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.
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 Basic Concepts in Sociology
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Students are confronted with vast array of terms in sociology, each meaning by itself, but may
not be fitting together to form a logically consistent and unified analytical framework with
which to examine social life. The explicit purpose of this chapter is to introduce the students to
basic concepts and themes of organization as coherently as possible so that you may have a
relatively firm foundation to understand society and use these concepts to have better
understanding 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. It
is necessary for you all to understand the meaning and definition of each to have better
understanding of the terms that you come across while working in the community or any
health setting.

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

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

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

2.2.3 Institution
A social institution is a procedure, practice and an instrument, combination of variety of
customs and habits accumulated over a period of time. Institutions are instruments and tools of
human 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 persons
participate in order to further group interest. The family, the school, the church, the club, the
hospital, the political parties, professional associations are all social institutions. Within each
institution, 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: and
this 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 other
divisions of society. Social organisation is a process of merging social factors into ordered
social 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 a
social structure, a complex of major institutions, groups, and arrangements, relating to status
17
Basic Concepts in and power. Social structure is an arrangement of social activities that is seen to exist over some
Sociology period 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 feature
of a particular arrangement of social relationships may persist for some time, but these patterns
exist 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 variety
of goals through collective action, they create various kinds of specialised organisation. Each of
these organisations is limited in its range of activities, focuses on only one or a few aspects of
social life. The generic name for such specialised organisation is association. An association is
a social organisation that is more or less purposefully created for attainment of relatively
specific and limited goals, for example a Trained Nurses Association of India, Teachers
Association.

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 that
this knowledge will help you to gain a deeper understanding of the society as a whole. This is
important as nursing too has a social purpose. As members of the society, nurses have to
discharge their social responsibilities, social obligations and social commitments towards their
fellow human beings. This makes it all the more necessary for us to understand the social
environment of man in relation to health and disease. Such an analysis would help us to identify
some of the critical elements of the social and culture environment in which man lives. Some of
these are the social values, culture, beliefs, traditions, social attitudes, social relationships,
social institutions, class structure, social pressure and group dynamics. These concepts in
sociology are required for nurses and others in the health field to have a perfect understanding
of 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 which
they 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 of
man and society) as also of all evolutionary study. Darwin’s contemporary, Herbert Spencer
came to the conclusion that evolution of man had not taken place only with respect to physical
aspects of mankind but also in human social life. August Comtre, who loomed large on the
intellectual horizon of those times conceived the science of human society and named it as
18 social physics or sociology in the early 18th Century.
2.3.2 Sociological Approach to Understand Human Society Basic Concepts in Sociology

Briefly tracing the origin of the science of society, we find that the sociological history of
sociology suggests that the study of human society, broadly, has had a four fold origin in
political philosophy, philosophy of history, biological theories of evolution and the movements
for social and political reform which found it necessary to undertake surveys of prevailing
social 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 of
this philosophy of history, reinforced later by the biological theory of evolution, the science of
society sought to identify and account for the principal stages in the social evolution which will
be discussed shortly. In due course of time the science of society also took into its stride the
prevailing 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 of
the earlier encyclopaedic approach concerned mainly with the entire historical and social life of
man.

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 particular
prevailing social phenomenon like poverty, giving rise to certain prevailing socio-economic
problems as beggary, malnutrition etc. but also to conduct relevant social surveys in order to
assess 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). This
would lead to certain predominant social changes according to them. Thus, we see that these
intellectual movements, the philosophy of history and the social surveys were not isolated
from the social circumstances of the 18th and the 19th centuries in western Europe. The new
interest in history and in social developments brought about by rapidity of social changes
aroused a ‘reaction of traditionalism against analytical reason’ which gave birth to
reorientation of social thought and understand the human society in transition from time to
time. This ‘conservatism’ vs ‘radicalism’ in social thinking by sociologists like Marks,
Spencer helped to understand the nature of human society, identify and define the social
processes, classify the different types of societies and enumerate the various stages of social
development. This gave rise to various terminologies and formation of sociological theories
needed for understanding society in general.

In the recent times, the understanding of society grew wider with the works of C. Wright
Mills (1959) who wrote the ‘Sociological Imagination’ which gives a vivid account of the
social and political problems of the post war period. This brought about certain advanced
thinking 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 modern
sociologists with dynamic thinking are no longer satisfied with the mere descriptions of social
phenomenon.

They are interested in analyzing the factors that are responsible for the occurrence of these
social phenomena. Gradually, attempts have been made to integrate the study of society with
the other social sciences in order to get a holistic view of the society. For instance, in
Economics, 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. 19
Basic Concepts in These social aspects of economic activities are equally important to understand the society.
Sociology Gradually, sociologists began to explore the interrelationship of the social environment and
cultural factors with the occurrence and frequency of disease among different social groups. In
this, they studied the influence of belief system, values, norms, lifestyles, educations, political
system and socio-economic conditions of living on the response of people to the event of
sickness and disease. These studies ultimately paved the way for the development of new field
of research in Sociology called Medical Sociology, which mainly studies medicine as a social
institutions.

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

2.3.3 Functional Approach to Understand Society

According to this approach, the study of society today has become more specific and
ethnocentric due to the vast accumulation of historical development of the past and the existing
social phenomeon of contemporary times. This holistic view helps us to develop a deeper
vision 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 complexities
that developed in the society with changes in civilization, more specifically, the economic
activities 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 the
cooperation of the different groups of people living together. This required some sort of bond
for availability of people. Thus extended families (2 to 3 generations of people living together
under one roof) came into being through strong ties of blood and marriage. Tasks became
divided among various members of such family who could be relied upon to contribute their
labour.

2.4 SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND

HUMAN 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 human
development seem to be relatively simple in structure as compared to the agricultural societies
that emerged at a later period in history. According to these theories, as the societies become
more complex, areas of social life that once were mingled become clearly differentiated. For
example there were no separate ruling groups or political authority in hunting and gathering
societies as normally exist in agrarian societies. Traditional states were even larger and more
complicated in the sense that there were clearly distinct classes, separate political, legal and
cultural 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 facts
can be studied like things and that society has its own realities which cannot be reduced to
actions or motives of individuals. Durkheim used the ‘organic analogy’ in his studies. The
organic analogy refers to the comparison of human society to a living organism or human
body which changes from a single cell to a multi-cellular organism, human society has
evolved 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 transport
nutrients to various parts of the body, society must have a transport system to move goods
around.
20
2.4.3 Social Contact Theory Basic Concepts in Sociology

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

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

Check Your Progress 2

Define the following terms:

1) Evolution theory

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

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

2) Organic theory

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

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

2.5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AND

SOCIETY
At the time of birth, human infant does not have any knowledge about things around. It only
needs to satisfy certain physical needs, which is done by the elders in the family. As the child
grows up, she/he keeps on learning behaviour patterns by interacting with the family
members. In this process, the child internalizes the norms and values of the family, which
control the behaviour of its members. By accepting the behaviour patterns of society the child
become 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 the
child acquires basic personality characteristics and learns many of the fundamental
interactions skills ----one of which is language. However, the socialization process never ends
with adolescence, but continues throughout a person’s entire life. The process by which the
biological 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 the
child absorbs passively the influences with which he or she comes into contact. Although the
process 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 and
respond to them (Richards and Light, 1986). An infant is able to distinguish its mother from
other people by three months of age. Though the child, by this age, does not recognize the
mother as a person; rather it responds to certain characteristics, probably, the voice and
manner in which it is held. The infants attachment to its mother becomes firm after about
the 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 and
other caretakers. As the child grows in age, he or she develops an increasing capacity to
understand the interaction emotions of other family members. Slowly child is able to
differentiate if one parent is angry, happy and also shows distress or pleasure.
21
Basic Concepts in There are broadly speaking two phases of socialization – Primary socialization and secondary
Sociology socialization. Also there are different agencies of socialization working at different levels of the
process.
‘Primary socialization’ takes place in infancy and childhood, and this is most crucial stage of
socialization 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 primary
socialisation. 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 identifies
with 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 in
which the person is placed in life, play the role of socialization throughout life.

2.6.2 Elements of Socialization

There are some elements of socialization. Once a person has undergone some socialization, he
or 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 personal
standards of action. Norms internalization is largely an unconscious process.

The second kind of internal control results from psychological identification by an individual
with a social organization. As a consequence of identification, an individual often accepts the
social standards of an organization because of his/her desire to establish a relationship with
that organization. These social standards do not become internalized, but the individual
consciously and willingly accepts them and abides by them. For example, the college fresher
who modifies appearance and behaviour in an attempt to be part of the group with whom he or
she desires to establish relationship. Sociologists use the concept of ‘reference group’ for an
organization 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 or
utilitarian considerations. Compliance occurs when an individual abides by the social standards
of an organization in hopes of benefiting from conformity. He expects to gain rewards and
escape punishment because of his action. In this case, voluntary compliance is based on rational
calculations 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 in
hopes of being promoted.

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

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

Check Your Progress 3

1) Define socialization.

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

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

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

2) List the agencies of :

a) Primary socialization

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

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

22 ...................................................................................................................................
 b) Secondary socialization Basic Concepts in Sociology

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

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

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

2.7 SOCIAL STRUCTURE

As individuals we all know a great deal about ourselves and about the societies in which we
live. We have fairly good understanding of why we act as we do. Many of things that we do in
our day-to-day lives, because we understand the social conventions involved. From the above
discussion on socialization we have come to conclusion that there are social process of social
ordering 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 events
or actions. There are underlying regulations, or patterning, in how people behave and in the
relationships in which they stand with one another. It is these regulations to which the
concept of social structure refers. To some degree it is helpful to picture the structural
characteristics of societies as resembling the structure of building. But this metaphor can be
applied to social structures strictly because, social structures are made up of human actions
and relationships. We should understand human socities to be like buildings that are every
moment being reconstructed by the very brick that compose them. The actions of all of us are
influenced by the structural characteristics of the societies in which we are brought up and
live; 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 clearer
about 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 period
of 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 Social
structures are relatively bounded and stable occurrence of social order together with
associated culture.

To recapitulate from the concepts we talked at the beginning of this unit Social structure
refers 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 of
time 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 a
society 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, hence
an ensemble of a variety of customs and habits accumulated over a period of time. Institutions
are instruments and tools of human transactions. An institution is thus a stable cluster of
norms, values and roles.
ii) Family
We would be talking about family in detail in Unit 3 but in the context of social structure, we
would make a passing reference. The family is an organized group based on a network of
relationships. These relationships provide assignment of rights and duties between members.
23
Basic Concepts in iii) Economic Institution
Sociology
Social institutions concerned with the management, production and distribution of human
resources are referred to as economic institutions. Economic institutions have also been
defined by Kingsley Davis, as those ‘basic ideas’, norms and statutes that govern the
allocation of scarce goods in any society, whether society is primitive or civilized. The
economic 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 economic
institutions that constitute the economic system are wages, the system of exchange and
division of labour, the property and the contract.

iv) Religious Institution

Religion has existed throughout the history of human society. It is an important aspect of
human social life. Religion has been defined as ‘a belief in supernatural being’, by the
anthropologist E. B. Tylor. These beliefs are associated with emotional state of mind such as
fear, awe, happiness, reverence etc. As regards, to the social structure, every religion involves
its specific rituals such as playing, dancing, chanting, fasting and eating certain kinds of food
and so on. Religious institutions have believed to have been evolved into an organized forms
based on a system of beliefs and ritual practices.
There are different forms of the communities of believers such as the church, the sect and the
cult. Church is well-established organization, and has a bureaucratic structure with hierarchy
of office bearers among the believers. Hinduism also has some organized body in important
temples of the country and the body of persons entrusted with the responsibility of
management 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 by
a few and gradually others join it. The sect rejects the tenets of the conventional religion and
attempts to convince people about the weaknesses of the traditional religion. Arya samaj is an
example of sect of Hinduism.

v) Educational Institution

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

Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist defines education as ‘the influence exercised by the
adult generation upon those who are not yet ready for adult life’. He maintains that ‘society
can survive only if there exists among its members sufficient degree of homogeneity. The
homogeneity 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 education
system and the role of education in social change. Durkheim argues that in complex
industrial society, school serves an important functions which the family or peer group may
not be able to do. In the family or peer group, a person has to interact with his kin or with his
friend, but in a society at large, one has to interact with a person who is neither a kin nor a
friend. 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. The
state means the institution which exercises the monopoly over the legitimate use of power
within 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 the
legislature are the instruments that cooperate in the distribution of power. The essential
elements 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 are
24 also defined as those holding monopoly in the exercise of legitimate force. The political system
in the remote past were such that the political power of rulers were relatively unqualified but Basic Concepts in Sociology
state which emerged after Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution was endowed with qualified
power. ‘The state’ according to Max Weber, ‘is a human community which successfully claim
the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory’. The Constitution
of a state/country defines the limits of power of the state and its different organs. The power is
legitimate so long as presents the ‘general will’ of the people and is voluntarily accepted by
them.

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

2.8 LET US SUM UP

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

2.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOU PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 1

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 comprising
a complex web of norms, interactions and interrelations of individuals and groups that
keep them bound together with a common purpose of co-inhabitation from generations
together within a given territorial dimension.

2) A community is a social organization that is territorially localized and through which its
members 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 a

variety of customs and habits accumulated over a period of time. Institutions are
instruments and tools of human transactions. An institution is thus a stable cluster of
norms, values and roles.

4) Social structure refers 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 of time and that is believed to depict underlying pattern of
social order.

5) An association is a social organization that is more or less purposefully created for

attainment of relatively specific and limited goals.
25
Basic Concepts in Check Your Progress 2
Sociology
1) Evolutionary Theory: Evolutionary approach starts from to compare different types of
human society in history. Earlier, hunting and gathering societies that were found in
earliest stages of human development seem to be relatively simple in structure as
compared 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 a
living organism or human body which changes from a single cell to a multi-cellular
organism.

Check Your Progress 3

1) Socialization is a process by which the biological being becomes a social being, or

Socialization 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 Company
1938.

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.

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