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Social
Structure
Social
Structure
 Sociologists view society as a system of
interrelated parts- as a structure
 Social structure is the network of interrelated
statuses and roles that guide human
interaction
 A status is a socially defined position in a
group or in a society
 Each status has attached to it one or more
roles
Status
 Each individual in
society occupies
several statuses.
 For example, an
individual can be a
teacher, a father, a
husband, an African
American, and a
church deacon all at
the same time.
Ascribed
Status
 An ascribed status is assigned
according to qualities beyond a
person’s control.
 They are not based on an
individual’s abilities, efforts, or
accomplishments.
 They are based on a person’s
inherited traits or are assigned
automatically when a person
reaches a certain age.
Achieved
Status
 An ascribed status is
acquired through an
individual’s own direct efforts
 These efforts include special
skills, knowledge, or abilities
 People usually have control
over this, unlike ascribed
statuses
 Examples: Actors, Athlete,
Master Status
 The status that plays the
greatest role in shaping a
person’s life and
determining his or her
social identity is called a
master status
 It can be either achieved
or ascribed
 A master status changes
over the course of his or
Roles
 A role is the behavior
(rights & obligations)
expected of someone
occupying a status
 Roles bring statuses to
life
 You occupy a status,
but you play a role
 You play different roles
Reciprocal
Roles
 Most of the roles you perform
have reciprocal roles
 Reciprocal roles are
corresponding roles that
define the patterns of
interaction between related
statuses
 One cannot fulfill one without
the other
 Examples: husband-wife;
Role Conflict
 Role conflict occurs
when fulfilling the
role expected of you
makes it difficult to
fulfill the role of
another status
 Example: to be a
good employee, you
must go to work;
but, to be a good
parent you need to