chp5. social structure

Question 1

What is Society?

Answer 1

Human society is a system of social interaction that includes both culture and social organization

Question 2

social interaction

Answer 2

is behavior between two or more people that is given meaning by them.

Question 3

society

Answer 3

takes on a life of its own

Question 4

Durheim said that

Answer 4

society is greater than the sum of its parts

Question 5

Sociologists look at society from both a

Answer 5

macro and a micro perspective.

Question 6

Macroanalysis

Answer 6

is a sociological approach that takes the broadest view of society by studying large patterns of social interaction that are vast, complex, and highly differentiated.
-large scale

Question 7

Microanalysis

Answer 7

is the study of smaller, less complex, and less differentiated interactions.
-small scale

Question 8

social institution

Answer 8

is an established and organized system of social behavior with a recognized purpose.

Question 9

Social institutions can be examined from both

Answer 9

• a macro and a micro level of analysis.

- From the macro perspective, we examine the functions of the organization/system for the society.

Question 10

Functions of social institutions:

Answer 10

1. Socialization of new members
2. Production and distribution of goods and services
3. Replacement of society’s members
4. Maintenance of stability and existence
5. Providing members a sense of purpose

Question 11

Social structures

Answer 11

• are the organized patterns of social relationships and social institutions that together comprise society. Ex: social class distinctions
• Different social classes, racial/ethnic groups and women have different access to opportunities.

Question 12

Structural analysis

Answer 12

looks at patterns in social life that reflect and produce social behavior.

Question 13

What Holds Society Together?

Answer 13

Emile Durkheim discussed two types of societies based on their social solidarity(feel like they are one).

Mechanical solidarity: members play similar roles within the society, share the same values, and hold the same things sacred.

Organic solidarity: people have many different roles and roles are highly differentiated.
-Division of labor - the relatedness of different tasks that develop within society. (Distinct from one another but still woven into a whole)

Question 14

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Answer 14

Ferdinand Tonnies: forms of solidarity

Question 15

Gemeinschaft

Answer 15

communities have “we” feeling, strong family relationships, and simple social institutions

Question 16

Preindustrial societies: foraging societies

Answer 16

Foraging societies (hunting and gathering)

• Few modern examples
• Little technology advancement
• Nomadic
• Egalitarian-treated all equally
• gender important for social organization

Question 17

Preindustrial societies: Pastoral societies

Answer 17

Pastoral societies

• Domestic animals (cow, sheep, goats, horses, camels)
• Arid climate
• Nomadic

Question 18

Preindustrial societies: Horticultural societies

Answer 18

• Small-scale farming
• Simple tools
• Chiefdoms

Question 19

Preindustrial societies: Agricultural societies

Answer 19

Agricultural societies

• Plow and draft animal
• Large-scale farming
• Cereal grains used as commodity
• Social Stratification- rigid caste system
• Urbanism-cities beginning
• –Agriculture as GDP Liberia 76% Somalia 60%

Question 20

Industrial societies

Answer 20

use machines and other advanced technologies to produce and distribute goods and services.

Question 21

Postindustrial societies are:

Answer 21

• Dependent on production and distribution of services, information, and knowledge.
• Information-based, and tech plays key role in social organization.

Question 22

To sociologists, a group is

Answer 22

a collection of individuals who:

• interact and communicate with each other
• share goals and norms
• have a subjective awareness of themselves as a distinct social unit

Question 23

Status

Answer 23

•is an established position in a social structure that carries a degree of social rank or value.

Question 24

-achieved status

Answer 24

(the result of individual effort)

Question 25

-ascribed status

Answer 25

given at birth

Question 26

-master status

Answer 26

(the person’s dominant status)

Question 27

status inconsistency

Answer 27

(mismatch of statuses)

Question 28

Role

Answer 28

role: expected behavior associated with a particular status.

Question 29

role modeling

Answer 29

Role modeling is imitating or copying the way someone else in that role behaves.

Question 30

Role sets

Answer 30

are all the roles occupied by the person at a given time.

Question 31

status set

Answer 31

set of statuses occupied by a person

Question 32

Role conflict:

Answer 32

When two or more roles impose conflicting expectations.

Question 33

Role strain

Answer 33

is conflicting expectations within a single role.

Question 34

Everyday Social Interaction

Answer 34

The meaning assigned to any behavior, speech, or action varies from culture to culture.

• An action that is positive in one culture can be negative in another.
• For example, shaking the right hand in greeting is a positive action in the United States, but the same action in East India or certain Arab countries might be an insult.

Question 35

Verbal communication is

Answer 35

not just about what you say, but also how and to whom you say it.

Question 36

Language is

Answer 36

restricted by societal values and tradition.

Question 37

Which communication is used more often than the other

Answer 37

Nonverbal communication is used more often than verbal behavior.
e.g., body position, head nods, eye contact, facial expressions, touching, and so on

Question 38

Interpersonal Attraction

Answer 38

Romantic love is idealized in this society as something that “just happens,” but research shows that interpersonal attraction follows predictable patterns.

Question 39

Theories about Analyzing Social Interaction

Answer 39

Sociologists use different theories of human interactions and relationships:

• the social construction of reality
• ethnomethodology
• impression management & dramaturgy
• social exchange theory

Question 40

The Social Construction of Reality

Answer 40

The social construction of reality: our perception of what is real is determined by the subjective meaning we assign to an experience.

• There is no objective “reality” in itself.
• Things do not have their own intrinsic meaning; we subjectively impose meaning on things: Gender

Question 41

Ethnomethodology

Answer 41

Ethnomethodology: studying norms by violating them to reveal people’s standards.

• See how people react to disruption and what they do to restore the normative order.
• The basic premise of this approach is that everyone expects the same things.

Question 42

Impression Management and Dramaturgy

Answer 42

Impression management: how one watches and manipulates another’s behavior and adjusts his/her own to the other’s expectations.

• Goffman likened this to a con game.
• Goffman called this the dramaturgical approach, which is a way to think about social interaction as a performance in a stage play.

Question 43

Social Exchange Theory

Answer 43

Social exchange model: our interactions are determined by the rewards/punishments we receive from others.

• Argues that behavior that is rewarded will be repeated
• Behavior that is punished will not be repeated

Question 44

Interaction in Cyberspace
Cyberspace interaction (virtual interaction) -

Answer 44

Cyberspace interaction (virtual interaction) -communication via personal computers through some virtual community such as email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the like.

• Allows us to manage our impressions to others and our presentation of self.
• Internet usage patterns differ for men and women, racial minority groups, and different age groups.

Question 45

Gesellschaft

Answer 45

• societies with fewer personal ties. These societies have an elaborated division of labor.