Week 4 - What Do Sociologists Mean By Social Structure PDF

Week 4 What do sociologists mean by social structure? Sociology 1210 Dr. Elisabeth Rondinelli The Sociological Approach The Game Metaphor and the “One Thing” “We are always participating in something larger than ourselves, and if we want to understand social life and what hap...

Week 4 What do sociologists mean by social structure? Sociology 1210 Dr. Elisabeth Rondinelli The Sociological Approach The Game Metaphor and the “One Thing” “We are always participating in something larger than ourselves, and if we want to understand social life and what happens to people in it, we have to understand what it is that we are participating in and how we are participating in it.” - Johnson, p.12 Learning Objectives Define social structure Understand the core elements of social structure Outline the way in which social structure reproduces inequality, using examples of the family structure What is social structure and how is it organized? What’s the point of studying social structure? Knowing what social structures are and how they work allow us to understand: How we are highly social creatures How social relations impact and shape us: our thoughts, behaviours, and actions How good we are at knowing, most of the time and for most of our daily lives, what to do and how to navigate social relationships How there are discernible patterns in our behaviours and actions that relate to our status and role in social life How we are organized in society without always being aware of it – how we follow rules, abide by norms, and do so largely unthinkingly How the various parts of our society are related to one another How inequality works The study of social structures also gets us away from individualism as a dominant worldview Social structure refers to the patterns of relationships and distributions that characterize the organization of a social system. Relationships connect various elements of a system (like social statuses, roles) to one another and to the system itself (how are people related to one another and to social systems in a society?). Distributions involve valued resources and rewards, such as power, privilege, capital, and occupational prestige, among specific social statuses (who gets what in society?). (Johnson, p. 179) When we talk about distribution, what gets unequally distributed? Power: the capacity to make decisions and act how you want even when there is resistance Privilege: an advantage that is unearned, exclusive to particular social statuses Capital: economic capital (land, income, inherited wealth, access to credit) Occupational prestige: reputation and respect tied to what we do for a living What are the core elements of social structures?  Structures (there are multiple structures in a society) Statuses (one person can hold several statuses) Roles (each status can have several roles) Individuals Social status: a position that people occupy in a social system that locates them in relation to the occupants of other statuses Key points about social status: within one social system, we may hold multiple social statuses (ex. Family as system) we hold multiple social statuses in different social systems each social status is dependent on a relationship with another a social status pre-exists you and will exist after you a social status is a position you ‘fill’; it anchors you in the social world you may fill a social status temporarily or for a long time a social status enables you to do things, but it also constrains you a social status can be ‘achieved’ or ‘ascribed’ Status 1 Man Woman Heterosexual (and very traditional!) Status 2 Husband Wife married couple/family – Status 3 Father Mother Example of structure as patterns of Status 4 Breadwinner relationships Homemaker Individual people, like the two in this example, can hold multiple statuses. Each status has a relationship to other statuses. These statuses existed before us and will exist after. Status 1 Man Woman Heterosexual (and very traditional!) Status 2 Husband Wife married couple/family – Status 3 Father Mother Example of structure as patterns of distribution Status 4 Breadwinner Homemaker Power, resources, and prestige are unequally distributed among statuses. In order to understand this example, we need to connect the heterosexual family structure to other structures, such as patriarchy (which favours men over women), gender systems (which promote traditional gender roles) and capitalism (which enables men’s economic independence and women’s economic dependence)  Ascribed Status Achieved Status A status that is bestowed on us A status that is ‘achieved’ in the sense culturally at birth; fall into certain that it is linked to decisions we have boxes right away made or relationships we have formed A position you were born into or inherit A position you gain through your or that you take on involuntarily in life. achievements, abilities, or efforts. Girl/Boy Husband/Wife Race Manager/Employee ‘If we want to know how people will behave, we are in many ways better off knowing the statuses they occupy than their personal characteristics and intentions’ Johnson p. 66 Role: a set of beliefs, norms, values, attitudes associated with a social status in a social system that shapes how people participate in and experience social life in relation to the occupants of other statuses If status provides a position, role provides the blueprint for how we will behave and think in that position Ex. Status of “professor” comes with different roles in relation to other statuses (eg. other profs, students, my dean) Yet, we can never know exactly how an individual will participate, we have agency! We are often unaware of the hold that a social status has over our thinking and behaviour. We tend to fill our status positions and our expected roles with relative ease and with little thought We often become aware of these positions only after a sudden change in, or disruption of, social status Role/Status Disorientation: occurs when there is a sudden change in our social status and we lose our identity, sense of purpose, and understanding of how we ought to think or behave. Role Conflict occurs when the expectations of one role conflict with those of another Role conflict is a common feature of social life: working mother - role conflict between being productive employee and attentive parent hiring committee in a small community – role conflict between being objective decision-maker & community member who knows everyone who applied Institutional policies can aim to avoid role conflict: those barring romantic relationships between doctor/ patient; teacher/student; lawyer/client are intended to avoid role conflict  The Family Structure: An Example of How Inequality is Reproduced What is likely to happen in a heterosexual nuclear family? What structures might be present and have effects in the family? What paths of least resistance may be ’built-in’ to the family? Research on heterosexual couples with children Multiple studies present similar findings in families where both parents work full-time: 1. Unequal share of household labour (child care, cleaning, etc): women spend about 7 hrs more in child-care tasks per week; women spend another 7 hrs more in house- related tasks per week 2. Unequal division of labour is source of constant arguments and stress  The privilege of ‘choice’ ‘The nuclear [‘heterosexual’] family structure places a heavy burden on just two adults, a burden that would not be nearly as hard to carry if it were spread out among many adults, as in extended families. On an individual level, men’s willingness to shoulder their share of responsibility for household work can make a huge difference in family life, beginning with the level of stress and strain on working wives and mothers and their relation to husbands and fathers. That choice, of course, is influenced by a larger system which exempts men from having to feel responsible for such tasks, however willing they may be to ‘help out’ when asked’ (Johnson, p.89)  Nelson’s (2010) research on ‘same-sex’ couples finds that they are more democratic than ‘opposite-sex’ couples: Research on ‘same- 1. More equal share of household labour (child care, sex’ couples with cleaning, etc) 2. More time spent discussing both partners’ ideas and children preferences What explains this difference? Johnson helps us think about inequality with a good sociological question: ‘how unequal is the distribution, how is it accomplished, how is the pattern of inequality justified and maintained, and how does all this affect people and the system as a whole?’ (Johnson p.77) “Sociological practice is not about predicting individual behaviour. It is about understanding how social circumstances shape patterns of behaviour in one way or another and the consequences that result” (Johnson p. 74) “None of this structural information tells us just what will happen in each individual family. It does, however, tell us a lot about built in paths of least resistance and where they are likely to lead family dynamics when [people] follow them” (Johnson p. 76). The organization of systems create paths of least resistance Lanza - Alienated young white man (statuses) - Culture that defines masculinity as connected to power, control, and violence (values) - Country with high availability of and ease of access to guns and little to no limitations on weapons that can cause a lot of damage (material realities of a system) - Family that glorifies gun cultures and ownership (socialization) - PATHS OF LEAST RESISTANCE are rooted to the systems that create them - They ‘motivate’, ‘loads the odds in favour of’ something, ‘promote’ certain behaviours (74) - “These problems are rooted in systems we all participate in. As such, they involve all of us, all the time” (74) Week 4 Key Concepts Social structure Social status Ascribed and achieved status Role Role conflict and disorientation Power Privilege Capital Occupational prestige