Social Structure
network of the individual's statuses and roles that guides human interaction
is a socially defined position in group or society.
is behavior - the right and obligations - expected of someone occupying a particular status
a status that is assigned according to standards that are beyond a person's control
the status that plays the greatest role in shaping a person's life and determining his or her social identity
are corresponding roles that define the patterns of interaction between related statuses
the socially determined behaviors expected of a person performing a role
their actual behavior - often does not match the behavior expected by society by society
sociologist call the different roles attached to a single status a role set
occurs when fulfilling the role expectations of one status makes it difficult to fulfill the role expectations of anther status
when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of a single
is a system of statuses , role , values , and norms that is organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society.
is a set of two or more people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and who possess some degree of common identity.
when people gather in the same place at the same time but lack organization or lasting patterns of interaction, they form an aggregate
simply is a means of classifying people according to shared trait or a common status
the smallest group possible a group with two members
to be group with a few on a face to face basis
is a small group of people who interact over a relatively long period of time on a direct and personal basis.
any group with whom individuals identify and whose attitudes and values they often adopt
the group that a person belongs to and identifies
any group that the person does not belong to or identify
the web of relationships that is formed by the sum total of a person's interactions with other people is termed
is the way u which a society uses technology to provide for the needs of its members
the specialization by individuals or a group in a performance of specif economic activities
food production - which is carried through use of human and animal labor - the main economic activity
the mechanized production of good is main economic activity
on the other hand economic activity centers on the production of information and the provision of services.
type of society characterized by a reliance on vegetable grown in garden plots as the main form of subsistence
(n.) an exchange in trade; (v.) to exchange goods
the concentration of the population in cities
the close knit social relationships that result when a small group of people share the same values and perform the same tasks
is the inpersonal social relationships that result when a small group of people share relationships that arise with increased job specialzation.
is a ranked authority structure that operates accroding to specific rules and procedures
refers to the process by which every feature of the human behavior becames subject to calculation , measurement, and control
non profit association formed to persue some common interest
a political system governed by a few people
tendency of organizations to become increasingly dominated by small groups of people
Home Lifestyles & Social Issues Sociology & Society social structure, in
sociology, the distinctive, stable arrangement of institutions whereby human beings in a society interact and live together. Social structure is often treated together with the concept of social change, which deals with the forces that change the
social structure and the organization of society. Although it is generally agreed that the term social structure refers to regularities in social life, its application is inconsistent. For example, the term is sometimes wrongly applied when other concepts such as custom, tradition, role, or
norm would be more accurate. Studies of social structure attempt to explain such matters as integration and trends in inequality. In the study of these phenomena, sociologists analyze organizations, social categories (such as
age groups), or rates (such as of crime or birth). This approach, sometimes called formal sociology, does not refer directly to individual behaviour or interpersonal interaction. Therefore, the study of social structure is not considered a behavioral science; at this level, the analysis is too abstract. It is a step removed from the consideration of concrete
human behaviour, even though the phenomena studied in social structure result from humans responding to each other and to their environments. Those who study social structure do, however, follow an
empirical (observational) approach to research, methodology, and epistemology. Social structure is sometimes defined simply as patterned social relations—those regular and repetitive aspects of the interactions
between the members of a given social entity. Even on this descriptive level, the concept is highly abstract: it selects only certain elements from ongoing social activities. The larger the social entity considered, the more abstract the concept tends to be. For this reason, the social structure of a small group is generally more closely related to the daily activities of its individual members than is the social structure of a larger society. In the study of larger social groups, the problem of
selection is acute: much depends on what is included as components of the social structure. Various theories offer different solutions to this problem of determining the primary characteristics of a social group. Before these different theoretical
views can be discussed, however, some remarks must be made on the general aspects of the social structure of any society. Social life is structured along the dimensions of time and space. Specific social activities take place at specific times, and time is divided into periods that are connected with the rhythms of social life—the routines of the day, the month, and the year. Specific social activities are also organized at specific places; particular places, for
instance, are designated for such activities as working, worshiping, eating, and sleeping. Territorial boundaries delineate these places and are defined by rules of property that determine the use and possession of scarce goods. Additionally, in any society there is
a more or less regular division of labour. Yet another universal structural characteristic of human societies is the regulation of violence. All violence is a potentially disruptive force; at the same time, it is a means of coercion and coordination of activities. Human beings have formed
political units, such as nations, within which the use of violence is strictly regulated and which, at the same time, are organized for the use of violence against outside groups. Furthermore, in any society there are arrangements within the structure for
sexual reproduction and the care and education of the young. These arrangements take the form partly of kinship and marriage relations.
Finally, systems of symbolic communication, particularly language, structure the interactions between the members of any society. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
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