CHAP#4 Social Interaction & Social Structure Social interaction is the ways in which people respond to one another, face to face or over the telephone or on the computer. Social Structure is the way in which a society is organized into expected relationships.

Continued Socialization: is the process through which people learn the attitudes, values & behaviors suitable to their culture. Re-socialization: is the process through which people adjust themselves to a new social structure & learn new rules for social interaction.

Elements of Social Structure Social Structure has the following FIVE elements: 1. Statuses 2. Social roles 3. Groups 4. Social Network 5. Social Institutions

Cont… 1.Status: is the position of a person in a large group, or society. This position is socially defined. 2.Social Role: is a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position, or status. 3.Group: is any number of people with similar norms, values & expectations, who interact with one another on a regular basis.

Cont… 4.Social Network: A series of social relationships that links a person directly to others, and through them indirectly to more people is called social network. 5.Social Institutions are organized patterns of beliefs & behavior centered on basic social needs.

1. Statuses ( element of social structure) Status is the position of a person in a large group, or society. This position is socially defined. Within our society, a person can occupy the status of a president, Manager, son, or daughter, teacher, dental technician, or a neighbor. A person can hold a number of statuses at the same time.

Types of Statuses 1.Ascribed Status: is given to a person by society without regard for the person talents. A person’s racial background, gender & age are all considered ascribed statuses. 2. Achieved Status: is a status that we achieve through our own efforts. Bank president, lawyer, doctor, engineer etc are achieved statuses. 3. Master Status: is a status that dominates other statuses & therefore determines a person’s general position in society.

2. Social Roles (element of social structure) A social role is a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position, or status. For example , in Afghanistan, we expect that taxi drivers will know how to get around a city. A receptionist will be reliable in handling phone messages.

Problems regarding social roles 1. Role Conflict: the clash between two statuses held by a single person is called role conflict. Fulfillment of the roles associated with one status may directly violate the roles linked to a second status. It describes the situation of a person dealing with two social positions. For example, a woman who has worked for a decade in a company, & now she has been promoted as a supervisor of her unit. How is this woman expected to relate to her longtime friends & co-workers?

Conti… (problems related to Social roles) 2. Role Strain (tension): it describes the difficulty which arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands & expectations. People who belong to minority cultures may experience role strain while working in the main culture.

Conti (problems related to Social roles) 3. Role Exit: It describes the process of disengagement from a role, in order to establish a new role & identity. For example, when two persons (male female) contract a marriage they leave one role & enter into another role of wife & husband. Role Exit has four stages.

Four Stages of Role Exit 1. Doubt: the 1st stage begins with doubt. The person experiences frustration, burn out, or simply unhappiness with a role. 2.Search for Alternatives: A person who is unhappy with his or her career may take a leave of absence; an unhappy married couple may begin a temporary separation. 3. Action Stage/Departure: It is a clear turning point that makes people leave the role. 4. Creation of new identity.

3. Groups (element of social structure) A group is any number of people with similar norms, values & expectations, who interact with one another on a regular basis. Examples are: The members of a basketball team, a hospital’s business office, a rock band etc.

Conti. Group (An element of social structure) Every society is composed of many groups in which daily social interaction takes place. We seek out groups to establish friendships, to accomplish certain goals & to fulfill the social roles. Groups play a vital part in a society’s social structure. Much of our social interaction takes place within groups & is influenced by their norms & sanctions.

4. Social Network (element of social structure) Social Network: A series of social relationships that links a person directly to others, and through them indirectly to more people is called social network. It includes any activity, from sharing job information to exchanging news & conversation about Political views, Economical views etc. With advances in technology, we can now maintain social networks electronically.

5. Social Institutions (Element of Social structure) Social Institutions are organized patterns of beliefs & behavior centered on basic social needs. The mass media, the government, the economy, the family & the health care system are the examples of social institutions.

Len ski's sociocultural evolution approach to society Socio-cultural Evolution: The process of change & development in human societies that results from collective growth in their stores of cultural information, is called socio-cultural evolution. According to Len ski, a community evolves from a pre-industrial to an industrial & finally a post-industrial society.

Pre-Industrial Societies Pre-industrial societies are primitive societies. Following are the types of pre-industrial societies that emerged in human history: 1. Hunting & Gathering Society. 2. Horticultural Societies: in such societies people plant seeds & crops. They came into existence about 10000 to 12000 years ago.

Conti… 3. Agrarian Societies: it is the last stage of pre-industrial development which emerged about 5000 years ago. As in horticultural societies, members of agrarian societies are engaged primarily in the production of food. However, individuals focus on specialized tasks, such as the repairing of fishing nets or blacksmithing.

Industrial Societies An industrial society is a society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods & services. The industrial revolution took place largely in England during the period 1760 to 1830 As the industrial revolution proceeded, a new social structure emerged & the following consequences were recorded.

Consequences of industrialization 1. Families & communities could not continue to function as self-sufficient units. 2. Individuals, villages & regions began to exchange goods & services & became interdependent. 3. As people came to rely on the labor of members of other communities, the family lost its unique position as the source of power & authority.

Conti… 4. The need for specialized knowledge led to more formalized schooling, & education emerged as a social institution distinct from the family.

Post industrial & postmodern societies When Lenski first proposed the socio-cultural evolutionary approach in 1960’s, he paid relatively little attention to how maturing industrialized societies may change with the emergence of even more advanced forms of technology. In 1970’s sociologist Daniel Bell wrote about the technologically advanced Post-Industrial Society.

Conti… A post-modern society is a technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer goods & media images. Such societies consume goods & information on a mass scale. Pos-modern theorists take a global perspective, noting the ways that culture crosses national boundaries.

Conti… The main out put of a post-industrial society is services rather than manufactured goods. Large number of people become involved in occupations devoted to teaching, generation, or propagation of ideas. Jobs in fields such as advertising, public relations, human resources & computer information systems are typical in postindustrial society.

Social Structure in postindustrial societies The social structure becomes increasingly complex, & new social institutions emerge to assume some functions that once were performed by the family. On the micro level these changes affect the nature of social interaction. Each individual takes on multiple social roles, & people come to rely more on social networks & less on kinship ties.