Home / Courses / Sociology / Unit 3

Sociology Unit 3: Social structure, groups and deviance

Social structure organizes interaction through statuses, roles and groups, and deviance is behavior that breaks norms.

Covers: Status and roles, social groups, formal organizations and bureaucracy, deviance and social control, theories of deviance, crime

Study guide

A status is a social position a person holds. Ascribed statuses are received involuntarily, like age or race, while achieved statuses are earned, like being a doctor. A master status, such as having a disability or being a celebrity, shapes a person's whole identity. A role is the behavior expected of a status. Role conflict is tension between roles of different statuses (being a parent and an employee), and role strain is tension within one status. W.I. Thomas's theorem says that situations defined as real become real in their consequences. Goffman's dramaturgical analysis compares social life to a theater performance with front and back stages.

A social group is two or more people who interact and share an identity. Primary groups, like families, are small and personal; secondary groups, like coworkers, are larger and goal-oriented. In-groups command loyalty, and out-groups are seen as rivals. Reference groups set standards people use to evaluate themselves. Groupthink is the tendency of tight-knit groups to conform and ignore alternatives. Formal organizations include bureaucracies, which Weber described as having specialization, hierarchy, rules, impersonality and written records. Weber warned of the iron cage of rationality, and George Ritzer's McDonaldization describes efficiency, predictability, calculability and control spreading through society.

Deviance is behavior that violates norms. Durkheim argued deviance is functional, clarifying norms and uniting people. Robert Merton's strain theory says deviance occurs when people can't reach cultural goals by approved means, leading to innovation, ritualism, retreatism or rebellion. Labeling theory argues that deviance depends on how others label behavior; primary deviance is the initial act, and secondary deviance follows from accepting a deviant label. Differential association (Sutherland) says deviance is learned from others, and control theory (Hirschi) says strong social bonds prevent it. Conflict theory says laws reflect the interests of the powerful. Crime includes violent, property, white-collar and victimless crimes.

Georg Simmel noted that a dyad (two people) is intimate but unstable, since it ends if one person leaves. A triad (three people) is more stable but allows coalitions and mediation. As groups grow, they need more formal structure. Instrumental leaders focus on completing tasks, while expressive leaders focus on group harmony and emotional support. Leadership styles include authoritarian (decisions from the top, useful in crises), democratic (group input) and laissez-faire (minimal direction).

Solomon Asch found that many people go along with a group's clearly wrong judgment. Conformity falls sharply when just one other person disagrees or when answers are given privately. Amitai Etzioni classified organizations by why people join. In normative (voluntary) organizations, like charities, people join for shared values. In coercive organizations, like prisons, membership is forced. In utilitarian organizations, like employers or colleges, people join for tangible rewards.

C. Wright Mills argued that a power elite of top business, political and military leaders holds most power and is often shielded from punishment. Social disorganization theory, from the Chicago School, says crime rises in neighborhoods where weak community ties and instability reduce informal social control. In the U.S., the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports count crimes reported to police. The National Crime Victimization Survey asks households directly and captures unreported crimes, but it depends on people's memory and honesty.

Social control is the set of ways a society encourages conformity to norms, from informal pressure by family and peers to formal control by police and courts.

Key ideas

• Statuses are positions; roles are expected behaviors.
• Primary groups are personal; secondary groups are goal-oriented.
• Weber described bureaucracy's features and its iron cage.
• Merton's strain theory links deviance to blocked goals.
• Labeling theory says deviance depends on how others react.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Confusing role conflict (between statuses) and role strain (within one status).
• Thinking deviance always means crime; it's any norm violation.

Words to know

Status

A social position a person holds.

Ascribed status

A status received involuntarily.

Achieved status

A status earned through effort.

Master status

A status that shapes a person's whole identity.

Role

The behavior expected of a status.

Role conflict

Tension between roles of different statuses.

Role strain

Tension within the roles of one status.

Thomas theorem

Situations defined as real are real in their consequences.

Dramaturgical analysis

Goffman's study of social life as a performance.

Primary group

A small, personal, lasting group.

Secondary group

A large, impersonal, goal-oriented group.

Reference group

A group used as a standard for self-evaluation.

Groupthink

Group conformity that discourages alternatives.

Bureaucracy

An organization run by rules and hierarchy.

McDonaldization

The spread of efficiency and predictability through society.

Deviance

Behavior that violates norms.

Strain theory

Merton's idea that blocked goals lead to deviance.

Labeling theory

The idea that deviance depends on how others label behavior.

Differential association

Sutherland's theory that deviance is learned from others.

White-collar crime

Crime committed by high-status people in their jobs.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.