Chapter 3: Social Structure and the Individual

Role Conflict

An inconsistency between two or more of the roles we fill

Social Groups

Two or more people with similar values and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis

Ehrenreich

Writer and social activist who spent a year trying to live on low-wage, low-status jobs and experienced first-hand the struggles of the working poor.

Social Structure

The set of social statuses, roles, groups, networks, and institutions that organize and influence the way people go about their lives

Achieved Status

Status that results from your efforts

Rooks

Interdisciplinary scholar who highlighted how Black women's hairstyles influenced their ability to enter lucrative, high status occupations such as law, finance, and business consulting.

Ascribed Status

Status that is assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents, efforts, or characteristics

Castells

Sociologist who argued that digital technology has transformed social networking

Weber

Classical social theorist who argued that social status is closely related to life chances

Social Institutions

The central domains of social life that guide our behaviors and meet our basic social needs

Thompson

Feminist scholar who interviewed Black women about how they style their hair in order to understand beauty standards and how they can be changed

Social Roles

The set of expectations concerning the behavior and attitudes of people who occupy a particular social status

Social Network

A series of social relationships that link a person directly to other individuals and indirectly to even more people

Life Chances

The opportunities to provide yourself with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences

Social Statuses

A person or group's socially determined positions within a large group or society

Norms

The rules and expectations by which a group guides the behavior of its members

Blumer

Micro-sociologist who developed symbolic-interaction theory

Resocialization

The socialization process by which we adopt new norms and identities

Mills

Sociologist who coined the phrase "the sociological imagination"

Merton

Macro-sociologist who argued that we make choices based on the resources available to achieve our goals

Veiling

The Muslim practice of wearing a hijab or veil

Self-Concept

The thoughts and feelings we have for ourselves as physical, social, and emotional beings

Macro-Sociology

The analysis large scale social structures and forces

Cultural Capital

The knowledge, skills, behaviors and other valuable resources that help individuals achieve socio-economic success

Read and Bartowski

Authors of a study of Muslim women's attitudes towards wearing a veil

Sociological Imagination

An understanding of the interplay between social structure and agency

Micro-Sociology

The analysis of individual identities and interactions

Agents of Socialization

The individuals, groups, and organizations that influence your sense of self and help you learn the ways of being a member of society

Reflexivity

The process of evaluating our position in the social world, the rules we are expected to follow, and the resources we have at our disposal or can acquire

Symbolic Interaction

The study of human interaction by focusing on the words and gestures that people use and the meanings they create about the world

Looking-Glass Self

The way our perception of how others see us affects our sense of self

Cooley

Sociologist who developed the concept of the looking-glass self

Lorber

Sociologist who found that individuals are socialized into their gender identities, status, and roles from birth

Socialization

The experiences that give us an identity and teach us how to be members of society.

Structure of Opportunity

The unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across society.

Kuhn and McPartland

Authors of the Twenty-Statements Test, which is used by sociologists and psychologist to measure self-concept

Bourdieu

French sociologist who developed the concept of cultural capital

Generalized Other

The values and norms of the larger culture, that are used to guide your actions

Mead

Sociologist who argued that social experiences and interactions shape your identity.

Agency

Acting on your own will