Sociology Chapter 4

triad

3 person group ( can take lines of their own since no 1 person can dissolve the group)

dyad

a group with 2 members (each member has direct control on groups existence)

accommodation

a state of balance between cooperation and conflict; both sides give a little and take a little; ex. staying at a motel; where both parties give up something to come to a mutual agreement

ascribed status

a status that is assigned to an (individual); does not need to do anything special to get this status (uncontrolled); ex. royalty, religion

achieved status

a status that is earned based on a skill, talent, hard work; ex. athletes, graduates

master

a status that plays the greatest role in a persons life; ex. student, teacher

role performance

actual behavior

what a group is not

aggregate or social category

pressure group

an interest group that endeavors to influence public policy-especially governs mental legislation-regarding its particular concerns and priorities; ex. NRA, NEA, Sierra Club; also social network

reference group

any group with whom individuals identify and whose attitudes and values they often adopt

cynical

behavior that is rewarded tends to be repeated; costs outweigh

e-community

community of people who interact through the internet or other electronic communication (most are secondary groups, some evolve into primary groups)

5 ways to resolve conflict

compromise, avoidance/give up, compartmentalize, rationalize, prioritize

urbanization

concentration of the population in cities

reciprocal roles

corresponding roles having interaction between related statuses; ex. teacher/student, parent/child, doctor/patient

conflict

deliberate attempt to oppose, harm, control by force, or resist the will of another person or persons; your main goal is not to win but to make the other side lose; ex. politics, George simmel

role set

different roles attatched to a status; ex. student-study, employee-work, mother is often expected to earn money and prepare meals

role conflict

difficulty meeting the expectation of more than one status; ex. yard work but homework, athlete/emloyee, mother/wife, wife/ employee

size

dyad, tryad, small group

expressive leader

emotion oriented (find ways to keep a group together and maintain morale)

intimacy

emotional attatchment

small group

few enough members that everyones able to interact on face-to-face basis (4-15 people--15 is the largest number that can work well in a group, larger will split into smaller)

preindustrial

food production; human and animal labor

organization

formal or informal types

aggregate

group of people gathered in the same place at the same time who lack organization or lasting patterns of interaction; ex. mall, crowd, passengers on an airplane, or people in line at a train station

social category

group of people who share a common trait or status; ex. students, women, teenagers, school, same status but not same goals

subsistence

how you make your living; ex. feed and cloth yourself

reciprocity

idea that if you do something for someone, they owe you something in return (exchange)

group functions

in order to exist, all groups must fulfill several basic functions; define boundaries, set goals, make decisions, control members behavior, assign tasks, select leaders

in-group

individual belongs to and identifies with (exclusivity)

out-group

individual doesnt belong to or identify with

exchange

individual, group, or social interaction undertaken in an effort to receive a reward in return for actions; ex. chores, allowance; reciprocity, exchange theory, altruism, cynical

secondary group

interaction is impersonal and temporary in nature (who you are as a person is relatively unimportant-an individual can be replaced by anyone who can carry out the taks to achieve groups goals

competition

interaction that occurs when two or more persons or groups oppose each other to achieve a goal that one can attain; common in Western societies; school and sports

cooperation

interaction that occurs when two or more persons or groups work together to achieve a goal that will benefit many people; when successful everyone wins, vital within groups, no group can achieve its goals without it from its numbers, works with competition

Group 4 major features

it must consist of two or more people, there must be interaction among members, the members of the group must have shared expectations, the members must possess some sense of common identity

social structure

network of interrelated statuses and roles that guides human interaction; tying in roles and statuses together

informal organization

no official structure/ establish rules of conduct

leader

people who influence attitudes and opinions of others; two types instrumental and expressive

role

pertains to behavior expected of someone occupying a specific status; ex. rely on eachother

types of groups

primary, secondary, reference , in-, out-, e-community, interest, pressure

role expectations

refers to the expectations of a particular role; sub role; ex. encourage students

possible for primary

secondary relationships exist in the same group

groups

set of two or more people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and who possess some degree of common identity

interest group

share a common interest and publically promote and create advantages for its cause; ex. coorporations, charitable organizations, civil rights group

role strain

situation that occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the expectations of a single role; ex. student asked hard question, wants to give good answer but don't want to make others late

how groups differ

size, time, organization

primary group

small group of people who interact over a relatively long period of time on a direct and personal basis (family, friends); intimacy is an example

status

socially defined position in society; ex. our president and student body

George Simmel

sociologist identified four sources of conflict-war, disagreements within groups, legal disputes, clashes over ideology (prolife-prochoice)

time

some may meet only once in a while some exist for many years; no group can meet 24/7

division of labor

specialization by individuals or groups in the performance of specific economic activities

formal organization

structure, goals, activities are clearly defined

social institutions

system of statuses, roles, values, and norms that is organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society; ex. include family, economy, politics, education, and religion

instrumental leader

task oriented (concerned with finding means to help reach goals)

rationalize

tell yourself the conflict doesn't exist; isn't so much of a way to resolve conflict in reality as it is to resolve in your own mind

conflict resolution

the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict-solving your problems; numerous kinds

exchange theory

theory that people are motivated by self-interests in their interaction with other people

compartmentalize

to behave in different ways in different situations; ex. prison guard/parent; a person tries to separate the conflicting roles

prioritize

to decide which role is more important and act on that one

avoidance/give up

to deny or drop one role- decided role conflict is unreasonable and gives up one status or another

compromise

to find a solution that meets the demands of both roles-give and take- both sides give a little for it to work

horticultural societies

type of society characterized by a reliance of vegetables grown in garden pots as the main form of subsistence; more food supply leads to larger pop. 300 people, can form permanent villages; DOL is practiced at higher level,very few chiefs left

Pastoral Societies

type of society characterized by a reliance on domesticated herd animals as the main form of subsistence; food supply more reliable than H&G and support larger populations; fewer people need to supply food, division of labor, no permanent villages, encourages trade which creates inequality as some grow wealthier which acquire power, heridary in time chieftains emerge

hunting and gathering societies

type of society characterized by the daily collection of wild plants and the hunting of wild animals as the main form of subsistence; oldest way, food unreliable, population are small 60-100 people, ex. South America/ Kung tribe-Bostawna-South Africa

agricultural society

type of society characterized by the use of draft animals and plows in the fields; start of farming, as food supplies get more reliable complex society (millions), DOL increases as inequality does; categorized as landowners or peasants, monarchy hands of one person

post industrial society

type of society in which economic activity centers on the production of information and the provision of services; ex. lawyer, computer engineer, U.S., primary concern of society not production of food or goods but the creation of information and ideas and the provision of services

preindustrial society

type of society in which food production-carried out through the use of human and animal labor-is the main economic activity

industrial society

type of society in which the mechanized production of the goods is the main economic activity; factories, source of power is fossil fuels such as coal and oil, works to work at factories-mass produce goods, urbanization, democratic power isn't always determined in industrial societies

subsistence strategies

ways in which a society uses technology to provide for the needs of it members

social network

web of relationships that formed by the sum total of an individuals life with others (direct/indirect relationships)

types of social interaction

when you play a role, most of the time, you have to interact with others; exchange, competition, conflict, cooperation, accommodation

altruism

without reward for good deed