Chapter Preview
Section 1: Social Structure and Status
Section 2: Social Structure and Roles
Section 3: Preindustrial Societies
Section 4: Industrial and Postindustrial
Societies
Chapter Preview · Section 1
Social Structure and Status (pages 140–145)
The underlying pattern of social relationships in a
group is called the social structure. Status is one
very important element of social structure.
Ascribed statuses are assigned at birth; achieved
statuses are earned or chosen.
Chapter Preview · Section 2
Social Structure and Roles (pages 146–152)
People interact according to prescribed roles. These
roles carry certain rights and obligations. Sometimes
conflict or strain occurs when an individual has too
many roles to play.
Chapter Preview · Section 3
Preindustrial Societies (pages 153–158)
The way a society provides for basic needs greatly
affects its culture and social structure. Preindustrial
societies include hunting and gathering, horticultural,
pastoral, and agricultural societies.
Chapter Preview · Section 4
Industrial and Postindustrial Societies (pages 159–164)
The Industrial Revolution created a new type of society
called an industrial society. Characteristics that
distinguish this society from all earlier ones include the
growth of large cities and a widespread dependence on
machines and technology. Postindustrial society has a
predominately white-collar labor force that is concentrated
in service industries. Social instability has been linked to
the transition from an industrial to a postindustrial society.
The underlying pattern of social relationships in
a group is called the social structure. Status is
one very important element of social structure.
Ascribed statuses are assigned at birth;
achieved statuses are earned or chosen.
• social structure
• status
• ascribed status
• achieved status
• status set
• master status
Which is a way that people display
their status in our society?
A. Their home
B. Their car
C. Wearing a uniform
D. All of the above
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Social Structure Is All Around You
• Social structure is the underlying patterns
of relationships in a group.
Which is NOT an aspect of social
structure?
A. It involves groups
B. It involves patterns
C. It involves computers
D. It involves relationships
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Everyone Has Status
• A status is a position a person occupies
within a social structure.
• An ascribed status is neither earned nor
chosen; it is assigned to us.
Everyone Has Status (cont.)
• An achieved status is earned or chosen.
• A status set is all of the statuses that a
person occupies at any particular time.
The Interrelationships
of Social Statuses
Everyone Has Status (cont.)
• Master statuses can be achieved or
ascribed; they significantly affect the
likelihood of achieving other social
statuses.
Which type of status would a doctor
fall under?
A. Master
B. Status set
C. Ascribed
D. Achieved
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
People interact according to prescribed roles.
These roles carry certain rights and obligations.
Sometimes conflict or strain occurs when an
individual has too many roles to play.
• role
• right
• obligation
• role performance
• social interaction
• role conflict
• role strain
Which role do identify with the most?
A. Student
B. Sibling
C. Artist
D. Athlete
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Rights and Obligations
• An expected behavior associated with a
particular status is a role.
• Rights are behaviors that individuals
expect from others.
• Obligations are behaviors that individuals
are expected to perform toward others.
Statuses “in action” is another name for:
A. Rights
B. Roles
C. Obligations
D. Society
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Role Performance and Social
Interaction
• Role performance is the actual conduct,
or behavior, involved in carrying out (or
performing) a role.
• Social interaction is the process of
influencing each other as people relate.
The Links Between Culture
and Social Structure
Role Performance and Social
Interaction (cont.)
• Role performance is much like a play, but
there are many differences:
– Most real-life role performance occurs
without planning.
– Real-life performance is ad-libbed.
– We choose our own cues and
responses.
Which is an example of social
interaction?
A. Asking a stranger for
directions
B. Chatting with friends
C. Playing sports
D. All of the above
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Role Conflict and Role Strain
• Role conflict exists when the performance
of a role in one status clashes with the
performance of a role in another.
• Role strain occurs when a person has
trouble meeting the many roles connected
with a single status.
Role Conflict and Role Strain (cont.)
• To deal with the conflict and strain we:
– Set priorities
– Segregate roles
Illustrating Social
Structure Concepts
Unemployment
Rates
How often does role strain and
conflict affect your own life?
A. Very often
B. Sometimes
C. Rarely
D. Never
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
The way a society provides for basic needs
greatly affects its culture and social structure.
Preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial
societies meet basic needs in different ways.
Preindustrial societies include hunting and
gathering, horticulture, pastoral, and
agricultural societies.
• society
• hunting and gathering society
• horticultural society
• pastoral society
• agricultural society
Which is an example of a
preindustrial society?
A. Hunting and gathering
B. Pastoral
0%
D
A
0%
A
B
0%
C
D
C
D. All of the above
A.
B.
0%
C.
D.
B
C. Agricultural
Types of Society
• A society is composed of people living
within defined territorial borders who share
a common culture.
Do you think our society today is
becoming more global?
A. Agree
B. Disagree
C. Not sure
0%
A
A. A
B. B
C.0% C
B
0%
C
Hunting and Gathering Societies
• Hunting and gathering society survives
by hunting animals and gathering edible
foods.
Time Line of Societies
Hunting and Gathering Societies (cont.)
• Characteristics:
– Nomadic
– Small in population
– Cooperation and sharing are key
– No social class
– Family is the only institution
Time Line of Societies
The following are important in the
hunting and gathering society
EXCEPT
A. Sharing
B. Gathering food
C. Thrift
D. Moving from place
to place
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Horticultural Societies
• A horticultural society solves the
subsistence problem primarily through the
growing of plants.
Time Line of Societies
Horticultural Societies (cont.)
• Characteristics:
– More permanent settlements
– Multicommunity societies
– Family more key
– More complex division of labor
– Trade possible
Time Line of Societies
What do you think is the main
difference between the horticultural
society and the hunting and
gathering society?
A. The growing of plants
A
0%
0%
C
C. Permanent housing
A. A
B. B
C.0%C
B
B. Emphasis on family
Pastoral Societies
• In pastoral societies, food is obtained
primarily by raising and taking care of
animals.
Time Line of Societies
Pastoral Societies (cont.)
• Characteristics:
– Migration still needed, but with some
permanent villages
– Male dominated
– More complex division of labor
– Trade possible
Time Line of Societies
Pastoral societies, food is primarily
obtained by which method?
A. Hunting
B. Raising animals
C. Growing crops
D. Trade
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Agricultural Societies
• An agricultural society subsists by growing
food, but with the use of plows and animals.
Time Line of Societies
Agricultural Societies (cont.)
• Characteristics:
– More food per unit of land due to the
plow
– Animals allow more people to engage in
noneconomic activities
– Cities built
– Other occupations appear
Time Line of Societies
Agricultural Societies (cont.)
– Political, economic, religious institutions
appear
– Government replaces the family group
– King or emperor rules
– Social classes
– Economy based on trade
Time Line of Societies
Agricultural Societies (cont.)
– Monetary system
– Separation between religion and
government
Time Line of Societies
Which is NOT a true statement about
the agricultural society?
A. Distinct social class
B. Monetary system used
C. Wealth and power based
on land ownership
D. Nomadic society
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
The Industrial Revolution created a new
type of society, called the industrial society.
Characteristics that distinguish this society from
all earlier ones include the growth of large cities
and a wide-spread dependence on machines
and technology. Postindustrial society has a
predominately white-collar labor force that is
concentrated in service industries. Social
instability has been linked to the transition from
an industrial to a postindustrial society.
• industrial society
• mechanical solidarity
• mechanization
• organic solidarity
• urbanization
• postindustrial society
• gemeinschaft
• gesellschaft
• social solidarity
Which technology do you think has
made the biggest impact on our
society?
A. Personal computers
B. Assembly lines
C. Robots
0%
A
A. A
B. B
C.0% C
B
0%
C
Basic Features of Industrial Societies
• The industrial society is one that is
dependent upon science and technology
to produce its basic goods and services.
Basic Features of Industrial Societies
(cont.)
• When societies shift from agricultural to
industrial, some of the structural changes are:
– A loss of simplicity and a gain of
scientific knowledge
– Animal and human labor is replaced by
machines (mechanization)
Agricultural
Employment
Basic Features of Industrial Societies
(cont.)
– Urbanization—the movement from the
country to the city
– Families function differently
Which of the following is a way that
the family structure changed once an
industrial society emerged?
A. Women became more
subordinate to their
husbands.
B. Family unity became
less important.
0%
C. Education was taught
at home.
A
A. A
B. B
C.0% C
B
0%
C
A Conversation with Two Sociologists
• Tonnies’s view—two types of society:
– Gemeinschaft = community; a society
based on tradition, kinship, and intimate
social relationships.
– Gesellschaft = industrial society; weak
family ties, competition, and less
personal social relationships.
A Conversation with Two Sociologists
(cont.)
• Durkheim’s view:
– Social solidarity is the degree to which
a society is unified or can hold itself
together in the face of obstacles.
A Conversation with Two Sociologists
(cont.)
• Two types of society that depend on
solidarity:
– Mechanical solidarity applies when
members of a society hold the same beliefs,
values, and norms; they tend to conform
and depend on tradition and family to fulfill
their needs.
– Organic solidarity applies when members
of an industrial society depend on a variety
of people to fulfill their needs.
The following are characteristics of
mechanical solidarity EXCEPT
A. Group placed above
the individual
B. Pressure for conformity
0%
D
A
B
0%
C
D
C
0%
A
D. Tradition and
family important
A.
B.
0%
C.
D.
B
C. Needs filled by a variety
of people
Major Features of Postindustrial
Society
• In a postindustrial society, the economic
emphasis is on providing services and
information rather than on producing
goods through basic manufacturing.
Major Features of Postindustrial
Society (cont.)
• Five features of this society, according to
Daniel Bell:
– For the first time, the majority of the
labor force are employed in services
rather than in agriculture or
manufacturing.
– White-collar employment replaces much
blue-collar work.
Major Features of Postindustrial
Society (cont.)
– Technical knowledge is the key organizing
feature in the postindustrial society.
– Technological change is planned and
assessed.
– Computer modeling is relied upon in all
areas.
What was the major economic
emphasis placed on during the
postindustrial society?
A. Providing services
B. Agriculture
C. Raising animals
D. All of the above
0%
A
A.
B.
0%
C.
D.
B
A
B
0%
C
D
C
0%
D
Social Instability in Postindustrial
Society
• Historian Francis Fukuyama believes that
the transition to a service economy has
increased social instability in nations
undergoing this change.
• However, he sees current indications of a
return to social stability because humans
find it difficult to live without values and
norms.
Do you agree with Fukuyama’s
observations?
A. Strongly agree
B. Somewhat agree
C. Disagree
D. Not sure
0%
A
A.
B.
0%
C.
D.
B
A
B
0%
C
D
C
0%
D
The Interrelationships of Social Statuses
The Links Between
Culture and Social
Structure
Time Line of Societies
Time Line of Societies
Unemployment Rates
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 2005.
Agricultural Employment
Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, The
World Factbook, 2005.
social structure
the underlying patterns of relationships in a
group
status
a position a person occupies within a social
structure
ascribed status
a position that is neither earned nor chosen
but assigned
achieved status
a position that is earned or chosen
status set
all of the statuses that a person occupies at
any particular time
master status
a person that strongly affects most other
aspects of a person’s life
role
an expected behavior associated with a
particular status
right
a behavior that individuals can expect from
others
obligation
a behavior that individuals are expected to
perform toward others
role performance
the actual behavior of an individual in a role
social interaction
the process of influencing each other as
people relate
role conflict
condition in which the performance of a role in
one status interferes with the performance of
a role in another status
role strain
condition in which the roles of a single status
are inconsistent or conflicting
society
people living within defined territorial borders
and sharing a common culture
hunting and gathering society
a society that survives by hunting animals and
gathering edible plants
horticultural society
a society that survives primarily through the
growing of plants
pastoral society
a society in which food is obtained primarily
by raising and taking care of animals
agricultural society
a society that uses plows and draft animals in
growing food
industrial society
a society that depends on science and
technology to produce its basic goods and
services
mechanization
the process of replacing animal and human
power with machine power
urbanization
the shifting of population from farms and
villages to large cities
gemeinschaft
pre-industrial society based on tradition,
kinship, and close social ties
gesellschaft
industrial society characterized by weak
family ties, competition, and impersonal social
relationships
social solidarity
the degree to which a society is unified
mechanical solidarity
a type of social unity achieved by people
doing the same type of work and holding
similar values
organic solidarity
a type of social unity in which members’
interdependence is based on specialized
functions and statuses
postindustrial society
a society in which the economic emphasis is
on providing services and information
To use this Presentation Plus! product:
Click the Forward button to go to the next slide.
Click the Previous button to return to the previous slide.
Click the Home button to return to the Chapter Menu.
Click the Transparency button to access the transparencies that are
relevant to this chapter.
Click the Return button in a feature to return to the main presentation.
Click the Sociology Online button to access online textbook features.
Click the Exit button or press the Escape key [Esc] to end the
chapter slide show.
Click the Help button to access this screen.
Links to Presentation Plus! features such as the Figures, Time Lines,
Snapshot of America, World View and others are located at the
bottom of relevant screens.