Transcript Social Problems

Social Problems
ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL
STRUCTURE AND CULTURE
Why are Social Structure and
Culture Important?
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Social problems are rooted in both the
structure and culture of society
In order to use “the sociological imagination”
we need to understand the basic elements of
both social structure and of culture
Macro-level theories (functionalism, conflict
and feminist theory) focus their attention on
social structure while micro-level theories
tend to focus more on culture and the
creation of meaning
Elements of Social Structure
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1. Institutions
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patterns of social relationships
Family, media, religion, etc.
2. Social groups
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Members have common identity
Primary and secondary
Social Structure (cont.)
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3. Statuses:
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position in group
Ascribed, achieved and master status
4. Roles
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Associated with status
rights, obligations, and expectations
Elements of Culture
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Culture = the meanings and ways of life that
characterize a society
1. Beliefs: what is assumed to be true
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2. Values: agreements about good and bad
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3. Norms: socially defined rules of behaviour
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Folkways, laws, mores
Culture (cont.)
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4. Sanctions: social consequences for
conforming to, or violating norms
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positive, negative, formal and informal
5. Symbols: language, gestures, and objects
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meaning commonly understood by group members
Form communication.
Culture as Stories
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According to George Gerbner’s (1986) “cultivation
theory” culture is a set of stories passed through
generations
Stories about:
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1. What things are
2. How they work
3. What to do about them
Gerbner believes the media now tell our stories
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Heavy exposure (esp. to TV) “cultivates” our beliefs,
attitudes and values