Society, Agency, Structure Flashcards
human goal
survival and procreation
survival
getting resources (ie. Food, clothing, shelter)
resources
anything that allows you to live better and live longer
how do humans accomplish survival and procreation?
- Human groups work with what nature (ecology) provided as well as the characteristics of its own group (demography)
- Places with more resources and good ecology are more desirable and attract bigger, more diverse populations
- Humans develop tools (technology) and method (culture) to acquire and distribute resources (economy) for survival
technology
anything that makes work better
culture
- a way to solve problems
- Ex. In nomadic villages, the culture of sharing food helps solve the problem of food scarcity
society can be described by
- Nature/environment (ecological factors)
- Population characteristics (demographic factors) -> Ex. Male-dominated society
- Material available (technological factors)
- Problem-solving (cultural factors) -> Ex. religion
- Acquire and distribute resources (economic factors) -> Ex. wages
societies differ by…
their mode of production
society
- Society is only possible through social interaction that is regulated and stabilized
- Such social patterns can include routine, common expectations, predictable behaviours, ways of thinking, etc.
- These patterns are important because ongoing cooperation is needed for society to survival
social structure (and an analogy)
- Enduring an regular social arrangements that stabilize social patterns over time
- Looking at a society’s social structure allows to see how society is arranges
- Exists at different levels/scale
- Analogy: if society is an egg, culture is the inside and structure is the shell -> Structure holds society together, culture is fluid
levels of social structure
- Macrostructure (ie. State, economy)
- Mesostructure (ie. Social networks, organizations)
- Microstructure (ie. Social interactions)
agency
free will
agency-structure model -> structure is composed of…
- Social institutions
- Organizations
- Groups
- Social networks
- Roles
- Status
- Agency (you)
networks
a series of social relationships that link a person directly to others
groups
two or more people who identify with and interact with one another (same status)
organizations
collectives purposely constructed to achieve a particular end/goal
influence of networks, groups, and organizations on agency
- Networks, groups, and organizations can affect your free will (if you don’t follow the expectations of each social network, you’ll no longer be a part of the social network -> lose resources, gain time)
- Ex. Going to your boyfriend’s friend’s birthday party even though you’d rather watch Netflix (network)
- Ex. Talking to your uncle on his birthday even though you’d rather watch Netflix (group)
- Ex. Working an important shift at work even though you’d rather watch Netflix (organization)
social role
- set of expectations for people who occupy a given status
- Ex. Parent (or older sibling) -> set a good example for kid (or younger sibling)
what happens when social role expectations aren’t met?
- role conflict
- role strain**
- social behaviours
role conflict
- when incompatible expectations arise from 2 or more social positions held by the person
- Ex. When a police officer is scheduled to work on his son’s birthday -> will he honour his father role or his policeman role?
role strain
- difficulties that arise when the same social position imposes opposing demands and expectations
- Ex. When a police officer sees a sketchy-looking dude -> does he treat the citizen with respect or be authoritative?
- Ex. Kids Camp Leader -> I have to be fun, but also authoritative
social behaviours
- Social behaviour is largely guided by the social position (status) one occupies as well as the expectations (roles) that are attached to the position
- Our decisions are based on minimizing the balance of role conflict and strain and the evaluation of cost and benefit of meeting expectations
status
- Refers to any of the socially defined positions within a large group or society; social characteristics
- 3 types: ascribed, achieved, master status
ascribed status
- assigned at birth, involuntary
- Ex. Sex, birth order, skin colour
achieved status
- assigned after birth, voluntary
- Ex. Legal, occupation, marital status
master status
- dominates others and determines person’s general position in society
- Ex. White, Christian, etc. -> can be self-defined or given to you by society
social institutions
- Established patterns of beliefs and behaviours centered on basic social needs -> NOT places!
- “Super-customs” that deal with major interests or ongoing situations
- Labelled as “institution” because the way things are done is honoured, regulated, and directed
- Ie. Bachelor’s Degrees – employers honour them, UBC regulates them, profs and departments supervise them
society’s needs and how institutions fulfill them
- Replacing personnel/reproduction (ie. Families -> the institution that does this)
- Teaching new recruits (ie. Education -> the institution that does this)
- Producing and distributing goods (ie. Economy -> the institution that does this)
- Preserving social order (ie. State; criminal justice system -> the institutions that do this)
- Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose (ie. Organized religion; mass media -> the institutions that does this)
