Class 13: Definition of the Situation
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Prof. Jessica Collett, University of Notre Dame. "Introduction to Social Psychology" lecture notes - Definition of the Situation
Class Notes
Everything we do is situated in light of the current situation. To project identities successfully, people must share understandings about the situation in which they are participating. The definition of the situation is a key part in deciding how we act. If parties disagree about the definition of the situation, interaction is unsuccessful. The consensual process of defining the situation helps interaction to run smoothly because it's easier to figure out what behaviors mean in that situation and where we stand.
The definition of the situation has three aspects (Michener, DeLamater, and Myers, 2004):
- Frame - the context of the situation, the type of social occasion that individuals recognize themselves to be in. The frame consists of a set of widely understood rules or conventions pertaining to a transient but repetitive social situation that indicate what roles should be enacted and what behaviors are proper.
- Roles - the appropriate identities for the situation. We know not only what is happening but who is making it happen because we have knowledge of the roles contained in the situations in which we find ourselves and because we know which role is ours and which are the roles of others.
- Leeway - how much leeway you have to enact the role. The frame limits the identity that any person can claim, these identities are called situated identities.
- Example:
- A teacher enters a classroom to teach students. The frame would be the classroom-- most people have been in classrooms, and know what to expect. There are probably tables and chairs or desks, perhaps a podium in front, and a white board. The roles are that of student and teacher. The teacher portrays the role of teacher by standing in the front of the class, getting the class' attention, and instructing. The students dutifully respond by taking notes and asking questions, filling the roles of student. While the teacher may be a father or a fishing enthusiast or amateur golfer, his role is constrained to that of teacher-- attempting to practice his golf swing while he should be teaching beyond the appropriate behavior for his teacher role. There is not much leeway for his behavior. Similarly, the athletes in the class do not treat this class as another practice, jumping and running around, but rather sit quietly and act like students.
Works Cited
Michener, H. Andrew, John D. DeLamater, and Daniel J. Myers. 2004. Social Psychology. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
Copyright 2012,
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Cite/attribute Resource.
Collett, J. (2009, January 12). Class 13: Definition of the Situation. Retrieved May 23, 2012, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/sociology/introduction-to-social-psychology/lectures/class-definition-of-the-situation.
