Lecture 3 - Social Organization and Deviance Flashcards
What is the functionalist view of statuses and roles?
Functionalist View of Statuses and Roles •Functionalists – macro-sociological/broad view –>large scale structures/institutions
•Social institutions – integrated by norms •Organization of norms by status and roles
•Status – social position held, Example: restaurant server, social worker
•Attached to status– role or roles
- Roles: “…consist of the responsibilities, behaviours and privileges connected with the position.” (Pawluch, Shaffir, Tepperman, 82, in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018)
- “Action element” of status
- Status – something we occupy/what someone is
- Role - what someone plays/does
- Example: Student, studying, going to class
What is Symbolic Interactionism?
- Symbolic interactionism – people interact to create/sustain/transform- social relationships
- Behaviour – “not in vacuum” comes about in how people define situations
- Focus More on interaction, less on social structure
- Status/roles – provide context for interaction – not determination of interaction
- Ongoing appraisal of situations –people do use norms – but don’t “just” conform
- “Repertoire” (collection) of roles – and use as appropriate
- Role taking: “…the process by which we coordinate or align our actions with those of others.” (Pawluch, Shaffir, Tepperman, 84, in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018) - Others shoes
- Role making: we Don’t follow predetermined script
- Expectations of role provide rough guideline but also allows for creativity
- Role taking and making – linked concepts– no role making without role taking
- Sense of self- how others see us
What are categories? (Sets of People)
- Category: “A set of people thought to share particular characteristics.” (Pawluch, Shaffir, Tepperman, 104, in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018)
- Example: 20 unconnected people of Random sample of 19 year olds -> “Age” Category
- Of interest to sociology –dramatize meanings (social construction)
- Existence of socially constructed categories carry problematic cultural connotations
- Certain categories carry sexism, ageism and racism
What are networks (in the context of sets of people and social organization)?
•Social networks
•Example 20 people connected directly/indirectly
->Direct – kinship, friendship, acquaintance
->Indirect- linked- direct connection – other people (i.e. best friend’s boss)
What are communities? (in the context of sets of people and social organization)
- “Sets of people with a common sense of identity…” (Pawluch, Shaffir, Tepperman, 91, in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018)
- Example - 20 people –living together in country/city
- Common sentiments, grown up together, common values
- Tonnies: distinguish between rural and urban life
- Gemeinschaft – community life (rural) ->Stable, homogenous, strong attachment, dense/highly connected networks
- Gesellschaft- non-community life (urban) ->Fluid, diverse residents, impersonal, brief relations, less cohesive->Non-community? Some argue it’s New Community
What are groups? (in the context of sets of people and social organization)
- What makes groups distinct? ->“…all group members are aware of their membership.” (Pawluch, Shaffir, Tepperman, 92, in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018), Members- connected to each other
- Distinction – primary and secondary groups
- Primary groups – small - face to face/regular interaction, Example: family
- Secondary groups – larger –may not have regular interaction, Example: Teams/bands/gangs
What are organizations? (in the context of sets of people and social organization)
- Secondary groups with Collective goal/purpose
- Examples: multinational corporation, convenience store, political parties, sports clubs
- What do they have In common? -> “…a group of people who work together, through communication and leadership, to achieve a common goal or goals.” (Pawluch, Shaffir, Tepperman, 93, in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018)
- Distinction between:
- Spontaneous (•Quick, single goal, disband) vs Formal
What are cliques? (in the context of sets of people and social organization)
- “…a group of tightly interconnected people- a friendship circle whose members are connected to one another, and to the outside world, in similar ways.” (Pawluch, Shaffir, Tepperman, 94, in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018)
- Built on:Friendship/exclusion and Survival based on “groupthink”
- Unstated purpose –popularity
- No organization chart/division of labour – but do have hierarchy of influence/popularity/leader
- School settings – communities/miniature societies •Supportive or encompass Structured cruelty –i.e. cyberbullying
What are beauracracies? (in the context of sets of people and social organization)
- Formal organization – deliberately planned/organized
- have Multiple goals/long lifespans
- Most successful organizational form– bureaucracies (~100 years)
- viewed as Efficient/effective
- Max Weber – first to study
What are Characteristics of Bureaucracy?(in the context of sets of people and social organization)
- outlined by Weber (1958c [1922]):
- Division of Labour – each member has specific duty
- Hierarchy of Positions - i.e. pyramid, filter down of authority
- Formal System of Rules – i.e. classify circumstances, objective/impersonal response
- Reliance on Written Documents
- Separation of the Person from the Office – relations, impersonal between roles (i.e. manager and employee)
- Hiring and Promotion Based on Technical Merit, being impartial
- Protection of Careers – no arbitrary dismissal
How do bureaucracies actually work?
•Weber’s model is an idealization
•In practice it’s different
•Real, informal structure of bureaucracy
•Actual flows of information – in theory- filtered up.in Practice – not filtered up
•Problem of rationality – large bureaucratic organizations/long term outlook –leads to irrationality i.e. Long term survival – undermine short term concerns i.e. quality of products
•Body of literature notes irrationality/inefficiency
•Total institutions viewed as “ultimate” bureaucracies
-Control many people -24/7
-Example: prisons
-Often, harmful practices – attempt to change people
What is Deviance?
•sociological conceptions different from Typical/popular, By illustration – list people/behavior that should be labeled deviant –> problem – who is conducting the listing/when/where created
•Defined In statistical terms – statistical rarity – problem
•Defined as Harmful – destructive outcome – problem
What is Deviance?
•“People, behaviours and conditions subject to social control.” (Horton and Sacco, 128 in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018)
•Social Control:“Various and myriad ways in which members of social groups express their disapproval of people, behaviours and conditions.” (Horton and Sacco, 128 in Tepperman and Albanese, 2018)
•Sociological conception: Product of social interaction/group structure
•Deviant – behavior-> potential and labelled - deviant by powerful others
Researching Deviance -> Specific challenges -> Safety•Secrecy•Discovery of reportable behavior
•Theoretical problem areas: ->Causes and forms •Content/character of moral definitions •Issues pertaining to deviant label
What is strain theory?
•Robert Merton
•Structural perspective on crime and deviance
->Disjunction between cultural goals and institutionalized means Leads to strain (context of “American Dream”, means: working hard)
•Modes of Adaptation: Conformity Accept cultural goals of society/Accept institutional means
•Innovation Accept cultural goals of society/Reject institutional means
•Ritualism Reject cultural goals of society/Accept institutional means
•Retreatism – Reject cultural goals of society/Reject institutional means
•Rebellion – New cultural goals of society/New cultural goals of society
What is Cultural Support Theory ?
- Behaviour – result of exposure to cultural values, and internalization
- Edwin Sutherland – argues deviance results in Exposure to learning
- Deviance learned like everything else
- Understand - value actions, not acceptable
- Society- condemns and support deviant behavior
- Stealing wrong
- Rationalize
What is Control Theory ?
•Ask: not why do people break rules, but why don’t more people break rules
•Deviance occurs when controls weak
•Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory: Attachment •Commitment •Involvement •Belief
- if these bonds are weak people more likely to deviate
•Gottfredson and Hirschi – General Theory of Crime – Low Self-Control explains all types of deviance
