chapter
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CHAPTER OUTLINE
•Building Blocks of Social Structure•Types of Social Interaction•Types of Societies•Groups within Societies•The Structure of Formal Organizations
4SOCIAL STRUCTURE
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2 Sec. 1: Building blocks
█Social Structure: The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships.
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3 Sec. 1: Building blocks
█ Statuses– Status
• Status refers to any of the socially defined positions within a large group or society.
• A person holds more than one status simultaneously.
• Examples of statuses:– president
– daughter
– student
– neighbor
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4 Sec. 1: Building blocks
█Statuses– Ascribed and Achieved Status
• Ascribed status is a status one is born with.• Achieved status is a status one earns.
– Master Status• Master status is a status that dominates others
and determines a person’s general position in society.
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5 Sec. 1: Building blocks
█ Figure 5.1: Social Statuses
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6 Sec. 1: Building blocks
█Social Roles– Social Roles
• Social roles are sets of expectations for people who occupy a given status.
– Role Expectations v Performance• What you SHOULD do vs what you
ACTUALLY do.
Continued...
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7 Sec. 1: Building blocks
█ Social Roles– Role Conflict
• Role conflict is the challenge of occupying two social positions simultaneously.
– Role Strain• Role strain describes the difficulties that result from the
differing demands and expectations associated with the same social position.
– Role Exit• Role Exit describes the process of disengagement from a
role that is central to one’s identity, and the establishment of a new role.
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8 Sec. 1: Building blocks
█Social Institutions– Social institutions are organized patterns of
beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs.
– Social institutions provide insight into the structure of society.
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9 Sec. 2: Social Interactions
█Exchange – reciprocity
█Competition – rules; pros and cons
█Conflict – control, dominance
█Cooperation – shared benefit
█Accomodation – compromise, truce, mediation, arbitration
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10 Sec. 3: Types of societies
█ Table 5.3: Stages of Sociocultural Evolution
Hunting-and-gathering Beginning of human life Nomadic; reliance on readily available food and fibers
Horticultural About 10,000 to 12,000 More settled; development of agriculture years ago and limited technology
Agrarian About 5,000 years ago Larger, more stable settlements; improved technology, increased crop yields, and specialization of labor
Industrial 1760–1850 Reliance on mechanical power and new sources of energy; centralized workplaces; economic interdependence; formal education
Postindustrial 1960s Reliance on services, especially the processing and control of information; expanded middle class
Postmodern Latter 1970s High technology; mass consumption of consumer goods and media images; cross-cultural integration
Societal Type First Appearance Characteristics
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11 Sec. 3: Types of Societies
█Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach– A society’s level of technology is critical to
the way it is organized.
– Preindustrial Societies• Hunting-and-Gathering Societies
– These societies are composed of small, widely dispersed groups.
– These societies use minimal technology.Continued...
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12 Sec. 3: Types of Societies
█Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach– Industrial Societies
• These societies depend on mechanization to produce its goods and services.
• These societies rely on inventions and energy sources that facilitate agricultural and industrial production.
• These societies change the function of the family as a self-sufficient unit.
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13 Sec. 3: Types of Societies
█Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach– Postindustrial and Postmodern Societies
• Postindustrial Society– A postindustrial society is one whose economic
system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information.
– The main output of postindustrial society is services.
Continued...
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14 Sec. 3: Types of Societies
█Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach– Postmodern Society
• A postmodern society is a technologically sophisticated society preoccupied with consumer goods and media images.
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15 Sec. 3: Types of Societies
█ Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach– Horticultural Societies
• People plant seeds and crops.
• People are less nomadic than in hunter-gatherer societies.
• People use technology in a limited way.
– Agrarian Societies• People are primarily engaged in production of food.
• People use technological innovations like the plow for dramatic increases in food production.
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16 Sec. 3: Types of Societies
█Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach– This approach views society as undergoing
change according to a dominant pattern, known as sociocultural evolution.
– Sociocultural evolution refers to the “process of change and development in human societies resulting from growth in their stores of cultural information.”
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17 Sec. 3: Types of societies
█Durkheim’s Mechanical and Organic Solidarity– Mechanical solidarity refers to a collective
consciousness that emphasizes group solidarity, implying that all individuals perform the same task.
– Organic solidarity refers to the collective consciousness that hinges on the need a society’s members have for one another.
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18 Sec. 3: Types of societies
█ Tönnie’s Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft– Gemeinschaft (guh-MINE-shoft)
• The Gemeinschaft is defined as a small community in which people have similar backgrounds and life experiences.
– Gesellschaft (guh-ZELL-shoft)• The Gesellschaft is defined as a large community in
which people are strangers and feel little in common with other community residents.
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19 Sec. 3: types of societies
█ Table 5.2: Comparison of Gemeinshaft and Gesellschaft
Rural life typifies this form. Urban life typifies this form.
People share a feeling of community that People have little sense of commonality.results from their similar backgrounds and Their differences appear more striking than life experiences. their similarities.
Social interactions, including negotiations, Social interactions, including negotiations, are are intimate and familiar. likely to be impersonal and task-specific.
People maintain a spirit of cooperation Self-interest dominates. And unity of will.
Tasks and personal relationships cannot The task being performed is paramount; Be separated. relationships are subordinate.
Gemeinschaft Gesellschaft
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20 Sec. 3: Types of societies
█ Table 5.2: Comparison of Gemeinshaft and Gesellschaft
People place little emphasis on individual Privacy is valued. privacy.
Informal social control predominates. Formal social control is evident.
People are not very tolerant of deviance. People are more tolerant of devianc
Emphasis is on ascribed statuses. More emphasis is put on achieved statuses.
Social change is relatively limited. Social change is very evident, even within a generation.
Gemeinschaft Gesellschaft
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21 Sec. 4: Groups within society
█Groups– A group is any number of people with
similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with each other on a regular basis.
█Groups vary by:– Size– Time together– Organization (formal, informal)
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22 Sec. 4: Groups within society
█Types of groups
– Primary Group• This term refers to a small group characterized
by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.
– Secondary Group• This term refers to formal, impersonal groups in
which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding.
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23 Sec. 4: Groups within society
PRIMARY GROUPS SECONDARY GROUPS
█ Generally small Usually large
█ Relatively long Relatively short duration, █ period of interaction often temporary
█ Intimate, face-to-face Little social intimacy █ association or mutual understanding
█ Some emotional Relationships generally █ depth in relationships superficial
█ Cooperative, friendly More formal and impersonal
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24 Sec. 4: Groups within society
- Reference Groups (ex. Peer Group)– A reference group is any group that
individuals use as a standard for evaluating their own behavior. • Reference groups set and enforce standards of
conduct and belief• Reference groups serve as a standard against
which people can evaluate themselves and others.
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25 Sec. 4: Groups within society
– In-Groups• In-groups are any groups or categories to which
people feel they belong.
– Out-Groups• Out-groups are any groups or categories to
which people feel they do not belong.
– E-communities• Facebook, MySpace – Primary group?
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26 Sec. 4: Groups within society
- Social Networks and Technology– A social network is a series of social
relationships that links a person directly to others, and indirectly links them to still more people.
– Networking is a valuable skill to have when job-hunting
– Advances in technology, such as browsing web pages or text-messaging, help us to maintain social networks.
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27 Sec. 4: Groups within Society
█ Table 5.1: RU Ready for Texting Lingo?
@ wrk At workA3 Anytime, anywhere,
anyplaceAbt 2 About toAFAIR As far as I rememberAML All my loveA/S Age/Sex?AWCIGO And where can I get one?AYT Are you there?CU2NYT See you tonightGrr I’m angryRUF2T Are you free to talk?RUMF Are you male or female?UOK Are you OK?WRU Where are you?
Lingo Meaning
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28 Sec. 4: Groups within society
█Group functions
– Define boundaries (clothes, uniform, lang.)
– Select leaders
– Goals, tasks, decisions
– Control member behavior
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29 Sec. 4: Groups within society
█Factors that inhibit group “cohesion”– Frequent changes in membership– Disagreements over goals– Poor communication among members– Power struggles– Conflicting personalities– Lack of clear vision by leadership– Public & ongoing criticism by leaders– Role conflict among members
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30Sec. 5: Structure of formal organizations
█ Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies– Formal Organization
• A formal organization is a special-purpose group designed and structured for maximum efficiency.
– Examples of formal organizations:• U.S. Post Office, McDonald’s, NPHS
– Voluntary Associations• Organizations established on the basis of common
interest, whose members volunteer or even pay to participate.
• “Formal organizations” and “voluntary organizations” are not mutually exclusive.
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31 Sec. 5: Formal organizations
█Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
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32 Sec. 5: Formal organizationsCharacteristics of a bureaucracy:
Characteristics
Positive
Consequence
Negative consequence for the individual
Negative consequence for the organization
Division of labor Produces efficiency
Trained incapacity Produces a narrow perspective
Hierarchy of authority
Clarifies who is in charge
Little voice in decision making
Concealment of mistakes
Written rules and regulations
Shows workers what is expected
Does not promote creativity
Leads to “ritualism”
Employment based on formal qualifications
Less favoritism Discourages some to move on
Peter Principle
Specific lines of promotion & advancement
Job security & seniority
Too long to move up the ladder
Good people move on
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34 Sec. 5: Formal organizations
█Characteristics of a Bureaucracy– Bureaucratization
• Bureaucratization is the process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic.
– Oligarchy• Bureaucracy ruled by a few.
– Iron Law of Oligarchy• Tendency of a bureaucracy to become ruled by
a few
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