ch 7 social structures and institutions (lecture)) Flashcards
social structure
- stable patterns of social relations
- influences behavior by making it easy to conform and hard to deviate
- even though many different cultures today - still lots of conformity when it comes to what people actually do
social structure vs individual choice
taking the bus - because you’re attached to the idea of environmentalism or because you have no other choice
microstructures (social structures)
intimate social relations formed by face-to-face interactions
- friends
- small business
- family
macrostructures (social structures)
patterns of social relations that lie outside of circle of intimates
- university, job
global structures (social structures)
patterns of social relations that lie above national level
- global economy
where do structures come from? what accounts for the level of complexity of society today?
networks
what is a network
set of social individuals linked by communicative acts
- economic exchange
- friendship
family relationships
node
individual point of contact
dyad
social relationship between 2 nodes
triad
social relationship between 3 nodes
network centrality
highest network centrality = most connections
path distance
distance from one node to another
access to connections is important for…
creative work
objective organization of environment influences structures of social networks
the way an office is set up
- open space with no blockers = creativity flow
network analysis reveals objective structure of a social group but..
doesn’t describe quality of connections
social capital
networks/connection that can be accessed or deployed for social gain
what increases social capital
increased network centrality
strong/weak ties
strong: people interested in your success (family)
weak: not close, but more connection - easier to get job
structural hole
space between 2 networks
bridging connection
allowing information flow from one densely portioned network to another
lowest degrees of network centralities
peripheral nodes on the outside
mean network size
average number of connections per employment categories
social isolates
no discussion patterns, not on network map
potential for a raise is dependent on
position in network structure
what were the finds associated with good ideas
- people with HS education have just as good ideas as people with a PHD
- education, age, company rank aren’t associated with good ideas when network density is considered
network constraint and good ideas
as network constraint increases, positively evaluated ideas decrease
informal structure
spontaneously created
- friends
formal structures
thought out, participants can be easily replaced
organizations (formal networks) can develop into
bureaucracy
bureaucracy
formal organization with jobs, formal roles, salaries
max weber’s iron cage of bureaucracy
- increasing bureaucratization of society
- more difficult to deviate from expectations of structure
- more difficult to get someone to do something that deviates
- difficult for firm to adapt to product becoming obsolete
institutions
made up of multiple organizations that are formally networked
- criminal justice systems made up of police, prosecutors, courts, prisons
institutionalization
when networks go from informal to organized and recognized (both structural and cultural)
history of institutionalization
character today can only be understood if we reference history of how it emerged
unlike informal networks, institutions are resistant to
change
