CH 11 --Social Structures

Status

any social category used to identify people

achieved status

a person had to work to attain

ascribed status

one that is thrust upon an individual

master statys

overshadows other statuses a person holds

roles

expectations that come with a certain status

role strain

competing demands within a role

role conflict

competing demands between roles

role exit

process of disengaging from a role

role engulfment

a role dominates someone’s life

Primary groups

long-lasting interactions with deep bonds

peer groups

self-selected and usually consist of people who are largely similar

family groups

genetic or non-genetic relationships (partnerships, marriage, adoption)

in-groups

we identify as members

out-groups

groups we do not belong to

social networks

all connections and relationships a person has (type does not matter)

Formal organizations

defined rules for entering and exiting, usually have hierarchies and will continue regardless of members

Coercive organizations

must join

normative organizations

contain shared ideals/goals

utilitarian organizations

contain rewards/money

Weber’s ideal bureaucracy:

hierachical structure with well-defined roles, responsibilities, chains of command. Organized via specialization, merit based recruitment, employment and promotion

Iron law of oligarchy

decision making will be taken over by a few people

McDonaldization focus

efficiency, calculability, uniformity, and technological control

Microsociology

small scale sociology

macrosociology

large scale sociology

(Durkheim) Functionalism

components of society all perform a function and work together as a whole

Manifest functions

Intended functions

Latent functions

hidden or unintended functions

dysfunction

harmful functions

Who made conflict theory

Marx

Conflict theory

social groups compete for resources.

Focus for conflict theory

power differences and inequality

Symbolic interactionism

interactions using shared symbols (things that have meaning that’s collectively meaningful)

Rational choice theory

people choose actions to achieve preferences based on pros and cons of each choice

social exchange theory

social interactions as exchanges with costs and benefits

feminist theory

understanding and remedying gender injusticies

Hidden curriculum

habits, values, and norms imparted without being an explicit part of the curriculum

segregation

separation and unequal distribution of people by race, ethnicity or other demographic factors

stratification

division of society into layers of socioeconomic status

kinship

descent(shared ancestry) vs affinity

Primary kin

related or very closely bonded

secondary kin

primary kin of primary kin

tertiary kin

secondary kin of primary kin or primary kin of secondary kin

religiousity

measure of how religious a person considers themselves to be

religious organizations

churches, denominations, sects, and cults

secularization

less belief in religion and institutions

fundamentalism

uncompromising literalism

Government forms

monarchy authoritatianism and democracy

Economic systems

capitalism, socialism, and communism

medicalization

social construction of illnesses (addiction as disease vs. moral failure)

sick role

rights and responsibilities granted to sick individual

paternalism

physicians not letting patients make their own decisions or deliberately underinforming them

modern paradigm of medical ethics

beneficence, non-maleficence, patient autonomy, justice

beneficience

acting in patient’s best interest

non-maleficince

doing no harm

patient autonomy

patients have the right to make their own medical decisions

justive

duty to provide equal care to all

Epidemiology

interested in patterns of illness in population

social epidemiology

focuses on how social factors contribute to illness and health