1. American Values
Personal Achievement

2. Work

3. Progress and Material Comfort

4. Other American values:
Morality and Humanitarianism
Efficiency and Practicality
Equality and Democracy
Freedom
New emerging characteristic
Narcissism: extreme self-centeredness

5. Most of our norms are INTERNALIZED (i.e. we
How are Norms created?
Most of our norms are INTERNALIZED (i.e. we
just follow them without thinking.)
Sanctions: Society does however consciously
Enforce norms through positive or negative
sanctions

6. Positive Sanctions: rewards for appropriate
“NORMal” behavior. Can be formal or informal.

7. Negative Sanctions: punishment or threat of
Punishment used to enforce CONFORMITY to
Norms. Can be formal or informal.

8. of social control can include any authority
Social Control: Most NORMS are enforced by
Internalization; however agents
of social control can include any authority
figure.

9. Cultural Diffusion: The spreading of cultural traits
from one culture to another
Cultural Lag: When society needs time to catch up with cultural
changes.
For example: Texting while driving was not a crime until many people had been
hurt in accidents related to it

10. Social Structure STATUS: Socially defined position within a group
ROLE (actor): The behavior expected of someone of a particular status.

11. LATIN KING DRUG LORD AND TRAINED
STATUSES
Member of the
Marching Band
Big Brother
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
LATIN KING DRUG LORD AND TRAINED
KILLER
Son and Fisherman

12. TYPES OF STATUS ASCRIBED: Level of status that you can not control
Teenager, female, Irish
ACHIEVED: Status you’ve earned
Captain, Valedictorian, Convict

13. MASTER STATUS The status the most defines your life and identity.
Master status changes throughout your life

14. ROLES: Your behavior reflects what is expected from someone of your status
Role Strain: When a person has difficulty meeting the role expectations of their status.

15. GROUPS
Group: two or more people who interact and share a common identity
Primary groups: personal and long term
Secondary groups: impersonal and temporary
INGROUPS: Group with clearly defined membership (symbols, language)
OUTGROUP: Anyone who doesn’t belong to INGROUP (us=ingroup v. them=outgroup)
PRIMARY SECONDARY
FAMILY
FRIENDS
CLUBS
CLASSROOM
WORK

16. Group Size Dyad: two person group -fragile because each person
critical to the survival of the group.
Triad: three person group
-more sturdy structure,
no one person can destroy,
Largest functioning group: about 15
-any larger and subgroups
naturally form

17. Aggregates
People who gather together but share no common identity or organization.