Social Structures Flashcards
Social Structure
How a society is organized, through social patterns
Statuses
position someone occupies in a society
Status Set
all the positions (statuses) a person occupies
Ascribed status
status youre born with
Achieved status
status achieved through ones own efforts
Master status
status so important it overrides other statuses (president)
Social stratification
ranking system into hierarchy
Social Mobility
how you move between ranks
Hierarchy
system of organization in which people are ranked above each other according to status`
BIGGEST REASON FOR UPWARD MOBILITY
EDUCATION
conflict theory (in relation to stratification)
exists due to inequalities of power in a society
power
ability to do something or influence someones behavior
Functionalism (in relation to stratification)
stratification is necessary in order to match talented people to challenging jobs
Symbolic Interactionism (in relation to stratification)
display of symbols that distinguish a person from one class to another, focus on how differing statuses interact
Intergenerational Mobility
movement between classes when compared to families
intragenerational Mobility
movement between classes within ones own life time
Structural Mobility
changes in social structure
Social groups
clubs
Formal Organization
large group that follows explicit rules and procedures to achieve specific goals (hospitals)
Social Institution
interrelated group of people with shared norms and roles that contribute to profound impacts on society as a whole
types of social institutions
family- impacts life course
the work place- make money
the government- public policy
education- capacity to reason
religion- values and norms
mediciine- overall health
type of societies- Hunting and gathering
small, simple societies that hunt and gather food. high egalitarianism = equality
type of society- Horticulture and pastoral
crops and raise livestock, a little more inequality
type of society- agricultural
grow great number of crops, wealthier and higher rate of inequality
type of society- Industrial
factories and machines, individualism
type of society- Postindustrial
information technology and service jobs, higher education is more important, highest level of inequality
Gemeinschaft
small society with strong sense of community and group ties
Gesellschaft
large society characterized by weak and impersonal ties
Roles
behavior expected of someone with certain status
Role conflict
problems arise when a person has 2 or more roles with competing demands (breaking bad)
Role strain
when a person has to deal with competing demands of one role
dramaturgy
Erving Goffman- likens social interaction with performance (waiter acting one way with customers vs kitchen staff)
Impression management
trying to convey favorable impression when interacting with others
nonverbal social interaction
gestures
stance and spacing
facial expression
gender
horizontal social structure
how people work together
vertical social structure
ranking people in a society- markings of social inequality
