Chapter 4, Social Structure And Interaction In Everyday Life

1. Chapter 4, Social Structure And Interaction In Everyday Life • Social Structure: The Macrolevel Perspective • Components of Social Structure • Societies: Changes in Social Structure • Social Interaction: The Microlevel Perspective • Changing Social Structure and Interaction in the Future

2. Social Structure • Patterns of social relationships in a society make up its social structure. • Social structure shapes the overall patterns in which social interaction occurs. • Provides an ordered framework for society and for interactions with others.

3. Components of Social Structure • Status • Roles • Groups • Social Institutions

4. Four Stages of Role Exiting • Doubt - people experience frustration or burnout when they reflect on their existing roles. • Search for alternatives - people may take a leave of absence or temporarily separate from their marriage partner.

5. Four Stages of Role Exiting • Turning point - people realize they must take some final action. • Creation of a new identity.

6. Groups • PrimaryFamily, close friends, school or work-related peer groups • SecondarySchools, churches, corporations

7. Five Basic Social Institutions • Family • Religion • Education • Economy • Government or politics

8. Perspectives on Social Institutions • Functionalist theory - social institutions perform essential tasks. • Conflict theory - social institutions are organized to meet basic social needs but do not work for the good of everyone in society.

9. Functionalists: Five Tasks of Social Institutions • Replacing members. • Teaching new members. • Producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services. • Preserving order. • Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose.

10. Durkheim's Typology of Social Solidarity • Social solidarity is based on social structure which is based on a society's division of labor. • Mechanical Solidarity - people are united by traditions and shared values. • Organic Solidarity - people are united by mutual dependence on one another.

11. Tönnies: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft • Concerned with what happens to social solidarity when a “loss of community” occurs. • Gemeinschaft - social relationships are based on bonds of friendship and kinship. • Gesellschaft - social bonds are based on impersonal relationships with little consensus on values.

12. Goffman’s Dramaturgical Analysis • Daily interactions are similar to dramatic productions. • Members of our “audience” judge our performance and are aware that we may reveal our true character. • Most of us attempt to control the impressions we give to others.

13. Nonverbal Communication • Facial expressions • Head movements • Eye contact • Body positions • Touching • Personal space

14. Functions of Nonverbal Communication • Supplements verbal communication. • Regulates social interaction - body posture and eye contact signals whether we wish to talk with someone. • Establishes the relationship among people in terms of their power over one another.