CHAPTER 4
Societies and Nations
Chapter Outline




The Social Order
Populations and Societies
Society and the Individual
Societies and Nation-States
Society and Social Structure


A society is a population of people organized
in a cooperative manner to carry out the major
functions of life.
Social structure refers to the patterns of
behavior that people create through their
interactions and relationships.
Elements of Social Structure
Element
Example
Group
A discussion group; a Bible study class;
a local union.
Status
Orderly, registered nurse, resident, chief
resident.
Role
The doctor diagnoses and treats
illnesses; nurse cares for patients.
Elements of Social Structure
Element
Role
Expectations
Institution
Example
A major league center fielder is
expected to have a batting
average over .300, drive in more
than 75 runs, and cover the field
with minimum errors.
The military is the primary
institution devoted to providing
national defense.
Groups



A collection of people who interact on the basis of
shared expectations regarding one another’s behavior.
Groups vary in how the statuses of their members are
well or poorly defined.
Groups vary in the ways they are connected with other
groups to form a larger structure known as an
organization.
Social Institutions



Every social institution has a set of norms that controls
the behavior of its members.
A structure of statuses and roles devoted to meeting the
basic needs of people in a society.
New institutions are created through the process of
differentiation.
Adaptability Of Social Structures


Social structure is never fixed or perfectly formed but is
always changing and adapting to new conditions.
Often the process of change involves conflict and
uncertainty, and often there is little consensus about
how one should perform in a given status.
Roles and Role Expectations


A role is the way a society defines how an individual is
to behave in a particular status.
Role expectations are society’s expectations about
how a role should be performed, together with the
individual’s perceptions of what is required in performing
that role.
Groups in Organization


Groups vary in how
they are connected
with other groups into
a larger structure
known as an
organization.
An army platoon
includes the statuses
of private, corporal,
sergeant, and
lieutenant, each with
specific roles to play in
training and combat.
How Institutions Change



The history of human societies is marked by the
emergence of new institutions.
Differentiation refers to the processes whereby
activities performed by one social institution are divided
among different institutions.
New institutions are more likely to emerge when
populations grow, the need for coordination of their
activities increases, and new demands are placed on
older institutions that they cannot fulfill.
Populations and Societies



At the end of the Neolithic period, about 8000B.C.E.,
there were an estimated 5 million to 10 million humans.
By the time of Jesus there were an estimated 200 million
people on the earth, and by 1650 there were an
estimated 500 million.
By 1945 the population had reached about 2.3 billion,
and it is now more than 6 billion.
World Population Growth from
8000 B.C.E. to 2000 C.E.
The First Million Years: Hunting and
Gathering




In hunting and gathering societies, population size was
limited by availability of food.
Families and bands linked by kinship developed.
Deviant behavior was punished by banishment (leading
to death).
Survival of individuals was less important than survival
of the group.
The Ice Man


The “Ice Man,” discovered in 1991 in the Italian Alps, is shown with the items
he was carrying when he died.
These remains, among the oldest samples of human flesh and organs ever
discovered, are providing knowledge about life in hunting-and-gathering
societies 5,000 years ago.
Transition to Agriculture



Food surpluses relieved people from the chore of
constantly seeking food.
The need for land to support agriculture meant larger
territories had to be sought and defended.
The need to store food and house the no agrarian
classes led to the growth of villages and small cities.
Agricultural Origins
Industrial Revolution


Growth of societies around cities controlling
limited territories set the stage for the shift from
agriculture to trade and industry.
Capitalism organized production and led to the
development of markets.
Changes in Social Structure in
Industrial Societies



Fewer people work on farms, more live in towns
or cities.
New institutions emerge as a result of scientific
and technological advances.
Innovations in transportation and
communication create a “global village” but also
result in increased competition and conflict.
Types of Societies
Society
Historical Period
Hunting and
Gathering
Only type until 12,000 years ago.
Horticultural and
Pastoral
From 12,000 years ago, with rapidly
decreasing numbers after 4000 BC.
Types of Societies
Society
Historical Period
Agrarian
From about 7,000 years ago; large but
decreasing numbers today.
Industrial
From about 1750 to present.
Post industrial
From about 1960 to present.
Types of Societies
Society
Energy/Technology
Hunting/Gathering
Fire; crude weapons
Horticultural/Pastoral
Fire; hand tools for planting
Agrarian
Fire; animal power for plowing;
irrigation systems
Types of Societies
Society
Energy/Technology
Industrial
Steam, electricity, gasoline power
Post industrial
Electricity, gasoline power, nuclear
energy; information technologies
Types of Societies
Society
Populations Sustained
Hunting/Gathering
Bands of 25-40 people
Horticultural/
Pastoral
Settlements of a few hundred.
Agrarian
Millions of people
Industrial
Millions of people
Post industrial
Millions of people
Types of Societies
Society
Examples
Eskimo; Pygmies of Central Africa;
Hunting/Gathering
Aborigines of Australia
Horticultural/
Pastoral
Societies of the Fertile Crescent
(now Iraq); Laplanders; Maasai
Agrarian
Egypt under the pharaohs;
Medieval Europe; ancient China
and India
Types of Societies
Society
Examples
Industrial
China; Brazil; Eastern European
nations; Argentina; Philippines; South
Korea
Post industrial
United States; most nations of Western
Europe; Japan
Society and the Individual

Gemeinschaft
 Close,
personal relationships typical of small
groups and communities.

Gesellschaft
 Well-organized
but impersonal relationships found
in social structures such as factories and office
bureaucracies.
Role Conflict and Role Strain



Much of the stress in modern societies is
caused by balancing the conflicting demands of
various roles.
Role conflict occurs when a person must
violate one role to perform well in another.
Role strain occurs when people must reconcile
conflicting demands within a single role.
Types of Status

Ascribed status
 Determined
at birth. Role conflict is less likely to
occur.

Achieved status
 Acquired

through the individual’s own efforts.
Master status
 Dominates
all of a person’s other statuses.
The State and Nation-States


The state is a society’s set of political
structures—those that control “who gets what,
when, and how.”
The state has the power to influence the
behavior of citizens.
The State and Nation-States


The state thus may be defined as a society’s set
of political institutions—that is, the groups and
organizations that deal with questions of “who
gets what, when, and how”
The nation-state is the largest territory within
which those institutions can operate without
having to face challenges to their sovereignty
QUICK QUIZ
1. Being a service representative is your ________ in
the social structure of the corporation, but showing
up for work on time, obeying the reasonable orders
of supervisors, and being productive constitute your
________.
a.
status / role
b.
role / status
c.
role expectation / role
d.
role / reasons for role conflict
Answer: a

Being a service representative is your status in the
social structure of the corporation, but showing up for
work on time, obeying the reasonable orders of
supervisors, and being productive constitute your role.
2. Chronologically order these societies in terms of
evolutionary development.
a. hunting and gathering, industrial, agricultural,
pastoral or horticultural, postindustrial
b. industrial, postindustrial, agricultural, pastoral,
hunting and gathering, manufacturing
c. hunting and gathering, pastoral or horticultural,
agricultural, industrial, postindustrial
d. agricultural, hunting and gathering, pastoral or
horticultural, industrial, postindustrial
Answer : c

Chronologically order these societies in terms of
evolutionary development: hunting and gathering,
pastoral or horticultural, agricultural, industrial,
postindustrial.
3. A _____ is the way a society defines how an
individual is to behave in a particular status.
a.
Role expectation
b.
Role
c.
Role conflict
d.
All of the above
Answer : b

A role is the way a society defines how an individual is
to behave in a particular status.