Group Work
Social Structure and Interaction
1. How do ascribed and achieve statuses serve to identify who a person is in a culture? What are reference groups? How are reference groups experienced in society? The term of status is describing a person experiences responsibility and benefits based on the rank and role in society. Ascribed status is a person who is fixed and assigned by society. The position cannot be changed and involuntary in social system. The role is very important due to the take the responsibility, have power, and duty. The person has been identified in society that based on his gender, race, family backgrounds, and ethnic. Achieve status is person who has to be put effort and earned. It is opposite of ascribed status that reflects a person’s skills and abilities. The position has to come out with rights, power, obligations, behaviors, and duties. Reference group is a group that compare a group to another group of people in order to evaluate based on the behavior. In order to determine the behavior and characteristics of people in society, reference group needs to contrast, compare, and evaluation so that it provides a standard of measurement and helps to identify the social norms. 2. 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). A social role is a set of characteristics that are expected to see within an individual. For example, we are students, which other members in the society are expecting us to study hard and gain some knowledge during the study. One individual can take multiple role at the same time, like we can be the son/daughter, student and consumer at the same time. Violating the role means that individual cannot do well to fit in the characteristics. If a student don’t go to school and refuse to study, people will consider him/her to be violating the role. As role exit happened, one previous role will no longer exist and replace by some other roles. When we graduated from school, the student role will exit, which means people will no longer expect us to study. At the same time, we will find a job and take the role of workers. Role is a simple version of social position. As role exit and change, people will be assigned to a new social position. A primary group will have a closer relation between people than the secondary group. Primary group will share implicit items l, such as concern and worries. An example of primary group can be a family. Secondary group will exchanges explicit items. The example are employment relationship and buyer-seller relationship. They are relatively week bonded compare to the primary groups. 3. What is meant by in-group and out-group? How is in-group connected to primary group? How is out group connected to secondary group? In-groups are considered to range from small to large groups of people that share similar ideas, concepts, and interests within that group. The people in that group are what’s known to have a close connection within that party and leave out anyone else they choose not to include. An out-group is a person that doesn’t feel like they are apart of that group either because they feel left out or ostracized from that group. An in group has a closer connection to a primary group because the people in that party utilize socializing face-to-face as their way of having to share their thoughts, interests, and ideas; they are the ones who play an important role in our lives. An out-group connects to a secondary group because the people in this party have the least emotional relationship with other people; it’s a passive relationship. Since their not as emotionally connected like the primary groups, they do have a mindset that is either fixed on goals, tasks, and accomplishments. 4. What are the five functional prerequisites that a society must satisfy if it is to survive? Describe the differences between organic and mechanical solidarity. a. Education: Education is the process of learning and is for allocating level of accomplishments i. Learn skills which how to interact with others ii. Transfer knowledge, values, and beliefs of a group of people to others iii. Learn the norm of society b. Socialization: Essential skills and knowledge that are being obtained by person in order to integrate into society i. Learn the basic social skills, such as sitting on a chair ii. Enforce social norms and moralities c. Ideology: Set of conscious and unconscious thinking that motivate persons to achieve accomplishments i. Share believes and ideas ii. Develop critical thinking iii. Enforce rules and norms d. Economy: Economic system reflects process of a country, such as production, history, and education i. Generate goods and services in order to maintain social stability ii. Stimulate human’s innovation and carry out better future e. Family: Family is for social reproduction i. Maintain human continuity ii. Biological reproduction iii. Provide family protection and happiness Mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity are the two solidarity terms developed by sociologist Emile Durkheim. Mechanical solidarity often operates in traditional way which each individual feels connected regards to similar job, lifestyles, or religions etc. For instance, family is one of the mechanical solidarity structures as people share the same styles in that family. Organic solidarity often operates in modern way which each individual relies or depends on other individual. For example, bourgeoisie needs proletariat in order to maintain operation of industry, while proletariat relies on the wage that bourgeoisie to keep life going. In other words, organic solidarity simply means that people with different tasks and values work complementary to complete a certain purpose. |