Ch. 4: Social Structure and Social Interaction

1. Ch. 4: Social Structure and Social Interaction • 2 ways to view world- macro/micro sociology • Social structure- the typical patterns in a group, consisting of the relationships of people and groups to one another • Guides our behavior • Overrides personal feelings/desires

2. Major components of social structure • Culture- determines what kind of people we become • Social class- based on income, education, and occupational prestige • Social status- position an individual occupies in society or in a social group • Several positions at same time • Status set

3. Ascribed status- involuntary • Achieved status- voluntary, earned • Positive or negative • Found in all human groups • Status symbols- signs to identify status • Master statuses- cuts across other statuses an individual occupies • Status inconsistency- contradiction or mismatch between statuses

4. Social statuses come w/ built in norms/expectations that guide our behavior • Roles- behaviors, obligations, and privileges attached to a status • Occupy a status, play a role • Roles lay out what is expected of people

5. Groups- consist of people who regularly and consistently interact w/ one another • Share similar values, norms, & expectations • Organization varies- status: well-poorly defined; informal-formal; differing degrees of connection w/ other groups • Involuntary memberships- assigned membership • Voluntary memberships- choose to join

6. Social institutions • The organized means that each society develops to meet its basic needs • Family, religion, law, politics, economics, education, science, medicine, military • Differentiation- dominant feature of human societies is continual creation of new social institutions (Parsons) • Mass media as emerging social institution

7. Nature of social institutions • Functionalist perspective • Perform vital functions for society • Five functional requisites • Replace members • Socialize new members • Produce/distribute goods and services • Preserve order • Provide sense of purpose

8. Conflict perspective • Social institutions do not work harmoniously for the common good • Power elite

9. What holds society together? • Social cohesion • Mechanical solidarity • Division of labor • Organic solidarity • Gemeinschaft (intimate community) • Gesselschaft (impersonal association) • As societies change so do people’s orientations to life

10. Social interaction and symbolic interactionism • Stereotypes in everyday life • Personal space- varies by culture • 4 distance zones • Intimate distance • Personal distance • Social distance • Public distance • Touching and eye contact

11. Dramaturgy • Social life like a drama or stage play • Front stage vs. back stage (Goffman) • Role conflict • Role strain • We tend to become the roles we play • Impression management • Use social setting • Appearance • Manner • Face-saving behavior

12. The social construction of reality • Symbolic interaction • The definition of the situation (Thomas theorem)- if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences • Subjective interpretation • Need macro and micro sociology • The Saints and the Roughnecks