SOCL 2001 Chapter : Chapter 5 Notes
Document Summary
Social interaction: the process by which we act toward and react to people around us. There are four critical components of social interaction. Social structure: an organized pattern of behavior that governs people"s relationships. It gives us the feeling that life is orderly and predictable rather than haphazardly or random. Some people feel resentment towards social structure because it limits personal choices. Status: position in social hierarchy that comes with a set of expectations. Examples: student, professor, musician, voter, sister, parent. Sociologists don"t assume that one position is more important than another. Status set: a collection of social statuses that a person occupies. Status sets change throughout the life course. There are types of status sets: ascribed status: a social position that a person is born into. (race, gender, sex, achieved status: a social position that a person attains through personal effort or assumes. Master status: an ascribed or achieved status that determines a person"s identity.
