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Sociology
Chapter 4: Social Structure
* Human beings are social beings – we live and work in groups and interact in
predictable ways.
* Every society has a structure that guides human interaction. It:
- helps people know what is expected of them in most social situations and what
they can expect from others.
- ensures that the general nature of the society remains relatively stable from one
generation to the next, although the members of the society change.
* Sociologists focus on group behavior – both formally and informally organized groups.
Section 1 – 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 in a society. Statuses:
1. define where individuals fit in society
2. how the individual relates to others in the society.
- Each individual in societies occupies several statuses (farmer, wife, student)
Ex: A person can be:
1. a teacher
2. a father
3. a husband
4. an African American
5. a church deacon
all at the same time.
- role- attached to each status; the behavior, rights, and obligations expected of
someone occupying a particular status.
Types of Statuses
1. ascribed status – assigned based on a person’s inherited traits or automatically
assigned when a person reaches a certain age. (Not based on effort or skills)
Ex: your age (teenager), your gender, family heritage, and race
2. achieved status – acquired through your direct efforts including special skills,
knowledge, or abilities. People have CONTROL over these.
Ex: one is known as a basketball player due to physical skills and knowledge of the
game. Other examples include occupation, husband, wife, and parent, high school
graduate, athlete
3. master status – of all of a person’s many statuses, one tends to rank above all others.
It plays the greatest role in shaping a person’s life and determining his/her social identity
(can be achieved or ascribed). Can change over the course of one’s life, based on age,
life events, and circumstance.
Ex: as a teenager: being a student; early adulthood: occupation; old age: being a
grandparent
Roles
* These are actions that bring your statuses (social categories) to life. You play a role.
* Many roles have reciprocal roles  corresponding roles that define the patterns of
interaction between related statuses.
Ex: husband role/ wife role
doctor/ patient
athlete/ coach
friend/ friend
* Role expectations – socially determined behaviors of a person performing a role.
Ex: Doctors treat patients with skill and care; parents provide emotional/physical
Security for children; police officers uphold the law.
* Role performance – a person’s actual role behavior. Does not always match the
behaviors expected.
Ex: Some parents abuse their children; some doctors don’t give their patients the
best care.
* Why don’t these always match up?
1. Role behaviors considered appropriate by a certain segment of society are seen
as inappropriate by society as a whole.
2. Each of us performs many roles and some may be contradictory.
* Role set – different roles assigned to a single status. Contradictory expectations within
and between our role sets can lead to role strain or conflict.
- role conflict: occurs when fulfilling the role expectations of one status makes it
difficult to fulfill the expectations of another status (occurs between statuses).
- role strain: occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of
a single status (occurs within the same status).
- Ex: boss must motivate workers to have high morale even when they must work
long periods of time.
* Social institution – statuses determine the structure of various groups in society. When
organized to satisfy one of the basic needs of society, a social institution is formed.
Basic needs of society:
- providing physical and emotional support for its members
- transmitting knowledge
- producing goods and services
- maintaining social control
Ex: family, the economy, politics, education, religion, the media, medicine, and science
Section 2: Types of Social Interaction
* Some kinds of social interaction help stabilize the social structure; others promote
change.
Forms of social interaction (that take place in societies throughout the world)
1. Exchange – whenever people interact in an effort to receive a reward for their actions.
- common interactions involving exchanges – dating, family life, friendship, and
politics
- Reciprocity – the idea that if you do something for someone, that person owes
you something in return; basis of exchange. (the reward may be material or
nonmaterial). Ex: “thank you” for doing the dishes or earning wages for working
in a supermarket.
- Exchange Theory – people are motivated by self-interest in their interactions
with other people. People do things primarily for rewards.
* Behavior that is rewarded is likely to be repeated.
* When the costs of an interaction outweigh the rewards, individuals are
likely to end the relationship.
* Social life is explained as an attempt to maximize rewards while
minimizing costs.
2. Competition – occurs when two or more people or groups oppose each other to
achieve a goal that only one can attain.
- very common in Western society (capitalism and democratic government)
- advancement in business, school, sports based on this
- Pro’s – way to motivate people to perform societal roles; there are rules of
conduct
- Con’s – psychological stress, lack of cooperation, inequality, conflict
- Main emphasis  achieving the goal
3. Conflict – deliberate attempt to control a person by force, to oppose someone, or to
harm someone
- Main emphasis  defeating the opponent
- Unlike competition, conflict has few rules of conduct; these rules are often
ignored. Conflict may begin as competition.
- 4 Sources of conflict (Georg Simmel):
1. wars
2. disagreements within groups
3. legal disputes
4. clashes over ideology (religion/politics)
- Pro’s: 1. reinforces group boundaries; 2. strengthens group loyalty by focusing
attention on an outside threat; 3. leads to social change as problems are brought
to the forefront and solutions are needed.
4. Cooperation – occurs when two or more people or groups work together to achieve a
goal that will benefit more than one person.
- social process that gets things done
5. Accommodation – a state of balance between cooperation and conflict.
- You give a little and you take a little.
- Forms of accommodation:
1. compromise – 2 parties both give up something to come to a mutual
agreement (ex: you and friend want to see different movies. Instead, you
choose a third movie.)
2. truce – brings a halt to the conflict until a compromise can be reached.
3. mediation – calling in a third party who acts as an adviser or counselor
to help the two parties reach an agreement.
4. arbitration – a third party makes a decision that is binding on both
parties (ex: judge)
Section 3: Types of Societies
* GROUP = a set of people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and who
possess some degree of common identity.
- Societies – largest/most complex groups; sociologists tend to classify societies
using subsistence strategies  the way a society uses technology to provide for
the needs of its members.
Societal Categories
1. Preindustrial societies  food production via human and animal labor is the main
economic activity.
A. hunting and gathering societies
* Food is gathered by a daily collection of wild plants and hunting of wild
animals.
* Nomadic in nature in search for food.
* small, family-oriented societies; equal statuses and decisions through
general agreement
* Family (most related through blood and marriage) responsible for social
functions (production and education)
B. pastoral societies
* rely on domesticated herd animals to meet their food needs.
* nomadic – move herds from pasture to pasture
* larger societies with food surpluses
* Division of labor is complex, since less people are needed to produce
food  the specialization by individuals or groups in the performance of
specific economic activities (ex: craft workers, tool production, weapons,
jewelry)
* Trade is encouraged leading to inequalities in social status as some will
have more than others, leading to power and wealth.
* Hereditary chieftainships (government) – passing on of property, wealth,
and power from generation to generation.
C. horticultural societies
* Main food source is fruits and vegetables grown in garden plots cleared
from forests/jungles.
* Use slash and burn method to raise crops – wild vegetation is cut and
burned and the ashes are used as fertilizer.
* Rotate garden plots once they become barren. The rotation allows them
to build semipermanent/permanent villages around each garden plot.
* Surplus food leads to complex division of labor, allowing the
development of many artifacts.
* Specialized Roles:
a. shamans – religious leaders
b. craftspeople
c. traders
* Hereditary chieftainships exist.
D. agricultural societies
* animals used to pull plows and till fields; allowing more crops to be
planted (due to animal labor).
* use systems of irrigation and terracing  practice of cutting fields into
the sides of hills – lead to even higher crop yields.
* People able to perform specialized roles  leading to the development
of cities (specialized roles come together in central areas)
* As population increases, power often becomes concentrated in single
individuals  passed down generation to generation (hereditary
monarchy)
* armies, transportation systems, increased trade (abandoning barter –
exchanging goods or services) using money, systems of writing
* Most people belong to either the landowner (wealth/power) or the
peasant (laborers) groups.
2. Industrial societies  emphasis of society shifts from the production of food to the
production of manufactured goods. This is due to improved methods of production (no
longer human and animal labor)  Machines.
* Industrialization affects:
1. population  increases the amount of food that can be produced. The
more food, the larger number of people society can support.
2. the economy  reduces the need for agricultural labors; more demand
for workers to produce goods
3. location of work  production moves from the home to the factory (in
the city)  leads to urbanization – the concentration of the population in
cities when people move to cities to find work.
4. nature of work  when machines are used, the production process is
divided into a series of specific tasks; assigned to different people (less
skill, more tedious)
5. the role of societal institutions  the family is no longer responsible
for education, and religion and science challenge each other’s beliefs.
* Pro: more freedom to compete for social positions. Status is achieved, not
ascribed; can control one’s status.
* Historically, industrial societies began in Great Britain in the mid-1700’s,
Industrial Revolution, a period marked by profound advances in science and
technology. This then spread to the U.S., bringing new machines and energy
sources to improve production.
3. Postindustrial societies  the U.S. and other Western nations; the economy is
involved in providing information and services.
* Social changes due to post-Industrialization:
1. standards of living and quality of life improve as wages improve.
2. strong emphasis on the roles of science and education in society.
3. technological advances – key to future prosperity
4. importance of individual rights and self-fulfillment
5. emphasis on social equality and democracy
Sociologists Contrasting Types of Societies
* Emile Durkheim
1. Preindustrial societies are held together by mechanical solidarity – when
people share the same values and perform the same tasks, they become united in a
common whole.
2. With increased division of labor in society, there is a shift to organic solidarity
– impersonal social relationships that arise with increased job specialization;
individuals no longer provide for ALL their own needs, dependent on others.
Relationships based on needs, rather than values.
* Ferdinand Tönnies
1. Gemeinschaft – “community” – societies in which most members know one
another. Close, family, and community-centered activities and group solidarity.
Ex: rural and preindustrial societies
2. Gesellschaft – “society” – most social relationships based on need over
emotion. Impersonal, temporary relationships and weak traditional values.
Individual takes priority over the group. Ex: urban society, U.S.
Section 4 – Groups Within Society
* A society is a group made up of smaller groups.
* Social life is structured on groups and group activities.
Group characteristics
1. Must consist of 2 or more people
2. There must be interaction among members.
Interaction – occurs whenever the actions of one person cause another person(s)
to act (Ex: saying “Hi.”)
3. The members of the group must have shared expectations.
4. The members must possess a sense of common identity
versus
aggregate – when people gather in the same place at the same time but lack organization
or lasting interaction.
Ex: people on an airplane or standing in line for tickets at the movies
versus
social category – requires NO interaction; a means of classifying people according to a
shared trait or common status.
Ex: students, women, teens, left-handed people
* Groups can differ in:
1. size
2. length of time they remain together
3. organizational structure
Size and Groups:
* dyad – the smallest possible group – a group of 2.
- Each group member has direct control over the group’s existence. If one
member leaves, the group ends.
- Decision making can be difficult – only two points of view – one will have to
change to continue the group’s existence.
* triad – a group of 3 members
- No one person can disband the group.
- Decision making can be a majority (2 to 1)
* small group – one with few enough members that everyone is able to interact on a faceto-face basis.
- The more members, the greater the number of face-to-face relationships.
- 15 is the largest number of people that can work well in one group.
- When the group is larger than 15, members have a tendency to sort themselves
into smaller groups.
Time Periods – Groups can fall between either extreme.
Meet once
and never
meet again
Exist for many
years; meet often
Interaction between groups is rarely continuous (lasting 24 hours, 7 day per week);
groups meet in periods intermittently.
Group Organization
* Formal group – the structure, goals, and activities are clearly defined. Ex:
student government
* Informal group – no official structure or established rules of conduct. Ex: your
circle of friends
Types of Groups – groups are typically classified by the degree of intimacy among their
members.
1. Primary group (most intimate) – small group of people who interact over a
relatively long period of time on a direct and personal basis.
* face-to-face relationships
* communication is deep and intense
* informal structure
* greatest level of group commitment
* accept a certain amount of nonconformity to norms.
* Ex: family relationships
2. Secondary group – interaction is temporary and impersonal in nature.
* casual and limited personal involvement
* person’s importance in group based on his/her function.
* person is replaceable.
* Groups organized around specific goals.
* Do not allow a lot of nonconformity to the norms.
* Ex: classroom, factory, political party
It is possible for primary and secondary relationships to exist within the same group.
3. Reference group – any group that an individual identifies with and whose attitudes and
values he/she adopts.
* a group that sets the standards for social roles and behaviors.
* individual doesn’t have to be a part of this group; he/she needs only to agree
with its values.
* Based on changing social conditions and maturation; one’s reference groups can
change having an effect on the individual’s behavior (+ or -)
* Ex: groups of friends, school clubs, members of a certain occupation
4. Boundaries – all groups have these – methods of distinguishing between members and
nonmembers.
* In-Group: the group that a person belongs to and identifies with
* Out-Group: any group that the person does not identify with or belong to.
*Characteristics of In-Groups:
1. group members separate themselves from other groups by the use of
symbols (badges, uniform clothing, names, slogans)
2. members view themselves positively and view out-groups negatively.
3. compete with out-groups (can lead to conflict)
5. E-Communities – groups where people interact with one another regularly on the
Internet through news groups of common interests.
* Individuals in these groups argue, discuss things intellectually, exchange
knowledge, gossip, play games, flirt.
* Only difference with these groups is they are online rather than face-to-face.
6. Social Network – Everyone belongs to more than one group  the web of
relationships that is formed by the sum total of a person’s interactions with other people.
Includes:
* direct relationships – those in our primary and secondary groups
* indirect relationships – people we know or who know us, but we have little or
no interaction with (Ex: friend of a friend)
Pro’s
1. provide a feeling of
community
2. opportunities for social
interaction
3. opportunities for career
advancement
4. provide a support system
for stressful periods
Con’s
1. No clear boundaries
2. No common sense of
identity
Group Functions – Must be fulfilled for groups to exist.
1. Define boundaries  so members can tell who belongs and who does not.
* Methods:
A. symbols (uniforms, styles of dress)
B. gestures (hand signals, handshakes)
C. language
2. Select leaders  people who influence the attitudes and opinions of others
* Methods:
A. assigned by some (Ex: Board of Directors)
B. achieved by ability
C. elections
* Categories: (need both for a group to be successful)
A. Instrumental Leaders: task-oriented; find specific means to help group reach
its goals (Ex: game plan/strategy for football team to win)
B. Expressive Leaders: emotion-oriented; find ways to keep the group together
and maintain morale (Ex: cheers and songs leading to game)
3. Setting Goals  Groups need a purpose in order to exist, so they set goals to maintain
that purpose.
4. Assign tasks (to members) to achieve goals
5. Make Decisions  in ways acceptable to the members
6. Control Members’ Behavior  employ effective sanctions to ensure conformity to the
norms.
Section 5 – The Structure of Formal Organizations
Formal Organization: a large, complex secondary group established to achieve specific
goals. Ex: schools, businesses, government agencies, religious and youth organizations,
political organizations, volunteer associations, labor unions, professional associations
* Most formal organizations are structured as bureaucracies – Ranked authority
structure that operates according to specific rules and procedures.
- Rose to prominence during the Industrial Revolution to organize groups to
Complete goals.
- Industrialization was part of a process called rationalization of society 
subjecting every feature of human behavior to calculation, measurement, and
control.
- Today, it is any organization with many departments or bureaus. (ex: motor
vehicle, hospitals)
Max Weber’s Model of Bureaucracy
* This model is an ideal type, describing the essential characteristics of bureaucracies.
Organizations may vary in conformity to these.
* Bureaucracies have the following characteristics:
1. division of labor – work is divided among specialists in various positions,
specific duties
2. ranking of authority – clear lines of authority; each person accountable to a
supervisor at a level above them.
3. employment based on formal qualifications (tests, education, previous
experience). The job, not the job holder, is important. Everyone is replaceable.
4. rules and regulations – define exact responsibilities and the authority of each
person.
5. specific lines of promotion/advancement
* Voluntary associations (non-profit organizations formed to pursue some common
interest; voluntary membership) are less rigid in adhering to the bureaucratic model as
members and leaders are unpaid for their work. Ex: sports teams, political interest
groups, charities, service clubs, professional organizations
* Bureaucracies are formal impersonal structures, but within them informal structures
based on primary relationships may form. (Ex: people who work together, but become
friends.)
- The importance of those relationships was demonstrated in an experiment:
When: 1927-1932
Where: Hawthorne, Illinois, Western Electric Company
Purpose: Determine how various factors affected worker productivity
Method: Sociologists studied the interaction between members of a group
of employees assigned the task of wiring telephone circuits (wirer,
solderer, and inspector)
Findings: Informal structure developed among the workers (not
necessarily part of the original bureaucracy.
- Members of the work group developed norms for daily
production (different from those of the bureaucracy).
- Conformity to these group norms was enforced through
negative/informal sanctions (ex: ridicule, expulsion from the
specific workgroup)
- This structure operated independently of the formal organization
and became more important to the workers.
Strengths of Bureaucracies
1. Way to coordinate large numbers of people to achieve large-scale goals.
2. They create order by clearly defining job tasks and rewards.
3. They provide stability. (The organization continues even if people come and go).
Weaknesses of Bureaucracies – why they are not effective
1. They lose sight of their original goals. Sometimes they abandon their original purpose
just to self-continue their existence.
2. They tend to encourage the development of a bureaucratic personality  strict
adherence to the rules/procedures and ignoring the goals of the organization.
3. They have “red tape”  bureaucratic delay
* Each person has a limited role in the organization thus they have limited
knowledge and power.
* To achieve goals, people spend hours filling out forms, standing in lines, and
being shuffled from one bureau/department to another.
4. tendency to result in oligarchies
* oligarchy – a situation in which few people rule the many. Those in power tend
to promote their own interests over the interests of the organization. (Iron Law of
Oligarchy – phrase keyed by sociologist Robert Michels.)
5. The Peter Principle (Lawrence J. Peter) – employees in a bureaucracy are often
promoted to positions which they may have little ability.
6. Catch 22 Situations (Joseph Heller) – The organization has contradictory rules that
create insoluble dilemmas.
* Heller’s Ex: military  people had to be crazy to fly dangerous bombing
missions, but crazy people were considered unfit for military service.
7. Parkinson’s Law (C. Northcote Parkinson) – work expands to fill the time available
for its completion.
* An overworked civil servant has 3 options to solve his problem:
A. resign – they won’t do this  loss of job, wages, etc.
B. cut the work in half and share with a new colleague – they won’t do
this as the person becomes a job rival for promotion.
C. demand the assistance of two subordinates (people below them) – This
is the ideal choice because: 1. the person feels more important as he has
control over two others; and 2. the 2 subordinates are kept in line by fear
of the other’s promotion.
- The subordinates feel overworked and engage in the same process,
continuing the pattern on and on.