Module 5

Social Interaction and Structure

Introduction

As human beings, we find meeting and interacting with other people easy and natural. A
person usually interacts with a variety of people every day with the parents, brothers, sisters ,
friends, relatives, acquaintances and even strangers. In school, students interact with their
classmates, other students, teachers and other school employees. In this lesson, students will
learn and understand the importance of social interaction in their lives in order to become
functional members of the society.

Abstraction

Social interaction refers to the process by which people act and react in relation to others.
In this way language, gestures, and symbols are used. Interaction is a daily activity of people.
This happens because almost all-human behavior is oriented towards other people since they
are constantly aware that their actions and reactions have effect upon others.

Schaefer, as cited by Blumer (1989) noted that the distinctive characteristics of social
interactions among people is that human beings or define each other’s actions. This means that
our response to someone’s behavior is based on the meaning we attach to the other’s actions.

Social interaction also refers to the process whereby people accomplish aims and is always
directed specifically to other people. Normally, individuals interact with members of their family,
their neighborhood, peer group, classmates, teachers, school officials and community. Physical
proximity is however, not always needed in scial interaction. One may interact with one another
through letter, telephone, cellular phone, or even through e-mail and social networks.

The process of social interaction ranges from the most superficial contact-a stranger passing
in the street or people attending the same concert or watching a movie in the same theater
-to deep, lasting, and complex relationships as in the case of a husband and wife, or a parent
and child (Bassis et al. 19991). Social interaction may involve formal pattern as in the case of
job interview, open forum, during a lecture, in court proceedings. Some interaction can take
place anywhere. People going out of the church or a mosque may greet one another and
engage in conversation. This can happen also among people sitting close to one another in an
airplane, in the bus or individuals doing business in the marketplace or people meeting friends
inside the mall.

Frameworks Used in Social Interaction

1. Defining the Situation

 Usually our behavior is determined not only by our status and roles but also by
the definition of the situation, a stage of deliberation and examination during which we
define and interpret the social context in which we find ourselves , assess our interests,
and select specific attitudes or behavior accordingly (Thomas as cited by Hesset al.
1992).
Definition of the situation is therefore the process by which people interpret and
evaluate the social context to select appropriate attitudes and behavior. It is a collective
process: the important clues about what is appropriate and the main limits on behavior
come from other people. Coming up with a common meaning of a situation is not
always easy.

2. The Presentation of the Self

Sociologists Erving Goffman emphasized the social ploys all of us are using but
we seldom admit. All of us have an image of how we want to be seen by other people.

3. Negotiated Order
People can reconstruct social reality through a process of internal change as they
take a different view of everyday behavior. Schaefer (1999) observed that people also
reshape reality by negotiating changes in patterns of social interaction. The term
negotiation refers to the attempt of one to reach agreement with others concerning
some objectives. It does not involve coercion. Sometimes, it is referred to as bargaining,
compromising, and trading off, mediating, exchanging, wheeling and dealing, and secret
agreements.
Negotiated order therefore refers to a social structure that derives its
existence from the social interactions through which people define and redefine its
character.

Types of Social Interaction Persell (1987)

1. Cooperation. This refers to collaborative efforts between people to achieve a
common goal. Often, it takes place when two or more individuals produce a
desired end more efficiently and effectively. In this process, a group effort is
needed a team responds to people or communities that experienced a calamity
through a cooperative effort. This process brings its own social rewards- a
sense of sharing the challenge, caring for people in need, the fun of working
with others, and a feeling of fulfillment.

2. Conflict. Theorists stress that conflict is significant in social life. It involves

direct struggle between individuals or groups over commonly valued resources
or goals. All conflicts virtually occur within certain ground rules that are shared
by opponents. To avoid actual physical fighting between opponents,
antagonists usually establish certain rules to mediate their conflicts and keep
them from being destructive. In actual armed conflicts, this setting of rues or
 guideposts occurs during peace talks like those taking place between the
Philippine government and groups of rebels and insurgents.
3. Competition. It is a form of conflict in which there is agreement on the
means that can be used to pursue an end. As compared to the open conflict,
there are more rules and limits that are imposed on the interaction. These
rules are more followed by participants. A good example of this is how rules
are employed in given sports like basketball, bowling and the like.

4. Negotiation. At times, people may negotiate the term under which they
agree to social exchange, social cooperation, or competition. In the process of
negotiation, two or more competing parties reach a mutually satisfactory
agreement. However when negotiations fail, conflict or cooperation sometimes
arises. In extremely formal type of negotiation, certain agreements are arrived
at either verbal or written, depending on the seriousness of the process and
the legality of the matter being negotiated.

5. Coercion. At times, coercion appears to be one-sided, one imposing an action

or behavior on one another. However, every act of coercion is at least partially
determined by the expected reaction to it. Therefore, there is relationship
between the coercer and the coerced. Example of this is the relationship
between the prisoner and the guards, between a master and a slave, between
captives and their captors, where there may be interactive relationship
although very asymmetrical.

Elements of Social Interaction

Schaefer (1999) identified four elements of social interaction as statuses, social roles ,
groups, and institutions. They make up social structure with foundation walls, ceilings and
furnishings making up a building structure.

1. Statuses. Basically, the term status means prestige. However, in sociology, status
refers particularly to a position in social structure; any position that determines where
a person fits within the society. (Light et al. 1989). For instance being a student, a
professor, a maintenance worker, and a security guard are statuses in school setting.

Ascribed status and achieved status. These are two basic types of statuses.
Some statuses are assigned to people without effort on their part. They are
 Called ascribed status, the social position that is received at birth, or involuntarily
assumed later in the course of life Examples of ascribed status are one’s being a
daughter, a teenager, a senior citizen, or a widow.
On the other hand, achieved status refers to social position that is assume
Voluntarily and that reflects a significant measure of personal ability and efforts. It is
attain through the personal effort of the individual. One achieves the role of being the
college dean. Some may be awardees because of outstanding accomplishments.

2. Roles. Every status carries with it socially prescribed roles, that is expected behavior,
obligations and privileges (Light and Keller1986). Role is the second major component
of social structure. It refers to patterns of expected behavior attached to a particular
status. It may be referred to as the dynamic expression of a status. Role refers to the
collection of culturally defied rights, obligations, and expectations that accompany a
status in the social system.
A role exist not only by itself, but in relation to other roles. For instance,
the role of a student can be understood well in the context of the teacher and of the
school. The role of the daughter cannot be understood well if not viewed in the
context of the parents or of the family. Furthermore, one status typically involves
several roles. This is called role set.

Role strain is a situation wherein some people find it difficult to perform the
role expected of them or the problems of individuals in meeting or fulfilling their roles.
It also refers to the incompatibility among the roles corresponding to a single status.
Out of one role automatically results in the violation of another.
Role exit. It is the process by which people disengage from social roles that
have been central to their lives.
Role ambiguity. It occurs when there are unclear expectations with social
positions.

3. Groups. Group is a natural context in which individuals find authentic self-expression.

Group provides the context for socialization. And it is in the group that an individual is
socialized. Socialization in this sense implies the processes of turning a child into an
adult or an outsider into an insider as the case of newcomers in a group. In some
cases there is also re-socialization process that may happen for someone who has
been away from a group on a prolonged period of time. Examples are the migrant
workers like the OFW’s.

4. Institutions. The fourth element of social interaction is traditionally referred to as

social institutions in anthropology. Social institutions have been classified into five:
family, education, religion, economy, and government. Macionis(2006) thought of
them as providers of human needs and sustainer of human continuity. Along that
framework, social institutions are viewed as an integrated system consisting of five
components: recruitment, training, vision, resources and leadership.

Recruitment is a way of generating population that forms human communities

through child birthing (internal recruitment) or immigration (external recruitment) to
ensure a healthy continuity of human existence and civilization. This applies to all
human groups, since they need members.
Training is a way by which the recruited members of the human community
are educated, trained, or oriented in order for them to fully function. This process
transforms recruited members into participants in the life of the community or
organization.
Vision is what provides the purpose, goals, and objectives upon which a human
community finds stability and a collective sense of meaning. In political terms,
nationality and citizenship are meaningless without a shared vision.
Resources are the basis of economic life. It covers natural and man-made
resources needed to sustain our existence. This component covers the entire system
of production, generation, gathering, developing, innovating, inventing raw material
and the by-products in the production line. What is included here is a whole scope of
resources, investments, employment, and their redistribution in the service of our
collective human survival and enjoyment.
Leadership is a dimension that functions to provide a repository role of our
shared power, authority, information, responsibility and accountability for collective life
as a human community or group.

Symbolic Interaction
Three basic premises where the approach to social interaction is based by
Mead and Morris (2009).

1. People react toward everything they encounter on the basis of what those people,
activities, and situation mean to them.
2. People learn what things mean by observing how other people respond to them
through social interaction.
3. As a result, of ongoing interaction, sounds, (including words), gestures, facial
expressions, and body postures (body language) acquire symbolic meaning shared
by people, who belong to the same culture.
For instance, handshake is a symbolic expression of greeting in Western
societies. Hugging each other is also an expression of greeting among people of
closer relationships. The kissing of the hands of the older persons by younger ones
is very popular among Filipinos. “Mere simple greetings as” Good morning”, “Good
evening” or “Kumusta ka?” indicate that shared understanding of a social
interaction is beginning to happen.
 Furthermore, Mead noted that one’s ability to interpret symbols enables
him/her to take the role of their partner. The role taking involves imagining oneself
in the other persons place judging how that person is thinking, and feeling and
anticipating what further actions he/she might take. Role-taking is important that it
helps one to tailor his/her words and actions to those of other persons.
Mead also stressed our ability to role-play in our minds , to imagine ourselves
saying or doing something, and then to anticipate another person’s response by
imagining ourselves as the other person’s place. Often times, people think how
they become active role performers , just like actors performing role on a stage.
This view of social interaction is known as dramaturgical approach.
Sociologists who use the dramaturgical approach believe that much interactions
follow similar; predictable cultural scripts, and how individuals interpret and play
their roles, and the outcome of the play is never certain or definite.
An American sociologist and a leader of dramaturgical approach Erving
Goffman, held that social life is a series of improvisational plays or skills . This
means that every social situation has a script, which outlines in general terms what
is supposed to happen and what roles need to be played. But unlike in a real
theater, there is no director. The actors agree among themselves on what roles
they have to play. Participants in social interaction try to convince the audience
(and other participants) that the role they seek to play is genuine. This is what is
known as impression management, this refers to the way when one tries to
control what others think about them. The classical example of this interaction is
during the job interview, where the applicant tries to sell himself/herself by acting
poised, confident, appearing composed, intelligent, friendly, dynamic, and well-
dressed.

Social Interaction of Reality

It occurs when society affects individuals then the individuals also
affect society. Likewise, it refers to the process by which individuals creatively
shape reality through social interaction. This idea is familiar as an important
foundation of the symbolic interaction paradigm. In an unfamiliar situation, quite
many realities are no yet familiar situations to one which may not yet be clear in
his/her ability to present himself/herself in terms of what he/she thinks will suit
his/her purpose.

OTHER FORMS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION

1. Ethnomethodology- This is the specialized approach within the symbolic

interaction paradigm. It was taken from the Greek ethno, which means
understanding of cultural surroundings that people share and “methodology”
which designates a system of methods or principles. It refers to the study of
 the everyday, common sense understandings that people have of the world
around them. The term was coined by Harold Garfinkel in 1950”s who saw
society as a broad system with a life of its own. He explained how we
continually engage in building understandings of similar everyday experiences.
2. Networks. This is another element of social interaction. It refers to the web of
relationships that connects an individual to many other people both directly
and indirectly. It is a familiar part of everyday life. For example a student may
have several networks on the following: with his/her classmates and peer
group or barkada, with his professors, and other members of the faculty and
with staff working in the library etc.

Influences on Social Interaction by Tischler (1990)

1. Goals intended to achieve. Goal is the state of affairs one wishes to achieve.
Social interaction is a basic concept used in understanding and explaining the
nature of social life in any given context. It involves goals and motivation.
2. Motivation is a person’s wish or intention to achieve a Social interaction have
a variety of goals and motivation.
3. Situation or context. The situation where the social interaction takes place
makes a difference in what it means. Context refers to the conditions under
which an action takes place. There are three elements that define the context
of social interaction; (a)the physical setting or place, (b) social environment,
and (c) the activities or events surrounding the interaction, whether preceding
it, happening simultaneously, or succeeding it.
4. Norms or rules. What makes individuals act predictably in any situation is the
presence of norms or certain rules. Norms are specific rules of behavior that
are agreed upon and shared, and prescribe limits of acceptable behavior. They
tell us things we should both do and not do.

Forms of Social Interaction

1. Non-verbal behavior. People may communicate with one another through

non-verbal behavior by using body language, the study of which is known as
kinesics, which attempts to examine how such gestures as slight head nod,
yawn, postural shift, and other bodily movements affect communication
2. Unfocused and focused interaction. At times, interaction happen simply
because people are in each other’s presence. For instance, two persons who find
each other in front of a bank teller may look at each other’s posture, clothing ,
behavior, companion (if there is any) and other characteristics while at the same
time adjusting his/her own behavior because he/she assumes the other is also
doing the same thing. This is referred to as unfocused interaction, an interaction
that takes place simply because two or more people happen to be in each
other’s presence.
 On the other hand, when two or more individuals agree explicitly or
implicitly to sustain such interaction with one or more particular goals in mind, a
focused interaction takes place. Focused Interaction is therefore a purposeful
interaction between individuals who have particular goals in mind.
3. Group. This refers to any number of people with similar norms, values, and
expectations who regularly and consciously interact. These people feel a
common identity and interact in a regular and structured way.
Other sociologists define group as a set of relationships among people
who interact on a face-to-face basis overtime. It has a defined relationship, a set
of interrelated statuses and roles, common values and norms and a group
identity. Prerequisite to any group is that people must interact repeatedly and
communicate with one another.

Institutions and Social Organizations

In society, there are at least five areas where the basic needs of the people have
to be met: (1) the family sector (2) the education sector (3) the economic sector (4)
the religious sector, (5) the political sector. In each of these sectors, there are social
groups and associations carrying out the goals of society and meeting the needs of
the people. People act in these groups and associations in an organized or patterned
behavior by the relevant social institutions, which are the ordered social
relationships that grow out of the values,, norms, statuses, and roles that organize
these activities which fulfill society’s fundamental needs.

Social Institutions are therefore organized patterns of beliefs and behavior

centered on basic social needs. They are organized in response to particular needs.
For instance, the family meets the need to replace people in the society who die,
leave or dysfunctional and incapacitated. Meanwhile, through education new
members of the society have to learn and accept society’s values and customs, and
preserve and transmit the society’s culture.

Meanwhile, social organizations refers to the relatively stable patterns of

social relationships among individuals and groups in society. These are based on the
systems of social rules, norms, and shared meanings that provide regularity and
predictability in social interaction. The nature of social organization varies from one
society to another.
Module 6

Socialization
Introduction

At birth, human beings cannot talk, walk, feed, or even protect themselves from
harm. They know nothing about the norms of the society. Then, through interaction
with their social and cultural environments, individuals are transformed into
participating members of society. This interactive process through which individuals
learn the basic skills, values beliefs and behavior patterns of the society is called
socialization. Through the socialization process we develop our sense of identity being a
distinct member of the society. Students as unique individuals will understand how the
socialization processes have affected their lives as well as the lives of their fellow
students and other individuals in society.

Abstraction

The Process of Socialization

Socialization is the long and complicated process of social interaction

through which the child learns the intellectual, physical, and social skills needed to function as
member of society.

The process of socialization begins at birth and continues throughout lifetime.

During early childhood, we learn, most of all, from our parents who teach us values, norms, and
skills that they have. The child also learns by observation and imitation.

According to Fichter(1977), socialization is a process of mutual influence between a

person and his/her fellowmen, a process that results in an acceptance of, and adaptations to,
the patterns of social behavior. The human being is a social person from the beginning of
his/her life, but he/she undergoes continuous adaptations and changes as long as he/she lives.

Socialization can be described from the two points of view: objectively and subjectively.
Objective socialization refers to the society acting upon a child while subjective
socialization is that process by which the society transmits its culture from one
generation to the next and adapts the individual to the accepted and approved ways of
organized social life.
 Thus the functions of socialization are: (1) to develop the skills and disciplines
which are needed by the individual, (2) to instill the aspirations and values and the
design for living which the particular society possesses, and especially (3) to teach the
social roles which individuals must enact in society.

Importance of Socialization

1. Socialization is vital to culture. Socialization is important to societies as it is

to individuals. It is through this process of socialization that every society transmits
its culture to succeeding generations. Through this continuing process each
generation acquires the elements of its society’s culture- knowledge, symbols, values
and norms, beliefs and others. Socialization is the vital link between cultures. If this
process of cultural dimension is disrupted, a culture disintegrates or even dies.
2. Socialization is vital to personality. The process of socialization, plays a vital
role in personality formation and development of an individual. The training of every
child received through the process of socialization greatly affects his/her personality.
Human infants develop social attachments when they learn to feel for others and see
that others care for them. Again, the element of isolationism affects the personality
development of an individual.

3. Socialization is vital to sex role differentiation. Socialization provides every

individual the expected role he/she is to play in the society according to the society
according to their sexes.
In the past, it was believed that differences in behavior between boys and
girls men and women were inborn and natural, biological factors determined the
abilities, interests, and traits of the sexes. Biology not only made men bigger and
stronger, generally than women. It also endowed them with instincts for hunting,
fighting and organizing. Biology gave women the ability to bear children and instincts
to complement them-gentleness and domesticity.

Social Frame of Reference

As the child is socialized in the society, he/she learns many things. His/Her
accumulated experience obtained from society forms the background from which he/she
undergoes new experiences. Sociologists say that culture becomes internalized, that the
individual imbibes it. and in this way from the inside it continues to influence his/her conduct.
Hence culture, is not merely external to an individual. The way of life he/she has learned, the
ideas he/she holds, the values he/she treasures, all in some way come originally from outside of
him/her. These are the results, the products, and the material of the socialization process.
 Fichter (1977) provides the following levels of analysis of the social frame of reference.
He said that social reference is (1) common to all human beings. (2) unique to each person,
and (3) specific to a particular culture and society.

These three aspects of social experience can be demonstrated with numerous

examples. Friendship and the primary group are found wherever human beings live in society
but each person experiences friendship in a unique manner. The manner in which friendship is
demonstrated and symbolized differs from one society to another. In one society, adult males
who are friends greet each other with a kiss on the cheek, in another society, with an embrace,
and still in another society by shaking hands.

Social Learning

The process of socialization can ultimately be reduced to the fact that an individual
learns by contact with society. The process refers not to individual knowledge, which also
comes from contact with others but to shared knowledge which has no social significance. From
this point of view, the manner in which he/she learns does not differ from that of simple
learning . The difference between simple learning and social learning is not in who learns, or
how he/she learns, but what he/she learns.

The terms useful in the learning process are : drive is the biological impulse,
subconscious wish, or conscious desire to acquire certain satisfactions. This characterizes the
human being that drives him/her to learn . Cue is the characteristic of the idea, object, or
situation to which the person is drawn.. The interaction between the learner and the thing
learned is called response. It is what occurs when the particular drive in an individual is
coordinated with the particular cue in an object . Reward refers to any object or event which
strengthen or makes easier the responses of an individual in striving to learn.

Subprocesses of Social Learning

1. Imitation is the human action by which one tends to duplicate more or less or exactly,
the behavior of others. It is commonly recognized not only in the way children copy their
parents but also in the way adolescents and even mature adults take on the
characteristics of people whom they appreciate and admire.
2. Suggestion is a process outside the learner. It is found in the works and actions of
suggestion not only from the conscious and deliberate persuasion of another but also
without the other person knowing it.
3. Competition is a stimulating process in which two or more individuals vie with one
another in achieving knowledge. It is particularly important in social learning of children
because it is often involved in the desire of the child to obtain the approval of others.
Competitive learning is a clear indication that people tend to learn and to conform to the
approved ways of behaving in society and to shun the ways that are disapproved.

Dynamics of Socialization
Three Theoretical Perspectives that Contributes to the Understanding of the Process of
Socialization

1. Functional approaches. Functionalism approaches socialization from the perspective

of the group rather than the individual. From this we gain the mage of people adapting
to the attitudes of others, conforming to role expectations and internalizing the norms
and values of their community. The object of socialization is to pass on the cultural
patterns of a given society or group so that new members can function effectively within
it. This incorporation of values and roles occurs through emotionally significant reactions
that are shaped by the social group.
2. Symbolic interaction. An analysis of what people say and do is not enough to explain
human behavior. We also need to understand the meaning that people attach to their
words and actions. According to this perspective, people employ symbols to convey
meanings to one another. In this fashion, they define situations, negotiate interaction
and order and construct reality.
3. Conflict theory. The conflict perspective puts the experience of socialization in a
different light. It takes notes of how social customs and institutions are arranged to
perpetuate class distinctions. This theory argues that child –rearing practices vary by
social class and affect life chances of those being socialized.

Agents of Socialization
1. Family. Family is the basic unit of society. It serves as the primary agent of
socialization. It is in the family that most children first learn to internalize the basic
values and norms of the society; to behave in socially acceptable ways and to develop
close emotional ties.
2. School. School is an institution that is established explicitly for the purpose of
socializing people. In modern societies, the school is considered the primary agent for
weaning children from home and introducing them to a larger society.
3. Peer group-members of peer groups have common interests and persuasions, social
position and age. Peer group arises from the individual’s need to belong. Peer pressure,
however produces nonconformity that maybe prejudicial to an individual member
in relation to society. It also plays a very important role in the process of socialization.
4. Workplace-every job or employment has its attendant rules and regulations on
harmonious socialization and interaction among employers and employees. It is here
where formal socialization takes place. However, much of the socialization to the
organization’s values and outlook happen informally. Learning the skills and orientation
to one’s job means socialization at the workplace.
5. Mass Media. Print and broadcast media like the television radio and others ply a very
important role in the process of socialization. The radio or television program to which
the child is exposed will certainly influence his/her personality, values and belief system.
6. Church/Religion. All religions promote not only spiritual welfare of the members but
also foster their harmonious relations with their fellowmen or what they call “fellowship”
for the brotherhood of men.
7. Neighborhood. Street corner education is very common in the country. A child
is introduced to the realities of life in the neighborhood. He/she learns particular sets of
values and beliefs from people in the neighborhood. This so since privacy
to many individuals means going out of their homes and staying in the neighborhood,
particularly with children of the same age.
8. Government/Politics. Aristotle once said that man is a political animal. Political
socialization helps individuals to develop public awareness of social issues and concerns
which will make them responsible and civic minded citizens of the country.

Views on the Stages of Socialization

1. Erik Erikson and psychosocial development . Erikson’s major concern is the

feelings people develop toward themselves and the world around them. In his book
Childhood and Society, he described eight stages of human development which is
referred to as crises-periods when one confronts major issues of life. Success at each
stage depends on the growth and degree of resolution attained at each stage.
2. Sigmund Freud and psychosocial development. In his theory, of psychoanalysis
he concluded that what happens to people during childhood affects them later as
adults. According to Freud, if problems during early stages (oral and anal stages)
were not satisfactorily resolved, a person could become arrested (fixed) at that stage.
3. Jean Piaget and psychomotor development. Piaget focused on thinking or
cognitive development stages. Through interaction with their environment, children
acquire new ways of thinking and new schemes. All children move through stages of
cognitive development that involve increasingly greater complexity of thought and shift
from egocentric perspective to perspective which takes others into account. He was the
first to recognize that cognitive development-the process of learning to talk to think,
and to reason –is a social as well as psychological phenomenon. He outlined the process
and stages into the following ; (a) sensorimotor, (b) language, (c) concrete operation,
and (d) abstract thinking.
4. George H. Mead and symbolic interactionism. He is the founder of interaction
perspective in sociology, and developed a theoretical scheme for conceptualizing the
development of the social being or the self. His scheme is supported by the data
collected by subsequent researchers such as Piaget. Mead argued as did others, that
early in life, children appear to be unable to understand anyone else’s perspective
except their own. After acquiring some mastery of language, they learn their name and
some of the expectations other people have about how they should behave. Children
recognize that they are distinct from other people. Yet it i8s generally easy to recognize
that they have difficulty distinguishing their own perspective.
5. Lawrence Kohlberg and moral development. Kohlberg formulated the stages of
moral development. (a) A child first judges the morality of an act by its physical
consequences. If doing something leads to punishment, then it should not be done (b)
The child begins to realize that conforming to rules can bring rewards, not just the
avoidance of punishment. (c) The child progresses to a level known as good child
morality- when they judge the morality of an act according to how much it conforms to
the to the standards of other individuals, thereby gaining their approval and good will.
Ideas about right and wrong behavior develop. (d) The stage that emphasizes. law and
order and strict compliance and conformity to the social order is accepted as right and
any deviation is wrong. Emphasis is on doing his/her duty. (e) The person recognizes
while it is important to adhere to social rules, it is also possible to change those rules if
such a change will benefit greater number of people. Here morality is seen as rooted in
basic human rights such as life and liberty. (f) A person internalizes ideals of justice,
compassion and equality and conforms both to these ideals and to social standards.
 Module 7

Social Processes
Introduction

ABSTRACTION

Meaning and Nature of Social Processes

Since the entire society is a vast and complex network of social relations, people and
group will always relate to one another. Social Processes refer to patterned forms of social
interaction. They are forms of interaction that are repeated. This concept is used sociologically
in at least two different meanings:

1. Some particular meanings among humans or groups may be described in general

terms.
2. Generalized sequences of social development or changes are obvious.

According to Georg Simmel, the founder of the formal school of sociology, “It is possible
to discover a number of relatively patterned elements of conflict, cooperation, and competition
in social relationships, although the concrete manifestations of these elements would vary
according to the peculiarities of each concrete social situation” are cooperation.

The Content of Social Processes

The association between people like those of father and son, employer and employee,
worker and client may be either conjunctive or disjunctive. The people involved in these pairs
may love one another or they may be antagonistic to each other.

The content of social process always includes the behavior between two or more people
that is shared simultaneously by them. The pattern of competitive between two brothers can be
distinguished from the fraternal relationships existing between them. The social role of brothers
contain many patterns of behavior or that have developed in the culture.

Universality of Social Processes

Like most human behavior in society, the major patterns of social relations are largely
standardized and routinized. The functional processes of interaction between a group and
another group, and of an individual with individual, or a type of group in which people appear
to be fundamental to the maintenance of the society in the sense that there are regularized and
sanctioned ways in which these social processes are conducted.

The universal basic social relations are few. Some societies minimize one or more of
these basic social processes, other societies maximize them. For instance, competition is highly
emphasized in Western civilization while largely de-emphasized among the Orientals. Every
society has developed standardized procedures through which accommodation and assimilation
take place and through which even contravention and conflict occur. The cultural expression of
these main forms of social relations differ quite broadly from one society to another, but they
exist and are observable everywhere.

Classification of Social Processes

1. Conjunctive processes are the patterns of related interaction through which persons
are drawn together and became more integrated.
2. Disjunctive processes are those processes in which people are pushed farther apart
and show less solidarity.

Three Conjunctive Social Processes

I. Cooperation as a social process, it involves two or more parties joined together in pursuit
of common objectives. This is the most common form of social relations. It is very essential and
an indispensable requirement in maintaining and sustaining any given group or society in
general. It is a reciprocal relation. Hence, it cannot be one-sided. However, it is also often true
that one party in the cooperative relation may achieve more of the desired goals than does the
other party.

Types of Cooperation

1. Informal cooperation is characterized as spontaneous and involves mutual

give-and –take. This s commonly shown in primary groups of gemeinschaft
existing in the family, in the rural areas, and in very simple societies.
2. Formal or organized cooperation is of deliberate and contractual nature
prescribing the specific reciprocal right and obligations of members. There are
formal goals and objectives .Leadership is also provided. This type of
cooperation exists in large societies, government, non-government agencies,
and civic groups.
3. Symbiotic cooperation is a condition in which two or more members of
society live together harmoniously and interdependently resulting in mutual self-
interests. It lacks a common goal or objective. His kind of cooperation is seen in
the division of labor in society, and in the marketplace. It invoves
interdependent activities but the people involved do not even think of their
activity as cooperation.

II. Accommodation

Accommodation is a compromised working arrangement that enables people to engage

with one another in activities or living together even when their differences are irreconcilable.
When cooperation is not attainable, groups or societies tends to settle accommodation to
achieve harmonious co-existence. This is common in the context of minorities and the dominant
groups who have live together. The minorities tend to simply accommodate the dominant but
resist cooperation.

Common Forms of Accommodation

1. Domination. This is a characteristic of the subordinate type of domination wherein the

stronger party imposes its will and makes the other yield. In the family, a dominant
father may subdue the other members, and conflict is minimized.
2. Truce This is an agreement to cease hostilities or fighting for a certain period of time. In
the meantime, both parties talk for a peaceful solution to a problem, which will be
satisfactory to both groups. If no agreement is realized, fighting continues.
3. Compromise. This refers to the giving up by both parties of some of their demands and
the mutual giving of concessions. This is possible when conflicting parties exercise more
or less equal power.
4. Conciliation and mediation. In settling disputes by conciliation and mediation, a third
party is selected to reconcile the differences of two opposing parties. This is usually used
in settling contract disputes between labor and management.
In, conciliation organizations called work councils or shop committees, may
be set up by both parties to handle the disputes. An effort is made to get parties to agree
freely based on a proposal made by either side, but no recommendation is made by the
third party.
In mediation, suggestions are made by neutral party as bases for settlement
which have not been put forward by either side. In the case of warring nations, the head
of state or his her representative may bring about peaceful settlement. If the
recommendations by the third party is acceptable to the opposing parties, the conflict
stops.
5. Arbitration. This is a special method of settling disputes through the efforts of a third
party who may be chosen by the contending parties or appointed by some large agency
of power. That the solution of the third party must be acceptable to both sides is agreed
upon beforehand.
6. Toleration. This a form of accommodation without formal agreement it is a result of the
live-let-live policy or the agreement to disagree. Individuals or groups put up each other
without trying to modify the patterns of others.

III. Assimilation

Assimilation is a social process through which two or more persons or groups

accept and perform one another’s pattern of behavior. This process is a relation of interaction in
which both parties behave reciprocally even though one may be much more affected than the
other. Assimilation is not so much a result of a process, although the degree of assimilation
achieved in any society is an index of its social and cultural integration.
 Amalgamation is the process that refers to the intermarriage of persons coming
from different ethnic groups resulting in biological fusion. It hastens assimilation when groups
are similar or when groups are friendly with each other. Amalgamation cannot speed up
assimilation if the ethnic groups are divergent in both physical and cultural characteristics.

Major Disjunctive Social Processes

I. Conflict

Conflict is one of the three major disjunctive social processes. Conflict arises when two
or more people of groups come together while the rules of cooperation fail and the opponents
become openly confrontational to each other in the struggle for power or self-assertion. This
can happen from the very start or as a result of having broken the rules of cooperation that
may have sustained their co-existence for some time or even a long time.

Mack and Pease (1973), defined conflict as a form of emotionalized and violent
opposition in which the major concern is to overcome the opponent as a means of securing a
given goal or reward.

According to Fichter (1977), conflict is a form of mutual interaction through which two
or more persons attempt to remove each other, either by annihilating or by rendering the other
party in effectual.

Forms of Conflict

1. On a person-to-person basis as may be seen in spontaneous fights, duels or hand-to

hand combat.
2. Between groups as may be witnessed in riots, violent strikes, lynchings or massacres.
3. National and international as shown in rebellion, revolution or war.

Basic Functions of Conflict

1. Conflict may help establish unity and cohesion within a group which has been
threatened by antagonistic feelings among the members. In times of war or other
forms of conflict feuding, and jealousies’ petty differences are forgotten, and group
member close rank against the opponent.
2. Internal conflict becomes a stabilizing and integrating mechanism in certain instances.
The sources of dissatisfaction are eliminated by threshing out differences and clarifying
issues and goals. New rules, norms, associational forms, and procedures are laid out
and ultimately result in the efficiency of the social system.
3. Conflict provides an outlet for the expression of suppressed emotions and frustrations.
Inhibitions and blocked passions are released during the course of the conflict.

II. Contravention
 Contravention is an act where opposing persons or groups try to prevent each other
from attaining an objective with or without even interest in that objective . This is a polite and
gentle form of conflict because it avoids direct confrontation with opponents but sustains the
pent- up hostility and antagonism. Because of the involvement of two parties, this is still
considered a kind of social relation.

III. Competition

Competition is a social process in which two or more persons or groups are striving to
attain the same objective while in the process of conflict and contravention, attention in
competition is focused primarily on the other party. In the process, both parties focus primarily
on the objective that both want to achieve and only secondarily on each other. Persons and
groups compete for an object, and the competition is always stronger when the object is in
short supply and of high value.

Acculturation

This is another social process which is considered by many sociologists and

anthropologists to be highly important.

Acculturation on an individual implies acquisition of a culture by an adult coming from

another culture. On a larger scale, it is an encounter between two cultures whereby the process
both are modified through fairly close and long continued contact without necessarily blending
with one another . One society borrows from the culture of the other without losing its identity.
For instance, in the contact between the Filipinos and the Chinese, there has been borrowing of
cultural patterns and values.
 MODULE 8

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Introduction

All societies regardless of their form of organization, distinguish between members

on the basis of certain characteristics. The characteristics used to distinguish between
people and the degree to which distinction are made vary from society to society.
Thus social stratification exists in societies, which implies social inequality- the unequal
access and sharing of scarce resources and social rewards. In this lesson students will
examine why inequalities prevail in the society and they would also learn how people
will improve their standard of living, to go up to the social ladder and to avail of the
scarce resources and to have access to the social rewards.

ABSTRACTION

Social Stratification its Meaning and Nature

Social stratification refers to the ranking of individuals and groups in any given
society. It is a basic component of social organization. It is found in all human groups.
It contains strata that share unequally in the distribution of social networks.

Social stratification may be viewed as a social structure, as a social process, or as

a social problem. As a social structure, it may be viewed as the differentiation of
statuses and social roles into ranked orders. This is what sometimes sociologists termed
as institutional inequality. As a social process, it may be viewed as the splitting of up of
society into social categories that develop into social groups, cooperating, competing and
conflicting for the status quo or social change. As a social problem, it involves bitter feelings of
discontent and of strong demands of equality and social justice.

Basic Concepts of Inequality

Inequality refers to the situation in which the economic goods in a society are
distributed unevenly among different groups or categories of people. The stratification theorists
argue that economic inequality produces or leads to other forms of inequality in society and
that these patterns of inequality in turn, lead to economic inequality.
Essential Ideas/Concepts Necessary to Understand the Macroconcept of
Stratification.

1. Attributions – Attribution play a vital role in social stratification. It assigns to people

different attributes as a result of differences. People are treated differently due to their
presumed ethnic characteristics.
2. Stereotype – In this process, one assumes that persons who fall into a particular
category on the basis of certain characteristics also have many characteristics that we
assume they belong to that category.
3. Self-fulfilling prophecies. Once we categorize people by assigning a stereotype, our
perception of their behavior is filtered through that stereotype. In short we pay more
attention to behaviors that fit the stereotype and we act toward the person as though
he/she possesses the characteristics included in the stereotype.
4. Social comparisons. Social scientists find that people need to compare themselves
with others in order to establish for themselves what kind of people they are.
5. A fair world. Related to the key role of comparison in social life are beliefs about
justice or the fair distribution of rewards. We often find that people are more concerned
about establishing (just division of rewards) than equality(equal division of rewards)
6. Just-world hypothesis. According to this, people like to believe that there is justice,
that people get what they deserve. In some cases, the operation of the just-world
hypothesis leads people to engage in what is called blaming the victim

Social Stratification Systems

Differentiation refers to how things or people can be distinguished from one another.
People may be differentiated on the basis of the color of their skin, color of the hair and the
like.

Stratification refers to the ranking of things or people. In closed stratification, people

cannot change their rankings. In open stratification, people can change their rankings.

Dimensions of Stratification

1. Wealth and Income. The income of any family depends on what its members earn
and what they own. What people own is called wealth, and is often inherited. It
consists of the value a person or group owns. Income refers to how much people get,
it is the amount of money that a person or group receives.
2. Inequalities of power. Sociologists define power as the ability to control one’s own
life (personal power) and to control or influence the actions of others. (social power)
Power is a fundamental and inherent element in all human interaction at every
social level, it can be used for constructive as well as selfish ends. It is the capacity to
get others to act in accordance with one’s wishes even when he/she prefers not to do
so.
 3. Inequalities of prestige. Prestige of individuals and groups may be defined as the
social recognition that a person or group receives from others. It can be influenced in a
number of ways. It refers to the esteem, respect or approval that is granted by an
individual or a collectivity for performance or qualities they consider above average.

Methods of Determining Class Division

1. Subjective method. Researchers using this method ask a random sample of the
population to name the class they belong to
2. Reputation method. Using this method, the researchers select a small town and ask a
number of residents to assist them in the study. The residents are usually old timers
who know just about everyone in town by reputation.
3. Objective method. In this method, the researchers divide people into social classes
according to their income, occupation, education, and type of residence. This method is
especially useful in studying large population.

Theories of Social Stratification

I. Conflict theory. It maintains that stratification is the result of the struggle among
people for scarce rewards and that it persists in society because the haves are
determined and equipped to preserve their advantage by dominating and exploiting
the have nots. Conflict theorists consider stratification unjust and unnecessary.
Karl Marx an advocate of the conflict theory believed that all history has been
the story of class conflict over material privilege and power. One group , the
exploiters, strives to maintain its advantage over subordinate groups known as
exploited. In a capitalist society, the struggle takes place between those who own
the means of production-the capitalist or bourgeoisie, and those who sell their
labor-the workers or proletariat. According to Karl Marx the bourgeoisie maintain
their position of dominance by controlling the economic life of the population.

Four Ways by which Wealth can be Distributed

a. To each according to need

b. To each according to want
c. To each according to what is earned
d. To each to what can be taken-by using whatever means

II. Functionalist theory. Davis (1969) elaborated the idea that stratification serves an
important function in the society. He was joined by Wilbert Moore (1985). Their argument
serves was the following: if all the positions that have to be filled in a society were equally
important and everyone was equally capable of doing their jobs, there would be no need for
stratification. But this is not the case. Some tasks are clearly more necessary than others, and
some require a great deal of more talent and training.
 According to Davis(1969) and Moore (1985), societies must motivate people to seek
socially important positions and to fill these positions conscientiously by rewarding those who
do so with more of the things that contribute to sustenance and comfort, humor and diversion,
self-respect and ego expansion.

Common Grounds for Conflict and Functional Theories

1. Both theories acknowledge that the evaluation of the contribution of jobs to society also
determines unequal rewards.
2. “The Marxist theory leans heavily on the significance of power in the distribution of
resources , while the functionalists emphasize the necessity of assigning higher status
some positions or work than others.
3. Both theories recognize that social power plays a part in determining the unequal
distribution of rewards.

Distinct Types of Stratification System

1. Open system. This is also known as the class system. It has few impediments to social
mobility. Positions are awarded on the bases of merit and rank that are tied to individual
achievements. Status is said to be achieved depending on what he/she can do by his/her
own efforts. Family origins, creed , color, race, sex, and other ascribed characteristics do
not matter. Anyone with talents and ambition can advance. There is a wide range of
status positions.
According to Fichter (1977), a social class consists of a category of people who
share similar opportunities, similar economic and vocational positions , similar lifestyles,
and similar attitudes and behavior. Class boundaries are maintained by limitations on
social interaction, intermarriage, and mobility into that class.

2. Closed system. This is also known as the caste system. Status is ascribed and
determined at birth and people are locked into their parents’ social position. In the caste
system, ascribed characteristics determine social position, and individuals’ opportunities
are limited accordingly.
In the closed system, caste lines are clearly defined , and legal and religious
sanctions are applied to those who attempt to cross them.
Estate system. This system is a closed system of stratification in which a
person’s social position is based on ownership of land, birth, or military strength. An
estste is a segment of society that has legally established rights, and duties.

Social Stratification in Various Countries

1. People who have made it

2. People who are doing very well
3. People who have achieved the middle-class dream
4. People who have a comfortable life
5. People who are just getting by
6. People who are having a difficult time
7. People who are poor

Example of a Typical Class System by Fichter (1977)

1. The upper class. Members of the upper class have great wealth, often going back
for many generations. They recognize one another and are recognized by others by
reputation and lifestyle. They usually have high prestige and a lifestyle that excludes
those from other classes. Members of this class often have an influence on the
society’s basic economic and political structure. The upper class usually isolates itself
from the rest of the society by residential segregation, private clubs and private
schools.
2. The upper middle class. The upper middle class is made up of successful business
and professional people and their families. They are usually below the top in an
organizational hierarchy but still command a reasonably high income. Many aspects of
their lives are dominated by their careers and continued success in this area is a long-
term consideration. These people often have a college education, own property, and
have money savings. They live in comfortable homes, in the more exclusive areas of
the community, are active in civic groups, and carefully plan for the future.
3. The lower-middle class. The lower-middle class shares many characteristics with
the upper-middle class but they have not been able to achieve the same lifestyle
because of economic and educational shortcomings. Usually high school or vocational
education graduates with modest incomes, they are lesser professionals, clerical and
sales workers and upper-level manual laborers. They emphasize respectability and
security, have some savings, and are politically and economically conservative.
4. The working class. The working class is made up of factory workers and other blue-
collar workers. These are people who keep the country’s machinery going. They are
assembly-line workers, auto mechanics, and repair personnel. They live adequately
but with little left-over for luxuries .Although they have little time to be involved in
civic organizations, they are very much involved with their extended families. Many of
them have finished high school.
5. The lower class. These are the people at the bottom of the economic ladder. They
have little of education or occupational skills. And are consequently either unemployed
or underemployed. Lower-class families often have many problems, including broken
homes, illegitimacy, crime involvement, and alcoholism. Members of the lower class
have little knowledge of world events, and are not involved with their communities,
and do not usually identify with other poor people. Because of a variety of personal
and economic problems, they often have no way of improving their lot in life. For
them, life is a matter from one day to the next.
 It can be observed that money, power, and prestige are unequally distributed among
these classes. However, an achievement ideology is shared by members of all five classes
which make them believe that the system is just and that upward mobility is open to all. It
is in this sense that sociologists and anthropologists use various indicators of social
mobility: power, prestige, and wealth.

Indicators of Social Mobility

1. Power. According to Max Weber, it is the ability to attain goals, control events ,and
maintain influence over others-even in the face of the opposition.
In almost all societies, the distribution of power is institutionalized so that some
groups consistently have more power than others.
In poor countries, power is usually attributed to people who have the wealth
and position. Hence, there is now a new movement called people empowerment, a
movement aimed at liberating the poor people from their poverty and the powerless
people from their situation.
2. Prestige. It consists of the approval and respect an individual or group receives from
other members of society. Sociologists identify two kinds of prestige:
a. Esteem is potentially open to all. It consist of the appreciation and respect a
person wins in his/her daily interpersonal relationships. Thus, for example, among
your friends there are some who are looked up to for their outgoing personalities,
athletic abilities, reliability in times of need, and so on.
b. The second type of prestige is the honor that is associated with specific
statuses (social position) in society. This is much more difficult for people to
achieve. Regardless of personality or willingness to help other individuals, generals,
chief justices, congressmen, university presidents and others acquire prestige
simply by virtue of their positions and social statuses.
3. Wealth. This is referred to sometimes as the economic indicator. The total economic
assets of the individual or a family are known as wealth. Poverty usually describes the
majority of people. Poverty refers to a condition in which people do not have enough
money to maintain a standard of living that includes the basic necessities of life.

Social Mobility

Social mobility is the movement of an individual or a group within a stratification sytem

that changes the individual’s or group’s status in society. It focuses on people’s movement
within stratification system. It also refers to the upward or downward movement among the
social positions in any given stratification system.

Factors which affect Mobility in a Society

1. The rules governing how people gain or keep their positions may make mobility difficult or
easy.
 2. Whatever the rules, mobility can be influenced by structural changes in the society.

It can be said that the degree of social mobility in different societies varies. An open
society attempts to provide equal opportunity to everyone to compete for the role and status
desired regardless of race, religion , gender and family history.

Types of Social Mobility

1. Upward mobility. This refers to the movement of individuals or groups from lower to
higher status in a social stratification system. In an open system, upward mobility or
success is a right that belongs to everyone. In some instances, the movement may also
be downward, resulting in a change in social status.
Upward mobility is also called vertical mobility . It can operate
intragenerationally- social changes during the lifetime of one individual, or
intergenerationally-changes in the social level of a family through two or more
generations.

Factors Affecting Upward Mobility

a. The policy and practice of immigration into a total society and into a local community
will greatly affect the possibilities of upward mobility.
b. Differential fertility of the social classes is also an important conditioning factor of
mobility. It is always said that there is always room at the top, and this is probably true
of occupational status in an expanding economy.
c. The presence or absence of individual competition as a value in the culture significantly
affects mobility. If competition is valued , there must be goals for which the successful
competitor can strive.
d. The availability of opportunities to prepare one’s self for the competitive process is a
secondary factor. If education is universally obtainable, it may act as a shortcut to
upward mobility in the sense that an individual can prepare himself/herself for the
business and professional roles that carry high prestige.
e. The patterns of equality and inequality in the society have much to do with the chances
of social mobility. For instance, religion ,sex, ethnic plurality, and the like may serve as
deterrents to social mobility

Compensation for Downward Mobility

a. The disappointments and frustrations of downward mobility are cushioned somewhat by

the traditional conservatism of the middle class is largely left.
b. Resentment over loss of status may never completely disappear from the individual but
it is modified by the fact that he/she needs to have little contact with his/her former
associates of higher status.
 c. The rationalization of downward mobility can help soothe the ego. One may feel, for
example, that there has been retrenchment in the system and that the company has to
lay off people.
d. Another compensation for the person who has suffered downward mobility is that thee
is no significant status visibility.
e. Consolation may be derived from the belief that one’s children may regain the social
status that one has himself/herself lost. In the Philippines, there is the practice of the
parent recommending his/her child to the company to get employed there upon
his/her retirement, with the hope that someday, such child will occupy a high
status/position in the company.
2. Horizontal mobility .Mobility may come about because of changing one’s occupation,
marrying into a certain family and others. Movement that involves a change in status
with no corresponding change in social class is known as horizontal mobility.

Geographical Migration

Geographical migration is known to sociologists as physical mobility. It is the movement of

people from one geographical spot to another, and it is a phenomenon of increasing frequency
to modern society.

Physical mobility includes force relocation of large groups of people, eviction, and
dispossession of unwanted people, voluntary permanent from one country to another or from
one region to another within the same country, as well as local residential changes. Physical
mobility also includes the so-called fluidity exemplified by people commuting from home to
office or factory, making business trips and taking vacation.

Types of Geographical Migration

1. Voluntary Migration. This refers to the voluntary movement of people from one
geographical area to another which is determined by numerous factors.
2. Forced Migration. This takes several forms such as the expulsion of unwanted
people, the herding of people into reservation areas and concentration camps, or the
transportation of enslaved individuals and groups.

Reasons for Voluntary Migration

1. Economic factor. This refers to desire of people to seek food supplies or to look for
better living /greener pastures.
2. Political reason. Some people move to other areas to escape from political
oppression ,racial discrimination and to seek political asylum.
3. Religious liberty. Other groups of migrants move to other places or areas to enjoy
religious liberty in response to existing religious persecution in their country.
 4. Educational opportunities. In some instances, people migrate in order to avail of the
educational opportunities prevailing in other areas due to the presence of colleges and
universities.
5. Natural calamities. The occurrence of various natural and man-made calamities may
also lead people to migrate.

Effects of Migration

1. Diffusion of cultures. This means contact and communication between people who
had been culturally and geographically isolated. Racial stock that has been preserved
through the centuries of isolation is mingled with other racial strains as a result of
geographical mobility.
2. Biological mixture. Ethnic strains become more entangledn. In most cases, this
mixture can hardly be traced in just few generations.
3. Urbanization of the culture. This is the major effect of internal migration in large
modern societies. Urban ways of thinking and acting, urban social relations and
structures and increasing secondary associations reach more and more of the
population as peole crowd into the cities.

Role Mobility

Social personality is defined as the sum of all social roles an individual enacts. Since
the individual is the social person in action, and since people usually perform only one function
at a time, there is necessarily a shifting from one role to another. This is what is called role
mobility

Factors Affecting Social Mobilty

1. Hard Work. Many people believe that hard work is a very important factor causing
social mobility. This true to societies adopting the open system of stratification.
2. Social Structure. In some instances, social structure factor may also affect social
mobility. In fact , it may serve as an enhancing or a deterring factor. During the
period of economic expansion, the number of professional and technical jobs
increases .In times of need for a particular skill, even people from the lower class but
with such skills may rise to the social ladder.
3. Societal values and norms. The values and norms of the society may also serve to
cause social mobility. There are instances when people place value in education and
other factors can lead individuals to move to much higher social status.
4. Level of education. In almost all societies, people’s level ofMarriage education is a
factor that causes social mobility.
5. Marriage. One’s marriage with someone who belongs to a much highersocial
stratum can cause him/her to move to a higher stratum.
 6. Luck. Filipinos in general strongly believe in luck or swerte. To them this one way
through which an individual may move up to a much higher social stratum. This one
reason why games of luck, raffles, and lottery tickets are very popular n the country.

Education and Social Mobility

The amount and the kind of education a person has constitute one of the most
important criteria of social status, and this is basically in agreement with facts of social
mobility, In almost all societies, educational requirements are rising . However, from the
point of social mobility there is a difference in the educational effect upon those who
receive education and those who dispense education, such as:

1. Those who receive higher education may also use it as a stepping stone to higher
social status.
2. Those who teach are affected differently for they actually achieve their social
status within the educational groupings.
3. Within the framework of the educational groupings, the individual educator may
aspire for a higher academic rank in order to have a much higher position. These
are also means of upward social mobility, and they also add to the social status of
the individual.

Social Mobility and Success

Success in life is always attached to upward social mobility. The high value placed
upon activity, success, and quantity will enable one to understand why success is related to
social mobility The following are the manifestations:

1. The emphasis upon activity is seen in all the major groups of our society. It is
strikingly apparent in the educational system, especially in the high schools and
colleges where there is a tremendous amount of extracurricular activity.
2. The value of performance does not stand alone but must be somehow related to
success. Many cases of successful people illustrate the importance of doing workto
the fullest. Success is demanded and expected in the raising of children, in the
functioning of the household, in winning friends and influencing people, n
salesmanship, in sports and recreation and in all the institutionalized forms of social
behavior.

The value of the activity, success, and quantity are extremely important from the
point of view of social mobility. Upward mobility means for any individual that he/she
enjoys higher status than he/she previously had, and this change is in itself valued as
an achievement.