Social StructureChapter 4
An individual’s statuses and roles are limited an unchanging TRUE: Individuals cannot affect the statuses
and roles into which they are born FALSE: Individuals will take on many different
statuses and roles throughout the course of their lives
Truth or Fiction?
Informal interaction has little effect on the functioning of formal organizations TRUE: There are few or no informal interactions
in formal organizations FALSE: Although formal organizations are
dominated by formal interactions, informal interactions have a strong influence on these organizations as well
Truth or Fiction
Society is made up of interrelated parts
Social structure gives us enduring characteristics
Makes patterns of human activity predictable
Building Blocks of Social Structure
Social Structure: network of interrelated statuses and roles that guide human interaction
Status: socially defined position in a group or in a society
Role: the behavior-the rights and obligations-expected of someone occupying a particular status
Building Blocks
We can hold multiple statuses Male, on, brother, teacher, American, etc.
Statuses help define where we fit in society and how we relate to each other
Status
We can control some statuses, some we cannot
Ascribed status: assigned status according to qualities beyond a person’s control Not based on abilities, efforts, or
accomplishments Inherited traits or assigned at an age
Teenager/adult/retired Achieved status: status through direct
efforts Skills, knowledge, or abilities
Ascribed and Achieved Status
We all have many statuses…but we rank one the most important
Master status: status that plays the greatest role in shaping our life and determines social identity Achieved or ascribed Changes over lifetime
Master Status
Statuses serve as social categories Roles bring statuses to life You occupy a status, you play a role You play roles associated with your status Reciprocal roles: roles that define the
patterns of interaction between related statuses In order to be a husband…you need a wife Doctor/patient, athlete/coach, boss/employee,
etc.
Roles
Role Expectations: socially determined behaviors expected of a person performing a role Parents: love and protect their children Doctor: treat patients with care
Role performance: actual role behavior Doesn’t always match expected behavior
Role Expectations and Performance
It’s possible we have multiple roles to play in one status Different roles attached to a single status is a
role set Possible contradictory expectations
within/between role sets Role conflict: occurs when fulfilling the role
expectations of one status makes it difficult to fulfill the role expectations of another. Doctor/Parent
Role Conflict/Strain
Role strain: occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of a single status Coach making team practice long hours to win
Role Conflict/Strain
When statuses and roles are organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society, the group is called a social institution Providing physical and emotional support,
transmitting knowledge, producing goods and services, and maintaining social control
Social Institutions
Name some ways we interact 5 common ways we interact: exchange,
competition, conflict, cooperation, and accommodation
4.2 Types of Social Interaction
When we interact to receive a reward or return for our actions that is an exchange Suggested as the most basic and common interaction
Reciprocity: the idea that if you do something for someone, they owe you something in return Basis for exchange Rewards may be material and nonmaterial
Exchange theory: ppl are motivated by self-interest in their interactions with other people
Exchange
What is competition? Competition: occurs when 2 or more ppl or
groups oppose each other to achieve a goal that only one can attain Promotes many advancements; business, school,
gov’t As long as comp follows accepted rules of
conduct…mostly seen as positive Negative aspects: stress, inequality, conflict, lack
of cooperation
Competition
Competition we focus on achieving the goal Conflict we focus on defeating the opponent Conflict: deliberate attempt to control a
person by force, oppose someone, or to harm someone Few rules of conduct, most are ignored anyway
4 sources of conflict: wars, disagreements w/in groups, legal disputes, and clashes over ideology Religion, ideology, politics Businesses, loyalty, social change
Conflict
What does it mean to cooperate? Football team, fans, band…shared win
Cooperation: 2 or more people or groups work together to achieve a goal that will benefit multiple people
Cooperation
Many of our interactions we neither cooperate nor have conflict. What do you think we do^^^^^^^^^^?
Accommodation: state of balance between cooperation and conflict Hotel stay Compromise Mediation
Accommodation
Role behavior often takes place in groups
Group: set of people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and who possess some degree of common identity Largest/complex groups are societies
Sociologists classify societies according to:
Subsistence strategies: the way a society uses technology to provide for the needs of its members
4.3 Types of Societies
Preindustrial: food prod. carried out by human and animal labor, is the main economic activity
Subdivisions of preindustrial societies
Hunting & gathering: collection of wild plants and hunting wild animals Nomads, small societies, relatively
equal
Preindustrial Societies
Pastoral society: rely on domesticated herd animals to meet food needs Nomadic, larger societies
Division of labor: specialization of individuals or groups in the performance of specific economic activities Craft workers, weapons, jewelry, farmer, smith
Promotes trade = inequality
Preindustrial Societies
Horticultural societies: fruits and vegetables grown in a garden specifically cleared Crop rotation = semi/permanent settlements
(villages) Surplus food = complex division of labor
Craftspeople, religious leaders, traders Large amount of artifacts Economic and political systems
Preindustrial Societies
Agricultural societies: animals are used to pull plows to till the fields Plant more crops, irrigation, terracing High crop yields = very large populations
Even more specialized roles Development of cities, power to single people Building of armies, construction of roads, more
trade Abandon barter: exchange of good for a
service $ invented, system of writing, statuses
Preindustrial Societies
Industrial societies: shift from food production to manufactured goods Machines instead of
humans Advanced technologies More food = ^ pop. More industry = < farmers
(focus more on goods)
Industrial Societies
The advancements in technology make it possible to manufacture a wider variety of goods
Changes the location of work Rural farm to the cities. Urbanization:
concentration of the population in cities More productivity, less skill required Religion is challenged by science Freedom to compete for social positions
Industrial Societies
Postindustrial: much of the economy is involved in providing information and services (73% of U.S. workforce) 2% agricultural 25% goods production
Standard of living is greater along with wages
Emphasis on science and education Individual rights and personal fulfillment
Postindustrial Societies
Durkheim believed preindustrial societies were held together by mechanical solidarity: when ppl share the same values and perform the same tasks, they become united as a common whole
As division of labor becomes more complex, MS gives way to organic solidarity: individuals can no longer provide for all their own needs, they depend on others to survive
Contrasting Societies
Ferdinand Tönnies (German) interested in simple/complex societies
Gemeinschaft: close relat. Activities center around family/community
Gesellschaft: based on need rather than emotion. Impersonal relationships. Individual goals > group
Contrasting Societies
Every individual in society participates in a group What is a group?
A group has 4 major features:1. 2+ people2. Interaction among members3. Shared expectations4. Posses sense of common identity
The last 3 distinguish a group from an aggregate or social category
4.4 Groups Within Society
Aggregate: when ppl gather in the same place at the same time but lack organization or lasting patterns Ppl on an airplane, waiting for tickets, checkout
Social Category: means of classifying people according to a shared trait or common status Students, women, teenagers, left-handed
people Groups differ in size and length of time
they’re together
Groups Within Society
Dyad: smallest group possible, 2 members
Triad: 3 person group Small group: few enough members to
interact face to face Sociologists have found 15 is the largest #
Size
Some groups meet once, then never again Some exist for many years (who would?) Interaction is not continuous (not 24 hours a
day)
Time
2 types of organization Formal: structure, goals, and activities
are clearly defined Student council
Informal: no official structure or est. rules of conduct Your circle of friends
Organization
Primary group: small group of people who interact over a relatively long period of time on a direct personal bias entire self of the individual is taken into
account Intimate relationships, often fact-to-face Deep communication, often informal Family is probably most common
Types of Groups
Secondary group: interaction is impersonal and temporary in nature Only part of the individual is involved Casual and limited in personal involvement Classroom, factory, political party
Types of Groups
Reference group: any group with whom individuals identify and whose attitudes and values they adopt Students: Friends or school clubs Adults: members of a particular occupation
As we grow we change our reference groups Both positive and negative effects on
behavior
Types of Groups
When a groups boundaries are clearly marked, we think in terms of in-groups and out-groups
In-groups: group that a person belongs to and identifies with Have 3 things: separate from other groups
through symbols, members view themselves positively and out-groups in negative terms, and in-groups compete with out-groups
Out-groups: any group a person does not belong to or identify with
Types of Groups
Social network: the web of relationships that is formed by the sum total of a person’s interactions with other people Direct and indirect relationships
Unlike groups, social networks don’t have clear boundaries and no common sense of identity
Sense of community
Types of Groups
Must determine boundaries to determine who belongs and who doesn’t
Must select a leader: ppl who influence the attitudes and opinions of others
2 types of leaders: Instrumental: task-oriented. Find means
that will help the group reach its goals expressive: emotion-oriented. Find ways to
keep the group together and maintain moral
Other group functions: goals, tasks, decisions
Group Functions
Formal organization: large, complex, secondary group est. to achieve specific goals School, business, gov’t, religious & political
orgs, unions Bureaucracy: ranked authority
structure that operates according to specific rules and procedures Most formal organizations work under one Rationality: subjecting every feature of
human behavior to calculation, measurement and control
Structure of Formal Organizations
According to Weber, bureaucracies have these charact. Division of labor Ranking of authority Employment based on formal qualifications Rules and regulations Specific lines of promotion and advancement
Voluntary association: non-prof to purse common interest
Weber’s Model of Bureaucracies
Create order, define tasks/rewards, stability Lose sight of original goals Abandon them for self-continuation (EPA) Strict adherent to rules/regs “Red Tape” Tendency to end up like oligarchies
Peter Principle
Effectiveness of Bureaucracies?