Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics (Social Structure)

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
→ Experiments can prove the truth of proposed hypotheses. In “small-world”

experiments, researchers test the theory that all people are connected to each
other through mutual acquaintances. In one example, random people are given the
task of getting a letter to another random person using only personal contacts. These
experiments lead researchers to believe that it takes five intermediaries to connect
two perfect strangers.
→ The theory steams out of research, researchers need to write for participants.
→ Five people you know to reach the participants.
→ Everything in the society is connected by five people.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
→ Is the network of interrelated statuses and roles that guides human interaction.
STATUS
→ Describes an individual’s position in a group or society. Since individuals belong to

more than one groups, they have any different statuses. Statuses can be ascribed –
given to an individual regardless of his or her abilities – or achieved – gained
through the individual’s talent, effort, or accomplishments.
→ A socially defined position in society
→ Position
ROLE
→ The behavior, of the rights and obligations, attached to a status.
SOCIAL INSTITUTION
→ Is a system of statuses and roles organized to satisfy one or more of society’s

basic needs.
→ Is a group of statuses and roles that are organized to satisfy one pr more of the
basic needs of society.
→ System of relationship and mechanisms.
→ If there is a soul embodied, it becomes an organization.
FIVE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

 Family
 Government
 Education
 Economy
 Religion
o The family, the most universal social institution, takes

responsibility for raising the young and teaching them accepted
norms and values.
o The economic institution organizes the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services.
o The political institution is the system of norms that governs the
exercise and distribution of power in society.
o Education ensures the transmission of values, patterns of behavior,
and certain skills and knowledge.
o Religion provides a shared, collective explanation of the meaning
of life.
JUGGLING ROLES
→ Each of us has more than one status (statuses).
TYPES OF STATUS
ASCRIBED STATUS
→ Assigned according to qualities beyond a person’s control, such as age.

→ It is a given status.
EXAMPLE:
 Daughter
 Sister
 Female
 17 years old
 African American
ACHIEVED STATUS
→ Acquired through a person’s direct efforts, such as education.

→ Something you worked for or accomplished.
EXAMPLE:
 Friend
 Worker
 Student
 Team member
 Classmate
MASTER STATUS
→ Most people have many statuses, but a master status is the one that plays the
greatest role in a person’s life.
→ It can be either ascribed or achieved.
→ Identifies or identity.
ROLES
ROLE EXPECTATION
→ The socially determine behaviors expected of a person with a particular status.
ROLE PERFORMANCE
→ The actual behaviors of a person with a particular status. They may or may not
be expected behaviors.
ROLE SET
→ The different roles associated with a particular status.
ROLE CONFLICT
→ Occurs when fulfilling the role expectations of one status interferes with a second
status.
→ It happens when one status is in a conflict with another status.
→ Occurs when conflicting expectations arise from two or more statuses that an
individual occupies.
ROLE STRAIN
→ Occurs when a person has difficulty fulfilling the role of one status.
→ It happens when you are not able to cope with certain role.
→ Cannot balance the roles that comes with one status.
→ Arises when conflicting expectations are built into a single status.
ROLE EXIT
→ The process people go through to detach from a role that was previously central
to their social identity.
→ To detach from a role from previous status.
→ Changes in master status.
TYPES OF SOCIAL INTERACTION
→ There are five common forms of social interaction – exchange, competition,

conflict, cooperation, and accommodation.
→ Exchange, cooperation, and accommodation tend to stabilize the social structure,
while competition and conflict tend to encourage social change.
 EXCHANGE
→ When people interact in an effort to receive reward or return for
their actions.
→ People interacting in an effort to get something.
→ Always expecting something from every interaction.
o Reward might be tangible or intangible
 RECIPROCITY
→ The idea that if you do something for someone, that
person owes you something in return.
→ When you are given something, you are ought to give
something back.
o Basis of exchange interactions.
 EXCHANGE THEORY
→ The idea that people are motivated by self-interest in
their interactions with other people.
o Rewarded behavior is repeated.
 SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY

→ Theory developed by George Homans.
→ People in society interact through exchange.
→ Every interaction with each other, there is an
expectation to get something out of it.
 RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

→ Developed by an economist Adam Smith
→ “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of
Nations.”
→ The choice that we make in interaction.
→ There are two factors, reward and cause.
→ Highest reward with lowest cause.
→ Everyone of us choose a lower cause than the highest
reward.
 COMPETITION
→ Occurs when two or more people or groups oppose each other to
achieve a goal that only one can attain.
→ Impersonal and economic.
o Common in Western societies.
o Sometime considered basis of capitalism and democracy.
o Can lead to psychological stress, a lack of cooperation, and
conflict.
 CONFLICT
→ The deliberate attempt to control a person by force, to oppose
someone, or to harm another person.
→ Personal and politics.
→ You cannot coexist.
→ Someone has to be casualties.
o Has few rules of accepted conduct.
o Can reinforce group boundaries and loyalty.
 COOPERATION
→ Occurs when two or more people or groups work together to
achieve a goal that will benefit more than one person.
→ Work together or help each other to get desire resource.
o A social process that gets things done.
o May be used along with competition to motivate members to
work harder for the group.
 ACCOMMODATION
→ A state of balance between cooperation and conflict.
 COMPROMISE
→ Each party give up something they want in order to
come to an agreement.
→ When both parties are willing to give up demand in
order to achieve cooperation.
 TRUCE
→ Temporarily brings a halt to the competition or
conflict until a compromise can be reached.
 MEDIATION
→ Calling in a third party who guides the two parties
toward an agreement.
→ Happens when you can’t really decide, calling for
third party.
 ARBITRARY
→ A third party makes a decision that is binding on
both parties.

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

→ Experiments can prove the truth of proposed hypotheses. In “small-world”

BUILDING BLOCKS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE

→ Describes an individual’s position in a group or society. Since individuals belong to

→ The behavior, of the rights and obligations, attached to a status.

→ Is a system of statuses and roles organized to satisfy one or more of society’s

FIVE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

o The family, the most universal social institution, takes

→ Each of us has more than one status (statuses).

→ Assigned according to qualities beyond a person’s control, such as age.

→ Acquired through a person’s direct efforts, such as education.

→ The socially determine behaviors expected of a person with a particular status.

→ The different roles associated with a particular status.

TYPES OF SOCIAL INTERACTION

→ There are five common forms of social interaction – exchange, competition,

 SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY

 RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

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