SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Building Blocks of

Social Structure

Society as a Structure

Status

Role

WHAT GUIDES OUR INTERACTION

STATUSA socially defined position in a group or society

How do I fit in?Who am I: a definition

Mr. Phillips Status: Teacher, Father, Student, City Councilman

ASCRIBED AND ACHIEVEDSTATUSAscribed Status Just who you are

You don’t have to do anything to have ascribed status

Based on inherited traits

Teenager, Girl, African American

Can you name any other?

ACHIEVED STATUS Acquired through your own efforts, skills

An earned title

You have CONTROL over this status

Teacher, Actor, Basketball Player, Businessman

Can you name more?

MASTER STATUS What you are known best for by others

Can be Achieved or Ascribed (King) -In the US, MOST are achieved

Father, Doctor, Fireman, BankerSith Lord More?

ROLES How you perform in your status Bring your status to life

ROLESReciprocal Roles

Define the interaction between related statuses

-Doctor – Patient-Father - Mother-Customer - Salesman

ROLES EXPECTATIONS AND PERFORMANCES

Role Expectations – Expected behaviors of a person performing a role

-What society expects of the that role

Role Performance – Actual behavior of a person performing a role

-Does not always match society and others expectations

ROLE EXPECTATION

Role Performance

ROLE CONFLICT AND ROLE STRAINRole Set: All the different roles that are

attached to a person

Role Conflict: Fulfilling one role makes it difficult to perform another role

Role Strain: Difficulty meeting role expectations of a single status.

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS Status and roles determine the structure of

groups in society.

A group that forms when statuses are ORGANIZED to meet the basic needs of society.

-provide physical and emotional support -sharing knowledge -producing and selling goods -maintaining social control

Types of Social

Interaction

SOCIAL INTERACTIONHow you interact with others while playing a role

The Key: INTERACTION

SOCIAL INTERACTION Exchange -Interaction between people in where an effort in to receive a reward or return

-Most Basic type of interaction

Reciprocity-If you do something for others they do something for you-Please & Thank You

SOCIAL INTERACTION Exchange THEORY

People are motivated by SELF INTEREST in interactions with others

*People do things primarily in an attempt to gain some form of REWARD

COMPETITION Two or more people or GROUPS oppose each

other to reach a goal that only one can attain.

Achieving the goal

Very common in western society A good thing if people follow accepted rules of society

CONFLICTDeliberate act -Control another person or group by force -Harm another person

-Very few rules of conduct

Sources of conflictWarDisagreements within groupsLegal disputesClashes over ideology

COOPERATION Two or more people or groups work together

to achieve a goal Goal will benefit more than one person

A very social process

ACCOMMODATION The state of balance between cooperation

and competition

-give a little - take a little

Compromise: When both parties give up something

Truce: Stops conflict until compromise is met

Mediation: Calling in third party to reach agreement

TYPES OF SOCIETIESGroup: A set of people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and have some degree of common identity

How we classify groups

Subsistence Strategies:The way a society uses technology to provide for the Needs of its members

PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES Food production using human and

animal labor

Subdivided on how they use technology

1) Hunting and Gathering Societies2) Pastoral societies3) Horticultural Societies4) Agricultural Societies

PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES HUNTING AND GATHERING Daily collection of food

-Wild Plants -Wild Animals

No Permanent Villages Family is main social focus

Status : Relativity equal among members

PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES PASTORAL SOCIETIES More efficient form of subsistence

Domesticated animalsNomadic

(pasture to pasture)Much larger populations due to food surplus

Trade of goods Inequality as some families amass more Wealth passed down through family

Chieftains (heredity) typical form of government

PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIESHORTICULTURAL SOCIETIESFruits and Veggies from garden plots

Slash and Burn Human labor, simple toolsLand Rotation Permanent Villages

30 to 2000 people, Specialized RolesTrade

Food surpluses create inequity -Hereditary Chieftains Political systems emerge

PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES Animals used to plow and till fields (technology)

More crops than just human labor… Irrigation- Large Population PossibleMultiple cities in central location

-Power concentrated to a single Leader-Armies, roads, transportation-Barter replaced by trade

Status: Sharp division arises

Landowner & Peasant

INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES Production of manufactured

goods Machines and new technology boost production

Much more food produced by fewer workersWorkers free to move to production labor

Where do they work?Away from farms to central locations

Urbanization- Concentration of population to cities

INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES How we work: Productivity

Very specific tasks

Few skills needed

Boredom

INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES Family no longer central focus

Education outside the home (Mass Literacy)

-Scientific Ideas challenge religion

AchievedIndividual Control

POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES Providing information and services

Standard of living and wages increaseStrong Support of science and educationTechnology is the key to success

Individual RightsSocial EquityDemocracy

THE UNITED STATES WORKFORCE73% Postindustrial

-information and services

25% Industrial -Production of goods

2% Preindustrial-Agriculture

CONTRASTING SOCIETIESEmile Durkheimn(sociologist)

Describing Social Relationships

Preindustrial SocietyMechanical Solidarity-Shared Values and Tasks -Society Unites for a common goal

Industrial SocietyOrganic Solidarity-Relationships based on Needs -Impersonal relationships arise from specialization-Can now longer provide for your own needs

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