Social relation

This article is about social relations and authority in sociology. For personal social relations, see Interpersonal relationship.

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.

Categorizing 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.

Forms of relation and interaction

According to Piotr Sztompka, 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 integrations 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:

	Physical movement	Meaning	Directed towards others	Await response	Unique/rare interaction	Interactions	Accidental, not planned, but repeated interaction	Regular	Interactions described by law, custom, or tradition	A scheme of social interactions
Behavior	Yes
Action	Yes	Maybe
Social behavior	Yes	No	Yes
Social action	No	Yes	Yes	No
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	No

See also

• Affectional action
• Communicative action
• Dramaturgical action
• Instrumental and value-rational action
• Interaction frequency
• Interdependence
• Interpersonal relationship
• Group action (sociology)
• Reflexivity (social theory)
• Relations of production
• Social isolation
• Social movement
• Symbolic interactionism
• Traditional action

Related disciplines

• Engaged theory
• Sociology
• Social philosophy
• Political science
• Social psychology
• Socionics

Bibliography

• Piotr Sztompka, Socjologia, Znak, 2002, ISBN 83-240-0218-9
• Reza Azarian 2010 "Social Ties: Elements of a Substantive Conceptualisation" Acta Sociologica, 53: 4: 323–38

Further reading

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