The Pros And Cons Of Social Structure

The ability for a group of humans living together and coexisting are all apart of the societal structure. We all probably wouldn't be able to operate if we didn’t have some type of structure or norms to abide by. Social structure is simply a system of socioeconomic stratification, institutions and social groups. As detailed in the book Understanding Social Problems “Imagine that society is a coin with two sides: On one side is the structure of society, and on the other is the culture of society. Although each side is distinct, both are inseparable from the whole” (Mooney, 6). To better understand what these terms mean, I will elaborate the different components of each. The structure of society is almost self explanatory. It’s the format, the

A social status is a position of a person in a specific social group. Mooney states “Statuses can be either ascribed or achieved. An ascribed status is one that society assigns to an individual on the basis of factors over which the individual has no control. For example, we have no control over the sex, race, ethnic background and socioeconomic status into which we are born. And achieved status is assigned on the basis of some characteristic or behavior over which the individual has some control” (Mooney, 7). So in other words a status describes an individual, from the simple facts about themselves such as their gender, race and then it also explains their achievements such as motherhood, or becoming the president. An individual can have a variety of statuses, there is no limitation to

The structure of society influences the culture of society. You can’t have culture without structure. The culture of society is more about the ways of life, which can be divided into the elements of beliefs, values, norms, sanctions and symbols. Beliefs for example are explanations and definitions of what is assumed to be true. The book spoke about secondhand smoke affect non smokers. This is a belief that some may view as true and some may not view as true. Therefore, we have conducted studies and made rehabilitation centers for smokers which is our