1. CHAPTER 4 Social Structure
Sociology
4/23/2017
CHAPTER 4 Social Structure
Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure
Section 2: Types of Social Interaction
Section 3: Types of Societies
Section 4: Groups Within Society
Section 5: The Structure of Formal Organizations
Chapter 4

2. Identify and describe the two major components of social structure.
Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure
Objectives:
Identify and describe the two major components of social structure.
Analyze how these two components of social structure affect human interaction.

3. Major Components of Social Structure
Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure
Major Components of Social Structure
Social Structure -the network of interrelated statuses and roles that guide human interaction, give society its enduring characteristics and make patterns of human interaction predictable
Status – a socially defined position in a group or in a society and has attached to it one or more roles
Role – the behavior expected of someone occupying a particular status

4. Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure
Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
People’s particular roles and statuses affect how they relate to one another.
Statuses are ways of defining where individuals fit in society and how they relate to others
ascribed status – assigned according to qualities beyond a person’s control
achieved status – acquired through individuals own direct efforts
master status – one status tends to out-rank others, plays the greatest role in one’s life and determining social identity

5. Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure
Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
Roles are the components of social structure that bring statuses to life.
reciprocal roles – corresponding roles that define the patterns of interaction between related statuses
role expectations – socially determined behaviors expected of a person performing a role

6. Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure
Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
role performance – actual role behavior, does not always match expectations
role set – the different roles attached to a single status
role strain – occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of a single status
role conflict – occurs between two statuses when trying to fulfill expectations

7. Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
Section 1: Building Blocks of Social Structure
Roles, Status, and Human Interaction
Statuses and their related roles determine the structure of groups in society.
social institution – statuses and roles are organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society

8. Objectives: Identify the most common types of social interaction.
Section 2: Types of Social Interaction
Objectives:
Identify the most common types of social interaction.
Distinguish between types of interactions that stabilize social structure and those that can disrupt it.

9. Common Types of Social Interaction
Section 2: Types of Social Interaction
Common Types of Social Interaction
When playing a role, must interact with others
Interactions either change or stabilize society
exchange – interacting in an effort to receive a reward or a return for one’s actions
reciprocity – you do something for someone else, they owe you something in return
exchange theory – people are motivated by self-interest in their interactions

10. Common Types of Social Interaction
Section 2: Types of Social Interaction
Common Types of Social Interaction
Competition – two or more people or groups in opposition to achieve a goal that only one can attain
positive means of motivating people to perform roles society asks
can also lead to psychological stress, lack of cooperation in social relationships, inequality, and conflict
Conflict – the deliberate attempt to control a person by force, to oppose someone else, or to harm another person
Simmel’s four sources of conflict: war, within group, legal disputes, clashes over ideology
positive effects: reinforces group boundaries, strengthens group loyalty, draw attention away from internal problems, lead to social change

11. Common Types of Social Interaction
Section 2: Types of Social Interaction
Common Types of Social Interaction
Cooperation – two or more people or groups working together to achieve a goal that will benefit more than one of them
Accommodation – a state of balance between cooperation and conflict, a compromise, truce

12. Interactions That Stabilize and Disrupt
Section 2: Types of Social Interaction
Interactions That Stabilize and Disrupt
Competition and Conflict – disrupt social stability
Accommodation, Exchange, and Cooperation stabilize social stability

13. Section 3: Types of Societies
Objectives:
Identify and describe the types of societies that exist in the world today.
Explain the roles individuals play in these models of group systems.

14. Types of Societies Section 3: Types of Societies
role behavior 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 and most complex groups are societies
Sociologists classify societies according to subsistence strategies.
subsistence strategies – way a society uses technology to provide for the needs of members

15. Section 3: Types of Societies
Preindustrial – food production is the main economic activity and can be subdivided according to the level of technology and the method of producing food
hunting and gathering, pastoral societies, horticultural society, agricultural society
Industrial – emphasis shifts from the production of food to the production of manufactured goods made possible by changes in production methods
leads to urbanization
Postindustrial – much of the economy is involved in providing information and services
73% of Americans
SmartNotebook Activity

16. Summarize the major features of primary and secondary groups.
Section 4: Groups Within Society
Objectives:
Summarize the major features of primary and secondary groups.
Identify the purposes that groups fulfill.

17. What is a group? Section 4: Groups Within Society
A group has 4 major features:
two or more people, interaction among members, shared expectations, common identity
These distinguish a group from an aggregate or social category
aggregate – people gathered in the same place at the same time, but lack organization or patterns
social category – classifying people according to a shared trait or common status

18. Types of Groups Features of Primary Groups:
Section 4: Groups Within Society
Types of Groups
Features of Primary Groups:
Interact over a long period of time on a direct and personal basis
Entire self of the individual is taken into account
Relationships are intimate and face-to-face

19. Types of Groups Features of Secondary Groups:
Section 4: Groups Within Society
Types of Groups
Features of Secondary Groups:
Interaction is impersonal and temporary in nature
Involve a reaction to only a part of the individual’s self
Casual and limited in personal involvement

20. Types of Groups Section 4: Groups Within Society
Features of Reference Groups:
group with whom individuals identify and whose attitudes and values they adopt
Features of In-Groups and Out-Groups
in-group – group that a person belongs to and identifies with
out-group – any group that the person does not belong to or identify with

21. Types of Groups Features of E-communities
Section 4: Groups Within Society
Types of Groups
Features of E-communities
e-community – people interact with one another regularly on the Internet
Features of Social Networks
social network – web of relationships that is formed by the sum total of a person’s interactions with other people

22. Purposes of Groups Section 4: Groups Within Society
Select leaders – people that influence the attitudes and opinions of others
instrumental leaders – task oriented
expressive leaders – emotion oriented
Define their boundaries – so that members can tell who belongs and who does not
Set goals, assign tasks, and make decisions
Control their members’ behavior – if members violate groups norms, the group cannot survive long

23. Explain how bureaucracies are structured.
Section 5: The Structure of Formal Organizations
Objectives:
Explain how bureaucracies are structured.
Evaluate the effectiveness of bureaucracies.

24. What are Formal Organizations?
Section 5: The Structure of Formal Organizations
What are Formal Organizations?
Sociologists use the term formal organization to describe a large, complex secondary group that has been established to achieve specific goals.
Most organizations are structured in the form of a bureaucracy.
bureaucracy – a ranked authority structure that operates according to specific rules and procedures
Bureaucracies were created to rationally organize groups to complete a set of goals

25. Section 5: The Structure of Formal Organizations
Weber’s Model
Division of Labor
work is divided among specialists in various positions, expected to complete specific task
Ranking of Authority
clear-cut lines of authority, each is responsible to a supervisor at a higher level
Employment based on formal qualifications
individuals are hired based on tests, education, or previous experience
Rules and regulations
identify the responsibilities of each person
Specific lines of promotion and advancement
job security and seniority

26. Effectiveness of Bureaucracies
Section 5: The Structure of Formal Organizations
Effectiveness of Bureaucracies
Efficient at coordinating large numbers of people, defining tasks and rewards
Provides stability
Can lose sight of goals, create red tape, and result in oligarchies
In some instances, rewards incompetence and expands uncontrollably