Chapter 5 Social Interaction, Groups, And Social Structure

"the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world" (2011:1)

The way people respond to one another in a society

These include statuses, social roles, groups, social networks, and social institutions (institutions like family, religion and government)

A term referred to any of full range of socially defined position within a large group or society.

ie - CEO, fruit picker, son or daughter, violinist, teenager, a citizen of a city or country

Assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics. Inherited since birth from parents.

ie - racial background, gender, privileges / membership in a subordinate group

A type of status that comes to us largely through our own efforts.

a status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position in society.

ie people with disabilities status' as "disabled" receives undue weight

A set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status.

ie a taxi driver is expected to know navigation around the city.

_______ ________ occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social position held by the same person.

ie. a newly promoted supervisor will most likely experience a sharp conflict between her social and occupational roles.

Sociologists use this term to describe the difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations.

ie. a mother balancing work and children

A term to describe the process of disengagement from a role that is central to one's self-identity in order to establish a new role and identity.

- divorced people, ex-nuns, transsexuals etc

1st= Doubt

2nd= search for alternatives

3rd= Action Stage/ departure

4th= creation of a new identity

Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis

Primary and Secondary groups

_______ ________ referred to a small group characterized by intimate, face to face association and cooperation.

ie members of a family living in the same household

______ _______ referred to a formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding.

ie workplace; co-workers

______ defined as any group or category to which people feel they belong.

a group or category to which people feel they do not belong.

Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behaviour

A temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal

A series of social relationships that link a person directly to others, and through them indirectly to still more people.

They are organized patterns of beliefs and behaviour centred on basic social needs, such as replacing personnel (the family) and preserving order (the government).

- to understand how social institutions fulfill essential functions

1. Replacing personal

2. Teaching new recruits

3. Producing and distributing goods and services

4. Preserving order

5. Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose

- does not agree with functionalists

- argue that Major institutions (ie education) have inherently conservative nature.

-----because poor neighbourhoods have low property taxes, therefore their community schools are least funded (ie low budget, terrible teachers.) while for the rich neighbours are the opposite

- argues that social institutions operate in gendered, class, ethnicity and racist environments

- social institutions affect our everyday behaviour.

- our social behaviour is conditioned by the roles and statuses we accept

In a collective frame of mind, this term implies that all individuals perform the same tasks

A collective consciousness resting on the need a society's members have for one another.

- for example how the organs of a human body are interdependent to each other.

a small rural community in which everyone knows each other. (similar background and life experiences)

A modern urban community where residents have little in common with each other.

This term refers to long-term trends in societies resulting from interplay of continuity, innovation, and selection

- pre-industrial society

- people simply relied on whatever foods that were readily available.

- people plant seeds rather subsist on available foods

- technological = tools probably hoes etc

- societies are engaged primarily in the production of food.

- new technological innovations like plows

A society that depends on mechanisation to produce its goods and services

- economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information.

- the main output is services rather than manufactured goods

technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer goods and media images and which consumes goods and information on a mass scale.

- ie the McDonaldization thesis

A group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency.

- ie; Canada Post, McDonald's

A component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency.

A condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding society.

workers become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems

this term is referred to overzealous conformity to official regulations

Every employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.

-- Talented people receive promotion after promotion, until some of them finally achieve position that they cannot handle with their usual competence

1. Division of labour

2. Hierarchy of authority

3. Written rules and regulations

4. Impersonality

5. Employment based on technical qualification

This term refer to the process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic

describes how eeven a democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few, which is called an oligarchy

Workers are motivated almost entirely by economic rewards

Emphasizes on the role of people, communication, and participation in a bureaucracy

A type of workers that works at home rather in an outside office, and who are linked to their supervisors and colleagues through computer terminals, phone lines, and fax lines.

- Consist of organized workers sharing either the same skill or the same employer.