Social structure is the patterned arrangements of institutions and relationships in a society. It includes roles, statuses, groups, and institutions. It is the framework that shapes individual behavior. You do not invent your role as a student or employee. You step into a structure that already exists.

Structure is not destiny. People have agency. They resist, innovate, and change structures. But they do so within limits. A person can quit a job, but they cannot easily abolish the labor market. Structure and agency are in constant tension.

Components of social structure

• Statuses: positions like parent, citizen, worker
• Roles: behaviors expected in those positions
• Groups: collections of interacting people
• Institutions: organized systems like education and government
• Networks: connections between people and groups

Social structure explains why society is not chaos. It also explains why inequality persists. Structures reproduce themselves. Changing them requires collective action, not just individual choices.