LECTURE NOTES TEST 2 for T/TR
- Social Interaction and Social Structure / Macro vs. Micro
Social Structure - the "macro" approach
* stable pattern of relationships
* in place before we come along
* creates boundaries - defines which groups are "insiders" and
"outsiders"
Transformation of social structure - changes in the division of labor
* From Hunting and Gathering to Postindustrial
* From the "plow" to the "micro-chip"
Transformation of social structure means
*changes in solidarity, types and nature of inequality, social
relationships
What are the nine institutions? Which, according to your book, are the
emerging institutions?
Social Structure reflects the division of labor in a given society. Thus, as societies change, the division of labor changes, and the components of social structure change too (know the different characteristics of societies, from hunting and gathering to postindustrial).
What were some basic institutions in hunting and gathering society versus agricultural and postindustrial?
Know the terms, mechanical and organic solidarity from Durkheim. Know Tonnies' Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.
Social institution - a set of beliefs and organized rules that establish how a society meets its basic needs (traditional versus emerging).
Groups are two (dyad) or more people who interact and share a common identity (know characteristics of primary and secondary).
Status (master, ascribed, achieved)
Status sets/status symbols - how might they relate to social marginality and stigma?
Roles (expectations, conflict, strain, exit, distance), Dramaturgy - from Goffman (the notion that we can analyze social interaction as if it were a stage with scripts, roles, performance)* ********************************************
We occupy a status and perform our roles. When doing so, we try to present a favorable image of ourselves - impression management.
Ethnomethodology - Garfinkel. The study of commonsense knowledge. The best way to see how structure works is to bend or break the rules. (e.g., stand toward the back of the elevator next time you step into it and watch to see others reactions).
Emotions - Hochschild
I didn't talk about the W.I. Thomas theorem but you should know this: W.I.Thomas Theorem - "Things perceived as real become real in their consequences." (self-fulfilling prophecy - a false belief come true).
Social Construction of Reality - the process by which our perception of reality is shaped largely by the subjective meaning that we give to an experience. For example, think back to the examples I provided of how our frame of reference influences our perceptions.
Some terms to consider are:
aggregates (collection of people but share little in common), categories (group who have perhaps never met but share a common characteristic) , social groups (two or more people who share a sense of belonging because of their membership in the group), primary (small, face-to-face, emotion based) and secondary (larger, more specialized, more impersonal), ingroup/outgroup (belonging and identity versus sense of competitiveness or hostility), reference groups (influence our behavior, even our attitudes but we don't have to be a member for it to be a reference group to us).
Other terms worth knowing are:social networks, networking, group dynamics (how size affects), Leadership functions, styles:authoritarian(makes all the decisions), democratic,(encourages the group to make decisions through consensus) laissez faire (not involved in the decisions made by the group), rationalization(a shift toward social organizations which focus upon efficiency and formal rules and procedures as well as impartiality
If Hitler asked you to kill someone, do you think you would have? Milgram's study is important because he found that people were much more obedient that we would think. One important component is the skills or inner resources to disengage from a situation in which one is obedient to authority. Milgram was concerned because he found that people tend to obey those in positions of authority, in part, because they see themselves acting in place of authority. Disobedience is harder than we would assume and remember, 65% went all the way! Human nature facilitates compliance. We can't count on the democratic way of socialization to keep people protected from the brutality of inhuman treatment. How about Asch's experiments? Pryor's? What do these studies teach us about conformity, compliance, and obedience? What do they tell us about group dynamics?
What is groupthink? What are some of the factors that contribute to it?
What are the functions, dysfunctions of bureaucracies?
WEBER'S IDEAL-TYPE BUREAUCRACY MODEL: 1 - a clear-cut division of labor attached to statuses in the organization, with a high degree of specialization for each status position. 2 - A hierarchical delegation of power and responsibility with each lower status under the control of a higher one 3 - A consistent set of rules and regulations for specific situations or tasks to assure uniform performance. 4 - Impartial - bureaucrats are to perform their jobs without bias. 5 - Employment is based on stated qualifications - in other words - your job is pretty much protected 6 - Each transaction or appointment etc... is kept on record. So obviously - they are designed to be both rational and impartial. Positions are filled according to technical ability, statuses are achieved rather than ascribed, and the bureaucracy is efficient, right??? We hope so.... But in reality they aren't always so efficient. Within a bureaucracy, there is always a formal structure and an informal one. e.g., those accountable and then those who actually do it. What happens if an organization becomes too bureaucratic So some of the dysfunctions are 1 Inefficiency - lost files, correspondence, paperwork 2. Trained incapacity - blind adherence to the rules - 3. Goal displacement - lose sight of the original goal so they look for new ones. 4. Authoritarian structure - it's a hierarchy of unequals 5. Bureaucratic personality 6. Parkinson’s law – work expands to fill time allotted 7. Peter principal – employees are promoted beyond their competence
Think back to Weber's characteristics of bureaucracy that make it efficient: specialized tasks, hierarchy of authority, rules and regulations, technical competence or qualifications, and impersonality and then compare them to some of the major shortcomings or dysfunctions as we discussed in class (e.g., goal displacement, bureaucratic personality, resistance to change).
Can you think of specific examples from your own experience? Maybe one institutional bureaucracy in particular? Why are bureaucratic structures so resistant to change?
What does the author say about the mass media? The global media? The technomedia? How has it affected marginal groups? What are some of the trends now shaping the nature of bureaucracies? What is the fast-food model? Hint: Ritzer Team concept?
Aggregates, Categories, social groups (primary and secondary, reference) know the difference
Group dynamics
Groupthink
Leadership (instrumental, expressive) authoritarian, democratic, laissez faire)
Bureaucracies (functions and dysfunctions)
in-group, out-group
primary/secondary/networks