1. Social Structure and Social Interaction
Micro and Macro Sociological Perspectives, Social Structure, and the Social Construction of Reality 1

2. Macrosociology Focuses on broad features of society
Conflict theory, functionalist viewpoints part of the macrosociological perspective
The goal is to examine the large scale influences of society

3. Microsociology Examines social interaction
Focus on face to face interaction
This approach is favored by symbolic interactionists

4. Macrosociological Significance of Social Structure
Social structure - framework society has laid out before you were born, surrounds us
Consists of relationships- people and groups to each other
Gives directions to and sets limits on our behavior
The differences of attitude and behavior are not biological – but related to our location on the social structure

5. Social Structure- Culture
Languages, belief systems, values, behaviors, gestures, material objects a group uses
Broadest framework that determines what kind of people we will become
On the outside we look like a product of our culture, on the inside we think and feel like most people raised in our culture

6. Social Structure- Social Class
Based on income, education and occupational prestige
People who rank close to each other in these categories make up a social class
Influences our behavior, ideas and attitudes

7. Social Status All of us occupy several positions at one time
Status Set all of the positions we occupy, changes as we change
Types of status- ascribed and achieved.

8. Ascribed and Achieved Status
Ascribed Status involuntary, some are inherited at birth, some are because of the life course
Achieved Status earned, what you accomplish.
They can be positive or negative
Social status sets limits on what we can or cannot do

9. Ascribed and Achieved Status
An ascribed status is one that is beyond an individual's control. It is not earned, but rather something people are either born with or had no control over. Examples of ascribed status include sex and race. Children usually have more ascribed statuses than adults since they do not usually have a choice in most matters. A family's social status or socioeconomic status, for instance, would be an achieved status for adults, but an ascribed status for children. Homelessness might also be another example. For adults, homelessness usually comes by way of achieving, or rather not achieving, something. For children, however, homelessness is not something they have any control over. They become as such by default of their parents' actions.      

10. Ascribed and Achieved Status
An achieved status is one that is acquired on the basis of merit; it is a position that is earned or chosen and reflects a person's skills, abilities, and efforts. Being a professional athlete, for example, is an achieved status, as is being a lawyer, college professor, or criminal.

11. Ascribed and Achieved Status
The line between achieved status and ascribed status is not always black and white. There are many statuses that can be considered a mixture of achievement and ascription. Take Paris Hilton, for example, who has an achieved status of being an actress. Many might argue that she would never have achieved the status of actress if she had not come from a wealthy family, an ascribed status of hers.  

12. Take a moment to reflect on your own statuses
Take a moment to reflect on your own statuses. What are all of your statuses, and which are ascribed and which are achieved?
Ascribed Status
Achieved Status
Future Achieved Status

13. Master Status and Status Symbols
Status Symbols material items we use as signs to display our status.
These symbols can be positive or negative
announce our status and smooth our interactions in everyday life
Master status is one that cuts across all other status you occupy- race, age, gender (ascribed)- some are achieved- wealth, disfigurement, handicap
A contradiction in status is called status inconsistency
Status has built in norms that guide our behavior- status inconsistency upsets these expectations

14. Roles
Roles behaviors, obligations and privileges attached to status- sociologists see roles as essential to social life
Roles are set up at birth - gender, socioeconomic status
Occupy status, play a role
Roles indicate what is appropriate and expected
As individuals play their roles they mesh together and form society

15. Groups Members of a group share similar values, norms and expectations
gives others the right to make certain decisions about our behavior
member has to conform to the expectations and play their role within the structure of the group

16. Social Structure
Social Structure – underlying patterns of relationships in a group
It is not static
Changes in response to technology and evolving values
Social structures are affected by economy, racial and ethnic relationships, social needs, and priorities

17. What holds society together?
Social integration - degree to which members are united by shared social bonds and shared values
Durkheim called this organization mechanical solidarity, a shared consciousness that people feel as a result of performing the same or similar tasks
There is little diversity in attitudes, beliefs the unity of the society depends on similar thinking

18. What holds society together?
As societies grow larger the division of labor becomes more specialized.
This division makes people depend on each other – their work contributes to the whole
This interdependent relationship is called organic solidarity
This change caused societies to tolerate many differences among people to manage as a whole

19. What holds society together?
Ferdinand Tonnies called these changes in different societies Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
Gemeinschaft society where life is intimate, the community shares a sense of togetherness
Gesellschaft society is dominated by impersonal relationships, individual relationships and self interest

20. Assignment
The Amish: “Gemienschaft Community in a Gesellschaft World” describes the way of life for the Amish. The rising cost of lands has kept many young Amish families from buying their own land, so many Amish men do other jobs. Many Amish women have opened their own businesses, manufacturing and selling items to tourists. Why does non-farm work challenge the Amish way of life?

21. Social Institutions
Organized, standardized ways that a society develops to meet its needs
Social institutions- family, government, education, military, politics, law, science, medicine, mass media-
Social Institutions
Industrialized societies- more formal
Pre-industrial society- more informal

22. Mass Media as a Social Institution
Influences our attitudes toward social institutions
How we view people
Shapes our self-concept
Mass media relatively new – the invention of the printing press changed views on religion and politics
Two Perspectives
Functionalist perspective- mass media represents the varied interests of the many groups that make up the nation
Conflict perspective- represent the perspectives of the elite
The question –who controls the media?

23. Comparing Functionalist and Conflict Perspectives in Social Institutions
No society can exist without social institutions, perform vital functions for society (functional requisites)
What are the basic needs of social institutions?
Replacing members- relationships
Socializing new members- education, religion, family
Producing and distributing goods and services- economics
Preserving order- law
Providing a sense of purpose- all parts of society

24. Conflict Perspective
Social institutions do not work harmoniously for the good
Powerful groups manipulate other institutions to maintain positions of wealth and power
Small groups control a majority of wealth and exert influence on political institutions and lawmakers
Gender- society divides males and females into groups and each has unequal access to societies resources

25. Microsociological Perspective: Social Interaction
Symbolic interactionists- most important part of society is social interaction and the symbols they use.
How people perceive things, effects on attitude, behavior and orientations in life
Examples of interaction- stereotyping, personal space, touching and eye contact

26. Stereotypes, Touching, Eye Contact
First impressions set the tone for interaction
Race, age, gender, clothing are thing we all notice
These things affect how we interact with that person and how that person reacts to you
Touching
Frequency and meaning vary from culture to culture
In general higher status individuals do more touching
Eye Contact
One way to control our personal space bubble

27. Personal Space
We surround ourselves with a “personal bubble” and we let in our intimates and keep others out
We extend our space by placing personal items around us
The amount of space we need varies from culture to culture
North Americans have four different “distance zones”
1. Intimate distance- 18”
2. Personal distance- 18” to 4’
3. Social Distance- 4’ to 12’
4. Public Distance- beyond 12’

28. Dramaturgy
Social Life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage. (Erving Goffman 1959)
Birth ushers us onto the stage and socialization consists of learning to play on that stage
The self - center of these performances
ideas how we want others to perceive us and we use roles in everyday life to communicate ideas
Goffman called the efforts impression management
Front stage, where we perform, back stage, reflect and plan for future performances

29. Dramaturgy Our style is known as role performance
Role Performance is defined by social limits the role provides
Sometimes what is expected of us in one role is not compatible with another role.
Role conflict- conflict between roles. We avoid role conflict by segregating our status
Role strain is the conflict within a role
We tend to become the roles we play, our roles become part of our self concept. Leaving a role (role exit) threatens a person’s identity

31. Dramaturgy
To communicate information about the self we use sign-in vehicles
Three types of Sign-In Vehicles
Social Setting- where the action unfolds, where you interact with others. Includes the scenery, things you use to communicate messages
Appearance- props, what we use to decorate our person
Manner- attitudes we show as we play roles

32. Dramaturgy Good role players receive positive recognition from others
We use teamwork to receive this recognition
When a performance fails we use face saving behavior
Studied nonobservance is a face saving technique that allows the performance to go on 32

33. Ethnomethodology
We give meaning to things by placing them in categories and classifying them. We place them in categories provided by our culture- it helps us interpret our world
Ethnomethodology is how people use common sense understandings to interpret life
These interpretations begin with background assumptions (deeply embedded common understandings of how the world operates and how people ought to act)
These interpretations provide us basic directions for living 33

34. The Social Construction of Reality
Symbolic Interactionists stress how ideas shape our reality
The definition of the situation, or the Thomas Theorem, if people define situations as real they are real in their consequences
Social construction of reality- the social groups we belong to hold particular views on life, specific ways of looking at it. This is the use of background experiences and assumptions to define what is real 34