SOC 001 Study Guide - Final Guide: Erving Goffman, Thomas Luckmann, Ascribed Status
Document Summary
Individuals are placed, generally at birth, in a status sex, race, ethnicity, age, and so on that they cannot escape. Achieved statuses in modern western society might include being a spouse, a sociology major, a college graduate, a chamber of commerce mem ber, a lawyer, or a convicted mass murder. These are all positions in the social structure that individuals achieve for themselves (through, as in case of the convicted mass murderer, not always on purpose). One of the most prevalent types of formal organizations is the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy, according to weber, is one of the more important manifestations of the trend toward the rationalization of life. One or more individuals with whom we share some sense of identity or common goals and with whom we interact within a specific social structure. Cooley was particularly interested in how humans become socialized that is, how they are taught to be functioning members of social groups.
