3. Social Institutions
Definition:
“Structures in society, manifested as
groups of social positions and associated
social relations, invested with legitimate
authority, that serve to maintain and carry
out essential social functions and
perpetuate the social order. “
4. Social Institutions
Basic Considerations
All institutions are structures composed of social groups.
A condition of social groups is the interrelationship of statuses.
All statuses are reflected in role behavior
Role behaviors are cognitively mediated by their occupants.
Hence, institutions are cognitively mediated structures.
6. Social Institutions
(Law and Politics)
Approaches to Deviance
– Structural (e.g. Merton’s Structural Strain)
Innovator desires ends but hasn’t the means
– Cognitive (e.g. Becker’s Labeling)
Attributions via sanctioned legal process
7. Social Institutions
(Law and Politics: The Judicial Structure)
Court System
Federal:
- The Supreme Court (1 @ 9)
- Court of Appeals (11 @ 3)
- District Courts (94 @ 1)
- Bankruptcy Courts (94 @ 1)
State:
- Superior (58 @ 1)
merged with municipal in 2001
8. Social Institutions
(Law and Politics: The Judicial Structure)
State Court System
– Superior Court (58 @ 1)
One for each county
– Municipal Court
Merged with Superior Courts in 2001
9. Social Institutions
(Law and Politics)
The Criminal Process
Arrest
Preliminary Hearing
Arraignment
Pre-Trial Hearings
Trial
Verdict
Sentencing
Incarceration
Parole
10. Social Institutions
(Law and Politics)
Social Psychological Considerations
Arrest and Arraignment
– Memory / Cognitive consistency
Pre-Trail and Trial Judgments
– Attribution of cause / Distributive Justice
Sentencing Practices
– Labeling / Status Characteristics and Expectation states
16. Social Institutions
(Markets and Economics)
Money and Meaning:
Earned Income
Wages, Salaries
Unearned Income
Dividends, Interest
Capital Gains
Real & Personal Property
Taxes
To 40%
To 77%
To 28%
18. Social Institutions
(Education and Mobility)
Structure (Status Attainment Model)
– Parents Status, Education & 1st Job status
Family
SES
Ability
Ambition
Education
Grades
19. Social Institutions
(Education and Mobility)
Social Psychological Considerations
Attribution and achievement
– Status Characteristics and Success Attribution
Costs, Reward & Delayed Gratification
– Delay as Dissonance Reduction
Role Modeling
– Role Self Merger
20. Social Institutions
(Education and Mobility)
Process (Soc Psych Model)
Role Modeling
Delayed
Gratification
Family
SES
Ambition
Education
Ability
Self Attribution
Grades
22. Social Institutions
(Religion and Belief)
Structure
– Hierarchically Organized (Bureaucracies)
– Bound by Symbols, Belief and Ritual
Symbols
Organizations
Ritual
Beliefs
However, cognitive mediation => disassociation from task => rise of
denominations and ultimately cults and sects, where the membership
is based more on the beliefs, symbols and ritual than on the
organizational membership.
23. Social Institutions
(Religion and Belief)
Social Psychological Considerations
Belief
– Dissonance Reduction
Symbols
– Significant Symbols
Ritual
– Intermittent Reinforcement / Reward
24. Social Institutions
(Religion and Belief)
• Process (Soc Psych Model)
S-I’s Significance
Intermittent Rewards
Symbols
Beliefs
Ritual
Dissonance Reduction
Organization