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 a 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