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Social Interaction and Social Structure
Chapter 5
Mock Prison Experiment
Phillip Zimbardo at Stanford University
70 Male students were paid to give up vacation time to simulate a prison in the basement corridor of a school building
arbitrarily designated as prisoners or guards (flip of a coin)
guards acted “guardlike”. Some tough but fair
1/3rd became cruel and abusive <Zimbardo’s Mock Prison Slide Show and Discussion of
Social Interaction and Reality
Herbert Blumer-response to someone’s behavior is based on the meaning we attach to his or her actions
meanings typically reflect the norms of the dominant culture and our socialization experiences
Interactionalists-meanings attached are shaped by interactions
<reality is constructed by our interactions
Defining and Reconstructing Reality
Regard tattoos-few short years ago- “weird, kooky”
associated with fringe counterculture-punk rockers, bike gangs, skinheads
increased social interaction with people with tattoos has brought about a different view
<Tattooed Brett Michaels of Poison
Negotiated Order
Social reality can be negotiated as changes occur in social interactions
negotiation refers to attempt to reach an agreement with others concerning some objective
does not involve coercion through negotiation as a form of
social interaction- society creates social structure
Negotiated Order-social structure that derives its existence from social interaction through which people define and redefine its character
Status Status-any of the full range of socially defined
positions within a large group or society Ascribed Status-”assigned” by a society
without regard for talent Conflict Theorists are especially interested in
these Achieved Status- comes largely through our
own efforts our achieved status is heavily influenced by our
ascribed status Master Status-a status that dominates others
and thereby determines a person’s position within society
<Malcolm X. was told by an English Teacher: being a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger” and encouraged him to be a carpenter
Status Exercise
Put in the middle of the circle ‘ME’
surround yourself with circles filling each with a status
on top put- ascribed statuses-make it a certain design
on bottom -achieved statuses-make it a certain design
star -the master status
Social Roles and Role Conflict
Social Roles-Set of expectations for people who occupy a given status
view someone as only a “police officer”, difficult to view as a “friend”
Role Conflict-incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person
women promoted to supervisor on an assembly line
individuals move into occupations that are common among through ascribed status
Role Strain and Exit Role Strain-difficulty of occupying two
social positions simultaneously Zimbardo-as professor at the head of an
experiment and as professor looking out for the welfare of his students
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg-spies?, scientists
Role Exit-adjustments made when leaving a role-eg. Ex-convict, quitting a job, divorce
four stages of role exit 1. Doubt 2. Search for alternatives 3. Action stage or departure 4. Creation of a new identity
Groups Groups-Any number of people with
similar norms, values and expectations who interact with one another
Women’s basketball team, hospital’s business office, symphony orchestra
entire staff of a hospital is not staff members rarely interact vital part in social structure also now- those who interact
electronically these transmission allows for
impression management-alter one’s ego
Social Institutions
Social Institutions-organized patterns of beliefs and behaviors centered on basic social needs
five Social Institutions (in no specific order)
1. Family 2. Government 3. Education 4. Business 5. Religion
Perspectives on Social Institutions
Functionalist Perspective-(David Aberle (1950), Raymond Mack and Calvin Bradford (1979)
5 functional prerequisites must accomplish to stay alive
1. Replacing personnel-die, leave or become incapacitated
<Shakers-came in 1774-celibacy-must replace personnel through recruitment (6000 in 1840’s-7 in 1999)
Functionalist Perspective of Social Institutions
2. Teaching New Recruits- group must encourage the recruits to
learn and accept its values and customs learning can take place formally in
schools (manifest function) or informally through interaction and negotiation in peer groups (latent function)
3. Producing and distributing Goods and Services-
society must provide goods and services for its members
the group must provide for most members or the members will become discontent and grow into disorder
Functionalist Perspective of Social Institutions
<4. Preserving order- native people of Tasmania are now
extinct-1800’s destroyed by the hunting parties of European conquerors-looked on as half human
must protect themselves from attack as well as preserve order
5. Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose-
people must feel motivated to continue as a member of that society to fulfill the other four requirements
Conflict Theorist Perspective on Social Institutions
Do not agree with the functionalists
object to the idea that the outcome is efficient and desirable
present order is not an accident maintains the privileges of certain
powerful groups and individuals, contributing to the powerlessness of those without power
social institutions are inherently conservative
Conflict Theorists Perspective on Social Institutions
Functionalist-social change could be dysfunctional
why should we preserve unfair and discriminatory social structures?
Social Institutions work in Gender and racist environments
Matrix of Domination-Patricia Hill Collins (1971)-interlocking models of oppression-unless activists or policymakers intervene-those in less advantaged groups will remain in those groups
Interactionalist Perspective of Social Institutions
Emphasize that our social behavior is conditioned by the role and statuses that we accept, the groups which we belong, and the institutions in which we function
“judge”-in relation to attorney, defendant, plaintiff, witness
judicial system derives its significance due to the roles people carry out in social interactions
Gemeinschaft and Gessellschaft
Ferdinand Tonnies(1855-1936)-rise of industrial city marked the end of the ideal type close-knit community-Gemeinschaft
brought about the impersonal mass society-Gessellschaft
<Characteristics of both
Sociocultural Evolution
Gerhard Lenski-change according to the dominant pattern
rather than opposite forces as Tonnies had seen
level of technology is critical to the way it is organized
<Technology-information about the ways in which material resources of the environment may be used to satisfy human needs and desires.
Preindustrial Society
1. Hunters and Gatherers-rely on food and fiber readily available
technology is minimal, organized in groups and constantly searching for food-little division of labor
small widely dispersed groups, each group is related-kinship ties rule the groups
last group has virtually disappeared by the close of the 20th century
Preindustrial Society
2. Horticultural Society-plant seeds and crops rather than subsist merely on available food
much less nomadic production of tools and household
objects technology is still limited-digging
sticks or hoes are the furthest reaches of technology
3. Agrarian Society-production of food
technology allows for increased production-Plow
Preindustrial Society
Still relies on physical power of humans and animals
social structure has more defined roles than in Horticultural society
individual concentrate on specialized tasks-ie. Blacksmith
social institutions become more elaborate-property rights
create artifacts
Industrial Society Industrial revolution-in England
between 1760-1830 scientific revolution focused on the
nonanimal(mechanical) sources of power to labor tasks
people left the homesteads and started to work in centrally located factories
specialization of task social consequences-families and
communities could not function as self-sufficient units
individuals, villages and regions exchanged goods and services and interdependent
Industrial Society
Family loses its position as the power source and authority
specialization knowledge leads to more formalized education, education becomes distinct from the family
Postindustrial and Modern Society
Postindustrial-a society whose economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information
main output is services not manufactured goods
Postmodern-technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied by consumer goods and media images
global perspective-note the ways a nation’s culture crosses its borders