sociology m
5
Social Interaction, Groups and Social Structure
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Status
A socially-defined position within a group or society.
It is a “location” in the social structure pertaining to a specific area of social life; it could be in the economic, educational, or political sphere
We hold several statuses simultaneously
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Ascribed status: a status one is born with (e.g., race/ethnicity, social class, religion)
Achieved status: a status one chooses or earns (e.g., educational level, profession, marital status)
Master status: a status that dominates others and determines person’s general position in society
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Simultaneously Held Social Statuses
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Social Roles
Sets of behavioral expectations for people who occupy a given status position.
Role conflict
Occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person
Role confusion
Uncertainty about how to act when encountering someone in an unfamiliar, awkward circumstance
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Role Strain
Difficulties that arise when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations
Role Exit
The process of disengagement from a role to establish yourself in a new one
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Groups
Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with each other on a regular basis.
A crowd is not the same thing as a group.
Primary group: small group with intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation (e.g., family)
Secondary group: impersonal groups with little social intimacy or mutual understanding (e.g., class)
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Comparison of Primary and Secondary Groups
Generally small Usually large
Relatively long period Relatively short duration, of interaction often temporary
Intimate, face-to-face Little social intimacy or association mutual understanding
Some emotional depth Relationships generally to relationships superficial
Cooperative, friendly More formal and impersonal
Primary Group Secondary Group
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In and Out Groups
In-groups:
Any groups to which people feel they belong – “Us”
Out-groups:
Any groups to which people feel they do not belong – “Them”
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Reference Groups
Any group that individuals use as standard for comparing / evaluating their own behavior
Reference groups set and enforce standards of conduct and belief
Coalitions
Temporary or permanent alliances of groups geared toward common goal
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Tönnies’ Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft The community group
Gemeinschaft : small community in which people have similar backgrounds and life experiences (like Durkheim’s “Mechanical Solidarity”) – a sense of community.
“The Village”
Gesellschaft: large community in which people are strangers and feel little in common with other community residents (like Durkheim’s “Organic Solidarity”) – urban isolation
“The Lonely Crowd”
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Social Networks
Series of social relationships that link person directly to others, and indirectly links him or her to still more people
“Networking”:
Involvement in social network; valuable skill when job-hunting (e.g., exchange of business cards at meetings, social events, “happy hour”, etc.)
We can now maintain social networks electronically with advances in technology – Facebook, MySpace, etc.
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Social Institutions
Organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs (e.g., family, education, science, religion, economics, etc.)
The Conflict View of Social Institutions
Major social institutions help maintain the privileges of the most powerful individuals and groups within society
Social institutions have an inherently conservative nature
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Sociocultural Evolution
How societies are organized – including the number and nature of the groups that characterize them – is influenced by the level of technology and material development of the society
Technology
“Cultural information about the ways in which the material resources of the environment may be used to satisfy human needs and desires.”
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Industrial Society
A modern society that depends on mechanization to mass produce goods and services
Changes the function of the family
Changes the meaning of work
Mass production, jobs, offices, careers, alienation, time-clocks, urbanization, social estrangement / atomization
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Postindustrial Societies
Societies in which the economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information
(and in providing services)
There are more corporate / office jobs, less manufacturing.
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Postmodern Societies
Technologically sophisticated societies where people tend to be preoccupied with consumerism and media images.
Social relationships, economics, politics become image-based.
“Cinematized Societies”
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We were taken to a fast food café where our order was fed into a computer. Our hamburger, made from the flesh of chemically impregnated cattle, had been broiled over counterfeit charcoal, placed between slices of artificially flavored cardboard and served to us by recycled juvenile delinquents.
- Jean Michel Chapereau
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Hyperrationality
The problem of the irrationality of too much rationality
Max Weber: rationality is a like a social cage
We live much of our daily lives immersed in non-spontaneous, pre-scripted interactions concerned with efficiency, productivity, and calculability
Workers are turned into zombies
Citizens are turned into consumers
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Elements of McDondaldization
Fetishization of Efficiency
Efficiency is valued over the quality of content
e.g., online courses, ATMs, convenience stores, drive-thru wedding chapels, drive-thru funeral parlors, etc.
“McCollege”, McNews”, “McDoctors”, McHealthcare
Simplification of Services
Putting Customers to Work – Carrying Your Own Tray, Serving Your Own Drink, Dumping Your Own Trash, Fueling Your Own Car, etc.
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McDondalization – Calculability
A preoccupation with categorizing and classifying
Quantification of Quality – counting and weighing “productivity”, the FCAT, etc.
Higher Education – Grades, Scores, Rankings
Health Care – Seen in terms of costs rather than quality
Television – Audience numbers count more than quality
Politics – sound-bites and image-bites count more than policies
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McDonaldization – Predictability
Predictable Settings: Motel Chains, Fast Food Restaurants, Franchises, Suburbs
Pre-scripted Interactions: lack of spontaneity
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McDonaldization – Social Control
Standardized Teaching Methods and Materials
HMO’s Dictating Policies and Procedures to Doctors
Time Clocks, Surveillance, Closed-Circuit TV
Productivity Monitors on Employees
Computers to Log In / Log Out
Demand for perpetual availability
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Organizations and Bureaucracies
Formal organization
Special-purpose group designed and structured for maximum efficiency
Bureaucracy
The component of a formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency. Administration.
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Characteristics of Bureaucracy
Division of labor: there are specialized tasks and functions.
Each person is a “cog” in the larger machine.
Trained incapacity: when workers become so specialized that they fail to notice obvious problems – and can’t deal with uncertainty or unique situations
Alienation: a condition of estrangement or dissociation. A lack of sense of fulfillment in work activity, or the lack of a sense of connection to other people
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Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Hierarchy of Authority
Written rules and regulations
Goal displacement: when there is overzealous conformity to official regulations
Employment is supposed to be based on technical qualifications; not on “who you know”
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Bureaucratization as Process
Bureaucratization:
process by which group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic
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Organizational Culture
Classical theory:
also known as the “Scientific Management Approach”; workers are motivated almost entirely by economic rewards and fear
Human relations approach:
the role of people, communication and participation within a bureaucracy emphasized
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Organizational Restructuring
Formal organizations are experimenting with new ways of organizing workplace since the late 20th century
Collective decision making
Minimal hierarchy
Work teams
Flex-time
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