Social StructureUnit 3

Sociology 35G

Social Structure and StatusSocial Structure The underlying patterns of relationships in a groupStatus A position a person occupies within a social

structureAscribed Status A position that is neither earned nor chosen but

assignedAchieved Status A position that is earned or chosen

Social Structure and StatusStatus Set All of the statuses that a person occupies at any

particular time

Master Status A position that strongly affects most other aspects of

a person’s life

My Status Set

Write down all the statuses that you occupy at this point in your life.

Beside each status, write down which ones are ascribed and which ones are achieved

Now decide which one or ones are your master statuses…these can be achieved or ascribed

Explain why these are your master statuses!

Which type of Status?1. Wife, mother, author, church choir director2. Electrician, spouse3. The presidency of the United States, professional

athlete4. Gender, race 5. Daughter, son6. Quarterback, coach fan, trainer

Ascribed statusAchieved statusMaster statusStatus set

Which type of Status?1. Wife, mother, author, church choir director2. Electrician, spouse3. The presidency of the United States, professional

athlete4. Gender, race 5. Daughter, son6. Quarterback, coach fan, trainer

Ascribed statusAchieved statusMaster statusStatus set

Philip Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment

Role Playing

Social Psychologist Philip Zimbardo designed an experiment to observe the behaviour of people in a mock prison.

Philip Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment

This is one of the most famous and controversial studies ever conducted in the field of social science.

Philip Zimbardo’s study is a classic example of the power of the situation and how easily an individual can slip into a role and have it become real.

Zimbardo Prison ExperimentExit Slip Write a reflection (your thoughts, wonderings)

about the Zimbardo Experiment.

Give an example in your life, either recently or when you were a child, when you were put in a role where you acted in a way that you would not normally act.

Social Structure and Roles

Role An expected behaviour associated with a particular

statusRight A behaviour that individuals can expect from othersObligation A behaviour that individuals are expected to perform

toward othersRole Performance The actual behaviour of an individual in a role

Social Structure and Roles

Role Conflict Condition in which the performance of a role

in one status interferes with the performance of a role in another status

Role Strain Condition in which the roles of a single status

are inconsistent or conflicting

Role Conflict or Role Strain?

Mr. Jones is a member of a high school board and his daughter is in Grade 11 at the same school. The board recently considered a proposal to drastically cut spending in the art department. Mr Jones’ daughter is an aspiring artist with dreams of opening her own studio someday. Mr. Jones’ vote could be crucial. What should Mr. Jones do?

Role Strain and Role Conflict Activity

In your group act out a scenario of role strain or role conflict.

Examples: Role strain at school Role conflict at school Role strain within the family Role conflict within the family Role strain in social life Role conflict in social life

Exit Slip:Role Strain or Role Conflict Think of a time when you encountered either

role strain or role conflict. Explain what happened and how you felt.

GroupsGroups are classified by how they develop and function.

Social CategoryPeople who share a social characteristic

Social AggregatePeople temporarily in the same place at the same time.

Primary Group

People who are: 1. emotionally close,

2. know one another well,

3. and seek one another’s company.

Secondary Group

People who share only part of their lives while focusing on a goal or task.

Primary or Secondary Relationships?1. A married couple2. A coach and her soccer team3. A teacher and her students4. A car salesperson and her potential customer

Primary Relationships involve interactions that are intimate, personal, caring and fulfilling.

Secondary relationships involve impersonal interactions involving limited parts of personalities

Activity

Identify a primary group and a secondary group to which you belong.

Describe three functions of each of these groups based on your personal experiences

The Lifeboat Game

A passenger liner is wrecked at sea and these 15 people find themselves together in a lifeboat. The lifeboat however, can only support 9 people. If six are not eliminated everyone will die. If you were in command of the lifeboat, whom would you choose to survive?

The Lifeboat Game

In your assigned secondary groups, you are required to reach a joint decision to which passengers will be eliminated.

Exit Slip #6 Lifeboat ActivityWas this a difficult task for you to do in your secondary

group? Explain why.

If you had done this activity on your own would your answers have been different? Explain why.

If you had done this activity with one of your primary groups, would your answers have been different? Explain why.

Social Interaction

CooperationInteraction in which individuals or groups combine their efforts to reach a goal

ConflictInteraction aimed at defeating an opponent

Ingroups and OutgroupsThe social definition of who you are also implies who you are notTwo kinds of groups that provide us with standards against which we evaluate ourselves. People tend to perceive certain groups as more attractive to belong to than others.

Social InteractionSocial Exchange

A voluntary action performed in the expectation of getting a reward in return

CoercionInteraction in which individuals or groups are forced to behave in a particular way. The opposite of social exchange. Coercion is a one way street. (e.g. Parents coerce children with a curfew, guards coerce prisoners with force and governments coerce drivers with fines.)

ConformityBehaviour that matches group expectations. Without conformity there would be no culture or social structure.

Social InteractionGroup Think

Self-deceptive thinking that is based on conformity to group beliefs, and created by group pressure to conform

Group Think

Many decisions are likely to be the product ofgroupthink.For example:

During the administration of President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s, for example, the president and his advisers decided to launch an invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion failed. Analysis revealed that during the decision process, because of group pressure, several top advisers failed to admit that they thought the plan would probably not succeed.

Solomon Asch’s Experiment

In 1951 social psychologist Solomon Asch devised an experiment to examine the extent to which pressure from other people could affect one's perceptions.

In total, about one third of the subjects who were placed in this situation went along with majority’s wrong opinion.

Conditions that Strengthen Conformity1. The person feels insecure.

2. The group has at least 3 people.

3. The group is unanimous.

4. The person admires the groups’ status.

5. Others in the group are observing the person’s behaviour.

Exit Slip #7Conformity Think of a time when you conformed to a

group that went against what you would normally do or think.

Explain the situation and why you think you conformed to the people in this group

Stanley Milgram’s Experiment

Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, conducted a social psychology experiment that focused on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience

Milgram came up with a famous and controversial experiment to examine what happens when ordinary people are faced with morally questionable orders. What he learned shocked not only him but the entire world.

He tested whether people would shock a person simply because an authority figure told them to do it.In the experiment, conducted at Yale University over a period of months in 1961, an authority figure -- "the experimenter" -- dressed in a white lab coat and instructed participants to administer what they believed were increasingly painful electric shocks to another person.

Two-thirds of Milgram's participants delivered shocks as they heard cries of pain, signs of heart trouble.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2769000

Stanley Milgram’s Experiment

Conditions that Strengthen Obedience1. The person giving the orders is perceived

as an authority figure is close at hand.

2. The victim is depersonalized or at a distance from the person obeying

3. There were no role models for defiance (no one else is disobeying)

Video: Group Influence

What surprised you about the video What are some of the things you learned

about group influence

5 Types of Group Social InteractionRead pages 181-185

Write a definition for each term and then give a personal

example of the 5 types of social interaction:

1. Cooperation

2. Conflict

3. Social Exchange

4. Coercion

5. Conformity

Cooperation, Conflict, Social Exchange, Coercion or Conformity1. Blood donors expect payment.

2. Students read what a teacher assigns.

3. Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait.

4. Flood victims help each other.

5. Employees are forced to work overtime or be fired

Why is conformity essential for the development of social structures?

Social exchange

conformity

conflict

cooperation

coercion

Social Psychologists:

Philip Zimbardo – Role Playing

Prison Experiment

Solomon Asch – Conformity

Line Experiment

Stanley Milgram – Obedience

Shocking Experiment

Leadership in GroupsA leader is someone who is consistently able toinfluence the behaviour of others.

Instrumental leadershiporganizes a group by defining goals and

determines ways to achieve them

Expressive leadershipcreates harmony and keeps morale highusually well liked by group members

Leadership StylesAuthoritarian Give orders Effective in emergencies

Democratic Attempt to win consensus on goals and courses of

action Concern for individual rights in the group

Laissez-faire Make little attempt to direct or organize the group Group functions mostly on its own

CliquesClique – an exclusive group that includes a

small number of chosen members

Why do people belong to cliques?Through cliques, people find others who share their values, ideas and activities. Cliques provide a way to form close friendships.

Activities: 1. Reading 6 “The Curse of Cliques” and 2. Primary group analysis:cliques Alternative assessments pg 30

Cliques Exit Slip #8

What clique do you feel you belong to at Vincent Massey? Describe your clique (norms, behaviours, activities, appearance)

How does this clique make you feel?

How did you feel about the group activity we did? Why? Were you offended by any comments?

Castlegate: Group Brain Teaser

How effective was your group in this activity?

Was there a lot of discussion in your group?If not, why?

Did someone act as a leader in your group?Was this helpful or not?

Do you usually act as a leader in group activities? Are you comfortable acting in a leadership role? Why or why not.

Individual Activity “Groups”

Consider your own family. Analyze how you are a part of that social group. Ask yourself thefollowing and write down the answers. Hand in your answers when finished…today!

1. What am I expected to do and be in that group?2. What is my position or status in that group?3. In what ways am I an important part of the

group?4. What happens when a family member does

something the rest of the group doesn’t like?

Formal Organizations and BureaucraciesFormal Organization – a group deliberately

created to achieve one or more long term goals

Bureaucracy – a formal organization based on rationality and efficiency

Unit 3 Test Social Structure

Social Structure StatusAscribed StatusAchieved StatusStatus Set Master StatusRoleRightObligationRole PerformanceRole ConflictRole Strain

Social AggregateSocial CategoryPrimary GroupSecondary GroupIngroups and Outgroups5 Types of Social Interaction:

CooperationConflict Social ExchangeCoercionConformity

Group ThinkCliquesTypes of LeadershipLeadership styles

Long Answer Questions:

The Social Psychologists and their experiments: Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo and Solomon Asch