also be called the "theory of appropriation" by analogy with the theory of exchange. The main ideas of this idea were developed in the theories of symbolic interactionism.