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CHAPTER
SOCIAL INTERACTION,
5 GROUPS, AND SOCIAL
STRUCTURE

Using the P.O.W.E.R. Learning Process in Your Instruction

Whether you are learning to learn or learning to teach, the P.O.W.E.R. Learning process is a useful tool.
Use the P.O.W.E.R. Framework to prepare and organize your lesson.

PREPARE

Have students use the Learning Objectives to understand the goals of the material in each module.

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 Learning Objectives
MODULE 15 Social Interaction and Reality
LO 15-1 Define the terms social interaction, social structure, and social reality, and describe how they
are related to one another.
LO 15-2 Explain ascribed status and achieved status, and describe how master status can constrain
achieved status.
LO 15-3 Illustrate the social role expectations of role conflict, role strain, and role exit.

MODULE 16 Understanding Groups

LO 16-1 Differentiate among the different types of groups, and explain how they influence thought and
behavior.
LO 16-2 Define social networks and explain their functions.
LO 16-3 Analyze social institutions from a functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspective.

MODULE 17 Understanding Organizations

LO 17-1 Describe the characteristics and functions of formal organizations.
LO 17-2 Demonstrate how the characteristics of Weber’s construct of an ideal bureaucracy are applied
to organizations.
LO 17-3 Explain the process of bureaucratization and its effects in organizations.

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 MODULE 18 Social Structure in Global Perspective
LO 18-1 Describe Durkheim’s, Tönnies’s, and Lenski’s approaches to classifying forms of social
structure.
LO 18-2 Analyze from the perspective of social structure the characteristics and condition of labor
unions, especially in the United States.

ORGANIZE

Each module has an outline that provides an overview of the module so that the material that will be
covered can be considered in advance.

Chapter Outline
MODULE 15 SOCIAL INTERACTION MODULE 18 SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN
AND REALITY GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Social Reality Durkheim’s Mechanical and Organic
Elements of Social Structure Solidarity
Statuses Tönnies’s Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
Social Roles Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach
Preindustrial Societies
MODULE 16 UNDERSTANDING Industrial Societies
GROUPS Postindustrial and Postmodern Societies
Groups Social Policy and Organizations
Primary and Secondary Groups The State of Unions Worldwide
In-Groups and Out-Groups
Reference Groups SOCIOLOGY IN THE GLOBAL
Coalitions COMMUNITY: DISNEY WORLD:
A POSTMODERN THEME PARK
Social Networks
Social Institutions
SOCIOLOGY AT WORK: LABOR
Functionalist Perspective RELATIONS ARBITRATOR
Conflict Perspective
Interactionist Perspective CASE STUDY: THE CASE
OF…AWKWARD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
MODULE 17 UNDERSTANDING P.O.W.E.R. STUDY STRATEGIES:
ORGANIZATIONS WHAT’S YOUR LEARNING STYLE?
Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies
Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Bureaucratization as a Process
Oligarchy: Rule by a Few
Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture

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 WORK

Make sure students write, speak, and listen. Encourage them to take notes and jot down questions.

Chapter Summary
Social interaction refers to the ways in which people respond to one another. Social structure refers to
the way a society is organized into predictable relationships. Both social interaction and social structure
are central to understanding how different aspects of behavior are related to one another. Our response
to someone’s behavior is based on the meaning we attach to his/her actions. Reality is shaped by our
perceptions, evaluations, and definitions. The ability to define social reality reflects a group’s power
within a society.

Sociologists use the term status to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a
large group or society. Sociologically, status does not refer to prestige. Any position, whether deemed
good or bad, positive or negative, is a status. A person can hold a number of statuses at the same time.
An ascribed status is assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or
characteristics, generally at birth. An achieved status is attained by a person largely through his or her
own efforts. A master status dominates other statuses and thereby determines a person’s general
position within society.

A social role is a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status. Role
conflict occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the
same person. Role strain is a term used to describe the difficulty that arises when the same social
position imposes conflicting demands and expectations. The process of disengagement from a role that
is central to one’s self-identity in order to establish a new role and identity is referred to as role exit.

A group is any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who regularly and
consciously interact. Groups play an important part in a society’s structure. Much of our social
interaction takes place within groups and is influenced by their norms and sanctions. Primary groups
are small groups characterized by intimate, face-to-face interaction and socialization; secondary
groups are more formal, impersonal groups in which there is little social intimacy or mutual
understanding. An in-group can be defined as any group or category to which people feel they belong,
whereas an out-group is any group or category to which people do not think they belong. Sociologists
call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a
reference group. Group growth can result in coalitions—temporary or permanent alliances geared
toward a common goal.

Members of different groups make connections through a series of social relationships known as a
social network. With advances in technology, we can now maintain social networks electronically; we
don’t need face-to-face contact.

Social institutions are organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs.
Functionalists view social institutions as necessary for the survival of society in meeting the basic needs
of its members. Conflict theorists suggest that social institutions maintain the privileges of the most
powerful individuals and groups within a society. Interactionists emphasize that our social behavior is
conditioned by the roles and statuses that we accept, the groups to which we belong, and the institutions
within which we function.

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 As contemporary societies have become more complex, our lives have become dominated by formal
organizations—groups designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency. Formal
organizations fulfill an enormous variety of personal and societal needs, shaping the lives of every one
of us. Ascribed statuses such as gender, race, and ethnicity can influence how we see ourselves within
formal organizations.

A bureaucracy is a component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to
achieve efficiency. Max Weber was the first theorist to concentrate on bureaucracy, using the concept
of ideal type to construct and model specific cases. Weber argued that ideal bureaucracies always have
five basic characteristics: division of labor, hierarchy of authority, written rules and regulations,
impersonality, and employment based on technical qualifications. An organization’s bureaucracy can
also grow over time; sociologists call this process bureaucratization. The conflict theorist Robert
Michels argued that bureaucratization eventually reaches a stage in which an oligarchy develops.
Sociologists also study organizational and bureaucratic culture. The classical theory of formal
organizations (scientific management approach) posits that workers are motivated almost entirely by
economic rewards. The more recent human relations approach emphasizes the role of people,
communication, and participation in a bureaucracy.

Émile Durkheim developed the concepts of mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity to describe
the kind of consciousness that develops in societies where there is a simple or complex division of
labor, respectively. Ferdinand Tönnies used the term Gemeinschaft to refer to a small, close-knit
community, typical of rural life, where people have similar backgrounds and life experiences.
Conversely, the Gesellschaft is an ideal type characteristic of modern urban life. Here, most people are
strangers who feel little in common with one another.

In contrast to Tönnies’s perspective, Gerhard Lenski viewed societies as undergoing change according
to a dominant pattern known as sociocultural evolution. His view suggests that a society’s level of
technology is critical to the way it is organized. The hunting-and-gathering society, the horticultural
society, and the agrarian society are three types of preindustrial societies. An industrial society
depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services. A postindustrial society’s economic
system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information. A postmodern society is a
technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer goods and media images. At
the macro-level of analysis, we see society shifting to more advanced forms of technology. The social
structure becomes complex and new social institutions emerge to assume some functions previously
performed by family. On the micro-level of analysis, these changes affect the nature of social
interactions between people. People come to rely more on social networks, rather than solely on
kinship ties.

Lecture Outline

I. Module 15 Social Interaction and Reality

A. LO 15-1 Social Reality

• Social interaction refers to the way people respond to one another.
• Social structure refers to the way in which a society is organized into predictable
relationships. The linkage of social interaction and social structure is central to
sociological study. They are closely related to socialization.
• Social reality is literally constructed from our social interactions.

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 • The ability to define social reality reflects a group’s power within society.
Example: William I. Thomas’s “definition of the situation”

B. LO 15-2 Elements of Social Structure

1. Statuses
• Status refers to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large
group or society. A number of statuses can be held at the same time. Examples:
U.S. president, son or daughter, dental technician, neighbor
a. Ascribed and Achieved Status
• Ascribed status is generally assigned at birth without regard to a person’s unique
talents or characteristics. Ascribed statuses are assigned; they are not chosen.
Therefore, they are said to be involuntary. Examples: race, gender, age (note,
however, that sociologists have long challenged the notion of “race” as a
biological category; furthermore, with technological advancements, sex is no
longer necessarily ascribed)
• Achieved status comes to us largely through our own efforts. Examples: lawyer,
pianist, convict, social worker
b. Master Status
• A master status dominates other statuses and thereby determines a person’s
general position within society. Example: Arthur Ashe, who died of AIDS

C. LO 15-3 Social Roles

1. What Are Social Roles?
• A social role is a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social
position or status. Roles are a significant component of social structure.
Example: Police are expected to protect us and apprehend criminals.
2. Role Conflict
• Role conflict occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more
social positions held by the same person. Example: newly-promoted worker who
carries on a relationship with his or her former workgroup
• It may also occur among individuals moving into occupations that are not
common among people with their ascribed status. Examples: female police
officers and male preschool teachers
3. Role Strain
• Role strain refers to a situation in which the same social position imposes
conflicting demands and expectations. Example: alternative forms of justice
among Navajo police officers
4. Role Exit
• Role exit is the process of disengaging from a role that is central to one’s self-
identity.
• Ebaugh developed a four-stage model: (1) doubt, (2) search for alternatives, (3)
action stage or departure, and (4) creation of a new identity. Examples:
graduating from high school or college; retirement; divorce

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II. Module 16 Understanding Groups

A. LO 16-1 Groups
• A group consists of any number of people with similar norms, values, and
expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis. Examples: sports
team, college sorority, hospital business office, symphony orchestra
• Groups play a vital role in social structure.
1. Primary and Secondary Groups
• A primary group is a small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face
association and cooperation. Primary groups play a pivotal role both in the
socialization process and in the development of roles and statuses.
• A secondary group is a formal, impersonal group in which there is little social
intimacy or mutual understanding.
• The distinction between primary and secondary groups is not always clear-cut.
2. In-Groups and Out-Groups
• A in-group is any group or category to which people feel they belong. Members
typically feel distinct and superior; and see themselves at better than those of an
out-group. Examples: a teenage clique; an entire society
• An out-group is a group or category to which people feel they do not belong.
3. Reference Groups
• A reference group is any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating
themselves and their own behavior. Example: A high school student who aspires
to join a social circle of hip-hop music devotees will pattern his or her behavior
after that group.
4. Coalitions
• A coalition is a temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal.
Example: a community-based organization that has banded together to work for
street improvements

B. LO 16-2 Social Networks

• A social network is a series of social relationships that links a person directly to
others, and through them indirectly to still more people. Examples: networking
for employment, exchanging news and gossip
• Influence of the Internet on social networks; during economic downturns,
facilitates social networks for job searching and mutual emotional support
• Broadly speaking, social networks encompass all the routine social interaction
we have with other individuals.

C. LO 16-3 Social Institutions

• Social institutions are organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on
meeting basic social needs, such as replacing personnel (the family) and
preserving order (the government).
1. Functionalist Perspective
• Five major tasks or functional prerequisites have been identified: (1) replacing
personnel, (2) teaching new recruits, (3) producing and distributing goods and
services, (4) preserving order, and (5) providing and maintaining a sense of
purpose. Example: Patriotism assists people in maintaining a sense of purpose.

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 •
Any society or relatively permanent group must attempt to satisfy all these
functional prerequisites for survival.
2. Conflict Perspective
• The conflict perspective does not agree with functionalists that the outcome of
meeting basic needs is necessarily efficient and desirable for all members of
society.
• Major institutions maintain the privileges of the most powerful individuals and
groups within a society, while contributing to the powerlessness of others.
Example: Public schools are financed largely by property taxes, so affluent areas
have better-equipped schools and better-paid teachers.
• Social institutions have an inherently conservative nature.
• Social institutions operate in gendered and racist environments.
• Social changes are needed to promote equality.
3. Interactionist Perspective
• Behavior is conditioned by roles and statuses that we accept, the groups to which
we belong, and the institutions within which we function. Example: The status of
a judge is in relation to other statuses.

III. Module 17 Understanding Organizations

A. LO 17-1 Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies

• A formal organization is a group designed for a special purpose and structured
for maximum efficiency. Example: the U.S. Postal Service
• Formal organizations have a bureaucratic form; and now have enormous
influence over our lives and society.

B. LO 17-2 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

• Bureaucracy is a component of formal organization that uses rules and
hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency. Max Weber first noted the
significance of bureaucratic structure, emphasizing the basic similarity of
structure and process found in the otherwise dissimilar enterprises of religion,
government, education, and business.
• For analytical purposes, Weber developed the “ideal type”—a construct or model
for evaluating specific cases. Weber’s idea bureaucracy had five characteristics:
1. Division of labor
◦ Can produce alienation—a condition of estrangement or dissociation
from the surrounding society
◦ Can lead to trained incapacity—workers become so specialized that they
develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems.
2. Hierarchy of authority
3. Written rules and regulations
◦ Can create goal displacement—overzealous conformity to official
regulations
4. Impersonality
5. Employment based on technical qualifications
◦ Laurence J. Peter developed the “Peter principle”—every employee
within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.

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 1. Bureaucratization as a Process
• Bureaucratization is the process by which a group, organization, or social
movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic.
2. Oligarchy: Rule by a Few
• Theorist Robert Michels developed the iron law of oligarchy, which describes
how even a democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy
ruled by a few, called an oligarchy.

C. LO 17-3 Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture

• According to the classical theory of formal organizations, or “scientific
management approach,” workers are motivated almost entirely by economic
rewards.
• The development of unions caused theorists to revise the classical approach and
to consider the impact of informal groups of workers. The “human relations
approach” emphasizes the role of people, communication, and participation in a
bureaucracy.

IV. Module 18 Social Structure in Global Perspective

A. LO 18-1 Durkheim’s Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

• Mechanical solidarity exists in societies with a minimal division of labor.
A collective consciousness develops that emphasizes group solidarity.
• Organic solidarity exists in societies with a complex division of labor. It
emphasizes mutual interdependence among groups and institutions—in much the
same way as organs of the body are interdependent.

B. LO 18-1 Tönnies’s Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

• The Gemeinschaft community is typical of rural life. Social interactions are
intimate and familiar. There is a strong feeling of community; persons are not
driven by self-interest but by the needs of the whole. Informal sanctions may
serve to enforce social norms (since individuals are not protected by anonymity).
• The Gesellschaft is an ideal type characteristic of modern life. Most people are
strangers and feel little in common with one another. See Table 5-4.

C. LO 18-1 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

• Lenski views human societies as undergoing a process of change characterized
by a dominant pattern known as sociocultural evolution: long-term trends in
societies resulting from the interplay of continuity, innovation, and selection. See
Table 5-5.
• Technology is critical to the way society is organized. As technology advances, a
community evolves from a preindustrial to an industrial and finally a
postindustrial society.
1. Preindustrial Societies
• Hunting-and-gathering societies rely on available foods; technology is minimal.
• Horticultural societies plant seeds and grow crops rather than subsist only on
available foods.

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 •
Agrarian societies increase crop yields, and technological innovations are more
dramatic (e.g., the plow). Their social structure has more carefully defined roles
than that of horticultural society.
2. Industrial Societies
• Society depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services.
• These societies are reliant on new inventions that facilitate agricultural and
industrial production, and on new sources of energy.
3. Postindustrial and Postmodern Societies
• A postindustrial society is technologically advanced. Its economic system is
primarily engaged in processing and controlling information. Its main output is
services.
• Postmodern society is technologically sophisticated and preoccupied with
consumer goods and media images.
• Postmodern theorists take a global perspective, noting ways that culture crosses
national boundaries. Examples: In the United States, people listen to reggae
music from Jamaica, eat sushi and other Japanese foods; and there are Disney
Worlds in Paris and Tokyo.

D. LO 18-2 Social Policy and Organizations

1. The State of Unions Worldwide
• Labor unions consist of organized workers who share either the same skill or the
same employer.
• They have historically been restrictive and discriminatory in their practices;
today in some industries unions help keep wages competitive across races.
• Labor union strength varies wildly across countries, but it is declining worldwide
for the following reasons:
1. Changes in the type of industry
2. Growth in part-time jobs
3. The legal system
4. Globalization
5. Employer offensives
a. Applying Sociology to Unionism
• Compared with their early incarnations, unions have become increasingly
bureaucratized under self-serving leadership
• Recent declines in private sector union membership have been linked to a
widening gap between hourly workers’ wages and managerial and executive
compensation.
b. Initiating Labor Policy
• U.S. law grants workers the right to unionize, but it is unique in allowing
employers to actively oppose unionization. Many elected officials are also
seeking to reduce union power.
• In Europe, unions are powerful and are a key part of the electoral process.
• Unions in China are far more likely to listen to the government than would
independent unions in other countries.

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 EVALUATE

This material should help students determine how much they have retained after reading the material.

Key Terms
Achieved status A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts.
Agrarian society The most technologically advanced form of preindustrial society. Members engage
primarily in the production of food, but increase their crop yields through technological innovations
such as the plow.
Alienation A condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding society.
Ascribed status A social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s
unique talents or characteristics.
Bureaucracy A component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve
efficiency.
Bureaucratization The process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes
increasingly bureaucratic.
Classical theory An approach to the study of formal organizations that views workers as being
motivated almost entirely by economic rewards.
Coalition A temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal.
Formal organization A group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency.
Gemeinschaft A close-knit community, often found in rural areas, in which strong personal bonds
unite members.
Gesellschaft A community, often urban, that is large and impersonal, with little commitment to the
group or consensus on values.
Goal displacement Overzealous conformity to official regulations of a bureaucracy.
Group Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with one
another on a regular basis.
Horticultural society A preindustrial society in which people plant seeds and crops rather than merely
subsist on available foods.
Human relations approach An approach to the study of formal organizations that emphasizes the role
of people, communication, and participation in a bureaucracy and tends to focus on the informal
structure of the organization.
Hunting-and-gathering society A preindustrial society in which people rely on whatever foods and
fibers are readily available in order to survive.
Hyperconsumerism The practice of buying more than we need or want, and often more than we can
afford; a preoccupation of postmodern consumers.
Ideal type A construct or model for evaluating specific cases.
Industrial society A society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services.
In-group Any group or category to which people feel they belong.
Iron law of oligarchy A principle of organizational life under which even a democratic organization
will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few individuals.

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 Labor union Organized workers who share either the same skill or the same employer.
Master status A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person’s general position in
society.
Mechanical solidarity A collective consciousness that emphasizes group solidarity, characteristic of
societies with minimal division of labor.
Organic solidarity A collective consciousness that rests on mutual interdependence, characteristic of
societies with a complex division of labor.
Out-group A group or category to which people feel they do not belong.
Peter principle A principle of organizational life according to which every employee within a
hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.
Postindustrial society A society whose economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and
control of information.
Postmodern society A technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer goods
and media images.
Primary group A small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.
Reference group Any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own
behavior.
Role conflict The situation that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social
positions held by the same person.
Role exit The process of disengagement from a role that is central to one’s self-identity in order to
establish a new role and identity.
Role strain The difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and
expectations.
Scientific management approach Another name for the classical theory of formal organizations.
Secondary group A formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual
understanding.
Social institution An organized pattern of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs.
Social interaction The ways in which people respond to one another.
Social network A series of social relationships that links a person directly to others, and through them
indirectly to still more people.
Social role A set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status.
Social structure The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships.
Sociocultural evolution Long-term trends in societies resulting from the interplay of continuity,
innovation, and selection.
Status A term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within
a large group or society.
Technology Cultural information about the ways in which the material resources of the environment
may be used to satisfy human needs and desires.
Trained incapacity The tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so specialized that they
develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems.

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 Essay Questions
1. Discuss the work of Herbert Blumer and William I. Thomas with respect to social interaction and
reality.
2. How do ascribed and achieved statuses serve to identify who a person is in a culture?
3. How does a master status differ from an ascribed status? An achieved status? Give an example of a
master status that is ascribed and then one that is achieved. Discuss.
4. How is disability a master status?
5. Explain the kinds of dilemmas a person may face in carrying out a social role.
6. Define and present an example of role conflict.
7. Delineate role conflict, role strain, and role exit, and provide an example of each.
8. What is meant by role exit and how does it relate to the socialization process?
9. What part do groups play in a society’s social structure? Why does conflict develop between
in-groups and out-groups?
10. What impact, if any, has computer technology had on group formation?
11. How might a reference group help the process of anticipatory socialization?
12. What is meant by social networks?
13. What role do social networks play for women in the business world?
14. Delineate the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist views of social institutions.
15. What are the five functional prerequisites that a society must satisfy if it is to survive?
16. Describe the range of roles that formal organizations play in our society.
17. Outline the five basic characteristics that Max Weber argued every ideal bureaucracy must have.
18. What does the Peter principle suggest may be a problem of employment based on technical
qualifications in a bureaucracy?
19. Describe Michels’s iron law of oligarchy.
20. How does the human relations approach differ from the scientific management approach when
studying organizational culture?
21. Describe the differences between organic solidarity and mechanical solidarity.
22. Distinguish between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.
23. How does Ferdinand Tönnies use ideal types?
24. Outline Gerhard Lenski’s discussion of sociocultural evolution.
25. Compare and contrast the approaches to social structure introduced by Émile Durkheim, Ferdinand
Tönnies, and Gerhard Lenski.
26. What role does technology play in the sociocultural evolution approach to understanding societies?
27. What are the differences among industrial, postindustrial, and postmodern societies?

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 RETHINK

To help students get a deeper understanding of the material, these questions should be considered.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Would you have more respect for a person who is born wealthy or a person who becomes wealthy
through hard work? Address the differences associated with ascribed and achieved statuses in your
answer.
2. In the United States today, which type of factors do you believe are more important in shaping or
determining one’s social class—ascribed or achieved? Discuss.
3. Discuss the various ways a person may experience role strain. Give examples to support your
answer.
4. Describe how the impact of political terrorist attacks is likely to affect various social interactions
among groups. Include your own observations of events following the 9/11 terror attacks and the
war with Iraq in your answer.
5. Analyze the importance of social institutions from the three major sociological perspectives. How
are the views similar and different?
6. Discuss how social life and interaction would be affected if the Internet permanently disappeared
today. Use the sociocultural evolution approach to describe your predictions.

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