SOCI101 Exam 2

Society & Social Interaction; Groups & Organizations; Deviance, Crime, & Violence; Social Class, Inequality, & Poverty

Society

people who share a culture and a history

(society type) pre-industrial societies

hunting and gathering societies - small, nomadic, and highly egalitarian

small group size

move frequently

shared resources

(society type) 1st social revolution: domestication

gradual development of ways to control plants and animals (10,000 - 12,000 years ago)

dependable food supply (first hint at inequality)

two types of societies: pastoral and horticultural

pastoral (types of societies)

herding - nomadic

horticultural (types of societies)

cultivate plants - established settlements

(society type) 2nd social revolution: agricultural

5,000 - 6,000 years ago - invention of the plow

agricultural societies - use machinery or animal power to tend the crops (food surplus and inequality became entrenched)

by 9th century, feudal societies - strict hierarchy of power based around land ownership & production

(society type) 3rd social revolution: industrial

1760 - 1850 - invention of the steam engine

industrial societies - use mechanized systems of production to meet economic needs (factories, production/assembly lines, end of universal farming society - growth in big cities)

another big increase in social inequality, followed by an eventual decline by the mid 20th-century

(social type) 4th social revolution: information

invention of the microchip in 1960s

work consists of producing services & info rather than producing physical products

globalization

increased inequality (education/occupation)

biotech societies (emerging revolution)

economy increasingly centers around application of genetics to product medicine, food, and materials

AI societies (emerging revolution)

artificial intelligence applications to jobs that used to require humans - changing nature of work

social structure

framework that guides our behaviors within a society

people’s behavior and attitudes are affected by their social location

culture & socialization (social structure component)

language, values, beliefs, norms & how they’re transmitted

social status (social structure component)

social ranking - position someone occupies in a society or social group

roles (social structure component)

behaviors, obligations, and privileges attached to a status

social institutions (social structure component)

organized ways of meeting societies’ basic needs

groups (social structure component)

people who live in a definable community and share the same cultural components?

social location

position in the social structure

• there is a hierarchy

  • provides options and constraints

social interaction

rules about behavior between and among people

• ideas of personal space & manners

Expectations of behavior based on what statuses & roles they appear to have

Social status

provides guidelines for how to feel and act

can occupy several ___ at the same time

can change over time

status set (social status)

can occupy several statuses at the same time

achieved status (social status)

• voluntary

  • based on actions and choices

ascribed status (social status)

• involuntary

  • born with or changes outside your control

status symbol (social status)

something that marks a status

status inconsistency (social status)

contradictions between different social statuses

master status (social status)

status that cuts across all other statuses

• dominates other statuses and determines person’s general position in society

• often things that are visible

Relationship of privilege to status

privilege refers to the benefits and advantages of a particular status, not individuals

• statuses are privileged

• individuals ‘wear’ the advantages or disadvantages of their combination of statuses

group inequality is structural

• individuals inherit this structure, not create it

• individuals may embrace, reject, or be unaware of status advantages/disadvantages, BUT they still exist regardless of individual behavior and belief

to change treatment requires individuals to work to change social structure

Roles

lay out what is expected of someone in a particular status

roles relationship to status

one occupies a status but plays a role

rights (roles)

behavior you expect from others

obligations (roles)

behaviors others expect from you

role set (roles)

roles attached to a single status

role conflict (roles)

conflicts that someone feels between roles because the expectations attached to one role are incompatible with the expectations of another role

role strain (roles)

opposing obligations and choices within a role

role performance

the ways in which someone performs a role, showing a particular style or personality

effective role performance

• establishing identity

• maintaining poise and confidence

embarrassment (role performance)

occurs when we experience a breakdown in role performance

face-saving behavior (role performance)

when a performance doesn’t come off right, we use _____. We do this for others too.

roles and identity (role exit)

• roles get incorporated into our self-concept and identity.

  • we are invested in our image

• when people leave a role (___), they can face an identity crisis.

dramaturgy

social life is like a play

front stages (dramaturgy)

performances are given – where we’re interacting with people

back stages (dramaturgy)

we’re not performing – when we’re in private

sign vehicles

used to communicate info about ourselves

social setting (sign-vehicles)

the place where action unfolds

appearance (sign-vehicles)

how we look when we play our roles

manner (sign-vehicles)

attitudes we show as we play our roles

impression management

• people’s efforts to control the impressions that others receive of them

• do this as individuals, as groups, as organizations

looking-glass self

we base our image on what we think other people see

Social construction of reality

• process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction

• present self in terms that suit the setting and personal purposes

• social interaction is a complex negotiation that builds reality

habitualization (social construction of reality)

the idea that society is constructed by us and those before us, and it is followed like a habit

institutionalization (social construction of reality)

the act of implanting a convention or norm into society

Thomas theorem (social construction of reality)

• situations that are defined as real are real in their consequences

• how subjective reality can drive events to develop in accordance with that reality, despite being originally unsupported by objective reality

self-fulfilling prophecy (social construction of reality)

an idea that becomes true when acted upon

social institutions

• patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs

• organized ways of meeting societies’ basic needs

  • developed and organized response to perceived needs

• established and accepted routines

• do change but slowly

• limit people’s choices

family (social insitutions)

to care for dependents & raise children

religion (social institutions)

to supply answers about the unknown or unknowable

education (social institutions)

to teach new generations

economy (social institutions)

to produce & distribute goods

government (social institutions)

to provide community coordination, services, & defense

Dev’t & formality of social institutions across levels of industrialization

• in industrialized countries, social institutions tend to be formal; less so in less industrialized countries

• in simple societies, family is the major social institution that meets all these needs

• developed and organized in response to perceived needs

• institutions are established and accepted routines

• they are interdependent

• they limit people’s choices

• path dependency: ways that decisions of the past influence people & organizations in the present

• institutions do change, but slowly

Link between social institutions & social interactions

• each institution has specific statuses and roles

• each institution has its own set of values and norms (ex. expectations for behavior)

structural functionalists

• think society must fill 5 basic functions to survive

  • 1) replacing members

  • 2) socializing new members

  • 3) produce and distribute goods and services

  • 4) preserve order

  • 5) provide a sense of purpose

• social institutions arise to meet these needs & work together harmoniously

conflict theorists

• agree social institutions exist to meet basic needs BUT believe they don’t operate altruistically

  • believe powerful groups control institutions & manipulate them to maintain power and wealth

  • social institutions operate in racist, classist, gendered, etc. environments

symbolic interactionists

• focus on how statuses/roles/institutions influence our behavior

• emphasize that our behavior is influenced by our roles & statuses, our membership in social groups, and the institutions in which we participate

  • institutions exist through individual participation

path dependency

ways that decisions of the past influence people & organizations in the present

• easier to work within existing structures then to change them

  • existing structures seem natural and normal

social cohesion / integration

degree to which members of a society feel united by shared values and bonds

mechanical solidarity (social cohesion)

unity that comes from performing shared tasks, thinking in similar ways

organic solidarity (social cohesion)

unity that comes from interdependence on others, different values

• over time, this has replaced the other solidarity type

anomie (social cohesion)

a situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness

collective conscience (social cohesion)

the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society

gemeinschaft (social cohesion)

small community in which people have similar backgrounds and life experiences (similar to mechanical solidarity)

gesellschaft (social cohesion)

large community in which people are strangers and feel little in common with other community residents (similar to organic solidarity)

social group

people with something common and who believe that what they have in common is significant

• consciously interact with each other

• share a sense of identity and norms

category

people with similar characteristics

• can be a group but not necessarily

aggregate or crowd

people in the same place at the same time

• can be a group but not necessarily

primary group

intimate, face-to-face interaction and cooperation

• interact regularly

• sense of belonging

• share same values and attitudes

  • often enforce conformity to group standards

• each member is unique and irreplaceable

• buffer from larger society

• serves expressive functions (ex. emotional needs)

• no goal

secondary group

larger, more anonymous

• usually share some common interest or activity

• serve instrumental function (ex. task oriented)

• generally don’t provide intimacy

• tend to have smaller primary groups (cliques) within a secondary group

  • choose to interact with each other

• in highly industrialized societies, we tend to spend most of our time in this type of group

In group

groups to which we feel loyalty (“Us”)

• shared culture

out-groups

groups toward which we feel antagonism (“them”)

• having an out-group to focus on serves to reinforce loyalty to in-group

reference groups

groups we use as standards for comparison

• can be eiter primary or secondary groups

• can affect our behaviors, attitudes, values

group dynamics

the ways in which individuals affect groups and vice versa

• the size of a group can affect stability

  • Dyad: smallest group - 2 people

    • most intense & intimate but most unstable

  • Triad: 3 people

coalitions (group dynamics)

the more people in the group, the more likely people form this where some members align together against other members

formality (group dynamics)

larger groups tend to be more formal

• have specific goals and formal roles for members

stability (group dynamics)

this increases as the size of the group increases, but intimacy and intensity decrease as the group decreases

conformity (group dynamics)

this within groups is often high

• similar values, norms, & preferences

• direct pressure to _____ from other members (peer pressure)

• indirect pressure because people want to fit in

groupthink (group dynamics)

members ignore advice/opinions (including their own) that go against group consensus

• collective tunnel vision

• 4 characteristics:

  • 1) an illusion of invulnerability

  • 2) underestimate the problem or opponents

  • 3) discouragement of dissenting opinion

  • 4) an illusion of unanimity

leader

a person who influences the behavior of others

instrumental leader (leadership type)

task-oriented

expressive leader (leadership type)

people-oriented

democratic (leadership styles (approaches to leading))

all members should have a say in decision-making

Laissez-faire (leadership styles)

hands off, let members manage themselves

authoritarian (leadership styles)

issue orders, assign tasks, ignore input from members

Bystander effect

suggests that unless you know the person who has fallen, you are more likely to walk away than help

Authority

people we view as legitimate

• Abu Ghraib

• we listen and obey people with this

• strong desire to do what we’re told - following orders

Asch experiment

social pressures within a group cause people to go against their own beliefs

• indirect pressure because people want to fit in

Milgram’s “teacher-learner” experiment

volunteer research subjects told to administer electric shocks to other “volunteer research subjects” whenever they gave a wrong answer

• increasing voltage for more wrong answers

  • in reality, no electric shocks, but the subjects didn’t know that

• didn’t expect people would continue to shock others after a certain point

  • 65% of subjects went all the way to the max voltage

social network

series of social relationships that link a person directly to others and indirectly links them to still more people

• links between cliques, family, friends, acquaintances comprise this

• offer connections beyond the immediate

• the larger this is, the more possibilities for social support

direct / strong tie (social network)

the stronger your tie is, the more likely you are to give & get help

indirect / weak tie (social network)

having more weak ties connects you to people different than you are and who might have access to things you and your close ties don’t have

network size (social network)

the number of ties and the location of a person within a network is key

homogenous networks & inequality (social networks)

social networks tend to be this (containing people who are all very similar)

• different groups have access to more or less ‘helpful’ networks

  • exacerbates inequalities