SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIETY

Chapter 5

What is social structure?

Social Structure: the underlying patterns of relationships in a group

1

What do sociologists mean by status?

Status: a position a person occupies within a social structure

2

What is an ascribed status?

ascribed status: a position that is neither earned nor chosen but assigned

3

How is status achieved?

achieved status: a position that is earned or chosen

4

What is a status set?

status set: all of the statuses that a person occupies at any particular time

Teacher HusbandFather Brother…

5

Are all of a person’s statuses equal?

master status: a position that strongly affects most other aspects of a person’s life

6

“ It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

George Eliot

Roles:

Statuses are like parts in a play• student• friend• employee• teammate….

Roles are the way we play out our parts

…roles are like statuses in action

Stanford Prison Experiment

Rights and Obligations

Rights: behaviors that individuals can expect from others

Obligations: behaviors that individuals are expected to perform toward others

Role performance and social interaction

role performance: the actual behavior of an individual in a role

Roles are “statuses” in action

Role performance and social interaction

social interaction: the process of influencing each other as people relate

…if statuses are like parts in a play, and roles are like the script…

then social interaction represents theway actors respond to cues given by other actors

The Stanford Prison Experiment

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=677084988379129606#

Mr. Jones is a member of a high school board and his daughter isa junior at the same high school. The board recently considered a proposal to drastically cut spending in the art department. Mr. Jonesdaughter is an aspiring artist with dreams of opening her own studiosomeday. What should Mr. Jones do?

Dave is the manager of a team of computer engineers.Dave’s good friend Ted is assigned to Dave’s team. Dave hasto play the roles of both supervisor and friend. Ted has to playthe roles of both employee and friend. Each role contains a variety of expectations. As a friend, Dave is expected to support Ted (and vice versa) when difficulties arise. But as a supervisor Dave is expected to treat employees without partiality. What is Dave to do if Ted messes up on the job? Howis Ted to react if Dave has to discipline him?

Role Conflict

role conflict: when the performance of a role in one status interferes with the performance of a role in another status

Role Strain

role strain: when the roles of a single status are inconsistent or conflicting

Type of SocietyUse of Tools Importance ofLeisure Time Government Living

AnimalsConditions

Types of SocietiesHunting and Gathering• a society that survives by hunting animals and gathering edible plants• nomadic, few material goods• economics based on cooperation (members share possessions)• with few possessions there is no social class (no rich or poor)

Horticultural• a society that survives primarily through the growing of plants• led to more permanent settlements• permitted the growth of community-based societies• stability and growth

Types of SocietiesPastoral• a society in which food is obtained primarily by raising and taking care of animals• cattle goats, sheep, etc. (meat and milk)• since grain is needed to feed animals, farming emerges• still some migration, but more long-term communities• surplus of food allows division of labor (pottery makers, tool makers, etc.)• surplus allows development of social inequity (class system)

Agricultural• a society that uses plows and draft animals in growing food• plow allowed for more productivity (more food)• more area can be cultivated by fewer people• people free to engage in other things (education, music, politics, etc.)• cities are built and occupations not related to farming emerge• wealth and power, increasing class system

Industrial Societies

industrial society: a society that depends on science and technology to produce its basic goods and services

What happens when agricultural societies become industrial societies?

mechanization: replacing animal and human power with machine power

What happens when agricultural societies become industrial societies?

urbanization: the shifting of population from farms and villages to large cities

What did Ferdinand Tonnies have to say?

Gemeinschaft (ga MINE shoft) : German for “community.” Preindustrial society based on tradition, kinship, and close social ties.

Gesellschaft (ga ZELL shoft): German for “society.” industrial society characterized by weak family ties, competition, and impersonal socialrelationships.

What were Durkheim’s views?

social solidarity: the degree to which a society is unified

mechanical solidarity: a type of social unity achieved by people doing the same type of work and holding

similar values

organic solidarity: a type of social unity in which members’ interdependence is based on specialized

functions and statuses

Postindustrial Society

postindustrial society: a society in which the economic emphasis is on

providing services and information

Five major features of postindustrial societies

According to David Bell:1. For the first time, the majority of the labor force is employed in services rather than in agriculture or manufacturing

2. White collar employment replaces much blue collar work.

3. Technical knowledge is the key organizing feature of postindustrial societies.

4. Technological change is planned and assessed.

5. Reliance on computer modeling in all areas.