1. Building Blocks of Social Structure
4.1

2. Terms Social structure Status Role Ascribed status Achieved status
Master status
Roles
Social Institution

3. Social structure
The network of interrelated statuses and roles that guide human interaction

4. Status A socially defined position in a group or in a society.
Each status has attached to it one or more roles.
Status is a way to define where individuals fit in and relate to others in society.

5. Roles Is the: behavior & the rights and obligations –
expected of someone occupying a particular status.

6. Each individual in society occupies several statuses.
Teacher, a father, a husband, an African American, etc…

7. Ascribed Status
Assigned according to qualities beyond a person’s control.
Based on a person’s inherited traits beyond your control.
Teenager, young adult, gender, family heritage, race, etc…

8. Achieved Status
Acquired through skills, knowledge, abilities, or direct effort.
People have control over their achieved status.
Basketball players – practice, playing, knowledge of the game.
Husband, wife, college graduate, etc…

9. Master Status
Since all individuals hold many different kinds of statuses, one status ranks above all others.
Can be achieved or ascribed

10. Master Status Teenagers status is often ascribed:
Teenager, student, athlete
Adults master status is usually achieved:
Occupation, wealth, marital status, parenthood
Late Adulthood achieved and ascribed
Volunteer work, hobbies, grandparenthood
Past accomplishments

11. Roles Status serves as social categories
Roles are the component of social structure that bring statuses to life.
You occupy a status, but you play a role
Ralph Linton

12. Reciprocal roles
Corresponding roles that define the patterns of interaction between related statuses.
You cannot fill the role of ________without having someone else perform the role that goes along with the status of ______.
Athlete/Coach
Husband/Wife
doctor/Patient
Leader/follower
Friend/Friend

13. Role Expectations Socially determined behaviors expected of a person
Doctors are expected to treat patients with skill and care
Parents are expected to provide emotional care.

14. Role Performance Actual role behavior
Does not always match the behavior expected by society.
Doctors don’t always treat their patients well.

15. Role Set
Different roles attached to a single status.

16. Role Conflict
Occurs when fulfilling the role expectations of one status and makes it difficult to fulfill the expectations of another status.
Ex: A good employee needs to go to work, a good parent needs to stay at home with a sick child.

17. Role Strain
Occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of a single status.
Ex: The boss who needs to maintain the morale of his employees while getting them to work long hours of overtime.

18. Social Institutions Provide the basic needs to society
Physical support
Emotional support
Transmitting knowledge
Producing goods and services
Maintaining social control
Examples:
Family
Economy
Politics
Education
Religion
Media
Science
Medicine

19. Did You Know?
There are 92 nuclear bombs LOST at sea.