BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LAW

“SOCIOLOGY NOTES BY - ISHAN SINGH.”

BOOKS
1. HM Johnson
2. Maciver and Page
3. Contemporary sociology - Francis Abraham. -best (in my opinion)
4. Horton and Hunt

Meaning of Sociology
"Sociology is the taking of what everyone knows and putting it into words
that nobody can understand."

Thomas Ford Hoult said that,

"Sociology is the intellectual discipline concerned with developing
systematic, reliable knowledge about human social relations in general and
about the products of such relationships"
Sociologists study human society and human behavior by examining the
groups that people form. These groups include families, tribes,
communities, governments as well as a great variety of social, religious,
political, business and other organizations. Sociologists study behavior
and interaction of groups, trace their origin and growth and analyze the
influence of group activities on individual members.

'Socious' is a Latin word and 'logus' is a Greek word. 'Socious' means

'society' and 'logus' means 'study'. Hence sociology is study of society.
Father of sociology is August Compe (1798-1857).
Sociology, on one hand, is a synthetic discipline trying to unify from a
central point of view the results of the separate disciplines, and on the
other hand, it is an analytic and specialized science with its own field of
research.
For August Compe, sociology is the abstract and theoretical science of
social phenomena. For Emile Durkheim, sociology is the study of social
facts where social facts are collective ways of feeling, thinking and acting.
For Max Waber, sociology is the study of social action and social
relationships. For Maciver and Page, society is the web of social
relationships.

According to Maciver, "Sociology seeks to discover the principles of

cohesion and of order within the social structure, the ways in which it
roots and grows within an environment, the moving equilibrium of
changing structure and changing environment, the main trends of the
incessant (never stopping and usually annoying) change, the forces that
determine its direction at any time, the harmonies and conflicts, the
adjustments and maladjustments within the structure as they are revealed
in the light of human desires and thus the practical application of means to
ends in the creative activities of social man."

Key points of this definition are:

 • Sociology seeks to discover principles of cohesion and order within
the social structure.
• The ways in which social structures roots and grows.
• What are the trends behind the continuous changes in various social
structures and systems?
• How are they working as a moving equilibrium of changing
structures and changing environment?
• What are the forces that determine the direction of changes?
• What are the human desires that decide the harmony, conflicts,
adjustments and maladjustments?
• How the society by using its various means converts a natural man
into a social man.
As a discipline Sociology has three characteristics:
• Sociology is a social science that deals with social systems and
processes. Like other social sciences, it cannot be an exact science
like other physical sciences.
• Sociology is a general social science that deals with society as a
whole while other sciences only deal with one or two aspects.
• Sociology is a pure science not an applied science.

Development of Sociology
Sociology is the youngest among all social sciences. August Compe
(French philosopher) coined the word 'Sociology' in his 'Positive
Philosophy' published in 1838. Prior to him Saint Simon (1760-1815) was
the first social thinker who tried to study the society scientifically.
According to August Compe’s views society should be studied using
systematic observation and classification, not on authority and speculation.

In 1876, a British scholar, Herbert Spencer published his thesis titled

‘Principle of Sociology’ and applied the theory of organic evolution to
human society and developed a grand theory of social evolution. In 1883
Lester F Ward, an American theorist, published his theory of ‘dynamic
sociology’ which focused the social progress through intelligent social
action which sociologists should guide.

All these thinkers were philosophers. They only introduced the idea of
science of society but the methodology was missing. Then the French
philosopher Emile Durkheim in 1895 published his thesis 'Rules of
Sociological Method' which discussed various methods to study social
phenomena’s. In his notable work 'Suicide' (1897), he used those
methods.

Sociology started getting recognition in many universities in 1890s. The

American Journal of Sociology began its publication in 1895 and
American Sociological Society was organized in 1905. In India, Patrick
Gedes and GS Ghurye are known to introduce sociology in 1914 in
Bombay University.

Nature of Sociology: science or not?

Regarding this question, scholars are divided in their opinions. Those
scholars who disagree to accept sociology as a science gave the following
arguments:
1. Lack of experimentation - The term science includes twin process of
experiment and prediction. The subject matter of sociology is human
relationships, human interactions, human behavior which are
intangible and couldn't be seen, we could not weigh it. In the words
of Words of WJH Sprott (Sociology, 1949) "If you cannot measure,
cannot establish broad unifying hypothesis and cannot be confident in
your social engineering, you cannot be said to be engaged in
scientific study at all."
2. Lack of objectivity - To maintain objectivity is not easy in sociology.
it is difficult to dissociate ourselves from the assumptions which we
have observed
3. Lack of exactivity - Sociology cannot be called a real science because
firstly, its laws and conclusions cannot be expressed in precise terms
 and secondly, its predictions might not come true. Its findings are
often limited in time and space.

Sociology is regarded as a science because:

1. It uses scientific methods to study its subject matter.
2. Man could not be experimented but the social behavior is amenable
(open and responsive to suggestions) to scientific investigation as any
other natural phenomena.
3. Scientific tools used by this discipline are scales of sociometry,
questionnaire, interview schedule, case history method etc. which
apply quantitative measurements to social phenomena.
4. All the physical sciences do not employ laboratory method for
experimentation such as Astronomy, Newton's law of gravitation.
5. Like other physical sciences, Sociology also frames laws and
attempts to predict. It endeavors to discover laws that are generally
applicable regardless of variations in culture.
6. Sociology delineates cause and effect relationships.
According to Lundberg, "Science is a procedure for discovering the
conditions under which events occur.". For Weber (Verstehen),
"Sociology is a science which attempts the interpretative understanding of
social action in order, thereby to arrive at a causal explanation of its cause
and effect."

Thus. Sociology is a scientific discipline which obeys the demands of

validity implied by the word 'Science'. It studies its subject matter
scientifically. It tries to classify types and forms of social relationships,
especially of institutions and associations. It tries to deduce general laws
from a systematic study of its material. Conclusions drawn from the study
of Sociological principles are applied to the solution of social problems.
Thus, Sociology is as much a science as social psychology, clinical
psychology and other sciences concerning man. Though it has not reached
perfection, the sociologists are searching for the instruments or tools
which will add to the minuteness of the study and exactness of its
principles.

Steps involved in the scientific study of Sociology are:

1. Defining the problem.
2. Review of literature
3. Formulation of hypothesis
4. Planning research design
5. Collection of data
6. Analysis of data
7. Drawing conclusions.

School of thought
There are two schools of thought in Sociology.

Formalistic school or Specialistic school

The scholars belonging to this school are George Simmel, AW Small, Vier
Kandt, Max Weber, Von Wiese, Ferdinand Tonnies. This school
demarcates Sociology clearly from other branches of social study and
confines it to the enquiry into certain defined aspects of human
relationship. They regard sociology as pure and independent. Vier Kandt's
view is that sociology is concerned with the ultimate forms of mental or
psychic relationships which link men to one another in society. For Max
Weber, the aim of sociology is to interpret or understand social behavior.
For Von Wiese, sociology is the study of forms of social relationships.
Thus, for formalistic school, sociology studies only one specific aspect of
social relationships, that is, their forms in their abstract nature and not any
concrete situation.

Criticisms of formalistic school

1. It has narrowed the scope of Sociology
2. It limited the scope to the abstract forms of social relationships only.
3.The abstract forms separated from concrete relations cannot be studied.
4. Conception of pure sociology is impractical. No social science could be
studied in isolation from other social sciences.
5. Not only sociology but other social sciences also study social
relationships.

Synthetic school
According to this school of thought, scope of sociology is very wide. It is
general as well as special science. It studies social traditions, social
processes, social morphology, social control, social pathology etc. Major
theorists of this school are Durkheim, Hobhouse, Pitrim Sorokin, Carl
Manheim, Ginsberg, Alex Inkeles, JB McKee. All these scholars have
categorized sociology in various terms and concluded that it is not
possible nor essential to limit sociology. Therefore, there are many a field
of sociology such as sociology of religion, sociology of law, social
psychology, criminal sociology, rural sociology, urban sociology,
industrial sociology, medical sociology etc.

Relevance of sociology for law

1. Law is a social phenomenon. It is for the society and from the
society. Therefore, it is necessary to understand it sociologically.
2. Law is social engineering. Sociology is one of those subjects which help
in decoding the intention behind the legislation and how law really
influences the society.
3. To perform efficiently as law professionals, one should understand
the societal behavior patterns perfectly and sociology helps in that.
4. There is an inseparable exist between law and society because laws are
meant for the betterment of the society, which needs to be amended time
to time according to the changes in the society.
5. Law is a form of social control in sociology.
6. Law shapes human behavior, human actions and interactions.
7. Law is the tool for social integration, order and equilibrium.
Structural functional perspective
During 1950s and 1960s, this theory reigned as a dominant theoretical
perspective in Sociology. In this perspective, a society is seen as an
organized network of cooperating groups operating in a fairly orderly
manner according to a set of rules and values shared by most members.
Society is seen as a stable system with a tendency to maintain a balanced,
harmoniously operating system. Main theorists of this perspective are
August Compe, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, RK
Merton, Levi Strauss, Radcliffe Brown, Malinowski, Wilfredo Pareto,
Mackim Marriot, SC Dubey and MN Shrinivas.

According to Wolf and Wallace, "According to this view social system

tends to perform certain tasks that are necessary for their survival, and
sociological analysis, therefore involves a search for the social structures
that perform these tasks or meet the needs of the social system."

• The functionalist perspective views society as a sum total of a large

number of persons, groups, organizations, social institutions, social
structures etc.
• For functionalists, the social system is a complex system, whose parts
are said to be well integrated and in a state of equilibrium when
functioning properly.
• For Durkheim, functionalism is the idea that society is a system and
its parts, that are, institutions, organizations etc. contribute to its
stability and continued existence.
• It is a sociological perspective which seeks to explain a social
element or cultural pattern in terms of its consequences for different
elements as well as for the system as a whole.
• Functionalists view all social institutions and arrangements as social
systems and a system is considered to be more than a sum of its parts.
 • Functionalism is simply a view of society as a self-regulating
system of interrelated elements with structured social relationships
and observed regularities.
• In society each group or institution fulfills certain functions and
persists because it is functional.
• Behavior patterns arise because they are functionally useful. Various
cultural and behavioral patterns arise to meet needs of the society and
pass when the needs change.
• Society is like an organism, system of functionally interrelated
components, performs a function essential to the survival of the
system. Functionalists view society with built in mechanism for
self-regulation.
The thrust of functionalists is that the dominant condition of society is
order, reinforced by stability and consensus. Talcott Parsons views the
entire social system as resting heavily upon shared values. Thus,
functionalists tend to exaggerate homogeneity, stability and integration of
the social system. According to functionalists, social change disrupts the
stable equilibrium of the society, but before long a new equilibrium is
regained. If a particular social change promotes a harmonious equilibrium,
it is seen as functional. If it disrupts the equilibrium, it is dysfunctional. If
it has no effects, it is nonfunctional. Robert K Merton is the functionalist
who talks about manifest function and latent function, functions and
dysfunctions.

Criticisms of this theory

• Functionalists initially regarded society as a stable system of
patterned interaction or structured social relationships. They
underplayed conflict and structural strain. But faced with criticism
that in such a system there is no scope for fundamental changes,
functionalists introduced the concept of dynamic equilibrium.
According to this view, change is also inevitable, change creates new
order and new equilibrium.
Conflict perspective
Conflict perspective is macro sociological perspective. It arose as the
primary alternative to functionalism. According to them, power is the core
of social relationships. Conflict theorists explain the specific aspect of
social phenomena, i.e., conflict. They are restricted to the interrelationship
between two or more units within society. Their subjects of analysis are
caste and communal conflicts, political violence, class war, strikes,
protests, student movements, revolutions, peasant uprisings etc.

Karl Marx is known as the father of this theory. Ralf Dahrendorf, C.

Wright Mills, Lewis Coser were the supporters of this theory. The
supporters developed Frankfurt school and the conflict theory also came to
be known as critical theory. Scholars of Frankfurt school are Theodore
Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, Eric Fromm and Jurgen
Habermas. Indian proponents of this theory are DP Mukharjee, AR
Desai, RK Mukharjee.

• The conflict perspective views society as a system of social structures

and relationships that are shaped mainly by economic forces. Those
who are economically wealthy control the means of production and
thus dominate society because of their advantageous power position.
• Conflict theorists assume that social life revolves around the
economic interest of the wealthy and that these people use their
economic power to coerce and manipulate others to accept their view
of the society and the world.
• The conflict perspective acknowledges that there are special interest
groups that fight over the scarce resources of society.
• Instead of interpreting social life as normally cooperative and
harmonious, conflict theorists view society as an arena in which
different individuals and groups struggle with each other in order to
obtain scarce and valued resources, specially, property, prestige and
power.
 • The competition between these groups throws off the equilibrium of
the society until a dominant group gains control and reinstitutes
stability by means of power.
• Conflict theorists see the harmonious equilibrium of society as an
illusion held by those who fail to see how the dominant groups have
silenced those whom they exploit.
• Conflict theorists view society as an arena of inequality that generates
social conflict and social change.
• According to his perspective, society is structured in ways to benefit
a few at the expense of majority and factors such as race, sex, class
and age are linked to social inequality.
• It is all about dominant group versus minority group relations. They
view society as held together through the power of dominant groups
or classes.
• They claim that the "shared values" which functionalists see as the
glue holding society together do not really form a true consensus,
instead this is an artificial consensus in which the dominant groups or
classes impose their values and rules upon the rest of the people.
Hence conflict perspective disregards consensus to emphasize on conflict
being a persistent feature of the society. It assumes that human beings are
self-interested and that different societies operate under a scarcity of
resources, making conflict inevitable. It focuses on the issues of
inequality, power and struggle and zeroes in on the tensions between the
dominant and disadvantaged groups to understand how relationships of
power and control are established and perpetuated.

Criticisms of conflict theory

• Ignores the importance of stability - The conflict perspective
overemphasizes divisions and conflicts while largely overlooking the
importance of stability in the society. It fails to recognize the part
played by cohesion and consensus in ensuring the continuity of the
society. It also ignores the many areas in which most people do arrive
at consensus about the important values in life.
 • Ignores incremental change - Conflict perspective emphasize on rapid
or revolutionary changes while ignoring the fact that most changes, in
fact, are minor or incremental. Many social structures are extremely
stable or have progressed over time rather than changing abruptly, as
conflict. For example, many modern capitalist states have avoided a
communist revolution, and have instead instituted elaborate social
service programs.
• Macro theory - It focuses on large power structures in the society
while largely ignoring the study of individuals and the roles played
by them on a micro level.
• Biased - Conflict perspective is heavily biased in favor of the people
who lack social power. It promotes the view that the people in power
always use such power to oppress those who lack it.
• Economic focus - The focus on economic factors is the sole criteria
of most conflict theories. However, conflict may also arise due to
gender, race, ethnicity, age etc.
• Self-contradictory - Conflict theorists focus on social change while,
in reality, they have developed a theory to explain social stability.
According to these theorists, inequalities are built in all social
structures. Individuals who benefit from these social structures will,
in fact, strive to see it maintained. For example, the wealthy may
fight to maintain their privileged access to higher education by
opposing measures that would broaden access, such as affirmative
action or public funding.
• Ignores competition - Conflict perspective promotes egalitarianism as
the ideal form of society while ignoring the part that competition
actually plays in the development of the society.

Interaction perspective / Symbolic perspective

It is a social psychological perspective.
• It is also considered as a micro sociological perspective.
• For this perspective, interaction itself is the unit of analysis.
• This perspective focuses on the nature of interaction, dynamic
patterns of social action and social relationships.
• Major theorists of this perspective are CH Cooley (Looking glass
self-theory), Herbert Mead (I and me), Erving Goffman (Dramaturgy
theory, Presentation of self in everyday life), Harold Garfinkel
(Ethnomethodology), Berger and Luckman (Social construction of
reality).
• Interaction perspective conceptualizes human being and the social
structure as more complex, unpredictable and active than in the other
conventional sociological perspectives.
• Societies are composed of interacting individuals who not only react
but also perceive, interpret, act and create.
• The individual is not a bundle of attitudes but a dynamic and
changing actor, always in the process of becoming and never fully
formed.
• Interactionists suggest that no grand theories of society since 'the
society, the state and the social institutions' are conceptual
abstractions, while only people and their interactions can be studied
directly.
• The entire process of interaction, according to interactionists, is
symbolic, with meanings constructed by human ingenuity. Things
important are meanings we share with others, our definition of social
world, our perception of social world, our response to the social
world.
• People interact mainly through symbols which include signs, gestures
and most importantly, through written and spoken words. A word
also has no inherent meaning. It is simply a noise, but it becomes a
word when people reach agreement that this word carries a special
meaning.
• According to Cooley and Mead, individual has not only a 'mind' but
also a 'self' which is not a psychological entity but an aspect of social
process that arises in the course of social experience and activity.
• According to Berger and Luckman, society is an objective reality that
means people, groups and institutions are real, regardless of us
 perceptions of them. But society is also a subjective reality, that
means people, groups and institutions are whatever a person
perceives them as being.
• According to Goffman and Blumer, people do not respond to other
people directly, they respond to whatever they imagine other people
to be. In human behavior, 'reality' is not something that is just out
there. Reality is constructed in people's mind. Reality emerges in the
process of interaction.
Hence, symbolic interactionism rests on the premises that people act
towards things on the basis of the meaning they have for them. These
meanings are not fixed. They are subjective, dynamic and are derived
from interpersonal interaction. Language plays an important role in the
crystallization of meanings by providing symbols for communication. The
individual develops the concept of 'self' through interpreting the process of
interaction, which in turn influences his behavior. Thus, symbolic
interactionism looks at the way the social world is created through the
interactions between individuals and their environment.

Criticisms of symbolic interactionism

• Micro focus - Symbolic interactionism largely focuses on the
interactions between individuals. In doing so, it neglects the macro
level of social interpretations and misses out on several important
issues that concern the society at large, such as, power structures,
social stability etc.
• Lack of objectivity - Symbolic interactionism concerns itself with
largely abstract and subjective concepts, such as meaning, which
cannot be studied with quantitative methods or empirical techniques.
• Diminishes the importance of institutes - Symbolic interactionism
examines the interpersonal interactions among individuals while
largely ignoring the influence of social forces and institutions on
these interactions.
• Framework - Many critics argue that symbolic interactionism is not a
specific theory but rather a theoretical framework, on the basis of
 which several theories can be developed. This implies that it is
difficult to study the relations between various variables in the case
of symbolic interactionist framework as opposed to specific theories.
• Encourages status quo - Symbolic interactionism does not concern
itself with active social and political action. It leaves little space for
social change and encourages status quo.

Feminist perspective
Feminist perspective is a conflict perspective which observes gender in its
relation to power. It attempts to demonstrate the importance of women. It
aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. Major theorists of this
perspective are Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), Simone De Beauvoir
(1908-1986), Betty Friedan (1921-2006), Judith Butler (1956 -), Mariana
Weber and Mary Wollstonecraft.
• Feminist theory is the term covering an increasing range of positions
with different perspectives identified as liberal feminism, socialist or
Marxist feminism, radical feminism, postmodern feminism and black
feminism.
• According to this perspective, inequalities between men and women
were not the outcome of natural or biological differences but due to
the influence of the historically created social conditions.
• Feminist approach is the women centered approach to the study of
human behavior.
• Feminist perspective reveals the historical reality that women have
been subordinate to men.
• Feminist theory examines women's and men's social roles,
experiences, interests, chores and feminist politics in a variety of
fields.
• Feminist perspective rejects the idea of Jean Jacques Rousseau,
according to which development of rationality was the most
important goal for boys, not for girls. Rational man is the perfect
complement for the emotional woman and vice versa.
 • According to Harriet Martineau, society must include an
understanding of women's lives.
• Ann Oakley (coined the term gender) in 1972, criticized sociology
for generating knowledge more to do with men's lives rather than
women.
• According to Judith Butler, gender is performative acting or role
playing. Gender is the phenomena which is produced or reproduced
by the time. Your behavior creates your gender. Gender is not sex,
not male or female.
• According to Simone De Beauvoir, "One is not born a woman, one
becomes one". The term gender is used to refer to the social and
cultural constructions of masculinities and felinities and not to the
state of being male and female.
Feminist perspective identifies itself as a conflict perspective to examine
the reinforcements of gender roles. It aims to understand the nature of
gender inequality by analyzing the social roles and experiences of women.
It views patriarchy as a system of power that organizes the social structure
on the lines of male supremacy and male dominance. Feminist perspective
is a dynamic perspective which not only highlights the gender
stratification in the society but also encourages action against the silencing
and marginalization of women. Feminists aim at fighting gender
stereotypes and establishing political, social, economic and personal
equality of the sexes.

Criticisms of feminist approach

• Narrow approach - The feminist perspective has been criticized for
focusing predominantly on the struggles of the feminine gender. This
approach is narrow in its view of the society as it tends to ignore the
issues that are identified with the masculine gender. Hence, it is not a
wholesome approach in its view and consideration of the society at
large.
• Exaggerates conflict - Feminist perspective exaggerates the conflict
among sexes. It functions on the presumption of the subjugation of
 the women in the patriarchal social structures while ignoring the fact
that such structures may, in fact, just be harmonious institutions and
not necessarily constructions for dominating women.
• Secular humanism - Feminism is criticized by humanists on the
ground that the issues raised by feminists are, in fact, humanitarian
issues that must be assessed and worked upon from a humanitarian
perspective instead of a gender exclusive perspective.
• Misandry - Radical feminism has often been criticized on the grounds
of promoting misandry and proposing such positions that are harmful
for both men and women in the social structure.

Origin of society
1. Social contract theory - This theory views society as a contrivance,
deliberately set up by men for certain ends. This theory implies that
human being could become human being out or apart from the society
also. Men, before entering into the society, they establish a social order to
protect their property, their rights, their life or for some other ends which
seems good in their eyes.
2. Organismic theory (Herbert Spencer) - It conceives society as a
biological system, a greater organism, alike in its structure and its
function, exhibiting the same kind of unity as the individual organism and
subject to similar laws of development, maturation and decline. Society's
cells are individual person, its organs and systems are associations and
institutions.
3. Divine theory - According to this theory, society is the creation of God.
4. Force theory - Society originated in the subjugation of the weaker by
the stronger.
All these theories have failed to explain the relationship between the
individual and the society. Contract theory emphasizes upon the
individual, minimizing thereby the value of society which is said to be a
mere instrument devised for the satisfaction of certain human needs.
Organismic theory entirely discounts the role of individual in social life.
There are three bases to justify the sense in which a man can be called
a social animal:
1. Man is social by nature - Man cannot live alone. Normal
development of human being is not possible in isolation. The feral
cases of Kaspar Hausar (1828), the study of two Hindu children in
1920 and the case of Anna, a girl child in 1938 are the examples to
prove this phenomenon. These cases proved that human nature
develops in man only when he lives in society and when he shares
common life. Society is something which fulfills a vital need in man's
constitution. Society is not something accidently added or
superimposed on human nature. Man is social by nature.
2. Necessity makes a man social - Every individual is the offspring of
a social relationship established between men and women. Without
protection and attention, a new born baby could not survive. For
physical and mental development, society is needed. No one can
become human being unless he lives with human beings. Thus, not
only due to nature but also due to his necessity, man lives in society.
3. Society determines the personality - Society preserves our culture
and transmits it to succeeding generations. It both liberates and limits
our potentialities as individuals and molds our attitudes, our beliefs,
our morals and ideals.
Difference between animal behavior and human behavior.
1. Animal behavior is driven by instincts.
2. Animals learn by the experience and humans learn from the
experience.
3. Animal behavior is repetitive, not creative.
4. There is nothing symbolic about animal behavior. Only man has the
ability to attribute meanings to things which have no intrinsic
meaning.
Socialization.
Human society exists solely in the minds of its members. Socialization is
the process of learning social behavior. It is the process of expansion of
self. It is the process of social adjustment. It is the process of molding
personality. It is the process of converting individual into social. It is the
process opposite of individualization.

There are many lines to define this phenomenon.

According to Maciver (Elements of Social Sciences), "The process by

which social beings establish wider and profounder relationships with one
another in which they become more bound up with, and more perceptive
of the personality of themselves and of others and build up the complex
structure of nearer and wider associations."

According to Ogburn, "Socialization is the process by which the

individual learns to conform to the norms of the group."

According to HM Johnson (Sociology), "Socialization is a learning that

enables the learner to perform social roles."

According to Arnold Green (Sociology), "Socialization is the process by

which the child acquires a cultural content along with selfhood and
personality."

According to HT Majumdar (Sociology), "The process whereby original

nature is transferred into human nature and the individual into person."

Thus, it could be said that socialization is the process by which individuals

learn the culture of their own society, Individuals learn to establish
relationships with other members of the society. It is the lifelong process.
It enables the individual to learn the content of his culture and the many
behavioral patterns of the group to which he belongs. This process and its
effects are more pronounced in early childhood.

Stages of socialization
Although socialization is a lifelong process, many scholars have
discussed developmental process only up to childhood or adolescence.
According to Sigmund Freud, the stages of socialization are:
1. Oral stage - Up to the age of 1 year
2. Anal stage - 1 to 3 years
3. Phallic stage - 3 to 6 years
4. Latency - 6 years to the age of puberty
5. Genital stage - Puberty to adult age
According to Jean Piaget, there are four stages of socialization:
1. Sensory motor stage - 0 to 2 years
2. Pre operational stage - 2 to 7 years
3. Concrete operational stage - 7 to 11 years
4. Formal operational stage - 11 to 15 years
According to HM Johnson, the four stages of socialization are oral stage,
anal stage, identification stage and adolescence.
1. Oral stage (0-1.5 years) - In this stage, child comes in contact with
the world only through his mouth and lips. In this stage, mother
begins the process of socialization of the child. At this stage, child is
unable to make distinction between persons and things. Crying,
smiling and eye movement are forms of social behavior at this stage.
Roles of mother and the infant are merged at this stage.
2. Anal stage (1.5-3 years) - At this stage, near about the second year,
toilet training of the child starts. Hence, this stage is called anal stage.
Child starts learning food habits and observing and imitating others'
 behavior. Child starts recognizing other family relations besides
mother and child separates his/her role from mother.
3. Identification stage (3-12/13 years) - This is the stage of rapid
physical development, awareness of genital sensations and the
appearance of Freudian Oedipus complex. Child internalizes all the
other roles of the family. He/ She starts identifying family and
outside groups and becomes able to discriminate wherever necessary
4. Adolescence (13/14-19/20) - It is the stage when puberty starts with
lots of biological changes. It is the most important stage of
socialization. In this stage, child develops new patterns of behavior
and is more attracted towards of world of recreation and opposite sex.
According to psychologist G. Stanley Hall, adolescence is the stage
of psychological storm and stress. It is the stage of teenage where
child sometime tries to follow adult ways but are treated in law as
children.

Looking glass self-theory

CH Cooley (Human Nature and The Social Order) focused his attention on
the complex relationship between individual and society. Individual and
society are not empirically separable. No society is without individual and
no individual is without society. Self and society are twin born. To be
aware of oneself, is to be aware of society. Social consciousness and self-
consciousness are inseparable. Consciousness of self and society are
located in the mind or human imagination.
According to Cooley, the imaginations people have of one another are
solid facts of society. The social self is an empirical self. It is the product
of social interaction, emerging from one's perception of one's self as
reflected in the perceptions of others. The chief aim of sociology is to
observe and interpret the imaginations which people have of one another.
As an individual develops a sense of 'I', he also develops, simultaneously,
an awareness of and sensitivity to others as 'you', 'he', 'she', 'they' etc. is
also developed. Through interaction, with others' selves, self emerges. Not
only is the individual aware of or able to imagine how he appears to
others, he also becomes conscious of others' judgments and evaluations of
his appearance. The result of this dual mental image, that how he appears
to and is evaluated by others, is a responsive feeling on his part to this
evaluation of pride, or mortification, or self-doubt etc.

Thus, looking glass self is one's image of oneself based on one's

perception of the images of others. Not only is he aware or able to imagine
how he appears to others, he becomes also conscious of other's
judgements and evaluations of his appearance. Family, peer group and
society play major role in the development of individual's self.
I & me theory
George Herbert Mead, in his book "Mind, Self and Society" elaborated the
symbolic interaction theory by insisting that:
• The 'self' is neither a psychological organism nor a biological entity
but essentially a social structure.
• This social structure (self) arises in the process of social experience
and activity.
• Individual comes to acquire the concept of self from the social groups
with which he or she has meaningful interactions, communications
and group processes.
• Self is composed of two parts - 'I' and ' Me'. 'I' is unconditioned and
undisciplined. It is the spontaneous behavior of human infants or
individuals. 'Me' is the socialized 'I'.
• According to Mead, mind is an emergent phenomenon of personal
awareness. Mind emerges out of the maturing capacity of the
individual to distinguish and discriminate the symbols of interaction
by perceiving, conceiving and interpreting gestures and language.
This phenomenon is called by Mead as 'Taking the role of other'.
• For Mead, human behavior is not an instinctual behavior of stimulus
and response. Human mind is rational and has the capacity of
judgment and freedom of decision.
 • According to Mead, the identity of the self develops or arouses in
one's self what it arouses in the 'significant others'.
• According to him, through the development of a mature self-
consciousness, the individual becomes both, an object and a subject
to himself.

Psychoanalytical Theory
Sigmund Freud identified three distinct parts of the personality: Id, Ego
and Superego.

• The Id is a bundle of biological drives. It is spontaneous,

unconscious, selfish, impulsive and irrational. Id constantly seeks to
maximize pleasure and avoid pain but human beings cannot do
anything and everything just to maximize their pleasure. That is
where the superego comes.
• Superego refers to the internalized standards of the society. It stands
for the values, norms and morals that are learnt through socialization.
• Ego is the mediator between Id and Superego. It mediates between
the impulses of the Id and the moral standards of the society in which
we live.
• New born babies are totally Id driven. Id and Superego always stand
in opposition and there is constant struggle between them. As a
mediator, the ego adjusts the needs of the individual to the demand of
the society. This process of adjustment, which goes on throughout
life, is the essence of socialization.
• https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html

Culture - meaning and definition.

Human beings are the specific species who are creative and free spirited.
• Man is different from animals because he possesses culture.
• Much of we own, learn and dream are part of our culture. So, culture is
what members of the group have in common, the material things they
own as well as the intangible non material things such as beliefs,
values and rules of behavior which they share.
• Anthropologists like Kroeber and Kluckhon, Malinowski, Radcliffe
Brown - all have talked about culture in detail. For anthropological
tradition, culture is a total way of life of a social group, meaning
everything they are, they do and they have.
• Culture refers to learned ways of behavior. Cultural objects are not
organic or biological. They can only be acquired through social life.
• Like animals, we human beings are also driven by various biological
instincts such as hunger, sleep, reproduce, protect their young ones,
adapt themselves to the environment but we human beings have
deliberately adopted a highly variable and changeable set of cultural
responses which determine how these biological urges are channeled.
• Culture is often confused with society, but the two words have
different meanings. Whereas a culture is a system of norms and values,
a society is a relatively independent, self-perpetuating human group
which occupies a territory, shares a culture and has most of the
associations within this group. In this way, society is different from
culture.
• Culture is a type of substitute for instinct since it gives humans
direction, and frees them from perpetual trial and error.
• Culture is symbolic. A symbol is something, the meaning or value of
which is bestowed on it by us. It is an object, often with no intrinsic
meaning, but infused with a profound meaning that is created and
transmitted by culture. For example, national flag is not just any piece
of cloth.
• In every culture, there is a big gap between ideal culture and real
culture. For example, ideal culture is we worship Goddesses in the
temples but real culture is, we debase women at home.
• The three characteristics of culture are:
1. It refers to learned ways of behavior.
 2. It refers to a group's social heritage that has been transmitted from
generation to generation.
3. It refers to the social adjustments, means by which man adjust to
his environment.
Definitions of Culture
• According to EB Taylor (Primitive Culture), "Culture is that complex
hole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and
any other capability acquired by man as a member of society."
• According to B Malinowski (A Scientific Theory of Culture),
"Culture is the handiwork of man and the medium through which he
achieves his ends."
• According to Herbert Spencer (Principles of Sociology), "Culture is
the super organic environment as distinguished from the organic or
physical world of plants and animals."
• According to HT Majumdar (Grammar of Society), "Culture is the
sum total of human achievements, material as well as non-material,
capable of transmission
Characteristics or features of culture
• It is acquired and learnt.
• It is social, not biological.
• It is not an individual heritage; it is social heritage.
• Culture is symbolic.
• Language is the chief vehicle of culture.
• Culture is variable. Every society has some distinct culture.

Structure of culture, Type of Culture and

Culture and civilization.
1. Structure of culture
Culture is formation, that is why it has some structure also.
 • Cultural traits - Cultural trait is the smallest unit of culture.
According to Hoebel, cultural trait is a repeatedly irreducible unit of
learned behavior pattern or material product thereof.
• Cultural complexes - According to Hoebel, "Cultural complexes are
nothing but larger clusters of traits, organized about some nuclear
point of reference."
• Cultural pattern - Cultural pattern is formed when cultural traits and
complexes become related to each other in functional roles.
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/culture/culture-and-civilization-
meaning-structure-evolution-and-variability/24337

2 TYPES OF CULTURE
Material culture - It consists of manufactured objects such as tools,
furniture, automobiles, buildings, irrigation ditches, cultivated farms,
roads, bridges and, in fact, any physical substance which has been changed
and used by people. They are also called artifacts.
• Non material culture - It consists of the words we use, the ideas,
beliefs, values, customs, habits, language etc. They are the intangible
parts of culture.
Ralph Linton's Categorization
1. Universals - These include the traits followed by all the members of
the society. For example, man must clothe certain parts of their body
or following mores.
2. Alternatives - Where there is choice of adopting any trait. For
example, there is freedom to choose any religion. Such traits are
called alternatives.
3. Specialties - Cultural traits followed by some but not all groups
within the society. In every society, there are various groups based on
sex, age, occupation, religion etc. Specialties are certain traits
followed by certain groups but not shared by other groups. Example -
baby nursing by females.
Some terms associated with culture
1. Subculture - Subcultures are the cultural traits of a particular group or
category. For example, cultures of occupational groups, religious
groups, class, caste, age groups, sex etc. For example, Hindu culture
is a subculture of Indian culture.
2. Contra culture - Culture of those groups which not only differs from
prevailing cultural patterns but sharply challenge them are called
contra cultures. For example, hippie culture and terrorists.
3. Cultural area - The societies having similar cultural traits and
complexes constitute cultural area. It is difficult to draw strict
boundary lines between different cultural areas due to overlapping of
cultural traits. Modern developed means of communication and
transport have led to rapid spread of cultural traits.
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/culture/culture-and-civilization-
meaning-structure-evolution-and-variability/24337

3. CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION

The opposite of civilized is barbaric or barbarian. Thus, civilization in
general, meaning highly valued things, respect of people for one another,
the sanctity of life and a high regard for the good, the ethical and the
beautiful.
• But Sociologists do not use the term in the above sense. Somewhere
culture and civilization appear to be same but Sociologists have
distinguished them by saying that culture represents "what we are"
while civilization represents "what we have and will accumulate".
That means culture represents the end (values and goals) and
civilization, on the other hand, represents the tools and techniques
that help in achieving the ends
• MacIver uses the term "civilization" to denote utilitarian things, the
whole mechanism and social organization, techniques and material
instruments which have been devised by man in his endeavor to
control the conditions of his life.
 • For William F Ogburn, culture has two aspects - material and
non-material. For him, material part of culture represents
civilization.
• For Robert K Merton, civilization is impersonal, accumulative and
objective.

MacIver has distinguished culture from civilization on the following basis:

1. Civilization has a precise standard of measurement but not culture
- Products of civilization can be measured on the grounds of efficiency.
They could be superior or inferior. For example, manual and digital, e-
commerce and commerce, bullock cart and airplane.
2. Civilization is always advancing but not the culture - Civilization
shows a persistent upward trend. It is unilinear and cumulative and tends
to advance indefinitely. According to MacIver, civilization not only
marches, it marches always, provided there is no catastrophic break of
social continuity in the same direction. For example, man invented
automobile and phone. But culture, on the other hand, advances slowly
and is often subject to retrogression. For example, our arts and literature
has lost its standards.
3. Civilization is passed on without effort but not culture - Culture can
only be assimilated by the like-minded but products of civilization can be
shared by anyone. For example, a vehicle run by water instead of petrol
would, if invented, soon reach the whole world but preaching of
Shankaracharya is not easy to be understood or accepted by people outside
India or outside Hindu community.
4. The works of civilization can be improved by anyone but culture is not
easy to be understood and improved by people outside the group or
society.
5. Civilization is external and mechanical while culture is internal and
organic. According to MacIver, civilization is what we have and culture is
what we are. According to Arnold Matthew, culture is becoming
something while civilization is having something.
6. Civilization is artifact and culture are mentifact -
Inspire of all these differences, culture and civilization are interdependent.
They are interactive. The objects of civilization, after some time, acquire a
cultural aspect. They become the symbols of culture. According to
MacIver, civilization is the vehicle of culture.
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/culture-
sociology/difference-between-culture-and-civilization-9-points/31264

Ethnocentrism.
• According to Sumner in-groups needs internal peace accord and
cohesion without which it could hardly exist or face the danger by the
outsiders.
• Ethnocentrism that views of things which one own group is the
centre of everything and others are scaled and rated with reference
of it.
• It is an assumption that the values the way of life and the attitudes of
one own group are superior to those of other. They are the only rights
one while those of others are inferior and wrong.
• The culture of the out-group is looked upon hatred and even
contemned.
• Ethnocentrism involves double standard morals, according to this
thinking there are two sets of norms one for comrades inside and the
other for stranger outside.
• According to Sumner every group past or present large or small is
ethnocentric.
• Ethnocentrism of primitive people differs from that of civilized people
• Ethnocentrism makes our culture into yard sticks with which to
measure all other culture as good or bad, high or low, right or queer in
proportion as they resemble ours.
• Ethnocentrism is the habit of each group taking for granted the
superiority of its culture.
• It is expressed in such phrase as 'chosen people' and 'inuit' which
means 'real people', 'progressive' 'superior race' true believers and
 outsiders by epithets like 'foreign devils' infields' 'heathen' backward
people barbarians and savages etc.
• We are usually quick ethnocentrism in others and slow to see it in our
self.
• Most if not all groups within society are ethnocentric.
• Ethnocentric groups seem better than tolerant group.
• It reinforces nationalism and patriotism
• Ethnocentrism discourages cultural change under some circumstances.
It promotes cultural stability and group survival; under other
circumstances it dooms the culture to collapse and group to extension.
• Although is an important factor in maintaining solidarity of the group
it is on the whole to manifest the society

In group and out group.

The concept was given by William Graham Sumner in his book folk
ways.

Man in the process of socialization learns to divide people in "we" and

"they"
We are the ingroup
They or the others is the outgroup
1. These types of group distinction are made by the individuals itself
2. The groups with which the individuals identify himself by virtue of
his awareness of likeness or consciousness of kind are his in groups.
For example - his family, his tribe, his religion, his caste, his sex, his
college, his occupation, his age, his kuch bhi.
3. Outgroup is defined by the individual with relation to the ingroup.
4. Ingroup attitudes as we have seen usually contains some element of
sympathy and always a SENSE OF ATTACHMENT to the other
members of the group.
 5. Outgroup attitudes are always marked by a sense of difference and
frequently though not always by some degree of antagonism
. (Concept of ethnocentrism)
6. Ingroups and outgroups are found in all societies but in modern
complex multi group society, this concept is more prevalent in
comparison of simple primitive society.
7. every social group is an ingroup for its members, the concept applies
equally to the smallest clique (a small group of people who spend
their time together and do not welcome other people in that group
) And the largest aggregation of men so long as they are aware of
their identity.

Functions of importance of groups

1. is the medium through which we learn culture, Use culture and
change culture?
2. It shapes the personality of the individuals.
3. It helps in the development of self of the individuals.
4. Social groups the primary groups bring emotional satisfaction to
their members.
5. Groups satisfy the human needs for spontaneous living.
6. It provides a stimulus to each of its members.

Primary group and secondary group.

The concept of primary group was given by Charles Horton Cooley almost
similar to the SUMNER concept of in group.

According to Cooley the PRIMARY GROUP refers to the intimate social

group with shared values and common standards of behavior and
frequent direct social contact.
1. It is the NUCLEUS of all social organization.
 2. It is a small group with small number of persons who meet face to
face for mutual help, companionship and discussion of common
questions.
3. According to Cooley, primary groups are primary in several senses
but more importantly they are fundamental in framing the social
nature and ideals of the individual. For example - family is the
primary group which is the first school for learning social norms,
values and way of behavior, etc.
4. The family, children’s, playgroups, friendship groups and old-
fashioned neighborhoods are considered to be primary groups.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PRIMARY GROUP.
1. Relatively small size.
2. Face to face association.
3. Un- specialized type of association.
4. Relative intimacy.
5. Relationships are durable.
6. Limited self-interest.
7. It acts as an important agent for the development of self.
Note - other than primary group everything is SECONDARY GROUP.

Cooley definition of primary group

The concept of primary group was given by C.H. Cooley almost similar to
the
• The primary group refers to the intimate social group and frequent
social contact
• It is the nucleus of all social organization.
• It is a small group of people who meet face to face for mutual help
and discussion of common question.
• According to Cooley primary groups are primary groups are primary
in several senses but more importantly they are fundamental in
 framing the social nature and the idols of the individual. Ex- family is
the primary group which is the first group to learn sense of behavior
etc.
• The family, children, playgroups, friend groups and old-fashioned
neighbor hoods are considered to primary groups.

Types of groups
According to Robert Bierstedt there are 4 types of groups.
1. Aggregate group - it is the gathering of persons in physical proximity
who have come together temporary and lack any organization or
meaningful interaction. Members of the aggregate do not share
common characteristics and hence, do not share the sense of
belongingness to the group. Example - people waiting at the station,
any kind of audience, crowd, people waiting for ticket in line, people
at a concert.
2. Societal group - it is the collectively of persons who share certain
common values and interest and have some feeling of solidarity
(unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among
individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a
group.). A sense of belongingness or a consciousness of a kind is
a primary characteristic of the societal group. Members identify
themselves with such groups and are aware of their common
characteristics. They may be scattered far and wide, there may not
be any meaningful interaction among them. Example - Caste and
religious group in which we have a small role., Political group in
which we just vote or play a very small role.
3. Associational group - it is an organized group with a formal structure
. Such types of groups have stated purposes, written rules, criteria of
membership, standards of procedures and clearly defined authority
structures. In modern complex societies much of human interactions
takes place in a wide variety of associational groups, people of
 associational groups may not know one another but there are
stablished means of communication and members do share common
internet. examples - government and co-operations
4. Social group - A social group is plurality of persons who have a
common identity, at least some feeling of unity, certain common
goals and shared norms and fairly high level of interactions,
members of social group have regular channels of communication
and social interaction.

Reference group
A reference is a group which a person uses to shape his own values beliefs
and attitude behavior this may be a real group or socially category.
The related concept is anticipatory socialization which is a process by
which individual began to learn the rights, obligation, expectation, beliefs
etc. of reference group to which they want too along
This process makes adjustment of status change easier for the person.

Social Stratification.
The egalitarian society remains dream though man has long
Every society has a system of rating and ranking its members based on a
number of criteria
those criteria are -
1. income
2. occupation
3. education
4. hereditary
almost all the societies have social inequalities in terms of unequal
distribution of power, privilege, prestige and wealth.
Throughout history most societies have used some system of classification
such as -
1. plebeians and patricians in Rome
2. lords and serfs
3. rich and poor
4. landlords and landless labors
5. upper caste and lower caste (Hindu religion)
6. the ruler and the ruled
7. the elites and masses
social stratification is the system of structured inequalities, it is not a
haphazard arrangement, it is always based on definite criteria, moreover
it is not a classification of individuals based on their attributes but an
established system of classifying groups.
Definition given by different scholars.
1. The process by which individuals and groups are ranked in a more or
less enduring hierarchy of status is known as stratification.
2. According to P gilbert, social stratification is the division of society
into permanent groups or categories linked with each other by the
relationship of superiority and subordination.
3. According to K.B Mayor, stratification is an arrangement of
positions in a graded hierarchy of socially superior and inferior ranks
.
Thus, it is the process of ranking statuses the system of social
stratification not only apportions, prestige and privileges among the elites
but it also restricts opportunities available for the masses.
1. It is universal.
2. It is the System of superiority and subordination.
3. It is structured.
 4. It is not the categorization of individuals but it is the classification of
various groups in the society.
5. It is permanent and enduring structures.
6. System of rating and ranking.
7. These categories are interlinked with each other.

The Caste system. (Ishan singh)

It represents a rigid form of Stratification
Based on hereditary status, traditional occupation and restriction on social
relationships.
There is no single valid theory that could effectively explain the origin of
caste (the oldest system of Stratification). Sometimes it is seminaries
with varna system.
But it is wrongful to be explained in terms of verna because verna are only
four while there are thousands of castes and sub caste in India.
Their place in the social hierarchy varies from place to place.
Apart from discrimination and untouchability caste was very much
functional also for the society.
It serves as a great unifying force, it held together, numerous culturally
diverse groups.

Through the institution of jajmani system, it integrated the various caste

groups in the locality into a well nit community, with an elaborate
network of well-defined roles and social relationships.

Although the caste system is an integral part of the traditional Hindu social
organization many of its features are found among Christians, Muslims
and Sikhs in India.
Sociologically speaking, racial discrimination in the old American south
and apartheid which is practiced in South Africa are very much similar to
the caste system in India.
Some of the basic features/characteristics of caste system -
 1. It is the division of society into permanent groups but mobility is also
there.
2. It is a universal concept.
3. It is a hierarchical arrangement.
4. It is based on relationship of superiority and subordination.
5. It an unequal distribution of power, prestige and privilege.
6. It is hereditary status.
7. There are restrictions on social interactions and excess
to opportunities.
8. It is endogamous.

The Estate system.

It is a type of prudal system and was prevalent in Europe during Middle
Ages, it was a close system in which a person social position is defined by
law-based land ownership, occupation and hereditary status.
Each of the strata has its own established rights and duties and the
various statas were -
1. Feudal lords -wealth was concentrated in the hands of a small royal
group they enjoyed hereditary status and prestige, they owned land
as well as the peasants (farmers) who lived and worked on the land
. They were supposed to be warriors and they had the responsibility
to protect their vassals.
2. Clergy- They also enjoyed, considerable prestige and often owned
vast track of land.
3. Merchants and craftsmen- They operated independent and were
outside the estate system, they could archive considerable amount of
wealth and influence.
4. Serfs - serfs were very similar to slaves but with significant
differences, serffs were legally tied to the land. They were not
bought and sold they came with the land. (Slaves on the other hand
were sold and bought)
the whole estate system involved a hierarchical order, and based on
hereditary and permitted very little movement from one stratum to the
other.
It was local rather than national System.
Class system
• It refers to the classification of people based on their economic
positions in society.
• As the society evolved, class emerged as individuals started
accumulating wealth.
• Class system is an open system, individuals can move up or down as
they gain or lose.
• Determinants of class are -
1. Amount of wealth.
2. Level of education.
3. Type of occupation.
4. Material possession.
5. House type
6. Life style
7. Etc.
• Sociologist have classified classes into several types but the most
popular classification is "6-fold classification".
• 6-fold classification
1. Upper caste (khan Dani Raees)- aristocracy or birth and wealth
and new rich.
2. Middle class - upper middle class and lower middle class.
3. Lower class - working class and poor class (poor class - they don't
have even job to survive)
• In recent years, shape and character or class system has changed
considerably. Aristocracy of birth and wealth is under declined.
 In India also the old upper caste based on zamindari system
of inherited wealth has shrunk.
• The new upper class consist of self-made men and women.
• Features of class system
1. Class systems are fluid, classes are not established by legal or
religious provisions, boundaries are not clear cut, no formal
restrictions on inter-marriage and social relations.
2. Class positions are achieved.
3. Economy is the base of class categorization
4. Class systems are large scale and impersonal.

Status and Role

• Social system is based upon division of labor. Every person is
assigned a specific task to perform.
Status
• Status is a recognized social position that an individual occupies.
• Status is defined by Hautan and Hunt as, "the rank and position of
a person in a group or of a group in relation to other groups."
• Role- is the behavior expected of one who holds a particular statue
. Each person may hold a number of statuses and be expected to fill
roles appropriate to them. thus, both roles and statuses are two
aspects of same phenomenon.
• Status is a set of privileges and duties a role is the acting out of this
set of duties and privileges .eg - male - female, bhramin-dalit, dr -
nurse, student - teachers.
• Status is a key component of social identity. Sociologically the term
status refers simply to the position in society devoid of any honorifics
or system of rating and Ranking.
• We all occupy number of a number of statuses simultaneously that is
called status set.
• Status inconsistency occurs when there is culturally defined
disjunction between two or more statuses an individual occupies.
• Role is behavior expected of one in a particular status.
o role behavior - an actual behavior on one who plays a role.

o Role expectation - role expectation is the behavior expected by

the society from a particular status.

• Actual role behavior may vary from expected behavior for a
number or reasons.
o One may not view or see the role the same way society see it.

o One personality characteristic affects how one feel about the

role.
o Not all persons filling a role is not equally committed to it.

o No two individuals play a given role in exactly a same way.

Egg- not all soldiers are brave.

o The appropriate uniform, badges, tittle, equipment’s and

sittings are all aids to the role performance.

o Much role behavior is an unconscious playing of role to which

one has been socialized.

o Some role behavior is a highly conscious, studied effort to

project a desired image of the self.

o Concept of dramatic role presentation refers to the

conscious effort to play a role in a way which will create a

desired impression among others.
• Role or conduct is regulated not only by role needs but also by what
audience expect.
• Everyone is an actor with a wide variety of audiences.
• According to Erving ghossman, we put on a presentation of ourselves
when the audience is present acting out roles so that we give a
calculated picture of the self.
• SOCIAL interactions of course take place in a social sitting
therefore, interaction is often patterned by the nature of the group,
status of the person involved, role definitions and standards of
behavior.
 • According to macciver, status is the social position that determines
of its possessor, apart from his personal attribute and social services
, a degree of respect, prestige s and influence.
• According to Kingsley Davis, status is a position in the general
institutional system, recognized and supported by the entire society,
spontaneously envolved rather than deliberately created and
supported by the folkways (the way people of the society live) and
mores.
Characteristics and features of status and role
• It is a total standing of the individual in a society.
• Status is determined by the roles he or she performs.
• Attributes and characteristics of individuals, decides his/her status.
• Status maybe high or low, depending upon the role played by the
individual.
• Status is the position and the role is the manner in which the position
is supposed to be filled.
• Status is determined by social evaluation.

Types of status
There are two types - "Ascribed and Achieved”.

Ascribed

Ascribed given to us by society irrespective of individual qualities,

potential and efforts.

• Ascribtion by sex.
o Every society handle many tasks by making them part of a

sex role. -
 o -Yet most of the sex-linked task can be performed equally well
by either men or women provided they are socialized to accept
the task as proper for them.
o Masculine and feminine are subject to infinite variation, yet

every society has had an approved pair of sex roles which

people were expected to fill. -
o -Individual may sometimes bypass some parts of the pattern but

they risk alienation from the society.

o These days phenomenon of revolt against ascribed sex role is

being challenged.
• Ascribtion by age.
o Children, adults and aged are treated differently in all the

societies.
o Age role vary greatly among societies.

o Role expectations from different age statuses are also different.

o Persons whose behavior are inappropriate for their age status

are either laughed at or resented. for example - a teenager who

claims adult privileges is irritating, while a mature person who
acts like a teenager is ridiculed.
• Ascribtion by various social categories
o Society is divided into various social categories such as caste,

religion, kingship, ethnic racial group, etc.

o These categories also provide ascribed statuses to its members.

o Role ascribtion is no doubt offers division of labor and

facilitates early and successful role preparation but it is

successful only when most people whole heartedly accept their
ascribed roles.
o Today vast number of people are questioning and rejecting them

Achieved
 • The concept of achieved status was developed by the anthropologist
ralph Linton denoting a social position that a person acquire on the
basis of merit.
• Achieved status It is chosen and earned.
• It reflects personal skills, potential and abilities.
• It leads people into roles which were not foreseen or not habitual
sometimes, not desired by the parents.
• It has importance for mostly for modern complex societies or it can
be said that modern complex societies are the complex web of
achieved status and role.
Note - Ascribed and Achieved status are basically different, yet they
interact with each other and may overlap.

Meritocracy - meritocracy is a form of quacy ascription in which a status

is open to achievement, but largely inherited characteristics give some
persons great advantages in the compition.

Role personality - refers to the complex of personality characteristics

appropriate for a particular role (potential of a person). Role and
personality interact, with individual personality characteristics affecting
the role choice and role behavior, while the experience of playing a role in
turn, affects the personality.

Role strain - refers to the difficulty of meeting role obligations.

Role conflict - role conflict arrives from conflicting duties within a

single role or from conflicting demands imposed by different roles.

Re-socialization - the un-learning and re-learning needed for a major role

transition.
Difference between ascribed and achieved
Ascribed
1. It is given by the society without individual efforts.
2. Prevails in simple primitive societies.
3. It does not have and retirement age.
4. Role of ascribed status is learner by simple process of socialization.
Achieved
1. It is earned and chosen by the individual.
2. It prevails in modern complex societies.
3. In most of the cases it has some specific requirement age.
4. Role here is learned by special training courses.

Determinants of Status-
•
Attributes- (a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or
something)
is rare supply determines the status.
• Rewards received and cause incurred also determines the status.
Here, cause means only such cause which asset in the realization of
the values of the group and that is not incurred by everyone.
• The capacity of a person for rewarding those with whom he interacts.
• Investment such as raise, ethnic background, family, age, sex and
seniority determines the status of the individual.

Family
• The word family has been derived from Roman word 'famulus'.
Family is a universal social institution it is an arrangement to
regulate sexual relations and to provide for child rearing and
socialization.
• Like all other institution the family is a system of accepted norms and
procedures for getting some important jobs done.
• The family is then basic social institution from which other institution
have grown as increasing culture capacity make them necessary.
• Family is association as well as institution. As institution it is
permanent and universal. As association it is temporary and
transitional. It begins with parents’ marriage and start changing
when children start getting married and ends when one of the
partners or both dies.
• It is the smallest kinship group.
• Defining family is not easy the term is used in many ways a family
may be
• A group with common ancestors.
• A kinship group united by blood or marriage.
• A married couple with or without children.
• An unmarried couple with children.
• One person with children.
• But according to the US bureau of Census two or more persons two
or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption and residing
together in a household is called family. But US Bureau rejects the
childless unmarried couple living in non-material cohabitation is not
called family.
• But in recently it set up a new category and termed posslq which
means 'persons of opposite sex sharing living quarter'.
• Various other definition
• According to MacIver family is a group defined by sex relationship
sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and
upbringing of children.
• According to Kingsley Davis family is a group of a persons whose
relations to one another are based upon consanguinity and who are
therefore kin to another.
• According to Nimkoff family is more or less durable association of
husband and wife with or without children or of a men or women
with children.
Features of Family
1. Universality
2. In the social order it occupies the nuclear position.
3. It is the unit of economic cooperation.
4. It holds common residence.
5. It is a system of nomenclature.
6. It is the substructure of rights and duties.
7. It is the substructure of division of labor.
8. It is the substructure of power and authority.
9. It is the substructure of emotion and sentiments.
10. It is an important agency of socialization & social control.

Types of families
Criteria
1. Based on the size.
2. Based on blood and marriage relations.
3. Based on individual’s role in the family.
4. Based on the residence.
5. Based on authority and control.
6. Based on lineage.