Social Structure & Interaction
Erika Chung
1. How do ascribed and achieved statuses serve to identify who a person is in a culture? What are reference groups? How are reference groups experienced in society?
Both ascribed and achieved statuses provide us with indicators about how we fit into society. An ascribed status is a position in a social system that is beyond an individual’s control. It is not earned, but rather something people are either born with or had no control over. An achieved status is a position in a social system that is acquired on the basis of merit. It is a position that is either earned or chosen and reflects a person’s skills, abilities, and efforts. Ascribed and achieved statuses serve to give guidance to others about how we should be treated and what to expect from us as we go about our interactions with others. They each provide standards to determine how much of the rewards of society such as wealth, prestige, and power we deserve and should be given. Ascribed and achieved criteria interact to create the sense of place we occupy. For example, being female is an ascribed status while occupation is an achieved status.Which occupations we're likely to pursue and, by implication, the amounts and kinds of rewards that follow from such a choice is influenced by our gender. Likewise, age, race, and physical characteristics have an impact on how and what we achieve.
Reference groups is a social group that a person takes as a standard in forming attitudes and behavior. Reference groups are experienced in two ways: normative function and comparison function. Normative functions is to establish guidelines of behavior and belief whereas comparison function is to evaluate ourselves we compare ourselves with similar others.
David Cagan
2. What is a social role (give examples)? How does one violate his or her role? What is meant by role exit? And how does role exit relate to the socialization process? Distinguish between primary and secondary groups (give examples).
In society there are certain guidelines or behaviors that others expect of us based upon who we are in society. These expected actions are called social roles. For example, we expect that a bus driver will not be reckless on the road and can be confident and sure while we take a ride, or when we arrive into our classroom we expect the professor to give a lecture. A recurring theme in sociology deals with our society in relation to a play or theater, and these social roles as the parts that we are expected to play in society based upon or positions or jobs. However, we must be careful to remember that people are not one-dimensional, and although they play a certain role in society it does not mean that they cannot be someone else too.
Occasionally individuals will break the mold of the social role and act contrary to expectations. If a professor does not take charge of the classroom, and instead sits with the students she has broken the social role ascribed to her. Another example of violating a social role is a “dirty” police officer. Society expects and requires that a police officer uphold the law and protects the safety of others. Therefore if an officer breaks the law and acts against expectations she has violated her social role.
If an individual has progressed past a certain social role into another, they experience a role exit. For example, when a soldier is promoted to officer, society expects him to now give orders instead of only following them. He must break free of the current mold of expectations and assume the new identity ascribed to him. When a teenager becomes an adult they experience a role exit. Now they are responsible for their actions, and must think for themselves. The disengagement necessary for a role exit can be difficult, but it is a large part of personal and societal development. There are stages to a role exit that begin with doubt and frustration. The person may then look for an escape, seeking an alternative than exiting their current role. When the individual finally sees that their role is inevitably changing they take action, leave their role, and create their new identity and place in society.
Role exits relate to the socialization process because sometimes we must exit a role in order to rejoin society. Returning to the example of the soldier, once his tours are over he must experience another role exit and resume civilian life. If there were no role exits, the person would remain a soldier and see the world in military terms of life and death. Unfortunately, soldiers can be unable to exit their social roles, and experience PTSD, trauma, and are unable to reintegrate into society. Without role exits, society would be fragmented and individuals could only ever do one thing. Convicts would be unable to pay their dues because their role would always be that of lawbreaker. There would be no personal development in society, and thus society itself would not develop.
Within society there are not only social roles, but also primary and secondary groups.In a primary group there are intimate, close connections with one another in a personal environment. These groups are generally long lasting, and require commitment to each other in the group. Examples of a primary group are families, tightly held together religious groups, and even a group of friends that become close over time. In a primary group the relationships of the members will grow and strengthen. On the other hand, secondary groups involve large, impersonal relationships. Usually people in these groups only participate nominally, not actually opening themselves up to the other members in the group. Examples of this type of group are impersonal work environments, large social clubs, or a classroom. Occasionally primary groups may become so large that the close relationships are lost resulting in the formation of secondary groups.
Tito Escalante
3.What is meant by in-group and out-group? How is in-group connected to primary group? How is out group connected to secondary group?
By definition a group is any amount of people who have common goals, values and norms they live by in interaction with others. Furthermore, an in-group is a set of individuals who share a common identity to which they can relate can become exclusive. For example, an in-group could be a certain religious group or club in which individuals define themselves. In-group members also have a sense of superiority in comparison to an out-group member.
Out-group members are all those not a part of an in-group. Those individuals not associated with the in-group can be defined as out-group. These out group members are simply individuals who defined according to another groups standards.For example, and outgroup could be communication majors in comparison to biology majors because of the work load difference. In addition, outgroups may view an in-group’s behavior as inappropriate within their standards as a further justification for the differences between the groups. Furthermore, and out-group can be a secondary group in which the association holds the role as an impersonal and less intimate group. If certain individuals have the tendency to move in and out of groups such as these without a change of identity then one could assume the group to be a secondary outgroup of which is relative to the in-group and primary group of ones life.
Noah El-Radi
4.What are the five functional prerequisites that a society must satisfy if it is to survive? Describe the differences between organic and mechanical solidarity.
The five functional prerequisites that a society must satisfy if it is to survive are: replacing members, socialization, production/ distribution, preserving order, and providing purpose.
- Replacing members: If society did not have this first prerequisite, the society would diminish over time. This replacing is due to dying or leaving of personnel within a society. Therefore, society must replace and replenish its members in order to stay a society.
- Socialization: Introducing new members of society with current members prevents a society from going into chaos. Things like religion and education or other institutions are what achieves socialization, as well as learning new responsibilities.
- Production/ distribution: Producing goods and services that a society must provide to its members, as well distributing these goods.
- Preserving order: Perhaps the most critical prerequisite in a society, it is very critical for every society to preserve order and protect itself from attack. Internal and external attack on society are protected by police force and the military to prevent invasion.
- Providing purpose: In order for the members of society to fulfill requirements, the people must feel motivated to do so. Having a sense of purpose to do things for one's own society takes self sacrifice and restraint, this is what prevents society from being destroyed by self-interest.
Organic and mechanical solidarity are two forms of consciousness that Durkheim developed to group individuals within a society together to realize societies goals. However, mechanical and organic solidarity have distinct differences from each other and each has their own place in society.
- Mechanical solidarity is the social cohesion based on shared experiences, knowledge, and skills in which things function more or less the way they always have.
- Organic solidarity is the social cohesion based on mutual interdependence in the context of extreme division of labor.
Mechanical solidarity is a form of cohesion that takes place internally from being very much like each other. This type of solidarity takes place in less complex societies and makes people feel more connected through similar work, school, etc. While these characteristics are those of mechanical solidarity, organic solidarity is based not on similarity but rather on difference and interdependence of people throughout a society. Organic solidarity also takes place in societies that are more advanced and more complex. Another way that organic solidarity differs from the mechanical solidarity is how it comes from the interdependence of people working together.
1. How do ascribed and achieved statuses serve to identify who a person is in a culture? What are reference groups? How are reference groups experienced in society?
Both ascribed and achieved statuses provide us with indicators about how we fit into society. An ascribed status is a position in a social system that is beyond an individual’s control. It is not earned, but rather something people are either born with or had no control over. An achieved status is a position in a social system that is acquired on the basis of merit. It is a position that is either earned or chosen and reflects a person’s skills, abilities, and efforts. Ascribed and achieved statuses serve to give guidance to others about how we should be treated and what to expect from us as we go about our interactions with others. They each provide standards to determine how much of the rewards of society such as wealth, prestige, and power we deserve and should be given. Ascribed and achieved criteria interact to create the sense of place we occupy. For example, being female is an ascribed status while occupation is an achieved status.Which occupations we're likely to pursue and, by implication, the amounts and kinds of rewards that follow from such a choice is influenced by our gender. Likewise, age, race, and physical characteristics have an impact on how and what we achieve.
Reference groups is a social group that a person takes as a standard in forming attitudes and behavior. Reference groups are experienced in two ways: normative function and comparison function. Normative functions is to establish guidelines of behavior and belief whereas comparison function is to evaluate ourselves we compare ourselves with similar others.
David Cagan
2. What is a social role (give examples)? How does one violate his or her role? What is meant by role exit? And how does role exit relate to the socialization process? Distinguish between primary and secondary groups (give examples).
In society there are certain guidelines or behaviors that others expect of us based upon who we are in society. These expected actions are called social roles. For example, we expect that a bus driver will not be reckless on the road and can be confident and sure while we take a ride, or when we arrive into our classroom we expect the professor to give a lecture. A recurring theme in sociology deals with our society in relation to a play or theater, and these social roles as the parts that we are expected to play in society based upon or positions or jobs. However, we must be careful to remember that people are not one-dimensional, and although they play a certain role in society it does not mean that they cannot be someone else too.
Occasionally individuals will break the mold of the social role and act contrary to expectations. If a professor does not take charge of the classroom, and instead sits with the students she has broken the social role ascribed to her. Another example of violating a social role is a “dirty” police officer. Society expects and requires that a police officer uphold the law and protects the safety of others. Therefore if an officer breaks the law and acts against expectations she has violated her social role.
If an individual has progressed past a certain social role into another, they experience a role exit. For example, when a soldier is promoted to officer, society expects him to now give orders instead of only following them. He must break free of the current mold of expectations and assume the new identity ascribed to him. When a teenager becomes an adult they experience a role exit. Now they are responsible for their actions, and must think for themselves. The disengagement necessary for a role exit can be difficult, but it is a large part of personal and societal development. There are stages to a role exit that begin with doubt and frustration. The person may then look for an escape, seeking an alternative than exiting their current role. When the individual finally sees that their role is inevitably changing they take action, leave their role, and create their new identity and place in society.
Role exits relate to the socialization process because sometimes we must exit a role in order to rejoin society. Returning to the example of the soldier, once his tours are over he must experience another role exit and resume civilian life. If there were no role exits, the person would remain a soldier and see the world in military terms of life and death. Unfortunately, soldiers can be unable to exit their social roles, and experience PTSD, trauma, and are unable to reintegrate into society. Without role exits, society would be fragmented and individuals could only ever do one thing. Convicts would be unable to pay their dues because their role would always be that of lawbreaker. There would be no personal development in society, and thus society itself would not develop.
Within society there are not only social roles, but also primary and secondary groups.In a primary group there are intimate, close connections with one another in a personal environment. These groups are generally long lasting, and require commitment to each other in the group. Examples of a primary group are families, tightly held together religious groups, and even a group of friends that become close over time. In a primary group the relationships of the members will grow and strengthen. On the other hand, secondary groups involve large, impersonal relationships. Usually people in these groups only participate nominally, not actually opening themselves up to the other members in the group. Examples of this type of group are impersonal work environments, large social clubs, or a classroom. Occasionally primary groups may become so large that the close relationships are lost resulting in the formation of secondary groups.
Tito Escalante
3.What is meant by in-group and out-group? How is in-group connected to primary group? How is out group connected to secondary group?
By definition a group is any amount of people who have common goals, values and norms they live by in interaction with others. Furthermore, an in-group is a set of individuals who share a common identity to which they can relate can become exclusive. For example, an in-group could be a certain religious group or club in which individuals define themselves. In-group members also have a sense of superiority in comparison to an out-group member.
Out-group members are all those not a part of an in-group. Those individuals not associated with the in-group can be defined as out-group. These out group members are simply individuals who defined according to another groups standards.For example, and outgroup could be communication majors in comparison to biology majors because of the work load difference. In addition, outgroups may view an in-group’s behavior as inappropriate within their standards as a further justification for the differences between the groups. Furthermore, and out-group can be a secondary group in which the association holds the role as an impersonal and less intimate group. If certain individuals have the tendency to move in and out of groups such as these without a change of identity then one could assume the group to be a secondary outgroup of which is relative to the in-group and primary group of ones life.
Noah El-Radi
4.What are the five functional prerequisites that a society must satisfy if it is to survive? Describe the differences between organic and mechanical solidarity.
The five functional prerequisites that a society must satisfy if it is to survive are: replacing members, socialization, production/ distribution, preserving order, and providing purpose.
- Replacing members: If society did not have this first prerequisite, the society would diminish over time. This replacing is due to dying or leaving of personnel within a society. Therefore, society must replace and replenish its members in order to stay a society.
- Socialization: Introducing new members of society with current members prevents a society from going into chaos. Things like religion and education or other institutions are what achieves socialization, as well as learning new responsibilities.
- Production/ distribution: Producing goods and services that a society must provide to its members, as well distributing these goods.
- Preserving order: Perhaps the most critical prerequisite in a society, it is very critical for every society to preserve order and protect itself from attack. Internal and external attack on society are protected by police force and the military to prevent invasion.
- Providing purpose: In order for the members of society to fulfill requirements, the people must feel motivated to do so. Having a sense of purpose to do things for one's own society takes self sacrifice and restraint, this is what prevents society from being destroyed by self-interest.
Organic and mechanical solidarity are two forms of consciousness that Durkheim developed to group individuals within a society together to realize societies goals. However, mechanical and organic solidarity have distinct differences from each other and each has their own place in society.
- Mechanical solidarity is the social cohesion based on shared experiences, knowledge, and skills in which things function more or less the way they always have.
- Organic solidarity is the social cohesion based on mutual interdependence in the context of extreme division of labor.
Mechanical solidarity is a form of cohesion that takes place internally from being very much like each other. This type of solidarity takes place in less complex societies and makes people feel more connected through similar work, school, etc. While these characteristics are those of mechanical solidarity, organic solidarity is based not on similarity but rather on difference and interdependence of people throughout a society. Organic solidarity also takes place in societies that are more advanced and more complex. Another way that organic solidarity differs from the mechanical solidarity is how it comes from the interdependence of people working together.
Reflection
I think this assignment really helped me develop a better understanding of group projects online. In all group projects, I tend to take on the role of the nagging mom. I don’t think it’s bad at all, since we need at least on person to stay on task. I messaged my group, putting their input into consideration, what number they wanted to do. Since I was the first one to choose, I felt that I’ll offer my assigned number to anyone else who wanted it. I think in about 3 days, I got replies from all my peers for this project. Each one of us completed it separately but in a timely matter. I think of all the assignments so far, this was by far the most time crunched assignment. I find myself working better with people when I see them. I need to make that connection with my peers in person so I won’t have that pusy vibe. I learned that both ascribed and achieved statuses are very important for each member that live in the society. These statuses help us become beneficial contributors to society. One interesting thing is that statuses can also change between men and women, which is what they can do and what they can’t not do.