Chapter 5: Society, Social Structure, and Interaction

1. Chapter 5: Society, Social Structure, and Interaction

2. Social Structure: Macro-level • The complex framework of societal institutions, and the social practices that make up a society and organize/ establish limits on people’s behavior • Politics as an institution, with laws and roles as social practices • Social structure helps us make sense of our environment, like a map for our endeavors • It also creates boundaries, or groups, that include/exclude certain individuals • Social Marginality (Coined by Robert Park) • Social Marginality results in stigmatization, or attributing symbols that devalue a person’s social identity

3. Social Structure: Framework SOCIETY Statuses And Roles Social Institutions • Traditional • Family • Religion • Education • Government • Economy • Emergent • Sports • Mass Media • Science/Medicine • Military • Ascribed Status • Race/Ethnicity • Age • Gender • Class • Achieved Status • Occupation • Education • Income Level Social Groups • Primary Groups • Family Members • Close Friends • Peers • Secondary Groups • Schools • Churches • Corporations

4. A Statusis a socially defined position in a group or society, characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties • To determine who you are, you derive your identity from the status you occupy • There are two types of statuses, ascribed and achieved • Ascribed is a social position conferred at birth, or is received involuntarily based on attributes the individual has little to no control of; such as race, age, gender, physical features, etc. • Achieved is a social position that a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort; such as profession, wife, volunteer, etc. • A Master Status refers to the most important status to the individual (Coined by Everett Hughes:1945) • Certain material symbols can also signify status • Like owning a Rolls-Royce, or designer clothes, jewelry, etc. One’s status is the closest position to the individual; as it is the most personal, or microscopic, on the social structure scale Statuses

5. A Roleis a set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status • One is expected to behave differently when considering income differences for instance • Role expectationis a group’s or society’s definition or the way that a specific role ought to be played • Whereas role performance is how the person actually performs the role • Role conflict, strain, and exit • Role Conflictoccurs when incompatible role demands are placed on a person by two or more statuses held at the same time • The performing of multiple roles often results in role conflict, like mixing personal and professional life • Role Strain occurs when incompatible demands are built onto a single status that the person occupies • Work inequality, occupation, and sexual orientation are often associated with role strain • Role Exit occurs when people disengage from social roles that have been central to their self A role is essentially a status in play; it is the dynamic, or the active component of the status (We may occupy a status, but we play a role) Complementary and Ambiguous roles Complementary rolesrefer to the existence of the role in context of others, i.e. for you to be a professor you must have students (who themselves accept the role of student) Ambiguous roles occur when role expectations become unclear, or have indefinite answers For example: When do the parents definitively stop supporting the child? (financially) Roles

6. Groups • A Social group consists of two or more people who interact frequently and share a common identity and a feeling of inter-dependence • Primary group • Is a small, less specialized group in which members engage in face-to-face, emotion based interactions over an extended period of time • Secondary group • Is a larger, more specialized group in which members engage in more impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time • A formal organization is a highly structured group formed for the purpose of completing certain tasks or goals • Social solidarity refers to a group’s ability to maintain itself in the face of obstacles. • Things like social bonds, attractions, and forces hold the members in interaction over a period of time. • More In-depth in Chapter 6: Groups and Organizations

7. Social Institutions • A Social Institution is a set of organized beliefs and rules that establishes how a society will attempt to meet its basic and social needs • All societies undergo similar processes, but with the onset of the modern era, there are additional institutions; such as, mass media, science and medicine, and the military • Functional theorists emphasize that social institutions exist because they perform five essential tasks • Replacing members • Teaching new members • Producing, distributing, and consuming goods • Preserving order • Providing and Maintaining a sense of purpose

8. Societies, Technology, and Sociocultural Change

9. Durkheim on Social Solidarity • Emile Durkheim believed that the social solidarity of societies rested on the division of labor • The division of labor refers to how the various tasks of a society are divided up and performed • He categorized societies as having either mechanical or organic solidarity • Mechanical Solidarity is the social cohesion of preindustrial societies, in which there is minimal division of labor and people feel united by shared values and common social bonds • Because people more or less have a sense of automated belonging with little specialization required to perform tasks • Organic Solidarity is the social cohesion found in industrial (and perhaps post-industrial) societies, in which people perform very specialized tasks and feel united by their mutual dependence • Because the laborers rely on one another to function, like a living beings organs, they rely on practical considerations instead of moral considerations

10. Tönnies on Social Solidarity • Ferdinand Tönnies used the terms Gemeinschaft and Gesselschaft to characterize the degree of social solidarity in societies • Gemeinschaftis a traditional society in which social relationships are based on personal bonds of friendship and kinship and on inter-generational stability • Literally translated as “commune” or “community” • Gesselschaft is a large, urban society in which social bonds are based on impersonal and specialized relationships, with little long-term commitment to the group or consensus on values • Literally translated as “association,” as in based on achievement not social basis

11. Social Interaction: Micro-level Perspective

12. References and Acknowledgements Sociology In Our Times (Seventh Edition) By: Diana Kendall Notes incorporated By: James V. Thomas, NIU Professor (Emeritus) Formatted By: Jacob R. Kalnins, NIU student Pictures Incorporated Clip Art (PowerPoint: 2007) Google Images: Sociology In Our Times