What is an example of a social structure?

Home Lifestyles & Social Issues Sociology & Society

social structure, in sociology, the distinctive, stable arrangement of institutions whereby human beings in a society interact and live together. Social structure is often treated together with the concept of social change, which deals with the forces that change the social structure and the organization of society.

Table of Contents Show

Social Structure: The Macro Level of Society
Social Networks: The Meso Level Manifestation of Social Structure
Social Interaction: Social Structure at the Micro Level of Everyday Life
Conclusion
What are the 5 social structures?
What are the three social structures?
What is the meaning of social structures?
What are the 4 components of social structure?

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, role, or norm would be more accurate.

Studies of social structure attempt to explain such matters as integration and trends in inequality. In the study of these phenomena, sociologists analyze organizations, social categories (such as age groups), or rates (such as of crime or birth). This approach, sometimes called 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 human behaviour, even though the phenomena studied in social structure result from humans responding to each other and to their environments. Those who study social structure do, however, follow an empirical (observational) approach to research, methodology, and epistemology.

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 characteristics of a social group.

Before these different theoretical views can be discussed, however, some remarks must be made on the general aspects of the social structure of any society. Social life is structured along the dimensions of time and space. Specific social activities take place at specific times, and time is divided into periods that are connected with the rhythms of social life—the routines of the day, the month, and the year. Specific social activities are also organized at specific places; particular places, for instance, are designated for such activities as working, worshiping, eating, and sleeping. Territorial boundaries delineate these places and are defined by rules of property that determine the use and possession of scarce goods. Additionally, in any society there is a more or less regular division of labour. Yet another universal structural characteristic of human societies is the regulation of violence. All violence is a potentially disruptive force; at the same time, it is a means of coercion and coordination of activities. Human beings have formed political units, such as nations, within which the use of violence is strictly regulated and which, at the same time, are organized for the use of violence against outside groups.

Furthermore, in any society there are arrangements within the structure for sexual reproduction and the care and education of the young. These arrangements take the form partly of kinship and marriage relations. Finally, systems of symbolic communication, particularly language, structure the interactions between the members of any society.

Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now

Social structure is the organized set of social institutions and patterns of institutionalized relationships that together compose society. Social structure is both a product of social interaction and directly determines it. Social structures are not immediately visible to the untrained observer, however, they are always present and affect all dimensions of human experience in society.

It is helpful to think about social structure as operating on three levels within a given society: the macro, meso, and micro levels.

When sociologists use the term "social structure" they are typically referring to macro-level social forces including social institutions and patterns of institutionalized relationships. The major social institutions recognized by sociologists include family, religion, education, media, law, politics, and economy. These are understood as distinct institutions that are interrelated and interdependent and together help compose the overarching social structure of a society.

These institutions organize our social relationships to others and create patterns of social relations when viewed on a large scale. For example, the institution of family organizes people into distinct social relationships and roles, including mother, father, son, daughter, husband, wife, etc., and there is typically a hierarchy to these relationships, which results in a power differential. The same goes for religion, education, law, and politics.

These social facts may be less obvious within the institutions of media and economy, but they are present there too. Within these, there are organizations and people who hold greater amounts of power than others to determine what happens within them, and as such, they hold more power in society. The actions of these people and their organizations behave as structuring forces in the lives of all of us.

The organization and operation of these social institutions in a given society result in other aspects of social structure, including socio-economic stratification, which is not just a product of a class system but is also determined by systemic racism and sexism, as well as other forms of bias and discrimination.

The social structure of the U.S. results in a sharply stratified society in which very few people control wealth and power — and they have historically tended to be white and male — while the majority has very little of either. Given that racism is embedded in core social institutions like education, law, and politics, our social structure also results in a systemically racist society. The same can be said for the problem of gender bias and sexism.

Sociologists see social structure present at the "meso" level — between the macro and the micro levels — in the social networks that are organized by the social institutions and institutionalized social relationships described above. For example, systemic racism fosters segregation within U.S. society, which results in some racially homogenous networks. The majority of white people in the U.S. today have entirely white social networks.

Our social networks are also a manifestation of social stratification, whereby social relations between people are structured by class differences, differences in educational attainment, and differences in levels of wealth.

In turn, social networks act as structuring forces by shaping the kinds of opportunities that may or may not be available to us, and by fostering particular behavioral and interactional norms that work to determine our life course and outcomes.

Social structure manifests at the micro level in the everyday interactions we have with each other in the forms of norms and customs. We can see it present in the way patterned institutionalized relationships shape our interactions within certain institutions like family and education, and it is present in the way institutionalized ideas about race, gender, and sexuality shape what we expect from others, how we expect to be seen by them, and how we interact together.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social structure is composed of social institutions and patterns of institutionalized relationships, but we also understand it as present in the social networks that connect us, and in the interactions that fill our everyday lives.

Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

The major components of social structure are statuses, roles, social networks, groups and organizations, social institutions, and society.

It is helpful to think about social structure as operating on three levels within a given society: the macro, meso, and micro levels.

Social structures refer to the patterns and relationships between and within groups. When social structures exist within a single group, they pertain to repeating behaviors. Social structures are vast and complex, but you can sub-divide and conceptualize them in many different ways.

The major components of social structure include culture, social class, social status, roles, groups, and social institutions.