Social category meaning

social structure, in Although it is generally agreed that the term social structure refers to regularities in social life, its application is inconsistent. For example, the term is sometimes wrongly applied when other concepts such as custom, tradition, Studies of social structure attempt to explain such matters as formal sociology, does not refer directly to individual behaviour or interpersonal interaction. Therefore, the study of social structure is not considered a behavioral science; at this level, the analysis is too abstract. It is a step removed from the consideration of concrete Social structure is sometimes defined simply as patterned social relations—those regular and repetitive aspects of the interactions between the members of a given social entity. Even on this descriptive level, the concept is highly abstract: it selects only certain elements from ongoing social activities. The larger the social entity considered, the more abstract the concept tends to be. For this reason, the social structure of a small group is generally more closely related to the daily activities of its individual members than is the social structure of a larger society. In the study of larger social groups, the problem of selection is acute: much depends on what is included as components of the social structure. Various theories offer different solutions to this problem of determining the primary Before these different theoretical views can be discussed, however, some remarks must be ma...

Susan Sermoneta – Although it might seem that we could easily recognize a social group when we come across one, it is actually not that easy to define what makes a group of people a social group. Imagine, for instance, a half dozen people waiting in a checkout line at a supermarket. You would probably agree that this set of individuals should not be considered a social group because the people are not meaningfully related to each other. And the individuals watching a movie at a theater or those attending a large lecture class might also be considered simply as individuals who are in the same place at the same time but who are not connected as a social group. Of course, a group of individuals who are currently in the same place may nevertheless easily turn into a social group if something happens that brings them “together.” For instance, if a man in the checkout line of the supermarket suddenly collapsed on the floor, it is likely that the others around him would quickly begin to work together to help him. Someone would call an ambulance, another might give CPR, and another might attempt to contact his family. Similarly, if the movie theater were to catch on fire, a group would quickly form as the individuals attempted to leave the theater. And even the class of students might come to feel like a group if the instructor continually praised it for being the best (or the worst) class that she has ever had. It has been a challenge to characterize what the “something” is that ...

Learning Objectives • Describe how a social group differs from a social category or social aggregate. • Distinguish a primary group from a secondary group. • Define a reference group and provide one example of such a group. • Explain the importance of networks in a modern society. A It is important here to distinguish social groups from two related concepts: social categories and social aggregates. A Women is an example of a social category. All women have at least one thing in common, their biological sex, even though they do not interact. Asian Americans is another example of a social category, as all Asian Americans have two things in common, their ethnic background and their residence in the United States, even if they do not interact or share any other similarities. As these examples suggest, gender, race, and ethnicity are the basis for several social categories. Other common social categories are based on our religious preference, geographical residence, and social class. Falling between a social category and a social group is the Primary and Secondary Groups A common distinction is made between primary groups and secondary groups. A primary, because they are the first groups we belong to and because they are so important for social life. The family is the primary group that comes most readily to mind, but small peer friendship groups, whether they are your high school friends, an urban street gang, or middle-aged adults who get together regularly, are also primary ...

9 Social Stratification in the United States • Introduction • 9.1 What Is Social Stratification? • 9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States • 9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality • 9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification • Key Terms • Section Summary • Section Quiz • Short Answer • Further Research • References • 11 Race and Ethnicity • Introduction • 11.1 Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups • 11.2 Theoretical Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity • 11.3 Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism • 11.4 Intergroup Relationships • 11.5 Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Key Terms • Section Summary • Section Quiz • Short Answer • Further Research • References • 19 Health and Medicine • Introduction • 19.1 The Social Construction of Health • 19.2 Global Health • 19.3 Health in the United States • 19.4 Comparative Health and Medicine • 19.5 Theoretical Perspectives on Health and Medicine • Key Terms • Section Summary • Section Quiz • Short Answer • Further Research • References • Figure 9.2 In the upper echelons of the working world, people with the most power reach the top. These people make the decisions and earn the most money. The majority of Americans will never see the view from the top. (Credit: Alex Proimos/flickr) Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings based on factors like wealth, income, educ...

Social categories are set of people that share at least one similar characteristic but do not necessarily interact with each other. Learn about the difference between social categories and social groups, and discover the theory on social categories that emerged from the Robber's Cave experiment. Updated: 08/20/2021 Although you may not give it much thought during your day-to-day life, you belong to so many different collections of people, each affecting and shaping your life in different ways. There are obvious groupings like gender and race that influence how people perceive you. But, what about the other groups you are associated with? If you reside in the United States, you live in a state alongside thousands of other people. Beyond that, you live in a country with millions of other people. While you don't know and certainly don't interact with all of them, you are nevertheless associated with them. The concept of social categories and social groups is something that scholars have studied since the 19th century. But, it has actually been a strong area of interest for researchers since the 1950s, specifically within the experiments of social psychologists Muzafer and Carolyn Sherif. In a series of studies known as the Robber's Cave Experiment, the researchers took a group of 12-year-old boys and put them into a summer camp environment. The aim was to observe how social groups emerge and what happens when they come into conflict with one another. Initially, the boys compr...

United States: Ethnic European Americans Until the 20th century ethnic diversity posed no great problems for empires. Its More common solutions have been langue d’oc region of southern A variant of this process has been the more or less voluntary assimilation achieved in the Another way of dealing with ethnic diversity, one that holds more promise for the future, is the development of some form of

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The Social Construction of Difference Elizabeth B. Pearce Social Identities Families are made up of individuals and each individual possesses a unique social identity. A social identity consists of the combination of social characteristics, roles, and group memberships with which a person identifies. Let’s break down each of those aspects of social identity. • Social characteristics can be biologically determined and/or socially constructed. Sex, gender, race, ethnicity, ability, age, sexuality, nationality, first language, and religion are all social characteristics. • Roles indicate the behaviors and patterns utilized, such as parent, partner, sibling, employee, employer, etc. • Group memberships are often related to the above characteristics (e.g. a place of worship) and roles (e.g. a moms’ group), but could be more specialized as well, such as being a twin, or a singer, or part of an emotional support group. Figure 1.12. Social identity wheel. Figure 1.13. A family. The above Social Identity Wheel includes some common categories for social characteristics in the middle oval. When it comes to social identity, each of us gets to determine our own. That means we determine which of our social characteristics, roles, and group memberships are most important to our own identities. While each of us gets to determine our own social identity, it is important to note that others may identify us differently than we identify ourselves. Our most notable physical aspects may signal ...

The Social Construction of Difference Elizabeth B. Pearce Social Identities Families are made up of individuals and each individual possesses a unique social identity. A social identity consists of the combination of social characteristics, roles, and group memberships with which a person identifies. Let’s break down each of those aspects of social identity. • Social characteristics can be biologically determined and/or socially constructed. Sex, gender, race, ethnicity, ability, age, sexuality, nationality, first language, and religion are all social characteristics. • Roles indicate the behaviors and patterns utilized, such as parent, partner, sibling, employee, employer, etc. • Group memberships are often related to the above characteristics (e.g. a place of worship) and roles (e.g. a moms’ group), but could be more specialized as well, such as being a twin, or a singer, or part of an emotional support group. Figure 1.12. Social identity wheel. Figure 1.13. A family. The above Social Identity Wheel includes some common categories for social characteristics in the middle oval. When it comes to social identity, each of us gets to determine our own. That means we determine which of our social characteristics, roles, and group memberships are most important to our own identities. While each of us gets to determine our own social identity, it is important to note that others may identify us differently than we identify ourselves. Our most notable physical aspects may signal ...

Citation styles Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: Modern Language Association The Chicago Manual of Style American Psychological Association Notes: • Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. • In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or...