Basic Concepts of Sociology

UNIT 2 BASIC CONCEPTS IN SOCIOLOGY

Structure

2.0 Objectives

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Basic Concepts in Sociology

2.2.1 Society

2.2.2 Community

2.2.3 Institution

2.2.4 Social Organisation

2.2.5 Social Structure

2.2.6 Association

2.3 The Rise of Human Society

2.3.1 The Origin of Understanding Society

2.3.2 Sociological Approach to Understand Human Society

2.3.3 Functional Approach to Understand Society

2.3.4 Development of Social Complexities

2.4 Sociological Approach to Understand Human Society

2.4.1 Evolution Theory

2.4.2 Organic Theory

2.4.3 Social Contact Theory

2.5 Relationship between Individual and Society

2.6 Socialization and its Meaning

2.6.1 Process of Socialization

2.6.2 Elements of Socialization

2.7 Social Structure

2.7. 1 Concept/Definition

2.7.2 Elements

2.7.3 Types of Social Structure

2.8 Let Us Sum Up

2.9 Answers to Check Your Progress

2.10 Further Readings

2.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you would be able to:

● explain the basic concepts used in sociology;

● explain about the rise of human society;

● describe the sociological approach to understand human society;

● discuss the relationship between individual and society;

● describe about process of socialization; and

● expain the social structure.16

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Students are confronted with vast array of terms in sociology, each meaning by itself, but maynot be fitting together to form a logically consistent and unified analytical framework withwhich to examine social life. The explicit purpose of this chapter is to introduce the students tobasic concepts and themes of organization as coherently as possible so that you may have arelatively firm foundation to understand society and use these concepts to have betterunderstanding of your patients, community and others around you.

2.2 BASIC CONCEPTS IN SOCIOLOGY

There are different terms, which are used in daily life, but have specific meaning in sociology. Itis necessary for you all to understand the meaning and definition of each to have betterunderstanding of the terms that you come across while working in the community or anyhealth setting.

2.2.1 Society

Society is defined not merely as an aggregates of individuals and groups living together, butis explained as a concept in sociology, where a system of set pattern mechanism existscomprising a complex web of norms, interactions and interrelations of individuals and groupsthat keep them bound together with a common purpose of co-inhabitation from generationstogether within a given territorial dimension.

A society is a group of people who share common culture, occupy a particular territorial areaand feel unified and distinct entity. According to Maclver and Page, Society is the web ofsocial relationships.

2.2.2 Community

Although family as a social entity sometimes are self sufficient, but families do not live bythemselves. For some reasons ranging from economic interdependence to shared culturalvalues, families normally bond together to form communities. The community, rather thanthe family, then becomes the social setting for most everyday economic, political, religious,educational, recreational, and similar activities. In brief, a community is a social organizationthat is territorially localized and through which its members satisfy most of their daily needsand deal with most of their common problems.

2.2.3 Institution

A social institution is a procedure, practice and an instrument, combination of variety ofcustoms and habits accumulated over a period of time. Institutions are instruments and tools ofhuman transactions. An institution is thus a stable cluster of norms, values and roles.

Or

A social institution is an organized complex pattern of behaviour in which a number of personsparticipate in order to further group interest. The family, the school, the church, the club, thehospital, the political parties, professional associations are all social institutions. Within eachinstitution, the rights and duties of the members are defined.

2.2.4 Social Organisation

The term ‘social organisation’ refers to interdependence of different aspects of society: andthis is an essential characteristic of all enduring social entities. Herbert Spencer used the term‘social organisation’ to refer to the interrelations of the economic, political and otherdivisions of society. Social organisation is a process of merging social factors into orderedsocial relationships, which become infused with cultural ideas.

2.2.5 Social Structure

Social structure refers to the pattern of interrelations between individuals. Every society has asocial structure, a complex of major institutions, groups, and arrangements, relating to status

Basic Concepts in Sociology

17

Basic Concepts inSociology

18

and power. Social structure is an arrangement of social activities that is seen to exist over someperiod of time and that is believed to depict underlying pattern of social order.

It must be noted here that social order is often stable but never static. That is, the basic featureof a particular arrangement of social relationships may persist for some time, but these patternsexist among ongoing relationships, which in one way or another always varying.

2.2.6 Association

As social life is becoming increasingly complex, with social actors pursuing a widening varietyof goals through collective action, they create various kinds of specialised organisation. Each ofthese organisations is limited in its range of activities, focuses on only one or a few aspects ofsocial life. The generic name for such specialised organisation is association. An association isa social organisation that is more or less purposefully created for attainment of relativelyspecific and limited goals, for example a Trained Nurses Association of India, TeachersAssociation.

Check Your Progress 1

Define the following terms:

1) Society ...............................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

2) Community.........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

3) Social Institution ................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

4) Social Structure ..................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

5) Association........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

2.3 THE RISE OF HUMAN SOCIETY

In this unit, you will learn that this movement of man gave rise to human societies. We hope thatthis knowledge will help you to gain a deeper understanding of the society as a whole. This isimportant as nursing too has a social purpose. As members of the society, nurses have todischarge their social responsibilities, social obligations and social commitments towards theirfellow human beings. This makes it all the more necessary for us to understand the socialenvironment of man in relation to health and disease. Such an analysis would help us to identifysome of the critical elements of the social and culture environment in which man lives. Some ofthese are the social values, culture, beliefs, traditions, social attitudes, social relationships,social institutions, class structure, social pressure and group dynamics. These concepts insociology are required for nurses and others in the health field to have a perfect understandingof our society in relation to both health and disease.

2.3.1 The Origin of Understanding Society

For thousands of years men have observed and reflected upon the societies and groups in whichthey lived. The study of evolution of man can be dated back to 1859 when Darwin published‘Origin of Species’. This may be said to be the date of the birth of the Anthropology (study ofman and society) as also of all evolutionary study. Darwin’s contemporary, Herbert Spencercame to the conclusion that evolution of man had not taken place only with respect to physicalaspects of mankind but also in human social life. August Comtre, who loomed large on theintellectual horizon of those times conceived the science of human society and named it associal physics or sociology in the early 18th Century.


19

2.3.2 Sociological Approach to Understand Human Society

Briefly tracing the origin of the science of society, we find that the sociological history ofsociology suggests that the study of human society, broadly, has had a four fold origin inpolitical philosophy, philosophy of history, biological theories of evolution and the movementsfor social and political reform which found it necessary to undertake surveys of prevailingsocial conditions of those times. The philosophy of history was born out of the two revolutions– the industrial revolution in England and political revolution in France. Under the influence ofthis philosophy of history, reinforced later by the biological theory of evolution, the science ofsociety sought to identify and account for the principal stages in the social evolution which willbe discussed shortly. In due course of time the science of society also took into its stride theprevailing social problems arising out of the political and economic revolutions of the 18th

Century. This gave a totally different scientific approach to the study of society unlike that ofthe earlier encyclopaedic approach concerned mainly with the entire historical and social life ofman.

The sociological thinkers like Marks and Spencer of 18th and 19th century gradually developed‘Science of the New Industrial Society’, which enabled them not only to identify particularprevailing social phenomenon like poverty, giving rise to certain prevailing socio-economicproblems as beggary, malnutrition etc. but also to conduct relevant social surveys in order toassess the extent of the social conditions and identify the roots of the social evils. This,accordingly develops social actions (reform in order to eradicate those social evils). Thiswould lead to certain predominant social changes according to them. Thus, we see that theseintellectual movements, the philosophy of history and the social surveys were not isolatedfrom the social circumstances of the 18th and the 19th centuries in western Europe. The newinterest in history and in social developments brought about by rapidity of social changesaroused a ‘reaction of traditionalism against analytical reason’ which gave birth toreorientation of social thought and understand the human society in transition from time totime. This ‘conservatism’ vs ‘radicalism’ in social thinking by sociologists like Marks,Spencer helped to understand the nature of human society, identify and define the socialprocesses, classify the different types of societies and enumerate the various stages of socialdevelopment. This gave rise to various terminologies and formation of sociological theoriesneeded for understanding society in general.

In the recent times, the understanding of society grew wider with the works of C. WrightMills (1959) who wrote the ‘Sociological Imagination’ which gives a vivid account of thesocial and political problems of the post war period. This brought about certain advancedthinking on the part of the sociologists, who began analyzing society in terms of:

a) larger aspects of the social structure and its changes,

b) examination of basic characteristics of industrial society,

c) investigation of origin and consequences of social movements and revolutions,

d) social implications of rapid advances in science and technology, and

e) processes of industrialisation and economic growth.

Although this approach has been rather critical and controversial in nature, yet the modernsociologists with dynamic thinking are no longer satisfied with the mere descriptions of socialphenomenon.

They are interested in analyzing the factors that are responsible for the occurrence of thesesocial phenomena. Gradually, attempts have been made to integrate the study of society withthe other social sciences in order to get a holistic view of the society. For instance, inEconomics, certain sociological studies were extended to important area like:

a) structure of industries societies,

b) industrial relations,

c) economic systems in relation to social problems,

d) social changes brought about by economic planning and economic growth, and

e) new problems arising out of technological progress and so on.


20

These social aspects of economic activities are equally important to understand the society.Gradually, sociologists began to explore the interrelationship of the social environment andcultural factors with the occurrence and frequency of disease among different social groups. Inthis, they studied the influence of belief system, values, norms, lifestyles, educations, politicalsystem and socio-economic conditions of living on the response of people to the event ofsickness and disease. These studies ultimately paved the way for the development of new fieldof research in Sociology called Medical Sociology, which mainly studies medicine as a socialinstitutions.

These instances give us an idea about the nature of the sociological approach that developedfrom time to time in understanding the society. Initially, the study of the society dealt withfragmented aspects like religion, family, social structure, urban life all in isolation. However, inrecent times, sociologists have an integrated approach to study all aspects of human social lifein totality.

2.3.3 Functional Approach to Understand Society

According to this approach, the study of society today has become more specific andethnocentric due to the vast accumulation of historical development of the past and the existingsocial phenomeon of contemporary times. This holistic view helps us to develop a deepervision to understand the problems of society constantly in transition.

2.3.4 Development of Social Complexities

With regard to understanding of society, it is important to mention here the various complexitiesthat developed in the society with changes in civilization, more specifically, the economicactivities of man. Agriculture began to develop as the main occupation of man for his survival.As the farming communities developed, intense activities of agriculture required thecooperation of the different groups of people living together. This required some sort of bondfor availability of people. Thus extended families (2 to 3 generations of people living togetherunder one roof) came into being through strong ties of blood and marriage. Tasks becamedivided among various members of such family who could be relied upon to contribute theirlabour.

2.4 SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDHUMAN SOCIETY

2.4.1 Evolution Theory

Evolutionary approach starts from comparing different types of human society in history.Earlier, hunting and gathering societies that were found in earliest stages of humandevelopment seem to be relatively simple in structure as compared to the agricultural societiesthat emerged at a later period in history. According to these theories, as the societies becomemore complex, areas of social life that once were mingled become clearly differentiated. Forexample there were no separate ruling groups or political authority in hunting and gatheringsocieties as normally exist in agrarian societies. Traditional states were even larger and morecomplicated in the sense that there were clearly distinct classes, separate political, legal andcultural institutions. Finally, industrialized societies are more complex than any preceding types:they involve many separate institutions and organisations.

2.4.2 Organic Theory

Emile Durkheim believed that there can be a ‘science of society’. He believed that social factscan be studied like things and that society has its own realities which cannot be reduced toactions or motives of individuals. Durkheim used the ‘organic analogy’ in his studies. Theorganic analogy refers to the comparison of human society to a living organism or humanbody which changes from a single cell to a multi-cellular organism, human society hasevolved from simple, hunter-gathering to complex, industrial society. As society changes,new social institutions appear. Just like human body which has a blood system to transportnutrients to various parts of the body, society must have a transport system to move goodsaround.


21

2.4.3 Social Contact Theory

George Herbert Mead is the founder of the approach to the study of society called symbolicinteractionism. Symbolic interactionism is a social action approach. This approach argues that‘society’ and ‘social institutions’ are made up of the countless interactions betweenindividuals.

This theory focuses on social action rather than on social structure.


Define the following terms:

1) Evolution theory

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

2) Organic theory

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

2.5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL ANDSOCIETY

At the time of birth, human infant does not have any knowledge about things around. It onlyneeds to satisfy certain physical needs, which is done by the elders in the family. As the childgrows up, she/he keeps on learning behaviour patterns by interacting with the familymembers. In this process, the child internalizes the norms and values of the family, whichcontrol the behaviour of its members. By accepting the behaviour patterns of society the childbecome a social individual from mere biological individual.

2.6 SOCIALIZATION AND ITS MEANING

The process of socialization, in both its “personality formation” and “social learning”aspects, is frequently thought of as occurring primarily in childhood. During this time thechild acquires basic personality characteristics and learns many of the fundamentalinteractions skills ----one of which is language. However, the socialization process never endswith adolescence, but continues throughout a person’s entire life. The process by which thebiological being becomes social being is called socialization.

2.6.1 Process of Socialization

Socialization is a process whereby the helpless infant gradually becomes a self-aware,knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of the culture into which she or he is born.According to Giddens, Socialization is not a kind of ‘cultural programming’ in which thechild absorbs passively the influences with which he or she comes into contact. Although theprocess of cultural learning is more intense in the infancy and early childhood than later,learning and adjustment go on through the whole life-cycle.

All human infants are born with the capacity to make certain perceptual distinctions andrespond to them (Richards and Light, 1986). An infant is able to distinguish its mother fromother people by three months of age. Though the child, by this age, does not recognize themother as a person; rather it responds to certain characteristics, probably, the voice andmanner in which it is held. The infants attachment to its mother becomes firm after aboutthe first seven months of life.

This to say that the early months of a child’s life is a period of learning from the mother andother caretakers. As the child grows in age, he or she develops an increasing capacity tounderstand the interaction emotions of other family members. Slowly child is able todifferentiate if one parent is angry, happy and also shows distress or pleasure.


22

There are broadly speaking two phases of socialization – Primary socialization and secondarysocialization. Also there are different agencies of socialization working at different levels of theprocess.

‘Primary socialization’ takes place in infancy and childhood, and this is most crucial stage ofsocialization as the basic behaviour pattern is learnt by the child at this stage. Family, schools,peer groups provide opportunity for socialization and are referred as agencies for primarysocialisation. This stage consists of three sub-stages: (i) the oral stage, (ii) the anal stage and(iii) the oedipal stage. All the roles in the family are internalized by the child. The child identifieswith his/her social role. The family is the main agency of socialization in the first phase.‘Secondary socialization’ starts from the later stage of the childhood and goes up to maturity.However, socialization never stops in life. The schools, peer groups, media and other agencies inwhich the person is placed in life, play the role of socialization throughout life.

2.6.2 Elements of SocializationThere are some elements of socialization. Once a person has undergone some socialization, heor she becomes capable of exercising internal control over his or her own actions.Internalization occurs as social norms are accepted by the individual as his own personalstandards of action. Norms internalization is largely an unconscious process.

The second kind of internal control results from psychological identification by an individualwith a social organization. As a consequence of identification, an individual often accepts thesocial standards of an organization because of his/her desire to establish a relationship withthat organization. These social standards do not become internalized, but the individualconsciously and willingly accepts them and abides by them. For example, the college fresherwho modifies appearance and behaviour in an attempt to be part of the group with whom he orshe desires to establish relationship. Sociologists use the concept of ‘reference group’ for anorganization by whose standards an individual abides as result of identification.

The third kind of internal control is in the form of compliance resulting from expedient orutilitarian considerations. Compliance occurs when an individual abides by the social standardsof an organization in hopes of benefiting from conformity. He expects to gain rewards andescape punishment because of his action. In this case, voluntary compliance is based on rationalcalculations of expediency. For example, a scooter driver follows the speed limit to avoid fine,or an employee / nurse in private nursing home takes on extra duties and works overtime inhopes of being promoted.

So we have seen that internalization, identification and compliance are three principal ways bywhich social control occurs that in a ways gives direction to the process of socialization. Theseforces work simultaneously and many a times we are not aware of these elements, but are subjectto social controls around us.

Hence, the process of socialization is both ‘personality formation’ and ‘social learning’. Socializationcan be viewed from two different perspectives. One, we may view it as the development of thepersonality as it matures in childhood and throughout adulthood, second, we may view it as thelearning of those capabilities that are necessary for participating in organized social life.


1) Define socialization.

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

2) List the agencies of :

a) Primary socialization

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................


23

b) Secondary socialization

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

2.7 SOCIAL STRUCTURE

As individuals we all know a great deal about ourselves and about the societies in which welive. We have fairly good understanding of why we act as we do. Many of things that we do inour day-to-day lives, because we understand the social conventions involved. From the abovediscussion on socialization we have come to conclusion that there are social process of socialordering or discipline. The static pictures of social order are description of social structure.

2.7.1 Concept/Definition

The social environments in which we exist do not just consist of random assortment of eventsor actions. There are underlying regulations, or patterning, in how people behave and in therelationships in which they stand with one another. It is these regulations to which theconcept of social structure refers. To some degree it is helpful to picture the structuralcharacteristics of societies as resembling the structure of building. But this metaphor can beapplied to social structures strictly because, social structures are made up of human actionsand relationships. We should understand human socities to be like buildings that are everymoment being reconstructed by the very brick that compose them. The actions of all of us areinfluenced by the structural characteristics of the societies in which we are brought up andlive; and at the same time, we recreate those structural characteristics in our actions.

In short, Social structure is patterned social order as we observe it. You would be clearerabout the concept as we proceed in this unit.

2.7.2 Elements

Social structure refers to arrangement of social activities that are seen to exist over some periodof time and that is believed to depict underlying patterns of social order.

Social structure results from process that means they are not static. That means that Socialstructures are relatively bounded and stable occurrence of social order together withassociated culture.

To recapitulate from the concepts we talked at the beginning of this unit Social structurerefers to the pattern of interrelations between individuals. Every society has a social structure,a complex of major institutions, groups, and arrangements, relating to status and power.Social structure is an arrangement of social activities that is seen to exist over some period oftime and that is believed to depict underlying pattern of social order.

2.7.3 Types of Social Structure

From the above discussion it is fairly clear there are different types of social structures in asociety and each one of us a member of more than one social structure. Be it a family,economic structure, religious structure, political structure etc.

i) Social Institutions

We have seen above that social institution is a procedure, practice and an instrument, hencean ensemble of a variety of customs and habits accumulated over a period of time. Institutionsare instruments and tools of human transactions. An institution is thus a stable cluster ofnorms, values and roles.

ii) Family

We would be talking about family in detail in Unit 3 but in the context of social structure, wewould make a passing reference. The family is an organized group based on a network ofrelationships. These relationships provide assignment of rights and duties between members.


24

iii) Economic Institution

Social institutions concerned with the management, production and distribution of humanresources are referred to as economic institutions. Economic institutions have also beendefined by Kingsley Davis, as those ‘basic ideas’, norms and statutes that govern theallocation of scarce goods in any society, whether society is primitive or civilized. Theeconomic institutions thus govern the activities of the individuals with regards to production,distribution and consumption of goods and services in society.

The property and the contract are the most fundamental economic institutions. The economicinstitutions that constitute the economic system are wages, the system of exchange anddivision of labour, the property and the contract.

iv) Religious Institution

Religion has existed throughout the history of human society. It is an important aspect ofhuman social life. Religion has been defined as ‘a belief in supernatural being’, by theanthropologist E. B. Tylor. These beliefs are associated with emotional state of mind such asfear, awe, happiness, reverence etc. As regards, to the social structure, every religion involvesits specific rituals such as playing, dancing, chanting, fasting and eating certain kinds of foodand so on. Religious institutions have believed to have been evolved into an organized formsbased on a system of beliefs and ritual practices.

There are different forms of the communities of believers such as the church, the sect and thecult. Church is well-established organization, and has a bureaucratic structure with hierarchyof office bearers among the believers. Hinduism also has some organized body in importanttemples of the country and the body of persons entrusted with the responsibility ofmanagement of temples.

As compared to well-established organized groups such as church, sects are smaller in size.They generally originate as remonstrate against the old established religion. It is initiated bya few and gradually others join it. The sect rejects the tenets of the conventional religion andattempts to convince people about the weaknesses of the traditional religion. Arya samaj is anexample of sect of Hinduism.

v) Educational Institution

A child is born only as a biological being but soon becomes social being through socializationand education. Education is an effort of the senior people to transfer their knowledge to theyounger members of the society. It is, therefore, also an institution that plays vital role inintegrating an individual with his society and in maintaining the perpetuation of culture.

Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist defines education as ‘the influence exercised by theadult generation upon those who are not yet ready for adult life’. He maintains that ‘societycan survive only if there exists among its members sufficient degree of homogeneity. Thehomogeneity is perpetuated and reinforced by education. A child learns basic rules,regulations, norms and values of society through education.

Sociologists mainly focus on the influence of social situations on the nature of educationsystem and the role of education in social change. Durkheim argues that in complexindustrial society, school serves an important functions which the family or peer group maynot be able to do. In the family or peer group, a person has to interact with his kin or with hisfriend, but in a society at large, one has to interact with a person who is neither a kin nor afriend. School teaches an individual to learn to cooperate with strangers.

vi) State/Political Institutions

According to Max Weber, State is the most fundamental institutions of a political system. Thestate means the institution which exercises the monopoly over the legitimate use of powerwithin a given territory. It can use force to implement its policies. To exercise political power,state has sub institutions that are involved to implement its policies. The judiciary and thelegislature are the instruments that cooperate in the distribution of power. The essentialelements of the state are a population, a defined territory, a government and sovereignty.

Legitimate power is the most significant element of political institution. Political institutions arealso defined as those holding monopoly in the exercise of legitimate force. The political system


25

in the remote past were such that the political power of rulers were relatively unqualified butstate which emerged after Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution was endowed with qualifiedpower. ‘The state’ according to Max Weber, ‘is a human community which successfully claimthe monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory’. The Constitutionof a state/country defines the limits of power of the state and its different organs. The power islegitimate so long as presents the ‘general will’ of the people and is voluntarily accepted bythem.

There are three bases of legitimization of power and can be classified into three correspondingtypes of authority. The authorities are: the traditional authority, the charismatic authority, andthe legal rational authority. The traditional authority is that which people obey by habit. Theyaccept the power of someone simply because it has been done so in the past. For example, thetribal chief. Charismatic authority is the second type. People also behave voluntarily under theinfluence of a person who possesses some extraordinary qualities. They obey the person dueto their faith in and respect for him. The authority in the modern industrial society is legalrational type. This authority is formal and its privileges are limited and defined by law. Theactual power lies not in the person but in the position he occupies. The administrative staff ofthe state is an example of this category. This kind of authority is impersonal and rational innature.

2.8 LET US SUM UP

This section is very important for the health professional. In this unit we have focused on basicterms that are used in sociology and their use. We have also seen how human society hasevolved the sociological approach to understand human society. The other aspect that hasbeen covered in this unit is relationship between individual and society and how individualrelates to the society and interdependence between the two. Individual learns to relate to thesociety and learn to behave in a socially acceptable manner. The process is known associalization. Socialization is important aspect of every one’s life. Social structure, its definitionelements, types of social structures and function of each is focused in this unit. This is a vastunit focusing on the many topics, which are important for you as nurses so that youunderstand scope of each and help an individual well or sick, in the hospital or communitykeeping in view the society to which he/she belongs.

2.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOU PROGRESS


1) Society is defined not merely as an aggregates of individuals and groups living together,but is explained as a concept, where a system of set pattern mechanism exists comprisinga complex web of norms, interactions and interrelations of individuals and groups thatkeep them bound together with a common purpose of co-inhabitation from generationstogether within a given territorial dimension.

2) A community is a social organization that is territorially localized and through which itsmembers satisfy most of their daily needs and deal with most of their common problems.

3) A social institution is a procedure, practice and an instrument, hence an ensemble of avariety of customs and habits accumulated over a period of time. Institutions areinstruments and tools of human transactions. An institution is thus a stable cluster ofnorms, values and roles.

4) Social structure refers to the pattern of interrelations between individuals. Every societyhas a social structure, a complex of major institutions, groups, and arrangements,relating to status and power. Social structure is an arrangement of social activities that isseen to exist over some period of time and that is believed to depict underlying pattern ofsocial order.

5) An association is a social organization that is more or less purposefully created forattainment of relatively specific and limited goals.


26


1) Evolutionary Theory: Evolutionary approach starts from to compare different types ofhuman society in history. Earlier, hunting and gathering societies that were found inearliest stages of human development seem to be relatively simple in structure ascompared to the agricultural societies that emerged at a later period in history.

2) Organic Theory: The organic analogy refers to the comparison of human society to aliving organism or human body which changes from a single cell to a multi-cellularorganism.


1) Socialization is a process by which the biological being becomes a social being, orSocialization is the process whereby the helpless infant gradually becomes a self-aware,knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of the culture into which she or he is born.

2) a) The agencies of primary socialization are: Family, schools, peer groups

b) The agencies of Secondary socialisation are: Schools, media, peer groups.

2.10 FURTHER READINGS

Bottomore, T. B., Sociology, Blackie and Sons Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, 1971.

Cooley, Charles H., Social Organization: A Study of the Larger Mind, Scribners, New York,1909.

Davis, Kingsley, Human Society, Macmillan Company, New York 1970.

Durkheim, Emile, The Rules of Sociological Methods, The Free Press, Macmillan Company1938.

Giddens, A., Sociology, Polity Press 1990.

Goode, W. J., Principles of Sociology, New Delhi, 1977.

Nadel, S, F., The Theory of Social Structures, The Free Press, 1957.

Maclver, R.M. and Charles H. Page, Society: An Introduction Analysis, the Macmillan Co.India Pvt. Ltd., Delhi 1974.

Parsons, Talcott, The Social System, New York, 1951.

Uberoi, P. (ed), Family, Marriage and Kinship, Asia Publishing House, New Delhi, 1993.

Documents

Basic Concepts of Sociology