Social StructureBuilding Blocks of Social

Structure

Goals to Be Met Competency Goal 3: The learner

will develop an understanding of social interaction and social structure.• 3.01 Define and evaluate the theoretical

perspectives of social interaction.• 3.02 Explain the types of social interaction.• 3.03 Distinguish status from role and pose

solutions to role conflicts.• 3.04 Discuss how the social structure of a

culture affects social interaction.

Essential Questions How do societies change over time? How have societies changed in terms

of government structure , gender roles, technology, and economic factors?

How do statuses and roles impact individuals and group behavior?

What is the importance of groups in different types of societies?

Social Structure Framework

Social Structure Network of interrelated statuses and

roles that guide human interaction

Foundations of Social Structures

Statuses: Ways of defining where individuals fit in society and how they relate to others in society

Roles: The behavior – the rights and obligations – expected of someone occupying a particular status

What is a Status? Ascribed Status: Assigned according to qualities beyond a

person’s controls • Inherited traits or assigned automatically when a person reaches a

certain age • Ex: Race, Ethnicity

Achieved Status: Acquired through your own direct efforts • Ex: Occupation, Marital Status

Master Status: Status that plays greatest in shaping a person’s life and determining his or her social identity

Status Set: All the statuses or positions that an individual can occupy

Status Symbol: Items used to identify a status • Ex: Wedding Ring

Timeline Activity Think about the social status you have

achieved or wish to achieve throughout the decades of your life.

Try to think of at least 4 statuses for each age-group • Childhood • Teens • 20s • 30s• 40s• 50s• 60s and Beyond

Age-Group Roles

Childhood

Teens

20s

30s

40s

50s

60s & Up

What is a Role? You occupy a status, but you play a role Reciprocal roles: Corresponding roles that

define the patterns of interaction between related states • Ex: Doctor-Patient, Athlete-Coach

Role Expectation: Socially determined behaviors expected of a person performing a role • Ex: Parents expected to provide security

Role Performance: Actual role behavior • Ex: Some parents don’t properly care for their children

What is a Role? Role Set: Different roles attached to a single status

• Ex: Parents have to be caretakers, security providers, nurses, discipline providers, etc.

Role Conflict: Occurs when fulfilling the role expectations of one status makes it difficult to fulfill the role expectations of another status • Ex: To be a good student you must do your homework, but

to be a good athlete you must practice Role Strain: Occurs when a person has difficulty

meeting the role expectations of a single status• Ex: Boss who has to maintain workers’ morale while getting

them to work long hours of overtime

Role Conflicts, Role Strain, or Something Else?

For each scenario determine if a role conflict or role strain is present, then decide how the scenario should be resolved: 1. Tracey is upset. Her mother wants to hang out with

her at a concert but Tracey wants to go with her friends

2. Sam, a single parent, has 2 children who attend the same high school. He believes in taking an active part of his children’s education and both want him to meet with their teachers at Open House.

3. Officer Jones pulls over a driver for speeding. As she approaches the car, she realizes the driver is her best friend.

Roles and Statuses Visualized

Statuses held by ‘Teresa’, a 35 yr. old wife, mother, and full-time secretary

RolesCorresponding to her Various

Statuses

Mother Secretary Wife

Firm with children in setting boundaries

Deferential to BossCompromises with

husband when there are disagreements

Cooks MealsProofs her boss’s correspondences

Spend time with husband

Helps children with homework

Takes minutes at staff meetings

Shares household responsibilities with

husband

Buys clothes for children

Serves as first point of contact for bosses’

clients

Communicates with husband

The Evolution of the Mother Status in Teresa’s life

Socialization:

Teresa learns to be a good mom and wife by playing with baby dolls as a child

Occupying Statuses, Playing

RolesTeresa learns what

parenting is really like when she has her

first child at 26, she experience role

conflict when juggling mothering with work

Role ExitTeresa becomes confused about her role when they

move off to college, gets a pet to have something to dote on, and eventually

accepts a new identity as the mother of increasingly

autonomous children

Your Status Set Create a personal web of your status set. Be

sure to include: • A drawing of yourself in the middle • 10 statuses branching off your image • Labels and symbols so that your 10 statuses are

recognizable Label all 10 of your statuses either ascribed or

achieved Mark your master status with a bold asterisk On the back of your status set, respond to the

following: • Of the 10 statuses you have identified, choose 5 and

explain the role expectations of each