Exam 15: Structuration Theory

Giddens views social structures as a double-edged sword in that they restrict our behavior, but those same rules are necessarily because they enable us to understand and interact with others.

Critics of Structuration Theory are primarily concerned with its

Structure is the term that is used to refer to the rules and resources that group members use to guide their behavior and sustain their system.

One's ability to exert influence over others based on his/her ability to penalize group members who do not comply, such as a boss who can require workers who arrive late to do undesirable tasks, is called

All of the following statements about rules are true EXCEPT

The person who engages in behavior in the group is referred to as the _________ by structuration theorists.

When you do what your boss asks you to do because you recognize that she has the ability to promote you following next month's performance evaluations, you are acknowledging her

Rules explain both __________ something is done and __________ a goal may be accomplished.

Legitimate power is based on a person's ability to exert influence over other group members on the basis of his/her position or title.

Does Structuration Theory have any utility in helping make class-assigned groups more effective as they work on class projects? If so, which concepts do you feel would be useful to teach students embarking on group work, so that they may better understand group processes that may make the group more or less effective? If not, why not?

Structures are viewed as having both temporal and spatial qualities, and Giddens maintains, in understanding them we must try to ignore the time-space relations inherent in the constitution of all social interaction.

All of the following are assumptions of Structuration Theory (ST) EXCEPT