Key Sociological Concepts
Culture
• “An inherited system of
▫ Symbolic forms &
▫ Moral demands
• That controls individual behavior”
Culture
• Symbolic Forms
▫ Signs
 Actions or gestures used to communicate an idea
▫ Symbols
 Signs to which we attach generalized meanings
• Language
• Formal knowledge systems (intellectual
disciplines)
• Informal knowledge systems
Aspects of Culture
• Diversity:
▫ Variations in the symbolic/moral systems underlying
different human societies
▫ Related to pluralism (diversity within a society)
• Universals:
▫ Beliefs, values, practices common to all human
societies
• Relativism:
▫ What people consider to be "normal" is specific to that
society/culture & historical period
Aspects of Culture
• Ethnocentrism:
▫ The belief that one's own culture is preferable and
superior to others
• Values:
▫ Broad general standards about how things ought
to be
Social Structures
• Repeated and more or less predictable patterns
of behavior
▫ Patterns produced by norms
▫ Norms are produced by values
• Norms
▫ Rules for how things ought to be done
 Informal
 Invisible
•
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HRFx7YU6eXE (Asch, elevator)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sno1TpCLj6A&feature=player_detailpage (Asch, lines)
Social Structures
• Norms enforced by Sanctions
▫ Rewards for abiding by the norm &/or
▫ Punishments for violating the norm
Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Status
▫ A social position
• Role
▫ The behavior expected of a person because of the
social position they occupy
• Ascribed Status
▫ A social position based upon some inherited
characteristic
Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Achieved Status
▫ An earned social position
• Status/Role Set
▫ All of the social positions a person occupies
• Status/Role Consistency
▫ The degree to which there is congruence among
social positions in a person’s status set
• (Status)-Role Strain
▫ Conflicting social statuses
Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Group
▫ Two or more statuses
 Shared norms
 Oriented to a general purpose
▫ Primary Groups
 Small, long-lasting, intimate
 Intrinsic reward
▫ Secondary Groups
 Large, short-term, instrumental
 Extrinsic reward
Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Organizations
▫ Two or more groups
 Shared norms
 Oriented to one or more purposes
• Institutions
▫ Society-wide, aggregate patterns of behavior,
designed to
 Solve specific problems &/or
 Accomplish specific tasks
Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Society
▫
▫
▫
▫
“A population of people
In a territory
With an identity (shared)
That survives across at least two generations”
• Most inclusive and complex form of social
structure
Relationship Between Culture
& Social Structure
• Social Structure:
▫ Repeated and more or less predictable patterns of
behavior
• Culture:
▫ An inherited system of symbolic forms and moral
demands that controls individual behavior
• Relationship is Dialectical
• Social structures both produce & are produced
by culture
Culture and Social Structure
Dialectical Relationship
Culture
Symbolic Forms
Language
Knowledge Systems
Moral Demands
Social Structure
Society
Institutions
Groups
Status-Role
Four Universal Institutions
• Economy
▫ “That institution in society that arranges for the
production & distribution of the goods needed for
survival”
 Hunter-Gatherer
 Agrarian
 Industrial (Capitalism, Socialism, Communism)
Four Universal Institutions
• Polity (Political System)
▫ “That institution in society that arranges for the
distribution of power”




Violence
Democracy
Monarchy
Totalitarian
Four Universal Institutions
• Religion
▫ “That institution in society that helps people
adjust to those things which are both undesirable
and inescapable.”
Four Universal Institutions
• Kinship (Family)
▫ “That institution in society that arranges for:
 Regulation of sexual relations
 Who may have sex with whom?
 Child-rearing
 Who cares for the young?
 Household composition
 Who lives with whom?