Sociology Ch5

Social Structure

The underlying framework of society that shapes and constrains individual behavior—patterns of relationships, institutions, statuses, and roles. 

Status

A social position that a person occupies in a group or society. 

Ascribed Status

A status assigned at birth or involuntarily later in life (e.g. race, gender, age). 

Achieved Status

A social position acquired through one’s own efforts, choices, or accomplishments. 

Status Set

The collection of all statuses that a person holds at a given time. 

Role

The set of expectations, rights, and duties associated with a status. 

Role Strain

When a single role involves conflicting expectations. 

Role Conflict

Conflict among roles connected to two or more statuses (e.g., being a worker and a parent). 

Role Exit

The process of disengaging from a role central to one’s identity and establishing a new role. 

Groups

Collections of people who interact regularly and share a sense of unity; influence behavior and identity. 

Social Networks

The webs of relationships through which people interact and connect with others. 

Social Interaction

The process by which people act and react in relation to others, creating social reality. 

Symbolic Interactionism

The theoretical perspective that views social interaction and meaning as central to understanding society. 

Dramaturgical Approach

The view of social life as theatrical performance: people present themselves in ways to create desired impressions. 

Ethnomethodology

An approach to studying social interaction by examining the methods people use to make sense of everyday life. 

Conversation Analysis

The study of how ordinary conversation practices shape social interactions. 

Embeddedness

The degree to which economic or other activity is constrained by non-economic social relationships. 

Mechanical Solidarity

Social integration based on shared beliefs, values, and emotional bonds in traditional societies. 

Organic Solidarity

Social integration based on interdependence and specialized roles in more complex societies. 

Division of Labor

The specialization of tasks in society, which affects social cohesion and conflict. 

Social Construction of Reality

The idea that people creatively shape reality through social interaction and shared meanings. 

Feeling Rules

Norms that guide how we should feel in particular situations, and for whom expressing feelings is appropriate.