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5
SOCIAL INTERACTION AND
SOCIAL STRUCTURE

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 Chapter Outline
• Social Interaction and Reality
• Elements of Social Structure
• Social Structure in Global Perspective
• Social Policy and Social Structure: The AID

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 Social Interaction and Reality?

Social Structure: The way in which a society is

organized into predictable relationships.

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 Social Interaction and Reality?
Defining and Reconstructing
Reality
•Human beings interpret or define each other’s actions.
•The ability to define social reality reflects a group’s
power within society.

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 Social Interaction and Reality?
Negotiated Order

--Negotiated order is a social structure that derives

its existence from the social interactions through
which people define and redefine its character.
--People reshape reality by negotiating changes in
patterns of social interaction.
--Negotiation is the attempt to reach agreement
with others concerning the same objective.

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 Elements of Social Structure
Statuses

•Status
--Status refers to any of the socially defined
positions within a large group or society.
--A person holds more than one status
simultaneously.
--Examples of statuses:
president daughter
student neighbor

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 Elements of Social Structure
Statuses

•Ascribed and Achieved Status

--Ascribed status is a status one is born with.
--Achieved status is a status one earns.
•Master Status
--Master status is a status that dominates others
and determines a person’s general position in
society.

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 Elements of Social Structure

Figure 5.1: Social Statuses

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 The Role of Socialization
Social Roles

•Social Roles
--Social roles are sets of expectations for people
who occupy a given status.
•Role Conflict
--Role conflict occurs when incompatible
expectations arise from two or more social
positions held by the same person.
Continued...

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 The Role of Socialization
Social Roles
•Role Conflict
--Role conflict is the challenge of occupying two
social positions simultaneously.
•Role Strain
--Role strain describes the difficulties that result
from the differing demands and expectations
associated with the same social position.
•Role Exit
--Role Exit describes the process of disengagement
from a role that is central to one’s self-identity and
reestablishment of an identity in a new role.
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 The Role of Socialization
Groups

•A group is any number of people with similar norms,

values, and expectations who interact with each other
on a regular basis.

•Every society is composed of many groups in which

daily social interaction takes place, including those
groups who interact electronically.

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 The Role of Socialization
Social Networks and
Technology
•Social Network
--A Social Network is a series of social relationships
that links a person directly to others and through them
indirectly to still more people.

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 The Role of Socialization
Social Institutions

•Social institutions are organized patterns of beliefs and

behavior centered on basic social needs.
•Social institutions provide insight into the structure of
society.

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 The Role of Socialization

Table 5.1: Functions and Institutions

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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective
Tönnie’s Gemeinschaft and
Gesellschaft
•Gemeinschaft (guh-MINE-shoft)
The Gemeinschaft is defined as a small community
in which people have similar backgrounds and life
experiences.
•Gesellschaft (guh-ZELL-shoft)
The Gesellschaft is defined as a large community in
which people are strangers and feel little in
common with other community residents.

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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective

Table 5.2: Comparison of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective
Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution
Approach
•This approach views society as undergoing change
according to a dominant pattern, known as
sociocultural evolution.
•Sociocultural evolution refers to the “process of
change and development in human societies resulting
from growth in their stores of cultural information.”

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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective
Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution
Approach
•A society’s level of technology is critical to the way it
is organized.
•Preindustrial Societies
--Hunting-and-Gathering Societies
*These societies are composed of small, widely
dispersed groups.
*These societies use minimal technology.
Continued...

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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective
Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution
Approach
--Horticultural Societies
*People plant seeds and crops.
*People are less nomadic than in hunter-
gatherer societies.
*People use technology in a limited way.
--Agrarian Societies
*People are primarily engaged in production of
food.
*People use technological innovations like the
plow for dramatic increases in food production.
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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective
Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution
Approach
•Industrial Societies
--These societies depend on mechanization to
produce its goods and services.
--These societies rely on inventions and energy
sources that facilitate agricultural and industrial
production.
--These societies change the function of the family
as a self-sufficient unit.

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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective
Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution
Approach
•Postindustrial and Postmodern Societies
--Postindustrial Society
*A postindustrial society is one whose
economic system is engaged primarily in the
processing and control of information.
*The main output of postindustrial society is
services.
Continued...

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 Social Structure in Global
Perspective
Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution
Approach
--Postmodern Society
*A postmodern society is a technologically
sophisticated society preoccupied with
consumer goods and media images.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
The AIDS Crisis

•The Issue
--While there are encouraging new ways to treat
people, there is currently no way to eradicate AIDS
by medical means.
--How can people be protected and whose
responsibility is it?

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
The AIDS Crisis
•The Setting
--Health practitioners pay particular attention to
methods of transmitting HIV because there is no
cure or vaccine for AIDS at this time.
--AIDS is on the increase, with an estimated 36.1
million people infected and 3 million dying
annually.
--AIDS is not evenly distributed and the developing
nations of the sub-Saharan Africa have been hard
hit.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
The AIDS Crisis
•Sociological Insights
--A dramatic health crisis such as AIDS is likely to
bring about changes in social structure.
--From a functionalist view, if established social
institutions cannot meet a crucial need, new social
networks are likely to emerge to fill that function.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
The AIDS Crisis
•Sociological Insights
-- Viewed from a conflict perspective,
policymakers were slow to respond to the AIDS
crisis because those in high-risk groups--gays and
IV drug users--were comparatively powerless.
--Interactionists widely forecast that AIDS would
lead to a more conservative sexual climate. They
are also concerned about the impact of AIDS
treatment on the daily lives of those stricken with
the disease.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
The AIDS Crisis
•Policy Initiatives
--AIDS has struck all societies, but not all nations
can respond in the same manner.
--The high cost of drug treatment programs has
generated intensive worldwide pressure on the
major drug companies to lower their prices to
patients in developing nations.
--The prospect of cheaper medicine will in turn
stimulate the demand for care and a need for
additional resources.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure

Figure 5.3: Daily Dosing for AIDS

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
Percent of Population
Characteristic 15 Years Old or Older
With any disability 24.0
Severe 12.5
Not severe 11.5
Has difficulty or is unable to:
See words and letters 4.1
Hear normal conversation 4.8
Have speech understood 1.0
Lift or carry 10 pounds 7.9
Climb stairs without resting 8.9
Walk three city blocks 9.1
Persons with Disabilities (I)
Source: Census analysis released in 1998 based on the 1994-1995 Survey of Income and Program Participation. See
Bureau of the Census 1998. Disability Status of Persons 15 Years Old and Over. Special analysis provide to author.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
Percent of Population
Characteristic 15 Years Old or Older
Has difficulty or needs personal assistance with:
Getting around inside the home 1.7
Getting in/out of bed or chair 2.7
Bathing 2.2
Dressing 1.6
Eating 0.5
Getting to or using the toilet 1.0

Persons with Disabilities (II)

Source: Census analysis released in 1998 based on the 1994-1995 Survey of Income and Program Participation. See
Bureau of the Census 1998. Disability Status of Persons 15 Years Old and Over. Special analysis provided to author.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
Percent of Population
15 Years Old or Older
Characteristic
Needs personal assistance with:

Going outside the home 4.0

Keeping track of money and bills 1.9

Preparing meals 2.1

Doing light housework 3.4

Using the telephone 1.3

Persons with Disabilities (II)
continued
Source: Census analysis released in 1998 based on the 1994-1995 Survey of Income and Program Participation. See
Bureau of the Census 1998. Disability Status of Persons 15 Years Old and Over. Special analysis provided to author.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure
Percent of Population
15 Years Old or Older
Characteristic
Needs personal assistance with:

Going outside the home 4.0

Keeping track of money and bills 1.9

Preparing meals 2.1

Doing light housework 3.4

Using the telephone 1.3

Persons with Disabilities (II)
continued
Source: Census analysis released in 1998 based on the 1994-1995 Survey of Income and Program Participation. See
Bureau of the Census 1998. Disability Status of Persons 15 Years Old and Over. Special analysis provide to author.

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 Social Policy and Social Structure

The geography of HIV, 1997

Percentage of people in each country
ages 15 to 49 infected with HIV or
suffering from AIDS in 1997:

16.0 — 26.0 percent

8.0 — 15.9 percent
2.0 — 7.9 percent
0.5 — 1.9 percent
0.0 — 0.4 percent
Data not available

Mapping Life Worldwide: Distribution of AIDS Worldwide

Source: Richard T. Schaefer. 2001. Sociology, 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Figure 5-2, p. 135. From United
Nations data reproduced by L. Altman 1998:A1.

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