Social groups and deviance |social capital

Social groups and deviance |social capital.

Choose one of the following questions:

  1. Using what you have learned about groups, organizations, and bureaucracies this week, compare and contrast two different groups or organizations of which you are a member. Describe the two groups. How do they differ in terms of leadership, membership, purpose, and activities? What is your role in the group? Provide an example and brief description of a social group in the news as well (within the last 3 months). Please include a link for the news piece but you are not required to provide a full citation.
  2. Do you agree with Emile Durkheim that deviance is functional and is a necessary part of society? What functions might deviance provide? In your answer be sure to describe Durkheim’s main thesis regarding the function of deviance. Think of a time when you used informal negative sanctions. To what act of deviance were you responding? Also share a recent example of deviance, focusing on the sociological definition, from a news story (within the last 3 months); please include a link for the article or video but a full citation is not required.

The Week 3 Forum meets the following course objectives:
Apply a sociological perspective to the social world.
Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
Identify and describe bureaucracies and formal organizations.
Describe deviance and social control from a sociological perspective.

“Here is an overview of the lesson below i copied and pasted ,so you can know how to do the assignment”

SOCI111 | LESSON 3

Groups, Organizations, Bureaucracies

This week we will continue the examination of key concepts and structures in society. Week 3 begins our discussion on groups, bureaucracies and formal organizations as well as deviance, social control and norms. Groups are a key mode of socialization. Bureaucracies are a formal organizational structure associated with the administration of groups. Deviance refers to behavior that does not conform to social norms.

circle with a hand circling a group of icons

Groups

Groups are the primary mode of socialization. Groups are categorized into primary and secondary, and are also categorized by size, as small or large. Their size is an important factor in determining the level of influence they will have over people’s lives; small groups tend to be more intense, but large groups are more stable. Examples of small groups include immediate families, close friendships, romantic relationships, and working partnerships. Larger groups include classes, groups of co-workers, government entities, and social clubs and other groups. Even in large groups, especially those with transformational leaders, the pressure to conform and/or the phenomenon of groupthink can lead people to behave in ways they would not have opted for on their own.

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a magnifying glass hovers over a group of four figures
Larger groups are more likely to be exclusive (to limit interactions outside the group) than smaller groups, because the larger the group, the easier it is for members to limit social interaction with non-members. It might, for instance, be clearly unhealthy not to socialize outside a family group; however, in larger groups, increased numbers of members reduce the questions associated with exclusivity. The idea of social closure, or the ability to strategically and consciously exclude outsiders, was developed by Max Weber. This idea suggests that a group can reject others–think about a clique at high school who might refuse to allow an unliked student to sit at the lunch table.

Connections between different large groups form networks of groups, sometimes with overlapping membership.

Leadership

Group leadership can organize and shape how groups function and interact, both internally and externally. Leadership can be transformational. It goes beyond just administration. Leaders in groups can inspire or motivate group members and transform the nature of the group. Think about a few key leaders from the twentieth century or before, and how they shaped their groups.

Leadership can also be transactional. Transactional leaders are concerned with accomplishing the group’s tasks, getting group members to do their jobs, and making certain the group achieves its goals. Most leaders, even very effective ones, are transactional rather than transformational.

POWER
AUTHORITY
LEGITIMACY
CHARISMA
Charismatic individuals, or those with a great deal of personal power, may be able to transform personal power into positional power. While not a positive example, Adolf Hitler is an excellent example of the power of a charismatic individual.

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Photo of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. led Americans in support of civil rights for African Americans.

Conformity

Groups exert power through pressure to conform behavior to their norms or to engage in behavior of different sorts that is approved of and expected by the group. Conformity is the tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, or behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms or to behave in the ways expected by the group. This is essentially through peer pressure. This can impact a variety of behaviors, including dress and speech, drug and alcohol abuse, and even behavior in school or the workplace.

Solomon Asch’s famous “line experiment” is an example of conformity. Asch placed volunteers in a group setting where others were the researcher’s “accomplices” and deliberately called out a clearly incorrect answer to a question. In this experiment, the “non-accomplice” or unaware volunteer also called out this answer one-third of the time too. The “non-accomplices” knew the correct answer, but did not offer it, because the desire to conform with the group was more important than the correct answer for a surprisingly large number of research subjects.

OBEDIENCE GROUPTHINK
Groupthink is what happens when members of a group ignore information that goes against the group consensus. The term groupthink was coined by Irving Janis in 1972. Groupthink is particularly associated with decision-making within groups. For instance, during the Bay of Pigs incident in 1961, groupthink prevented effective discussion and problem-solving as no one was willing to speak up and provide additional perspectives.

Capital

Capital is ‘social currency’—social currency stems from association with particular groups and allows for the reproduction of the socioeconomic status of those groups—and consists of economic, cultural, and social capital. Access to these three forms of capital are often linked. For instance, an individual born into a wealthy family is born with economic capital. Typically, this individual will be raised to have cultural capital, and will, through family connections, develop social capital. For someone born without economic capital, accessing social and cultural capital is not impossible, but is much more difficult.

In the context of structuralism or the idea that an overarching structure exists in which culture and social relations must be understood, discussed in Week 1, French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu developed a framework for understanding how group relationships shape people’s lives. For Bourdieu, capital of different types can be transferred from one category to another. To consider a simple example, imagine that, through a program in college, you meet and become acquainted with a power business leader in your field. This acquaintance is a form of social capital. A few years later, after graduation, this social capital is parlayed into economic capital, when this individual helps you to find a new job. According to Bourdieu, social or cultural capital “provides the means for a non-economic form of domination and hierarchy, as classes distinguish themselves through taste.” Accessing any type of capital is more challenging for individuals not born with that capital, or those of a low socioeconomic status.

ECONOMIC CAPITAL CULTURAL CAPITAL SOCIAL CAPITAL
Social capital includes the personal connections and networks that enable people to accomplish goals and extend their own influence. Examples of social capital include college fraternities or sororities, professional connections, or family connections. Social capital is influenced by socioeconomic status, as well as gender and race. Men typically have more social capital than women, and individuals of a dominant race more social capital than those of minorities.

Organizations

Organizations are groups designed to achieve specific objectives, often through formal rules and practices. Amitai Etzioni categorized groups as either utilitarian organizations, or groups that offer material benefits, coercive organizations with non-voluntary participation, and normative organizations that are joined because of shared values. Organizations can be formal or informal.

Formal organizations are the dominant form of organization in the world today. A formal organization is a group that is deliberately designed to achieve particular objectives, often through explicit rules, regulations, and procedures. According to Max Weber, societies are increasingly dependent on formal organizations. Examples of these include the board of directors of a corporation, a church denomination, or the IRS. Smaller organizations can also have formal organizational structures. These organizations may erect formal or informal barriers to joining based on race, class or gender, but can also be devoted to social justice. For instance, the Ku Klux Klan, a racist organization in the United States, has both formal and informal barriers to individuals of different races joining.

UTILITARIAN
COERCIVE
NORMATIVE
GLOBAL
NON-GOVERNMENTAL
Bureaucracies

Most organizations today are structured as bureaucracies. A bureaucracy is an organization with written rules, specialized offices, a clear hierarchy, and impersonal record keeping. While they are often criticized for inefficiency, unoriginality, and even corruption, bureaucracies perform important functions in administering large organizations. Many of the organizations you deal with every day, from school, to work, to non-profits are examples of bureaucracies.

Bureaucracies are rational, in that they are based on knowable rules and regulations. These rules lay out a particular path to a goal rather than simply following abstract principles or ideologies. The bureaucratic ideal includes:

Written rules and regulations
Specialized offices with a clear division of labor
Vertical principle of hierarchy, typically in a pyramid shape, with each lower level having more individual participants.
Impersonality in record keeping
Technically competent administrative staff
Bureaucracies are sometimes criticized for “irrationality of rationality.” This confusing phrase means that sometimes a bureaucracy becomes so wrapped up in its own regulations and paperwork that it fails to function well.
WASTE AND INCOMPETENCE
TRAINED INCAPACITY
GOAL DISPLACEMENT
IRON LAW OF OLIGARCHY
The German sociologist Robert Michels, a contemporary of Weber, argued that bureaucracy and democracy are fundamentally at odds. According to Michels, rule by a small group or elite eventually leads to undemocratic rule. Michels called this the iron law of oligarchy, or the inevitable tendency for large-scale bureaucracies to come under the rule of a small group of elite individuals.

SOCI111 | LESSON 3

Deviance and Social Control

Deviance is any attitude, behavior, or condition that violates cultural norms or societal laws and results in disapproval, hostility, or criminal punishment if observed. While nineteenth century scientists attributed it to biology, functionalist sociologists suggested that it arises from a need to define right and wrong within a society, or that it arises when individuals do not have access to more acceptable pathways for accomplishing their goals.

Deviance includes but is not limited to crime. A crime is an act, usually considered deviant, that is punishable by law; however, deviant acts are not always punishable by law. Deviance is not restricted by age, race, gender, or other factors. Deviance may include things that are not conscious choices, such as mental or physical illness. For instance, an individual with schizophrenia might act in deviant and socially unacceptable ways; however, this would not be the result of choice. If this individual commits a crime, society would not consider this person responsible. The individual may be deviant, but deviance and criminal responsibility are separate issues.

Deviance is a relative, subjective concept. Deviance is socially constructed, so what qualifies as deviant differs across time and place. In many cases, not all crimes are seen as deviant. For instance, many people would consider “victimless” crimes, like gambling, drug use, and adult prostitution to be relatively socially acceptable and not deviant.

a man trying to break through iron bars
An 1895 Dictionary definition of phrenology.
A definition of phrenology with chart from Webster’s Academic Dictionary, circa 1895
Public Domain via, Wikipedia Commons
Origins and Theories of Deviance

ROOTS OF DEVIANCE
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVES ON DEVIANCE
STRUCTURAL STRAIN THEORY
OPPORTUNITY THEORY
Opportunity theory, developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin in 1960, addresses a gap in Merton’s theory: the fact that not everyone has the same access to or ability to carry out deviant behaviors. Opportunity theory argues that people differ not only in their motivations to engage in deviant acts, but also in their opportunities to do so. For instance, some people might not have access to illicit drugs or access to funds to embezzle. An individual who might have the motivation to commit a deviant act, like embezzling, but lack access to the money to do so may not engage in deviance. An individual with that access to funds may be more tempted to engage in deviant acts.

Types of Deviance

There are several different types of deviance, some more significant or severe than others. These include everyday deviance, sexual deviance, deviance by the powerful, crime, police corruption, and state crimes.

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figure sitting on a prison bed
State crimes are criminal or other harmful acts of commission or omission perpetrated by state officials in the pursuit of their jobs as representatives of the government. Examples of state crimes include unlawful detention and torture of war prisoners; unlawful imprisonment of citizens for speaking out against their government and other politically motivated crimes or actions.

Theories of Social Control

Social control is the effort to control the behaviors of people and groups so that they conform to established norms and laws. Social control is intended to prevent deviance and may be either informal, like socialization or formal, like laws and punishment for crimes. Because social control is exercised by groups within a society, it is not always applied equally.

Examples of informal social control include saying thank you, not spitting on the floor in a restaurant, and not slamming doors behind you. Formal social control is defined as official attempts to discourage certain behaviors and explicitly punish other behaviors.

For an act to be criminally punishable, a law must prohibit the act and specify a fine or punishment, the act must be intended, and the perpetrator must be capable of having the necessary intent. This is why accidents are not criminal, unless negligence was a factor and why insanity is a viable defense. In the United States, a rise in the already-high prison population has been caused by several factors: mandatory minimum sentences passed in the 1980s, “three strikes” laws in which a person convicted of a felony three times automatically receives a life sentence and the “war on drugs,” which has led to high arrest, conviction and incarceration rates for drug-related crimes.

social capital

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