Soc. Chapter 3-Social Structure

social structure

• the deliberate attempt to control a person by force, to oppose someone, or to harm another person
• 3. group members must have shared expectations
• means the network of interrelated statuses & roles that guide human interaction
• tendency of organizations to become increasingly dominated by small groups of people

status

• the process people go through to detach from a role that has been central to their self-identity
• people who influence the attitudes & opinions of others
• compromise, truce, mediation, arbitration
• a socially defined position in a group or in a society

role

• 4. Assign tasks
• the behavior expected of someone occupying a particular status
• no official structure or established rules of conduct
• 3. Employment based on formal qualifications

ascribed status

• assigned according to qualities beyond a person's control
• a state of balance between cooperation and conflict
• subjecting every feature of human behavior to calculation, measurement, & control
• occurs when two or more people or groups work together to achieve a goal that will benefit more than one person

achieved status

• The web of relationships formed by the sum total of a person's interactions with other people
• 2. Select leaders
• acquired though their own direct efforts such as skills, knowledge, or abilities
• occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of a single status

master status

• greatest role in shaping a person's life & determining his/her social identity
• a system of statuses, roles, values, & norms that is organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society
• 5. Control member behavior
• means the network of interrelated statuses & roles that guide human interaction

role set

• A large, complex secondary group that has been established to achieve specific goals
• the different roles attached to a single status
• a three-person group
• emphasis shifts from the production of food to the production of manufactured goods

role conflict

• occurs when fulfilling the role expectations of one status makes it difficult to fulfill the role expectations of another status
• believe that people are motivated by self-interest in their interactions with other people
• 1. less effective 2. too much "red tape" 3. alienation among employees 4. tendency to result in oligarchies
• specialization by individuals or groups in the performance of specific economic activities- happens in these societies

role strain

• 4. Written rules & regulations
• means the network of interrelated statuses & roles that guide human interaction
• family, economic institution, political institution, education, religion
• occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of a single status

role exit

• A new type of group thanks to technology where people interact with one another regularly on the Internet
• Used the concepts of mechanical & organic solidarity to contrast societies
• 2. Ranking of authority
• the process people go through to detach from a role that has been central to their self-identity