Chapter 5 Social Structure, Social Interaction and Social Groups Flashcards
The [_] we occupy and the attendant roles we play shape our lives in fundamental ways and affect our daily interactions with other people.
statuses
[_] plays an important part in influencing individual opportunities and outcomes, and society-wide inequalities.
Social structure
The positions an individual occupies are referred to as that person’s [_].
status set
Example of a Status Set
banker, girl scout troop leader, mother, school board member, community volunteer, and spouse.
An [_] is a status that is achieved by the individual, at some point after birth, and is understood as a position one has more control over.
achieved status
A [_] is a status that is so important that it overrides other statuses one may hold.
master status
Master statuses can have positive or negative consequences, as status is also a function of power.
Race, gender and sexual orientation, etc., could be considered master statuses and lead to privilege or discrimination.
[_] are objects that signify a particular status.
Status symbols
Status symbol example
An expensive car symbolizes its owner’s wealth or success.
Roles
The behaviors expected of someone of a certain status.
Social Interaction
The way in which people act with other people and react to how other people are acting.
[_] results from our social interaction and we also learn how to interact from our socialization.
Socialization
Social interaction based on roles is usually very automatic, and often performed without being aware of the performance.
Awareness of the interaction process, and the importance of roles, often only becomes clear when roles are violated.
Harold Garfinkel
Argued that results from situations in which people violate social roles suggest that people are constantly constructing the social reality of the situations in which they interact.
Individuals who interact help construct the reality of the situation in which they interact, a process which is referred to as the [_].
social construction of reality
[_] occurs when the roles of an individual’s many statuses conflict with each other.
Role conflict
[_] occurs when the expectations of one status cause the individual to experience strain in an effort to meet all the expectations.
Role strain
Culture greatly influences nonverbal communication.
Facial expressions and body posture
Gender differences also exist in two other forms of nonverbal interaction
Eye contact and touching
Women tend more than men to look directly into the eyes of people with whom they interact, a process called [_].
gazing
Men are more likely than women to [_] someone, especially when that someone is a woman.
touch
Women are more likely than men to touch themselves when they are talking with someone, a process called [_].
self-touching
Roles are relevant to whatever [_] one- belongs to.
social group
Social groups consist of two or more people who regularly interact on the basis of mutual expectations and who share a common identity.
e.g., families
Social categories are collections of people who have at least one attribute in common but otherwise do not necessarily interact.
e.g., Asian Americans
Collections of people who are in the same place at the same time but who otherwise do not necessarily interact, except in the most superficial of ways, or have a common identity.
Social aggregates
Primary group is usually small, is characterized by extensive interaction and strong emotional ties, and endures over time.
e.g., immediate family
Secondary group is larger and more impersonal and exist, often for a relatively short time, to achieve a specific purpose.
e.g., scouts
Groups that set a standard for guiding one’s behavior and attitudes.
Reference groups
One can feel deprived relative to the experiences of the members of their reference group and adjust their views accordingly.
Relative deprivation
Mostly primary (and some secondary) groups we feel loyal to and take pride in belonging to; they are always referred to as “we” by its members.
In- Groups
Out-Groups are the groups that we are not in and we would describe the members of this group as “they.”
Rival sports teams, other fraternities or other gangs
[_] can develop toward out-groups that compete against our in-groups for scarce resources.
Negative attitudes (stereotypes) and behavior (discrimination)
In-group membership can promote very [_] attitudes toward the out-groups with which the in-groups feel they are competing.
negative
Contemporary life is increasingly characterized by social connections between people through which people exchange resources.
Social networks
The totality of relationships that link us to other people and groups.
Social networks
Weak bond groups
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and other Web sites
Strong bond groups
friends, family
Social groups and organizations are critical to [_].
social change
Social movements originate in social groups that feel entitled to something they do not have access to but should.
Relative deprivation
Once [_] is recognized, a plan for change or coalescence takes place.
relative deprivation
Social Movements can evolve into [_].
formal organizations
Georg Simmel (1858-1918) examined how group size influences group dynamics.
He proposed that while larger groups experience a decrease in the intensity of interactions and bonding among members, they tend to be more stable overall.
The [_] the group’s size, the less intense the relationships between its members, but the more stability the group experiences.
larger
Instrumental leaders
Task oriented and keep the group moving towards its goals; people respect this type of leader.
Expressive leaders
Concerned with the emotional temperature of group members, and will make an effort to lift their spirits by making jokes and offering sympathy.
Authoritarian leaders
Exercise complete control over decisions, issuing orders without discussion.
Democratic leaders
Seek consensus by encouraging input from all members.
Laissez-faire leaders
Take a more passive role, acting as sounding boards and offering opinions without enforcing them.
Situations and cultures influence the sort of leader found in groups.
Authoritarian leaders are most effective in emergency situations, while laissez-faire leadership works well when individuals are expected to exercise discretion and creativity, such as in art education.
Group cohesion
How strong the bond is between members, affects group stability.
Member similarity
Greater alignment in goals, values, beliefs, and norms enhances cohesion.
Member interaction
Frequent and intense interactions among members foster cohesion.
Group size
Smaller groups tend to have stronger cohesion.
Member entry
More challenging membership requirements lead to greater cohesion.
Group success
Achievements reinforce the effectiveness of the group’s values and norms, strengthening cohesion.
Secondary groups
Fundamental to complex industrial societies such as our own.
Social stability
When groups encourage their members to conform to their own norms, values, and attitudes, as well as those of the larger society.
Conformity can be a double-edged sword
While it fosters group cohesion, it can also lead individuals to adopt harmful norms, attitudes, or values that negatively impact themselves or others due to peer pressure.
Groupthink
A phenomenon where individuals conform to the group’s desires and views, often against their better judgment, to avoid appearing different or because they believe the group’s choice might be correct.
Groupthink
Can lead to quick collective decisions made under pressure, without fully considering alternatives. Notable examples include jury verdicts and the decisions that contributed to the Challenger space shuttle disaster.
Diffusion of responsibility, or the bystander effect
A social pattern where individuals are less likely to take action if they believe others will intervene.
[_] is more pronounced in larger groups.
The bystander effect
Reluctance to take action is influenced by three factors
The perceived deservingness of the person in need, the bystander’s competence, and the relationship between the bystander and the victim.
Solomon Asch’s experiments demonstrated the impact of peer pressure
He asked students to make obvious judgments about line lengths, revealing how group influence can sway individual responses.
Solomon Asch’s experiment consisted of two phases where subjects assessed the lengths of lines on cards. In the first phase, participants confirmed which lines matched in length. In the second phase, they were placed in groups of at least six, where the first five members (confederates) deliberately provided the same incorrect answer.
About 33% of the actual subjects also gave the wrong answer, often citing two reasons: they didn’t want to appear different from the group or began doubting their own visual perception.
Asch concluded that groups induce conformity in two main ways
Members feel pressured to conform to avoid alienation, and they may question their own perceptions when they see others disagreeing.
What motivated Stanley Milgram’s classic experiment on obedience to authority?
The question, “how was the Holocaust possible?” and a desire to explore the claims about German culture’s authoritarian nature.
What was the main setup of Milgram’s obedience experiment?
“Teachers” (research subjects) were instructed to deliver memory tests to “learners” (confederates) and administer increasing electric shocks for incorrect answers.
How did the “learners” react to the shocks in the experiment?
The learners feigned agony and distress in response to the shocks.
Some teachers continued administering shocks even after the learners feigned unconsciousness or possibly death.
People are willing to obey authority even if it means inflicting great harm on others.
Processes of [_] can lead to tragedies like the Holocaust.
conformity
