Seeing and Thinking Sociologically

1. Seeing and Thinking Sociologically Chapter 2 Part 1

2. What is Society? Thus far I have been speaking of "society" as if we all knew precisely what it was. So, we need to take some time to specify in greater detail what exactly we mean when we talk about "society." The best way to do this is to break the large, abstract concept of “society” down into several important elements, which, when assembled or put together, constitute what sociologists often call "social structure", the main architecture of society and social life.

3. Sociology Quiz Bowl Maryland vs. Massachusetts

4. Sociology Quiz Bowl Question 1: Which of the following is NOT an institution in the sociological sense? A. Religion B. Law C. Wake Forest D. Health Care

5. Sociology Quiz Bowl Question 1: Which of the following is NOT an institution in the sociological sense? A. Religion B. Law C. Wake Forest D. Health Care ANSWER: C – WAKE FOREST

6. Sociology Quiz Bowl Question 2: Which of the following is NOT an organization in the sociological sense? A. Wake Forest B. This Class C. Roman Catholic Church D. General Motors

7. Sociology Quiz Bowl Question 2: Which of the following is NOT an organization in the sociological sense? A. Wake Forest B. This Class C. Roman Catholic Church D. General Motors ANSWER: B – THIS CLASS

8. Sociology Quiz Bowl Question 3: Which of the following is NOT a primary group in the sociological sense? A. This Class B. Family C. Peers D. All of the above

9. Sociology Quiz Bowl Question 3: Which of the following is NOT a primary group in the sociological sense? A. This Class B. Family C. Peers D. All of the above ANSWER: A – THIS CLASS

10. Elements of Social Structure If you think of these elements as BUILDING BLOCKS, you can understand why sociologists use the metaphor of SOCIAL STRUCTURE to describe the product of putting them together. You take these building blocks, assemble them in a certain way, and you get a social structure, just as if you took a bunch of bricks and put them together to build a physical structure.

12. Status A socially-defined, named social position that people can occupy A status can be ascribed or achieved. Ascribed status is acquired at birth or taken on involuntarily. Achieved status is a social position entered based on personal accomplishments. Examples?

13. Role (or role expectations) Culturally-defined rights, obligations, behaviors, duties associated with a particular status Question: What are some examples of role expectations associated with the status of student? Teacher?

14. Role Conflict Frustration people feel when the demands of one role they are expected to fulfill clash with the demands of another role Role conflict forces us to prioritize and makes our different statuses particularly salient Examples?

15. Variation & Change in Roles The idea of a “role” is taken from theater. Recall Shakespeare’s line from As You Like It: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts.” All statuses have culturally-defined role expectations (“scripts”) associated with them, and we often simply follow those scripts. At the same time, we are not robots, so we don’t blindly follow the role expectations which go along with our statuses. ? EXAMPLES?

16. Violations of Culturally Defined Role Expectations Although we are not robots, and so can each define our roles differently as individuals, there are also constraints on how far outside the culturally defined role expectations we can go. If we define them too differently, we will violate others' expectations. And when we violate others’ expectations, we make ourselves susceptible to sanctions. ? EXAMPLES?

17. Variation & Change in Roles There are not only variations in the roles associated with the same status at any particularly time, but also changes in the role expectations associated with particular statuses over time. What are some examples?

18. Culture This discussion of role expectations make clear the importance of CULTURE to understanding social structure. It is the culture of a group, organization, or society that specifies the role expectations for different statuses. More generally, culture is sometimes thought of as a society’s “personality” or as the “glue” that holds the other elements of social structure together. Groups have distinctive cultures and organizations have distinctive cultures. (More on culture in chapter 4 next week)

19. Groups As Newman says, sometimes individuals form well-defined units called groups. Groups are sets of people who interact more or less regularly with one another and who are conscious of their identity as a group. They have a structure that defines the relationships between members, and each individual occupies a status within the group. This final question could certainly be a small group activity with two or three students brainstorming with each other. There should be no shortage of examples! The reality show Survivor provides a good example of this from popular culture, as well.This final question could certainly be a small group activity with two or three students brainstorming with each other. There should be no shortage of examples! The reality show Survivor provides a good example of this from popular culture, as well.

20. Primary & Secondary Groups Primary Groups: A small number of members who have direct contact over a relatively long period of time. Emotional attachment is high and members often have intimate knowledge of each other’s lives. Examples?

21. Primary & Secondary Groups Primary Groups: A small number of members who have direct contact over a relatively long period of time. Emotional attachment is high and members often have intimate knowledge of each other’s lives. Examples? Secondary Groups: A more impersonal group established for a specific task and less emotionally committed to one another. Examples?

22. Primary & Secondary Groups Primary Groups: A small number of members who have direct contact over a relatively long period of time. Emotional attachment is high and members often have intimate knowledge of each other’s lives. Examples? Secondary Groups: A more impersonal group established for a specific task and less emotionally committed to one another. Examples? Question: Are sports teams primary or secondary groups? Are classes primary or secondary groups?

23. Primary & Secondary Groups Primary Groups: A small number of members who have direct contact over a relatively long period of time. Emotional attachment is high and members often have intimate knowledge of each other’s lives. Examples? Secondary Groups: A more impersonal group established for a specific task and less emotionally committed to one another. Examples? Question: Are sports teams primary or secondary groups? Are classes primary or secondary groups? Question: What is gained by distinguishing between primary and secondary groups?

24. Organization In the modern sociological sense, organizations are large, complex network of positions and groups, created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor. (DOL: people occupy statuses within the network which are "ranked" according to power and importance.) Example: A corporation, a large religious body like the Catholic Church, Wake Forest University (see WF org chart) examples include education, family, politics, religion, health care, or the economy, media examples include education, family, politics, religion, health care, or the economy, media

25. Bureaucratic Organization These modern organizations are often called “bureaucracies.” Today, bureaucracy or “bureaucratic” has a negative connotation. ? What comes to mind when you hear the term “bureaucracy” or “bureaucratic”?

26. Max Weber on Bureaucracy Early in the 20th century, Max Weber identified the ideal-type characteristics of “bureaucracy,” the dominant form of modern organization: specification of jobs with detailed rights, obligations, responsibilities, scope of authority system of supervision and subordination unity of command extensive use of written documents training in job requirements and skills application of consistent and complete rules (company manual) assign work and hire personnel based on competence and experience The net result of this form of organization, for Weber, was a dramatic increase in EFFICIENCY.

27. Questions about Bureaucratic Organization Two questions, then: If Weber saw bureaucracy as a model of efficient organization, why do we dislike it so much? Why do we use “bureaucratic” as a pejorative term?

28. Questions about Bureaucratic Organization Two questions, then: If Weber saw bureaucracy as a model of efficient organization, why do we dislike it so much? Why do we use “bureaucratic” as a pejorative term? “When fully developed, bureaucracy also stands . . . under the principle of sine ira ac studio. Its specific nature, which is welcomed by capitalism, develops the more perfectly the more the bureaucracy is ‘dehumanized,’ the more completely it succeeds in eliminating from official business love, hatred, and all purely personal, irrational, and emotional elements which escape calculation. This is the specific nature of bureaucracy and it is appraised as its special virtue.” (Max Weber)

29. Questions about Bureaucratic Organization Note that bureaucracy is an organizational form of AUTHORITY. Weber said that forms of authority differ according to how that authority is legitimated. Bureaucracy is characterized by RATIONAL-LEGAL authority: it is based on a system of written rules and procedures that all agree to. Think, for example, of modern, democratic governments. Second question: what other forms of AUTHORITY are there, other than bureaucracy? How else can authority be legitimated?

30. Three Types of Authority According to Weber, the other two types of authority are: Traditional authority: legitimated by appeals to tradition (inheritance, “how we’ve always done it”). ? EXAMPLES?

31. Three Types of Authority According to Weber, the other two types of authority are: Traditional authority: legitimated by appeals to tradition (inheritance, “how we’ve always done it”). ? EXAMPLES? Charismatic authority: legitimated by the personal charisma (virtue, power, heroism) of the leader. –> EXAMPLES?

32. Three Types of Authority According to Weber, the other two types of authority are: Traditional authority: legitimated by appeals to tradition (inheritance, “how we’ve always done it”). ? EXAMPLES? Charismatic authority: legitimated by the personal charisma (virtue, power, heroism) of the leader. –> EXAMPLES? Note that these are “pure types” and that in reality, authority in an organization is usually mixed, but rational-legal authority in the organizational form of bureaucracy is the quintessential modern type.

33. Social Institution A social institution is a stable set of roles, statuses, groups, and organizations that meet some need(s) in a major area of social life. (Meeting the needs is the institution’s function. You must understand the meaning of “function” in this sense.) Examples: education, family, politics, religion, health care, economy, media, law Question: What social needs are met by these institutions?

34. Why Social Structure Matters “Everyday social life--our thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions, interactions, and so on--is the product of a complex interplay between societal forces and personal characteristics.” “Societal forces” are not some mysterious thing that happens behind the scenes. Societal forces work in and through social structure. They work through our statuses and roles, the groups we belong to, the organizations we work through, and the institutions with which we are inexorably intertwined.

35. Discussion One element of the social structure of American society that influences you every day, and which you in turn influence, is Wake Forest University. I asked you to analyze the social structure of Wake Forest using the following sociological concepts: statuses, roles, groups, and culture. What did you come up with? Ideas and examples?

36. Top-down & Bottom-up Views A society influences its members through certain identifiable structural features and historical circumstances (top-down initiator of action). BUT also Each individual has a role in forming a society and influencing the course of its history (bottom-up). Presented in text as “two sides of sociological coin”Presented in text as “two sides of sociological coin”

37. Society influences the individual Through other individuals (social influence) Whether we’re aware of their doing so or not, other people affect our thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors. Through social structure (societal influence) Statuses/roles + groups + organizations + social institutions + culture = society

38. Individuals structure society How do we influence society in turn? Structured social movements Or through everyday microsituations—what we do, say, feel, and think when we’re in pairs or in groups of people. In talking about matters, people give shape and substance to society’s ideals and values Even meaning and relevance of historical events can be altered through conversation Text uses example of altered perspective on Columbus’ “discovery” of America as example. “So you see society might best be regarded as a work in progress, a succession of events, a flow of interchanges among people”Text uses example of altered perspective on Columbus’ “discovery” of America as example. “So you see society might best be regarded as a work in progress, a succession of events, a flow of interchanges among people”

39. Discussion I asked you to describe an example of how the social structure of Wake Forest exerts an influence on your everyday life (“top-down” view), and an example of how you influence the social structure of Wake Forest in turn through your everyday actions (“bottom-up” view). Examples?

40. Finale "Herein lies the fundamental theme of sociology: Everyday social life--our thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions, interactions, and so on--is the product of a complex interplay between societal forces and personal characteristics. To explain why people are the way they are or do the things they do, we must understand the interpersonal, historical, cultural, organizational, and global environments they inhabit. To understand either individuals or society, we must understand both."