Social Structure & Interaction

How do ascribed and achieved statuses serve to identify who a person is in a culture? What
are reference groups? How are reference groups experienced in society?

(Susana Tapia)

Ascribed and achieved statuses serve to identify who a person is in culture by assigning them a
status. A status is a social position we occupy relative to others, meaning a person can be a
mother, father, sister, brother, neighbor, photographer, Doctor, Veterinarian,etc. Ascribed is
assigned to a person by society without regard for the persons unique talents or characteristics.
An example of ascribed would be me, Im a female, Im a sister, neighbor, Latina, 23 years old,
and I am also a daughter. Those are some examples of ascribed and its basically assigning you a
status without seeing your talents or characteristics. As of for achieved status, a social position
that is something within our power to change, meaning that people view your talents and
characteristics. An example would be me again, I am a student, I am a classmate, a friend, and an
employee. People have a way of viewing us as just one status because we dont like to let other
people in our business. Our neighbors just know us by neighbors and know who our family are
(ascribed) and they may also know that kids who live in the same building or house are students
that have friends and their parents are employed (achieved). Reference group are any groups that
individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior. I like the
example they give in the book so Ill be using that instead, a high school student likes hip-hop so
he will try to start hanging out with a group of people who like hip-hop as well. After hanging
out with them he will now start to dress like their peers, download music, go to the hip-hop
concerts. I guess reference groups are experienced by society as depending on what the group is
into. If there was a group of hip-hop people others would view them as trouble because hip-hop
artists wear baggy clothes and if there was a group of lets say a group of nerds, people would
view them as calm, smart, geeky because of how they are dressed and their glasses. I guess it all
depends on the group because people judge without knowing their reasons why it is that they like
to do and most of them are hated because they arent educated.
1.

What is a social role (give examples)? How does one violate his or her role?

What is meant by role exit? And how does role exit relate to the socialization process?
Distinguish between primary and secondary groups (give examples). (Amanda Levin)

A social role is represented by the behaviors, concepts and norms that define how an individual
acts within their social situation or society. We all play different roles in our daily lives which
define how we behave, for example, I play the role of a student, of a girlfriend, and of a female
in society. These roles carry with them expectations from those around us as to how we behave
and actions we need to fulfill. As a student I need to stay informed of directions provided to me
by the professor. I am expected to study certain concepts and complete specific pieces of work
by a defined deadline. We conform to these role requirements because there are pressures and
rewards from those around us to do so. As a student I am obtaining respect and access to a social
group. I am rewarded if I fulfill my role with the trust from employers to potentially give me a
job due to my prior accomplishments in that role. One violates their role when they fail to
conform to the norms and expectations defined within the role, for example, if I fail to turn in
assignments and complete the work I could be dropped from the class and no longer hold the role
as student. Violating a role brings with it the potential for punishments that discourage us from
falling out of conformity. Role exit means you have chosen to remove yourself from the role
group, for example I choose to stop doing class work and drop out of my degree program, I have
exited that role. Its also possible to be encouraged to end a type of role as it is no longer
considered socially acceptable. Changing norms and beliefs can lead to elimination of roles
which are seen as no longer acceptable or useful. Role exit contributes to the socialization
process by determining what norms you want to conform to and thus what types of social groups
you become a part of. If I choose to leave school and become a musician, I will then conform to
certain norms of a musician role and will socialize myself into that lifestyle. Primary groups are
social organizations of closely knit and usually smaller groups that involve specific roles for each
individual. A family would be an example of a Primary Group. I am a daughter in a family in
which I have a mother, a father and a brother. Our roles are not interchangeable and we are
highly invested in the group for financial, emotional and societal support. Secondary Groups are
less defined and the roles are not as dependent on one another. Examples of a Secondary Group
are U.S. Citizens. This is a very large group which is defined by certain norms and
commonalities but which can have some interchangeable roles and behaviors and in which
individuals are not as closely related to one another. (Amanda Levin)

2.

What is meant by in-group and outgroup? How is in-group connected to

primary group? How is out group connected to secondary group? (Lakysha Bloem)
An in-group refers to a group that an individual feels he/she belongs to and believes it to be a
fundamental part of who he/she is. A primary group, on the other hand, is a small group
consisting of individuals who in most cases engage directly in long-term emotional ways,
because of the way the individuals in a primary group interact. When in a small group,
individuals interact more with each other than when in a larger group. Due to the small number
of individuals in a primary group it connects more to an in-group where people feel more like
they belong. People build relationships easier in a small group because of the way they engage
with each other. For example, a close-knit family forms a primary group because they interact on
a daily basis which helps them form a family-like bond and connection. In contrast, an outgroup is a group someone feels they do not belong to; often due to a feeling of rejection and
rivalry. A secondary group refers to a large and impersonal group that is task-focused and timelimited. The connection between an out-group and a secondary group lays within the amount of
people in a secondary group. In large groups, often cliques are created among members of the
group which can lead to some individuals feeling as if they do not belong. A classroom is a good
example of a secondary group because everyone is there to reach a goal and are often focused on
themselves and/or friends. In this kind of environment, cliques are often created where not every
everyone has a clique they fit in, so they will feel left out. (Lakysha Bloem)

3.

What are the five functional prerequisites that a society must satisfy if it is to

survive? Describe the differences between organic and mechanical solidarity. (Maribel
Flores)
In this society there is various pre-requisites that us as individuals are dependent on. The five
prerequisites that are trusted are family, education, economy, polity and religion. These
prerequisites are also known as functional prerequisites of society.
1. Family is the most important because from family this is where you learn the
basics such as caring for yourself and maintaining a certain lifestyle, you also learn to be
able to socialize with different types of individuals in this society, it also gives also

biological reproduction, without biological reproduction our society and world would
stop growing and we wouldnt be able to build any more future history. Remember that
human is the main domination in this world and us as people keep a social structure in
this society.
2. Religion is also an important aspect because it gives everyone its own personality
and unique ways. It gives human the power to act upon not liking something and being
able to have their own beliefs. It enforces discipline, and it also creates shared beliefs and
practices. Religion is something our world started with than that is why it is an important
prerequisite in life.
3. Education is something over time has taken a large significance in this society.
Education teaches you the basics of interaction and introduces different religions,
cultures, and academic subjects that can be helpful out in the real world. Knowing how to
interact with people in your family is one thing but interacting with others outside of the
family is a different. It teaches you how to interact with different people with different
personalities. Education is what separates the classes such as lower, median, and higher
class.
4. Economy is an important presence because with that is where our production,
distribution, and consumption of goods and services occur in a daily basis. This is what
keeps our society running, without the resources our society would be destructive. Our
society is so dependent in production, distribution, and consumption to keep our society
moving with a steady flow and stability.
5. Polity also as known as the government who runs the states and the country. This
keeps maintains internal order within the society. Things such as laws, punishing , and
policing is what keeps a smooth stability and is what publishes the rights we have as
civilians in this country as well. Without rules and regulations this society would have
martial law and we wouldnt have any rights or freedom at all this is why this is an
important prerequisite as well.

Emile Durkheim created two solidarities called organic and mechanic solidarity. Organic
solidarity is found is an industrialized society while mechanic solidarity is found is society that is
less structured and complex society. They believe in development by specialization and
complementary work. In organic solitary people are dependent they depend on each other to get

a task done rather than themselves. While mechanic solitaries feel more connected to a religious,
and educational lifestyle. Their importance is that they are based in small traditional societies
where kinship and family is most important. (Maribel Flores)