Dave Serpas, Evett Catalan,

Hung Tran, Lynette Martinez, &

Mengying Zhou

Professor Lookholder

Sociology 1

March 16, 2017

Social Structure & Interaction Assignment

1. 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?

Ascribed Status is when society already places you or labels your social level no matter what skill

assets you might present. It is generally determined at birth here is little we can do to change a ascribed

status as they are biological in nature. Ethnicity, race, gender, and age are all ascribed statuses. Achieve

Status gives you the ability to move around and about the social structure through their own willpower.

This can be positive or negative and is achieved through a persons unique talents or characteristics. A

man born in 1960, who wrote a lot of music would have a elderly ascribed status and a musician achieved

status. (Mengying Zhou) Reference groups uses a type of standard to do self-evaluation of who they are

and what do they make of themselves. What reference groups experience today is either primary groups

or secondary groups. Primary groups have to do with close people that have a sense of belonging to each

other and display a strong loyalty to each other. Secondary groups are limited relationships that only last

until they receive what they want(Witt). (Dave Serpas)

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 socialization process? Distinguish between primary

and secondary groups (give examples).

 Social role is what society expects a person to behave depending on where you reside in social

hierarchy. This can vary from being head of the household to CEO of a company. The title you hold in

society is the role you have to act wherever you go. Violation of your role would mean to act out of

character and play the role has stowed upon you. For example, head of the household would have to act

with authority and oversee the optimal benefit for the family. If the head were to have the lack of

authority, it would create chaos and the family would not function. This leads to the distinguishment of

Primary groups and Secondary groups. People who are within the primary groups are those whole feel

permanent such as family members. There are ties within the group that make them virtually inseparable.

However in secondary groups, they have a common goal to reach together and when its done then the

group separates. The best example is this very group project that one and another are participating in.

The students gather collectively to reach a common goal and once the goal is achieved then students will

go their separate ways(Witt). (Dave Serpas)

A more simple example of a social role would be what is expected of us in society as

college students. Taking into consideration our social status and education we are perceived to be

ambitious learners. It is expected of us to pass our classes despite any outside factors.

Additionally, there are expectations that are set for us within our society but they can vary from

individual to individual(Witt). Also another example of a primary group would be a group of

gang members. They have such a close relationship and long term commitment to each other as

friends and maybe even family. Another secondary group example would be a class which you

take for one semester. You have some interaction with your classmates but it doesnt have to be

personal. A perfect example would be a lecture hall class because there are over 100 students.

Also, some relationships made with classmates are purely for educational reasons. (Evett Catalan)
3. What is meant by in-group and outgroup? How is in-group connected to primary group? How is

out group connected by a secondary group?

An in-group is defined as a group of people who share a have many things in common

such as hobbies, traits, or even experiences. An example of an ingroup would be a tennis team. I

was in a tennis team, and we as a team set a goal of reaching CIF. An outgroup is the opposite of

an in group in the way they do not fit in, so they are usually categorized as different. An example

of an out group would be nerds, because they are usually playing card games/ video games

instead of going out to socialize. However, this concept is relative to the group itself as those who feel

a sense of belonging playing video games would consider themselves the in-group. This group would then

view themselves as superior compared to those who are chasing the goal of reaching CIF as they do not

share a common identity with the athletes. (Mengying Zhou) In group connects with primary groups

in the way they both share their ideas, feelings, or even experiences. Primary groups are usually

small groups that meet face to face in order to achieve their goals, or share ideas. The secondary

group connects with the out group in the way they do not socialize often, and if they do socialize

it is only for a short duration. -(Hung Tran)

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.

The five functional prerequisites that each society must have in order for it to survive are

the following: replacing members, socializing new members, producing and distributing goods

and services, preserving order, and lastly providing for a sense of purpose. The population will

die out if members are not replaced so it is very important to replace members through giving

birth and repopulating or other means such as immigration. Second, we must socialize our

members through education, religion, or other forms of institution. Third, production and

distribution is necessary for creating a stable economy. Fourth, to protect the society from cases
of violence or threats, we must have laws in place and a force to defend us against any form of

invasion whether it may be internal or external. Fifth and last, the society must provide members

with a sense of purchase that will bring us together and enable individuals to provide for the

well-being of the society. With a strong purpose, individuals will sacrifice for the greater good of

the society and practice personal restraint. (Mengying Zhou) Mechanical solidarity is when a

society is united based on certain things that are shared like experiences, knowledge, and skills in

which the way things function properly in the past years and continue to function(Soc2016).

Organic solidarity on the other hand is a societys unity based on mutual interdependence in the

context of extreme division of labor(Soc2016). The difference between the both is that

mechanical solidarity is when you do something or act a certain way because you have seen your

family members do what they have done. In the organic solidarity its more of people depending

on each other because without one another it will not work because they depend on one another.

(Lynette Martinez)