Chapter 4

Social structure guides behavior and defines relationships among people and groups.
It creates predictability and stability in social systems.
Social structures are enduring, even as individual members change over time.

Culture: Shared beliefs, values, and norms that create social cohesion.
Social Class: Hierarchy based on wealth, income, education, and occupation affecting interests and opportunities.
Status: A position within a social structure, categorized as:
- Ascribed Status: Assigned at birth (e.g., race, gender).
- Achieved Status: Attained through actions (e.g., occupation).
- Master Status: Dominant status that overshadows others.
- Status Inconsistency: Contradiction or mismatch between statuses.
Role: Expectations for behavior associated with a status; role strain and role conflict can occur when demands of statuses clash.
Group: A collection of individuals who interact regularly and influence one another.

An enduring set of cultural patterns serving basic societal functions (e.g., family, economy, politics, religion, education).

Functionalism: Views society as needing to fulfill functions like member replacement, social order, and purpose.
Conflict Theory: Emphasizes power disparities where a small elite maintains control to benefit themselves.

Emile Durkheim: Concepts of mechanical solidarity (similar tasks) vs. organic solidarity (interdependent roles).
Ferdinand Tönnies: Gemeinschaft (intimate community) vs. Gesellschaft (impersonal associations).

Everyday interactions resemble theatrical performances with impression management, roles, and teamwork.
Communication occurs through social setting, appearance, and manner.

Study of the rules guiding social life, often revealed through "breaching experiments" to uncover hidden social expectations.

Both macrosociology and microsociology needed for comprehensive social understanding.