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1. Key Sociological Concepts

2. Culture
• “An inherited system of
▫ Symbolic forms &
▫ Moral demands
• That controls individual behavior”

3. Culture
• Symbolic Forms
▫ Signs
 Actions or gestures used to communicate an idea
▫ Symbols
 Signs to which we attach generalized meanings
• Language
• Formal knowledge systems (intellectual
disciplines)
• Informal knowledge systems

4. Aspects of Culture
• Diversity:
▫ Variations in the symbolic/moral systems underlying
different human societies
▫ Related to pluralism (diversity within a society)
• Universals:
▫ Beliefs, values, practices common to all human
societies
• Relativism:
▫ What people consider to be "normal" is specific to that
society/culture & historical period

5. Aspects of Culture
• Ethnocentrism:
▫ The belief that one's own culture is preferable and
superior to others
• Values:
▫ Broad general standards about how things ought
to be
• Norms:
▫ Informal rules for how things ought to be done

6. Social Structures
• Repeated and more or less predictable patterns
of behavior
▫ Patterns produced by norms
▫ Norms are produced by values
• Norms
▫ Rules for how things ought to be done
 Informal
 Invisible

7. Social Structures
• Norms enforced by Sanctions
▫ Rewards for abiding by the norm &/or
▫ Punishments for violating the norm

8. Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Status
▫ A social position
• Role
▫ The behavior expected of a person because of the
social position they occupy
• Ascribed Status
▫ A social position based upon some inherited
characteristic

9. Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Achieved Status
▫ An earned social position
• Status/Role Set
▫ All of the social positions a person occupies
• Status/Role Consistency
▫ The degree to which there is congruence among
social positions in a person’s status set
• (Status)-Role Strain
▫ Conflicting social statuses

10. Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Group
▫ Two or more statuses
 Shared norms
 Oriented to a general purpose
▫ Primary Groups
 Small, long-lasting, intimate
 Intrinsic reward
▫ Secondary Groups
 Large, short-term, instrumental
 Extrinsic reward

11. Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Organizations
▫ Two or more groups
 Shared norms
 Oriented to one or more purposes
• Institutions
▫ Society-wide, aggregate patterns of behavior,
designed to
 Solve specific problems &/or
 Accomplish specific tasks

12. Types of Social Structure
& Their Definitions
• Society
▫ “A population of people
▫ In a territory
▫ With an identity (shared)
▫ That survives across at least two generations”
• Most inclusive and complex form of social
structure

13. Relationship Between Culture
& Social Structure
• Social Structure:
▫ Repeated and more or less predictable patterns of
behavior
• Culture:
▫ An inherited system of symbolic forms and moral
demands that controls individual behavior
• Relationship is Dialectical
▫ Social structures both produce and are produced
by culture

14. Culture and Social Structure
Dialectical Relationship
Culture Social Structure
Society
Institutions
Symbolic Forms Organizations
Language Groups
Knowledge Systems
Moral Demands
Status-Role

15. Four Universal Institutions
• Economy
▫ “That institution in society that arranges for the
production & distribution of the goods needed for
survival”
 Hunter-Gatherer
 Agrarian
 Industrial (Capitalism, Socialism, Communism)

16. Four Universal Institutions
• Polity (Political System)
▫ “That institution in society that arranges for the
distribution of power”
 Violence
 Democracy
 Monarchy
 Totalitarian

17. Four Universal Institutions
• Religion
▫ “That institution in society that helps people
adjust to those things which are both undesirable
and inescapable.”

18. Four Universal Institutions
• Kinship (Family)
▫ “That institution in society that arranges for:
 Regulation of sexual relations
 Who may have sex with whom?
 Child-rearing
 Who cares for the young?
 Household composition
 Who lives with whom?

19. Four Universal Institutions
• Kinship (Family)
▫ “That institution in society that arranges for:
 Regulation of sexual relations
 Who may have sex with whom?
 Child-rearing
 Who cares for the young?
 Household composition
 Who lives with whom?

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