1. Do You Know? How would you rate your importance in your house?
Highest, Lowest, Middle, high, or low?
If your younger brother grew up to be your boss, would you be comfortable with this?
In your group of friends, who usually makes most of the decisions?

2. Social Structure Structure helps us know what is expected of us
Ensures stability from one generation to the next – even though the actual society changes

3. Social Structure
Social Structure- is the patterned interaction of people in a system of connected statuses and roles.
Activity: High School Students Schedule
Come up with a list of what you did starting from the time you woke up yesterday to the time you went to bed.

4. High School Student Schedule
On the board, I want you to write your responses down to these questions.
What time you woke up
What time you got to school
What you did at 4:00
What time you ate dinner
What time you went to bed
What are some patterns we see within this class

5. Social Structure-Status
Status- socially defined position in a group or in a society

6. Each individual in society occupies several statuses- you are students, sons, brother/sisters, friends, etc…
Ascribed status
Achieved status
is a position one holds in a social system that one attains involuntarily or by birth.
Not based on individual’s abilities, efforts, or accomplishments
Based on inherited traits or assigned automatically when they get to a certain age
is position one holds in a social system that one attains based on money/wealth or effort.
People have control over these

7. Social Structure-Status
Ascribed Status:
male, female, teen, adult, family heritage, race
Achieved Status:
any occupation, being lead part in a play, being a spouse, being a parent, being a high school or college graduate, or an athlete

8. Social Structure-Status

9. Social Structure-Status
Master Status- is the one that plays the greatest role in a person’s life.
It can be either ascribed or achieved.
In the United States,
use achieved characteristics like occupation, wealth, marital status, and parenthood to serve as our master status
It can change:
As teen, master status might be being a student or athlete
As adult, it might be based on occupation
Elderly, it might be based on grandparenthood

10. Do you know anyone who has chosen an a master status that is not good for them? Do you know anyone who is having a difficult time moving away from a master status?

11. Social Structure-Roles
Role- is the behavior-rights and obligations- expected of someone occupying a particular status.
Statuses are social categories – but roles bring statuses to life
You occupy a status
you play a role

12. Social Structure-Roles
At home you play the role associated with the status of being a son or daughter
At school you perform the role associated with the status of being a student
All the roles have reciprocal roles: corresponding roles that define the patterns of interaction between related statuses
Cant fulfill role of husband if there is no wife
Doctor-Patient, Athlete-Coach, Employee-Employer, Leader-follower, salesclerk-customer

13. Social Structure-Roles
Role Expectations
Role expectations -socially determined behaviors expected of a person performing a role
Doctors for example are expected to treat their patients with skills and care
Parents expected to provide emotional and physical security for their children

14. Social Structure-Roles
Role Performance
Role performance is the actual behaviors of a person and it may not match the behavior expected of society
Doctors who mistreat their patients
Parents who mistreat their children.

15. Social Structure-Roles
Role Conflict, Role Strain, and Role Exit
Role set- different roles associated with a particular status.
Role conflict- occurs when two role expectations of one status makes it difficult to fulfill the role expectations of another status
Ex: Being a good employee interferes with being a good parent
Role strain occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of a single status
Ex: manager who has to keep her workers positive as they are asked to work long overtime hours
Role exit is the process people go through to detach from a role that was previously central to their social identity.

19. Application Go to website and look for the “Goonies” file.
We will be taking 3 characters and applying today’s notes to the film
You will look for as many examples as you can.