Social Structure - Sociological Imagination - Lecture Slides, Slides of Sociology

Download Social Structure - Sociological Imagination - Lecture Slides and more Slides Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 4 Social Structure and Interaction in Everyday Life docsity.com Questions for You…  Is there a structure regarding how society is organized?  How do the large pieces of society fit together?  What is the importance of understanding “social location” as it relates to a group’s overall placement in the social structure?  What factors affect the process of social interaction? docsity.com Homelessness  According to data published by the Congressional Research Service Reports(2005), the number of homeless individuals in the United States ranges from 600,000-2.5 million people.  Although single men constitute about sixty percent of the homeless population, families constitute about one third of all homeless and are the fastest- growing group of homeless. The homeless elderly will also be an important group as America ages in the next decades docsity.com Who Are the Homeless? oe eee The Statistics on Homelessness FETT Demographics 60 - 50 ;- no n 2 oO }— = 40 a — 6 | @ 30 oD g [= 8 20}- ®o a 10 0 O) SL OY) ee OO) J Qe) OJ 5) WS) oJ 2 a Sf oF SS SSC oS Se e SS SE o> OS OY WEBLO eK OrOorned EWE SE a of GS LS we > ry SKE > CF « oy (02012 Cengage Learning docsity.com How Much Do You Know About Homeless Persons?  True or False?  Most homeless people choose to be homeless. docsity.com How Much Do You Know About Homeless Persons?  False.  Many homeless people are among the working poor.  Minimum-wage jobs do not pay enough to support a family or pay inner-city rent. docsity.com How Much Do You Know About Homeless Persons?  True or False?  Most homeless people are mentally ill. docsity.com How Much Do You Know About Homeless Persons?  False.  Most homeless people are not mentally ill; estimates suggest that about 1/4 of the homeless are emotionally disturbed. docsity.com Components of Social Structure  Status  Roles  Groups  Social Institutions docsity.com Status  A socially defined position in society characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties. docsity.com Status  Ascribed status  Social position based on attributes over which the individual has little or no control, such as race/ethnicity, age, and gender.  Achieved status  Social position that a person assumes as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort. docsity.com Roles  A set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status.  Role Expectation  A group or society’s definition of the way a specific role ought to be played.  Role Performance  How a person actually plays a role. docsity.com Roles  Role Conflict  Occurs when incompatible demands are placed on a person by two or more statuses held at the same time.  Role Strain  Occurs when incompatible demands are built into a single status that the person holds. docsity.com Stages of Role Exit  When people leave a role central to their identity: (ex. retirement) 1. Doubt 2. Search for alternatives - separation, leave of absence. 3. The turning point - take an action. docsity.com Social Institutions  A social institution is a set of organized beliefs and rules that establishes how a society will attempt to meet its basic social needs. docsity.com Five Basic Social Institutions  Family  Religion  Education  Economy  Government or politics docsity.com Functionalists: Five Tasks of Social Institutions 1. Replacing members. 2. Teaching new members. 3. Producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services. 4. Preserving order. 5. Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose. docsity.com Gemeinschaft Societies  A Gemeinschaft society would be made up of the various family trees and how they are related to one another. docsity.com Gesellschaft Societies  A Gesellschaft society would be made up of clumps of trees, each has a specialized relationship and may not be committed to the others. docsity.com Industrial and Postindustrial Societies  Industrial societies are based on technology that mechanizes production.  People who are unemployed do not share the same status markers as those who have jobs.  A postindustrial society is one in which technology supports a service and information based economy.  They are characterized by an economy in which large numbers of people provide or apply information or are employed in service jobs. docsity.com Ethnomethodology  The study of the commonsense knowledge people use to understand situations.  Sociologist Harold Garfinkel (1967) initiated this approach and coined the term:  ethno for “people” and methodology for “a system of methods.”  He was critical of mainstream sociology for not recognizing the ongoing ways in which people create reality and produce their own world. docsity.com Goffman: Dramaturgical Analysis  The study of social interaction that compares everyday life to a theatrical presentation.  Members of our “audience” judge us and are aware that we may slip and reveal our true character. docsity.com Dramaturgical Analysis  Impression management  People’s efforts to present themselves in ways that are favorable to their own interests or image.  Face-saving behavior  Strategies to rescue our performance when we experience a potential or actual loss of face. docsity.com Personal Space  The immediate area surrounding a person that the person claims as private.  Our personal space is contained within an invisible boundary surrounding our body, much like a snail’s shell. docsity.com Social Interaction: The Microlevel Perspective Social interaction and meaning Forms of social interaction have shared meanings that vary based on race/ethnicity, gender, and social class. Social construction of reality How our perception of reality is shaped by the subjective meaning we give an experience. Ethnomethodology Studying the commonsense knowledge people use to understand situations. docsity.com Social Interaction: The Microlevel Perspective Dramaturgical analysis The study of social interaction that compares everyday life to a theatrical presentation. Sociology of emotions We are socialized to feel certain emotions, and we learn how and when to express them. Nonverbal conmunication Transfer of information without the use of speech. docsity.com Answer: B  Social interaction is the process by which people act toward or respond to other people. docsity.com 2. Being a college professor is a(n): A. achieved status B. tertiary status C. none of the choices D. ascribed status docsity.com Answer: A  Being a college professor is an achieved status. docsity.com 4. Women who work for less pay, less prestige, and more career roadblocks often experience: A. role conflict B. role exit C. role strain D. role ambiguity docsity.com Answer: C  Women who work for less pay, less prestige, and more career roadblocks often experience role strain. docsity.com 5. Nonverbal communication regulates our conversations. A. True. B. False. docsity.com