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Social Structures, Social Processes, and Social Issues
Social Structures
Definition: The organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together compose society.
Components:
Institutions: Structures in society that fulfill the needs of the society.
Family: Primary unit of socialization, responsible for nurturing and socializing children.
Types of Families: Nuclear (parents and children), Extended (multiple generations), Single-parent, Reconstituted (stepfamilies).
Functions: Emotional support, economic support, socialization.
Education: Institutions that formalize the process of learning and have a significant impact on socialization and social stratification.
Roles: Teacher, student.
Functions: Socialization, transmission of knowledge, social control, preparation for occupational roles.
Perspectives:
Functionalist: Education serves to maintain social stability and cohesion.
Conflict: Education perpetuates social inequalities (Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital).
Interaction with Society: Education influences social mobility, shapes cultural norms and values, and can either reinforce or challenge social inequalities.
Religion: A system of beliefs and practices related to the sacred.
Types of Religious Organizations:
Church: Large, bureaucratic religious organization.
Sect: Smaller, less organized, and often in tension with society.
Cult: New, innovative religious movements, often seen as deviant.
Functions: Provides meaning, reinforces norms and values, and social cohesion.
Government: Institution responsible for creating and enforcing laws.
Types of Government: Democracy, autocracy, oligarchy.
Functions: Maintains order, provides public services, and protects citizens.
Economy: The system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Functions: Provides resources, creates jobs, influences social stratification.
Media: Means of mass communication.
Functions: Informing the public, shaping public opinion, socialization.
Social Stratification:
Definition: A system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
Types:
Class Stratification: Based on economic position in society.
Caste System: Hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated, are common in India but also found in other societies in different forms.
Gender Stratification: Differences in power, status, and access to resources based on gender.
Ethnic and Racial Stratification: Hierarchies based on ethnic and racial identities.
Age Stratification: Ranking based on age.
Theories:
Functionalist Perspective: Social stratification is necessary to fill all societal positions (Davis and Moore).
Conflict Perspective: Stratification results from the struggle for scarce resources (Marx, with contributions from Pierre Bourdieu on cultural capital).
Weberian Perspective: Stratification is multidimensional and includes class, status, and power.
The Three Dimensions of the Weberian Perspective are class (economic position), Status (social honor or prestige), and Power (ability to influence others).
Social Processes
Definition: The patterns of growth and change in society over the years.
Key Processes:
Socialization: The process by which individuals learn and adopt the norms, values, and behaviors appropriate for their society.
Primary Socialization: Occurs within the family, where basic norms and values are learned.
Secondary Socialization: Occurs in schools, peer groups, and media, where individuals learn the behaviors and norms appropriate to their society.
Agents of Socialization:
Family: Teaches basic norms and values.
Peers: Influence behaviors and norms during adolescence.
Schools: Provide formal education and socialize individuals into societal roles.
Media: Transmits norms, values, and behaviors.
Religion: Reinforces values and provides a moral framework.
Role Allocation: The process of assigning individuals to different roles based on abilities and training.
Role Conflict: When an individual faces competing demands from different roles they occupy.
Norms and Values:
Norms: Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.
Examples of Norms:
Folkways: Informal norms, like table manners.
More: Strict norms based on moral views, like laws against theft.
Laws: Formally codified norms, such as traffic regulations.
Values: Beliefs about what is important, desirable, and worthwhile.
Culture and Identity:
Culture: The shared beliefs, behaviors, and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life.
Components: Symbols, language, values, norms, and material culture.
Subculture: A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.
Examples of Subculture: Goths, skateboarders, gamers.
Counterculture: A culture with values and norms that run counter to those of the social mainstream.
Examples of Counterculture are hippies, punk rock movement, and anarchists.
Identity: How individuals see themselves and how others perceive them.
Types of Identity: Personal identity (self-concept), Social identity (group membership).
Ascribed Status vs. Achieved Status:
Ascribed Status: Social position a person is born into (e.g., race, gender).
Achieved Status: Social position a person attains through their actions (e.g., career, education).
Social Issues
Definition: Problems that affect many people within a society.
Examples:
Inequality: Disparities in wealth, income, and status.
Class Inequality: Economic disparities between different classes.
Causes: Access to education, job opportunities, discrimination.
Gender Inequality: Differences in status, power, and opportunities between men and women.
Examples: Wage gap, occupational segregation, glass ceiling.
Racial and Ethnic Inequality: Discrimination and disparities based on race and ethnicity.
Examples: Racial profiling, disparities in education and employment.
Age Inequality: Differences in treatment and opportunities based on age.
Examples: Ageism, and employment discrimination against older adults.
Poverty: Lack of basic resources to maintain a standard of living.
Types:
Absolute Poverty: Inability to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
Relative Poverty: Being poor relative to the wealth and income of others in society.
Poverty Line: The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.
Causes: Unemployment, lack of education, systemic inequalities.
Consequences: Poor health, lack of access to education, social exclusion.
Crime and Deviance: Behavior that violates norms or laws.
Types of Crime:
White-collar: Financial crimes committed by high-status individuals (e.g., embezzlement).
Blue-collar: Physical crimes, typically by lower-status individuals (e.g., burglary).
Corporate: Crimes committed by companies or their representatives (e.g., fraud).
Cybercrime: Crimes conducted via the internet (e.g., hacking).
Theories of Crime:
Functionalist Perspective (Durkheim): Crime is a normal part of society and can reinforce social norms.
Strain Theory (Merton): Crime occurs when there is a discrepancy between societal goals and the means available to achieve them.
Interactionist Perspective: Crime is learned through interactions with others.
Labeling Theory: Individuals become deviant when a deviant label is applied to them.
Conflict Theory: Crime results from social inequality and power differentials.
Education: Access to quality education, impact on life chances.
Issues: Educational inequality, school funding disparities, impact of socio-economic status on education.
Health: Access to healthcare, health disparities based on social factors.
Social Factors of Health: Socio-economic status, education, neighborhood, physical environment, employment, social support networks, and access to healthcare.
Issues: Health inequality, the impact of socio-economic status on health, and access to mental health services.
Types of Power:
Traditional Power: Based on customs and traditions.
Charismatic Power: Based on the personal qualities of a leader.
Legal-Rational Power: Based on established laws and procedures.
Key Terms and Definitions
Social Structures: Organized patterns of social relationships and social institutions that together compose society.
Social Processes: Patterns of growth and change in society over time.
Social Issues: Problems that affect many people within a society.
Social Stratification: A system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
Institutions: Structures in society that fulfill the needs of the society, such as family, education, religion, government, economy, and media.
Socialization: The process by which individuals learn and adopt the norms, values, and behaviors appropriate for their society.
Roles: The behaviors expected from an individual occupying a specific position in society.
Norms: Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.
Examples of Norms are folkways (informal norms, like table manners), Mores (strict norms based on moral views, like laws against theft), and Laws (formally codified norms, such as traffic regulations).
Values: Beliefs about what is important, desirable, and worthwhile in society.
Inequality: Disparities in wealth, income, status, and opportunities.
Power: The ability to influence or control the behavior of others.
Types of Power: Traditional, Charismatic, Legal-Rational.
Status: A social position that a person holds.
Ascribed Status: Social position a person is born into (e.g., race, gender).
Achieved Status: Social position a person attains through their actions (e.g., career, education).
Culture: The shared beliefs, behaviors, and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life.
Subculture: A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture (e.g., Goths, skateboarders, gamers).
Counterculture: A culture with values and norms that run counter to those of the social mainstream (e.g., Hippies, punk rock movement, anarchists).
Identity: How individuals see themselves and how others perceive them.
Poverty Line: The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.
Absolute Poverty: Inability to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
Relative Poverty: Being poor relative to the wealth and income of others in society
Poverty Line: The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.
Causes: Unemployment, lack of education, systemic inequalities.
Consequences: Poor health, lack of access to education, social exclusion.
Crime and Deviance: Behavior that violates norms or laws.
White-collar: Financial crimes committed by high-status individuals (e.g., embezzlement).
Blue-collar: Physical crimes, typically by lower-status individuals (e.g., burglary).
Corporate: Crimes committed by companies or their representatives (e.g., fraud).
Cybercrime: Crimes conducted via the internet (e.g., hacking).
Functionalist Perspective (Durkheim): Crime is a normal part of society and can reinforce social norms.
Strain Theory (Merton): Crime occurs when there is a discrepancy between societal goals and the means available to achieve them.
Interactionist Perspective: Crime is learned through interactions with others.
Labeling Theory: Individuals become deviant when a deviant label is applied to them.
Conflict Theory: Crime results from social inequality and power differentials.
Education: Access to quality education, impacts on life chances.
Health: Access to healthcare, health disparities based on social factors.
Traditional Power: Based on customs and traditions.
Charismatic Power: Based on the personal qualities of a leader.
Legal-Rational Power: Based on established laws and procedures.
Social Structures, Social Processes, and Social Issues
Social Structures
Definition: The organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together compose society.
Components:
Institutions: Structures in society that fulfill the needs of the society.
Family: Primary unit of socialization, responsible for nurturing and socializing children.
Types of Families: Nuclear (parents and children), Extended (multiple generations), Single-parent, Reconstituted (stepfamilies).
Functions: Emotional support, economic support, socialization.
Education: Institutions that formalize the process of learning and have a significant impact on socialization and social stratification.
Roles: Teacher, student.
Functions: Socialization, transmission of knowledge, social control, preparation for occupational roles.
Perspectives:
Functionalist: Education serves to maintain social stability and cohesion.
Conflict: Education perpetuates social inequalities (Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital).
Interaction with Society: Education influences social mobility, shapes cultural norms and values, and can either reinforce or challenge social inequalities.
Religion: A system of beliefs and practices related to the sacred.
Types of Religious Organizations:
Church: Large, bureaucratic religious organization.
Sect: Smaller, less organized, and often in tension with society.
Cult: New, innovative religious movements, often seen as deviant.
Functions: Provides meaning, reinforces norms and values, and social cohesion.
Government: Institution responsible for creating and enforcing laws.
Types of Government: Democracy, autocracy, oligarchy.
Functions: Maintains order, provides public services, and protects citizens.
Economy: The system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Functions: Provides resources, creates jobs, influences social stratification.
Media: Means of mass communication.
Functions: Informing the public, shaping public opinion, socialization.
Social Stratification:
Definition: A system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
Types:
Class Stratification: Based on economic position in society.
Caste System: Hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated, are common in India but also found in other societies in different forms.
Gender Stratification: Differences in power, status, and access to resources based on gender.
Ethnic and Racial Stratification: Hierarchies based on ethnic and racial identities.
Age Stratification: Ranking based on age.
Theories:
Functionalist Perspective: Social stratification is necessary to fill all societal positions (Davis and Moore).
Conflict Perspective: Stratification results from the struggle for scarce resources (Marx, with contributions from Pierre Bourdieu on cultural capital).
Weberian Perspective: Stratification is multidimensional and includes class, status, and power.
The Three Dimensions of the Weberian Perspective are class (economic position), Status (social honor or prestige), and Power (ability to influence others).
Social Processes
Definition: The patterns of growth and change in society over the years.
Key Processes:
Socialization: The process by which individuals learn and adopt the norms, values, and behaviors appropriate for their society.
Primary Socialization: Occurs within the family, where basic norms and values are learned.
Secondary Socialization: Occurs in schools, peer groups, and media, where individuals learn the behaviors and norms appropriate to their society.
Agents of Socialization:
Family: Teaches basic norms and values.
Peers: Influence behaviors and norms during adolescence.
Schools: Provide formal education and socialize individuals into societal roles.
Media: Transmits norms, values, and behaviors.
Religion: Reinforces values and provides a moral framework.
Role Allocation: The process of assigning individuals to different roles based on abilities and training.
Role Conflict: When an individual faces competing demands from different roles they occupy.
Norms and Values:
Norms: Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.
Examples of Norms:
Folkways: Informal norms, like table manners.
More: Strict norms based on moral views, like laws against theft.
Laws: Formally codified norms, such as traffic regulations.
Values: Beliefs about what is important, desirable, and worthwhile.
Culture and Identity:
Culture: The shared beliefs, behaviors, and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life.
Components: Symbols, language, values, norms, and material culture.
Subculture: A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.
Examples of Subculture: Goths, skateboarders, gamers.
Counterculture: A culture with values and norms that run counter to those of the social mainstream.
Examples of Counterculture are hippies, punk rock movement, and anarchists.
Identity: How individuals see themselves and how others perceive them.
Types of Identity: Personal identity (self-concept), Social identity (group membership).
Ascribed Status vs. Achieved Status:
Ascribed Status: Social position a person is born into (e.g., race, gender).
Achieved Status: Social position a person attains through their actions (e.g., career, education).
Social Issues
Definition: Problems that affect many people within a society.
Examples:
Inequality: Disparities in wealth, income, and status.
Class Inequality: Economic disparities between different classes.
Causes: Access to education, job opportunities, discrimination.
Gender Inequality: Differences in status, power, and opportunities between men and women.
Examples: Wage gap, occupational segregation, glass ceiling.
Racial and Ethnic Inequality: Discrimination and disparities based on race and ethnicity.
Examples: Racial profiling, disparities in education and employment.
Age Inequality: Differences in treatment and opportunities based on age.
Examples: Ageism, and employment discrimination against older adults.
Poverty: Lack of basic resources to maintain a standard of living.
Types:
Absolute Poverty: Inability to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
Relative Poverty: Being poor relative to the wealth and income of others in society.
Poverty Line: The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.
Causes: Unemployment, lack of education, systemic inequalities.
Consequences: Poor health, lack of access to education, social exclusion.
Crime and Deviance: Behavior that violates norms or laws.
Types of Crime:
White-collar: Financial crimes committed by high-status individuals (e.g., embezzlement).
Blue-collar: Physical crimes, typically by lower-status individuals (e.g., burglary).
Corporate: Crimes committed by companies or their representatives (e.g., fraud).
Cybercrime: Crimes conducted via the internet (e.g., hacking).
Theories of Crime:
Functionalist Perspective (Durkheim): Crime is a normal part of society and can reinforce social norms.
Strain Theory (Merton): Crime occurs when there is a discrepancy between societal goals and the means available to achieve them.
Interactionist Perspective: Crime is learned through interactions with others.
Labeling Theory: Individuals become deviant when a deviant label is applied to them.
Conflict Theory: Crime results from social inequality and power differentials.
Education: Access to quality education, impact on life chances.
Issues: Educational inequality, school funding disparities, impact of socio-economic status on education.
Health: Access to healthcare, health disparities based on social factors.
Social Factors of Health: Socio-economic status, education, neighborhood, physical environment, employment, social support networks, and access to healthcare.
Issues: Health inequality, the impact of socio-economic status on health, and access to mental health services.
Types of Power:
Traditional Power: Based on customs and traditions.
Charismatic Power: Based on the personal qualities of a leader.
Legal-Rational Power: Based on established laws and procedures.
Key Terms and Definitions
Social Structures: Organized patterns of social relationships and social institutions that together compose society.
Social Processes: Patterns of growth and change in society over time.
Social Issues: Problems that affect many people within a society.
Social Stratification: A system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
Institutions: Structures in society that fulfill the needs of the society, such as family, education, religion, government, economy, and media.
Socialization: The process by which individuals learn and adopt the norms, values, and behaviors appropriate for their society.
Roles: The behaviors expected from an individual occupying a specific position in society.
Norms: Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.
Examples of Norms are folkways (informal norms, like table manners), Mores (strict norms based on moral views, like laws against theft), and Laws (formally codified norms, such as traffic regulations).
Values: Beliefs about what is important, desirable, and worthwhile in society.
Inequality: Disparities in wealth, income, status, and opportunities.
Power: The ability to influence or control the behavior of others.
Types of Power: Traditional, Charismatic, Legal-Rational.
Status: A social position that a person holds.
Ascribed Status: Social position a person is born into (e.g., race, gender).
Achieved Status: Social position a person attains through their actions (e.g., career, education).
Culture: The shared beliefs, behaviors, and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life.
Subculture: A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture (e.g., Goths, skateboarders, gamers).
Counterculture: A culture with values and norms that run counter to those of the social mainstream (e.g., Hippies, punk rock movement, anarchists).
Identity: How individuals see themselves and how others perceive them.
Poverty Line: The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.
Absolute Poverty: Inability to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
Relative Poverty: Being poor relative to the wealth and income of others in society
Poverty Line: The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.
Causes: Unemployment, lack of education, systemic inequalities.
Consequences: Poor health, lack of access to education, social exclusion.
Crime and Deviance: Behavior that violates norms or laws.
White-collar: Financial crimes committed by high-status individuals (e.g., embezzlement).
Blue-collar: Physical crimes, typically by lower-status individuals (e.g., burglary).
Corporate: Crimes committed by companies or their representatives (e.g., fraud).
Cybercrime: Crimes conducted via the internet (e.g., hacking).
Functionalist Perspective (Durkheim): Crime is a normal part of society and can reinforce social norms.
Strain Theory (Merton): Crime occurs when there is a discrepancy between societal goals and the means available to achieve them.
Interactionist Perspective: Crime is learned through interactions with others.
Labeling Theory: Individuals become deviant when a deviant label is applied to them.
Conflict Theory: Crime results from social inequality and power differentials.
Education: Access to quality education, impacts on life chances.
Health: Access to healthcare, health disparities based on social factors.
Traditional Power: Based on customs and traditions.
Charismatic Power: Based on the personal qualities of a leader.
Legal-Rational Power: Based on established laws and procedures.
