Transcript Social Structure and Social Interaction

Social Institutions
• A system of statuses, roles, values, and norms that is organized
to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society.
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Family
Economic Institutions
Political Institutions
Education
Religion
• Institutions of Family
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Statuses: mother, father, child #1, child #2
Role expectations: Dad & mom work, teenagers help, babies play, etc
Values: All for one, and one for all
Norms: Help in need
• Types of Societies
– Preindustrial: Hunter Gatherer and Agricultural Societies
– Industrial: shift of from production of food to manufactured goods.
– Postindustrial: economic activity centers on the production of information and
services.
Gemeinschaft and Gesellshaft
Contrasting Societies
• Gemeinschaft: Cmmunity
• “Intimate Community”:
– Ferdinand Tonnies
– Describes village life, the type of
society in which everyone knows
everyone else.
• Example: Amish
• Believed that the new society was
crowding out family and friendships.
This new type….
• Gesellshaft: Society
• “Impersonal Association”:
– Believed that the ties between families
and friends had shrunk in importance.
• Example: City Life
• Social structure set the context for
what we do, feel, and think, and
ultimately, then, for the kind of people
we become.
What is “socialization”?
• The lifelong social experience by which
individuals develop human potential and
learn patterns of their culture.
– Social experience is also the basis of
personality
• A person’s fairly consistent patterns of thinking,
feeling, and acting
Agents of Socialization
• Influence our self concept, emotions,
attitudes, and behaviors