Social Structure

Status

• Simply a position that a person occupies in a social structure

Types of Status

• Family Status(mother, father, child, grandparent)
• Occupational Status(president, lawyer, physician, firefighter, computer programmer)
• Social Status(upper class, middle class, lower class
• Other Statues(age, race, sex, ethnicity, ect)

Status Symbols

• We can detect clues simply by watching and listening
• Examples: police officer uniform, wedding ring, bookbag

Roles

• The sum of the total of expectations about the behavior attached to a particular social status

Tricky Situations

• Role Strain- statues are accompanied by very demanding roles
• Status Inconsistency- when an individual comes to occupy multiple statues that, in combination, do not mesh with social expectations
• Role Conflict- when actual demands in a persons role clash

Master Status

• Treating someone based on their gender

Groups

• Family group, a marriage, a friendship group, work or club group

QUESTIONS