Social Structure: underlying patterns of relationships in a group. October 23 rd, 2017

Transcription

1 Social Structure: underlying patterns of relationships in a group October 23 rd, 2017

2 Social Structure Social Structure refers to the underlying patterns of relationships in a group Aspects of Social Structure: Statuses Social Roles Groups Social Networks Institutions

3 Status Status a position a person occupies within a social structure Everyone has status Ascribed status Achieved status Status Set All of the statuses that a person occupies at any particular time Master Status A position that strongly affects most other aspects of a person s life

4 Type of Status Ascribed, Achieved, Master Status or Status Set? McDonald s Employee Girl King of England Son, hockey player, student, lifeguard, brother Husband Criminal

5 Textbook What is status? 2. What is the difference between achieved and ascribed status? 3. What is a status set? 4. What is a master status? 5. What are some examples for each of the terms in questions 2, 3 & 4? 6. What factors determine or influence one s status?

6 Groups A group is composed of people who share several features Regular contact with one another Share ways of thinking, feeling, behaving Take one another s behaviour into account They share common goals and interests

7 Primary Groups People who know each other well, are emotionally close, seek one another s company Family, Friends Most important for socialization Development of primary groups Small Size Face to face contact Continuous contact Proper social contact Functions of Primary Groups Emotional Support Socialization Encourage conformity

8 Secondary Groups People who share only part of their lives while working toward a common goal or task Work Groups, Committees, Sports Teams

9 Not Groups Social Aggregate: a collection of people who are in the same place at the same time, but who otherwise do not necessarily have anything in common, and who may not interact with each other Social Category: a collection of people that have certain characteristics or traits in common, but they tend not to interact with each other on a regular basis.

10 The Continuum of Primary-Secondary Group Relationships

11 In Groups & Out Groups In Group - Exclusive group demanding intense loyalty. People identify as members. Often referred to as cliques Out Group - Group targeted by an in-group for opposition, antagonism or competition. Members do not identify as such

12 Mapping Social Structure Consider the groups to which you belong Compile a list of as many as possible Rank groups in order from primary to secondary List as many statuses as you can for yourself What is your status in each of the particular groups you have listed?

13 Status and Roles October 26 th, 2017

14 Social Structure & Roles Page Define the following concepts Social Interaction Roles Role Performance Role Conflict Role Strain

15 Status & Roles How does status affect one s behaviour and/or treatment? How does it influence their role in a social structure? Stanley Milgram (pg ) Social Psychologist at Yale Obedience studies Philip Zimbardo ( ) Stanford University Psychologist Stanford Prison Experiment

16 Zimbardo s Questions What happens when you put good people in a bad place? How do people react to status? Why do people conform to certain role performance?

17 For Your Consideration 1. If you were a guard, what type of guard would you have become? How sure are you? 2. What prevented "good guards" from objecting or countermanding the orders from bad guards? 3. If you were a prisoner, would you have been able to endure the experience? What would you have done differently than those subjects did? If you were imprisoned in a "real" prison for five years or more, could you take it? 4. What was Zimbardo s role and how did it complicate things?

18 Social Structure: A Recap of Last Week October 30 th, 2017

19 Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes Study in the 1970 s found the following correlations People with brown eyes: Score higher on IQ tests Attain jobs with higher pay scales Have been found more honest & trustworthy People with blue eyes: More prone to addictions and patterns of violence More likely to end up in prison Less able to maintain meaningful relationships

20 Quiz on Terms: Social Structure 1. All the statuses that one can occupy at any particular time 2. Being physically handicapped might be this kind of status 3. Religion and gender are usually this kind of status 4. People having an argument, fist-fight or making sandwiches together 5. These groups have regular face to face contact and share common goals/values and are emotionally invested with all other members in the group 6. This term refers to an individual being stressed out by the roles associated with the different statuses that they occupy 7. When a single status presents several roles that are conflicting or confusing 8. The expected behaviour that goes with a certain status 9. He was a social psychologist who invested obedience in individuals with his infamous yet fake electroshock experiment 10. He was the social psychologist who created the Stanford Prison Experiment to examine the influence of status and power over the behaviour of individuals

21 Became the basis for an Iowa schoolteacher s social experiment How do children react to status and discrimination? Became subject of PBS documentary A Class Divided A Class Divided

22 Jane Elliot A Class Divided 1970 Eye of the Storm 1985 A Class Divided 1. How did status lead to conflict? 2. Where do you see selffulfilling prophecy?

23 Social Interaction, Social Networks & Institutions

24 Social Interaction The way people behave toward each other in groups Groups influence the behaviour and norms of individuals When interacting with members of a group people often act differently than they would as individuals, or as members of a different group

25 5 Types of Group Social Interaction Cooperation Conflict Social Exchange Coercion Conformity Define the above and give examples

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27 Social Network A web of social relationships that join a person to other people and/or groups A set of links, relations and ties among social actors Includes groups, is not a group itself

28 The Power of Social Networks Malcolm Gladwell Canadian Journalist, author, speaker Pop Sociology, Psychology Books include: The Tipping Point Blink What the Dog Saw David & Goliath

29 Malcolm Gladwell The Tipping Point How do ideas and social movements gain enough momentum so they reach that point of taking off? Examples ALS ice bucket challenge Arab Spring Protests Metaphor of going viral Much of it has to do with the power of Social Networks, and in particular something Gladwell calls The Law of the Few

30 The Law of the Few Who are the few? Connectors Mavens Salesmen

31 Are you one of the few? 1: You hear about the SOPA and PIPA protest on Wikipedia. Your immediate response is to: a) Read all the material you can find on SOPA and PIPA to gain a better understanding of the problem b) Call or text all of your friends or family to tell them or ask them what is going on c) You form a petition to try to persuade your local congressman to vote against the bills

32 Are you one of the few? 2: Your web assignment is ending in two hours, and you don't know how to solve the last problems. You: a) Go online and research the type of problem. Even if you don't finish before time is up, you know you'll be better prepared in the future. b) Go on facebook and beg your friends for advice and answers. After all, your friends and classmates always bail you out. c) Persuade the teacher to give you an extension.

33 Are you one of the few? 3: You are appointed to lead a community service committee. You're first action would be to: a) Familiarize yourself with local charitable organizations. b) Ask your classmates for project ideas. c) Ally yourself with a local business by convincing them of the benefits of a positive public image.

34 Are you one of the few? 4: You just bought the shiniest, newest smartphone available. You: a) Spend hours with it, learning even the smallest details of the phone's functions. b) Blog about how awesome it is to your 5,000 followers. c) Convince all of your friends to buy it, even if they don't want to. They just don't realize that they need it yet

35 Are you one of the few? 5: A man of questionable morals approaches you about a "new business opportunity." Your first reaction would be to: a) Look the man and the business up. A background check should reveal if this is a scam or not. b) Buy in, and tell all of your friends about the fantastic business opportunity you just invested in. c) Counteroffer with your own "business opportunity."

36 Interpreting your results: If you picked mostly "a," you are a maven! If you picked mostly "b," you are a connector! If you picked mostly "c," you are a salesman! If you picked inconsistent answers, or had trouble picking you are not one of the few

37 Today s Class Journal Response 1. Define the law of the few 2. Describe each of the roles identified by Gladwell 3. Take the quiz to determine which, if any of these groups you might fit into 4. Explain the importance of social networks to this idea

38 Social Institutions November 2 nd, 2017

39 Social Institutions Social Institutions are organized patterns of beliefs and behaviour centered on basic social needs Studying institutions allows insight into how society is structured

40 Functionalist View Institutions fulfill important social functions Sociologists Mack & Bradford (1979) identified 5 types of functions fulfilled by institutions 1. Replacing personnel 2. Teaching new recruits 3. Producing and distributing goods/services 4. Preserving order 5. Providing/maintaining a sense of purpose

41 Conflict View Agrees that institutions are organized to meet basic social needs Objects to the idea that the outcome is efficient or desirable Institutions are central to maintaining status quo Institutions help to maintain the privileges of the most powerful members of a group

42 Types of Social Institutions Political Institutions Economic Institutions Religious Institutions Educational Institutions 1. Can you identify the functions of these institutions? (both manifest and latent) 2. Can you identify dysfunctions? 3. How can these institutions uphold a status quo that is oppressive

43 Investigating Social Institutions 1. Choose a type of a general type social institution as described in the textbook. (ie; family, religion, education, political, economic, sport.) 2. Choose a specific institution (ie; the Catholic Church, Private Schools, The NFL) 3. Identify the functions of these institutions? (both manifest and latent) 4. Identify dysfunctions? 5. How can these institutions uphold a status quo that is oppressive

44 Final Product After completing your research you will present to the class your findings and insights about that institution. You shall have a PowerPoint presentation accompany this discussion It should be rich with examples You can work with a partner You talk should be about minutes in length.