UNIT 2: PRIMARY CONCEPT

 SOCIETY-Definition, characteristics and its type

 CULTURE-Definition, various concept, characteristics, cultural change and

continuity

 SOCIAL STRUCTURE

 INSTITUTION

 NORMS & VALUES

 SOCIALIZATION

 CASTE/CLASS

 ETHNICITY

 FAMILY

 KINSHIP

 RELIGION

 SOCIAL CHANGE and its characteristics

 ROLE AND STATUS

Society

 The term "society" came from the Latin word societas , which means Friendly
relation a bond or interaction among parties that are friendly, or at least civil.

 A society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a

large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to
the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Human societies
are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals
who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as
the sum total of such relationships among its constituent members. In the social
sciences , a larger society often evinces stratification and/or dominance patterns in
subgroups.
  Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that
would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social
(common) benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap.

 A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and
values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as
a subculture , a term used extensively within criminology .

Some definitions of Society

 According to MacIver: Society is a “web of social relationships” which may be hundreds

or thousands of types.

 According to Giddings : “ Society is the union itself, the organization, the sum of formal
relations in which associating individuals are bound together.”

 According to Cooley: Society is a complex of forms or processes each of which is living

and growing by interaction with each others, the whole being is so unified that what take
place in one part affects all the rest.”

Nature/Characteristics of Society

(1) Likeness:

 Likeness is the most important characteristic of society. Without a sense of likeness, there
could be no mutual recognition of' belonging together' and therefore no society. This
sense of likeness was found in early society on kinship and in modern societies the
conditions of social likeness have broadened out into the principles of nationality.

 Society consists of like bodied and likeminded individuals. Friendship intimacy and
association of any kind would be impossible without likeness. It also helps in the
understanding of one by the other.

(2) Differences :

 Along with likeness, differences are another important characteristic of society. Because
society involves differences and it depends on it as much as on likeness. That is why
Maclver opines that "primary likeness and secondary differences create the greatest of all
institutions-the division of labour". Because differences is complementary to social
relationship. If people will be alike in all respect society could not be formed and there
would be little reciprocity and relationship became limited. Family as the first society
based on biological differences and differences in interest and capacity. Though
differences is necessary for society but differences by itself does not create society.
Hence differences is sub-ordinate to likeness.
(3) Inter-dependence :

 Interdependence is another important characteristic of society. This fact of

interdependence is visible in every aspect of present day society. Famous Greek
Philosopher, Aristotle remarked that 'Man is a social animal'. As a social animal he is
dependent on others. The survival and well being of each member is very much depended
on this interdependence. No individual is self sufficient.

 He has to depend on others for food, shelter and security and for the fulfillment of many
of his needs and necessities. With the advancement of society this degree of
interdependence increases manifold. Family being the first society is based on the
biological interdependence of the sexes. Not only individuals are interdependent but also
the groups, communities and societies.

(4) Co-operation and Conflict:

 Both co-operation and conflict are two another important characteristics of society.
Because famous sociologist Maclver once remarked that "Society is Cooperation crossed
by conflict". Co-operation is essentially essential for the formation of society. Without
co-operation there can be no society. People can't maintain a happy life without co-
operation. Family being the first society rests on co-operation. Co-operation avoids
mutual destructiveness and results in economy in expenditure.

 Like co-operation conflict is also necessary for society. Conflict act as a cementing factor
for strengthening social relations. In a healthy and well developed society both co-
operation and conflict co-exist. Because with the help of these two universal process
society is formed. Conflict makes co-operation meaningful. Conflict may be direct and
indirect. However both are necessary for society.

(5) Society is a network or web of social relationship:

 Social relationships are the foundation of society. That is why famous sociologist
Maclver remarked that society is a network of social relationship. Hence it is difficult to
classify social relationships. But this social relationship is based on mutual awareness or
recognition to which Cooley call we-feeling, Giddings call consciousness of kind and
Thomas as common propensity. Without these social relationships no society could be
formed.

 As social relationships are abstract in nature so also the society is abstract in nature.
Different kinds of social processes like co-operation, conflict constantly takes place in
society. And the relationships established around these create society. Hence a network of
social relationships which created among individuals constitutes society.
(6) Permanent Nature:

 Permanency is another important characteristic of society. It is not a temporary

organisation of individuals. Society continues to exist even after the death of individual
members. Society is a co-herent organisation.

(7) Society is Abstract:

 Society is an abstract concept. We can't see this relationship but we can feel it. Hence it is
an abstract concept. Besides society consists of customs, traditions, folkways, mores and
culture which are also abstract. Hence society is abstract in nature.

(8) Society is Dynamic :

 The very nature of society is dynamic and changeable. No society is static. Every society
changes and changes continuously. Old customs, traditions, folkways, mores, values and
institutions got changed and new customs and values takes place. Society changes from
its traditional nature to modern nature. Hence it is one of the most important
characteristic of society.

(10) Comprehensive Culture:

 Culture is another important characteristic of society. Each and every society has it's own
culture which distinguishes it from others. Culture is the way of life of the members of a
society and includes their values, beliefs, art, morals etc. Hence culture is comprehensive
because it fulfills the necessities of social life and is culturally self-sufficient. Besides
each and every society transmits its cultural pattern to the succeeding generations.

(11) Something more than mere collection of individuals:

 No doubt society consists of individuals. But mere collection of individuals is not society.
It is something more than that and something beyond the individual. Durkheim is right
when he remarked that society is more than the sum of its parts i.e. individuals.

(12) Accommodation and Assimilation:

 This two associative social process is also important for the smooth functioning and
continuity of society. Hence it is also another characteristic of society.

Types of societies

 Societies are social groups that differ according to subsistence strategies, the ways
that humans use technology to provide needs for themselves. Although humans have
established many types of societies throughout history, anthropologists tend to
classify different societies according to the degree to which different groups within a
society have unequal access to advantages such as resources, prestige, or power.
 Virtually all societies have developed some degree of inequality among their people
through the process of social stratification, the division of members of a society into
levels with unequal wealth, prestige, or power. Sociologists place societies in three
broad categories: 

1. Pre-industrial societies

 In a pre-industrial society, food production, which is carried out through the use of
human and animal labor, is the main economic activity. These societies can be
subdivided according to their level of technology and their method of producing
food. These subdivisions are

A. hunting and gathering,

B. pastoral,

C. horticultural,

D. agricultural, and

E. feudal.

a. Hunting and gathering societies

 The main form of food production in such societies is the daily collection of wild
plants and the hunting of wild animals. Hunter-gatherers move around constantly
in search of food. As a result, they do not build permanent villages or create a wide
variety of artifacts, and usually only form small groups such as bands and tribes.
However, some hunting and gathering societies in areas with abundant resources
lived in larger groups and formed complex hierarchical social structures such as
chiefdoms. The need for mobility also limits the size of these societies. They
generally consist of fewer than 60 people and rarely exceed 100. Statuses within the
tribe are relatively equal, and decisions are reached through general agreement.
The ties that bind the tribe are more complex than those of the bands. Leadership is
personal—charismatic—and used for special purposes only in tribal society. There
are no political offices containing real power, and a chief is merely a person of
influence, a sort of adviser; therefore, tribal consolidations for collective action are
not governmental. The family forms the main social unit, with most societal
members being related by birth or marriage. This type of organization requires the
family to carry out most social functions, including production and education

b. Pastoral societies

 Pastoralism is a slightly more efficient form of subsistence. Rather than searching

for food on a daily basis, members of a pastoral society rely on domesticated herd
 animals to meet their food needs. Pastoralists live a nomadic life, moving their herds
from one pasture to another. Because their food supply is far more reliable, pastoral
societies can support larger populations. Since there are food surpluses, fewer
people are needed to produce food. As a result, the division of labor (the
specialization by individuals or groups in the performance of specific economic
activities) becomes more complex. For example, some people become craftworkers,
producing tools, weapons, and jewelry. The production of goods encourages trade.
This trade helps to create inequality, as some families acquire more goods than
others do. These families often gain power through their increased wealth. The
passing on of property from one generation to another helps to centralize wealth
and power. Over time emerge hereditary chieftainships, the typical form
of government in pastoral societies.

c. Horticultural societies

 Fruits and vegetables grown in garden plots that have been cleared from the jungle
or forest provide the main source of food in a horticultural society. These societies
have a level of technology and complexity similar to pastoral societies. Some
horticultural groups use the slash-and-burn method to raise crops. The wild
vegetation is cut and burned, and ashes are used as fertilizers. Horticulturists use
human labor and simple tools to cultivate the land for one or more seasons. When
the land becomes barren, horticulturists clear a new plot and leave the old plot to
revert to its natural state. They may return to the original land several years later
and begin the process again. By rotating their garden plots, horticulturists can stay
in one area for a fairly long period of time. This allows them to build
semipermanent or permanent villages. The size of a village's population depends on
the amount of land available for farming; thus villages can range from as few as 30
people to as many as 2000.

 As with pastoral societies, surplus food leads to a more complex division of labor.
Specialized roles in horticultural societies include craftspeople, shamans (religious
leaders), and traders. This role specialization allows people to create a wide variety
of artifacts. As in pastoral societies, surplus food can lead to inequalities in wealth
and powers within horticultural political systems are developed because of the
settled nature of horticultural life.

d. Agrarian societies

 Agrarian societies use agricultural technological advances to cultivate crops over a

large area. Sociologists use the phrase Agricultural Revolution to refer to the
technological changes that occurred as long as 8,500 years ago that led to cultivating
crops and raising farm animals. Increases in food supplies then led to larger
populations than in earlier communities. This meant a greater surplus, which
 resulted in towns that became centers of trade supporting various rulers, educators,
craftspeople, merchants, and religious leaders who did not have to worry about
locating nourishment.

 Greater degrees of social stratification appeared in agrarian societies. For example,

women previously had higher social status because they shared labor more equally
with men. In hunting and gathering societies, women even gathered more food than
men. However, as food stores improved and women took on lesser roles in providing
food for the family, they increasingly became subordinate to men. As villages and
towns expanded into neighboring areas, conflicts with other communities inevitably
occurred. Farmers provided warriors with food in exchange for protection against
invasion by enemies. A system of rulers with high social status also appeared. This
nobility organized warriors to protect the society from invasion. In this way, the
nobility managed to extract goods from “lesser” members of society.

e. Feudal societies

 Feudalism was a form of society based on ownership of land. Unlike today's

farmers, vassals under feudalism were bound to cultivating their lord's land. In
exchange for military protection, the lords exploited the peasants into providing
food, crops, crafts, homage, and other services to the landowner. The caste system of
feudalism was often multigenerational; the families of peasants may have cultivated
their lord's land for generations.

2. Industrial societies

 Between the 15th and 16th centuries, a new economic system emerged that began to
replace feudalism. Capitalism is marked by open competition in a free market, in
which the means of production are privately owned. Europe's exploration of the
Americas served as one impetus for the development of capitalism. The introduction
of foreign metals, silks, and spices stimulated great commercial activity in European
societies.

 Industrial societies rely heavily on machines powered by fuels for the production of
goods. This produced further dramatic increases in efficiency. The increased
efficiency of production of the industrial revolution produced an even greater
surplus than before. Now the surplus was not just agricultural goods, but also
manufactured goods. This larger surplus caused all of the changes discussed earlier
in the domestication revolution to become even more pronounced.

 Once again, the population boomed. Increased productivity made more goods
available to everyone. However, inequality became even greater than before. The
breakup of agricultural-based feudal societies caused many people to leave the land
 and seek employment in cities. This created a great surplus of labor and gave
capitalists plenty of laborers who could be hired for extremely low wages.

3. Post-industrial societies

 Postindustrial societies are societies dominated by information, services, and high

technology more than the production of goods. Advanced industrial societies are
now seeing a shift toward an increase in service sectors over manufacturing and
production. The U.S. is the first country to have over half of its work force employed
in service industries. Service industries include government, research, education,
health, sales, law, banking, and so on. It is still too early to identify and understand
all the ramifications this new kind of society will have for social life. In fact, even the
phrase "postindustrial" belies the fact that we don't yet quite know what will follow
industrial societies or the forms they will take.

Contemporary usage
The term "society" is currently used to cover both a number of political and scientific
connotations as well as a variety of associations.

 Western society

The development of the Western world has brought with it the emerging concepts
of Western culture, politics, and ideas, often referred to simply as "Western society.
Geographically, it covers at the very least the countries of Western Europe, North America,
Australia, and New Zealand. It sometimes also includes Eastern Europe, South America,
and Israel.

The cultures and lifestyles of all of these stem from Western Europe. They all enjoy
relatively strong economies and stable governments, allow freedom of religion, have chosen
democracy as a form of governance, favor capitalism and international trade, are heavily
influenced by Judeo-Christian values, and have some form of political and military alliance
or cooperation.[6]

 Information society

Although the concept of information society has been under discussion since the
1930s, in the modern world it is almost always applied to the manner in which information
technologies have impacted society and culture. It therefore covers the effects of computers
and telecommunications on the home, the workplace, schools, government, and various
communities and organizations, as well as the emergence of new social forms in cyberspace.
[7]
  Knowledge society

As access to electronic information resources increased at the beginning of the 21st

century, special attention was extended from the information society to the knowledge
society. An analysis by the Irish government stated, "The capacity to manipulate, store and
transmit large quantities of information cheaply has increased at a staggering rate over
recent years. The digitization of information and the associated pervasiveness of the
Internet are facilitating a new intensity in the application of knowledge to economic
activity, to the extent that it has become the predominant factor in the creation of wealth.
As much as 70 to 80 percent of economic growth is now said to be due to new and better
knowledge.
 CULTURE

 Culture is derived from Latin Word : cultura,which means "cultivation" first began to

take its current usage by Europeans in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century (having had
earlier antecedents elsewhere), it connoted a process of cultivation or improvement, as
in agriculture or horticulture. In the nineteenth century, it came to refer first to the
betterment or refinement of the individual, especially through education, and then to the
fulfillment of national aspirations or ideals. In the mid-nineteenth century, some scientists
used the term "culture" to refer to a universal human capacity.

 In the twentieth century, "culture" emerged as a concept central to anthropology,

encompassing all human phenomena that are not purely results of human genetics.
Specifically, the term "culture" in American anthropology had two meanings: (1) the
evolved human capacity to classify and represent experiences with symbols, and to act
imaginatively and creatively; and (2) the distinct ways that people living in different parts
of the world classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively.

 A distinction is current between the physical artifacts created by a society, its so-called
material culture and everything else, the intangibles such as language, customs, etc. that
are the main referent of the term "culture".

SOME DEFINITIONS

 Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values,

attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations,
concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of
people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.

 Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people.

 Culture is communication, communication is culture.

 Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's
learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior
through social learning.
 A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and
symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed
along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.

 Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills,

knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and
deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.

 Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and
transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups,
including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of
traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one
hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences
upon further action.

 Culture is the sum of total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are generally
considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to
generation.

 Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one
group or category of people from another.

Various Concepts

 Culture has been defined in number of ways. There is no consensus among sociologists
and anthropologists regarding the definition of culture. One of the most comprehensive
definitions of the term culture was provided by the British anthropologist Edward Tylor.
He defined culture as ” that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member
of society”.

 Accoring to Herskovits: “Culture is the man made part of environment”

 “Culture is the complex whole that consists of everything we think and do and have as
members of society”, says Bierstedt.

 “Culture is the total content of the physio-social, bio-social and psycho-social universe
man has produced and the socially created mechanisms through which these social
product operate”, According to Anderson and Parker.

 Mlinowlski defines culture” as the handiwork of man and the medium through which he
achieves his ends.

 
 Nature/Characteristics of Culture:

 From various definition, we can deduce the following characteristics:

1. Learned Behaviour:

 Not all behaviour is learned, but most of it is learned; combing one’s hair, standing in
line, telling jokes, criticising the President and going to the movie, all constitute
behaviours which had to be learned.

 Sometimes the terms conscious learning and unconscious learning are used to distinguish
the learning. For example, the ways in which a small child learns to handle a tyrannical
father or a rejecting mother often affect the ways in which that child, ten or fifteen years
later, handles his relationships with other people.

 Some behaviour is obvious. People can be seen going to football games, eating with
forks, or driving automobiles. Such behaviour is called “overt” behaviour. Other
behaviour is less visible. Such activities as planning tomorrow’s work (or) feeling hatred
for an enemy, are behaviours too. This sort of behaviour, which is not openly visible to
other people, is called Covert behaviour. Both may be, of course, learned.

2. Culture is Abstract:

 Culture exists in the minds or habits of the members of society. Culture is the shared
ways of doing and thinking. There are degrees of visibility of cultural behaviour, ranging
from the regularised activities of persons to their internal reasons for so doing. In other
words, we cannot see culture as such we can only see human behaviour. This behaviour
occurs in regular, patterned fashion and it is called culture.

3. Culture is a Pattern of Learned Behaviour:

 The definition of culture indicated that the learned behaviour of people is patterned. Each
person’s behaviour often depends upon some particular behaviour of someone else. The
point is that, as a general rule, behaviours are somewhat integrated or organized with
related behaviours of other persons.

4. Culture is the Products of Behaviour:

 Culture learnings are the products of behaviour. As the person behaves, there occur
changes in him. He acquires the ability to swim, to feel hatred toward someone, or to
sympathize with someone. They have grown out of his previous behaviours.

 In both ways, then, human behaviour is the result of behaviour. The experience of other
people are impressed on one as he grows up, and also many of his traits and abilities have
grown out of his own past behaviours.
5. Culture includes Attitudes, Values Knowledge:

 There is widespread error in the thinking of many people who tend to regard the ideas,
attitudes, and notions which they have as “their own”. It is easy to overestimate the
uniqueness of one’s own attitudes and ideas. When there is agreement with other people
it is largely unnoticed, but when there is a disagreement or difference one is usually
conscious of it. Your differences however, may also be cultural. For example, suppose
you are a Catholic and the other person a Protestant.

6. Culture also includes Material Objects:

 Man’s behaviour results in creating objects. Men were behaving when they made these
things. To make these objects required numerous and various skills which human beings
gradually built up through the ages. Man has invented something else and so on.
Occasionally one encounters the view that man does not really “make” steel or a
battleship. All these things first existed in a “state nature”.

 Man merely modified their form, changed them from a state in which they were to the
state in which he now uses them. The chair was first a tree which man surely did not
make. But the chair is more than trees and the jet airplane is more than iron ore and so
forth.

7. Culture is shared by the Members of Society:

 The patterns of learned behaviour and the results of behaviour are possessed not by one
or a few person, but usually by a large proportion. Thus, many millions of persons share
such behaviour patterns as Christianity, the use of automobiles, or the English language.

 Persons may share some part of a culture unequally. For example, as Americans do the
Christian religion. To some persons Christianity is the all important, predominating idea
in life. To others it is less preoccupying/important, and to still others it is of marginal
significance only.

 Sometimes the people share different aspects of culture. For example, among the
Christians, there are – Catholic and Protestant, liberal or conservation, as clergymen or as
laymen. The point to our discussion is not that culture or any part of it is shred
identically, but that it is shared by the members of society to a sufficient extent.

8. Culture is Super-organic:

 Culture is sometimes called super organic. It implies that “culture” is somehow superior
to “nature”. The word super-organic is useful when it implies that what may be quite a
different phenomenon from a cultural point of view.
  For example, a tree means different things to the botanist who studies it, the old woman
who uses it for shade in the late summer afternoon, the farmer who picks its fruit, the
motorist who collides with it and the young lovers who carve their initials in its trunk.
The same physical objects and physical characteristics, in other words, may constitute a
variety of quite different cultural objects and cultural characteristics.

9. Culture is Pervasive:

 Culture is pervasive it touches every aspect of life. The pervasiveness of culture is

manifest in two ways. First, culture provides an unquestioned context within which
individual action and response take place. Not only emotional action but relational
actions are governed by cultural norms. Second, culture pervades social activities and
institutions.

 According to Ruth Benedict, “A culture, like an individual is a more or less consistent

pattern of thought and action. With each culture there come into being characteristic
purposes not necessarily shared by other types of society. In obedience to these purposes,
each person further consolidates its experience and in proportion to the urgency of these
drives the heterogeneous items of behaviour; take more and more congruous shape”.

10. Culture is a way of Life:

 Culture means simply the “way of life” of a people or their “design for living.”
Kluckhohn and Kelly define it in his sense, ” A culture is a historically derived system of
explicit and implicit designs for living, which tends to be shared by all or specially
designed members of a group.”

 Explicit culture refers to similarities in word and action which can be directly observed.
For example, the adolescent cultural behaviour can be generalized from regularities in
dress, mannerism and conversation. Implicit culture exists in abstract forms which are not
quite obvious.

11. Culture is a human Product:

 Culture is not a force, operating by itself and independent of the human actors. There is
an unconscious tendency to defy culture, to endow it with life and treat it as a thing.
Culture is a creation of society in interaction and depends for its existence upon the
continuance of society.

 In a strict sense, therefore, culture does not ‘do’ anything on its own. It does not cause the
individual to act in a particular way, nor does it ‘make’ the normal individual into a
maladjusted one. Culture, in short, is a human product; it is not independently endowed
with life.
12. Culture is Idealistic:

 Culture embodies the ideas and norms of a group. It is sum-total of the ideal patterns and
norms of behaviour of a group. Culture consists of the intellectual, artistic and social
ideals and institutions which the members of the society profess and to which they strive
to confirm.

13. Culture is transmitted among members of Society:

 The cultural ways are learned by persons from persons. Many of them are “handed
down” by one’s elders, by parents, teachers, and others [of a somewhat older generation].
Other cultural behaviours are “handed up” to elders. Some of the transmission of culture
is among contemporaries.

 For example, the styles of dress, political views, and the use of recent labour saving
devices. One does not acquire a behaviour pattern spontaneously. He learns it. That
means that someone teaches him and he learns. Much of the learning process both for the
teacher and the learner is quite unconscious, unintentional, or accidental.

14. Culture is continually changing:

 There is one fundamental and inescapable attribute (special quality) of culture, the fact of
unending change. Some societies at sometimes change slowly, and hence in comparison
to other societies seem not to be changing at all. But they are changing, even though not
obviously so.

15. Culture is Variable:

 Culture varies from society to society, group to group. Hence, we say culture of India or
England. Further culture varies from group to group within the same society. There are
subcultures within a culture. Cluster of patterns which are both related to general culture
of the society and yet distinguishable from it are called subcultures.

16. Culture is an integrated system:

 Culture possesses an order and system. Its various parts are integrated with each other
and any new element which is introduced is also integrated.

17. Language is the Chief Vehicle of Culture:

 Man lives not only in the present but also in the past and future. He is able to do this
because he possesses language which transmits to him what was learned in the past and
enables him to transmit the accumulated wisdom to the next generation. A specialised
language pattern serves as a common bond to the members of a particular group or
 subculture. Although culture is transmitted in a variety of ways, language is one of the
most important vehicles for perpetuating cultural patterns.

 To conclude culture is everything which is socially learned and shared by the members of
a society. It is culture that, in the wide focus of the world, distinguishes individual from
individual, group from group and society.

Aspects of culture

 Following are the aspects of culture

1. Food 
2. Clothing 
3. Recreation 
4. Government 
5. Education 
6. Language 
7. Religion 
8. Transportation 
9. Economy 
10.Environment 
11. Arts 
12. Celebrations

Functions of Culture:

Among all groups of people we find widely shared beliefs, norms, values and
preferences. Since culture seems to be universal human phenomenon, it occurs naturally to
wonder whether culture corresponds to any universal human needs. This curiosity raises the
question of the functions of culture. Social scientists have discussed various functions of culture.
Culture has certain functions for both individual and society. Following are some of the
important functions of culture:

1. Culture Defines Situations:

 Each culture has many subtle cues which define each situation. It reveals whether one
should prepare to fight, run, laugh or make love. For example, suppose someone
approaches you with right hand outstretched at waist level. What does this mean? That he
wishes to shake hands in friendly greeting is perfectly obvious – obvious, that is to
anyone familiar with our culture.

 But in another place or time the outstretched hand might mean hostility or warning. One
does not know what to do in a situation until he has defined the situation. Each society
has its insults and fighting words. The cues (hints) which define situations appear in
 infinite variety. A person who moves from one society into another will spend many
years misreading the cues. For example, laughing at the wrong places.

2. Culture defines Attitudes, Values and Goals:

 Each person learns in his culture what is good, true, and beautiful. Attitudes, values and
goals are defined by the culture. While the individual normally learns them as
unconsciously as he learns the language. Attitudes are tendencies to feel and act in certain
ways. Values are measures of goodness or desirability, for example, we value private
property, (representative) Government and many other things and experience.

 Goals are those attainments which our values define as worthy, (e.g.) winning the race,
gaining the affections of a particular girl, or becoming president of the firm. By
approving certain goals and ridiculing others, the culture channels individual ambitions.
In these ways culture determines the goals of life.

3. Culture defines Myths, Legends, and the Supernatural:

 Myths and legends are important part of every culture. They may inspire, reinforce effort
and sacrifice and bring comfort in bereavement. Whether they are true is sociologically
unimportant. Ghosts are real to people who believe in them and who act upon this belief.
We cannot understand the behavior of any group without knowing something of the
myths, legends, and supernatural beliefs they hold. Myths and legends are powerful
forces in a group’s behavior.

 Culture also provides the individual with a ready-made view of the universe. The nature
of divine power and the important moral issues are defined by the culture. The individual
does not have to select, but is trained in a Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or some
other religious tradition. This tradition gives answers for the major (things imponderable)
of life, and fortuities the individual to meet life’s crises.

4. Culture provides Behavior Patterns:

 The individual need not go through painful trial and error learning to know what foods
can be eaten (without poisoning himself), or how to live among people without fear. He
finds a ready-made set of patterns awaiting him which he needs only to learn and follow.
The culture maps out the path to matrimony. The individual does not have to wonder how
one secures a mate; he knows the procedure defined by his culture.

 If men use culture to advance their purposes, it seems clear also that a culture imposes
limits on human and activities. The need for order calls forth another function of culture
that of so directing behavior that disorderly behavior is restricted and orderly behavior is
promoted. A society without rules or norms to define right and wrong behavior would be
 very much like a heavily travelled street without traffic signs or any understood rules for
meeting and passing vehicles. Chaos would be the result in either case.

 Social order cannot rest on the assumption that men will spontaneously behave in ways
conducive to social harmony.

Culture and Society:

 The relationship between society, culture and personality is stressed by Ralph Linton: “A
society is organized group of individuals. A culture is an organized group of learned
responses. The individual is living organism capable of independent thought, feeling and
action, but with his independence limited and all his resources profoundly modified by
contact with the society and culture in which he develops.

 A society cannot exist apart from culture. A Society is always made of persons and their
groupings. People carry and transmit culture, but they are not culture. No culture can
exists except as it is embodied in a society of man; no society can operate without,
cultural directives. Like matter and energy, like mind and body, they are interdependent
and interacting yet express different aspects of the human situation.

 One must always keep in mind the interdependence and the reciprocal relationship
between culture and society. Each is distinguishable concept in which the patterning and
organisation of the whole is more important than any of the component parts.

Cultural change

 Cultural invention has come to mean any innovation that is new and found to be useful to
a group of people and expressed in their behavior but which does not exist as a physical
object. Humanity is in a global "accelerating culture change period", driven by the
expansion of international commerce, the mass media, and above all, the human
population explosion, among other factors.

 Cultures are internally affected by both forces encouraging change and forces resisting
change. These forces are related to both social structures and natural events, and are
involved in the perpetuation of cultural ideas and practices within current structures,
which themselves are subject to change. 

 Social conflict and the development of technologies can produce changes within a society
by altering social dynamics and promoting new cultural models , and spurring or
enablinggenerative action. These social shifts may accompany ideological shifts and
other types of cultural change. For example, the U.S. feminist movement involved new
practices that produced a shift in gender relations, altering both gender and economic
 structures. Environmental conditions may also enter as factors. For example, after
tropical forests returned at the end of the last ice age , plants suitable for domestication
were available, leading to the invention of agriculture, which in turn brought about many
cultural innovations and shifts in social dynamics.

 Cultures are externally affected via contact between societies, which may also produce—
or inhibit—social shifts and changes in cultural practices. War or competition over
resources may impact technological development or social dynamics. Additionally,
cultural ideas may transfer from one society to another, through diffusion or
acculturation. In diffusion, the form of something (though not necessarily its meaning)
moves from one culture to another. For example, hamburgers, mundane in the United
States, seemed exotic when introduced into China. "Stimulus diffusion" (the sharing of
ideas) refers to an element of one culture leading to an invention or propagation in
another. "Direct Borrowing" on the other hand tends to refer to technological or tangible
diffusion from one culture to another. Diffusion of innovations theory presents a
research-based model of why and when individuals and cultures adopt new ideas,
practices, and products.

 Acculturation has different meanings, but in this context refers to replacement of the

traits of one culture with those of another, such has happened to certain Native
American tribes and to many indigenous peoples across the globe during the process
of colonization. Related processes on an individual level include assimilation (adoption
of a different culture by an individual) and transculturation.

Main Factors and Causes of Cultural Change!

 Cultural change is a concept that denotes some internal and external factors leading to
change in the cultural pattern of societies.

 It can be material as well as non-material in nature. Cultural change may come from
many sources but most of them comes through contact with other culture, inventions and
internal adjustment of culture.

Factors of Cultural Change:

 There are three main factors of cultural change:

(i) Contact:

 The contact between two societies will obviously change the culture of both the societies
through the process of “cultural diffusion” and “acculturation”.
(ii) Technology Evolution:

 Any technological evolution in the country will bring a change their culture also. For
example, changes in production technology, changes in the means of communication,
changes in the means of transportation, etc.

(iii) The geographical and ecological factor:

 The geographical and ecological factor is a natural or a physical factor. The climate or
rainfall, attitude of the place, closeness to the sea decides the culture and lifestyle of the
people. Any change in the physical features will automatically lead to a change in their
culture, habits and way of living.

Causes of Cultural Changes:

 David Dressier and Donald Carns have made the following observations with regard to
the causes of cultural changes:

1. Sometimes members of a society are often confronted by customs that differ from
those which they have learnt to accept. In such a situation they adopt some of the new
customs, reject others, and follow modified versions of still others. This might be called
cultural eclecticism.

2. New customs and practices are likely to be more readily adopted under two conditions

(i) If they represent what is viewed as socially desirable and useful and

(ii) If they do not clash with re-existed and still valued customs and practices.

3. Changes in culture are always super imposed on existing culture especially during
cultural contact.

4. All the cultural changes are not equally important. Some changes are introduced to
culture because they are considered necessary for human survival. Some other changes
are accepted in order to satisfy socially acquired needs not essential for survival.

5. It is a fact of common observation that crisis tends to produce or accelerate cultural

changes. If the changes are accepted once due to the crisis, they tend to persist. For
example, women were included in military during the Second World War, and even now
they continue to be there.

6. Cultural change is cumulative in its total effect. Much is added and little is lost. It’s
growth is like the growth of a tree that ever expands but only loses it leaves, Sometimes
its limbs from time to time, as long as it survives.
 7. Cultural change leads to chain reaction, whenever a change is incorporated into the
culture and becomes defined as a ‘social necessity’, new needs emerge, generating the
desire for still further changes to complement or supplement the original change.

Cultural continuity

 Continuity refers to the state or quality of being continuous. Cultural continuity is the

persistence of cultural elements through time.It is the transmission of the meanings and
values characteristic of a culture, down through time and generations. Individuals make
sense of their lives in relation to supra-individual contexts and situations in which shared
experiences and characteristics—a language, a history, a tradition, a country—are
recognizable, familiar, and accessible.

Social Structure
According to Radcliff-Brown social structure is a part of the social structure of all social relations of
person to person. In the study of social structure the concrete reality with which we are concerned is
the set of actually existing relations at a given moment of time which link together certain human
beings.

A more general definition of social structure is that social structure refers to the enduring orderly
and patterned relationships between the elements of a society. According to Raymond Firth it makes
no distinction between the ephemeral and the most enduring elements in social activity and it makes
it almost impossible to distinguish the idea of the structure of society from that of the totality of the
society itself.
According to S.F Nadal structure refers to a definable articulation and ordered arrangement of
parts. It is related to the outer aspect or the framework of society and is totally unconcerned with
the functional aspect of society. So he has emphasized that the social structure refers to the
network of social relationship which is created among the human beings when they interact with
each other according to their statuses in accordance with the patterns of society. He has
emphasized that the social structure refers to the network of social relationship which is created
among the human beings when they interact with each other according to their statuses in
accordance with the patterns of society.

According to Ginsberg the study of social structure is concerned with the principal form of social
organization that is types of groups, associations and institutions and the complex of these which
constitute societies.

According to Karl Mannheim social structure refers to the web of interacting social forces from
which have arisen the various modes of observing and thinking. Social structure is an abstract
and intangible phenomenon Individuals are the units of association and institutions are the units
of social structure. These institutions and associations are inter-related in a particular
arrangement and thus create the pattern of social structure. It refers to the external aspect of
society which is relatively stable as compared to the functional or internal aspect of society.
Social structure is a living structure which is created, maintained for a time and changes.

Types of Social Structure

Talcott Parsons has described 4 principal types of social structure. His classifications is based on
four social values –

1. universalistic social values,

2. particularistic social values,

3. achieved social values and

4. Ascribed social values.

Universalistic social values are those which are found almost in every society and are
applicable to everybody.

Particularistic social values are the features of particular societies and these differ from
society to society.

When the statuses are achieved on the basis of efforts it means that such societies attach
importance to achieved social values.

When the statuses are hereditary even the society gives importance to ascribed social
statuses.

Elements of Social Structure

Normative system presents the society with the ideals and values. The people attach emotional
importance to these norms. The institutions and associations are inter-related according to these
norms. The individuals perform their roles in accordance with the accepted norms of society.

Position system refers to the statuses and roles of the individuals. The desires, aspirations and
expectations of the individuals are varied, multiple and unlimited. So these can be fulfilled only
if the members of the society are assigned different roles according to their capacities and
capabilities. Actually the proper functioning of social structure depends upon proper assignments
of roles and statues.

For the proper enforcement of norms, every society has a sanction system. The integration and
coordination of the different parts of social structure depend upon conformity of social norms.
The stability of a social structure depends upon the effectiveness of its sanction system.

The anticipated response system calls upon the individuals to participate in the social system. His
preparation sets the social structure in motion. The successful working of social structure
depends upon the realisation of his duties by the individuals and his efforts to fulfil these duties.

It is object of the goal to be arrived at by the social structure. The whole social structure revolves
around it. The action is the root cause which weaves the web of social relationships and sets the
social structure in motion.

Social structure is an abstract entity. Its parts are dynamic and constantly changing. They are
spatially widespread and therefore difficult to see as wholes. Social structure denotes patterns
which change more slowly than the particular personnel who constitute them.

Social Structure and Social Organization

According to Raymond Firth social structure is concerned with the ordered relation of parts to
the whole with the arrangement in which the elements of social life are linked together. The
abstract social relationship which are displayed in the social reality as a patterned manner and in
a regular fashion are concerned about institutional arrangements and relation between social
groups. Thus the term social structure means a more permanent and continuous pattern of social
reality.

Firth has proposed the concept of social organization in this context which as opposed to social
structure is concerned about temporary and changing nature of social reality.Social organization
as he explains refers to the systematic ordering of social relations by acts of choice and decision.
It allows individual choices and decisions in response to a situational condition. Individuals
choose between alternative modes of behaviour and take decisions as they evaluate them
according to their perceptions to the fulfillment of a goal which are set by the group they belong.

Radcliff Brown has distinguished between social structure and social organization. According to
him social structure refers to the arrangement of persons. Social organization refers to the
arrangement of activities of two or more persons. Examples of social organization are social
groups, industrial group, political group etc.All the participants of an organization carry out
activities assigned to them. This arrangement of activities of persons is the characteristic of the
organization. Thus an organization is the arrangement of relationship that operates within the
activities of an institution.

Social Structure and Role

In a social structure roles are more important than role occupants. Role occupants in turn divide
themselves into sub-groups. According to Johnson it will be manifestly untrue to say that all the
stability, regularity and recurrence that can be observed in social interaction are due to normative
patterning, roles and sub-groups of various types are the parts of social structure to the extent
that stability, regularity and recurrence in social interaction are due to the social norms that
define roles and obligation of sub-groups.

Sub-groups and roles are closely linked with each other because all those who are required to
perform certain roles have some duties and obligations towards the group to which they belong.
The responsibilities of role occupant are of different types and can be broadly divided into
obligatory and permissive. Each social structure has also quasi-structural aspect. In complex
society there can be standardized or institutionalized norms. Every rigid social structure is bound
to result in social disharmony. In a human society its structure must go on changing.

Institutions
Institutions are "stable, valued, recurring patterns of behavior.
As structures or mechanisms of social order, they govern thebehaviour of a set
of individuals within a given community. Institutions are identified with a social
purpose, transcending individuals and intentions by mediating the rules that govern
living behavior
The term "institution" is commonly applied to customs and behavior patterns
important to a society, as well as to particular formal organizations of
the government and public services. As structures and mechanisms of social order,
institutions are one of the principal objects of study in the social sciences, such
as political science, anthropology, economics, and sociology (the latter being
described by Durkheim as the "science of institutions, their genesis and their
functioning") Institutions are also a central concern for law, the formal mechanism
for political rule-making and enforcement.

According to MacIver defined Institution as “established forms or

conditions of procedure characteristic of group activity”

According to Horton and Hunt: “An Institution is an organized system of

relationship which embodies certain common rules and procedures and meet
certain basic needs of society”

Types of Institution
1. Family Institutions
2. Economic Institutions
3. Religion Institutions
4. State Institutions
5. Education Institutions
6. Military Institutions
7. Mass Media Institutions

NORMS

Norms are standards of group behavior. An essential characteristic of group life is that it
is possessed of a set of values which regulate the behavior of individual members.

 As we have seen already , group do not drop out of the blue with stabilized relationships
among members. Groups are the products of interaction among individuals. When a
number of individuals interact, a set of standards develop that regulate their relationships
and modes of behavior, these standards of group behavior are called social norms.
 Importance of Norms
 Norm gives cohesion to society

 Norm influence individual attitude

Values
 Values are cultural standards that indicates the general good deemed desirable for
Organized social life. These are assumption of what is right and important for society .

 They provide the ultimate meaning and legitimacy for social arrangement and social
behavior.

 Social value differs from individual value. An individual value is enjoyed or sought by
the individual values which human being seeks for themselves whereas social value
contains a concern for others’ welfare. They regulates individual’s thinking and
behaving .

Socialization 
Socialization is the Learning  of the 
 customs,
 Attitudes and
  values of a social group, community or Culture. 

Socialization is essential for the development of individuals who
can participate and function within their societies, as well as for 
ensuring that a society's cultural features will be carried on through 
new generations.

Socialization is most strongly enforced by
  Family,
   School, 
 Peer groups
Which  continues throughout an individual's lifetime.
.

According to the Encyclopedia Article for socialization

“The process whereby an individual learns to adjust to a group (or society)
and behave in a manner approved by the group (or society). 
According to
most social scientists, socialization essentially represents the whole process
of learning throughout the life course and is a central influence on thebehaviour, be
liefs, and actions of adults as well as of children”

Socialization is predominately an unconscious process by which a newborn child

learns the values, beliefs, rules and regulations of society or internalizes the culture
in which it is born. Socialization, in fact, includes learning of three important
processes:

(1) Cognitive;

(2) Affective, and

(3) Evaluative.

In other words, socialization includes the knowledge of how things are caused and
the establishment of emotional links with the rest of the members of the society.
Socialization, therefore, equips an individual in such a way that he can perform his
duties in his society. Who are the agents of socialization? The agents of
socialization vary from society to society. However, in most of the cases, it is the
family which is a major socializing agent, that is, the nearest kinsmen are the first
and the most important agents of socialization. The other groups which are
socializing units in a society vary according to the complexity. Thus, in modern
complex society, the important socializing agents are educational institutions,
while in primitive societies, clans and lineages play a more important role.
Socialization is a slow process.

There is no fixed time regarding the beginning and the end of this process.
However, some sociologists formulated different stages of socialization. These are

(1) Oral stage,

(2) Anal stage

(3) Oedipal stage, and

(4) Adolescence.

In all these stages, especially in the first three, the main socializing agent is the
family. The first stage is that of a new-born child when he is not involved in the
family as a whole but only with his mother. He does not recognize anyone except
his mother. The time at which the second stage begins is generally after first year
and ends when the infant is around three. At this stage, the child separates the role
of his mother and his own. Also during this time force is used on the child, that is,
he is made to learn a few basic things. The third stage extends from about fourth
year to 12th to 13th year, that is, till puberty. During this time, the child becomes a
member of the family as a whole and identifies himself with the social role
ascribed to him. The fourth stage begins at puberty when a child wants freedom
from parental control. He has to choose a job and a partner for himself. He also
learns about incest taboo.

Process of Socialization

1. Reflex

2. Instinct

3. Urges

4. Capacities

Factors of the process of Socialization

1. Imitation

2. Suggestion
 3. Identification

4. Language

Agencies of Socialization

1. Family

2. School

3. Religion

4. Playgroup or friend

5. State

Elements of Socialization

1. The Physical and Psychological heritage of individuals

2. The environment in which he is born

3. Culture in which he is, because of action and interaction between these

element.
 Caste
 The English word "caste" derives from the Spanish and Portuguese Word

casta
 

Which mean, "race, lineage, or breed"

 Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary

transmission of a lifestyle which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy
and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and
pollution.

Some Definations

 According to Risely caste is a collection of families bearing a common name claiming a

common descent from a mythical ancestor professing to follow the same hereditary
calling and regarded by those who are competent to give an opinion as forming a single
homogeneous community.

 Cooley says that when a class is somewhat strictly hereditary we may call it caste.

 M.N Srinivas sees caste as a segmentary system.

 According to Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, caste is a hierarchical system of social

control in which each sub-group is assigned ranked-status based on its origin and
religious strictness
 The Nepalese caste system is complex and continues the traditional system of social
stratification of Nepal. The caste system defines social classes by a number of
hierarchical endogamous groups often termed as Jāt.

This custom was previously only prevalent in the societies of the Khas, Newar, Madhesi.

However, since the unification of Nepal in the 18th century, Nepal's various indigenous
tribes have been incorporated within the caste hierarchy level.

Nepalese caste system broadly borrows the classical Chaturvarnashram model consisting

of four broad social classes or varna:

  Brahmin

 Kshatriya

 Vaishya and 

 Sudra.

The ethnic indigenous groups do not belong to this caste system..

Basic Features of caste include division of people into

 pure and impure ones,

 restriction in food, occupation and marriage,

 discrimination in politics and administration exchangeability, being based on birth, and

being rarely based on action.

There are two kinds of caste system in Nepal.

1. The first caste system has divided people at four levels:

I. Brahaman,

II. Kshetriya,

III. Baisaya and

IV. Sudra. 

2. Caste Division
 Untouchable

 The Nepali civil code Muluki Ain  (1854) was written by Jang Bahadur Rana after his
European tour.

Characteristics of Caste System

1. Hereditary or based on Birth:

Caste status of an individual is determined strictly by his heredity, i.e. the caste into
which one is born. No amount of personal accomplishments or efforts can alter his caste
status.

2. Endogamous:

It endogamous character strictly prohibits inter-caste marriages. Accordingly a person

born in low caste can never hope to marry someone in higher caste. Each individual is
supposed to marry within his caste and sub-caste. Marrying outside caste makes an
individual or ‘without a caste which is the lowest category even below Shudra’.
3. Hierarchal: 

Caste system has a system of superiority and subordination. According to Hindu Caste
hierarchy. Brahmin occupies the highest followed by kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra.

4. Fixed Occupations:

Members of any caste are obligated to adopt the professions of their caste. Having
developed from Varna system the occupation in caste system is definite; son of
blacksmith persues the occupation of his lather, son of carpenter becomes carpenter and
so on. (With development of industries people belong to many castes have lost their
occupation and have taken agriculture or some other occupation).

5. Restricted Food Habits:

Higher castes try maintaining their traditional purity by different food habits. Thus
Brahmins will only take ‘Pure’ food. Each individual caste has its own laws which
govern the food habits. Food can be accepted only from the members of ounces own or
higher caste.

6. Untouchability: 

In Indian caste system Shudra and out castes are considered to be untouchables. In certain
times of day even seeing a shudra is considered to be pollution. Even if shadow of a low
caste falls on a Brahmin, latter is said to have been polluted.

7. Absence of Vertical Mobility: 

In a caste system, there is no mobility movement of its members, up or down, the social
status ladder. A person’s status at birth is his life time status.

8. Reinforcement by Religious Beliefs: 

Religious beliefs have played a significant role in making caste system unavoidable.
Religion has described Brahmin as sacred and also an element of reverence and awe is
attached to him. In absence of religious support such rigid caste system was not possible
 The special features of Caste System can be described on the following heads:

 The membership of each is determined by the birth of an individual.

 the members of a particular caste cannot marry outside their caste.

 in every caste there are a number of restrictions so far as the food, drink and social
intercourse are concerned.

 for every caste there is a hereditary occupation.

 in the caste system there is a hierarchical gradation. In this gradation system to top-most
position is occupied by Brahmins, and then comes Kshatriyas, and then Vaishyas and
Sudras come in the last.

 change of caste is not possible. An individual can not change his caste.

 for each caste there is a specific name and by this name the members of the caste are
identified in the society.

 Lack of unrestricted choice of occupation

Class System

 The class system is universal phenomenon denoting a category or group of persons

having a definite status in society which permanently determines their relation to other
groups.

 The social classes are de facto groups (not legally or religiously defined and sanctioned)
they are relatively open not closed. Their basis is indisputably economic but they are
more than economic groups. They are characteristic groups of the industrial societies
which have developed since 17th century.

 The relative importance and definition of membership in a particular class differs greatly
over time and between societies, particularly in societies that have a legal differentiation
of groups of people by birth or occupation. In the well-known example of socioeconomic
class, many scholars view societies as stratifying into a hierarchical system based on
occupation, economic status, wealth, or income.

 Marx defined class in terms of the extent to which an individual or social group has
control over the means of production.Marxism views classes as human social
relationships which change over time, with historical commonality created through
shared productive processes. A 17th-century farm labourer who worked for day wages
shares a similar relationship to production as an average office worker of the 21st
century. In this example it is the shared structure of wage labour that makes both of these
individuals "working class."
 Max Weber suggest that social classes are aggregates of individuals who have the same
opportunities of acquiring goods, the same exhibited standard of living. He formulated a
three component theory of stratification with social, status and party classes (or politics)
as conceptually distinct elements.

I. Social class is based on economic relationship to the market (owner, renter, employee,
etc.)

II. Status class has to do with non-economic qualities such as education, honour and prestige

III. Party class refers to factors having to do with affiliations in the political domain

Characteristics of Social Class

 A social class is essentially a status group. Class is related to status. Different statuses
arise in a society as people do different things, engage in different activities and pursue
different vocations. Status in the case of class system is achieved and not ascribed.

 Life-styles reflect the specialty in preferences, tastes and values of a class. Social classes
are open- groups. They represent an open social system. An open class system is one in
which vertical social mobility is possible.

 The basis of social classes is mostly economic but they are not mere economic groups or
divisions. Subjective criteria such as class- consciousness, class solidarity and class
identification on the on hand and the objective criteria such as wealth, property, income,
education and occupation on the other hand are equally important in the class system.

 Sociologists have given three-fold classification of classes which consists of –

 upper class,

 middle class and

 Lower class.

Sorokin has spoken of three major types of class stratification –

 they are economic,

 political and

 Occupational classes.

Anthony Giddens's three class model is the upper, middle and lower (working) class.
Lloyd Warner shows how class distinctions contribute to social stability. Warner has classified
classes into six types-

1. upper-upper class,

2. upper-middle class,

3. upper-lower class,

4. lower-upper class,

5. the lower middle class and

6. Lower class.

Ethnicity
The word ethnicity comes from the word ethnic which means race. An ethnic
community does not strictly have a racial connotation. A community can be
distinct from others in many ways: Their racial stock or origin being one of them.
A community may distinguish itself from others by way of a particular or
distinctive culture, language, religion or a combination of these. These features
lead ethnic communities to conflict with other communities with whom they come
in contact.

Definition of ethnicity

The term ethnicity has been defined in broader sense to signify self-consciousness
of a group of people united or closely related by shared experience such as
language, religious belief, common heritage etc. While race usually denotes the
attributes of a group, ethnic identity signifies creative response of a group who
consider themselves marginalized in society.

The identity of a group is defined vis a vis another community and how this
identity becomes psychologically and socially important for a member or members
of a community.

Ethnicity: Perspectives

Ethnicity has become an important field of study for social scientist. There are
some scholars who see the ethnic problem in terms of assimilation and integration
where in an ethnic group is absorbed into the mainstream group or a dominant
ethnic group: an assimilation of this kind in effect is homogenization to create a
nation state. To diffuse tension and to protect the dominated group it is also
suggested to co-opt the marginalized group.

According to Geertz ethnicity is a natural bond between people immutable or

primordial. Thus the formation of political identity is seen by them as stemming
from this loyalty. For Berge there is no difference between class interest and ethnic
interest. For him ethnicity is another alternative avenue for mobility.

According to Dipankar Gupta the manifestation of ethnicity in Indian politics is not

so much an outcome of popular grass root passions as it is creation of vested
political interests. He uses the term conspiracy to ethnic politics in India to draw
attention to the deliberate and calculated manner in which such politics is
fashioned.

Main characteristics of Ethnicity

 Ethnicity relates to ascriptive identities like caste, language, religion, region
etc. Inequality in terms of sharing power between two ethnic groups’ results
into conflict.

 The ethnicity is socially mobilized and territorially confined. It has

numerically sufficient population and is a pool of symbols depicting
distinctiveness. It has a reference group in relation to which /whom a sense
of relative deprivation is aggregated.

 Ethnicity causes ethnic movements after being left out of the developmental
process or even being a victim of uneven development.

 Ethnicity is manifested in Indian politics not merely due to grass root

discontent but is also a creation of vested political interest.

 Ethnic groups that use ethnicity to make demands in the political arena for
alteration in their status, in their economic well being etc are engaged very
often in a form of interest group politics.

 The focus of interests of an ethnic group is to get some benefits for itself.
The group often uses ethnic criterion like religion, language or caste to
mobilize itself to give identity to itself which separates it from other group
or groups. Thus delineation of boundary of an ethnic group of community is
an important aspect of ethnicity. The nature of identity shifts along with
shifts along with changing circumstances and calls for change in boundary
or a change in identification.

Or
Characteristics of Ethnicity
1. They have common religion.

2. They have own common Language

3. They have common feeling of “We Feeling”

4. They have their own written or oral history

 5. They have traditional home land or specific habitational geographic
area

6. There is distinct identity of the group

7. There is communal leadership or political organization of the group

8. It is psychological group awareness and degree of cultural

consciousness

9. It is bond of Sentiment

 Family 
The word family first referred to the servants of a household and then to both the
servants and the descendants of a common ancestor. It comes from the Latin word
familia, meaning 'household; household servants', which came from another Latin
term famulus, or 'servant'. It was not until 1667 that the term was used specifically
for the group of persons consisting of parents and their children.  Members of the
immediate family may include, singularly or plurally, a spouse, parent, brother,
sister, son and/or daughter. Members of the extended family may include
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews nieces and/or siblings-in-law.
In most societies, the family is the principal institution for the socialization of
children. As the basic unit for raising children,anthropologists generally classify
most family organization as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a
husband, his wife, and children; also called the nuclear family); avuncular (for
example, a grandparent, a brother, his sister, and her children); orextended (parents
and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family). Sexual relations
among the members are regulated by rules concerning incest such as the incest
taboo.
"Family" is used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such
as community, nationhood, global village and humanism. Genealogy is a field
which aims to trace family lineages through history.
Family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics.

The family forms the basic unit of social organization and it is difficult to imagine
how human society could function without it. The family has been seen as a
universal social institution an inevitable part of human society.

Various concepts
According to Burgess and Lock the family is a group of persons united by ties of
marriage, blood or adoption constituting a single household interacting with each
other in their respective social role of husband and wife, mother and father, brother
and sister creating a common culture.

G.P Murdock defines the family as a social group characterized by common

residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes
at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or
more children own or adopted of the sexually co-habiting adults.

Nimkoff says that family is a more or less durable association of husband and wife
with or without child or of a man or woman alone with children.

According to Maclver family is a group defined by sex relationships sufficiently

precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.

Kingsley Davis describes family as a group of persons whose relations to one

another are based upon consanguinity and who are therefore kin to one another.

Malinowski opined that the family is the institution within which the cultural
traditions of a society are handed over to a newer generation. This indispensable
function could not be filled unless the relations to parents and children were
relations reciprocally of authority and respect.

According to Talcott Parsons families are factories which produce human

personalities.

Main characteristics of family

Universality: There is no human society in which some form of the family does
not appear. Malinowski writes the typical family a group consisting of mother,
father and their progeny is found in all communities, savage, barbarians and
civilized. The irresistible sex need, the urge for reproduction and the common
economic needs have contributed to this universality.

Emotional basis: The family is grounded in emotions and sentiments. It is based

on our impulses of mating, procreation, maternal devotion, fraternal love and
parental care. It is built upon sentiments of love, affection, sympathy, cooperation
and friendship.
Limited size: The family is smaller in size. As a primary group its size is
necessarily limited. It is a smallest social unit.

Formative influence: The family welds an environment which surrounds trains

and educates the child. It shapes the personality and moulds the character of its
members. It emotionally conditions the child.

Nuclear position in the social structure: The family is the nucleus of all other
social organizations. The whole social structure is built of family units.

Responsibility of the members: The members of the family has certain

responsibilities, duties and obligations. Maclver points out that in times of crisis
men may work and fight and die for their country but they toil for their families all
their lives.

Social regulation: The family is guarded both by social taboos and by legal

regulations. The society takes precaution to safeguard this organization from any
possible breakdown.

Types and forms of the family

On the basis of marriage: Family has been classified into three major types:

 Polygamous or polygynous family

 Polyandrous family
 Monogamous family

On the basis of the nature of residence family can be classified into three main
forms.

 Family of matrilocal residence

 Family of patrilocal residence
 Family of changing residence

On the basis of ancestry or descent family can be classified into two main types

 Matrilineal family
 Patrilineal family

On the basis of size or structure and the depth of generations family can be

classified into two main types.

 Nuclear or the single unit family

 Joint family

On the basis of the nature of relations among the family members the family can
be classified into two main types.

 The conjugal family which consists of adult members among there exists sex
relationship.
 Consanguine family which consists of members among whom there exists
blood relationship- brother and sister, father and son etc.

Kinship

Kinship is the relation by the bond of blood, marriage and includes kindered ones.
It represents one of the basic social institutions. Kinship is universal and in most
societies plays a significant role in the socialization of individuals and the
maintenance of group solidarity. It is very important in primitive societies and
extends its influence on almost all their activities. A.R Radcliffe Brown defines
kinship as a system of dynamic relations between person and person in a
community, the behavior of any two persons in any of these relations being
regulated in some way and to a greater or less extent by social usage.
Type of Kinships
According to relationships there are following kinds of kinship which -are given
below:
1. Affinal kinship
It includes wife and husband and their new relations resulting from that marital
relation. The kinship is the result of marriage.
2. Consanguineous kinship
It includes the parents and their children, of a biological origin or adopted. Among
primitive societies, if the role of a father in the birth of a child is unknown, the
wife's husband is accepted as father of that child.
According to the range of kinship, it can be divided into the following three
categories:
1. Primary kinship
It includes wife and husband, parents and their children who are directly related to
one another.
2. Secondary kinship
In includes those kins that are related to the primary kin of an individual, such as a
step-mother, brother's in-law and sisters-in-law.
3. Tertiary kinship
It includes the primary kins of the secondary kinship. The order of kinship
establishes mutual behaviour patterns in society like the joking relationship
between a man and his wife's sisters and brothers.
Morgan has divided these kinship terms into two categories - (1) Classificatory,
and (2) Descriptive.
1. Classificatory kinship terms
Classificatory designations apply -o more than one relation or to a kin group. For
example, among kuki clans, the term 'Hepu' is used for father's father, mother's
father; mother's brother; wife's brother's son. In the same way, among Kerdjari
clan, father, father's brother and grandfather's brother are all designated by the
single term 'Tablu.'
A difficulty arises here. When more than one relation is designated by a single
term, will it not cause some difficulty? Some arrangement or the other is therefore
made regarding designations of this type, so that a specified person may be
separated from the group. For example, in Nepali society, the name of the person is
also added for a distinction among relations of different types as Kailash mama,
Ram Kaka, Thulo ba,, sano kaka etc. If the person designated is present, mere
looking at him serves the purpose.
According to Malinowski, the tone of speaking also indicates the specific person of
a designated group. Besides these modes the name of consanguinity, group or
place is sometimes added to create a distinction among different relations of one
group, as Maiju of sita, bua of Arun, Mama of Chitwan etc.
2. Descriptive kinship terms
In comparison to classificatory kinship terms, descriptive kinship terms are those
which describe the speaker's exact relation with the person addressed. For example,
'uncle' is a classificatory term, whereas 'father' is a descriptive term. Nowhere in
the world and in no society, are classificatory or descriptive kinship terms used
exclusively.
Descriptive kinship terms are more in use in civilized societies, while clasificatory
kinship terms are more in use in primitive societies. For example, the term 'Aja' is
used for mother, for father's brother's wife and for mother's sister among Naga
people of Assam. In the same way, father, father's brothers, and sister's husband
are all called 'Apu'.
The term 'Ami' is used for father's sister, wife's mother, husband's mother and
husband's brother's wife. Among kuki clans, father's father, mother's father,
mother's brother, wife's father, mother's brother's sons, wife's brothers and the sons
of wife's brother are all called by the term 'Hepu'.
Among Angami Naga people, elder brother, elder sister's husband, wife's elder
sister, husband's elder brother, elder brother's wife, mother's wife and father's
brother's wife are all designated by a single term 'Shi'.
Significance of Kinship Terms
W. R. H. Rivers has said, while describing the importance of kinship terms that
they refer to those social functions for which they are used. For example, among
Indian tribes, the term 'Mama' significant of the social functions of the person
designated by this term. Many other scholars have given other interpretations of
the significance of kinship terms besides that of Rivers.
According to some anthropologists, the use of classificatory terms is made because
of certain similarities found among the group of people who are designated by
those terms. According to Kroeber, names of kinship terms are given to people
only to distinguish them from one another and there is no deep significance in
them.
According to D. N. Majumdar, only one term is used for many persons or kins
because vocabulary in primitive societies is not much evolved and therefore there
are no separate terms to show these persons or kins separately.
All the interpretations given above, about kinship terms, may be true to some
extent: The use of classificatory terms may be the outcome of the one thing or the
other. It may be due to an undeveloped language, to a similarity among the group
of individuals or to some social functions of the group.

Kinship Usages

Kinship usages or the rules of kinship are significant in understanding kinship

system. They serve two main purposes:

 They create groups or special groupings or kin. For example- family

extended family, clan etc.
 Kinship rules govern the role of relationships among the kins.

Kinship usage provides guidelines for interaction among persons in these social
groupings. It defines proper and acceptable role relationships. Thus it acts as a
regulator of social life. Some of these relationships are: avoidance, teknonymy,
avunculate, amitate, couvades and joking relationship.
Avoidance:

It means that two kins normally of opposite sex should avoid each other. In almost
all societies avoidance rules prescribe that men and women must maintain certain
amount of modesty in speech, dress and gesture in a mixed company. Thus a
father-in-law should avoid daughter-in-law. The purdah system in Hindu family in
the north illustrates the usage of avoidance.

Teknonymy:

According to the usage of this usage a kin is not referred directly but is referred to
through another kin. In a traditional Hindu family wife does not directly utter the
name of her husband but refers to her husband as the father of so and so.

Avunculate:

It refers to the special relationship that persists in some societies between a man
and his mother's brother. This usage is found in a matriarchal system in which
prominence is given to the maternal uncle in the life of his nephews and nieces.

Amitate:

The usage of amitate gives special role to the father's sister. Here father's sister is
given more respect than the mother. Among Todas the child gets the name not
through its parents but through the father's sister. Naming the child is her privilege.

Couvade:

The usage of couvades prevalent among the Khasi and the Todas tribes makes the
husband to lead the life of an invalid along with his wife whenever she gives birth
to a child. He refrains from the active work, takes diet and observes some taboos
which are observed by his wife. According to Malinowski the usage of couvade
contributes to a strong marital bond between the husband and wife.

Joking relationship:

A joking relationship involves a particular combination of friendliness and

antagonism between individuals and groups in certain social situations. In these
situations one individual or group is allowed to mock or ridicule the other without
offence being taken. The usage of the joking relationship permits to tease and
make fun of the other.

Religion

At the simplest level religion is the belief in the power of supernatural. These
beliefs are present in all the societies and variations seem endless. A belief in the
supernatural almost always incorporates the idea that supernatural forces have
some influence or control upon the world. The first indication of a possible belief
in the supernatural dates from about 60,000 years ago. Archaeological evidences
reveal that Neanderthal man buried his dead with stone tools and
jewellery.Religion is often defined as people’s organized response to the
supernatural although several movements which deny or ignore supernatural
concerns have belief and ritual systems which resemble those based on the
supernatural. However these theories about the origin of religion can only be based
on speculation and debate.

Though religion is a universal phenomenon it is understood differently by different

people. On religion, opinions differ from the great religious leader down to an
ordinary man. There is no consensus about the nature of religion. Sociologists are
yet to find a satisfactory explanation of religion.

Durkheim in his The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life defines religion as a
unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things that is to say things
set apart and forbidden. James G Frazer in his The Golden Bough considered
religion a belief in powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control
the course of nature and of human life.Maclver and Page have defined religion as
we understand the term, implies a relationship not merely between man and man
but also between man and some higher power. According to Ogburn religion is an
attitude towards superhuman powers.Max Muller defines religion as a mental
faculty or disposition which enables man to apprehend the infinite.

Theories of Religion

Sociological approaches to religion are still strongly influenced by the ideas of the
three classical sociological theorists Marx, Durkheim and Weber.

Marx and Religion

In spite of his influence on the subject, Karl Marx never studied religion in any
detail. His ideas were mostly derived from the writings of several early 19th
century theologists and philosophers. One of these was Ludwig Feuerbach who
wrote The Essence of Christianity. According to Feuerbach, religion consists of
ideas and values produced by human beings in the course of their cultural
development but mistakenly projected on to divine forces or gods.Feuerbach uses
the term alienation to refer to the establishment of Gods or divine forces as distinct
from human beings.
Marx accepts the view that religion represents human self-alienation. He declared
in a famous phrase that religion has been the opium of the people. Religion defers
happiness and rewards to the after life, teaching the resigned acceptance of existing
conditions in this life. Attention is thus diverted from inequalities and injustices in
this world by the promise of what is to come in the next. Religion has a strong
ideological element, religious beliefs and values often provide justifications for
inequalities of wealth and power. In Marx’s view religion in its traditional form
will and should disappear.

Durkheim and Religion

In contrast to Marx Durkheim spent a good part of his intellectual effort in

studying religion concentrating particularly on religion in small scale traditional
societies. His Elementary Forms of Religious Life first published in 1912 is
perhaps the single most influential study in the sociology of religion. He based his
work upon a study of totemism as practiced by Australian aboriginal societies and
urged that totemism represents religion in its most elementary or simple form.A
totem was originally an animal or plant considered to have a particular symbolic
significance for a group. It is a sacred object regarded with veneration and
surrounded by various ritual activities. Durkheim defines religion in terms of a
distinction between the sacred and the profane. Sacred : According to Durkheim
sacred is ideal and transcends everyday existence; it is extra-ordinary potentially
dangerous, awe-inspiring, fear inducing. The sacred refers to things set apart by
man including religious beliefs, rites, duties or anything socially defined as
requiring special religious treatment. The sacred has extra-ordinary, supernatural
and often dangerous qualities and can usually be approached only through some
form of ritual such as prayer, incantation or ceremonial cleansing. Almost anything
can be sacred: a god, a rock, a cross, the moon, the earth, a king, a tree, an animal
or bird. These are sacred only because some community has marked them a sacred.
Once established as sacred however they become symbols of religious beliefs,
sentiments and pratices.Sacred objects are symbols and are treated apart from the
routine aspects if existence or the realm of profane. Eating the totemic animal or
plant is usually forbidden and as a sacred object the totem is believed to have
divine properties which separate it completely from other animals that might be
hunted or those crops that can be gathered and consumed.

Durkheim strongly emphasizes the fact that religions are never just a matter of
belief. All religions involve regular ceremonial and ritual activities in which a
group of believers meet together. Ceremony and ritual in Durkheim’s view are
essential to binding the members or groups together.
Durkheim believes that scientific thinking increasingly replaces religious
explanation and ceremonial and ritual activities gradually come to occupy only a
small part of an individual’s lives. Yet he says there is a sense in which religion in
an altered from is likely to continue. Even modern societies depend for their
cohesion upon rituals that reaffirm their values; new ceremonial activities thus may
be expected to emerge to replace the old.

Forms of Religion

Types of Religion:
1. Christianity
2. Islam,
3. Buddhism
4. Hinduism
5. Judaism
Religion adds meaning and purpose to the lives of followers, granting them an
appreciation of the past, an understanding of the present, and hope for the
future. By definition, a religion is a belief system concerning one or more
deities and incorporating rituals, ceremonies, ethical guidelines, and life
philosophies. Since the early times of Paganism, religion has diversified and
grown to include major monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam, as well as Indian and Far Eastern religions
like Buddhism and Sikhism, Iranic religions like Zoroastrianism and Bahai,
and African indigenous-based religions like Santeria. Other belief systems,
including Atheism and the Mormon Church, have also developed with time.
While religion dictates peace and good will, many battles and divisions have
taken place because of religion. Religious belief plays an important role in the
history of the world. The people of the world could benefit from learning
about the different types of religion.

Forms of religion
1. Superstition is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event causes
another without any natural process linking the two events—such as
astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft, prophecies, etc., that contradicts
natural science.

2. Animism
 Animism means the belief in spirits.E.B. Taylor in his famous book
Primitive Culture developed the thesis of animism and subsequently he
developed the distinction between magic, religion and science. In his thesis
of animism he advocated that anima means spirit. Animism refers to a given
form of religion in which man finds the presence of spirit in every object
that surrounds him.

3. Totemism

The term totem refers to natural object or item either inanimate or animate with
which a group of individuals identify themselves. The system of mystical
attachment of groups of people with totems is called totemism. The group that
observes totemism is called a totemic group. A totem may be a plant, or an animal
or even an object like a rock.

The members of a totemic group distinguish themselves from other groups by

wearing totemic emblems as charms and by painting or tattooing the figure of the
totem on the walls of their houses, canoes, weapons and even their body. A
prominent exhibit is the construction and erection of a totem pole representing the
figure of the totem that is generally carved or painted in the locality where the
specific group members reside.

In integral part of the tribal India ,the Kamar tribe have totemic groups named as
Netam(tortoise),Sori(a jungle creeper),Wagh Sori(tiger),Nag
Sori( snake),Kunjam(goat) and so on. A tortoise saved the Netam at the time of the
deluge. Among the Toda the buffaloes are the revered totems.

4. Magic
The phenomenon of magic is closely associated with religion.Magic is often
regarded as a form of religion. However they are different.They represent
two aspects of the same –empirical power.Max Weber used the term magic
to refer to religious action believed to be automatically effective,whether the
goal is empirical or non-empirical.Malinowski defines magic as the use of
supernatural means totry to obtain empirical ends.He however distinguished
magic and religion.

5. Ceremonialism

An addiction to ceremonies or ritualism, especially in social and other non

religious context.A set of ceremonies prescribed for an occasion; a ritual.
 6. Fetishism
A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-
made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is
the emic attribution of inherent value or powers to an object

.
Functions/Role of Religion
Both from individual and social point of view religion perform the following
functions:

1. Religion provides mental peace:

Human life is uncertain. He struggles for his survival amidst the uncertainties,
insecurities and dangers, Some-times he feels helplessness. It is the religion which
consoles and encourages him in all such time of crisis. Religion gives right shelter
to him. He gets mental peace and emotional support. It encourages him to face his
life and problems.
2. It inculcates social virtues:
Religion promotes the major social virtues like truth, honesty, non-violence,
service, love, discipline etc. A follower of the religions internalizes these virtues
and becomes disciplined citizen of the society.
3. Religion promotes social solidarity:
Religion gives rise to the spirit of brotherhood. Durkheim viewed that religion
strengthens social solidarity. A.W. Geen also pointed out that religion has the
supremely integration and verifying force in human society. It is true that common
belief, common sentiment, common worship, participation in common rituals etc.
are the significant cementing factors which strengthen unity and solidarity.
4. Religion converts the animal qualities to human qualities:
Religion inculcates the spirit of self-service. It demands that people should be
charitable and benevolent. Through various religious experiences he forgets the
worldly life and problems. This experience suppresses the animal desires and
converts the animal qualities of man to human qualities.
5. Religion is an agent of socialization and social control:
Parsons viewed that religion is one of the most important agents of socialization
and social control. It has significant role in organizing and directing social life. It
helps in preserving social norms and strengthening social control. It socializes him
individual and exercises control over both individual and group in various ways.
As an informal means, religion regulates the activities of people in its own way.
Organisation like temples, mosques, church, Gurudwaras etc. also control the
behavior of the individuals at different level.
6. Religion promotes welfare:
Religion teaches to the people to serve the masses and promote their welfare. It
gives message that "the service to humanity is service to God". For this reason,
people spend money to feed poor and needy. Great religions like Hinduism, Islam,
and Christianity etc. put emphasis on aim-giving to the poor and beggars. It
developers the philanthropic attitude of the people and thereby injects the idea of
mutual help and co-operation. With the influence of religious belief different
religious organisations engage themselves in various welfare activities.
7. Religion gives recreation:
Religion plays a charming role in providing recreation to the people. Religious
rites and festivals are more or less performed in every religion which gives relief to
the people from mental exertion. Similarly religious lectures, bhajans, kirtans,
musical concerts followed by the utterance of hymn etc. gives much more pleasure
to the people and provides eternal recreation.
8. Religion influences economy:
Sociologists like Sombart and Max Weber rightly established the relationship of
religion with economic system. Weber observed the influence of Protestant ethics
in the development of capitalism. Sombart found this spirit of capitalism in Jewish
norms. For the distinct religious principles present in Christianity, capitalism grew
in protestant countries but not in the country like India, Pakistan etc.
9. Religious influences political system:
Religion has played a significant role in political system in the ancient and medical
society. Even in modern times in many countries of the world the religion directly
and indirectly also influences political activities. During ancient and medieval
period, the monarchs were treating themselves as the representatives of the God or
ruling the society in the name of God. Even today, Political leaders take oath in the
name of God. The political system of the countries of the world like Bhutan,
Pakistan, Italy, Germany, England etc. are influenced by religion.
10. Religion Strengthens Self-confidence:
Religion is an effective means to strengthen self-confidence. There are certain
beliefs like 'work is worship', 'duty is divine', 'result in predestined' etc. which is
found in various religions gives strength to the individual and promotes self
confidence.

Dysfunctions of religion

1. War

2. Exploitation

3. Slavery

4. Untouchability
Social Change

Change is a process. Change denotes any alternation, difference or

modification that takes place in a situation or in any object through
time. It is the universal law of nature. It refers to the difference that
exists between the past and the present situation. Change is an “on-
going” process, No society remains completely static.
 km4meu.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/change-alliance-focus.jpg

Society is subject to constant changes. The term social change refers to

changes taking place in human society. Basically the changes in
human inter-actions and inter relations, indicate social change.
Society is the net-work of social relationship. Hence, social change
obviously implies a change in the system of social relationship. So any
difference or any modification or transformation in the established
pattern of human interaction and standards of conduct amounts to
change.

Abolition of child marriage, inter-caste marriage, high status to Indian

women is some of the important instances of social change.

Definitions:
The meaning of the term “Social Change” can be better understood if
we will discuss few definitions formulated by the eminent sociologists.
Some of the important definitions are stated below.

Kingsley Davis, “By Social change is meant only such alterations as

occur in social organizations, that is, structure and functions of
society.”

Maclver and Page, “Social change refers to a process responsive to

many types of changes, to changes in man-made conditions of life” to
changes in the attitude and beliefs of men and to changes that go
beyond the human control to the biological and physical nature of
things.

Lundberg, “Social change refers to any modifications in the

established patterns of inter-human relationship and standard of
conduct.”

H.T. Mazumdar, “Social change may be defined as a new fashion or

mode, either modifying or replacing the old, in the life of people or in
the operation of society.”
Morris Ginsberg, “By social change I understand a change in social
structure, i.e. the size of a society, the composition or balance of its
parts or the type of its organisation.”

Gillin and Gillin, “Social changes are variations from the accepted
modes of life; whether due to alternation in geographical conditions,
in cultural equipments, composition of the population or ideologies
whether brought about by diffusion or inventions within the group.

Alvin Toffler, “Change is the process through which future invades our
life.”

M.E. Jones, “Social change is a term used to describe variations in, or

modifications of, any aspect of social process, social patterns, social
interaction or social organisations.”

From the above definitions it may be concluded that social change is:

(i) A process.

(ii) It is a change in social organisation, that is the structure and

functions of society.

(iii) Social change means human change, which takes place in the life
patterns of the people. Basically it refers to the change in social
relationship.

(iv) It refers to all historical variations in human societies. It means

changes in all fundamental relations of man to man. Which includes
changes in political institutions, class structure, economic systems,
mores and modes of living.
From the analysis of the above definitions we come to know that the
phenomenon of social change is not simple but complex. It is very vast
and a complicated process. It is a process in which we always face
problems in its conditions, forms, limitations, direction, sources,
causes as well as consequences. But it would be worthwhile to analyse
the nature of social change for clear understanding. The following
natures of social change are discussed below.

Characteristics:
(1) Change is Social:
Social change means a change in the system of social relationship.
Social relationship is understood in terms of social process, social
interactions and social organizations. So in any variation of social
process, social interactions and social organizations social change-
takes place.

In an another instance it is found that society is like an organization,

which never dies. New civilizations and societies come up by replacing
old societies and thereby retaining some of its elements in its change.
Thus social change is different from individual change. Its cause and
consequences are always social which make it social.

(2) Universal:
Social change is universal. Because it is present in all societies and at
all times. No society remains completely static. The society may be
primitive or modern, rural or urban, simple or complex, agrarian or
industrial, it is constantly undergoing change. The rate or the degree
of change may vary from society to society from time to time but every
society keeps on changing. A changeless society is an unreality.
(3) Continuous:
Social change is a continuous process but not an intermittent process.
Because the changes are neither stopped nor the societies are kept in
museum to save them from change. It is an on-going process without
any break. In the process of change every society grows and decays,
where it finds renewal and accommodates itself to various changing
conditions. The sources, direction, rate and forms of change may vary
time to time but it is always continuous.

(4) Inevitable:
Change is inevitable. It is the human nature that desires change and
also it is his tendency to bring change and to oppose or accept change.
Human wants are unlimited which always keep on changing. To satisfy
these wants social change has become a necessity not only to him but
also to the society.

(5) Temporal:
Social change is temporal. Change in anything or any object or in a
situation takes place through time. Time is the most important factor
and social change denotes time-sequence. According to Maclver, “It is
a becoming, not a being; a process, not a product”. Innovation of new
things, modification and renovations of the existing behaviour take
time.

So a social change is temporary or permanent on the basis of time.

Sometimes some social changes may bring about immediate results
while some others may take years to produce results. Similarly, some
social changes spread rapidly and also disappear rapidly. Movements,
style, fashion and cults are the examples of this type. But in the
biological process of ageing short time does not cause change.
(6) Degree or rate of change is not uniform:
Though social change is an ever-present phenomenon, its degree or
rate or what we call the speed is not uniform. It varies from society to
society and even in the same society from time to time. Sometimes the
degree of change is high and sometimes low depending upon the
nature of society like open and close, rural and urban and traditional
and modern etc. For example, in the rural social structure the rate of
change is slower because the rate of change is not governed by any
universal law, whereas it is quick in the urban societies.

(7) Social Change may be planned or unplanned:

Social change takes place sometimes with planning and sometimes
without planning. Social change which occurs in the natural course is
called the unplanned change. The unplanned changes are
spontaneous, accidental or the product of sudden decision. Usually the
change resulting from natural calamities like flood; drought, famines,
volcanic eruption, etc. are the instances of unplanned changes.

Here in this unplanned change there is no control on the degree and

direction of social change. It is the inborn tendency of human beings
that they desire change. So sometimes plans, programmes and
projects are made effective by them to bring change in the society. This
is called planned change. As it is consciously and deliberately made,
there is every possibility to have control on the speed and direction of
change. For example, the five years plan made by the government.

(8) Social change is multi-causal:

A single factor may cause a particular change but it is always
associated with a number of factors. The physical, biological,
demographical, cultural, technological and many other factors interact
to generate change. This is due to mutual interdependence of social
phenomenon.

(9) Social change creates chain-reactions:

Social change produces not a single reaction but chain-reactions as all
the parts of the society are inter-related and interdependent. For
example, the economic independence of women has brought changes
not only in their status but also a series of changes in home, family
relationship and marriages etc.

(10) Prediction is uncertain:
We can see some elements for prediction in social change. But the
prediction we make is uncertain. It is because of three reasons. They
are:

(a) There is no inherent law of social change.

(b) The forces of social change may not remain on the scene for all
times to come.

(c) The process of social change does not remain uniform.

Apart from the above characteristic features it may be said that social
change can be qualitative or quantitative. It is a value free term as it
does imply any sense of good or bad, desirable or undesirable. It is a
concept distinct from evolution, process and development which are
regarded as key concepts in the literature of social change.

Factors of Social Change:

Social change takes place in all societies and in all periods of time. But
here question arises why does social change takes place? The word
‘Why’ represents the reasons, the causes or the factors which are
responsible for social change. From the discussion of the nature of
social change we know that there are some potential factors
responsible for bringing social change. Hence, it is multi-causal. Cause
refers to a set of related factors which, taken together, are both
sufficient and necessary for the production of certain effect. Here it is
necessary to take up each factor by itself and to find out the way in
which it affects social change. Some of these factors are shown in the
following diagram.

Demographic Factors:
Demography plays an important role in the process of social change.
The term “demography” has been derived from two Greek words,
‘Demos’ and ‘Graphs’ meaning the “people” and to “draw” or “write”
respectively. The dictionary meaning of demography is the scientific
study of human population, primarily with respect to their size,
structure and their development.

In the study of social change demographic factors have been viewed

from two different angles. They are the qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitatively speaking it refers to physical potentialities, mental
abilities etc. that are determined by genetic order, though the
hereditary quality of successive generation play some role in cultural
determination, it cannot be ascribed the place of a deterministic cause
of social change. But the demographic factor in its quantitative aspect
has been playing the most decisive role in causing social change.

The quantitative view of demography takes into account, the size,

composition and density of human population that are determined by
natural reproduction, migration and social mobility. This aspect has
been acknowledged by many past as well as modern thinkers. There
are three important factors that determine the rise, fall or density of
population. They are:

(a) High Fertility (High Birth rate)

(b) Low Morality (Low Death Rate)

(c) Migration.

When there is high birth rate and the death rate is low, we find growth
in population Let us know few points regarding the causes of high
birth rate. They are given in the following table.

(a) From the above table it is found that population increases due to
illiteracy, popularity of child marriage, widow remarriage, polygamy,
craze for a male child, poverty and also because of lack of proper
implementation of family planning programmes. The fall in death rate
has also affected the growth of population.
There are many causes of low mortality or low death rate. They are
modern education and scientific knowledge to hygiene, better
sanitation and therapeutic and preventive medicines, the increase of
productivity which raises the standard of living, control of natural
calamities, control of nutrition of mother, maternity facilities etc.

(b) Excess growth of population accelerates the process of migration.

Migration refers to the process of movement of population from one
place to another for considerable period of time. It plays a significant
role in population growth in the history for the past 100 years or more.
There are four forms of migration. They are:

(i) Immigration: It refers to migration into a country.

(ii) Emigration: It refers to migration of a country.

(iii) In-migration refers to migration into a particular area.

(iv) Out-migration refers to movement out of a particular area. Thus,

migrants who come from Bihar to Orissa are considered to be
immigrants for Orissa and out-migrants for Bihar.

There are many factors contributing to the process of migration. They

are:

(a) Development of transport and communication.

(b) Natural calamities like earthquake, flood famine etc.

(c) Absence of restrictions on social mobility.

(d) Non-availability of land and vocational opportunities etc. So the
changes in population have a far-reaching effect on society. It has both
positive and negative effects.

Positive Effects:
(a) The growth of population has a direct bearing upon the availability
and utilisation of resources.

(b) More population brings about more innovations and discoveries.

(c) It encourages rapid growth in industrialisation and urbanisation.

(d) The high birth rate and an alarming growth in population also
stimulates attitude towards birth, death and family life.

(e) Due to growth of population Acts are passed by the government for
the control of population. For example, in India due to rapid
population growth, the government has introduced family planning
programmes.

Negative Effects:
(a) The growth of population has decreased the standard of living of
the people in the society.

(b) The growth of population has given birth to a variety of problems

like poverty, unemployment, child labor, crime, juvenile delinquency
and beggary.

(c) Increase in population leads to an increase of social differentiation

and division of labor.
(d) It brings destructive social conflict and disorganization in migrants
line.

(e) In the societies where the female population exceeds the male
population, polygamy may flourish and on the other hand, if the
number of males exceeds the females, polyandry is likely to prevail.

From the above discussion we find that demography plays a significant

role in the socio-economic and political transformation of society. It
certainly brings drastic changes not only in the micro- structures but
also in macro-structures.

Biological Factors:
Social change is a complex process. It is caused by multiple factors. All
factors of social change are closely related to each other. But at the
same time each individual factor brings change in society in its own
way. Accordingly biological factor plays an important role in the
causation of social change. An ordinarily biological factor refers to
those which are concerned with the genetic constitution of the human
beings.

A biological factor includes both non-human beings such as animals,

birds, herbs, insects, plants etc. and human beings. Human beings use
animals, birds, plants and herbs according to the direction of his own
culture. At the same time human beings protect themselves from
different harmful elements. If there is increase or decrease of these
animals, birds, plants etc. it will bring a number of changes in human
society.
Rapid decline of useful animals, birds and plants will also create a
number of problems in human society and influences social change.
Similarly rapid increase or decrease of population also brings a
number of changes in society. Different biological process like human
procreation, fertility and mortality also influence the rate of change in
a society. Size, density, Migration, immigration etc. bring a number of
changes in society.

Rapid population growth influences our environment causes poverty,

food shortage and multiple health problems and thereby brings
changes in society. Migration accelerate the process of urbanization.
Urbanization creates multiple problems like slum, quality of health
and life style. Increasing urbanization and declining number of useful
animal and birds affects our environment.

Similarly the nature and quality of human beings in a society

influences the rate of social change. Sociologist like pareto opines that
the biological evolution of mankind brings social changes. Elites in a
society are determined by inherited biological instincts. Besides
composition of population also influences social change.

Both age composition and sex composition are very closely related to
social change. Number of population in the productive age group
deeply influences the rate and speed of social change. If the number of
child and unproductive or ageing population increases, a country faces
a number of economic problems. If the number of ageing population
decreases, the youths may be deprived of wisdom and experience
which resulted in slow change.
Besides the process of natural selection, social selection also affects
the rate and speed of social change. The process of natural selection
works through twin alternatives like adaptation and annihilation. Here
man is required to adapt to natural environment. But in social
selection the forces created within human society and operating
through human relationships creates situations that deeply affect the
reproduction process and survival rates of population.

Cultural Factors:
In sociology the word ‘Culture’ denotes acquired behavior which are
shared by and transmitted among the members of the society. Man
learns his behavior and behavior which is learnt is called culture.
Singing, dancing, eating, playing belong to the category of culture.

It includes all that man has acquired in the mental and intellectual
sphere of his individual and social life. It is the expression of our
nature, in our modes of living and thinking, in our everyday
intercourse, in art, in literature, in recreation and enjoyment. For the
clear understanding of the term ‘Culture’ here, it is necessary to
discuss some of the important definitions of culture.

Definitions:
According to White, “Culture is a symbolic, continuous, cumulative
and progressive process.”

Malinowski defines culture, “as the handiwork of man and as the

medium through which he achieves his end.”

Maclver and Page defines, “Culture is the realm of styles, of values, of

emotional attachments, of intellectual adventures.”
In the words of Green, “Culture is the socially transmitted system of
idealized ways in knowledge, practices and beliefs, along with the
artifacts that knowledge and practice produce and maintain as they
change in time.”

Culture, as is defined by Tylor, refers to, “that complex whole which

includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”

From the above definitions of culture, the features of culture may be

summarized below. They are:

(1) Culture is social, but not individual.

(2) Culture is idealistic.

(3) Culture is communicative.

(4) Culture is an acquired quality.

(5) Culture meets the recurring demand of mankind.

(6) Culture has the characteristics of adaptation.

(7) Culture has the quality of becoming integrated.

Culture plays a very significant role in social change. No culture even

remains constant. It always keeps on changing. So it is treated as an
important source or instrument of social change. The very nature of
culture makes it dynamic. The terms like continuous, cumulative
adoptive, transmissive etc. signify the elements of dynamism within
the culture. Besides, there are host of other internal and external
variables that interact upon the culture and cause changes within it.

Change in culture takes place by three important factors. They are

discovery, invention and diffusion. A discovery may be a material item
or a non material item. But any discovery brings about social change
only when it is widely used. An invention generates pressure for
change in different parts of social life. Diffusion is the process by
which cultural traits spread from one culture to another or from one
part of culture to another. It is a two-way process. Because in this
process one culture gives something to the other and at the same time
takes something from it.

Several sociologists have highlighted the determining role of culture

effecting social change. Some of the important effects are given below.
They are:

(i) Culture gives speed and direction to social change:

If the culture is too much conservative, then its rate of change
becomes too low and vice versa. People whether accept change or not
depends upon their attitudes and values which are the products of the
culture.

(ii) Culture influences the direction and character of

technological change:
Our belief and social institutions not only correspond to the changes in
technology but these determine the use to which the technological
inventions will be put. It is the culture that decides the purpose to
which a technical invention must be put.
(iii) Culture shapes economy and is effective towards
economic growth:
Culture not only gives direction to technology but it shapes the
economy which is too much effective towards economic growth.

(iv) It keeps the social relationship intact:

It makes people think not of their own but also of the others. By
regulating the behavior of the people and satisfying their primary
drives pertaining to hunger, shelter and sex, it has been able to
maintain group life.

Concept of Cultural Lag:

To examine the role of cultural factors in social change, it is necessary
to discuss the concept of “Cultural Lag”.

W.F. Ogburn, an American sociologist introduced the concept of

‘Cultural Lag’ in his book “social change: which was published in the
year 1920. The word ‘lag’ connotes crippled movement. Hence cultural
lag means the flatering of one aspect of culture behind another.
According to Ogburn there are two aspects of culture. One is the
material and another one is the non-material.

(i) Material Culture:
It includes those elements or things which are tangible, visible and
touchable like goods, tools, machines and furnitures etc.

(ii) Non-material Culture:
It includes those elements which are neither tangible nor touchable
rather these are experienced by men like customs, values, ideologies,
religion and behavior pattern etc.
It is found that technological innovations and discoveries stimulate
the material culture to a great extent. As a result, the changes are
quick 4n material culture. But non-material culture responds very
slowly to such changes in material culture. So the material culture
goes ahead leaving behind the non-material culture. This is called the
“cultural lag”. For example-The development in the field of industry
requires a corresponding change in the system of education. The
failure of education to meet the needs of modern industrial
development leads to cultural lag.

Causes of Cultural Lag:

What is the cause of this cultural lag?

Regarding the answer we find many factors causing cultural lag.

They are:

(1)Difference in the degrees of changeability of various elements of

culture.

(2)Changes in law.

(3)Man’s psychological dogmatism.

Criticisms:
The theory of ‘cultural lag’ of Ogburn is not free from the criticisms.
(a) There is no clear-cut distinction between material and non-
material culture. Again, it is not necessary that non-material culture
should invariably lag behind material culture.

(b) A major defect in Ogburn’s theory is that he uses the “cultural lag”
for expanding all gaps in the process of social change. Maclver has
suggested the use of different terms for the various types of
disequilibrium and conflicts, such as technological lag, technological
restraint and cultural clash etc.

(c) According to the theory of cultural lag, while one thing progresses
forward, another lags. Hence this word should not be used in the
context of those objects which are the encouraging as well as the
restraining and are similar and possess a common standard of
evaluation.

(d) Finally Ogburn has not provided any standard or scale to measure
the units of material and non-material culture. So it is difficult to find
out whether one aspect of culture changes faster than the other or not.

Inspite of the above short comings, the theory of “cultural lag” of

Ogburn has been proved to be beneficial for understanding the
cultural factors in bringing about social change.

Technological Factors:
The technological factors also play important role in causing social
change. Then what is technology? How it brings social change?

In the study of sociology, technology has a wider connotation. It

implies an appropriate organization and systematic application of
scientific knowledge to meet the human requirements. Technology is a
product of utilization. When the scientific knowledge is applied to the
problems of life, it becomes technology. Technology is fast growing.
Modern age is the “Age of Technology”.

According to W.F. Ogburn, “Technology changes society by changing

our environments to which we In turn adopt. This change is usually in
the material environment and the adjustment that we make with these
changes often modifies customs and social institution initiates a
corresponding social change.

Sources of Technological Change:

There are mainly two important sources of technological change. They
are:

(i) Inventions.

(ii) Discovery.

(i) Invention denotes creation of new ways of using existing knowledge

or new ways of combining existing artifacts. A single invention in
technology can produce a large scale change in society. One important
example of invention is the invention of automobile.

(ii) Discovery means the new way of looking at the environment.

Technological innovation originates also from another source called
discovery.

Example-Discovery of modern medicines is the result of discoveries in

biology and partly the result of invention.
Invention and discovery are significant characteristic of our age. Apart
from these two, there are three technological factors which are mainly
responsible for social change.

They are:
(a) Technological Innovations.

(b) Changes in production technology.

(c) Changes in transportation and communication.

(a) Technological Innovations:
The technological innovations have brought about revolutionary
changes in man’s idea about the world and universe. The world is no
more a mysterious creation for man because even in case of the
natural calamities like flood, cyclone, earthquake and drought etc. are
no more being viewed as the divine punishments against man’s bad
deeds. No man has been able to find out their causes. As a result of
which the degree of gaining control over them has increased.

(b) Changes in production technology:

Invention of new agricultural tools and chemical measures has led to
the gradual development of an agrarian system. Industrialization has
caused a number of changes in family, status of women, mode of living
of people, religion and ideologies of people etc. It has also led to the
growth of urban centers with new types of social organization.

(c) Changes in transportation and communication:

Rapid development in transportation and communication has greatly
influenced the socio-cultural life. It has broken down the regional
barriers. Due to transportation world wide trade and commerce has
been possible and communication technology has increased national
awakening.

Apart from the above factors, cultural factors play significant role in
bring about technological change. Customs, traditions, folkways,
mores habits, conservatism etc. have resisted the technological
inventions and contribute to it.

Effects of Technology:
No device, technological or otherwise, whether originating within a
society or borrowed from outside, obviously set up a network of
effects. The status of the individual is no more ascribed rather
achieved. A man is judged in what he has, not what he is.

The social relation is gradually becoming superficial, temporary as

well as selfish by nature. Changes in technology have resulted in some
fundamental changes in social structure. The impact of technological
changes may be discussed under the following broad headings.
Technology and Different Process:
(a) Industrialisation:
Industrialisation refers to the process by which industries have been
set up. It has given birth to the factory system and replaced domestic
system. The invention of machines has led to the creation of big
factories which employ thousands of people and where most of the
work is performed automatically. It has created new social class and
has improved the condition of women. It has affected the nature,
character and the growth of economy.

(b) Urbanization:
Industrialisation has led to urbanization. As a result of
industrialisation people have started moving towards the industrial
areas, the areas neither very far from the cities nor from the villages
with the hope of getting employment in those industries and factories.
Hence only when a large portion of inhabitants in an area comes to
cities, urbanization is said to occur. Towns like Kanpur, Jamshedpur
and Ahmadabad in India owe their birth to the factories established
there.

(c) Modernization:
It is a process by which adoption of the modern ways of life and values
take place. It has brought about remarkable changes in social
relationship and installed new ideologies in the place of traditional
areas. It has changed the social structure, which adds impetus to the
growth of science and technology. As a result of which the rate of
change increases rapidly.

Technology and Social Life:

The changes in technology have changed the whole gamut of social
life. It has performally altered out modes of life and thought. The
different institutions which are already changed may be discussed
below one by one. They are:

(a) Caste:
Due to technological changes the structure as well as the functions of
caste are already changed.

(i) The ascribed status has been replaced by achieved status.

(ii) There is no restriction on food, water as well as social relationship.

(iii) Marriage under caste system is no more endogamous.

(iv) Hereditary occupational structure has been replaced by

occupation based on one’s own choice depending on one’s own
capacity, ability and talent.
(b) Joint Family:
Indian traditional family which was purely of joint pattern has started
changing its size, structure and functions by the impact of technology.

(i) Change in its unity and natural co-operation of its members.

(ii) Change in the control and rub of Karta.

(iii) Fragmentation of land or distribution of common property.

(iv) It has lost its importance and has started disintegrating day by
day.

(c) Marriage:
Marriage is an important institution which has been undergoing
tremendous changes due to the impact of technology.

(i) It has lost its sanctity.

(ii) It is treated more as a civil contract than a sacred bond.

(iii) It is becoming more and more unstable.

(iv) The rate of divorce is increasing rapidly day by day.

(d) Religion:
Religion has undergone the following changes.

(i) The role of superstition has been declined.

(ii) People are becoming more and more secular, rational and
scientific in their outlook.
(iii) Conservative or orthodox religious activities have been replaced
by simple activities.

(iv) The religious toleration among the people has been destroyed.

(e) State:
State have undergone the following changes.

(i) State have become secular in nature.

(ii) There is a shift of functions from local government to the central

government of the whole state.

(iii) Modern inventions have strengthened nationalism.

(iv) It has increased the size and power of bureaucracy.

Technology and Economic Life:

Technology has altered man’s economic life in many ways.

(a) War:
The highly dangerous effect of technology is evident through war. The
most spectacular invention of our age, the atomic energy, has vastly
influenced our life. As an agent of war, it brought about the most
appalling annihilation of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As an
agent of peace it may bring an unprecedented era of plenty and
prosperity.

(b) Transportation and Communication:

Great technological advancement have contributed significantly to the
field of transportation and communication. The means of transport
has progressed at a surprising rate. The intermixing of people
belonging to various countries led to the removal of much
misunderstanding, hatred and jealously. It has encouraged the sense
of universal brotherhood. The introduction of machinery into
industry, news paper, radio, television, telephone, telegraph etc. have
facilitated the spread of new principles and have become propaganda
machines for political parties.

(c) Agriculture:
Changes in technology have led to the development of new techniques
in agriculture. Agricultural production is increased due to the use of
modern equipments, improved seeds in quantity and quality. Hence it
has greatly affected the rural community. As India is predominantly
an agricultural country, its future depends upon the progress of
agriculture.

From the above analysis we come to know that with the development
of technology changes in different areas are constantly increasing and
these are becoming more stable.
 Status and Role
Meaning of Role:
The position or the situation that a person occupies in society is called
status. As a result of that status and position he is expected to
discharge certain functions. These functions are known as roles. In
life, we have a great variety of roles – father, mother, businessman,
shop assistant, consumer, bus-driver, teacher, voter, and politician
and so on. These roles are an integral part of group behaviour.

“According to Linton. The term role is used to designate the sum total
of the cultural pattern associated with a particular status. It thus
includes attitude, values and behaviour ascribed by the society to any
and all person occupying this status…. In so far as it represents overt
behaviour and a role has the dynamic aspect of the status: what is the
individual has to do in order to validate the occupation of the status.”

A role is, as Ogburn and Nimkoff say, “a set of socially expected and
approved behavior patterns, consisting of both duties and privileges
associated with a particular position in a group.” Role is “the
behavioural enacting of the patterned expectations attributed to that
position,” In role performance, the emphasis is on quality. One’s role
as a father implies a more specific and particular manner of
performance.

Roles are allocated according to the positions (called status) people

occupy in the social system. Each status has its own set of role
requirements. Social groups operates harmoniously and effectively to
the extent that performance conform to the role requirements. Role is
sociologically important because it demonstrates how individual
activity is socially determined and thus follows a regular patterns.
A role exists in a particular setting in relation to other roles. Thus, the
role bf father implies the role of child, the role of worker implies the
role of employer, and the role of doctor implies the role of patient.

A person will play many such roles. Everyone has multiple roles in life.
‘Multiple’ roles refer to cluster of roles which an individual is expected
to play in variety of situations (i.e. in the multiplicity of groups to
which he belongs). Thus, a person will be a husband, a teacher, a
father and a cousin. His roles continue to change as he grows up.

Characteristics of the Role:

Characteristics of the role may be studied in the following
heads:
1. Action Aspect of Status:
The role is in fact the action aspect of status. In involves various types
of actions that a person has to perform in accordance with the
expectations of the society. These actions are dependent not on the
individual’s will but on the social sanction. That is why it is said that
every social role has a cultural basis.

2. Changing Concept of Role:

Social roles as already stated, are in accordance with the social values,
ideals, patterns etc. These ideals, values and objects change and so the
concept of the role also changes. The role which is justified at a
particular time may not be justified at some other time.

3. Limited Field of Operation:

Every role has a limited area of operation and the role has to be
confined within that. For example an officer has a role to play in the
office but when he reaches his family, that role ceases.
4. Roles are not Performed 100% for the Fulfillment of the
Expectations:
It is not possible for anyone to perform his role fully in accordance
with the expectations of the society. There is bound to be some
distinctions. For example one may not be able to perform his role to
the full satisfaction of the children.

5. Difference in the Importance of Role:

From the socio-cultural point of view all the roles are not equally
important. Some of the roles are more important while the others are
less. The, roles that are most important are called key roles while the
roles that are of general importance, are called general roles.

Status, implies the position or the rank one holds in a social group,
and, Role refers to the specific functions that one is expected to
perform in that social group. Every status holder is a role performer.
Status and Role, is inter-connected. In a social group, every member
has a status role position.

All status roles do not command similar position authority; or the

social recognition authority. Status-role of a father, as the head of a
family, in patriarchal society, like that of ours differs, from his status-
role in a matriarchal society. Women are everywhere the same, but
their status-role in our society, in several ways differs from women in
the Arab or in a western society in a similar situation.

Status:
Meaning of Status:
Recognitions of the position of an individual in the social system and
the authority he holds in consequence is the basis of status system.
Status is position that one holds in a given system. It means the
location of the individual within the group – his place in the social
network of reciprocal obligations and privileges, duties and rights.

Thus, every position (father, mother, teacher, and employer) defines a

different status. It is by status differentiation that social positions are
defined and distinguished from one another by assigning to each a set
of rights and responsibilities.

According to Lundberg, it is the, “comparative amount of prestige,

deference or respect accorded to persons who has been assigned
different roles in group or community.” According to Davis, “status is a
position in the general institutional system, recognized and supported
by the entire society spontaneously evolved rather than deliberately
created, rooted in the folkways and mores.” According to H.T.
Mazumdar, “status means the location of the individual within the
group — his place in the social network of reciprocal obligation and
privileges, rights and duties.”

It is position in a social group or grouping, in relation to other

positions held by other individuals in the same group or grouping.
Status determines the extent of authority which may be wielded by the
holders of the status or the degree of submission required on the part
of those who are at a status lower than him. The authority one wields
is socially defined and limited, as is degree of submission required.

The essence of status is defined: superior-inferior relationship; in

other words dominance and subordination – but always within the
rule. Status involves sort of special social privileges. An increase in the
individual’s social status entitles him to more respect than before word
‘status’. However, is to be used with care. If one holds a family status,
it does not mean, that he will be so recognized in his profession. A
doctor of status may be a bad husband and worse father.

Sometimes status is likely to be confused with the official position one

may be holding. Official designations carry ‘prestige’. This varies from
position to position, from office to office.

Essential Elements and Characteristics of Status:

As the definitions have pointed out the term status has physical as well
as a psychological situation. This situation forms certain element and
characteristics. These element and characteristics of status may be
enumerated as below.

1. The status is determined by the cultural situation of the particular

society,

2. The status is determined only in relevance of the other members of

the society,

3. Every individual has to play certain role in accordance with the

status,

4. Status is only a part of the society as a whole,

5. As a result of status the society is divided into various groups,

6. Every status carries with it some prestige,

7. According to status people may be divided into various categories.

These categories or statuses are not imposed from above. Some of
these statuses are earned or achieved while others are ascribed.
Ascribed status and achieved status:
A status may be divided into two types: ascribed status and achieved
or earned status.

Ascribed Status:
The status which is given to an individual on the basis of the situation
in the society or by other members of the society is called ascribed
status. Such a status may be given by birth or by placement in a social
group. For example, a person may enjoy a particular status because of
the sex or age of birth in a rich family. An infant gets a family status
which includes family name and prestige, share in social standing and
the right of heritage.

Basis of the ascribed status:

These two kinds of statuses are based on factors that are not common.
For example the ascribed status is based on age, sex, kinship race,
family etc. In almost every society particularly the patriarchal system
of the society, it is the elder men who are respected but in matriarchal
system of society elder women are respected. Since the ascribed status
is determined by birth Brahmin are given higher status as compared to
Sudras and people said to be belonging to honorable class are given
better status than the people of the ordinary class.

Achieved Status:
The status or the position that a person has earned out of his own
personal efforts is called achieved status. This status is given by the
ability, capacity and the efforts of the individuals. Some persons
achieve a particular status because if the facilities available to them
but some have to achieve that status as against the odds and
difficulties.
Basis of Achieved status:
The achieved status is based on the personal ability, education, earned
wealth etc. A person who is able to display his ability in the field of
social service, sports, education etc. is given higher and better status.

Distinction between the Ascribed status and Achieved

status:
The distinction and relationship between the two may be discussed as
under.

Ascribed Status:
1. Ascribed status is the gift from the society of the individual members
and to make know the effort to get it.

2. For an achieved status certain conditions are namely ability,

efficiency, economic status etc. are necessary.

3. Generally ascribed status is based on age, race, caste, kinship, etc.

4. Ascribed status is more stable and more rigid. Its basis does not
change easily.

5. Ascribed status occupies a place of respect in a traditional society.

6. In regard to the ascribed status the role of the authority and actions
that flow from them are unpredictable.

7. In ascribed status there is a co-relationship between the status and

role.
8. The ascribed status has a, vital relationship with the internal aspects
of the personality. It provides satisfaction to sentiments, emotions and
feelings etc.

9. Ascribed status can be helpful to a person for achieving certain

thing or acquiring the achieved status.

10. Ascribed status has greater relationships with the customs,

traditions and other existing factors of the society. In other words
ascribed status is more traditional.

11. Ascribed status is helpful in removing the difficulties and

disabilities of the achieved status.

Achieved status:
1. There are no precondition for getting the ascribed status for
example; the elder in the family is bound to be respected. There are no
qualification required.

2. The achieved status is based on characteristics like capacities and

abilities etc.

3. Achieved status has an unstable basis and so it is itself changeable.

4. In open and modern societies it is achieved status which is given

importance because in this respect, it is the personal qualities and
achievements that matter.

5. In regard to achieved status the role or the action is more or less

predictable because it is based reason.
6. In relevance to the achieved status it cannot be said that there shall
be co- relationship between the achieved status and the role.

7. Achieved status is the gift of one’s personal accomplishments and

personal characteristics.

8. Achieved status is helpful in acquiring the ascribed status.

9. Achieved status is the result of the personal accomplishments and is

acquired as result of competition. It has no relationship with the
customs and traditions.

The term has two sociological uses:

1. R. Linton (1936) defined status simply as a position in a social system, such as

child or parent. Status refers to what a person is, whereas the closely linked notion
of role refers to the behaviour expected of people in a status.

2. Status is also used as a synonym for honor or prestige, when social status
denotes the relative position of a person on a publicly recognized scale or hierarchy
of social worth. (See 'Social Stratification').

It is the first meaning of the term status, status as position, which we are going to
refer to in the following paragraphs. Status as honour or prestige is a part of the
study of social stratification.

A status is simply a rank or position that one holds in a group. One occupies the
status of son or daughter, playmate, pupil, radical, militant and so on. Eventually
one occupies the statuses of husband, mother bread-winner, cricket fan, and so on,
one has as many statuses as there are groups of which one is a member. For
analytical purposes, statuses are divided into two basic types:

 Ascribed and
 Achieved.

 Status-Role Inter-Relation:
 Status-role coordination is the woof and Warf arrangement of a
social group. The status-role of an individual depends on the
position, he holds in the group and in consequence of which he is
expected to exercise his authority to fulfill his obligations. The
status role is the basis-of social order.
 A social group cannot function if this arrangement is not in due
and related order. This coordination harmonises the social
relations. It is an arrangement of convenience, sanctified by
tradition or underwritten by the law of the land. It is historical in
character as in all age’s men and women inherited or acquired
status-role position, it is universal as the system exists in all
societies.