A social structure is
effective in organizing behavior of large numbers of actors
. A structure is coercive of individual and group behavior. A social structure assigns roles and powers to individual actors. A social structure often has distributive consequences for individuals and groups.
Social structure
guides people’s behaviors
. … People develop these perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors from their place in the social structure, and they act accordingly. All of the components of social structure work together to maintain social order by limiting, guiding, and organizing human behavior.
It is
the human element of social structures
that constrains individual action. People who take part in a social structure become elements of that structure.
The individual lives and acts within society
but society is nothing, in spite of the combination of individuals for cooperative effort. On the other hand, society exists to serve individuals―not the other way around. Human life and society almost go together.
Social position is the
position of an individual in a given society and culture
. A given position (for example, the occupation of priest) may belong to many individuals. Social position influences social status. Social position can help to identify a person’s position within the social hierarchy in a society.
Examples of social structure include
family, religion, law, economy, and class
. It contrasts with “social system”, which refers to the parent structure in which these various structures are embedded.
The most common are
family, territory, role, system, and social relationship
.
The major components of social structure include culture, social class, social status, roles, groups, and social institutions. Social structure
guides people’s behaviors
.
Social interactions include a large number of behaviors, so many that in sociology, interaction is usually divided into five categories. These are:
exchange, competition, cooperation, conflict and coercion
. Let’s examine these five types with a bit more detail.
A. Functional Theory: Social structure is
essential because it creates order and predictability in a society
(Parsons, 1951). –Connects people to larger society through webbed pattern of social relationships (thus, homeless people are at a disadvantage ’cause little connections).
Acting via roles, social networks, and status, social structure can
affect the health, values, occupational attainment, and sense of belonging in society
. … Many studies show that people who are part of social networks are less likely to be negatively affected by stressful life events and are less likely to become ill.
The concept of personality, too,
connotes both structure and process or change
. … Most contemporary observers would agree with a definition of personality as “regularities and consistencies in the behavior of individuals in their lives” (Snyder and Ickes 1985, p.
It refers to a society’s framework, consisting of the various relationships between people and groups that direct and set limits on human behavior. The major components of social structure include
culture, social class, social status, roles, groups, and social institutions
. Social structure guides people’s behaviors.
social patternnoun.
The systems of control mechanisms to dominate these entities of the organization to achieve a defined goal
.
Social action is
people coming together to tackle an issue, support other people, or improve their local area
. It involves people giving their time and other resources for the common good, in a range of forms – from volunteering to community-owned services, and peer networks to community organising.
Social stratification refers to
a ranking of people or groups of people within a society
. But the term was defined by the earliest sociologists as something more than the almost universal inequalities that exist in all but the least complex of societies.
