Social Structure Matrix

SOC/100 Version 5

University of Phoenix Material

Social Structure Matrix
Complete both parts of this worksheet.
Part 1 Social Roles and Status
Complete the following matrix by answering each in one or two sentences.
Question
Status
Identify the different statuses
you hold in society, both
ascribed and achieved.

Answer
The status that I hold in society is a single white women with a
beautiful daughter. I am 28 years old. The achieved status is that I
have one daughter, and I am completing my bachelors degree soon.

Master Status
Identify your master
status in society.

My master status is that I was just promoted to

be a supervisor at my current job. I am a proud
mother, and I am a full time student at the
moment.
I am expected to run doctors appointments at my
job, be on time, take care of my staff, and
manage pay roll and scheduling. My daughter
expects me to have a life with her and help her
with her daily needs. I am expected to graduate
college and keep my GPA as high as I possibly
can.
I experienced role conflicts more than once. Time
management was always a hard thing for me.
With work, school, my daughter it was hard for
me to complete school things and other things
that I have had to do.

Social Roles
Describe the roles
associated with the
various statuses identified
above.

Role conflict, strain, exit

Discuss a time when you
experienced either role
conflict, role strain, or role
exit.
Groups
Identify one primary group
and one secondary group to
which you belong.

Norms, sanctions, and

values
Describe the norms,
sanctions, and values of the
social groups you identified
above. How is social deviant
behavior viewed in these
groups?
Sociological
imagination
Discuss how your status,
mass media, roles, and

I belong to my family. My daughters father and I

have been together for 9 years and still going
strong. A secondary group would be my work out
group. We all sit around and discuss our weight
loss and how we got here. Along with the many
challenges that we all face.
Me and my boyfriend have many values. We value
many things with each other. If we fight we get
back up and we get over it. We value our trust
between one another and the love that we share.
My work out group I would have to say that I
value their trust as well. To keep my business
between just us only. My groups are pretty
healthy in my opinion.
The things that I do on a daily basis has a lot to
do with my roles and self-identity. With my job
promoting me I am now a leader. I lead my staff
and help them to take care of my three ladies that

Copyright 2016, 2015 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Social Structure Matrix

SOC/100 Version 5
groups have influenced your
self-identity, values, and
behaviors.

I take care. This has influenced it in many ways!

Being in a long term relationship has influenced
the way that I look at people. I love my boyfriend
of 9 years and he has taught me so many things.

Part 2 Reflection
After completing the activity above, answer the following questions in 75 to 150 words each:
1. What is social interaction? What are the elements of social structures? How does this apply to the
activity you just completed? Social interaction is when two or more (group) of people get together
and is a building block of society. These can also be somewhat larger groups as well. The
elements of social structures are institutions, social groups, statuses, and roles. This applied
because of the different groups that I am and how they benefit my life and how it has shaped me
as a person today which then would bring in how it made my self identity.

2. What are the functions of social institutions? How do you see this applied in your life? The
different social insistutions are emotional needs, economic needs, familial needs, religious needs,
and political needs. I would have to bring up emotional needs and this is when my long term
relationship comes into play. I search for my emotional needs from him on a daily basis as does a
lot of people when it comes to being happy or not, and to be fighting with your partner or not
fighting at all. It all goes hand in hand with one another.

3. What influence does mass media have? Frame your answer using sociological perspectives.
Mass media is basically communication. Not to mention it is mass which means it goes to a larger
audience. In our society it is very important to us. When it comes to the Television that is
considered mass media, and radio and so on. This is how people watch their news and what they
do to waste away most of their days. I do not think that a lot of people would be able to make it
without a television or some with their radio.

4. What is social control? How is social control enforced? What are the different sociological
perspectives on deviance? When it comes to social control it is peoples thoughts, and their
feelings that are put into social systems. This is enforced by socialization. People indentify with a
social system when it comes to its values and norms. People must maintain them at all times,
they feel like.

Copyright 2016, 2015 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.