Building Blocks of Social Structure Chapter 4 – Section 1.

Building Blocks of Social Structure

Chapter 4 – Section 1

• Social Structure– Network of interrelated statuses and

roles

• Status – Socially defined position in a group/

society

• Role– Behavior expected of someone

Status

• Ascribed and Achieved Status

– Ascribed Status• Assigned according to qualities beyond

persons control

– Achieved Status• Achieved through their own efforts

• Master Status

– Master Status

• Can be achieved or ascribed

• Master status changes over time

Roles

– Reciprocal Roles

• Corresponding roles that define the patterns of interaction

• Role Expectations and Role Performance

– Role Expectations

• Socially determined behaviors

– Role Performance

• The actual role behavior

• Role Conflict

– Role Set• Different roles attached to a status

– Role Conflict• Occurs during role fulfillment

– Role Strain• Difficulty to meet the role expectations

of a single status

Social Institutions

– Social Institution

• Statuses and roles are organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society

• What are the five major institutions?

Types of Social Interaction

Chapter 4 – Section 2

Exchange

– Exchange

– Reciprocity

– Exchange Theory• People are motivated by self-interest

Competition

– Competition

• People oppose each other to achieve a goal that only one can attain

• Cornerstone of society?

Conflict

– Conflict

• Deliberate attempt to control, oppose or harm another person

• Conflict can range from?

• Four sources of conflict

Cooperation

– Cooperation

• Groups or a few people work together to achieve a beneficial goal

• Competition used along with cooperation

Accommodation

– Accommodation

• People give a little/ take a little

• State of balance between conflict and cooperation

• Compromise, a form of accommodation

Types of Societies

Chapter 4 – Section 3

– Group• People who interact on the basis of

shared expectation and possess a common identity

– Subsistence Strategies• The way a society use technology to

provide for the needs of its members

Preindustrial Societies

• Hunting and Gathering Societies

– Food production = daily collection of wild plants and hunting of animals

• Pastoral Societies• Rely on domesticated

herd animals to meet the food needs

– Division of Labor• Special economic

activities• Production

encourages trade

• Horticultural Societies

– Agricultural products grown on fields cleared from the forest

– The same level of technology than pastoral societies

• Agricultural Societies

• Technology advances allow to plant more crops

• Larger harvests allows?

– Barter• Exchange of

goods or services

Industrial Societies

– Emphasis shifts from food production to the manufacturing of goods

– Urbanization• Concentration of

the population in cities

Postindustrial Societies

– Society is involved in providing information or services

– Which countries are considered postindustrial?

Contrasting Societies

– Mechanical Solidarity• People share the

same values and perform the same task

– Organic Solidarity• People can no

longer provide for all of their needs

• Ferdinand Tönnies

– Gemeinschaft• People share a strong sense of group

solidarity

– Gesellschaft• Relationships are impersonal and

temporary• Traditional values are weak• Individual goal is more important than

group goal

Groups Within Society

Chapter 4 – Section 4

What Is a Group?

– Aggregate• People at the same place without

organization

– Social Category• Classifying people according to a shared

trade or status

• Size– Dyad

• Each member has direct control over the existence of the group

– Triad• Group develops life of its own

– Small Group• Every member is able to interact on

face-to-face basis

• Time – Overtime, interaction is not

continuous

• Organization– Formal Group

• Clearly defined structure, goals, and activities

– Informal Group• No official structure or rules of conduct

Types of Groups

• Primary Group– Small group, interacting over a long

period of time, direct and on personal basis

• Secondary Group– Interaction is impersonal and

temporary

• Reference Groups

– People performs social role and judges own behavior on set standards of certain groups

• E-communities

– Interaction with others through the internet

• In-Groups

– A person belongs and identifies with the group

• Out-Groups

– Person does not belong to or identify with

• Social Network

– Include direct and indirect relationships

– No clear boundaries

– No common sense of identity

Group Functions

– Leaders• People who influence other peoples

attitudes and opinions

– Instrumental Leaders• Task-oriented

– Expressive Leaders• Emotion-oriented

The Structure of Formal

Organizations

Chapter 4 – Section 5

– Formal Organization• Complex secondary groups, formed to

achieve specific goal

– Bureaucracy• Authority structure, operating according

to specific rules and procedures

– Rationality• Subjecting features of human behavior

to calculation, measurement, and control

Weber’s Model of Bureaucracy

– Division of labor

– Ranking of authority

– Employment based on formal qualifications

– Rules and Regulations

– Specific lines of promotion and advancement

Relationships in Formal Organizations

– Formal impersonal structures

– Possibility of primary relationships

– Informal structure more important to members of the organization

How Effective Are Bureaucracies?

– Bureaucracy creates order and stability

– Bureaucracies lose sight of the original goal

– Iron law of oligarchy• Organization dominated by a small

number of people