Every day our lives are impacted by social institutions, groups, and organizations. Understanding how they work and their role in society can help us operate in society more successfully. Many interesting topics are covered in this lesson such as McDonaldization, The Amish (from the Introduction), and Bureaucracy. However, pay special attention to in-groups and out-groups discussed on pages 117-121 and think about who your in-groups and out-groups are. The purpose of this assignment is to examine the different social groups one belongs to and evaluate how social media can affect social groups.
Other than your family, identify and describe a primary group in which you belong. Do you have a status in this group? Is this status ascribed or achieved. Do you have a role in this group? How do you practice impression management in this group?
Identify one secondary group which you belong. Do you have a status in this group? Is this status ascribed or achieved. Do you have a role in this group? Have you ever experience role strain or role conflict in this group? What is the difference between role conflict and role strain?
Identify two of your in-groups and two of your out-groups and share how they have influence the way you see the world.
How has social media had an influence on your primary groups, your secondary groups, your in-groups, and your out-groups? Do believe that is possible for someone to have a primary group made of people that they have never met?
Sample Solution
