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CHAPTER 4:
SOCIAL
STRUCTURE
LIFE IN SOCIETY
• Humans are social
beings- we live and work
in groups and interact in
predictable ways.
• This structure helps
people know what is
expected of them in
most social situations
and what they can
expect from others.
• It also ensures that the
general nature of the
society remains stable
from one generation to
the next.
BUILDING BLOCKS
OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• Social Structure- the
network of interrelated
statuses and roles that
guide human interaction.
• Status- a socially defined
position in a group or
society.
• Role- the behavior
expected of someone
occupying a particular
status
STATUS
• Each individual in society
occupies several statuses.
• For example, an individual
can be a teacher, father,
husband, African
American, and a church
member all at the same
time.
• Ascribed Status- assigned
according to qualities
beyond a person’s control
• Achieved Status- acquired
through and individual’s
efforts
• Master Status- can be
ascribed or achieved.
Refers to an overall image.
Ex: student, occupation,
parenthood, etc.
A person’s master status can
be achieved such as being a
doctor or be ascribed such as
being a woman.
ROLES
The role of coaches and
athletes are reciprocal in that
they rely upon each other.
• You occupy a status, but you
play a role.
• Reciprocal Rolescorresponding roles that
define the patterns of
interaction between related
statuses.
Ex: Husband & Wife
• Role Expectations- socially
determined behaviors
expected of a person
performing a role
• Role Performance- a person’s
actual role behavior does not
always match the behavior
that is expected.
ROLES CONT.
• Role Set- different roles
attached to a single
status
• Role Conflict- occurs
when fulfilling the role
expectations of one
status makes it difficult to
fulfill the role
expectations of another
status
• Role Strain- a person has
difficulty meeting the role
expectations of a single
status
Many working families face
role conflict because the
needs of their family and the
requirements of work
demand a great deal of time
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
• Social Institution- when
statuses and roles are
organized to satisfy one
or more of the basic
needs of society
• The basic needs of
society include providing
physical and emotional
support, transmitting
knowledge, producing
goods and services, and
maintaining social control
Marti
TYPES OF SOCIAL
INTERACTION
• When you play a role,
most of the time you
have to interact with
others.
• These are the 5 types of
interaction that take
place in societies
throughout the world.
1. Exchange
2. Competition
3. Conflict
4. Cooperation
5. Accommodation
EXCHANGE
Couples in relationships often
have interactions based on
exchange
• Exchange- whenever
people interact in an
effort to receive a
reward or return for
their actions
• Reciprocity- the idea
that if you do
something for
someone, that person
owes you something
in return
• Exchange TheoryBelief that people are
motivated by selfinterest in their
interactions with other
people
COMPETITION
• Competition- occurs
when two or more
people or groups
oppose each other to
achieve a goal that
only one can attain
• Common feature of
Western societies
• Some scholars
consider it to be the
cornerstone of the
capitalist economic
system and the
democratic form of
government
CONFLICT
• Conflict- the deliberate
attempt to control a
person by force, to
oppose someone, or to
harm another person
• Four sources of conflict
1. Wars
2. Disagreements within
groups
3. Legal disputes
4. Clashes over ideology
COOPERATION
• Cooperation- occurs
when two or more
people or groups work
together to achieve a
goal that will benefit
more than one person
• Cooperation is often
used along with other
By using
forms of interaction
cooperation
• For example,
members of a
group can work
individuals who go
together to
out for a team sport
complete a goal
often compete with
that might have
one another to make
been unobtainable
the varsity team.
by an individual
ACCOMMODATION
• Accommodation- state
of balance between
cooperation and
conflict
• Compromise- occurs
when two parties both
give up something to
come to a mutual
agreement
The United Nations is a global
organization that tries to solve world
problems through cooperation and
compromise
TYPES OF SOCIETIES
• Group- a set of people
who interact on the basis
of shared expectations
and who possess some
degree of common
identity
• The largest and most
complex groups that are
studied by sociologists
are societies
• Subsistence Strategiesthe way a society uses
technology to provide
for the needs of its
members
PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
• Preindustrial Society- food
production which is carried
out through the use of
human and animal labor is
the main economic activity
• Hunting and Gathering
Societies- The main form of
food production is the daily
collection of wild plants
and the hunting of wild
animals
• Pastoral Society- rely on
domesticated herd animals
to meet their food needs
Division of Labor- the
specialization by
individuals or groups in
performance
PREINDUSTRIAL
SOCIETIES CONT.
• Horticultural Societyfruits and vegetables are
grown in a garden to
provide the main source of
food
• Agricultural Societyanimals are used to pull
plows to till the fields.
This allows
agriculturalists to plant
more crops than is
possible when only human
labor is used
• Barter- the exchange of a
good or service
INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
• Industrial Societiesemphasis shifts from
the production of food
to the production of
manufactured goods
• Urbanization- the
concentration of the
population is located in
cities
• With the development of
machines, production
moves from the home to
the factory
Industrial societies use machines
to increase productivity which
leads to a larger society and a
greater division of labor
POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
• Postindustrial
Society- much of the
economy is involved
in providing
information and
services
• In the United States:
73% Information &
Services
25% Production of
Goods
2% Agriculture
CONTRASTING SOCIETIES
• Mechanical Solidaritywhen people share the
same values and perform
the same tasks, they
become united in a
common whole
• Organic Solidarityindividuals can no longer
provide for all of their own
needs
GROUPS WITHIN SOCIETY
• Society is not only a
group; it is a group
made up of other
smaller groups
This group of sailors have a
shared identity as part of a
military unit
• 4 Features of a Group:
1. Consist of 2 or more
people
2. Interaction among
members
3. Members have shared
expectations
4. Members possess
some sense of
common identity
WHAT IS A GROUP?
• Aggregate- when people
gather in the same place
at the same time, but lack
organization
Ex: Passengers on a
plane
• Social Categoryclassifying people
according to a shared
trait or a common status.
Ex: Students, women, lefthanded people, teenagers
WHAT IS A GROUP?
Student governments in a school
is an example of a formal group
• Dyad- smallest group
possible, a group with 2
members
• Triad- a 3 person group
• Small Group- a group
with few enough
members that everyone
is able to interact faceto-face
• Formal Groupstructure, goals, and
activities are clearly
defined
• Informal Group- no
official structure or
established rules of
conduct
TYPES OF GROUPS
Sports fans who support a
specific team or player often form
in-groups. They view fans of
other teams as out-groups.
• Primary Group- small
group of people who
interact over a relatively
long period of time
• Secondary Groupgroup in which
interaction is
impersonal and
temporary in nature
• In-group- the group that
a person belongs to and
identifies with
• Out-group- any group
that a person does not
belong to or identify
with
TYPES OF GROUPS CONT.
• E-Community- people
interact with one
another regularly on the
Internet
• Social Network- the web
of relationships that is
formed by the sum total
of a person’s
interactions with other
people
• Unlike groups, social
networks do not give
rise to a common sense
of identity.
Knowing the “right” person can
mean the difference between
getting or not getting a job
GROUP FUNCTIONS
• Leaders- people who
influence the attitudes
and opinions of others
• Instrumental Leaderstask oriented; find
specific means that will
help the group reach its
goals
• Expressive Leadersemotion oriented; find
ways to keep the group
together and to maintain
morale
THE STRUCTURE OF
FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS
Bureaucracies serve important
functions such as establishing
proper rules and regulations
• Formal Organizationlarge, complex group
that has been
established to achieve
specific goals
• Bureaucracy- ranked
authority structure that
operates according to
specific rules and
procedures
• Rationality- subjecting
every feature of human
behavior to calculation,
measurement, and
control
WEBER’S MODEL
OF BUREAUCRACIES
• German sociologist Max
Weber developed a
theoretical model of
bureaucracies that is
still widely used today
 Division of Labor
 Ranking of Authority
 Employment based on
formal qualifications
 Rules and Regulations
 Specific lines of
promotion and
advancement