Introduction

Human creatures are social beings and because of this, they seek to build social bonds in the most efficient and quickest means possible. Without the asset of numbers, human beings would have never survived through the wilderness and together the human race has come this far. But is gathering in social places was the result of human beings getting to this far, what could be the cause? What could be the drive that makes people attract and most significantly stick with each other? The question on what actually brings people together to form a social group is evidently not a new one ever since the development of sociology as a discipline aimed at understanding human behavior particularly group behavior. How do people fall in love? How do complete strangers become friends? Why would two enemies or two groups of enemies decide to become friends again? In reading the development by Randall Collins, we are brought to an analytical strategy that provides answers to these questions from the dynamics of a particular situation.

Interaction rituals

‘What social institution people believe they are taking part in, the setting, the roles that are being presented-none of these exists in itself but only as it is made real by being acted out (Collins 2004; 16). For instance, a new group of freshman students in campus, where one partner has no idea about the other but end up forming study groups, online studying platforms and other localized groups around campus. Through educational ritual patterns, these people will be bound together through certain rituals like attending the same lectures at one particular time, sharing hostels where the situation will force them to interact closely with each other and might end up forming bodily contacts. ‘The situation itself has its requirements: it will not come off unless the actors do the work of properly enacting it’ (Collins 2004; 17). It is through these rituals as discussed by Randall that human actions become synchronized into rhythms, humans become conscious of their socialization behavior and their actions become tuned towards similar sight, gestures and goals.

Finding base on the concept of the sacred by Durkheim and the sociology of face to face by Goffman, Collins in his discussion of ritual interaction argues that it is interaction rituals and its mechanisms that produce a compacted society. According to him, there are four basic ingredients that should be accomplished; two or more people present body wise, a boundary that sets apart outsiders from insiders, a direct and non-interrupted focus on the main object or activity and a common emotional experience or mood.

Combination of ‘functional equivalents’ and ‘presentation of self’

Social integration I believe is the grade to which individuals happen to feel the same kind of connection with the rest of the people within the association. Group dynamics is necessary in understanding how to fit in perfectly into a particular social group. For instance, as a student at the University, there are other discussion groups, online discussion platforms among other associations that are to be formed while pursing my career. To integrate fairly into these social groups, I believe my behavior in the group will be influenced by the behavior of other individuals. Speech patterns, socio-economic status, clothing styles and general mannerisms will determine the kind of group I will fit in without struggle. When I spot a group that uses particular mannerisms that I like, I will begin to draw near to the activities within that group. According to Durkheim, social origins were a reason why individuals would come together to form a formidable association.

It is very common to find groups sharing similar values, common interests and experiences and this is what allows them to form a complete social circle. Durkheim agreed to some extent that for groups to be formed, there must be prior existence of ideas particularly I shared categories that are similar to each individual – “similarly the empiricists are right to the extent that they believe in the material world prior to ideas’ (Collins 1994; 212). For Durkheim, the crucial aspect in the material world would be the society itself followed by the existence of ideas. With this understanding, the society which under the material world is the glue that holds together individuals and ideas. Societal rituals, norms and morals must be the need in having fulfilling educational groups. These cults helps in constituting moral boundaries, excluding strangers and providing ease access to services, privileges and goods within the group- ‘what is most important about the lineage of ritual analysis is the way it ties in with the central phenomenon of stratification and modern societies (Collins 1994; 214).

In understanding Goffman’s opinion of social interaction, day to day lives of people could be likened to that of a group of actors on stage which each character playing his roles to make the performance complete. The audience within the group consists of individuals observing role play and reacting to specific character performance. The idea behind social interaction in Goffman’s discussion is central to the fact that people mingle and interact in social settings and constantly engaged in a process of impression management- ‘since we all participate in teams, we must all carry within ourselves something of sweet guilt of conspirators’ (Collins & Makowsky 2010; 222). During the process of group formation, each party tries to behave in a way to avoid embarrassing themselves in the presence of others and embarrassing others as well. In this manner, to fit perfectly in a group discussion at campus, I will be part of a group that has similar understanding of the definition of a specific situation, meaning that everyone in the group must understand what is meant to happen in specific situations and what to expect from the rest of the team that is involved.

According to Goffman, there are elements that must be made active for group cohesion to be effective. Performance is the activity if individuals before an audience which gives meaning to the situation of the group. The setting is equally important because it involves the location, the scene and the props for interaction to take place. In presentation of self, Goffman believed that humans place meanings to things in order to understand them. Therefore, when trying to fit in a group, I would ensure that the group has similar interests to my own or living up to the rule of maintaining everyone comfort ability-”thus we are always presenting a self to other people and we control our acts for their effects in expressing what we would like others to think we are like when we are not with them’ (Collins & Makowsky 2010; 224).

Conclusion

Because groups can bind together people and the larger society, learning to know how to form these groups and how to interact with individuals in these groups is necessary. Groups thrive like never before when we choose to understand individual member participation from interaction from rituals, the presentation of self and the Durkheim religion of social groupings. When executed properly, the experience of a successful group with reference to the sociological group foundations of Goffman, Durkheim and Randall cannot be traded with any other experience.