Chapter Four - Social Structure

Food For Thought u “We are none of us truly isolated; we are connected to one another by a web of regularities and by a host of shared, deep-seated certainties.” u What do you think?????

Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure u Introduction: live & work in groups & interact in predictable ways. u Society has structures that help guide human interaction u Helps you know what is expected in certain situations & helps keep a stable society

Textbook Terms u Sociologist view society as a system of interrelated parts -- as a structure -- since the time of Auguste Comte u Social Structure: is the network of interrelated statuses and roles that guides human interaction. u Status: is a socially defined position in a group or society. u Role: is the behavior - the rights and obligations - expected from someone

Statuses u Central to understanding of social structure u Lets look at different status

Ascribed Status is one that is assigned to you. u Inherited traits or obtained at a certain point in life (age) or Sex u Can not be changed u Examples female, race, ethnic background

Achieved Status is one that is acquired u Earn status u One has control over this status u Examples: team member, occupations, spouse, parent, etc.

Master Status plays the greatest role u Can be achieved or ascribed u Can and will change over time u Example: Teenage years being an athlete can be a Master status. During Adulthood it can be the occupation.

Roles u While statuses serve as social categories, Roles are the component of social structure that bring these statuses to life. u One plays many different roles during the day. u There are various roles

Reciprocal roles u Are corresponding roles that define the patterns of interaction between related statuses. u Husband needs a wife u Parent needs a kid u Athlete needs a coach

Role Expectations and Role Performance u Society has expected behaviors assigned to its roles this is role expectations u Role Performance is the actual role behavior being preformed u Parents abuse kids

Role Conflict and Role Strain u The various roles one plays are called a role set. u Roles preformed by one person can lead to conflict u Occurs when fulfilling the role expectations of one status makes it difficult to fulfill the role expectations of another status. u Role Strain occurs as the conflict begins to surface u Being a employee and good parent

Social Institutions u This is a system of statuses, roles, values and norms that is organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society. u Basic needs include providing physical and emotional support for members of society, transmitting knowledge, producing goods, and services and maintaining social control.

End of Section One u Social Structure u Master Status u Roles u Reciprocal roles u Role Set u Social Institution u Ascribed and Achieved Status u Role Expectations and Role Performance u Role Conflict and Role Strain

Chart Activity in Class u 10 statuses you occupy u Columns: Status, How Acquired (Ascribed or Achieved), Associated Roles, Reciprocal Roles, Role Expectations, Role Performance, Sources of Conflict, Sources of Role Strain.

Section 2: The Structure of Groups and Societies

What is a group? u is a set of two or more people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and who possess some degree of common identity u Can be intimate (family), formal (wedding)

Four requirements for a group u must be 2 or more people u must be interaction u Members of the group must have shared expectations u members must possess some sense of common identity

Key to the last 3 categories are important u people who form a group but lack organization or lasting patterns of interaction u This forms aggregate u People waiting in line u Social category is classifying people according to a shared trait or a common status.

Groups can differ in many ways u Terms of the length of time they remain together u Their organizational structure u The time

Time u Some we meet once u Some we meet everyday u But NO group meets 24 hours a day 7 days a week

Organization u Formal or informal

Size u Dyad - two people u Triad - three people u Small group more than three

Types of Groups u Primary Groups u Small group of people who interact over a relatively long period of time on a direct and personal basis. u Like Family u Secondary Groups u Interaction is impersonal and temporary in nature u Importance of an individual in the group is on the role they play within the group

More groups u Reference groups - a group with whom individuals identify and those attitudes and values they often adopt u Ingroups and Outgroups u Groups one identities with is an ingroup u Groups one does not identify with is and outgroup

Social Networks u All the relationships that is formed by the sum total of a person’s interactions with other people is called a SOCIAL NETWORK

Types of Societies u Subsistence strategy is the way in which a society uses technology to provide for the needs of its members u Division of Labor u Preindustrial Society u Industrial Society u Postindustrial society

Society names u Hunting and Gathering Societies u Pastoral Societies u Horticultural Societies u Agricultural Societies u Barter system u Industrial Societies u Urbanization u Postindustrial Societies

Contrasting Societies u Mechanical solidarity u Organic Solidarity u Gemeinschaft u Gesellschaft