Introduction To Sociology

CONTENT
Chapter 1
: Origin, Nature and Scope of Sociology
Chapter 2
: Relationship with other Social Sciences
Chapter 3
: Society
Chapter 4
: Social Groups
Chapter 5
: Social Control
Chapter 6
: Culture
Chapter 7
: Marriage, Family and Kinship
Chapter 8
: Economic Institutions
Chapter 9
: Political Institutions
Chapter 10
: Religion and Culture
Chapter 11
: Education
Chapter 12
: Culture, Society and Personality
Chapter 13
: Individual and Socialization
Chapter 14
: Culture and Personality Formation
Chapter 15
: Methods of Research
Chapter 16
: Techniques of Data Collection
CHAPTER 1
Origin, Nature and Scope of Sociology

A French philosopher named Auguste
Comte coined, the word Sociology in
1838, for that branch of science which
studied human behaviour. In fact, he
created a hierarchy of sciences in
which he put sociology at the top. He
argued that sciences dealing with
simple phenomena were first to arrive.
Since sociology deals with the most
complex phenomena of social
behaviour, it is a recent addition to the
sciences. Sociology is derived out of two
Latin root-words socius meaning
companion or association, and logos
meaning science. There is a general
agreement that Sociology is the science
of human society and of social
relations, social groups and social
change. It is one of the several social
sciences others being social
anthropology, economics, political
science,
psychology,
human
geography, public administration,
mass communication etc. Like these
other social science disciplines,
sociology has also contributed to the
growth of applied social sciences
such as business administration,
management etc.
While there is no dearth of writings
on the nature of society and even
descriptions of actual societies in

previous centuries, the era of scientific
studies of society and social groups
began only in the nineteenth century.
Those writings are philosophical or
literary. Surely, they are sociologically
relevant, but they are not sociological,
as they are not based on scientific
research. In his book An Invitation to
Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective,
Peter Berger describes a sociologist as
someone concerned with understanding society in a disciplined way.
The nature of this discipline is
scientific. This means that what the
sociologist finds and says about the
social phenomena the studies occur
within a certain rather strictly defined
frame of referenceAs a scientist, the
sociologist tries to be objective, to
control his personal preferences and
prejudices, to perceive clearly rather
than to judge normatively. Sociology
is, thus, different from literature or
journalism. Poets and novelists also
describe society, but they can take
liberties with facts. What makes their
writings attractive are the flights of
their fancy. Similarly, journalists do
report on events occurring in society
but the demand for meeting deadline
INTRODUCING SOCIOLOGY
leaves them with little time to double

check their findings; they do not feel
obliged to use scientific methods of data
collection. The same subject matter can
be seen from a variety of perspectives.
That is why there is difference in the way
an economist, a political scientist, a
social worker and a sociologist looks at
the social phenomena. It is the
approach that distinguishes sociology
from other sciences natural and
social. Sociologists approach human
society as a system of interactions
between individuals, between
individuals and groups, and between
different groups.
A sociologist is generally concerned
about questions such as : What binds
the people together? What are the
processes that keep people as a social
entity? How does society survive? How
does it change? What causes death of
social groups within a society? When
do societies cease to exist?
ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY
As earlier said the science of Sociology
was born in Nineteenth century in
Europe. Enlightenment, industrial
revolution, and French revolution
initiated a process of thinking about
society, particularly the consequences
of revolutionary happenings.
Industrial revolution accelerated the
process of urbanization. Urbanisation,
in its turn, created problems of
housing and slum dwellings. Creation
of industries resulted in conflicts
between owners and factory workers.
French revolution led to rethinking
about the form of government and
practice of democracy. Thus, changes

were all around in economy, polity and
community living. Thus industrialization, urbanization and capitalism
and the attendant consequences
began transforming the societies of
Europe. Sociology took birth in such
a climate. Its sister discipline,
Anthropology, also took birth
simultaneously. As a result of
Industrial revolution societies of
Europe came in contact with nonEuropean cultures in Asia, Africa,
America and the island countries in
the Pacific and the Caribbean. While
sociologists began studying their own
societies, anthropologists went to faroff places to study the primitive tribal
communities as societies distinct from
the Western societies. Anthropology
defined as the scientific study of
human being, became the study of
other cultures. Thus, both sociology
and social anthropology study human
society. What separated them initially
was the type of society being studied :
sociologists studying their own society
and anthropologists studying other,
mainly tribal societies. This distinction
is now being disregarded.
Those who dealt with these
problems are considered as the
founding fathers of sociology because
they were seriously concerned with
these problems in a systematic way.
Most notable among these thinkers
have been Auguste Comte, Herbert
Spencer, mile Durkheim, Karl Marx
and Max Weber. All these pioneers
came from other disciplines. Comte
TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION
was a philosopher, Herbert Spencer

had a background in natural history
and was influenced by Charles
Darwins Theory of Evolution,
Durkheim was a rabbi (Jewish
priest), Weber was trained in legal and
economic history and Karl Marx had
dual interest in abstract philosophy
and in concrete reality of his times but
did not pursue an academic career
and never claimed to be a sociologist,
in fact, his influence spread to
various branches of knowledge and
many became followers of his
ideology.
Sociology in India has grown
through an encounter with the
Western philosophical and scientific
traditions. Nevertheless, sociology in
India has also been deeply influenced
by the numerous internal processes,
which signify the passage of India from
a colony of the British to the status of
an Independent Republic. As
elsewhere, the pioneers of Indian
sociology were also practitioners of
other academic specialities. Teaching
of sociology began in the Department
of Political Economy and Political
Philosophy of the Calcutta University
in 1908 when two papers in that
subject were offered. Although a fullfledged department of sociology was
established in Calcutta University only
in 1976, sociology courses were taught
in the departments of economics,
political science, human geography
and anthropology. The pioneers of
sociology in Calcutta (now Kolkata)
were philosopher-cum-administrator
Brajendra Nath Seal (1864-1938),
economic historian Benoy Kumar

Sarkar (1887-1949), anthropologist
K.P. Chattopadhyay (1897-1963) and
human geographer Nirmal Kumar
Bose (1901-1972).
The first department of sociology
and civics was, however, set up in the
Bombay University, as part of the
Bombay School of Economics in 1919,
although a course in sociology was
introduced in 1914 for the post
graduate students of economics. The
separate department started
functioning from 1919 in that
University which was headed by a
New Zealander Patrick Geddes.
Geddes was a town planner and
human geographer. He was later
joined by G.S. Ghurye who began as
an Indologist but later worked for his
Ph.D. in social anthropology at
Cambridge University. However,
some new information has also come
to light. It is said that prior to Patric
Geddes, there was a freedom fighter,
named Shyamji Krishna Verma, who
was a political revolutionary. As a
freedom fighter, he had a great interest
in understanding and analysing
Indian society, but was soon
compelled by the British to leave
India. During his exile in Europe, he
met another founder of Sociology in
Europe. In consultation with the
Comte and Spencer, Verma brought
out a Journal,titled Indian
Socialogist but it did not continue
for long.
When, in 1921, Professor
Radhakamal Mukerjee moved from
Calcutta to Lucknow University to teach
Economics, he introduced sociology as

one of the courses. He even appointed Dr.
D.N.
Majumdar,
a
trained
anthropologist, as lecturer in Primitive
Economics. Thus, the Department of
Economics in Lucknow University
introduced teaching of both sociology
and social anthropology, and some
significant work was done by D.P.
Mukherjee and A.K. Saran in this
department. Later the University
created separate departments of
sociology, anthropology and social
work. It is from these three centres
Calcutta, Bombay and Lucknow that
the first generation of sociologists were
produced who then contributed both
through teaching and research to the
growth of Indian sociology. The most
eminent names in the field of sociology
are those of M.N. Srinivas, K.M.
Kapadia, Irawati Karve, D.N. Majumdar,
S.C. Dube, A.R. Desai, etc.
What is Sociology
Auguste Comte was the pioneer in using
the word Sociology to refer to the
science of human groups. The word
Sociology was derived from the Latin
word Socious (association), and the
Greek word logus (theory), denoting, the
theory or science of human group or
society. Comte wished to establish a
science of society that would help to
reveal social laws, which he believed
controlled development and change.
Auguste Comte dealt with the
problem of defining sciology as a
discipline and delineating its nature. The
later sociologists also focused
elaborately on the meaning of sociology.
Hobhouse explained how sociology

studied the interaction of human
minds. Park and Burgess said that
sociology is the science of collective
behaviour. However, Emile Durkheim
was more precise; he said that
sociology is a study of collective
representation. All our thinking,
feeling and doing constitute social
facts. Social fact, according to
Durkheim, is exterior to human mind
and it put constraints on human
behaviour. For instance, when we go
to a bank, without any thinking we
stand in a queue in front of the counter.
Standing in the queue is not an action
of our mind. It is the way of transacting
in the bank, without much thought
and deliberate effort. However, we
know that if we did not stand in the
queue and rush to the counter, others
in the queue would object to our nonadherence to the norm. Thus, the
practice of standing in the queue
exercse a constraint on us; and
demands conformity from us.
Durkheim says that all that which is a
social fact constitutes the subject
matter of the study of sociology.
Max Weber defined sociology
differently. He said that human activities
are oriented towards some action, which
fulfils some objectives. Individuals in
the society engage in actions for
realization of given goals/interests.
Social actions, according to Max Weber,
constitute the subject matter of
sociology. Since every social action is
directed at some other person, sociology
studies the interaction systems, which
shape social institutions, like polity, the
hospital and bureaucracy.
The Sociological Perspective

In the history of sociology two major
concerns all have been : (1) A precise
definition and scope of sociology as a
discipline, and (2) an appropriate
methodology for the study of society.
Beginning from Auguste Comte to
the present-day sociologists all have
been trying to work out on acceptable
definition of sociology. However, it can be
said that the prime aim of sociology is to
study social relationships at both
normative and empirical levels.
Sociology also analyses and explains
social continuity and change. This, in
nutshell, is the crux of a sociological
perspective, on which we now proceed to
consider the views of Auguste Comte,
Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Karl
Marx and Max Weber.
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
Born in France in 1798, Comte was
influenced by the social and political
turmoil following the French Revolution
of 1789. In his writings, he directly
attacked the non-scientific basis of
Enlightenment, which had dominated
French thought before the Revolution.
Auguste Comte is referred as the father
of sociology. He suggested that
sociologists should use the tools of
research developed by natural sciences.
He developed a rational approach
(scientific method) to the study of society
based on observations and experiments.
Comte argued that the methodology of
physics might be applied the study of
society. This approach is popularly
known as positivism. Positivism is a
method of scientific inquiry and it calls

for empirical research rather than
armchair theorising. Empiricism implies
understanding of experience. Positivism
rejects speculative/conjectural analysis
of social reality.
Central to Comtes positivistic
sociology were two key concepts : social
statics (social structure) and social
dynamics (social change). The term
social statics refers to relationships
among social institutions. In Comtes
view, parts of a society are connected to
one another in a harmonious manner
much like the parts of a biological
organism. Although Comte believed
that societies are marked by a great
degree of order, yet he was also
interested in the study of social dynamics
(processes of social change). Comte
believed that the study of social
dynamics could lead to reform in society.
It would improve our understanding of
breakdowns and rearrangements of
social structures.
Comte also believed in the possibility
of formulating laws of society like the
laws of physics. He argued that in all
societies, ideas and beliefs about the
world move through three inevitable,
step-by-step, evolutionary stages. This
is known as the law of three stages. First
is the theological stage in which
explanations are supernatural. Second
is the metaphysical stage in which
explanations are not supernatural, but
are based on traditions, intuition and
guesswork and are not supported by
evidence. Third is the positive stage in
which explanations are based on
observed facts and on logical reasoning.
Comtes treatise on the Positivist

Philosophy provides a comprehensive
analysis of this thesis.
In Auguste Comte, we see the
beginnings of two themes, which run
throughout the evolution of sociology.
One is a concern for the application of
scientific methods (positivism) to the
study of society. The other is the
practical application of science
(experimentation or empiricism) to
social reform. Comte believed that the
knowledge gained through a scientific
approach could be used to plan
societys welfare.
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Herbert Spencer, a British national, has
been a strong influence in British
sociology and social anthropology.
Parallel to Darwins Theory of
Evolution, developed in his Origin of
Species, Spencer developed a theory of
Society. He found Darwins theories of
Natural Selection and Survival of the
Fittest, useful in elaborating a unified
theory of social life. His theory of social
evolution holds that all societies
change from simple to complex
through natural processes. This led
him to oppose all forms of
governmental control of social life.
Because of the logical similarities with
Darwins Theory of Evolution,
Spencers views on evolution of
societies became known as Social
Darwinism.
Like Comte, Spencer was more of a
social philosopher than a sociologist. Also
like Comte, Spencer himself did not
conduct any scientific studies, but

simply developed ideas about society.
The fields of sociology, according to
Spencer, are family, politics, religion,
social control, and industry or work. In
addition, Spencer explicitly advocated for
the study of associations, communities,
division of labour, social differentiation or
stratification, sociology of knowledge,
sociology of science and the study of art
and aesthetics.
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Karl Marx, a German philosopher and
activist, influenced Sociology and has left
a distinct mark on the thinking
humanity. Marx thought that people
should take active steps to change
society. He advocated Praxis i.e. practice
to find solutions to human problems.
According to him, forces of production
and relations of production are basis to
the understand all structures including
religion, art and state, etc. Marx talked of
dialectical materialism to explain change
as a historical phenomenon. He
suggested that the course of change
implies thesis, antithesis and synthesis
in the material world. According to Marx,
the history of all the hitherto societies is
the history of class struggle. Marx always
thought of transformation of the capitalist
world into a socialist world where the
owners of the means of production would
not be able to exploit the workers. The
struggle between the bourgeoisie or the
capitalists and the proletariat or the
working classes, Marx believed, can end
only when members of the working class
unite to revolt against the bourgeoisie. A
classless society will emerge from such a

struggle.
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
mile Durkheim, a French national,
was both a social theorist and a
researcher. He was especially interested
in the study of social organization.
Durkheim stressed upon the
importance of broadly shared moral
values and collective reprentations. His
views were considered radical. Today,
he is perhaps best remembered for his
emphasis on research methods and use
of statistics. For Durkheim, social fact
was a key concept. His main fields of
works were social fact, suicide,
religion and social order.
Max Weber (1864-1920)
Max Weber, a German, was an
economist, and a historian. He was one
of the most prominent social thinkers
of the late nineteenth century. He
defined sociology as a science,
which attempts the interpretative
understanding of social action in order,
thereby, to arrive at a causal explanation
of its cause and effects. In his work on
the Methodology of Social Sciences
Weber observed that sociology as a
discipline should adopt the method of
understanding (Verstehen in German
language), i.e. social actions should be
understood in terms of the meanings,
which the actor gives to his/her actions.
Nature of Sociology
Sociology is a scientific discipline. It is a
science in the sense that it involves
objective and systematic methods of

investigation and evaluation of social
reality in the light of empirical
evidence and interpretation. But it
cannot be directly modelled on the
patterns of natural sciences, because
human behaviour is different from the
world of nature. Among other
differences, the subject matter of
natural sciences is relatively static
and unchanging whereas human
behaviour, the subject matter of
sociology, is flexible and dynamic.
The founders of sociology were
concerned with the study of social
order and change. They also wanted to
model the science of society or
sociology as the natural sciences.
Natural Science versus the Social
Science
All social sciences deal with human
being individual as a member of human
group. Focus in social/human sciences
is on the study of individual whose
activities are oriented toward other
members of the society who may belong
to the same or different groups or
collectivities. Natural sciences are
concerned with the study of natural
phenomena namely, plants, gases and
animals etc. Observation and
experimentation are basic methods of
study in natural sciences. Scientific
temper in the study of natural sciences
inspires social sciences to strive for
objectivity and value-neutrality. The
methodology of natural sciences is
positivistic, i.e. to understand reality
without subjective biases. Social
scientists have also applied positivism to
understand social reality by eliminating

personal and subjective preferences and
biases.
It may still be relevant to ask the
question : What is science? What is
scientific method?
Science refers to the application of
objective methods of investigation,
reasoning and logic to develop a body
of knowledge about given phenomena.
There are three goals of science. The
first is to explain why something
happens. The second is to make
generalisations, that is, to go beyond the
individual cases and make statements
that apply to a collectivity. The third is
to predict, to specify, what will happen
in future, in the light of the available
stock of knowledge.
Thus, science is a body of verified
knowledge about physical or social
reality. Scientific method is viewed as
a device for using specific rules to
acquire knowledge, to test hypotheses,
and to analyse data to produce new
explanations. Science produces
objective and accurate information and
develops understanding of the natural
world. The logical, rational, efficient, and
effective way of collecting, organising and
interpreting facts is called scientific
method. It consists of a series of steps,
which a researcher follows while
carrying out research. Science is a way
of thinking, objectively and impartially,
while studying given phenomena
natural or social. Scientific method
ensures considerable realisation of this
objective as it puts checks on the likely
biases in research analysis.
Sociology is a science because it
fulfils the basic requirements of objective

and rational knowledge of social reality.
Even then, the difference between the
natural sciences and sociology needs to
be stated. Whereas, the natural
phenomena can be put under controlled
observation it may not be possible to do
the same regarding the subject matter of
sociology. This is because all social
phenomena and social institutions like
family, marriage, caste, etc are
constantly changing even while they are
being studied. In sociological research,
it is difficult to be completely value-free.
Moreover, the research situation itself
becomes a social situation where the
researcher confronts another human
being and gets involved in a process of
interaction. This makes it difficult to be
objective. Good social scientists keep
these limitations in mind and try to be
as objective as possible. For that
purpose, different research tools are
used, and data are checked and
crosschecked.
To sum up, it may be said that any
discipline is considered to be scientific
when it is empirical, theoretical,
cumulative, and value-neutral. Against
this yardstick, let us examine the status
of sociology as a science :
(i) Empiricism : Empiricism means
understanding
based
on
experience. Generalisations are
drawn on the basis of observation
and reasoning, and not on
supernatural/speculative
revelations. All aspects of
sociological knowledge are subject
to evaluation made about social
behaviour and are put to test for
empirical evidence.
Theory : Theory is central to
sociology. Though, there are
various meanings of the word
theory. It is agreed that theory is a
grand or master idea. Its
foundation is both logical and
empirical. If the logic is not
sustained by empirical evidence,
obviously, the theory becomes only
a speculative formulation. In other
words, there is a close relationship
between theory and facts. Theory
attempts to summarize complex
observations in abstract logically
interconnected terms, which
purport to explain causal
relationships. Its main aim is to
interpret and to interrelate
sociological data in order to explain
the nature of social phenomena and
to produce hypotheses whose final
validity can be checked by further
empirical research.
(iii) Cumulative knowledge : Like all
other sciences, sociology is also
non-dogmatic. Its knowledge
propositions are subject to
systematic examination. Thus,
sociology is cumulative, because
its theories are built upon one
another, extending and refining the
older ones and producing new
ones. As such, theoretical
integration becomes a goal in the
construction of sociological
formulations.
(iv) Value-neutrality : In a broad
sense, sociology is not a
prescriptive/proscriptive science.
Sociology does not prescribe
particular values/ethics as good or
(ii)
bad. It addresses issues. Study of

human relations is the prime
consideration in sociology. In this
context, Morris Ginsberg observes
that ethical problems should be
dealt with neutrality. Objectivity
and rationality based on a
thorough knowledge of a situation
alone can ensure scientific status to
the discipline of sociology. The goal
of scientific research is to acquire
objective knowledge, free of bias
and prejudice. This is why
sociologists follow the path of
natural scientists while studying
social phenomena. The emphasis
on quantification in social research
is given to ensure exactness to the
extent possible.
SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is a systematic and objective
study of social life, which is created by a
variety of interactions between
individuals and groups. When similar
behaviour is repeated in given situations
it becomes a norm or an institution.
People in different status and performing
different roles, interact with other people
formally or informally. All these repetitive
actions are part of the culture of a given
group, and define the social
organisation. Sociologists study
individuals actions in different social
relationships such as between husband
and wife, teacher and student, buyer
and seller; they also study various social
processes such as co-operation,
competition, conflict, migration and
child rearing etc.; and they study various
groups and organisations (family, caste,
10
association and state).

Sociology, therefore, is the study of
social life as a whole. It has a wide range
of concerns and interests. It seeks to
provide classifications and forms of
social relationships, institutions and
associations, related to economic,
political, moral, religious and social
aspects of human life.
Let us briefly explain the various
aspects of society that are the subject
matter of sociology :
1. Social Organisation
The term social organisation refers to
interdependence of different aspects of
society; and this is an essential
characteristic of all enduring social
entities, such as groups, communities,
and collectivities. Herbert Spencer used
the term social organisation to refer to
the interrelations (integration and
differentiation) of the economic, political
and other divisions of society. Emile
Durkheim implies by social organisation
almost exclusively, social integration
and regulation through consensus
about morals and values. Currently,
social organisation is used to refer to the
interdependence of parts of in-groups of
all sizes, from a clique of workers in
hospitals, and factories to large-scale
societies and organisations.
2. Social Structur
Social structure refers to the pattern of
interrelations between individuals.
Every society has a social structure, a
complex of major institutions, groups,
and arrangements, relating to status
and power. It is said that the study of

social structure is comparable to the
study of human anatomy and that of
social organisation to that of
physiology. But this is only a partial and
not a complete analogy.
3. Social Institutions
A social institution is a procedure, practice
and an instrument, hence an ensemble of
a variety of customs and habits
accumulated over a period of time.
According to Malnowskiwork in every
society, people create social institutions to
meet their basic needs of survival.
Institutions are instruments and tools of
human transactions. An institution is,
thus, a stable cluster of norms, values and
roles.
4. Culture
Culture is the totality of learned and
socially transmitted behaviour from one
generation to the next. It includes
symbols, signs and language, besides
religion, rituals, beliefs and artefacts. In
fact, culture is a guiding force in everyday
life. It is the culture that distinguishes one
society from the other. Elements of one
culture may migrate to another culture,
but they get properly assimilated in the
receiving culture, and are at times given a
different meaning or role. In that sense,
each society has a culture that is
historically derived and passed on from
one generation to another and constantly
enriched by those who live it.
In subsequent chapters these
aspects of society will be explained in
greater details.
11
GLOSSARY
ANOMIE. a state of normlessness in society According to Durkheim. The loss of
direction felt in a society when social control of individual behaviour
has become ineffective.
BOURGEOISIE. Marxs term for capitalist, those who own the means of production.
CULTURE. It is a totality of learned behaviour in a society that is transmitted
from one generation to another.
EMPIRICISM. It means understanding of experience based on observation and
reasoning not on supernatural/speculative.
GENERALISATION. To go beyond individual cases and make statements that apply
to a collectivity.
IDEAL
TYPE.
It is a yardstick, a model that serves as a measuring rod against

which actual cases can be evaluated.
OBJECTIVITY. Total neutrality.

POSITIVISM. It amounts to rejection of speculative/conjectural analysis of social
reality.
PRAXIS. Practice to find solution of human problems.
PROLETARIAT. Marxs term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do
not own the means of production.
SCIENCE. It is a way of thinking objectively and impartially while studying given
phenomena.
SOCIAL
DYNAMICS.
It means mobility or social change in the society.
SOCIAL
EVOLUTION.
SOCIAL
FACT .
A theory of evolution of human societies inspired by Charles

Darwin and propounded by Herbert Spencer.
Durkheims term for the patterns of behaviour that characterise

a social group.
SOCIAL
INSTITUTIONS.
It is stable cluster of norms, values and roles.
SOCIAL
INTEGRATION .
The degree to which people feel a part of social groups.
SOCIAL
ORGANISATION.
SOCIAL
STATICS .
S OCIAL
STRUCTURE .
It refers to interdependence of different aspects of society

such as groups, communities and collectivities.
It refers to relationships among social institutions.
It is complex of institutions, groups and arrangements

relating to status and power.
SOCIOLOGY. It is a scientific study of society and human beahviour.

T HEORY . Summarise complex observations in abstract logically
interconnected terms, which purport to explain causal relationships.
V ALUE
NEUTRALITY .
The view that personal values of the scholar should not
12
influence social research.

VERSTEHEN. A German word for understanding or insight. Weber used this
to suggest that sociologists should take into account peoples
emotions, thoughts, beliefs and attitudes.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
What is meant by Sociology?

What is the distinctiveness of the sociological perspective?
Why is Auguste Comte called the father of Sociology?
Distinguish between theological, metaphysical and positivistic stage.
What was mile Durkheims prime concern in Sociology?
What is the Spencers view on the evolution of society?
What is sociology? Discuss scientific nature of sociology.
Explain various perspectives in sociology.
Discuss the nature and scope of sociology.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Berger, Peter, An Invitation to Sociology : A Humanistic Perspective, double
day New York, 1965.
2. Bottomore, T.B., Sociology : A Guide to Problems and Literature, Blackie and
Sons Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, 1978.
3. Davis, Kingsley, Human Society, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1970.
4. Giddens, Anthony, Sociology, Polity press in association with Blackwell
Publishers, Oxford, 1994.
5. Inkles, Alex, What is Sociology : An Introduction to the discipline and
Profession, Printice-Hall of India, Private Ltd., New Delhi, 1977.
6. Johnson, H.M., Sociology : A Systematic Introduction, Allied Publishers,
Mumbai, 1970.
13
CHAPTER 2
Relationship with other Social Sciences

Sociology and other Social Sciences
Today the humans have an intense
desire to unravel the mysteries around
them. People in ancient times also
attempted to understand the world
around them. Their explanations,
however, were not based only on
observations, but were mixed with
magic and superstition as well. It was,
however, a metaphysical explanation.
To satisfy their basic curiosity
about the world, the humans developed
science in due course at time.
Systematic methods were employed to
understand the natural world.
Knowledge about the world was thus
obtained by scientific methods.
Sociology, the study of society and
human behaviour, applies scientific
methods, namely, observation and
statistical enumeration.
A useful way of comparing these
sciences and of gaining a better
understanding of sociology is to divide
them into natural and social sciences as
mentioned in the preceding chapter.
Natural sciences are divided into
different branches such as physics,
chemistry, biology, etc. Social sciences
are, for example, anthropology,
economics,
political
science,
psychology and sociology. The division
of social sciences goes further. For

instance, anthropology is classified
into physical, social, cultural and
applied anthropology. Likewise
economics is divided into micro and
macro economics. Similarly, sociology
has its own divisions such as rural
sociology, urban sociology, political
sociology, industrial sociology, etc.
Actually, the subdivisions in sociology
are specific specialisations. Each
subdivision has a focus on particular
theme or issue.
Here we may explore the relationship
of sociology with other social sciences,
mainly with history, economics and
political science. We find that some
aspects are common to all the social
sciences and some are specific to
particular disciplines.
However, all social sciences are
basically mental and cultural sciences,
because they deal with human beings
vis--vis their normative orientations
and structural aspects, such as
occupation, income, education, office
rank, etc.
Relationship between Sociology and
History
The historical dimension of sociological
understanding are indeed basic. We can
14
only grasp the distinctive nature of the

world today if we are able to compare
sociology (present) with history (past).
Sociologists must hold up the past to
understand the present.
What is common between sociology
and history is the society. Sociology is
concerned with the present and to some
extent with future. History studies the
past. The present society cannot be
analysed without reference to the past
society; and it is here that these are
related to each other. This has given rise
to a special kind of sociology and history
and/or historical sociology. According
to this, sociological analysis is based on
historical data. This is primarily done by
the use of primary sources available in
archives or by the use of written history.
The relationship between sociology
and history is plagued with
controversies relating to methodological issues. In this respect, one may
refer to E.H. Carr who in the early 1960s
argued that the more sociological history
becomes historical sociology, it is better
for both. As a matter of fact, sociology
and history should have two-way traffic.
The view expressed by Carr has been
contested. It is said that history is quite
varied. For example, one can refer to
economic history, political history, social
history and so on. In the same way,
sociology also has a varied form. It is
futile to prolong this debate. The only
thing, which we must emphasise is that
the sociologists should borrow from
historical sources for sociological
analysis and vice-versa.
Let us consider the relationship
between sociology and history. Both are
social science disciplines and both are

concerned with human activities and
events. The sociologist uses, to all
intents and purposes the same record to
the past; he is interested in events only
in so far as they exemplify social
processes. These processes are resulting
from interaction and association of
individuals in various situations and
under various conditions, that is, one is
not interested in events as such but
ones interest is in the patterns that they
exhibit.
The historian interests himself in the
particular character of events over a
period of time. The sociologist is
interested in the regular and the
recurrent social phenomena. Generally,
we may say that history occupies itself
with the differences in similar events and
sociology deals with the similarities in
different events.
Today apart from philosophy the
historian is considerably depended
upon sociological concepts and
narratives. We can say that modern
historiography and modern sociology
have been influenced by each other.
History is concerned primarily with
the record of the past. The historian
wants to describe, as accurately as
possible, what actually happened to
human being during a given epoch,
especially from the period when one
began to live in cities, and to have, in
effect, a civilisation. Thus, the historian
presents an accurate description of
events, which one, then, relates to one
another in a time sequence so that one
can have a continuous story from the
past to the present. Human being is not
satisfied, however, with mere

description; one also seeks to learn the
causes of these events, to understand the
past not only how it has been but also
how it came to be. Nevertheless human
beings are interested in events for their
own sake. They want to know everything
about human existence over a period of
time.
History seeks to establish the
sequence in which events occur; it is
the arrangement of social events in
time. Sociologist is concerned with
relationship between events occurring
more or less at the same time.
Historians
generally
restrict
themselves to the study of the past,
from the more recent to the remotest
one. Sociologist shows interest in the
contemporary scene or the recent past.
Historian, with the notable exception
of philosopher of history, as a rule, is
content to know how things actually
happen. Sociologist seeks to know the
inter-relations between events with a
view to propose causal sequences. The
historian prides himself on the
explicitness and concreteness of
details. The sociologist abstracts from
concrete reality; and then categorises
and generalises about the observed
phenomena. From the historians
perspective, the sociological process of
abstraction is viewed as a sort of
distortion.
In summary, then, sociology and
history may be distinguished. The
former generalises about society;
the latter is a particularising or
individualising discipline. Sociology is an
analytical discipline where as history is a
15
descriptive discipline. Sociology

emphasises on the regular and the
current where as history investigates the
unique and the individual. An event that
has occurred only once in the human
past is of no sociological significance
unless it can be related to a pattern of
events that repeats itself generation after
generation, historical period after
historical period and human group after
human group. If the past is conceived of
as a continuous cloth unrolling through
the centuries, history is interested in the
individual threads and strands that
make it up; sociology analyses the
patterns that human society exhibits.
Relationship between Sociology and
Economics
Econom ics i n v e s t i g a t e s a l l t h e
phenomena relating to production,
consumption
exchange,
and
distribution. Thus, economics deals
with the management of material
goods and services among the
members of a society. What goods are
produced at what rate and at what
cost; and how those goods are
distributed are the basic concerns of
the discipline of economics. Choices
of consumers also determine
production. Hence, this aspect has
also gained significance in economic
studies.
Thus, the economist concentrates on
the study of economic behaviour of the
people, while the sociologist is interested
in the study of sociology of economic life,
such as income, occupation,
consumption patterns and styles of life
etc.
16
The sociologist critically examines

the limitation of economic theory and
makes contribution to the study of
economic phenomena. On the other side,
the economist seems to have become
weary of the frequency with which the
phrase
other
things
being equal recurs in economic
analysis. Some economists go beyond
description (which forms a large part of
most economic textbooks) of a small
number of simple presuppositions
about human behaviour.
It is the emphasis on particular
aspect that distinguishes sociology
from economics. For instance, Adam
Smith, a foremost economist,
explained that division of labour in
society came when there was need to
have mass production. Adam Smith
argued that if there had to be more
production, division in society had to
come. For example, he says that the
manufacturing of pin increased
tremendously if there was division of
labour in its manufacture. He found
that a single worker in a factory could
produce 40,000 pins in a day, if the
whole manufacturing unit passed
through several hands. Thus, for him
the division of labour in the society
was required for mass production.
This was his economic perspective :
more division of labour and in
consequence more production.
Division of labour brings about
differentiation and social ranking in
terms of differential wages and
rewards. However, Emile Durkheim
took a different view on division of
labour.
He
argued
that
transformation of mechanical (simple)

society into organic (complex) society
was not for large scale production but
it was a need of the society itself.
Increased population, differentiated
needs and rules and regulations
necessitate division of labour.
Economics and sociology have a twoway relationship in general. There is
much give and take between the two. For
instance, anthropologists have
described the exchange theory in terms
of marriage relations drawing from the
property system. The origin of caste has
also been analysed in terms of economic
division of labour reflected through
jajmani system. Thus, the relations
between economics and sociology are
deep rooted.
Relationship between Political
Science and Sociology
Political science studies political
institutions such as the state,
government, political parties,
executive, legislative and judicial
institutions. Political science also
studies behaviour of the people in
power. Thus, the concept of power is
important. Political science can be
defined as a study of power. Power is
the ability of a person or a group to
control and influence the behaviour of
others despite their resistance.
Authority refers to the power vested in
given persons through institutions
such as office, rank, elections, etc.
Sociology also studies power in
terms of its social contexts. In other
words, the processes which enable a
man or a group to wield power and
17
exercise dominance in society

represent or constitute power are the
focal point of study in sociology. Thus,
the stratification of society in terms of
power by different groups, castes,
classes and tribal groups becomes the
basis of sociological analysis. The
interface of political science and
sociology can be termed as political
sociology. Political sociology, in fact,
acts as a bridge between political
science and sociology.
Sociology is devoted to the study
of social aspects of society, whereas
political science restricts itself mainly
to the study of power as embodied in
formal organisations. Sociology
stresses upon the inter-relations
between institutions such as state,
government, political parties, where
as political science focuses its
attention on the governmental
processes. Nevertheless, political
sociology has for long shared with
political science, many of the common
interests and a very similar style.
If we look at the relationship between
political science and sociology in India,
caste has been studied as a resource/
infrastructure to have access to power at

the time of elections. How does caste
become an interest group and an
instrument of mobilisation? This has
brought sociology close to political science
in particular.
Being a social science, sociology
shares a wide variety of commonality
with other social sciences. This
commonality is because of the fact
that in order to build a theoretical
framework for the society as a whole
man has to be studied in totality. The
commonalities are in terms of data and
method but there are differences also
in the approach of study and in the
perspectives adopted for study.
Sociology has many similarities with
other social sciences. It is concerned
with history, economics and political
science as it studies the bearing of the
present on the past, political and
economic aspects of social life. Sociology
also studies the impact of historical
events, state, government and economy
on social life of the people. Despite this
two-way relationship, sociology has its
distinct nature and scope of study as
discussed in the preceding chapter.
GLOSSARY
ECONOMICS. It deals with the production and distribution of material goods and
services among the members of the society.
HISTORY . This is concerned primarily with record of past. History seeks to
establish the sequence in which events occurred.
P OLITICAL SCIENCE . This studies the political institution such as the states,
legislative, executive and bureaucracy.
SOCIOLOGY . It is the scientific study of social structure, social relationship, social
interaction, etc.
18
EXCERCISES
1. State the similarities and differences between Sociology and History.
2. Explain the relationship between Sociology and Economics.
3. Discuss the relationship between Sociology and Political Science.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Bierstedt, Robert, The Social Order, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Ltd.,
Mumbai, 1970.
2. Bottomore, T.B., Sociology : A Guide to Problems and Literature, Blackie and
Son Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, 1978.
3. Carr, E.H., What is History? Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex,
1961.
4. Inkeles, Alex, What is Sociology : An Introduction to the Discipline and
Profession, Prentice-Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi, 1977.
5. Ginsberg, M., History and Sociology in Essays in Sociology and Social
Philosophy, Heinemann, London, 1957.
19
CHAPTER 3
Society
We all live in society and are bound
together through certain norms,
values, customs and practices. We
very often say that we belong to a
society, and as members we share,
certain
traditions,
historical
experiences pains and pleasures
which have been transmitted to us by
the preceding generations. Even an
Indian living, for example, in England
or New York, shares our common
traditions and norms. At the same
time, we find that the people of Kerala
or Assam though have their respective
language, life-style etc. identify
themselves as members of Indian
society as well. This raises the
important question : What makes a
society? Society is the very subjectmatter of sociology.
It must be said in the beginning
itself that the definition of society is
quite technical. It refers to a network
of social relationships. A laymans use
of the term is vague, but it is pragmatic
for the user. We very often talk about
Co-operative Society, a Maharashtrian
Society, a Tribal Society, Arya Samaj
Society etc. The popular usage of the
term society is thus not technical.
Auguste Comte defined sociology as a
discipline dealing with scientific study
of society. According to Durkheim social

facts constitute human society. A social
fact is a social phenomenon, which
makes a man act in a given situation
following certain norms.
Whichever way we may define
society, one thing is certain, that society,
consists of persons (members) having
different statuses. In abstract terms,
society refers to a web of social
relationships. No individual can fulfil
all his requirements without society.
Some have to produce food, others have
to weave clothes, some have to erect
houses, and so on so forth. If human
being have fulfill their needs, they have
to compete with others in different
context. Thus, in a society there is
consensus on the tasks to be performed
for survival but there is also
competition/conflict to have greater
share in available resources which are
scarce. Before we make an attempt to
define the term society, we may
compare human society with animal
society.
Among animals, if society is to
thrive over a time; its members must
behave in ways which will enable them
(i) to meet their own physical needs in
terms of their environment, (ii) to
reproduce their kind, and (iii) to
20
integrate their activities (including

whatever division of labour exists,
whether it be simple or complex). To
meet these minimum requirements for
survival, animals depend largely
upon instinctual learning and
communication.
Turning to human society, we
recognise that for continued existence
it also meets the same sort of basic
conditions as required in an animal
society. Furthermore, humans cannot
escape the effect of biological
inheritance any more than the bees can.
Just as the biological inheritance of the
bees determines their physical needs,
behaviour-patterns, learning, and
communicating-capacities, likewise,
human society is also tied to human
beings biological inheritance.
However, it is this very biological
inheritance which makes possible
the enormous difference between
human beings and animals.
Particularly to be emphasised are
human beings infinitely greater
learning,
remembering
and
abstracting capacities and their
infinitely greater communicating
capacities. Because of these
capacities, we find human being
meeting their minimum societal,
survival needs primarily through
learned behaviour which does not
come ready-made but is invented
and transmitted through communication. This meeting of the basic
conditions of continued existence by
means of learned, normative
behaviour rather than primarily by
hereditary mechanisms constitutes
the major difference between human

and animal societies.
It follows that because of this
dependence upon learned, normative
behaviour, a new survival need emerges:
the continuation of the social system itself.
This prerequisite for the continuance of
a human society must also be met
through learned, normative behaviour.
We see this operating chiefly in the
societys patterned ways of socialising the
young ( enabling them to acquire their
groups values and behaviour patterns).
Gemeinschaft (community) and
Gesellschaft ( Society)
In his book on community and
association, Tonnies explains the
meaning of Gemeinschaft and
Gesellschaft. All intimate, private and
Gemenschaft refers to a small, face-to
faces society where most purple know
each other one of community based
on shared concerns. Geselschaft on
the other hand refers to a more
impersand largest unit, that tonnies
called society, there the mod of
integrasion is through impersonal
and formal means. Rural life is
characterised by Gemeinschaft
relations. It is the lasting and genuine
form of collective living. In contrasts
to Gemeinschaft, Gesellschaft is
transitory and formal. Accordingly,
Gemeinschaft understood as a living
organism and Gesellschaft as a
mechanical can aggregate and
artifact.
What is Society
Technically, society does involve more
than one individual. A single individual
does not make a society. But a individual

simply is not a biological creature.
Human being has a culture, a mind-set,
a history; and human being is related to
a large number of people in different
situations. Today the meaning of society
has received new definition. We would
here refer to the definition of society.
According to MacIver and Page society
is the web of social relationships. But
society besides structure is also a
process, an ever changing entity.
A society is a group of people who
share a common culture, occupy a
particular territorial area and feel
themselves a unified and distinct
entity. But such a conceptualisation
of society seems to be simplistic. There
are sociologists who use the term
society in a very limited sense. For
instance, Durkheim treats society as a
reality in its own right. There are a few
other sociologists who prefer to drop
the concept of society and instead have
replaced it by other concepts. The
Marxist theoretician Louis Althusser,
for example, has suggested the social
formation: a combination of three
levels of relationships (economic,
ideological, and political) which can
have varying connections with each
other. Anthony Giddens, on the other
hand, prefers to replace the concept of
society by concept of social system. It
includes institutions, which may or
may not be limited by national
boundaries.
Despite the variations in our
understanding of society, the fact
remains that it is a central concept in
sociology. Characterisation of society
21
can be provided in terms of certain traits.

Harry M. Johnson enlists the following
characteristics: (1) definite territory,
(2)progeny, (3) culture, and (4)
independence.
1. Definite Territory : A society is a
territorial group. Some nomadic
societies move about within a much
larger territory than they occupy at
any one time, but they regard the
whole range as their country.
There are, of course, territorial
groups within societies, for
example, clans, neighbour-hoods,
political outfits, cities, countries,
etc.
2. Progeny : Members of a society are
recruited, in large part, by means
of human reproduction within the
group. Many societies also
obtain members by adoption,
enslave-ment, conquest or
immigration, but reproduction
within the group itself remains a
fundamental source of new
members.
3. Culture : A society has a
comprehensive culture in the
sense that it is culturally selfsufficient. For example, a society
may carry on trade with other
societies, but the cultural
patterns involved in the trade are
a part of the culture of the society
itself. The means of payment and
the forms of contracts are
culturally patterned. A comprehensive culture may have subcultures as well. In case of India
people have a comprehensive
culture which gives them an
22
identity. We have a common

culture, a family system, a set of
religious communities, linguistic
entities, village communities, and
above all a history of shared pains
and pleasures. The sub-cultures
are, for example, Assami, Punjabi,
Rajasthani cultures, etc. each subculture is also characterised by its
respective characteristics.
4. Independence : A further
characteristic of a society is that it
is not a subgroup of any other. We
may define society as such as a
permanent, self-contained and
integrated group.
Conceptualising Society
The following view points may be noted
on conceptualisaton of the term
society:
1. Society as Structure : In order to
concretise society, it is defined as
a structure, that is, a recognisable
network of interrelating institutions. The word recognisable is
crucial in this context, because it
suggests that the way in which
societies differ from one another
depends on the manner in which
their particular institutions are
interconnected.
2. Society as Recurrence : The notion
that societies are structured
depends upon their reproduction
over time. In this respect the term
institution
is
crucial.
Institutionalised forms of social
conduct refer to modes of belief and
behaviour that occur and recur or
are socially reproduced. Hence,
although Indian society is

continuously changing we can
recognise its main features as they
are
reproduced
in
institutionalised forms.
3. Society as Contradiction : While
we may subscribe to the
argument that society is both
structured and reproduced, it
could be claimed that this does
not tell us why and how it is
structured and reproduced.
Marx provides us the basis of
understanding how particular
social formations arise and
correspond with particular
modes of production. In this
sense, society is not a static or
peacefully evolving structure, but
is conceived of as the tentative
solution to the conflicts arising out
of antagonistic social relations of
production. Thus, capitalist
society is always in the process of
being transformed by the tensions
and contradictions implicit in the
mode of production.
4. Society as Culture : Frequently,
social scientists emphasise the
cultural aspect of social
relationships. In doing so, they
see society as being made possible
by the shared understanding of its
members. Because human beings
exist in a linguistic and symbolic
universe, which they themselves
have constructed, the temptation
is to construe society as highly
complex
symbolic
and
communication system. Weber
and Parsons emphasise that this
23
stress on culture is associated with

the notion that ideas and values
underpin society. In this respect,
one of the perennial problems of
social analysis is the analytical
distinction between culture and
society. It seems highly improbable
that such a distinction is valid,
except for heuristic purposes.
5. Society as Process : Here the
emphasis is on the way in which
people continuously interact with
one another. The key terms are
negotiation, self-other, reflexivity
the implication being that society

is constituted and reconstituted in
social interaction. Society is not
imposed upon people, rather it is
accepted by participants.
All the explanations have implicit
or explicit assumptions about human
nature. However, the opposition
between individual and society still
remains a bothersome points in
sociological analysis. Our analysis of
the term society brings out the debate
relating to this contentions relationship
between individual and society.
GLOSSARY
DIVISION
OF LABOUR. Distribution of work among the people according to their

skill and competence.
GEMEINSCHAFT. A type of society in which everyone knows everyone and people

share a sense of togetherness.
GESELLSCHAFT. A type of society which is dominated by impersonal relationship,
individual accomplishment and self-interest.
MECHANICAL SOLIDARITY. A collective consciousness that people experience as a
result of performing the same or similar tasks.
ORGANIC
SOLIDARITY. A collective consciousness based on the inter-dependence

brought about by division of labour.
PROGENY. Members of a society are recruited, in large part, by means of human

reproduction within the group.
SOCIETY. Society is a web of social relationships. Or society is a group of people
who share a common culture, occupy a particular territorial area and
feel themselves a unified and distinct entity.
SOCIAL
COHESION.
The degree to which members of a group or society feel united

by shared values and other social bonds.
EXERCISES
1. Explain society as a process.
2. Does society exist independently?
24
3.
4.
5.
6.
Define society. Discuss its major characteristics.

Distinguish between animal and human society.
Explain the meaning of the Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.
How do you conceptualise society?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Davis, Kingsley, Human Society, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1970.
2. Giddens, Anthony, Sociology, Polity Press in association with Blackwell
Publishers, Oxford, 1994.
3. Johnsons, H.M., Sociology: A Systematic Introduction, Allied Publishers, New
Delhi, 1970.
4. MacIver, R.M. and Charles H. Page, Society: An Introductory Analysis, The
Macmillan Co. India Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, 1974.
25
CHAPTER 4
Social Groups
Sociology is the study of social
relations. It is primarily concerned
with social groups. A person cannot be
social by himself/herself unless he/
she has previously lived with others.
Persons life is to an enormous extent
a group life. The groups we belong to are
not all of equal importance to us. Some
groups tend to influence many aspects
of our lives and bring us into personal
and familiar association with others.
According to Susan A. Wheelmans
perspective: groups are very real...
Groups influence our thoughts and
behaviour even when we are alone...
Groups expand or limit our personal
choices and even the contents of our
minds... Forces that are so powerful
cannot be ignored or denied. Before
we look at the nature and
classification of groups, we should
know how groups arise.
Formation of Group
We need first to know why and how
groups are formed. As a simple
statement, groups are formed in order
to satisfy human needs. Human
beings basic need is his/her survival,
and the family is an illustration of such
a group, which serves to meet this need,
without the help of others the human

infant would perish. Groups also
provide many activities, which would
not be possible by a lone individual. It
takes twenty-two individuals to play
football, and it takes many thousands to
support a fair. We derive such
satisfaction from groups that group
affiliation itself becomes precious to us.
We want to feel that we belong to certain
groups and that these groups accept us.
In this way, groups provide us with
security and fellowship. However,
formation of a group depends upon
specific purpose.
Definition of Group
Groups are the essence of life in society.
In our own society we often use the word
group which refers to such diverse
collectivities as the family, the crowd or
the social class, informal cliques or vast
communities. These also refer to the
members of races or religions or
occupations, or to this or that division of
sex or age or intelligence or temperament.
Websters (Ninth New Collegiate)
Dictionary (1989) defines group as a
number of individuals assembled
together or having some unifying
relationship. In contrast Luft (1984)
26
defines group as a living system, self

regulating through shared perception
and interaction, sensing feedback and
through interchange with the
environment. Each group has unique
wholeness qualities that become
patterned by way of members thinking,
feeling and communicating, into
structured subsystems. A group
maintains its balance by progressively
changing its rules and guidelines
continuously.
If we were to bring out some of the
major characteristics of group on the
basis of definitions given above we
would say that a group has the
following elements:
1. No single person can constitute a
group. There must be a number
of individuals to form a group.
Family, caste, kin, class are
examples of a group.
2. Membership of a group is either
formal or informal.
3. There is a shared sense of unity
among the members of a group.
4. There is more or less stable
pattern of relationship among
members of a group.
Nature of Social Group
The concept of group is different from
other related concepts. We would here
differentiate it from aggregate and
social category. Aggregates are simply
collection of people who are in the
same place at the same time, but share
no definite connection with one
another. For example, all college
females who wear glasses are an
aggregate, as are all males over six feet

tall. To use Erving Goffmans phrase,
aggregates are gatherings of people in
unfocused interaction with one
another. Of course, within aggregates
various kinds of group relationships
may usually be found. However,
unlike members of a group, the
individuals who make up an
aggregate neither interact with one
another nor take one another into
account.
Another is social category, which
is a statistical grouping people
classified together on the basis of a
particular characteristic they share,
such as having the same level of
income or being in the same
occupation. Social categories are
quite frequently and regularly
employed in sociological research. For
instance, if we are interested in caste
relations in India, we might need to
analyse difference in average earning
between lower castes and upper
castes, regarding them as two distinct
statistical categories.
To sum up, therefore, social group
consists of individuals who interact
with each other on a regular basis.
Further, members of a group expect a
certain type of behaviour from one
another. Also groups differ in size,
ranging from intimate associations,
like a family to large collectivities such
as a sports club.
Types of Social Group
All groups are not alike. One can see
differences among various groups
based on size, proximity, complexity,

membership, goal and means. Some
groups like family are small in size others
like a political party may be very big.
Groups may be divided into primary,
secondary, in-groups, out-groups
member-ship, non-membership,
formal, informal, etc. On the basis of
individuals orientation in relation to a
group, the concept of reference-group
has also taken shape in sociology.
Groups differ from one another in
terms of their size, nature, objective
and life-span. Sociologists have made
an elaborate exercise to classify the
groups. We give below some of the
major classifications adopted by
sociologists:
1. Primary and Secondary Groups
In the classification of human groups,
one of the broadest and most
fundamental distinction is that
between small and intimate groups on
the one hand, and large and
impersonal groups, on the other. The
origin of primary and secondary group
conceptialisation is traced back to the
work of Charles H. Cooley (1909).
Primary Group
I n h i s b o o k Social organisation ,
Cooley used the term primary group
to refer to small associations of people
connected by ties of emotional
feelings. The family is an example of
primary group. As Cooley puts it: By
primary groups I mean those
characterised by intimate face-to-face
association and cooperation. They are
27
primary in several senses, but chiefly

in that they are fundamental in
forming the social nature and ideals
of the nature. The result of the
intimate association, psychologically,
is a certain fusion of individuality in a
common hold.
Cooley specified five basic
characteristics of primary groups:
1. Face-to-face association
2. the unspecialised character of
association
3. relative permanence
4. limited size and limited
membership, and
5. intimacy among the members.
Primary groups are generally small
and intimate as in family and peer
groups where individuals have direct
contact. Members of the primary group
interact and have concern for each
other. Charles H. Cooley believes that
membership in primary group is the
essential link between the individual
and society. It is these links that create
the co-operation that characterise
society. In pre-industrial societies,
almost all social life took place in the
context of primary groups such as
kinship network as in some village
groups in India.
Secondary Group
The secondary groups are just the
opposite of primary group. Impresonal,
formal and indirect relationships
exists among the members of
secondary groups. The relationship
among the members of club,
professional group, political party
28
or trade unions come under the category

of
secondary
groups.
These
relationships are based on mutual
interest. The basis of these relationships
are located in utility or common
interests.
A Secondary group is a number of
people who meet regularly, but their
relationships are mainly impersonal.
Individuals in secondary group do not
have intimate contact with each other,
and normally come together for specific
practical purposes only. A committee
or club is a good example of a
secondary group. Of course, in actual
social situations, the distinction
between primary and secondary
groups is not clear-cut. People who
regularly attend committee meetings
together, for example, might become
very friendly and spend time with one
another informally.
Secondary groups are usually
formal groups where special roles are
required of members and where total
personalities of individuals may not be
brought into play. In such groups,
goals are more specific and
organisations more structured than in
primary groups; also there is lesser
intimacy and personal interaction than
in primary groups. Secondary groups
are generally regulated by a set of
formal rules; there is a formal authority
set up with designated power and
sharp division of labour. Within the
orbit of secondary groups, it may also
be possible to form primary groups.
For example, in a football team, two
players may develop an intimate
friendship. The focus of their interaction
may widen to include their entire selves.

Thus, secondary group has following
characteristics:
1. formal relationships
2. lack of intimacy, and
3. unlimited size.
In short, the primary group is a
personal group, the secondary group
an impersonal one; we have personal
relations with members of the primary
group and impersonal relations with
members of secondary group. The
relations we have with members of our
primary groups are personal and
intrinsic; those we have in our
secondary groups are categoric and
extrinsic. In the primary group, in
other words, we evaluate people
intrinsically in terms of their personal
characteristics, whereas in the
secondary group we evaluate them
extrinsically in terms of the social
categories, or statuses, they occupy.
We feeling related with primary group
and they feeling related with
secondary group.
2. In-Group and Out-Group
In Folkways, William Graham Sumner
(1906) described social groups in two
ways: In-group and out-group : In-group
and out-group are found in all societies.
In-group are we-group. The contrasting
out-group are they-group or othersgroup. These groups have become a
regular feature of modern sociological
literature. For any individual In-group
is the group to which he/she belongs
whereas out-group is one to
which other than him/her belong. Ingroups and out-groups are of no
specific size and may indeed be highly

variable. The groups with which the
individual identifies himself/herself are
his/her in-groups: family, tribe, sex,
college, or occupation by virtue of ones
awareness of likeness or conscious-ness
of kind. Thus, in-group is a circle of
people to which he or she belongs. Ingroup conveys a feeling of we, a sense
of unity. The groups with which the
individual identifies himself/herself are
his/her in-groups. An in-group
acquires its consciousness of being from
the exclusion of some persons as well as
from the inclusion of other persons. An
in-group may be as small as a family or
as large as a society itself. And the outgroup, then, is simply everybody who is
not in the family or not in the in-group,
as the case may be.
In contrast, an out-group is a circle
of people to which an individual feels
no sense of belonging. Out-groups
convey a feeling of they or those
others. For example, a tiller of the soil
in India views his/her landlord as outgroup. It follows that out-group is
defined by the individual with relation
to the in-group, usually expressed in
the contrast between we and they or
other. An in-group is simply the we
group, an out-group, the theygroup. The in-group includes
ourselves and anybody we happen to
mean when we use the pronoun we.
The out-group, by subtraction,
includes everybody else or, as we may
somewhat paradoxically say,
everybody who is excluded when we
use the word we.
In-group attitudes, as we have seen,
29
usually contain some element of

sympathy and always a sense of
attachment to the members of the group.
Out-group attitudes are always marked
by a sense of difference and frequently,
though not always, by some degree of
antagonism. The latter varies from the
mild antipathy of, say, fraternity
members towards the unorganised
college students to such powerful
aversions as those engendered by the
culturally imposed higher caste-lower
caste line in a theoretically democratic
society.
Every social group is an in-group for
its members the concept applies
equally to the smallest clique and the
largest aggregation of individuals so
long as they are aware of their identity.
Systematic study requires that we
distinguish between the broad types of
grouping that permeate the social
structure. One such type is the primary
group, the intimate face-to-face
collectivity. A contrasting type is the
large-scale association, the great
impersonal organisation of individual.
These two types to which we devote the
remainder of this chapter are found in
all complex societies, though their
concrete manifestations assume a
variety of forms.
3. Formal and Informal Groups
Groups are classified as formal and
informal. The formal group tends to be
either large or a part of a large
organisation. An army and a labour
union is the example of formal group. A
formal group always has a normative,
30
hierarchical structure or status system.

Formal groups are usually compared
with informal groups. A group without
formally stated group rules, goals or
leaders is called informal group. It is
typically small; and often; casually and
spontaneously formed. Interaction is
based on common interests and intimate
conduct. Informal groups may or may not
have strong group norms, and adherence
to group norms rests on personal loyalty
rather than on explicit group rules.
Childrens play groups and gangs, as well
as collegues (which might be formed
within a formal organisation), are
examples of informal groups.
Informal group is a social unit
which has all group characteristics.
They have established system of
interpersonal relations, joint activities,
the feeling of belonging to a group but
they lack any legal status. Brought
together by common interests lying
outside the professional field, informal
groups exist in the form of clubs, sports
sections, societies, etc. Informal groups
united by professional interests often
function as collectivities of creative
workers (e.g. the so-called invisible
colleges-informal associations of
scientists employed by different

organisations but maintaining contacts
with colleagues researching into the
same set of problems). Members of all
informal groups are united by friendly
feelings, mutual liking, emotional
attractions, understanding and
respect, which frequently exert a
beneficial influence on relationship
within the groups.
The term informal group and primary
group, although occasionally used
synonymously and interchangeably,
should be distinguished from each
other. As opposed to an informal group,
a primary group may be highly
structured by traditional roles (as in the
patriarchal family), or by bureaucratic
organisation (as a military platoon).
Such a group is not properly an
informal group, even though its formal
structure may be modified by a
spontaneous
and
informal
arrangement. An informal group does
not have standardised and rationalised
group-goals, especially those imposed
from outside. Its normative structure is
a product of face-to-face interaction
and is sustained by the close personal
relations among the members.
GLOSSARY
A GGREGATE . An aggregate is a collection of people who have similar
characteristics, without necessarily having a personal relationship
with one another.
IN-GROUP. Group toward which one feels loyalty.
OUT-GROUP. Group toward which one feels antagonism.
P RIMARY- GROUP. A group characterised by intimate, long term, face-to-face
association and co-operation.
31
SECONDARY GROUP. As contrasted with a primary group, it is a larger, relatively

temporary, more anonymous, formal and impersonal group based on
some specific interest or activity, whose members are likely to interact
on the basis of specific roles.
SMALL
GROUP.
A group small enough for every one to interact directly with all the
other members.
SOCIAL
GROUP .
SOCIAL
NETWORKS.
When two or more persons come into social relationships and

influence one another, they constitute a social group or patterned
interaction, shared beliefs and values, and consciousness of kind
characterise a social group.
Social ties radiating outward from the self, that link people
together.
EXCERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
What is a group?
How groups are formed?
Define social category.
What do you mean by aggregates?
What are primary groups?
What are secondary groups?
Explain the major criteria used for classifying groups.
Individuals life is group life Discuss.
Differentiate between primary and secondary groups.
Differentiate between formal and informal groups.
Differentiate between in-groups and out-groups.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Cooley, Charles H., Social Organization: A Study of the Larger Mind, Scribners,
New York, 1909.
2. Homans, G.C., The Human group, Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1950.
3. MacIver, R.M. and Charles H. Page, Society : An Introductory Analysis, The
Macmillan Co. of India Ltd., Delhi, 1977.
4. Sumner, WIlliam Graham, Folkways, Dover, New York, 1906.
32
CHAPTER 5
Social Control
Social Control : Its Usage and Social
Relevance
Our behaviour in day-to-day life is quite
orderly and disciplined. We walk and
drive on the left side of the road; we
respect our elderly people and obey our
parents. We pay taxes to the government
and whenever required we stand in a
queue. Thus, consciously or
unconsciously we follow the norms and
values of the society to which we
belong. But there are people who are
said to be deviant in society; they
smoke in public places and consume
liquor. They use filthy language in their
conversation and display indecent
mannerism. Such persons usually
become victims of criticism and
condemnation. There are measures of
social control. Society exercises its
control through state, educational
institutions, civic bodies and a variety
of other institutions. It is our belief that
society cannot function properly
without appropriate exercise of social
control.
The regulation of behaviour, thus,
in a society, whether of individuals or
of groups, is undertaken in two ways.
It happens either by the use of force or
by institutions through norms, values
and inherent in various social

institutions which are gradually
acceptable to the people. The term
social control is generally used by
sociologists to refer to the second kind
of regulations in which the appeal to
values and norms reduces or mitigates
tensions and conflicts among
individuals and between groups.
Edward A. Ross initially used the
concept of social control for
maintaining order in society. However,
his use of the term was rather vague.
Yet, one gathers that he was mainly
concerned with those regulative
institutions that insure individual
behaviour in conformity with group
demands. He showed the important
role that belief in the supernatural,
ceremonies, public opinion, morals,
art, education, law and related
phenomena play in maintaining the
normative structure of society.
Rosss contemporary, William G.
Sumner attempted in his famous book
Folkways (1906) a somewhat similar
task. In the sub-title of his book, A
Study of the Sociological Importance of
Usages, Manners, Customs and Morals,
he indicates that norms serve to insure
individual conformity. The French
Sociologist
Emile
Durkheim
maintained that the essence of control lay

in the individuals sense of moral
obligation to obey a rule the
voluntary acceptance of duty rather
than a simple exterior conformity to
outside pressure.
One may ask: Why is there need for
social control? To answer the question,
at a minimum, long period of order and
stability in human behavior are
required for the continued existence of
social structure. Of the greater
significance is the degree of integration
of cognitive (beliefs and knowledge),
material and normative ( values and
norms) dimensions, for without a high
degree of integration a social structure
could not exist. However, much of the
recurrence and predictability in
human behaviour and thought is
made possible by two aspects of the
normative dimension-norms themselves (which are crucial for social
order and stability), and the
enforcement of these norms.
Adherence to these norms is fostered
through both childhood and adult
socialisation, the process whereby
culture is transmitted; and through
sanctions, or behaviour designed to
ensure conformity to norms.
Institutions of Social Control
The individuals and groups are obliged
to comply with the social control
measures through a network of social
institutions. The social institutions are
several family, kin, caste, village,
education, state, religion and
economic organisation. Perhaps
33
among these institutions, the most

powerful are the state and religion.
These institutions exercise social
control both in informal and formal
ways. The state exercises legal power
to control the individual and group
behaviour. If we commit violence, the
police punishes us; if we do not pay
taxes we are prosecuted; if we are short
of attendance in the class, the school
disallows us to appear in the
examination. These are all formal
method of social control.
There are informal methods of social
control also. When we disobey our
parents and elderly persons, our peers
and neighbours look upon us down.
When we display bad manners, we are
criticised. Religion has a great influence
in exercising informal control on the
individuals and groups. Thus the
institutions are the powerful mechanism
to control our behaviour. Recently, the
institutional role of social control has
increased through new tools of
globalisation such as electronic and print
media. Television, movies and internet are
new tools to bring the individuals in to the
net of social control.
Social control is reinforced through
institutional mechanisms, which
establish desirable patterns of
behaviour. Institutions ensure desired
behaviour patterns. William Graham
Sumner views that anything can be
made to seem acceptable, if the
society has devised norms to support
the thing. The most important norms
in a society are those that are
institutionalised. An institution for this
purpose may be defined as a formal
34
and stable way of pursuing an activity

that is important to a society. The
family, for example, is an institution; it
is accepted or socially approved way to
pursue the important activities of sex
and child rearing. Other institutions
help to regulate and pattern such
activities as religion, political use of
power and education of both young
and old.
Institutions have assumed
importance because they are made up
essentially of norms rules and
guidelines, which bring the erring and
deviant individuals to conform to the
order of society. Some examples of
institutionalised norms in the family
are those that prescribe love and loyalty
between husband and wife, regulate
the care of dependent children and
stimulate co-operation in the
performance of family activities. To
respect parents, to adhere to different
etiquette in day-to-day life, show
compassion for the poor are some of the
examples of institutionalising the
family norms.
Mechanism of social control is

specific to the structure and type of
society. The U.S. society in its structure
is different from European society. In
the case of our Indian society, we are
multi-ethnic people. With the diversity
of our people, the methods of social
control also vary. The state legislation
also varies. Some fields of society are the
concern of the centre and some are that
of the state. For instance, education
and agriculture are the state subjects.
It is the state, which legislates for the
social control of these fields. The same
applies to the policy with regard to
language. Social controls are therefore,
specific to the group or to the society.
Informal mechanisms also vary
accordingly. Jainism and Vaishanaism
do not permit the acceptance of nonvegetarian food. Here the informal
mechanisms work to control the
behaviour of the followers of these
religions.
This brings us to specify the
importance of two major forms of social
control: informal and formal.
Mechanisms of Social Control
Informal Mechanisms
Every group has some mechanisms,

some means of accommodating the
individual members to one another. In
their book Introductory Sociology,
Sutherland, et. al. (1961) view that any
social attitude, custom, or institution,
which modifies behaviour in the
direction of group unity is a form of
social control. In reality, all forms of
social organisations, from a trade union
to the federal constitution are means of
social control.
Informal controls are unofficial

and tend to occur in small groups. In
the introduction of his book,
Interaction in Small Groups, Crosbie
(1975) has listed four basic types of
informal control. Social rewards
which include smiles, nods of
approval and more tangible acts
such as promoting an employee,
reward conformity that indirectly
discourages deviance. Punishment,
which includes frowns, criticism
and even physical threats, targets

deviant acts directly and is intended to
stop them. Persuasion is another way of
bringing deviants into line. A baseball
player who breaks training may be
persuaded by a coach to fall in line with
other players and take it seriously.
Redefining norms is the forth type of
social control.
A more complicated kind of social
control is to redefine norms in the
context of the changed set of
circumstances and values. For
instance, it was once unusual for a
husband to stay home, do the
housework and take care of children.
But in view of the changed circumstances women taking to out of home
work, husbands especially in the
urban settings expected to take turns
with their working wives in taking care
of their homes and children.
In our day-to-day life we come
across a large number of cases, where
informal methods of social control are
used. Informal mechanisms include
established and accepted institutions
and customs relating to socialisation,
education, marriage rules, family life
and interpersonal relations. This kind
of control mechanism functions
through informal sanctions, which are
expressions of reward or punishment
exhibited by members of primary
groups. For instance if one eats ones
food by left hand, one is rebuked. On
the other hand, a smile or a
disapproving look may express some
positive or negative sanctions in any
given society. Generally, the informal
application of social sanctions is one
35
of the main functions of the primary

group. Negative sanctions used range
from a gesture of disapproval to rejection
by the group. Even a physical
punishment is not spared. For most
people, primary group sanctions are
adequate deterrents to a deviant
behaviour.
Informal social control can also be
exercised, besides family, by other
social institutions for instance, clan,
community and neighbourhood. Clan
is a wider social circle, which includes
both our marital kin as well as blood kin.
The members of kin group also exercise
social control on the individual. For
instance, if a daughter-in-law who has
newly entered the family does not abide
by the norms and practices of the behave
according to the norms of family of inlaws, she is pressurised through her
blood kins to identify herself with the new
family. Cousins and collaterals exercise
similar influence.
In our country, the informal social
control wielded by the village
community is quite effective. If an
erring son does not take care of his
parents, the whole village community
shows scorn and disrespect for the boy.
An individual in the village cares more
for his/her village people than anyone
else. In a tribal society, for instance, a
Gond or a Santhal would prefer to go
to prison than to earn the displeasure
of his village folks. Similar is the
informal control exercised by people
living in the neighbourhood. For
example, even in big cities, one has to
be sensitive to the attitudes of ones
locality members.
36
Besides, social institutions, there

are some traditions in a society, which
need to be followed. The social
institutions consist of folkways and
mores. Folkways in simple words
mean customary ways of thinking,
feeling and behaving. If there is a
marriage in the family, the people in a
village think of arranging a feast. The
argument is simple: we have enjoyed
several feasts at other peoples
marriage, this is our turn; and we
should do it in a graceful way. It is also
called custom. Yet another custom is
to put on festive clothes on occasions
of celebrations. The folkways are in
fact, the traditional customs of a
community. It is expected of the
members of the community to give due
regard to the observance of folkways.
It is a clear case of informal social
control. If the folkways are not
observed, the deviant becomes
vulnerable to public criticism. He/she
is condemned and in some cases
ostracised. Mores are forms of norms,
which are consciously created. They
need to be preserved. It is through the
mores that a society gets its continuity.
Violation of mores entails evil for the
society. These have to be observed, and
therefore, mores are perhaps the
strongest mechanisms of social
control.
Limitations of Informal Controls and
Sacntions
Informal sanctions can be very effective
but they have limitations. One is that
such sanctions may be so vaguely
defined that they do not serve as an
effective deterrent. The deviant does not

really know what punishment, if any will
be given. Another is that personal
feelings, relative social statuses and
considerations of group solidarity enter
into informal situations. Lack of desire
to apply the sanctions or lack of power
to do so, can also hinder social control.
A student who discovers a friend
cheating in a school examination may
condemn his/her friends action on
moral grounds or because it will put
hard work at a low premium. But, since
he/she is a friend and a classmate, the
student in question may not report his/
her cheating for fear of jeopardizing his/
her friendship, placing himself/herself in
an unpopular position of a snitch, and
becoming a social outcast among his/
her other friends.
Formal Mechanism
Due to limitations and weaknesses of
informal social control mechanisms,
many organisations and positions
specialising in the process of social
control have been created in modern
societies. Formal controls include all
the legislation and enactments
practiced at various levels such as
village, district, state and national level
from time to time.
Formal control is official and
usually involves large organisations
such as police departments. The
agents of formal organisations and
rules enforce conformity. Police
departments and other lawenforcement agencies courts, mental
hospitals and prisons, etc. are
organisations of this kind, enforcing
rules that have been written into law.

Members of social control agencies
make up a sizable portion of the
labour force and include police
officers, judges, lawyers, prison
employees, tax collectors, legislators,
social workers, ministers, doctors
and other officials in government
regulatory agencies. All of them exert
social control as a part of their duties.
The network of such formal positions
has tended in modern times to grow
immediately and to overshadow and
dominate the informal social-control
agencies and mechanisms. In the
process, it has become more
impersonal over time and possibly
also more just. For example, the
school organisations, in their day-today functioning often exercise formal
and impersonal social control in
matters of admission, during the
periods of tests and tournaments.
Sociologists have also discovered
that formal means of social control can
also act as informal (subject to
circumstances) means. In his paper on
Social Control in the Prison, in his book
entitled Theoritical studies in Social
Organisation of the Prison, Richard
Cloward (1960) investigated the
relationship of prison guards to
prisoners and reported on the way in
which guards bargain with the
inmates by forgetting to enforce some
rules and expect prisoners to cooperate in observing other rules. The
guards may also give preferential
treatment to certain kinds of rule
breaking. It should be noted that
whether sanctions are formal or
37
informal, they might be either positive

(rewarding) or negative (punishing).
Political organisations function as
formalised groups in regulating
behaviour in society. It is a very
important feature of social structure. In
some societies, it is an undifferen-tiated
phase - the political, the economic and
the religious behaviour of the group is
an integrated pattern of living. The
political organisation controls through
secondary, impersonal measures, in
contrast with the personal influences of
a primary group. The political
organisation (Government) sets for itself
the task of protecting or maintaining
certain values through rewards and
punishments.
State as a Social Group of
Government Control
When the members of a society are
considered with reference to their
political behaviour, they are called
citizens or subjects and the group to
which they belong is called the state.
The state involves a territory, a
government, and a people. If the
people are unified culturally by
common folkways and traditions,
they are also called a nation. When the
folk and citizens are one and the same,
when the nation and the state coincide,
the greatest group unity is possible.
The government includes those official
agencies and functionaries by
means of which the state achieves
it sends. The laws are rules of the
state codified, enacted or decreed and
enforced through the machinery of
government.
38
The state differs from other social

groups within its territory in that it
alone may exercise social control by
coercive force, but this difference is less
significant than is commonly
supposed. Although the state is
entrusted with coercive authority, it
does not rely on that type of control
alone, but functions very much as do
other secondary groups whose
purpose is to facilitate the co-operation
of large number of people in a common
enterprise. Indeed modern states have
taken over the functions of many
private agencies of social welfare, in
which the punitive feature is almost
negligible. On the other hand, some
non-official agencies have types of
formal authority over their members,
which are not far different from those
of the state.
Government is one of the agencies
for exercising social control through
the agency of State. The functionaries
of government control with the formal
device of constitution applying
methods which they consider
necessary and important. Formal
devices are in fact, formal sanctions.
Formal sanctions are codified and
administered by officials. Thus, formal
sanctions reside in the hands of
appointed or elected representatives of
the society. These also rest on
established procedures and written
codes; and are more intimately
involved with legal norms.
State functions through governments. The government is extended
from Centre, State to municipality and
panchayats. All these forms and
manifestations of state are great

mechanisms of social control and also
administrative functioning. Besides,
giving sanitary facilities, the
municipality also looks after the
development work of its area. The
municipality looks after the provision for
habitation area, road and transport,
electricity and environment. It thus,
has a massive control on the
community life in the municipal area.
At the village level, we again have
panchayats, which have been given a
new dimension of social and administrative control through the seventy
third constitutional amendment.
Panchayat Raj gives representation
now to the disadvantaged members of
the society especially women from
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes
and other backward classes. Under
the new provision, the gram panchayat
has statutory control over all its
natural resources such as water, forest
and land. This empowerment makes
a Panchayat a strong mechanism of
social control.
Law
In our societies law is based upon
moral notion; moral rules are also
strongly influenced by religion. This is
evident in the sphere of legislation,
which always derives from social
doctrines and ideals. But equally, in
the administration of justice and in
judicial decisions, there has almost
always been reference to the
fundamental moral ideals of society.
They are in terms of reason, natural
law, equity or in recent times as

public policy, as well as in terms of
written or traditional law.
The specific character of the legal
regulation of conduct may, however, be
considered from another aspect. In
general, legal rules are more precise than
moral rules. Legal sanctions are more
definite and frequently more effective
than those of morality as viewed by
Durkheim. As Bertrand Russell has
remarked, the good behaviour of even
the most exemplary citizen owes much
to the existence of a police force. It is
hardly possible, and certainly not
useful, to conceive a society of any
degree of complexity in which social
behaviour would be regulated entirely
by the moral sanctions of praise and
blame.
This discussion indicates the
importance of law, which, though it
rests upon moral sentiments and is
influenced by the institutional
arrangements of a society, brings
about a degree of certainty in human
behaviour. Moreover, law may have an
independent influence upon social
behaviour, because it establishes
attitudes and conduct in a society
which to start with, might have belong
to only a small minority of reformers.
At this stage, it is interesting to ask
the question: What does law consist of?
Study of law clearly shows that it is a
collection of customary laws of the
people. Each group has its customary
laws. The Hindus have their own laws.
These are not divine but have been
legislated by the Hindu Lawmakers.
These laws are based on Hindu
39
traditions. The Muslim law conforms to

the Muslim scriptures and religious
literature. The Muslims have their
Muslim personal Law. Likewise, the
tribals also have their customary laws,
which are taken care of by the state laws.
The Hindus have various laws relating
to marriage, family, succession,
inheritance and guardianship, etc.
Thus, the laws come to have both
customary and legislative support as
parliament and legislatures enact them.
If there is a prohibition on liquor or
restrictions on dowry it is all law because
it has the support of customs and the
law-making bodies. The formal social
control exercised by the law, thus, has
greater legitimacy.
Informal and Formal Control in
Country-Town Situation
Robert Bierstedt makes distinction
between informal and formal control in
country-town situation. Social control
in the city presents a striking contrast
to its counter part in the country. In
the former situation it tends to be
secondary and formal; in the latter
primary and informal. The gossip
keeps the individual members of a
small community in line. It operates
as a potent sanction inducing
conformity to the norms while it has no
relevance in the city. We need not
elaborate upon the function of gossip
as a means of social control. It is an
instrument in the small community
that permits the prompt application of
sanctions to those who fail to conform to
the norms.
40
It is apparent that gossip can have

no such function in the metropolis.
The primary groups in which it
operates so effectively in the village have
no definite locus in the city; they exist,
but not at a given place. An individual
can easily withdraw from them or
otherwise avoid them. If the city
provides privacy, it also furnishes
anonymity to those who desire it. One
may escape the primary social controls
altogether at the price of dispensing
with group affiliations, both formal and
informal. On the other hand, the formal
social controls the law and police
are very much more in evidence in the
city than these are in the rural
community. No one is immune from
the parking regulation, none from the
traffic ticket. The sanctions of the law
press upon all alike who are tempted
to stray from its requirements,
and they are applied, if not with
complete impartiality, at least with
impersonality.
At the same time, it is apparent that
the city exhibits more tolerance for
certain kinds of conduct and
behaviour, and for individual
idiosyncrasy, than does the small
community. The reason is simple. The
city is a place of contrasts. Its very
heterogeneity suggests that there will
be many different sets of norms. The
citizens themselves are exposed to
variegated cultures and to diversified
ways of working and worshipping. The
city person sees the multi-language
newspapers on the stalls and in the
subway. He/She is accustomed to
differences, and learns to tolerate
them. The strange and the unfamiliar

persons do not look surprising to each
other. The city has taught them to expect
it and to live with it. The villager, on the
other hand, is likely to greet the
unfamiliar with suspicion and even with
hostility. Village unity is familiar in our
country. Iravati Karve in her study of
kinship behaviour in India reports that
the son-in-law of a particular family in
village is treated as a son-in-law of the
whole village. When he passes through
the village streets, the women veil faces.
Obviously, such a behaviour in a city is
absent.
Contrast in Terms of Social Control
The divide in terms of differential social
control can be further seen in rural and
urban life. The basic fabric of any
community is its family and the
mechanisms of social control differ
considerably in the urban and rural
life. In other words, we propose to see
the role of family in both these
communities. MacIver and Page divide
rural and urban communities in
matters of social control on two
fundamental points:
1. The Rural Community
In the rural life, where the family is
relatively dominant and self-contained,
a group responsibility prevails. In the
city, it tends to be more and more
fragile. In the comparative absence of
other forms of relationships, the
patriarchal type of family tends
to persist, imposing greater control
over its members. The status of the
individual is likely to be the status of his/

her family. Property is likely to be
thought of as a family possession.
Family opinion develops about most
matters of interest and is apt to permeate
in all its members. Generally, there is
less individual questioning and contest.
Marriage itself is a duty to the family, a
responsibility of the individual for the
maintenance of its name, line, property;
and is often decided by the family, as to
whom individual marry. Not only
marriage, but also religion, occupation,
mode of living, recreation and politics are
far more strongly influenced by family
tradition in the rural community than in
the city.
The dominance of the family
explains, in large measure, why social
control in the rural community is
exercised with a minimum of formality
and a maximum of command. The
group mores, reflecting a commonly
shared system of values, are themselves
effective as social pressures, in little
need of support from specialised
control agencies. Gossip and the other
informal devices of social regulation
tend to prevent wide departures from
the code.
2. The Urban Community
Urban community is different from
village community so far the exercise
of social control is concerned. Rural
community is essentially a traditional
society. The mechanism of social
41
control is, therefore, specific to this

community. The urban community is
complex; hence it is complex mechanism
of social control. In towns and cities, the
patterns of social behaviour are informal.
The formal methods of social control
work in such a society relations
are contractual; there is enough
linguistic, caste-class and technological
multiplicities. Conflict and tensions are
likewise common. Therefore, the
mechanisms of social control are largely
legal and exercised by state and
secondary institutions.
Social control in the city, especially
when the community reaches the
dimensions of the modern metropolis
reflects the multiplicity of social
contacts, the diversity of social codes
and the predominance of secondary
relationships. Regulation itself
becomes in large part the activity of
specialised associations, including
the agencies of the impersonal law.
Police and courts as well as teachers
and social workers tend to take over the
regulatory functions of the family head
or the family circle. If the city dwellers
rights are trespassed or his/her child
is criminally delinquent or, if he/she
has offended the legal code, most likely
the judge and the law will decide the
issue. On the other hand, his/her
deviations from the norms of conduct,
sexual and otherwise, may pass
unnoticed, relatively unchecked
by gossip or opinion, in the
impersonalised urban world.
42
GLOSSARY
BELIEFS. Ideas or theories about the natural or supernatural world that are not
supported by objective or factual evidence.
FOLKWAYS . Social ways that are considered significant but are not strictly
enforced.
IDEOLOGY. A set of thought.
INTERNALISATION. Acceptance by individuals of the norms of a group or society
or part of their own personality. It may happen unconsciously as in
the case of a child who starts following certain norms or values without
questioning, mostly through the process of imitation of the adults.
LAWS. Standardised and formalised norms that regulate human conduct.
MORES. Social practices that provide the moral standards of a group or society
and that are strictly enforced.
NORM. A rule or standard that defines what people should or should not do, think
or feel in any given social situation.
SANCTION. A reward (positive sanction) directed at a person or group to encourage
conformity to social norms; alternatively a punishment is a negative
sanction directed at a person who deviates from a socially prescribed and
expected behaviour.
SOCIAL
CONTROL.
Any mechanism or agency that conditions or limits the actions

of individuals or groups in order to motivate them to conform to social
norms.
VALUE. A widely held belief about what is good, right, wise or beneficial.
EXCERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
What is meant by social control?

What is formal social control?
Explain non-formal control.
Define mores.
How does social control operate in society?
How does social control operate in primary groups?
What is the role of customs in social control?
Distinguish between custom and law.
Discuss the nature of social control.
Distinguish between formal and non-formal social control.
Discuss the institutions of social control. Explain any one institution in detail.
What are various means of social control?
Religion controls society non-formally Discuss.
Distinguish between religion and morals.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Mumbai, 1970.
2. Bottomore, T.B., Sociology, Blackie and Sons Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai,
1971.
3. MacIver, R.M. and Charles H. Page, Society : An Introductory Analysis, The
Macmillan Co. India Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, 1974.
4. Ross, Edward A., Social Psychology, Macmillan, New York, 1921.
5. Smelser, Neil J., Sociology, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi, 1993.
43
44
CHAPTER 6
Culture
DEFINING CULTURE
This chapter is an attempt to describe
the meaning of culture and to discuss
its types. The word culture comes from
the Latin word colere, which means to
cultivate, to till the soil. In medieval
times, the term came to refer to the
progressive refinement of crops
hence the term agriculture was
associated with the art of farming. But
in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, the term referred to the
refinement of people as well. Therefore,
when a person was refined and well
read, she/he was considered
cultured. In that period, the term was
applied mainly to the aristocratic
classes and was supposed to set them
off from the uncultured masses. The
German word Kultur also referred to
the attainment of high levels of life and
civilisation. In contemporary times,
the word culture still has connotation
of the opera house, fine literature, and
good breeding.
To all intents and purposes, a
newborn human baby is helpless. Not
only is it physically dependent on older
members of the species but it also lacks
the behaviour-patterns necessary for
living in human society. It relies
primarily on certain biological drives
such as hunger and charity of its elders

to satisfy those drives. The infant has a
lot to learn. In order to survive, it must
learn the skills, knowledge and
accepted ways of behaviour in the
society into which it is born. It must
learn a way of life, in sociological
terminology, must learn the culture of
its society. Culture is a valuable concept
for understanding human action also
within the context of social
organisations. Like structure, it
originates through interaction and
finally becomes a lasting social pattern
to be followed by the people.
Sociologists define culture in
different ways. In 1871, Edward B.
Tylor gave a descriptive definition of
culture
which
still
remains
uncontested: Culture is the complex
whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, morals, law, customs, and
other capabilities and habits acquired
by man as a member of the society.
Ralph Linton states that, the culture
of a society is the way of life of its
members; the collection of ideas and
habits which they learn, share and
transmit from generation to
generation. Clyde Kluckhohn defines
culture as the total life-way of people.
Thus, culture consists of all the
learned, normative behaviour patterns

that is, all shared ways or patterns of
thinking and feeling as well as doing.
Kluckhohn and Kelly briefly define :
culture is an historically created
system of explicit and implicit designs
for living, which tends to be shared by
all or specially designated members of
a group at a specified point in time.
For the sociologists, culture denotes
acquired behaviour, which are shared
by and transmitted among the
members of society. Culture is a way of
life of specific given people e.g. Hindu,
Muslim, Christian and Sikh culture
etc. and its regional variants are e.g.
Assami, Bengali, Bihari, Gujrati, Oriya,
Punjabi, Rajasthani and Tamil etc.
Culture is an accumulated knowledge,
which is transmitted from generation
to generation with modifications and
additions.
Another important aspect of
culture is that it is not ones own asset;
it is shared by others and transmitted
from one individual to another. For
instance, parents at home, children in
school, friends in daily walks of life,
transmit their experiences and
behaviours to other individuals.
Culture, therefore, is a learned
behaviour shared by and transmitted
among the members of a group. It is
social, idealistic, needing recurring
demands of mankind. It has the quality
of being integrated. Culture fulfils
many of individuals needs. It is the
special quality of an individual; and is
evidence of his/her social heritage.
Among social scientists, social
anthropologists have a special focus on
45
culture. Much of Indian social

anthropology has been drawn from
British and American social anthropology. The British anthropology dwells
heavily on the study of social structure,
American anthropology, on the other
hand, is specially concerned with
culture. Herskovits, American
anthropologist, has given certain
characteristics of culture in his bookMan and His Works. Such a
characterisation of culture help us to
define it properly. Herskovits gives
various elements of culture as follows:
1. Culture is learned; it is an acquired
behaviour.
2. Culture derives from the biological, environmental, psychological, and historical components
of human experience.
3. Culture is structured it consists
of organised patterns of thinking,
feeling and behaving.
4. Culture is divided into different
aspects.
5. Culture is dynamic.
6. Culture is variable, it is relative.
7. Culture exhibits regularities that
permit its analysis by the methods
of science.
8. Culture is an instrument whereby
the individual adjusts to her/his
total setting and gains means for
created expressions.
A review of these developments has
been done in 1950 by A.L.Kroeber and
C.Kluckhohn in their paper, The
Concept of Culture: A Critical Review
of Definitions. The approximate
consensus of these definition is as follows:
Culture consists in patterned ways of
46
thinkings, feeling, and reaction acquired

and transmitted mainly by symbols,
constituting
the
distinctive
achievements of human groups,
including their embodiments in
artifacts; the essential core of culture
consists of traditional i.e., historically
derived and selected ideas and
especially their attached values.
Culture can be conceptually
distinguished from society; though
there may exist close connection
between the two. A society is a system
of inter-relationships, which connects
individuals together. No culture could
exist without societies and no societies
could exist without culture. Thus,
without culture, we would not be
human.
There are also certain other
expressions which sociologists and
anthropologists frequently use as
synonyms for culture: (i) learned
behaviours, (ii) the social heritage,
(iii)
the superorganic, and (iv) design for
living. Each one of these expressions
emphasises slightly different aspects of
complex phenomenon of culture. The
first one suggests that culture is
learned, taught, shared and, cannot be
possessed by an individual in isolation
from society. The second one i.e. the
referring to social heritage, suggests
that culture is transmitted from one
generation to the next. It is inherited
from the past, in the social sense and
that, in each generation, something is
added and something is lost. The third
one, i.e. the superorganic suggests that
culture varies in relative independence
from physical constituents and
biological components and has an

independent meaning. Finally, the
fourth, i.e. culture as a design for
living, suggests that culture varies
from one society or group to another,
and also between different times,
periods and special settings.
Major Components of Culture
All human groups have culture namely
language, belief, value, norm,
behaviour, and even material objects
that are passed on from one generation
to the next. In his book The Social
Order, Robert Bierstedt (1970)
classifies the contents of culture into
three large components of culture:
Ideas, norms and material. Further,
the components of culture may also be
classified into three dimensions:
(i) cognitive, (ii) normative and
(iii) material.
The Cognitive Dimension
The first component of culture is idea,
which consists of myth, superstitions,
scientific facts, art and religion. This
reflects ways of thinking, what people
think, in short, is an important
component of their culture. Ideas refer
to the cognitive dimension of culture,
which includes beliefs and knowledge.
The literature of a society ordinarily
does express ideas, and become a part
of the intellectual heritage of the people
who live in the society. In literate
societies, ideas are recorded and
written down and stored in books and
documents. Ideas thus make up the
literature of the society. In non-literate
societies, they constitute the folklore and

the legends of the tribe. We should
include, ideas, therefore, in the first of
our major components of culture.
All human beings share in the
construction of cognition. They all
think, feel, recognise, recall things
from the past and project them the into
real and fantasised future. Cognition
is the process that enables humans to
comprehend and to relate to their
surroundings. Basic to any persons
organised conception of his environment are his/her beliefs. Ideas that are
accepted by persons as representing
reality, as being true, are beliefs.
Beliefs may or may not actually be
true, but to their subscribers they
portray reality. The extent of
verification for cultural beliefs covers
a wide range. Some beliefs are held
because of habit, tradition or appeal
to an authority when, in fact, they are
false. Other beliefs that rest on habit,
tradition or an authoritative source
are based on sufficient critical
observation to be considered true.
The Normative Dimension
The normative dimension is the second
large component of culture. It
includes rules, expectations and
standardised procedures, in short,
ways of behaving in almost all the
situations that we confront and in
which people participate. The
normative dimension of culture is of
critical importance in promoting
recurrence and predictability in
human interaction. Norms can be
47
classified as folkways, mores, customs

and laws etc; which guide individual
conduct.
The concept of norms is one of the
most important concept in sociology.
When we use this concept we refer not
to ways of thinking but to ways of
doing. Most of the things that we do
as members of society on different
occasions are governed by cultural
precepts. When we talk about what
people do in society, we are interested
as sociologists, not in their behaviour as
such, but rather in that type of
behaviour whether it is socially
acceptable or not. We are interested, in
human conduct on different social
occasions.
Behaviour, as we have noted, may
be mere impulse or response. Conduct,
on the other hand, implies the presence
of norms, which are cultural. Our
conduct conforms to certain standards
that are considered appropriate in the
society in which we live. These
standards and rules and expectations
are what we call norms. Without norms,
social life would be impossible and
there would be no order in society.
Without norms, we would never know
whether to shake hands with a new
acquaintance or kiss him/her or give
him/her an affectionate push. Society
itself is a kind of order, which is made
possible by the presence of norms; and
norms are the essence of social
organisation.
In the discussion of culture, value is
usually considered from the
standpoint of how the group acts, feels
or thinks. A cultural value may be
48
defined as a widely held belief or

sentiment that some activities,
relationships, feelings are good or bad,
proper or improper. Our goals are
important to the communitys identity or
well being. Cultural norms are based on
cultural values. They are guides,
specifying what is appropriate, setting
limits within which individuals may
seek alternate ways to achieve their
goals. Norms are usually framed as
rules, prescriptions or standards to be
followed by people who occupy
specified roles. Thus, there are norms
for the conduct of citizens, friends,
parents and school teachers etc.
Hence, value and norms (folkways,
mores, laws) are central concepts to
understanding of culture.
The Material Dimension
We have discussed ways of thinking
and ways of doing. Now, we would like
to explain the third major component
of culture the material culture,
referring to what we have or possess as
members of society. The culture
provides knowledge, rules for
organising work and tools for human
survival. Material culture refers mainly
to basic conditions, which generally
include material items that the
members of a society have and use,
and also to science, technology and
instruments of production, transport
and communication
Material cultural is often counter
posed with non-material culture, under
which the cognitive and normative
dimensions of culture are classified,
refers to intangible product of human

creation. Tangible or concrete products
of human creation are labelled as
material culture. Material, of course,
is the most obvious and the most easily
understood component of culture.
When an archeologists digs up an
ancient city or a subterranean village,
he/she may find certain forms of
terracotta, artifacts, painted greywares
and coins etc; all of which may be
termed as remnants of the ancient
material culture. It may not be possible,
the norms of the people who once lived
there and the ideas they entertained
cannot be ascertained through
excavations. But the fact that norms
and ideas can be inferred, to some
extent at least, from the material
remains. It indicates that there is a
close connection between material and
non-material elements of culture.
Theory of Cultural Change
The concept of material culture is clear
enough whereas the concept of nonmaterial culture is not quite clear,
except in the sense that it is a residual
category, including everything that is
not material. This may include several
items of fundamentally different kinds,
such as thoughts ideas, religion and
style of living etc. This, however, is a
logical weakness of residual categories.
Ogburn argues that both material
and non-material aspects of culture
have a bearing on personality. The
Hindus in India may perhaps be
different in some ways from Americans
due to differences in the emphasis on
49
different values, as well as different items

of material culture that they consume in
daily life. The Hindus emphasise the
non-material aspect of culture, such as
religion and philosophy, whereas the
Americans are known to material
aspects, like their speeding highways,
posh automobiles, to lay a strong stress
on the modern gadgets and so on.
Ogburn has introduced a very
interesting concept signifying
relationship between material and nonmaterial culture. The concept is known
as the cultured lag, according to which
even though material culture of a society
changes very rapidly. while as
technology might change at a fast pace,
non-material cultural such as ideas and
values often lag behind and undergo a
much more gradual change. Some
sociologists do not like to include
material object under the concept of
culture on the ground that culture
consist of abstract thinking or that it has
a meaning only after it has been
internalised and becomes a customary
part of the conduct of the members of a
society.
Ideologies
When we are presented with an idea, we
are likely to ask whether it is true or false.

We also notice that true and false ideas
both exert and influence alike in society.
On the other hand, when we are
presented with a noun, we tend to
evaluate a situation and begin to enquire
whether it is right or wrong, good
or bad efficient or inefficient. In some
cases, however, we raise these questions
about ideas, too. Frequently, the second
question is more important than the first.
Ideas that are evaluated in this way are
what we should call ideologies. More
precisely, an ideology is an idea
supported by a norm. We are encouraged
to believe it, not because it is true, but
because such belief is regarded as right
and proper in our society.
Technologies
Technologies are sometimes referred to
as technical norms or, more simply, as
technique. Technologies, of course,
differ from society to society; and
societies may accordingly be compared
with respect to their levels of
technological achievements. Here, we
need only emphasise that technologies,
like ideologies, are an integral part of
the culture of a society including both
the material and non-material culture.
GLOSSARY
COGNITIVE DIMENSION OF CULTURE. It is an idea which consists of myth, superstitions,
scientific facts, art and religion.
CULTURE. It reflects the symbolic and learned aspects of society which includes
language, customs, traditions which are passed from one generation
to another.
IDEOLOGY. It may be defined as referring ot beliefs, attitudes and apinions which
forms a set thinking.
50
MATERIAL CULTURE . It consists of some objects such as, dwellings, clothing,

jewellery, tools, radio, musical instruments etc.
MATERIAL DIMENSION OF CULTURE. This refers to basic conditions which includes
material items that the members of society have and make use.
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE. It refers to abstract elements of society like way of thinking
(beliefs, values and other assumptions about the world) and patterns of
behaviours (language, music, art, gestures and other forms of
interaction).
NORMATIVE DIMENSION OF CULTURE. It includes rules, expectations and standardised
procedures.
TECHNOLOGY. It refers to all forms of productive techniques such as the invention
of the steam engine.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Define culture.
What is meant by material culture?
What is meant by non-material culture?
What are technologies?
How did the term culture originate?
List the characteristics of culture.
Can culture be superior or inferior? Explain.
What are the major components of culture?
How does culture differ from society?
Explain the normative dimension of culture.
Explain the concept of cultural lag.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Benedict, Ruth, Patterns of Culture, Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1946.
New Delhi, 1970.
3. Kluckhohn, Clyde, Mirror for Man, McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., New
York, 1949.
4. Malinowski, Bronislaw, Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences Culture,
Macmillan, New York, 1968.
5. William, Raymond, Culture and Society, Doubleday, New York, 1960.
51
CHAPTER 7
Marriage, Family and Kinship

MARRIAGE
The sexual-relationship in human
society is highly constrained. Who, when
and with whom will have this relationship
is determined by society. For
regulating sexual-relationship, society
has designed and evolved the
institution of marriage. Marriage
provides Legitimacy for sexual
relationship between the two particular
individuals of opposite sex and grants
legitimacy to the off-springs born out of
this relationship. Marriage is an
universal institution of human society.
Every society from primitive to modern
time has had the institution of marriage
but its form and nature has varied from
time to time, from society to society.
Likewise in India, every religious
community, every cultural region and
every tribal community is marked by
some particularities in the institution of
marriage.
Marriage is the basic institution of
human society. With the marriage of
two persons of opposite sex, the
nucleus of the family formed by
husband and wife comes into
existence. Through marriage, two
families enter into kinship-bond, which
expands with the expansion of family
and, thus, grows into a complex web or

network. Marriage also serves an
important economic function since it
defines proprietary rights and rights of
inheritance which may vary more or
less from one ethnic or religious
community to another.
Definition of Marriage
Harry M. Johnson has defined marriage
as a stable relationship in which a man
and a woman are socially permitted,
without loss of standing in the
community, to have children.
According to Collins Dictionary of
Sociology marriage is a socially
acknowledged and sometimes legally
ratified union between an adult male
and an adult female. This type of union
is based on two objectives: sexual
gratification and procreation with
socially sanctioned sex-relationship
and economic co-operation. It is clear
from the above definitions that the
important reasons for the emergence of
the institution of marriage are:
(a) Sexual gratification, which is a
biological need,
(b) Legitimisation of children born
out of such union, which is a
social need; and
52
(c) Economic co-operation which is

an economic need.
(a) Biological Need
Sex is one of the basic needs of the
human individual. Like hunger, sexual
drive must be satisfied so that a normal
human life is maintained and
consequently, society persists.
Marriage satisfies not only the
biological need of sex but also ensures
the psychological satisfaction of having
children. Caring and bringing up of the
child is the responsibility of father and
mother. This requires a relatively
stable union and marriage ensures
this to happen.
(b) Legitimisation of Children
Regulation of cohabitation in civilised
society is necessary so as to grant
legitimacy to the children born out of
this union. Consequently, society puts
a legal and moral binding on the
parents to care and bring up the child
ren for the perpetuation of society.
(c) Economic Need
Marriage did not come into existence
only for the biological need or sexual
gratification and to provide legitimacy
to the children but also for economic cooperation. It was not possible for the
human beings to arrange livelihood
single-handedly. This would have been
more difficult with the development of
the economy, in which the division of
labour and occupational differentiation
grew manifold. In the beginning of the
settled life, therefore, it was not very easy

to carry out economically meaningful
activities without the co-operation of
others. The institution of family thus
emerged inter alia with the realisation
of the need to cooperates among
the people.
History of Marriage Institution
As noted earlier, marriage in some form
or the other has existed since times
immemorial. Anthropologists have
attempted to trace the history of
marriage but there is no consensus
among them. The evolutionary theory of
Lewis Morgan based on certain
rudimentary folkways and social
practices concludes that in the earliest
form of groupings of people, sex was
absolutely un-regulated. Consequently, the institution of family was not
known. Believing that human societies
have evolved from lower into higher
types, Morgan set forth certain
hypothetical stages in the evolution of
marriage. Accordingly, as he thought,
from the hypothetical state of
promiscuity society must have evolved
into group marriage, then polygamy and
lastly monogamy.
Westermarck on the other hand, is of
the opinion that the history of marriage
began with its monogamous form. He
concludes this on the basis of his
assumption that the male has by
nature been an acquisitive and
possessive creature. Yet another,
anthropologist Robert Briffault claims
that at the initial stage of marital
relationship, mother had the supreme
authority. He rejects patriarchy as

claimed by Morgan and monogamy as
claimed by Westermark to be the initial
forms of marriage and family. Sociology
takes little interest in the origin and the
initial forms of marriage. It is more
concerned about the nature of marriage
in the civilised society and the changes
that have taken place in this institution
and in the forces responsible for this
change.
The Rules of Exogamy and
Endogamy
In the modern societies, there are
certain restrictions on choosing a
marriage partner. Under the rules of
endogamy, a person should marry only
within ones own restricted group such
as caste, religion, race etc. In India, the
caste is an endogamous group. A
person is not allowed or expected to
marry outside ones own caste.
Endogamy is also practised in relation
to religion. A person of one religion is
not expected to marry a person of
another religion.
Exogamy refers to the rules of
avoidance in marital relationship.
Every community prohibits its
members from having marital
relationship with certain persons.
Exogamy in one form or the other is
practised in every community. Under
this rule, marriage among close
relatives especially kin and same clan
is prohibited. For example, in China,
the individuals who bear the same
surname may not inter-marry. In
Hindu marriage, Gotra and Sapinda
are such exogamous groups. Gotra
53
refers to a group of families which trace

their origin from a common mythical
ancestor. Sapinda means that persons
of seven generations on the fathers side
and five on the mothers side cannot
inter-marry.
Incest Taboo
Incest taboo is perhaps the most
prominent feature of exogamic rule of
mate-selection in almost every society.
Marriage of father-daughter, motherson, brother-sister is unknown the
world over. Prohibition of sex
relationship between such primary
kins is called incest taboo. Human
society is so concerned about it that
any violation of incest taboo is treated
as an offence and the offender is liable
to a severe punishment. According to
the traditional belief in nearly all
societies, violation of incest taboo is
also supposed to be visited by
punishment from nature.
Reasons of Incest Taboo
There are sociological, psychological
and also scientific reasons for the
institution of incest taboo. The
exogamic rules are designed to restrict
free marriage relationship. The incest
taboos, according to Kingsley Davis,
confine sexual relations and sentiments
to the married pairs alone excluding
such relationships as between parent
and child, brother and sister etc. In this
way the possibility of confusion in the
organisation of kinship is prevented
and the family organisation is
maintained.
54
Quite often, a scientific justification is

also provided for keeping restrictions of
incest taboo. Eugenically, there is a fear
of a possibility that certain physiological
inadequacies present among close kins
such as cousins may be perpetuated and
transferred to their off-springs in case the
former inter-marry.
Forms of Marriage
Generally, there are two forms of
marriage prevalent in different parts of
world: (i) monogamy and (ii) polygamy.
(1) Monogamy
Monogamy refers to a marriage union
consisting of a husband and a wife.
Most marriages in the world are
monogamous. In a society where
monogamy prevails, a man or a woman
can remarry only after the death of the
spouse or the dissolution of marriage.
In Hindu society, monogamy is a
preferred form of marriage.
(2) Polygamy
Polygamy is that arrangement of
marriage in which either a woman has
more than one husband or a man has
more than one wife. The former
arrangement is called polyandry and
the latter polygyny. Of the two forms of
polygamy, polygyny is much more
prevalent than polyandry the world
over. In India, e.g. Naga, Gond, Baiga
and Toda are some of the tribes in
which polygyny is practised. However,
of all the major religious communities
in India, Muslims are the only ones
who are found practising polygyny
under the sanction of their religion,

even though such case are only few and
far between.
Polyandry has two forms: fraternal
polyandry and non-fraternal polyandry.
In fraternal polyandry, the woman is wife
to all the brothers and in the nonfraternal one, the wife has several
husbands who are not brothers. She
makes a round to different settlements
where her husbands live and spends
some time with each of them. In the
fraternal marriage, all the brothers
become fathers of the off-springs and in
the non-fraternal one, some one of the
husbands will be chosen as father of the
child. The paternity here is more legal
and social than biological. Ogburn and
Nimkoff are of the opinion that the chief
factor responsible for polyandry would
seem to be the extreme poverty of the
people.
THE FAMILY
Marriage leads to the formation of family.
The family is a universal institution and
has existed through out the history of
society. With the passage of time, family
has undergone changes gaining
and losing various shapes and
characteristics. The present stage of
economic development and cultural
changes have posed some new
challenges to the institution of family
leading to radical changes in the
structures and functions of family. In
the Western societies, the very
existence of family appears to be
threatened. However, the institution of
family is surviving and will survive for
the survival of the society itself.
Definition of Family
Family, basically, is made up of
individuals
having
kinship
relationship among themselves. The
smallest family consists of the
husband and wife with or without
children. Such a family is also called a
nuclear family. A man with his
children or a women with her children
can also constitute a family. This is
called a single-parent family. A family
may even consist of persons of few more
generations living together and other
relatives forming an extended family.
Such an arrangement is also known by
the name household. The family is a
durable group fulfilling the basic
function of sex relationship,
procreation and several other needs
such as the maintenance and
socialisation of the children.
Structure of Family
The family is an organised group based
on a network of relationships. These
relationships provide basis for the
definition of the family and the
assignment of rights and duties
between the members. Following are
the main elements of the structure of
family :
Affinal Relationship
The family begins with the marriage of
the persons of opposite sex. The
couple who are called husband and
wife may never have children yet they
constitute a family though a partial
one. Thus, every family is not
55
necessarily a biological group.

Sometimes children are adopted by
the couple. The adopted children also,
are the members of family. The family
may have only conjugal relationship.
Consanguineous Relationship
The members of the family are related to
one another through the process of
procreation. The biological interconnection is the consanguineous
relationship, which is socially defined
as kinship. Thus, family is a kinship
group.
Dual Membership
Every individual acquires membership
in two family groups. An individual
first takes birth in a family and then
after a certain period of time he/she
himself/herself procreates. The family
in which the person takes birth is
called the family or orientation and the
other one is called the family of
procreation in which he/she has
children of his/her own. Nuclear family
is a family of procreation for the
parents and it is a family of orientation
for their children.
Kingsley Davis says that the family
is a group of persons whose relations
to one another are based upon
consanguinity (or descent from
common ancestor and similar close
ties). These definition do not represent
the entire cultural range especially
the non-Western societies. The Indian
families have been traditionally known
to be much more complex in structure
and have often included members of
56
more than two or three generations.

Such family compositions have been
denoted by the term joint family.
Characteristics of Family
The family is not a simple collectivity
of individuals. It is formed by the
individuals who are biologically,
economically and socially interconnected. Some of the basic features
of family are as follows:
An universal phenomenon
Emotional relationship
Limited size
A basic unit of society
Mutual rights and duties
among the members of the
family
Socialisational role of the family
The family is a universal
phenomenon. It has a social
environment i.e. the persons in the
family are assigned certain statuses
who perform the roles expected of
them. The system of status and role
forms the part of the culture pattern.
The persons in the family are in definite
relationship with one another around
these statuses and roles. The
individuals early life is influenced by
this culture. There is not only economic
co-operation and biological relation
between the members of the family but
there also exists emotional relationship
among them. They share pleasures
and pains with one another. Every
member of the family bears
responsibility towards other members.
The family thus, provides full security
to every member including the young
and the old. The family regulates the
behaviour of its members. It regulates

sex relationship and defines legitimacy
and illegitimacy, morals and manners.
The nature of the family is both,
permanent and temporary. It is
permanent as an institution but its
organisational aspect is relatively
transitory. Because, the institutions
never die out, though the changes in
them do take place but a family
organisation may come to an end if
every member of the family does not
survive for any reason.
Social Functions of Family
The family occupies central position in
society. The society would not survive
unless its needs such as production of
the economic services, protection of the
young and their socialisation, the care
of the old, the sick and the pregnant,
conformity to the law and so on are not
met. The family is so organised a group
that it serves all these needs of society.
Davis in his book Human Society and
W. J. Moore in his book The Family
have pointed out following social
functions which the family performs for
the survival and maintenance of
society:
Reproductive Function
For its persistence, society needs
uninterrupted inflow of new
individuals. The family fulfils this need
by regulating sex relationship between
particular members in the family. By
this is satisfied not only individuals
biological need of sex but is also
ensured the procreation of children
which is necessary for the continuance

of society and the human race.
Maintenance of Family Members
The family takes care of the new born
baby. Human infant takes much longer
period of time and care to become
independent. Even the mother
carrying the baby needs support other
members of the family. This
responsibility is shouldered by the
family.
Social Placement of Individuals
The family is a kinship group with a
system of defined statuses and roles.
It also has a system of division of labour
and distribution of responsibilities
among its members. Every kin, thus,
has a social position in the family.
Socialisation of the Young
Society is a collectivity of individuals
interacting among themselves
according to the norms and values
determined by society. These norms
and values are learnt by individuals in
the family through the process of
socialisation. The family plays primary
role in socialising the individual to
behave according to the expectations of
society.
Social Control
The formal means of social control
such as police and the law courts are
not enough to maintain the
equilibrium of society. It is imperative
that people conform to the social norms
57
and the law. The family plays a vital role

in socialising individuals to conform to
the various norms and means of social
control.
Economic Functions
The family has certain economic
functions also to perform. It takes care
of the primary needs of the individuals
such as food, shelter, clothes and
security. The vitality of economic
functions of family are more noticeable
in the tribal and agrarian societies
where each family is a complete
productive unit. The process of
industrialisation and urbanisation
has, however, reduced this function of
family.
Types of Family
There are two broad types of family: the
nuclear family and the joint family. A
third type is the extended family which
is not a very common form. Two other
types of family are there, which are
generally found in tribal societies: the
polygynous family and the polyandrous family. The former of the two
is based upon one woman having more
than one wife, whereas the latter is
based upon one man married to more
than one husband at the same time. The
joint families also are of two types:
(a) Patrilineal and Patrilocal family;
(b) Matrilineal and Matrilocal
family.
Nuclear Family
The nuclear family is a group of
persons consisting of husband, wife
58
and their unmarried children. This is a

basic grouping of mates and their
offspring/s. The kinship relationships in
nuclear family are: husband-wife,
father-son, father-daughter, motherson, mother-daughter, brotherbrother, sister-sister and brothersister. This is the smallest composite
family unit. There may also be
supplemented nuclear family units
with a widowed parent of the husband
or his younger brothers and sisters as
residents.
Joint Family
Joint family consists of more than one
primary family. All the members are
blood relations or close kins and
generally share common residence,
kitchen and property. Joint family
generally consists of three or more
generations. But two or more colateral
families living together in a common
residence and sharing a common
kitchen and property also form a joint
family. Joint family is the hallmark of
traditional Indian society having very
deep roots in history. Joint family in its
traditional form is prevalent in India
even now, even though, it is waning
very fast.
Extended Family
If other closely related kins than those
who form the nuclear or joint family are
added to the nuclear family it takes the
form of an extended family. The
extended families can be either those
in which the nucleus is surrounded by
distant consanguineous kins or those
in which kinship universe is extended

still further such as parents-in-law living
in their son-in-laws family.
Matrilineal and Matrilocal Family
This is the family in which the husband
resides with his wife in her mothers
house. The ancestry in this family is
traced to the maternal line. The
matrilineal family is also matriarchal in
nature because the authority in this
family lies with the mother. She is head
of the family. This is not a common
form of family. The Khasis of Meghalya
live in matrilocal families.
Patrilineal and Patrilocal Family
Most of the families world over are of
this type. In the patrilineal and
patrilocal family, ancestry is traced to
the paternal line. Unlike matrilocal
families, the ancestors in the patrilocal
families are men. The patrilocal family
is also patriarchal. The authority lies
with the male members and the final
authority rests with the eldest male
member of the family.
Polygynous Family
When a man marries more than one
wife, the family organisation which is
formed a polygynous type. Most of the
tribal families are polygynous.
Polyandrous Family
This is a family in which a woman has
more than one husband. This is made
of the fraternal polyandry where a
several brothers marry one wife.
59
Changes in the Family System
Changes in the Functions of Family
The family institution in the whole world

is undergoing change. In the developed
societies of the West, this change is quite
fundamental in nature, so that the very
existence of family is threatened.
Industrialisation and development of
material culture have mainly led to this
change. In the less developed countries
like India the change in family is still not
touching threatening proportions.
However, drastic changes in the family
in India are also taking place though
slowly.
In the tribal and agrarian societies, the

family was a unit of production. The
family had an occupation, agriculture,
household industry, handicraft and
handloom, blacksmithing and
carpentry etc. All the members of the
family contributed to the production,
which they commonly shared.
Industrialisation has displaced the
household production system. The
urban industries have created new
jobs. The people have shifted away
from their family occupations; their
dependence
on
family
has
consequently decreased or ceased.
Industrialisation has led to the
development of several organisations,
which have taken over the social
functions which only family could
provide.
Changes in the Structure of Family

An important change in family is the
diminution in the size of the household.
Earlier, the number of persons in the
family used to be quite large. Extended
families consisted of persons of several
generations and several married
couples with a number of their
children. The present family hardly
consists of more than three
generations and the couples are not
interested in having more than two or
three children. The number of nuclear
families is fast increasing. The family
size is getting smaller because of the
fact that industrialisation and
urbanisation have led to the migration
of rural people to cities. The emotional
bonds are thinning and getting
confined only to the members of ones
own family as a result of stress on
values of individualism and
independence. This is also evident in
the rise of divorce rate and in the rising
number of single-member households.
Future of Family
The society has entered into a superindustrial age characterised by a nearabsolute individualism, predominance
of corporate organisations and frantic
occupational and spatial mobility. In
this environment, family has been
most susceptible to change. The
change has been quite drastic in the
Western society. The Indian society
and rest of the Asian societies are also
moving in the same direction, though
slowly. Ferdinand Lundberg the
author of The Coming World of
Transformation says that the family is
near the point of complete extinction.
Psychoanalyst William Wolf wrote that
family is dead except for the first year
60
or two of child-raising. William J. Goode,

on the basis of his experiences of the
erosion of family norms in the Western
societies also has raised the question as
to whether the family system is
disappearing.
On the other hand, there are
optimists who do not visualise any
possibility of the withering away of
family, but foresee instead a revival of
family as a stronger institution. The
family is in for a golden age. Irwin M.
Greenberg, is of the view that the very
turbulence of tomorrow will drive people
deeper into their families. Alvin Toffler
is, however, of the view that both the
contrasting views on the future of family
are unrealistic, the family will neither
come into a golden age, nor go into
oblivion. The family, according to him,
will break up, shatter, only to come
together again in weird and novel ways.
People may also be apprehensive of
the replacement of Indian joint family
system by nuclear family system in due
course. This would however, be a
misapprehension because the studies
do not suggest any such trend leading
to the extinction of joint family system
from here. I. P. Desai, Kapadia, M. S.
Gore, P.Kolenda and others have studied
Indian family and found no evidence of
obvious domination of nuclear family
over the joint family. There are no doubt,
radical changes taking place in the
traditional structure of joint family, yet
it continues to be a dominant and much
idealised system in the country. The joint
family may not remain joint in the sense
of people living together at one place, but
its members will continue to owe
affiliation to it in terms of emotional

identification, commit-ment and
responsibility.
KINSHIP
You have studied in the preceding section
of this chapter that family is a group
consisting of close relatives. These
relatives are known as kins or kindred.
Kinship system is also seen as a method
of organising marriage-relations
between groups. Through marriage,
Levi-Struass observes, members are
recruited to kinship groups. A female is
recruited as wife, as daughter-in-law
and so on through her marriage into
another group and a male through his
marriage is recruited as husband, sonin-law of his wifes parents group. The
kinship groups alliances, thus, are
transacted through marriage. The
members of the family are linked with one
another by kinship bonds based on blood
relationship with only exception of
husband and wife who are bound by
marriage. Every member of the family
behaves and expects from others to
behave in particular ways as sanctioned
by social norms. This behavior pattern is
learnt by the individual through
socialisation process. The mutual
expectations in the family are based on
kinship ties.
A kinship system is not an unorganised aggregation of individuals.
It is a system of the way the relations
between individuals in the family and
between families are organised. It is
as defined by G.P.Murdock merely a
structured system of relationship in
which individuals are bound to one
another by complex interlocking and

ramifying ties. Radcliffe-Brown looks at
kinship system as a part of social
structure and insists upon the study of
kinship as a field of rights and
obligations.
Kinship bonds are very strong and
considerably expanded in tribal
societies and also in rural communities. Along with modernisation,
technological development, the kinship
system has shrunk and has got
circumscribed to only not so distant
relatives. Studies of kinship system
have been done, largely by social
anthropologists and only a few of them
by the sociologists. The names of some
important anthropologists associated
with studies of kinship are: Rivers,
Kroeber, Lowie, Radcliffe-Brown and
Irawati Karve.
Nuclear Family
Kinship begins with nuclear family.
Nuclear family is the smallest and the
initial building block of the kinship
group. The kins found in this group are
husband, wife, son, daughter, brother
and sister. At some times in life, every
male in this type of family plays the role
of husband, father, son and brother
and every woman the role of wife,
mother, daughter and sister.
Incest Taboo
In every society, howsoever primitive or
modern, certain incest taboos and
rules of exogamy are observed. The
incest taboo refers to prohibition of
marital relationship between close
61
blood relatives such as father and

daughter, mother and son or brother
and sister etc. This rule removes
confusion in relationships by
preventing a man becoming both
husband and father in the family in
which he is son and brother and a
woman from becoming wife and
mother in the family in which she is
daughter and sister. In a nuclear
family, an individual has only one
kinship status at a time. If the brother
or sister marry they become members
of a nuclear family other than that in
which they were born. Thus every
normal adult member of a family
belongs to two nuclear families:
(1) The family of orientation,
(2) The family of procreation.
The family of orientation is that in
which the person is born and the family
of procreation is that in which he/she
establishes by marrying a woman/man
of some other family and by procreating
in it. Father, mother, son and daughter,
are the kins of the former and husband,
wife, and their unmarried children are
the kins of the latter. It is because of the
prohibition of marriage within the
nuclear family and consequently
membership of the individual in two
nuclear families at the same time that
kinship systems have evolved. Imagine
if there would be no such incest taboos
then the marriages would take place
within the nuclear families and
consequently, there would be no need
for one-to-one kinship relation. Since
individuals belong to two families due
to the practice of incest taboo, the
kinship ties go on branching out.
62
Types of Kinship
The relatives are linked either by a bond
of blood or by a marital bond. On the
basis of these ties, relatives are classified
into two types; the affinal relatives and
the consanguineal relatives.
Affinal Relatives
The relatives linked by marital bond
are known as affinal kins. For example,
husband and wife, wifes mother,
daughters husband, parents-in-law,
son-in-law are all affines.
Consanguineal Relatives
The relatives linked by blood or
common ancestry are known as
consanguineal kins. For example,
father, mother, son, daughter,
brother, sister, fathers brother,
fathers brothers son, grandchildren,
great grandchildren and so on. The
consanguineal kins form a common
ancestry and a common descent.
Blood is not the only determining
factor in consanguineal kinship but
more significant role is of the social
recognition of such kins. For example,
the adopted child is also recognised as
a real son. He shares fathers surname
and joins the descent. Among the Toda
tribe, polyandry is practice. From
among the brothers who have a
common wife one has to present a bow
and arrow to the wife in order to be
recognised as a father.
Degrees of Kinship
There can be different degrees of
distance between the kins. The
relationships may be very close, not so

close, distant, remote and so on. On this
basis, kinship relatives can be classified
into following categories.
Primary Kinship
Primary kinship relatives are those
who belong to the same nuclear
family as a particular person the
individuals father, mother, brother
and sister in the family of orientation
and husband, wife, son and daughter
in the family of procreation. A complete
nuclear family thus has eight distinct
kinds of relatives.
Secondary Kinship
Each of the relatives mentioned
among the primary kins may have
his/ her own primary relatives who
may not be included among the
primary relatives of the ego. For the
ego they are secondary relatives.
Certain examples of secondary
relatives are: fathers father
(grandfather), fathers mother
(grandmother), fathers sister (aunt),
brothers wife, sisters husband and
so on.
Tertiary kinship
Each secondary relative has primary
relatives who are neither primary nor
secondary relatives of the ego. They are
known as tertiary relatives. Some of the
tertiary relatives, for example, are great
grandparents, first cousins, spouses of
all uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces
and so on.
All other relatives who are more

remote than tertiary relatives are
termed by Murdock as distant
relatives. For all practical purposes,
the relatives upto tertiary degree are
normally found in interaction among
themselves. Very few might remember
remote relatives unless they are
remembered for establishing the
ancestry. In modern industrialised
societies tertiary relatives are only
rarely remembered. The most common
range of kinship structure today is
upto secondary relatives.
Kinship Usage
Within each kin group there are
certain reciprocal behavioural
patterns. These behaviours, verbal or
non-verbal constitute kinship usages.
Relationships of avoidance, joking
relationships and teknonymy are
some of the usages which are almost
universally practised. In relations of
avoidance, we find that certain
relationships are of restricted nature.
Such kins maintain a distance and
avoid free interaction between
themselves. A mans relationship with
his sons wife and with his younger
brothers wife are the examples of this
category of relationship. Certain other
relationships are there in which
opposite is the case. Interaction
between them is intimate and frank
and they have joking relationship
including use of obscene and vulgar
references. Joking relationship
between a man and his wifes sister
and between a woman and her
63
husbands younger brother are very

common. Teknonymy is yet another
kinship usage. This refers to
addressing a person neither by his/
her name nor by the kinship term but
by relationship to a child some other
term. For example, a person who is
father/mother of a child is addressed
as the father/mother of the child and
by kinship term such as my husband
or my wife.
Kinship Terms
Kinship terms are used to designate
and address a kin. There are certain
terms which are used for more than
one kin having some similarity and
certain specific terms are there for a
specific kin. Kinship terms are
technically classified in different
ways, but there are two broad
categories of the terms as given by
Morgan: the classificatory terms and
descriptive terms.
If the same term is used to
designate several people, it is called
classificatory t e r m . I n E n g l i s h
grandfather includes both fathers
father and mothers father, brotherin-law applies to both wifes and
husbands brother and also sisters
husband and so on. In Hindi the term
samdhi is used for both daughters
father-in-law and sons father-in-law.
The descriptive terms are those which
apply only to relatives of a single
kinship category. They are specific
terms for the specific kins. For
example, In Hindi, the terms, maussi,
maussa, phupha, phuphi, etc.
64
Social Functions of Kinship

Kinship is an important aspect of our
family life. People in the family have
definite rights and obligations according
to their statuses. A kin is more quickly
available for help than any other person
or agency. It is because the kin has
emotional relationship with another kin.
Kins help in economic tasks or other
activities which require co-operation
from others. When social functions like
marriage ceremonies and religious
activities take place in the family, kins
are necessarily invited and their
attendance is most expected. It is also
obligatory on their part to render
services as and when required. In the
events of crises also, people bank
heavily on their relatives for aid and
succor. Blood relatives have greater
importance as a person feels much
closer to them than those who are
related by marriage. Different kins
have different obligations to carry out
on different occasions in the family. For
instance, in Hindu family, the role of
the eldest brother is very significant.
When a person dies, the eldest son of
the deceased is supposed to light the
funeral pyre. It is customary that the
eldest son would be the heir after the
death of the father and would receive
the larger share in case the property is
divided among the offsprings. The
kinship system helps maintain
solidarity in the family. However,
tensions and conflicts among the kins
due to discriminatory rights also did
exist and even now exist in the
traditional Indian joint families
particularly of the propertied class.

Changing Kinship Relations
Kinship system has been very significant
in tribal and rural societies. In these
societies, kinship bonds have been very
strong and the size of kinship universe
very big. Relatives of several generations
on both paternal and maternal side
remain in close contact. Under the
impact of industrialisation and
corresponding rural-urban migration
and consequent urbanisation, the
kinship systems have undergone a
drastic change. As the size of family has
become considerably small and the
extended family system appears to be on
wane, the number of relatives with whom
regular contact is maintained has
substantially gone down. The distant
relatives and to some extent even tertiary
relatives are now ignored by the people.
This has also happened on account of
growing occupational differentiation
and spatial mobility, which has forced
the people to ignore not-so-close relatives
as the kinspersons, are no longer easily
available. The modern values,
particularly those of individualism
have forced people to become selfcentered and to feel concerned only
about their close and primary relatives.
Previously, the blood relationships
were stronger than the marital
relationships and still continue to be so
to an extent. But now the trend also
appears to be developing for matricentric social interaction. As a result,
married couples now have greater
interaction with wifes family than with
that of the husband. The kinship bonds
65
have definitely shrunk. But, essentially

speaking, kinship system will continue
to have significance along with the
continuance of the institution of family
in human society.
GLOSSARY
AFFINAL
RELATION.
CONSANGUINEOUS
Relationship by marriage like husband and wife.
RELATION.
Relationship by blood like brother and sister.
EXOGAMY. Marriage outside a defined group e.g. gotra, village.

ENDOGAMY. Marriage within a defined group e.g. castes, kinship.
FOLKWAYS. Customs and habits or typical behaviour patterns, characteristic
of a given community.
HYPERGAMY. Marriage of daughter with a man of higher class or caste.
HYPOGAMY. Marriage of daughter to a man of lower class or caste.
J OINT
FAMILY .
Family consisting of members of three or more than three

generations staying together under a common roof and with a common
kitchen.
KINSHIP. Social relationship based on real, putative or fictive consanguinity

, or It is the system of the way in which the relations between
individuals in the family and between families are organised.
LEGITIMACY. Giving legal (social) sanction.
M ATRILINEAL. Tracing of lineage from the female side.
MATRILOCAL. After the marriage bride and groom stay with the brides family.
MONOGAMY. Marriage of one man with one woman.
NUCLEAR
FAMILY .
Family consisting husband, wife and unmarried children.
PATRILINEAL. Tracing of relationship through the male side.

PATRILOCAL. After the marriage bride goes and stays with the grooms family.
POLYGAMY. Marriage between one man with many women or one woman with
several men.
TABOO. Prohibited conduct.
EXERCISES
1. Define marriage and explain the social significance of marriage.
2. What do you understand by the endogamous and exogamous rules of
66
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
marriage? Support your answer with suitable examples.

Explain rules and norms of marriage.
Define family. What are the basic features of family?
Discuss the social functions of family.
What is the impact of industrialization on family?
What are the characteristics of the various forms of family?
What do you understand by kinship? Discuss its importance in social life.
Differentiate between affinal and consanguineal relatives.
Explain, with examples the, different degrees of kinship relationships.
How has industrialization affected the kinship system.
What do you understand by exogamy?
Why is exogamy practiced?
What do you mean by nuclear family?
What do you understand by hypergamy?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Collins,Dictionary of Sociology by David Jary and Julia Jary, Harper Colins
Publisher, Glaxco, 1991.
2. Desai, I.P., Some Aspects of Family in Mahuva, Mumbai, 1964.
3. Goode, W.J., The Family, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi, 1954.
4. Karve, Irawati, Kinship Organization in India,Asia Publishing House, Bombay,
1965.
5. Murdock, G., Social Structure, Macmillan, New York, 1949.
6. Ogburn, W.F. and Nimkoff, M.F., Routleage and Kegan Paul, A Handbook of
Sociology, London, 1947.
7. Prabhu, P.N., Hindu Social Organization, Popular Book Prakashan, Mumbai,
1954.
8. Uberoi, P. (Ed.), Family, Marriage and Kinship, Asia Publishing House,
New Delhi, 1993.
67
CHAPTER 8
Economic Institutions
People are required to carry out
economic activities to produce the
means by which their needs may be
satisfied. The food for satisfying hunger
will have to be collected or produced;
and a home for shelter will have to be
made. Apart from these biological
needs, people also have many social
needs which need to be satisfied. In
this pursuit, the tools and technologies
have to be invented and used.
The activities carried out in respect
of production and consumption are
called economic activities. These
activities are rational in so far as they
are preceded by a deliberate planning
in respect of the needs and the means.
These are economic actions which,
according to Max Weber, refer to the
peaceful use of the actors control over
resources, which is primarily
economically oriented.
Economic activities of the
individual are governed by rules and
procedures laid down by society . Mere
use of technology to produce the
means of life is not enough. Imagine a
situation in which a person produces
a commodity but the product is
forcibly appropriated by some one else.
A person goes to the office on time in the
morning and finds that some one else
is occupying his/her position. A

person works in a firm but is denied
his/her wages in the end. All these are
chaotic situations, which threaten the
very existence of society as there would
be only struggle, deprivation and
death, if these are not checked. In order
to avoid such chaos, society ensures
that people are engaged in lawful use
of technology for production and more
importantly, that the product is
distributed among its members in an
orderly and efficient manner. Society
organises this production and
distribution system. The distributive
system means an allocation of rights
and duties in respect of the fruits of
technology and labour. The economy
refers to the system of production and
distribution.
Defintion of Economic Institution
Social institutions concerned with the
management, production and
distribution of human resources are
referred to as economic institutions.
Kingsley Davis defines economic
institutions as those basic ideas, norms
and statutes which govern the allocation
of scarce goods in any society,
whether society is primitive or civilised.
Ogburn
and
Nimkoff
define
68
economic institutions in a simpler way.

According to them, the activities of men
in relation to food and property
constitute the economic institutions.
The economic institutions thus govern
the activities of the individuals with
regard to production, distribution and
consumption of goods and services in
society.
The economic institutions which
constitute the economic system of
society are the wages, the system of
exchange, the division of labour, the
property and the contract. The
property and the contract are the
most fundamental economic
institutions.
Property
The property is an object or a good of
which a person or a group of persons
claim to be the owner. Even the state
can be the owner of the property. The
property owned by a person or a group
of persons is called private property and
which is in the control of the state is
called public property. Land, factories
and such articles which have economic
value are called property. There are
rights and duties of the person or the
group in respect of property. The
property rights of the people are defined
and protected by either custom or law.
In the medieval period when the
economic system was feudal, land was
the basic property. Rights in the land
were customary i.e. fixed by the
prevailing customs in the concerned
society. In modern society, property
rights are governed by law. Kingsley
Davis has pointed out the following

characteristics of property:
1. Property can be transferred,
2. It is not necessary that the owner
of the property is also the user of
it,
3. Property is a concrete external
object,
4. The property incurs certain
amount of power to the owner.
Contract
The contract is another important
economic institution. A contract
essentially refers to an agreement
between two or more persons to behave
in a certain specified way for a certain
specified period of time in future
towards achieving certain specified
ends. The rights and obligations in the
contractual relationship are limited to
those specified in the contract. The
relationships in the family are not of
the contractual kind, but the
relationships between the employer
and employee, the lawyer and the
client and those between business
partners are all contractual. Following
are the characteristics of
the
contractual relationship:
1. The contractual relationships are
impersonal,
limited to the formal terms and
conditions,
limited in terms of time, place and
reference,
4. Contractual relations are
rational.
However, no existing contractual

relationship in society is strictly ideal
and devoid of personal elements,
which do tend to develop over time
wall contractual relationship. For
example, business partners become
friends in due course of time. The
behaviour of the employer with the
employee cannot remain devoid of
sympathy and morality for ever. Like
property rights, the contractual
relations are also determined either by
custom or by law.
The Economic Systems
Economic system is the sub-system of
society. Human beings began
economic activities as early as they set
out to arrange and manage food for
themselves. In the beginning, it
appears, they were food-gatherers.
Then they invented tools for hunting
and collecting food and discovered the
use of the animals, particularly the
cattle. This was followed by the
second stage in this process of
development the development of
agricultural economy. The third stage
is that of the industrial economy.
These economic systems represent
three broad stages in the history of
society: the primitive stage, the
agrarian stage and the industrial
stage.
The Primitive Economic System
The economy of the tribal community is
based on hunting and cattle rearing
and a modicum of agriculture. Their
tools and technology are very simple.
69
The primitive people are very close to

natural environment and their economic
activities and gains depend on the
weather conditions. Their tools may
include the bow and arrow for hunting
and plough and hoe for agriculture.
Some primitive communities do not have
even payment settlements. The other
features of the primitive economy are: (a)
economic, religious and magical
activities are so intertwined that it is
difficult to separate them. For example,
in order to ensure success in their
economic activity they perform certain
rituals and magic, (b) there is complete
absence of desire for making profits
either from production or from
exchange, (c) There is no money involved
in the primitive economy, (d) The
wealth in the primitive societies is not
accumulated for any material objective
and exchange. It is done more for some
social gratification. For example, in
some communities on the north-west
coast of Canada, the important man in
a tribe accumulates large quantity of
blankets simply only to destroy them
in a fire at the potlatch ceremony. This
is
also
called
conspicuous
consumption and is supposed to
enhance the prestige of the concerned
person, (e) The property in tribal
communities is not strictly private but
belongs to the group or the community
and, (f) The division of labour in
primitive communities is based on sex.
Generally, men are hunters and
women are gatherers of other
natural eatables. Most primitive
communities are now undergoing the
acculturation process, so that due to
70
influence of civilized society the primitive

economy, as described above, may not
be found actually in existence at the
present time.
The Agrarian Economy
The rural economy is agrarian economy.
It is a stage in the evolution of human
society, which follows the primitive
characterized by hunting, domesticating
animals and shifting cultivation. When
these tribal communities settled down
perma-nently, the village communities
emerged and agriculture became the
main economic system, which brought
about more assured food supply. This
also entailed the growth of population
and increase in the size of the village
communities.
With stable agriculture, grew
many other economic activities
associated with agricultural life such
as pottery-making, weaving,
carpentry etc. The land became the
basic property in the rural economy
and the institution of private property
took concrete shape. The villages were
economically self-sufficient. The
Indian villages, in particular, were
known to be not only economically
self-sufficient but also had
harmonious social relations. This
could happen only because of the fact
that the occupations and related
economic activities were closely linked
with the social structure. Different
castes had their fixed occupations
and people were traditionally
expected to pursue these occupation.
All the Service castes served the higher
castes and were provided shelter, food

and protection by the latter. No cash
payments in market terms were made
for their services. Instead, they
received payments in kind and also in
the form of some occasional gifts. This
c u s t o m w a s k n o w n a s jajmani
system.
During the medieval period, the
feudal lords in England and the
zamindars in India (as they were called)
were the big land holders who allowed
the poor farmers to practice agriculture
on a portion of their land and in return
extracted revenue from them.
Difference between the feudal lords of
Europe and the zamindars of India was
that the former were the ultimate
authority without any middle-man
between them and their vassals,
whereas the latter mediated between
the British government and the tillers
of the land. The zamindar extracted
revenue from the farmers and handed
over a part of it to the British
government. The zamindari system in
India was abolished in the fifties of last
century.
As the agricultural production
increased and markets grew both rural
and urban industries started growing.
The domestic and handicraft
industries were established. Indian
artisans were highly skilled and their
products enjoyed a pride of place in the
world. On the one hand, agricultural
implements and other articles of
common use by the masses were made
and on the other, were also produced
commodities for use by the elite
classes. The works in this category
included silk-work, stone-carving,

carpet-weaving, brass-work and ivorywork etc.
In the rural economy, family was the
basic unit and land was the chief source
of production. The institution of
property rights and contract at this
stage of rural economy were both
customary as well as legal. In the
family, the land was inherited and all
the members of the family had their
rights over it as sanctioned by
tradition. The institution of law then
was not as developed as it is today and
the contracts (the economic
relationships) in the pre-industrial
medieval societies were governed
mostly by customary obligations. The
whole economic activity centered
around the relationship between the
landowner and the worker on the land,
the landlords and the real users of the
land, and the lenders and the
borrowers of money. The rights and
obligations in these relationships were
customary and the system was based
on personal relationships, though it
was quite exploitative. The landlords
and the money lenders enjoyed power
and prestige in India and often
oppressed the poor cultivators who
lived an impoverished existence. The
power of the money lender was,
however, not as pervasive as that of the
landlord. The landless workers were
always poverty stricken and their
position vis-a-vis landlords was
subordinate and miserable.
The Industrial Economy
The modern economy is industrial
71
economy. Its foundation was laid in the

middle of the eighteenth century with the
advent of Industrial Revolution in
England. Earlier, the agricultural
revolution had taken place. Production
in these fields was in a considerable
measure resulting into huge surpluses
and profits. These situations led to the
need to increase production, which
could not be possible by the then
existing manual power. Hence, the
invention of steam power which
provided a great impetus to
production. Industrial Revolution
essentially, refers to the replacement of
manual power by the mechanical
power in the production process. The
source of energy in the beginning was
steam, which was later on replaced by
electricity. With the use of machine not
only that the production was
augmented in quantity but also
improved in quality and variety. The
mechanization was introduced first in
the textile industry. The cloth already
being produced by the handlooms
could not compete with the power loom
cloth. As a result, handlooms were very
soon replaced.
The industrial production before
Industrial Revolution was being
carried out at the family level. The
family was the unit of production and
the members of the family were the
workers and rarely the labour was
hired. The industrialization entailed
the growth of factory system of
production. The capital required in this
system for purchasing capital goods
was so huge that a single family could
not afford it on its own. Consequently
72
more than one families joined hands to

pool capital to run the factory which
shifted away from the purview of family.
Earlier, the simple tools and
technologies were being used, for the
arrangement of which, a very small
amount of capital was required. The
Industrial Revolution pressed the
need of huge capital for purchasing
raw material, machines and tools and
other capital goods. The production
system, thus, became very expensive.
Consequently, several institutions
came up to play a vital role in
the industrial production and
distribution system. Some of these
institutions are, the financing
agencies, marketing agencies,
transportation and communication
systems etc. The whole economic
system became complex, skilloriented and capital intensive.
The countries of the Western
Europe, USA, and Japan from Asia
have now reached a stage that they are
categorized as developed countries.
They are the most industrialized
countries of the world. The other
countries including India are on
the path of industrialization
and are classified as the less
developed countries. The rate of
industrialization varies from society
to society along variation among
different countries in terms of their
social, political, geographical,
economic and historical conditions.
This is an industrial age, in which even
the tribal communities located in
certain remote areas have not
remained completely un-influenced
by the modern industrial economy.

Modern and Traditional Agrarian
Economy
Mo d e r n a g r a r i a n e c o n o m y i s
altogether different in nature from the
agrarian economy of the preindustrial era about which we have
described at length earlier in this
chapter. The main features of the
traditional agriculture were: (a) The
agricultural activities were only for
consumption, (b) The agricultural
yield was very low and there
was general scarcity of food, (c) The
work was essentially manual with the
use of a few hand driven implements,
(d) Agriculture depended mainly on
the weather and (e) There was greater
unevenness in land-holdings.
Majority of people in villages were
either landless or with small pieces of
land. The industrial economy took in
its fold also the agriculture. Under its
influence, the agriculture also
underwent mechanization. High
power tractors for tilling the land, high
efficiency tube wells and canals for
irrigation, high efficiency harvesters
for threshing the grains are now
commonly used. The development of
science and technology has given a great
impetus to agricultural economy. Not
only a variety of tools and machines but
also different types of fertilizers have been
invented for agriculture. These
developments have changed the nature
of agriculture. The agricultural yields
have been so much augmented that
many countries often face the
crisis of storage of grains. The present

farming is of the capitalist kind. The
farmers now produce for the market and
grow only those crops in their fields,
which bring greater profits to them.
Thus, the agriculture now is of the
industrial nature. It is carried out
scientifically and governed by the
market-situations. The agrarian
economy is, therefore, no longer
confined to producing only grains. Also,
the agriculturists are now concentrating
on a variety of other related activities,
such as food processing, poultry, flowercultivation etc. They are also frantically
shifting from agriculture to horticulture
which is gaining in demand in the
market. The farmers, particularly in the
suburban areas and also those living in
villages well-connected with urban
centers through efficient transportation and communication are now
producing vegetables, fruits, flowers
etc.
The Green Revolution was
launched in India in the later half of
the sixties in the last century. It
changed not only the nature of
agriculture in the country by
introducing technology into it and,
consequently, augmenting the
quantity of production but has also
influenced the existing agrarian
relations. It is the middle classes
which have benefited most from the
Green Revolution due to which their
very size in the country has expanded.
The standard of living of the
agriculturist castes has also risen;
also, the exploitative nature of the
agrarian economy has been reduced.
73
Characteristics of the Modern

Industrial Economy
We have already read in the preceding
pages that the property rights in the
feudal system of the medieval times
were determined by customs; and the
property to which they customarily
claimed their ownership referred to
land, cattle, agricultural implements
and other tangible material objects .
In the modern age, however, even nonmaterial intangible objects like ideas,
authorship of books, artistic production, musical notes and intellectual
innovations are protected by law like
property. That is why, both the
governments and the judiciary take
the responsibility of providing
protection to the people in all these
matters.
The System of Exchange
A system of exchange has always
existed at every stage of economy. In
the primitive societies, people
exchanged things of their utility. It was
called the barter-system. There was
neither money, nor any measure to
determine the value of a thing. The
modern economy is essentially a market
economy in which exchange is a prime
institution. People now produce for the
market and every commodity has a value
in terms of money and the currency is the
medium of exchange. Even agriculture is
no longer a mere subsistence economy as
it was during the pre-industrial period.
The agricultural production has a value
in market terms and the farmer produces
surpluses for the market with a profit
74
motive. The money is not only in the

form of metal coins as in the earlier
times but paper money has become a
more prominent form of money. The
coins are used only as small changes.
At a very advanced stage of industrial
economy where we have already
reached now, even money has become
a secondary means of exchange. Most
of business at a higher level is
transacted on credit. The economy is so
advanced and transactions have
become so huge and complex that no
amount of hard money would be able
to meet the demand. Moreover, the
exchange on the basis of credit is very
convenient, quick and safe.
Division of Labour
Every society, primitive or modern, has
the institution of division of labour. The
division of labour is a system of
distribution of work among the people
according to their skill and
competence. In the primitive societies,
the division of work was very simple
and determined only by sex. The men
generally did the work which required
hard labour such as hunting and
cultivation whereas child-rearing,
cooking, water fetching and food
gathering etc. were the responsibility
of women. In the undeveloped
economy, the jobs and other economic
activities were so simple and few that
no special training and skill, as such,
was required to carry them out. The
industrial economy as we have today,
is complex and replete with variety of
occupations requiring varied levels of
training and skills for their execution.
Required professional specializations

are so large that different persons with
different specialized knowledge are
required in the modern economy. The
occupational specializations with
immense variations are the result of the
fact that modern economy is
essentially technology-based and a
large number of institutions have
developed to fulfill these wide-ranging
requirements. This has led to the
emergence of different kinds of
professional classes. Since the modern
economy is based on technology and
science, tremendous progress has
taken place in the use of sophisticated
electronic machines and computers in
economic activities. The sex based
differentiation as we had in the preindustrial economies is no longer the
rule of law. The women are equally
competent to participate in the
economic activities since quite a good
number of jobs not require much
physical strength. The development of
new sophisticated technologies has
enabled women to be equally or even
more efficient in doing jobs outside
their homes, which has provided a
great fillip to their position in society.
The division of labour is a kind of
economic co-operation. Its genesis is
socially determined. Emile Durkheim, a
noted sociologist calls it a social fact. He
is of the opinion that division of labour
in society increases with the increase in
population in society. In primitive
societies, the population was small and
the economy was simple and
rudimentary. Therefore, the division of
labour was also simple. With the
development of society following the
growth of population, the division of

labour also has become complex and
differentiated, leading to what Emile
Durkheim has called, a growth in
organic solidarity in society.
In Marxian literature, labour in the
capitalist system of production is
without any qualitative attributes.
According to Marx, labour which
creates exchange-value and therefore
commodities, is specifically social
labour and the division of labour is the
economic expression of the social
character of labour.
Wage
The wage system, like many other
economic institutions has its roots in
the past. During medieval period,
merchants and traders used to hire
labour for producing handicrafts
work. In the putting out system of
manufacturing, the merchants
provided the raw material to the
labourers and received from them the
finished product. The workers were
paid by the merchants for their labour.
In the traditional agricultural economy
as in India, the wages were not paid in
cash and the rate of wages was not
fixed. Sometimes, rich farmers used to
take the services of the workers
without making any payment for it.
The workers had to serve under a
customary obligation . It was called
begaar.
With the advent of industrial
economy, the institution of wage
became firmly established. The wage
rate is now fixed; and forms the part
of contract between the employee and
75
the employer and is governed by law.

This is unlike the traditional wage
system in which the relationship
between the master and the revent was
very personal and informal. In the
modern economic system, this
relationship
is
formal
and
impersonal; and is governed by legal
conditionalities on both sides. The
institution of trade unions for the
workers and associations for the
employers have emerged for the
protection of their interests in these
contractual dealings.
As the industrial economy
advances, the corporations emerge. They
are joint stock companies with great
significance in the modern economy. The
modern industries require huge
amount of capital for the purchase of
expensive capital goods, which is not
possible for a single person to
accumulate. This becomes possible by
inviting shareholders to invest their
money by purchasing shares in these
companies. The corporation is not a
partnership concern, which gets
dissolved in the event of the death of one
partner. Instead, the corporations may
have any number of shareholders, and
also these may continue to exist despite
entry or exit of any specific shareholder/
s. Corporations also have many other
advantages over the partnership
concerns but, at the same time, they
may also have some negative features.
For example, it is often remarked
that a corporation has no soul. It is
usually insensitive to the general
welfare of the common people and is
governed purely by profit motive.
76
Further, whatever may be the number

of shareholders, a corporation is always
governed by a small group of insiders.
Types of Modern Economy
There are two ways of classifying
modern economies. One kind of
distinction is between the capitalist,
the socialist and the mixed economies.
Another distinction is between the
developed and the less developed
economies. The United States of
America and the countries of the
Western Europe are among the
capitalist economies. China is an
example of the socialist economy and
India is an example of the mixed
economy.
The Capitalist Economy
The capitalist economy is a free
economy. It operates according to the
market forces. There is private
ownership of the enterprises. The
production is controlled by individual
owners of capital employed in the
enterprise. It is also called the market
economy because it is the buyers and
sellers who determine what goods and
services in what quantity and at what
prices should be bought and sold in
the market. In the capitalist economy,
there is freedom to the people to carry
out any economic enterprise and the
motive behind this is only the
appropriation of private profit.
However, all the modern states attempt
to take care of the interest of the
common people (consumers and
workers) and intervene in the event of
any excesses unleashed by the

capitalists. The capitalist are not
allowed to appropriate absolutely
uncontrolled profit. The state monitors
prices and decides minimum wages in
order to protect the interests of the
workers.
The Socialist Economy
The socialist economy refers to the
establishment of public enterprises. In
this economic system, the capital is in
the ownership of the state. The
state controls the production and
distribution. Russia and China and
many other East European countries
fall in this category. However, from the
decade of 1980s the socialist countries
have shown interest in liberalization of
their economies and appear to be
gradually shifting away from the
ideologically rigid socialistic system to
the market oriented economy.
The Mixed Economy
The mixed economy is a combination of
both the capitalist and the socialist
economies. In this system, some
industries and business enterprises are
owned by the state and others are left free
to the private ownership of the people.
The enterprises owned by the state are
known as public sector enterprises and
those, which are owned by individual
entrepreneurs or group of individuals or
shareholders is collectively called the
private sector. There are also certain
firms, which are owned both by the
state and the private shareholders.
This is called a joint sector. Ever
since
Independence,
India
has been pursuing the system of mixed

economy.
In the year 1990, the Government of
India adopted New Economic Policy with
an objective to bring about a radical
economic reform in the country. The
three main objectives of the new policy
are: liberalization, privatization and
globalization. Under liberalization
scheme, the previously rigid business
rules and the licensing system have been
relaxed. The government has also
liberalized the international trade
practices in order to promote export and
competition among the Indian
businessmen. The direct foreign
investment has been welcomed in the
country. The foreign companies are
being persuaded to invest in the
industrial sector of our country. The
Government is gradually moving
towards reducing the share of public
sector in the economy and promoting
private investors. This shift by the
country from the long-cherished
principle of mixed economy was
necessitated because it was realized that
this system did not yield the results, as
it should have over a long period of forty
years since Independence and the
development process in the country
could not pick up adequate pace.
The Developed and Developing
Economies
The countries or the world are also
77
categorized into two classes: the

developed and developing. This
classification is based on the level of
economic progress of the countries. The
countries which started on the path of
industrialization long back and have
now reached the optimum level are
grouped as developed countries. These
countries are highly industria-lized and
are considered to have entered into the
post-industrial stage. These are rich
countries and have high per capita
income; and have excelled the less
developed countries not only in the
domain of production but also in the
sectors of education, health services and
the control of population growth. The
USA, Canada, the countries of the
Western Europe and Japan form this
category. The developing economy, on
the contrary, is that in which
industrialization is at a lower level. These
countries have limited access to modern
technology due to shortage of capital.
The per capita income of the people in
these countries is low and the standard
of living of majority of people is poor.
Poverty, illiteracy, high birth rate as well
as death rate, high infant mortality rate,
malnutrition and poor health services
are the symptoms of the less developed
countries of the world today. The
countries of Latin America, Africa and
Asia are generally included in this
category.
78
GLOSSARY
BARTER
SYSTEM.
Exchange of things of utility in agrarian sector.
BEGAAR. To do work without any payment.

CONTRACT. Agreement between two or more persons.
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES . Highly industrialized countries with high per capita
income, excellence in education and health services etc.
DEVELOPING ECONOMY . Economy where industrialization is at lower level with
limited access to modern technology, low per capita income,
comparatively poorer standard of living.
DIVISION OF LABOUR. Distribution of work among the people according to their skill
& competence.
ECONOMY. System of production and distribution.
GLOBALIZATION. Integration of economic activities (by units) of private capital on
world scale.
JAJMANI
SYSTEM . Customary exchange of goods and services between patron

(jajman) and client (kamin).
LIBERALIZATION. Relaxation of rigid business rules and licensing system, etc.

PRIVATIZATION. Reducing the share of public sector in the economy and promoting
private investors.
PROPERTY. Articles which have economic value.
POTLATCH. Ritualized ceremony for the exchange of gifts for establishing social
standing and honour. May involve the honorific and auspicuous
destruction of stocks of valuable. It is generally found in tribal societies.
EXERCISES
1. What do you mean by economic institutions? Point out certain fundamental
economic institutions.
2. Discuss the characteristics of the primitive economy.
3. What are the characteristics of modern industrial economy?
4. What are the characteristics of property?
5. Distinguish between agrarian and industrial economies.
6. In what way is the modern agricultural economy different from the preindustrial traditional agriculture?
7. Write a short note on Marxian view of labour.
8. Discuss the nature of exchange system at different stages of economy.
9. Write fifty words on each of the following.
(a) property
(b) contract
10. Distinguish between the capitalist and the socialist economies.

11. Differentiate between the developed countries and the less developed
countries.
12. What does mixed economy mean?
13. What do you mean by contract?
14. What are the aims of the New Economic Policy of India?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Gillin, J.L. and Gillin, J.P., An Introduction to Sociology, New York, 1947.
Kingsley, Davis, Human Society, New York, 1948.
Martindale, D. and Monachesi, E.D., Elements of Sociology, New York, 1951.
Smelser, N.J., The Sociology of Economic Life, New Delhi, 1965.
79
80
CHAPTER 9
Political Institutions
There is a close link between polity and
society. The sociological study of polity
seeks to understand how political
elements like leadership, power and
authority, party activities and voting
behaviour are influenced by social
factors like caste, class, race, region
and religion; and how state corresponds to the growing complexities of
society.
Political system is a sub-system of
society. It has always existed ever since
the emergence of society. Society is a
system of rules and regulations by
which is controlled the behaviour of the
people. Society has to have this control
mechanism if it has to continue to
exist. The absence of rules and
regulations in society would prove
chaotic leading to the collapse of social
systems. In the civilized societies like
ours, most of the means of social
control are formal such as written laws.
However, the customary laws are not
completely absent, either. The
institutions, which have the authority
to ensure the observance of the rule of
law in primitive societies are the family,
kinship and community, whereas in
the civilized societies it is done by the
state. These agencies are endowed
with legitimate power to use force to
ensure the observance of law by the

people.
Power and Authority
Legitimate power is the most
significant element of political
institutions.
Martindale
and
Monachesi have defined political
institutions as those holding monopoly
in the exercise of legitimate force. The
power can not be unlimited and
unqualified. The unqualified power
cannot last long. A person, howsoever
strong, may not be allowed to exercise
the use of force or violence for an
indefinite period of time. Also the
influence of power cannot remain
intact, if the force is frequently used to
exercise power. Therefore, the threat of
force is more significant than the actual
use of force in maintaining the
effectiveness of power to control.
Imperativeness of frequent use of force
indicates erosion of the power.
The political systems in the remote
past were such that the political power
of rulers (feudal lords, kings, emperors
and despots) was relatively unqualified
but state, which emerged after
Enlightenment and Industrial
Revolution was endowed with qualified
power. The state, according to Max

Weber, is a human community which
successfully claims the monopoly of
the legitimate use of physical force
within a given territory. The
constitution of a state/country defines
the limits of power of the state and its
different organs. The power is
legitimate so long as it presents the
general will of the people and is
voluntarily accepted by them.
Max Weber makes a distinction
between power and authority. When a
person exercises his influence over the
other person or persons irrespective of
the will of the latter, this influence is
called power. Authority, on the
contrary, is an exercise of influence,
which is voluntarily accepted by the
persons on whom it is exercised. The
authority is a legitimate power. The use
of force by a despot or a tyrant may be
a power, whereas that of the head of
the state in modern societies is an
authority. The authority, thus, is a
socially recognized influence.
There are several factors which
determine the nature of power
individually or in combination. These
factors have sociological significance.
Some of these factors are: (a) social
position, (b) prestige, (c) fame, (d) the
physical and material prowess; and
(e) education, knowledge, ability and
excellence.
When the power is legitimized it
becomes authority and only then it is
accepted by people voluntarily. Max
Weber points out three bases of
legitimization of power and classifies
three corresponding types of authority.
81
The authorities are: the traditional

authority, the charismatic authority
and the legal-rational authority.
The traditional authority is that
which people obey by habit. They
accept the power of someone simply
because it has been done so in the
past. It has become a tradition. The
tribal chief, the king or feudal lord of
the medieval period or the head of the
traditional patriarchal family are the
examples of traditional authority. This
type of authority is personal and
irrational.
Charismatic authority is the
second type. People also behave
voluntarily under the influence of a
person who possesses some
extraordinary qualities. They obey the
person due to their faith in and respect
for him. The charismatic authority is
personal and rational in nature.
The authority in the modern
industrial society is legal-rational type.
This authority is formal and its
privileges are limited and defined by
law. The actual power lies not in the
person who wields it but in the position
or the chair he occupies. Charismatic
administrative staff of the state is an
example of this category. This
authority is personal and irrational in
nature.
The State
According to Max Weber state is the
most fundamental institutions of a
political system. The state means the
institution which exercises the
monopoly over the legitimate use of
82
power within a given territory. It can

use force to implement its policies. It
has sovereignty. There are the subinstitutions of the state which are
involved in the exercise of political
power. The executive, the judiciary and
the legislature are the instruments,
which co-operate in the distribution of
power. The essential elements of the
state are: a population, a defined
territory, a government and
sovereignty. All modern societies are
nation-states. Giddens writes that
nation-states are the states in which
the great mass of population are
citizens who regard themselves as a
part of single nation.
Population
Population is the most important
element of state. Unless some families
of people relatively permanently in a
geographical area constitute a
community a state can not be formed.
The size of population may be small or
large. Political scientists are not
unanimon what the smallest size of
population should be for a state to exist.
Today, Vetican city has the lowest and
China has in largest population of the
world.
Territory
The modern states have clearly defined
territorial boundaries. The borders of
traditional states had been very loosely
defined and carelessly controlled.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty means the supreme power
that the government possesses to wield
control over people within the defined

territory of the state.
Government
The government consists of following
three organs which perform political
functions.
1. The Legislature
2. The Executive
3. The Judiciary
The legislature is the elected body
of representatives who are endowed
with authority to make laws in order to
regulate society within the jurisdiction
of constitutional provisions. Unlike
the primitive and pre-modern societies,
where the laws are customary, in
modern states the laws are written; and
are subject to change as and when
required to meet societal needs.
The organ of government which
executes laws passed by the legislature
is known as the Executive. It may
include entire staff of officials which
are voted with the administration of
public affairs, for example, the
executive head, council of ministers,
secretaries and other civil servants. In
the narrower sense, it signifies only
the real executive. The executives may
be (a) nominal or real, (b) hereditary or
elected, (c) single or plural. They are
appointed on a fixed remuneration and
terms and conditions. The relationship
between the employer and the
employee is contractual.
The welfare and security of the
citizens depends up on impartial
administration of justice, which is
done by Judiciary. It has the function
of defining and interpreting laws. It

also resolves disputes according to the
laws of the land, punish crimes and
protect the innocent from injury and
usurpation.
Political Systems
At every stage, in the history of society,
there has been one or the other kind of
political system. The political
structure that developed in primitive
societies was based on kinship and
religion. The power to control people
vested in kinship groups and the chiefs
of the community.
The political structure further
developed with the growth of
agricultural economy. The landed
property went into the hands of a single
person and, therefore, he became
powerful. This was the key element in
the formation of the feudal states. The
large landholders would naturally
exercise a control over the slaves, serfs
and labourers, who were under their
subservience. These rich men became
chiefs and lords. The medieval
European societies, India, China and
other Asian countries had the feudal
form of government.
With Industrial Revolution by the
middle of the Eighteenth century and
following the French Revolution,
capitalism developed along with new
value system in Europe. The power of
the king started breaking down giving
way to the establishment of democracy.
The traditional values of orthodoxy,
hierarchy, monarchy and autocracy
also started getting replaced by those
83
of rationality, equality, democracy and

secularism. The political authority
shifted away from church and
monarch to the body of people called
government elected by the people. The
democratic form of government is
currently the most popular political
system in the world. However, other
forms of political systems still continue
to exist.
Contemporary Political Systems
Broadly, two forms of political systems
exist today in the world: Monarchy and
Democracy.
Monarchy
Monarchy refers to the rule of a single
person. The power of a monarch is
customary and passes through family
from generation to generation. In
ancient and medieval period there
were several monarchies in Asia,
Africa and Europe. The power of the
monarch was legitimized by tradition
and not by law. Today, only in a few
countries, there is monarchic
government. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and
Morocco have monarchs who exercise
near-complete control over the
government. Some modern democratic
countries also have monarchs but their
power is restricted by the Constitution.
They are thus, only constitutional
monarchs who carry out certain
symbolic responsibilities. The queen of
the United Kingdom, emperor of Japan
and king of Nepal are such monarchs,
today.
84
Democracy
Democracy is the most popular and
widely accepted form of government
today. There are two prevailing
systems of democracy in modern
society:
(a) the pure or direct,
(b) the representative or indirect.
The direct or participatory
democracy is that in which the will of
the state is expressed directly and
immediately through the mass
assembly. The decisions are taken by
the community. This kind of
democracy is possible only where the
state is so small that all the members
can assemble under one roof. The
ancient Greece had this kind of
democracy. The representative or
indirect type of democracy is one in
which the will of the state is formulated
and expressed through a small and
selected body of persons, who are
chosen by the people as their
representatives. These representatives
come through voting. The democratic
system of indirect representation also
has two forms:
(i) The Parliamentary System; and
(ii) The Presidential System.
In the parliamentary system the
authority to rule lies with the
parliament, which is a house of the
representatives of people. In the
presidential system, the real power lies
with the president who indirectly
represents people. India and England
are examples of the former and USA of
the latter.
There are certain countries, which
claim to be democratic but their system
of governance is authoritarian. The will

of people is not honoured as is done in
democratic governments. In these
societies, those ruling the state
deliberately use their power and
positions to realize their own interests
ignoring the interests of the common
people. Myanmar and Singapore are
examples of such countries.
POLITICAL PARTY
The political parties occupy
significant place in democracy. It is an
organized body of people with common
interests and ideology. Gilchrist
defines political party as an organized
group of citizens who profess to share
the same political views and who act as
a political unit try to control the
government. MacIver writes that a
political,party is an association
organized in support of some principle
or policy, which by constitutional
means endeavours to make the
determinant of the government. The
parties are essentially political and
they strive for power. There are some
motivational factors, which are
instrumental in the development of
political parties. These motivational
factors are ideological, regional,
religious, linguistic etc.
The parties may be classified in
terms of their ideologies. Some parties
are Rightist, i.e. politically conservative
and supporting the ideals of capitalism
whereas some are Leftist, i.e. those who
support the ideals of socialism. Still
others are Centrist, i.e. with moderate
rather than with extreme political
views. In India, the BJP is labelled as
85
the Rightist, CPI and CPM the Leftist

and the Congress the Centrist. The
political position of a party is
acknowledged on the basis of the level
of representation of the people it has.
Some parties have national status
because they represent all the regions
of the country, like Congress, BJP, BSP
and RJD. As against this, some parties
are only regional in status like the
Telugu Desam, Akali Dal, National
Conference, because they represent
the people only of some specific regions
of the country. There is visible
connection between the formation and
functioning of political parties on the
one hand, caste, class and regional
interests on the other. However,
national-level parties have sought to
represent the general interests of the
people. Certain parties arouse caste or
religious sentiments in consolidating
their political position and ensuring
the victory of their candidates in
elections.
a group is, thus, a political force which

attempts to influence the decisions of
the government in its favour. The
pressure groups work with the objective
of occupying a powerful position in the
national politics. With the increase of
education, economic position and
political awareness, the pressure
groups emerge, especially when their
constituent members realize that their
interests are being ignored by the
group of people who currently occupy
positions of power. The Indian nation
is replete with diversities and,
therefore, there always exists a natural
possibility of certain sections of people
feeling discrimi-nated. As the
situation in the country stands at
present, certain castes or sub-castes,
communities and regional groups can
come together in order to present their
political interests from being
appropriated by the government.
Pressure Groups
Almost every country of the world has

a Constitution. The Constitution is a
document of legal rules, which guide
and govern the government of a
country. It is a written document
containing the general principles
under which the government
functions.
Only
the
British
Constitution is unwritten. The
Constitution is the supreme law of the
land. No statutory law of the
government can be out of or in violation
of the general principles of the
Constitution. The Constitution can
also be amended through a definite
Apart from national and regional

parties, there also exist interest groups
and pressure groups which act to
influence political decisions and
processes in the democratic states. The
interest groups are, some kind of
associations some which function to
safeguard the social, economic and
cultural interests of its people. Quite
often, these groups are forced by
people owing affiliation to more than
one political party, simply because they
feel a commonality of interests. Such
The Constitution
86
procedure and only by a competent

body, as and when required.
The Indian Constitution was
passed by the Constituent Assembly on
26 November, 1949. It came into force
on 26 January,
1950. The
Constitution consists of 395 Articles
and Eight Schedules. The Ninth
Schedule was added by the
Constitution (First Amendment ) Act
1951 and the Tenth Schedule by
the
Constitution
(Fifty-second
amendment) Act 1985. The total
number of amendments made, so far,
are 94 and many more are on anvil.
Indian Constitution is perhaps the
largest document in the world.
The Preamble to the Constitution
declares that India is a sovereign
democratic Secular Republic. The
Indian State is a parliamentary
democracy. The Constitution declares
India to be a secular state. It means that
it will not be guided in discharging its
duties by the teachings of any religious
faith
within
its
territories.
Additionally, India is also a Welfare
State.
The Fundamental Rights and
Directive Principles
The Constitution of India contains the
fundamental rights, which the State
has to ensure to its citizens and the
Directive Principles which the central
and various state governments have to
be guided by in the process of their
governance.
Some
specific
fundamental rights are: the right to
equality, the right to freedom (freedom
of speech, freedom of assembly,

freedom of association, freedom of
movement, freedom of property and
freedom of profession, occupation and
business), right to freedom of religion,
cultural and educational rights. The
Directive Principles contained in
chapter III of the Constitution intend
to emphasize that the primary concern
of the state is to ensure social justice
to the citizens. The state has been
charged to make effective provisions for
securing right to work, to education, to
public assistance in cases of
unemployment, old age, sickness and
disablement and other such minimum
things required for a civilized
existence.
Elections
The Articles 324-329 of the
Constitution of India refer to the
specifications of the elections. The
Constitution under the provisions of
these articles provides for every citizen
of India who is not less than eighteen
years of age, except those who are
mentally unsound or who had been
found guilty of criminal or corrupt
practices, the right to vote for elections
to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and
the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan
Sabha). The Election Commission is
charged with the responsibility of
regulating, directing and controlling
all elections including the election of
the President and Vice-President of
India. The Election Commission
consists of the Chief Election
Commissioner and other Election
87
Commissioners whose number is

determined by the President. Chief
Election Commissioner is also the
Chairman of the Commission.
Elections in India are a huge event. It
is the worlds largest exercise in
democracy. Every adult Indian has
right to vote is a testimony to the
successful democracy that our
country is. The Election Commission
provides facilities to the voters to have
easy and passable access to polling
booths and to cast their votes fearlessly.
Panchayati Raj
Panchayati Raj is a significant
institution of Indian polity. The
objective of Panchayati Raj is to
decentralize power percolating it down

to the village level and enable the
village people to have effective control
on village development programmes.
Gram Panchayat functions as a unit of
self-government. Panchayati Raj is a
three-tier system of governance: Gram
Panchayat at the village level;
Panchayat Samiti at the intermediate
level; and Zila Panchayat at the district
level. Members at all the three tiers are
chosen by direct election. The 73rd
Constitution Amendment Act accorded
greater power and responsibilities to
the elected members of Panchayats
and by reservation of seats, enabled
women to actively participate
in political processes in greater
number.
GLOSSARY
AUTHORITY. Power, influence, established by political rule within a community
or society.
B UREAUCRACY . Bureaucracy in the sociological literature refers to an
organizational set-up, where specific individuals perform their
assigned tasks according to these specialized skills.
D EMOCRACY . Participation of the people at large in their own political
governance.
MONOPOLY. Exclusive use of power by only a single ruler or a single party.
NATION-STATES. The states in which the great mass of population are citizens
who regard themselves as a part of single-nation.
PRESSURE GROUPS. A specific group which acts to influence political processes
in the democratic states.
SOVEREIGNTY. Supreme power of government exercised by a state or its people
living within defined territorial limits.
EXCERCISES
1. What do you understand by political institutions? Indicate the
significance of the element of power in political system.
88
2. What are the characteristics of modern state?

3. What do you understand by authority? What are the basis of legitimating
power.
4. Discuss the nature of political parties. How are they different from the
pressure groups?
5. Discuss the influence of social and cultural conditions on political
processes and the nature and function of political parties in India.
6. Write short notes on the following:
(a) Rational-legal authority
(b) Pressure groups
(c) Democracy
(d) Power and authority
(e) Power and state.
7. What is monarchy? Give examples.
8. Which countries are not truly democratic and why?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Basu, D.D., Introduction to the Indian Constitution, Printice Hall of India, New
Delhi, 1983.
2. Bottomore, T.B., Sociology, Blackie and Sons, Bombay, 1978.
3. Giddens, A., Sociology, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1989.
4. Lenski, G., Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratification, McGraw Hill,
New York, 1966.
5. Weber, Max, The Theory of Social and Economic Organization, Free Press,
Illinois, 1947.
89
CHAPTER 10
Religion and Culture

Religion has existed throughout the
history of human society. It is a part of
culture and an important aspect of
human social life. It shapes human
behaviour in a moral fashion . Religion
is a system of belief in the existence of
supernatural beings. It is based on
assumptions and speculations. One of
the speculations is that religion came
into being as a result of the instinct of
fear in a person. At the initial stage of
society, human individuals were
completely dependent on nature for
their livelihood. Quite often, due to very
weak faculty of intelligence, they could
not understand and rationalize the
causes of natural obstacles in their way
of arrangement of food and shelter. As
a consequence, they were led to believe
in and feared from the existence of
some supernatural power a power
higher than their own. Whose
displeasure, in their view, could be
contained only by its appreciation and
propitiation. Thus, perhaps evolved
religion which grew into an organized
form based on a system of beliefs and
ritual practices.
DEFINITION OF RELIGION
The anthropologist E.B.Tylor has
defined religion as a belief in

supernatural being. Emile Durkheim,
an eminent sociologist has defined it as
a unified system of beliefs and
practices related to sacred things that
is, things set apart and forbiddenbeliefs and practices which unite into
one single moral community called a
church.
Basic Characteristics of Religion
Following are the basic characteristics
of religion :
1. Belief in the supernatural power,
2. These beliefs are associated with
emotional state of mind such as
fear, awe, happiness, reverence
etc.,
3. There are many material objects
involved in religious practices
such as altar, charms, cloth,
flower, banana leaves, sacrifice,
cross, incense sticks etc.,
4. The material objects involved in
religious practices vary from
culture to culture,
5. Every religion involves its specific
rituals such as playing, dancing,
chanting, fasting and eating
certain specific kinds of food and
so on,
90
6. Religious rituals are generally

performed in isolation but
occasionally religion is ceremoniously practised collectively,
7. Every religion has its specific
mode of worship,
8. Every religion has its special place
of worship,
9. The concept of heaven and hell
and sacred and profane.
Magic, Religion and Science
Magic, religion and science are
mutually distinct and also represent,
as argued by Frazer, the three stages
in the development of human thought.
The common thing among them is the
quest of understanding the reality of
nature and the attempt to exercise a
control over it.
Magic, like religion, is also a belief
in supernatural power and tries to
control this mystical power by the use
of force and techniques. Magic is
generally practised individually,
whereas religion is practised by a
community of believers. Magic is part
of the tribal culture, though, it is not
completely absent in modern societies.
Some persons of the modern society
such as players, professionals and
those who work in risk-prone places
perform magic-like rites. They wear
special kinds of precious stonestudded rings in order to avert the evil
effects of bad spirits. People perform
magical rituals in order to save
themselves from imminent dangers. In
magic, the exorcist considers himself
more powerful than the spiritthe

supernatural and performs rituals to
overpower it. Magic has two forms: the
white magic and the black magic.
White magic is that in which the
exorcist exercises his magical power for
the benefit and well being of the
common people. On the contrary,
when the sorcerer uses magical power
by means of charms for evil purposes,
we call it black magic.
In religion, unlike magic, the
mysterious power is assumed to be
superior to the human being. It is
believed that this power directs and
controls the course of nature and
human life. In religion, the
supernatural power is only propitiated
and prayed to instead of being
controlled by force. Religion, unlike
magic, is humble, submissive, ethical
and moralistic in its values, whereas
magic may be negative and evil-ended
too.
While both magic and religion
believe in the existence of the unknown
the supernatural beings, science
believes in what is known as
observable and knowable. Science
refers to a systematic knowledge of the
reality. It attempts to understand
realities on the basis of observable
facts. Science is rationalistic in as
much as it aims at seeking the causeeffect relationship involved in the
dynamics of phenomena. But
scientists are not atheists necessarily.
They may also be believers,
worshippers and, of course sometimes
dogmatic also.
THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF

RELIGION
Anthropologists and sociologists have
propounded theories of the origin of
religion. The theories are generally
evolutionary in nature as they depict
successive stages in the development
of the institution of religion in society.
E.B. Tylor in his book Primitive Culture,
has clearly explained his views
regarding the origin of religion. His
theory of religion is popularly known as
the theory of animism. According to
this theory, religion emerged from the
idea of soul. From the fact of death and
the phenomenon of dreams, the idea of
soul that emerged in the minds of the
primitive people was that the soul after
death transmigrates. During sleep,
these transmigrated souls interact
with the body soul. Dream is the
manifestation of this interaction.
J.G.Frazer, in his book the Golden
Bough, presents the theory of the origin
of religion by making a distinction
between magic and religion. Magic,
according to Frazer, is an attempt of
people to control nature by force. This
act presupposes the assertion of greater
power of the people than the power of
nature. On the contrary, religion is the
propitiation or conciliation of powers
superior to man, which are believed to
direct and control the course of nature
and of human life. The human thought,
according to Frazer, has evolved in the
sequence: first, the magical stage;
second, the religious stage; and third,
the scientific stage.
91
Max Mullers theory of the origin of

religion is known as naturism. Like
the views of Tylor, Mullers theory is
also based on the intellectual error of
the primitive man. To the primitive
man, at the first stage, the nature
appeared to be most surprising,
fearful, marvellous. It was that vast
domain of surprise and of terror,
according to Muller, which supplied
from the earlier times the impulse to
religious thought and language. It is
from this sensation of infinite that
religion was derived.
In his book, Elementary Forms of
the Religious Life Emile Durkheim
rejects all the existing theories of
religion and instead, puts forth a
sociological theory of religion. In every
religion, Durkheim says, a distinction
is made between sacred and profane
things. The sacred things are those
which are treated as very special and
superior and also which are protected
and isolated. The profane things are
interdicted and kept at distance from
the sacred. The sacredness of a thing
is not an inherent characteristic but
something which it gets from another
source and also from its opposition to
the profane.
Totemism according to Durkheim,
was the most primitive form of religion.
The word, totem, according to
Giddings, first originated among North
American Indian tribes but has been
widely used to refer to animals or
plants believed to have supernatural
powers. Totem consists of a series of
ideas. One of the ideas is the belief that
the people of a social group (clan,
92
phratry, moity are such social groups in

primitive societies) are related to a
common mythological ancestor.
Symbols are used to represent the
totem. Certain restrictions are
applied such as, prohibition of killing
and eating of totem except for
ceremonial sacrifice, taboo of sexual
relationship or marriage between the
members of the group having the same
totem.
The basic argument of Durkheim is
that all religious ideas such as totem
have emerged from the social group.
The deity, the righteous and unrighteous, heaven and hell and totem
are all the collective representations of
the group itself.
The totem is treated sacred
because it is a symbol of group life.
People respect totem because they
respect social values. Totem
represents collective consciousness. In
religion, according to Durkheim,
collective ceremonies are held.
Peoples faith in religion reaffirms
group solidarity. Ceremonies and
rituals bind people together in the
community. Durkheim emphasizes
that on special occasions in life such as
birth, marriage and death a very new
situation
emerges.
Collective
ceremonies and rituals on such
occasions help the affected people to
adjust with the new situations.
Prominent Religions
The prominent religions of the world
are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity,
Buddhism, Jainism and Judaism. In
India, apart from Hinduism, other

religions are Islam, Christianity,
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and
Zoroastrianism. Each of these religions
is based on a particular system of
beliefs and practices.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam
originated in the Middle East. These
religions are monotheistic and earlier
two religions are messianic. They
believe in single God and His Prophets.
Judaism is the religion of the Jews and
the oldest of the three religions.
Christianity emerged fafter Judaism
and spread as a prominent religion.
Jesus, himself a Jew, was the initiator
of Christianity. Islam is the second
largest religion after Christianity in the
world, today. It originated from the
teachings of the prophet Mohammad in
the Seventh century.
Hinduism is the oldest of all the
great religions of the world and the
prominent religion of the Indian Subcontinent. It dates back some six
thousand years. Hinduism is a
polytheistic religion. Several gods and
deities are worshipped. Other basic
features of Hinduism are its tenet of the
cycle of reincarnation. Theory of
reincarnation is based on the belief
that all creatures continue to pass
through the eternal process of birth,
death and rebirth pending the
attainment of salvation (Moksha)
freedom from the cycle of birth, death
and birth. Hinduism, basically
speaking, emphasizes upon the
observance of ones own duties as a
member of society particularly the
caste and the family. Buddhism,
Jainism and Sikhism are the other

religions which have emerged from
Hindu religion.
Ideology of Religion
Beliefs and rituals are the subjective
attitudes of individuals. Religious belief
is based on the assumption of the
existence of supernatural world. It
relates to the intangible aspect of
religion such as, idea of God, heaven
and
hell,
consecration
and
desecration, sin and virtue. It also
relates to the tangible objects such as,
place of worship, holy books etc. For
Hindus, apart from several gods and
goddesses, cow is also a sacred animal;
and so is the water of Ganges. It is all
a matter of subjective faith and does
not have any thing to do with the
inherent nature of things.
The rituals relate to the behaviour
of people with reference to the
supernatural and sacred things.
Rituals are religious actions in which
one or the other kind of tangible sacred
things are manipulated. Ritual is goal
directed. It is performed in order to
achieve certain desires and wishes.
The ritual is, therefore, an
instrumental action. Ritual practices
vary from place to place and from time
to time. Religious behaviour may
include wearing special clothes,
fasting, dancing, giving alms etc.
Every religion has its particular
mode of worship. A Hindu worships in
the temple, a Christian in the Church
and a Muslim worships in the Mosque.
Every religion has its Holy texts such
93
as Vedas of Hindus, the Quran of

Muslims and the Bible of Christians.
They contain the philosophy and
ideology of respective religions.
Every religion consists of several
folklores and folksongs replete with
mythological stories, mysteries and
messages of the gods. They form the
part of the tradition of the society and
are transmitted by one generation to
other. This is how the emotional
adherence to religion is strengthened.
The victory of god over devil or of
goodness over the evil is generally the
main theme of the tales or songs. For
example, Rama, Jesus Christ and
prophet Mohammad have been
depicted as symbols of goodness.
Organization of Religion
There are different forms of the
communities of believers such as the
church, the sect and the cult. Church
is a well-established organization. It
has a bureaucratic structure with a
hierarchy of office bearers from among
the believers. The Catholic and the
Protestant are such churches. No other
religion is so highly organized.
Hinduism has no organized body
except that certain important temples
of the country have the body of persons
entrusted with the responsibility of
management of temples. Temples also
have priests to look after the
maintenance of the temples and carry
out routine religious functions. The
priests are generally selected only
conventionally.
Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch
94
have made a significant distinction

between churches and sects. As
compared to church sects are smaller
in size. They are also not so well
organized. They generally originate as
a remonstration against the old
established religions. It is initiated by
a few and gradually others join it. The
sect rejects the tenets of the
conventional religion and attempts to
convince people about the weaknesses
of the traditional religion. It motivates
people to follow the teachings of the
sect. Arya Samaj and Neo-Buddhism
Ram Krishna Mission are the examples
of sects of Hinduism.
Cult is yet another religious
organization. It is formed around
ideology and thinking of a particular
individual leader. The like-minded
people follow him. A person may follow
a cult principle and adhere to any other
religion. The cult is still smaller and
has a shorter life than sect. Instances
of cults in the West as given by Giddens
are the groups of believers in
spiritualism, astrology or transcendental meditation. The Kabir Panth,
Sai Baba, Jai Gurudev are some of the
present cults in India.
THEORIES OF RELIGION
Theory of Karl Marx
Although Karl Marx was not for the
abolition of religion as he was for the
private property system, he visualized
the alienation of man in religion. Marx
writes that the more man puts into
God, the less he retains into himself.
He also says that religion is opium of
the masses. People justify the

inequalities and injustices meted out to
them as the will of god and thus, any
resistance to oppression is minimized.
Religion promises that the life
afterwards would be better. Marx feels
that religion reduces the possibility of
revolt against inequalities and
exploitations.
Theory of Max Weber
Max Weber studied world religions
including Hinduism with a view to
trace the role of religion in economic
development. Weber wrote in his book
The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of
Capitalism that the Development of
modern capitalism in the West
is essentially due to rise of
Protestantism. Calvinism, according to
Weber, helped development of
entrepreneurs. It is because the
Protestantism believes that real service
to God is honestly working hard for
material success.
Hinduism, on the contrary,
according to him is not conducive to
development because of its philosophy
of other-worldliness and emphasis on
resigning material gains. Max Weber,
however, is not correct in his
conclusions regarding Hinduism and
its impact on Indian economic
development. Most of the early
entrepreneurs of the country such as
Marwaris were from the communities
of strong believers. More over, even this
fact is not a truth that only Protestants
could develop and not the Catholics in
the West.
Religion and Culture

Religion is a part of culture but has
autonomous power to influence most
elements of culture complex. It
pervades the entire way of life of people
and determines the world view and
approach to life. Religion in its fold has
both material and non-material
cultural contents. The belief in
intangible mystic super power,
transmigration of soul, transcendence,
the otherworldly abode like heaven and
hell, division of world of things into
sacred and profane refer to the nonmaterial aspects of religion. The
material aspect of religion relates to the
host of tangible things that hold
religious significance and are used at
the time of religious performances and
rituals. Ritual may be performed by a
person or a group of persons. It may
also be entertaining but should not be
taken primarily as an entertainment. It
is a serious life activity. The modes of
worship, the objects like flowers,
incense sticks, candles etc., the places
of worship and many other such
objects that are used during religious
practices form the material aspect of
religion.
Impact of Religion on Culture
Religion infringes upon most elements
of culture. All religions have some
common elements. Belief in
supernatural power i.e. faith in the
existence of God, worship and
propitiation of God, mysticism of the
supernatural power, maintenance of
isolation of that power and related
95
things as sacred from the rest treated

as profane are such elements. But
there are variations in religious
practices among different religions.
Different religions prescribe different
kinds of objects with different
meanings. Such variations have
caused cultural variations in societies.
Temples of Hindus, Mosques of
Muslims and Churches of Christians
are architecturally different from one
another. A multitude of gods and
goddess are worshiped. Hindu religion
is pantheistic and Islam and
Christianity are monotheistic and
messianic. When a Christian goes into
Church, he takes off his hat but keeps
his shoes on, whereas, when a Hindu
steps into temple or a Muslim into
mosque he takes off his shoes but
takes his head covered. In Hindu
religion, the flower is an important item
to be used at the time of worship where
as in Islam and Christianity it is not.
The Christians light candles in the
church during worship. Incense sticks
are used by all these communities at
the time of worship.
The last rites are important cultural
situations in every religious
community. In what way they are
performed and what connotations they
carry vary from society to society.
Among the Muslims and Christians,
the dead body is buried under the
ground, whereas among Hindus, it is
consigned to the fire. The cremation
takes place with some ritual
performances as prescribed by the
respective religion. The post-cremation
ritual ceremonies among the
96
Christians and Muslims are not as

complex and elongated as among the
Hindus. The Zoroastrians hang the
body of the deceased on what they call
the Tower of Silence and leave it there
for vultures to eat it to finish.
Signs and symbols are very
significant elements of culture. The
sign indicates the existence of a thing
or an event and symbol represents the
thing or event. Both signs and symbols
are meaningful and their meaning is
conveyed by interpretation. They are
very commonly used in religion and
religious practices. The signs differ
from religion to religion, sometimes,
conveying contradictory meanings.
The mourning is marked by the black
dress among Christians, whereas
among Hindus people generally wear
white dress on such occasions.
The art and artifacts of local culture
are found to be highly influenced by
religion. For example, gods and
goddesses, elephants, cows etc. are
quite often depicted in the folk art of
Hindus. The elephant and the cow etc.
have religious significance in
Hinduism. Most of the Indian festivals
are either purely religious or involve
some religious activities. Durgapuja in
contrary to South, is a very popular
festival of North India which is
celebrated to propitiate the goddess
Durga a goddess of power. Dussehra
is another festival being celebrated in
most part of the country which
concerns with the myth of the victory
of Lord Rama over Ravana, who
symbolize the victory of goodness over
evil. Yet another festival is Deepawali
in which goddess Laxmi is worshipped.

Laxmi is considered to be the goddess
of wealth. Likewise in most festivals
some kind of religious practices are
carried out.
Ethics and morality are greatly
influenced by religion. Theft, violence,
dishonesty telling a lie and fidelity are
the ethical and moral questions. No
society approves them. Religious
minded people believe that such acts
amount to committing a sin and the
person committing such sin is doomed
to go to hell. On the contrary if a person
observes honesty, tolerance and helps
and protect other creatures is graced
to get a place in heaven. Heaven and
hell are the mythical abodes one of
which a person is allotted after the
present life according to the good or
bad deeds of the person. Peace and love
are the prime objectives of religion.
Religion in Modern Society
Religion as we understand is a system
of belief in supernatural being. Belief
is a matter of emotion and the
supernatural is beyond factual
experience. Hence, no element of
rationality in religion so far as the basis
of its understanding is concerned. The
modern society cherishes the values of
rationality and secularism. Science
and technology control the nature of
economic life of the people. Science
does not accept the existence of that
which is not observable. Since religion
is based on mere belief in the factually
unknown and unknowable and not on
reason, it does not hold its significance
97
as strongly in modern societies as in

the traditional ones.
However,
any
amount
of
development of science and technology
and modernization can not dispense
religion altogether. What has happened
in the present modern society is that
religion has undergone change along
the changes in other aspects of social
life. The following are some of the
changes in religion as have taken place :
(a) In traditional society religion
pervades every act of life. In the
modern society, religion is
confined to certain situations.
(b) In traditional society, religious
beliefs are strong and rituals are
performed by all and quite
frequently. In modern society
religious faith varies from
individual to individual. Some of
even those who are strong
believers do not necessarily
perform rituals.
(c) In the medieval period, the state
and religion were, generally,
inseparable. The modern states,

on the contrary, are secular
having a field separate from
religion.
While religion works as an
integrating force for the group adhering
to it and also integrating the
personality of the people, it also
sometimes, becomes the cause of strife
and communal tension. Though all the
religions have common objective i.e.
welfare of the society and human
being, and therefore, there is no point
of competition among them. But,
some political parties or countries for
their clandestine political motive,
manage to arouse hatred in one
religious community against the other
religious community leading to
occasional outburst of communal
violence.
The present day terrorism which
has gripped various parts of the world
is an evidence of the notorious
activities of a section of religious
community in the name of religion.
GLOSSARY
ANIMISM. Phenomena as dreams and death by reference to the spiritual existence,
animals and plants.
CULT. Is the belief and practices of a particular group of religion to a god or gods.
A small flexible group whose religion is characterised by its individualism
and esoteric belief.
JUDAISM. Religion of the Jews.
RITUALS. Any formal actions following a set of pattern which express through
symbols.
SACRED. Religious beliefs regarded and explained as extraordinary and outside
everyday course of events and things.
98
SECT. A religious group having some specific rituals, etc.

SYMBOL. Any gesture, architect, sign and concept which signifies or expresses
something else is symbol.
TOTEM. A plant, animal or object which is sacred symbol of a group.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Define religion. Point out the basic characteristics of religion.

Examine the theories of the origin of religion.
Give a comparative account of the theories of Tylor and Frazer.
Explain Durkheims sociological view on religion.
Differentiate between the theory of Durkheim and that of Tylor.
Distinguish between magic, religion and science.
Discuss the organization of religion in society.
What is the shape of religion in modern society?
Trace the relationship between religion and culture.
Define cult.
What do you mean by sect?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Durkheim, Emile, Elementary Forms of Religious Life, London, 1930.

Giddens, Anthony, Sociology, Cambridge, 2001.
Harlambos, M., Sociology : Themes and Perspectives, Oxford, 1980.
Weber, Max, Sociology of Religion, Boston, 1963.
Wilson, B.R., Religious Sects, London, 1970.
99
CHAPTER 11
Education
An individual is born only as a
biological being but soon becomes a
social being. This transformation from
biological to social takes place through
socialization and education. Education
is an effort of the senior people to
transfer their knowledge to the
younger members of society. It is,
therefore, also an institution which
plays a vital role in integrating an
individual with his society and in
maintaining the perpetuation of
culture. The French sociologist Emile
Durkheim defines education as the
influence exercised by the adult
generation upon those who are not yet
ready for adult life. He maintains that
society can survive only if there exists
among its members a sufficient degree
of homogeneity. The homogeneity is
perpetuated and reinforced by
education. A child, through education,
learns basic rules, regulations, norms
and values of society. The child gets
attached to society only by learning the
history of society.
Sociology has been interested in
the study of education particularly in
its interface with society. sociologists
have focused mainly on the influence
of social situations on the nature of
education system and the role of
education in social change. From

among the prominent sociologists who
have worked on sociology of education
some worth mentioning names are :
Emile Durkheim, Ivan Illich, Pierre
Bourdieu, M.S. Gore and Suma
Chitnis.
Basic Aims of Education
The basic aims of education are to
maintain society and to develop the
personality of individuals. Following
are some basic aims of education:
(a) education integrates individual
with society,
(b) education maintains society,
(c) education perpetuates culture,
(d) education increases efficiency of
individuals.
Formal and Informal Education
Broadly speaking, there are two
systems of education: formal and
informal. The education which is
imparted in a well-defined institutional
setting is formal and which an
individual acquires in the course of
day-to-day life activities in the family
and outside, in the company of others,
is informal system of education.
100
Informal Education
Informal education dominates mainly
in societies where there are no schools
or insufficient number of schools to
provide education to children. Informal
education is imparted by family and
kinship groups and the content of
education relates to the activities
involved in day-to-day behaviours
pertaining to their social and economic
needs. The language is only oral and
the learning is by doing. People learn
their language, rituals and ceremonies,
norms and values and skills etc.,
through family and community
activities, folklores and folk-tales. Even
in civilized societies, where schools are
available, children do receive
education informally along with formal
education they receive in schools. For
example, morals, manners, family
history and heritage are learnt by the
child in the company of family
members.
Formal Education
Formal education characterizes
modern education system as we have
it today. It is evident from old texts that
formal education existed even in
ancient India. The child used to spend
the first quarter of his life in the abode
of a hermit who provided education.
The content of education essentially
related to scriptures and the art of
using weapons in self-defense and in
the service and welfare of others. In
simple words, the formal education ,as
we practice it today, refers to school
education with formalized institutional
set up. It is modern education which

began in England in the year 1870. The
Fisher Education Act 1918 made
school education in England
compulsory up to the age of 14 which
was raised to 15 and, today, it is 16. In
this chapter we concentrate mainly on
the nature and functioning of formal
education. It has three important
components :
(a) An organizational structure,
(b) A definite and properly spelt out
content of education,
(c) Definite rules and regulations.
The Organisational Structure of
Education
There are three levels of education and
each level has its organizational
structure :
1. The elementary level
2. The college level
3. The university level
The elementary level of education is
comprised of three sub-levels: the
primary (for 5 years), the upper
primary (for another 3 years) and high
school (for a further 2 years). A child
normally completes this education by
the age of 14. Government of India has
made education up to this level free
and compulsory.
Classes XI and XII constitute the
college level education. After
completing this, the student enters
university
education.
College
education is the threshold-level of
education, which makes child qualified
to take decisions about the future
course of ones educational career. One
may go in for professional education

and become a skilled professional
worker in different fields or may opt for
higher studies in conventional
theoretical subjects being offered in the
universities.
The formal education normally
presupposes the availability of a
separate building meant for this
purpose. All the levels of education
mentioned above must each have a
distinct definite organizational set up.
The organizational structure of formal
education consists of three main
organs: the teachers, the students and
the administrative staff. The teachers
and administrative staff members are
appointed by a person or a body of
persons having legitimate authority to
do so, on the basis of certain prescribed
rules and regulations. In pre-industrial
societies, teachers were normally
drawn from the higher strata or
sections of society. In India this task
was traditionally taken up by
Brahmins.
For the students also a minimum
qualification is prescribed for entry in
to a particular course of education. The
student receives education on
payment of fees and is bound to abide
by the rules laid down by the
administration of the educational
institution. The modern formal
education is mass education. No body
is denied admission in schools and
colleges on the basis of caste, creed or
any such characteristics other than
the lack of prescribed minimum
educational qualification. This is also
guaranteed nearly under all modern
101
constitutions including the Indian

Constitution. In ancient Indian
society, education was the privilege of
only the higher caste people, the lower
caste people were usually denied
education. Our constitution now
guarantees education to every section
of society under the goal of universal
education.
From administrative point of view,
some educational institutions are run
privately, some are controlled by
government and some others are semigovernmental. In India, quite a large
number of schools and colleges are
privately run.
Distance Education
Distance education system is another
form of formal organization for
providing higher education to those
who cannot enroll themselves in
conventional schools, colleges or
universities as full-time students.
Such a system helps those receive
benefits of education who can do it only
in their spare time. Distance education
is an off-campus education programme carried out through postal
and electronic media. The students are
made available printed material, audio
and video aids. They also meet the
counsellors occasionally at specified
study-centers easily accessible to
them.
The Content of Education
In pre-industrial societies, not only the
number of educational institutions
was very small but the content of
102
education imparted to the students

was altogether different from what is
provided to them, today. In schools of
the olden days, what students were
taught was related mainly to religion,
philosophy,
metaphysics
and
scriptural subjects. On the other hand,
the course-content of modern
education is rationalistic and in tune
with the needs of the present day
society. Science and technology,
grammar and literature, social
philosophy, history and culture,
geography, and ecology, agriculture
and horticulture comprise a vast range
of subjects, which are taught in
schools, colleges and universities.
Modern education lays emphasis on
the subjects like freedom, nationality,
law, human rights, democracy and
scientific worldview. In order to ensure
total development of personality of the
child, the schools also organize cocurricular and extra-curricular
activities.
The modern education is changeoriented and, therefore, the courses
are modified time and again
corresponding to the changes that take
place in society at large so as to keep
pace with the needs of the changing
situation emerging in the wake of fast
changing industrial society, today.
In the present industrial society
has emerged a multiplicity of
occupations and professions each of
which is associated with specific kind
of knowledge and skill. It is a society of
complex division of labour. This
society, therefore, requires people with
specialized knowledge. The modern
education provided by different

educational institutions fulfils this
need of the present industrial society.
A vast range of subjects like medicine,
health, engineering, management and
commerce, jurisprudence and forensic
sciences, physical, biological,
agricultural and social sciences; and
many more specializations are being
taught in modern educational
institutions.
Education and Society
The modern education as we have
today, began with the advent of
industrial economy because it is this
education system which could cater to
the requirements of industrial
economy. With the development of
economy, grows the demand for
manpower with specialized knowledge
and skill. The present education
system is geered to meet this need.
Democracy is the contemporary
and most popular form of political
system of the world. It is based on the
principles of secularism, equality and
liberty. The modern education lays a
strong emphasis on these principles.
Therefore, the expansion of education
makes political processes more and
more democratic. This is the reason
why every government makes serious
attempts to universalize education.
The political system, on the other
hand also determines the nature of
education. The government, through
education, also communicates its
national goals and makes its citizens
aware and conscious of such goals so
that national cohesiveness may be
103
maintained. Necessary changes in

school curriculum are also dictated
and carried out in order to meet this
end. The students are acquainted with
the cultural and national heritage; and
taught to show respect to them in order
to ensure the requisite national
integration.
Every society has its history,
heritage, values and norms which
together constitute its tradition. All
these have a direct bearing upon the
nature of education that a society
adopts. Deeper the roots of tradition of
a society, greater will be its influence
on education. That is why there is a
constant concern on the part of the
leadership of the country political
and intellectual to inject appropriate
sensitivity into the curricula about
countrys past traditions. Thus, in
schools, the children are taught both
the history and culture of India and
modern India; and also the subjects
like science, technology, development,
democracy, environment etc.
Despite the influence of British
missionaries trying to introduce a
western system of education in India,
some deliberate efforts were made by
persons like Raja Ram Mohan Rai,
Karve, Tilak, Gokhale and Malviya for
introducing specific Indian contents
into the education system. These refer
to knowledge about Indian philosophical systems, art and culture etc.
Sociological
Education
Perspectives
on
There are broadly two theoretical
perspectives prevailing in sociological

writings:
(a) The functionalist perspective,
(b) The Marxist perspective
Functionalist Perspective
The functionalist sociologists have
acknowledged the positive influence of
education on society. Emile Durkheim
maintains that society can survive
only when there exists among its
members a sufficient degree of
homogeneity, education does ensure
perpetuate and reinforce this
homogeneity. Durkheim argues that
in complex industrial societies, school
serves an important function which the
family or peer, group may not be able
to do. In the family or peer group, a
person has to interact with his kin or
with his friend. In the society at large,
one has to interact with a person who
is neither a kin nor a friend. School
teaches an individual to learn to cooperate with such strangers.
Talcott Parsons also maintains that
schools socialize young people into the
basic values of society. The schools of
the modern society educate the young
not only to knowledge and honour
these basic values but also prepares to
cope with the newly created conditions
and circumstances in the wake of
industrialization.
The functional role of education in
society has also been highlighted by
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore.
Social stratification, according to them
is a mechanism for ensuring allocation
of positions in society to suitable
104
persons. Education system serves this

purpose and provides competent
people to occupy significant positions
in society.
Marxian Perspective
A host of scholars have emphasized the
influence of existing social structure on
education. A general perspective
adopted for analyzing this impact has
been Marxian perspective, according to
which the education system of a society
is determined by the existing class
structure of the society. The elite
classes of a society due to their
dominating influence on the masses,
have power and competence to
formulate the education system and its
agenda. They are supposed to formulate
the education agenda in such a manner
that it ensures the perpetuation of their
interests. Consequently, only those
skills are generated which are required
by the labour force working for their
interests. as to ensure that it serves
their interest.
Education and Social Change
Education serves as an instrument of
social change. The modern education
changes the outlook of people from
dogmatic, conservative, inert, to
rational, forward-looking; and
achievement-oriented. The change in
the outlook and attitude of people
leads to changes in social and cultural
matrix of society. We can observe
radical changes that have taken place
in the family, community and caste
system of Indian society due to
expansion of education facilities. The

modern education has contributed
enormously to the introduction of new,
sophisticated and highly efficient
technologies in the service of human
beings. It has brought about not only
economic development, particularly in
rural areas, but has also been
instrumental for many changes in
social relationships.
Joint
family has been a
characteristic feature of the traditional
Indian family system. The authoritarian relationships with the highest
position wielded by the eldest male
member of the family and relatively
lower positions occupied by women,
were among the most significant
characteristics of the family system in
India. The modern education has
contributed to the transformation of
these relationships into more and more
equalitarian relationship, with the
improvement the position of women
vis--vis men. This has been possible
only due to expansion of education.
This has also resulted from increasing
economic independence among
women due to their preparation in
various skills required in the hole
market. Thus has automatically
reduced the magnitude of genderdiscrimination.
In traditional Indian society, interpersonal relations in the community
were based on the caste norms. For
most of the castes, there were fixed
occupations which the people were
supposed to adopt; as a result, intercaste relations were guides by criteria
of high and low and were often
exploitative. The higher landed castes

generally monopolized political power
in rural areas. But, the education now
is changing very fast this traditional
setting in the villages. Inter-personal
relations in the village community are
now coming to be based more and more
on the principles of democracy and
equality. Every one can now pursue his
economic and political betterment and
thus try to rise in the social hierarchy.
NATIONAL POLICY OF
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
ON EDUCATION
The Article 45 of the Constitution of
India made promise for free and
compulsory education to all children
until they reach the age of 14. The
Kothari Commission of Education
made several recommendations
regarding expansion of education in
the country and targeted to achieved
that these be by the end of year 1960.
Free and compulsory education with
an objective of ensuring universal
education involved three necessary
elements:
1. Universal provisions, i.e.
providing educational facilities
up to the age of 14 years as free
education including the
provision of school buildings.
2. Universal enrolment i.e.
ensuring that every child is
enrolled at primary level
3. Universal
retention
i.e.
ensuring that children do not
drop out of school at an early age.
The Government of India adopted
105
an Education Policy in 1968. The most

notable feature of the Policy of 1968
was the acceptance of a common
structure of education through out the
country and the adoption of the
10+2+3 system by all states. A national
Education Policy was adopted in 1986
in order to meet the new challenges
and social needs corresponding to
social and economic developments in
the country. Following were some of
the provisions made in the policy
1986 :
It laid emphasis on promoting
National System of Education
which implied that up to a given
level, all students, irrespective of
caste, creed, location or sex have
access to education of a
comparable quality,
The Policy proposed Operation
Blackboard which envisaged the
need of at least (i) two reasonably
large rooms usable in all weather,
(ii) necessary toys and games
material, (iii) blackboards and (iv)
maps, charts and other learning
materials for the primary schools,
The Policy stressed to the need
provide
equal
educational
opportunities to those who had
been a relatively deprived lot
earlier . Women, scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes and other
educationally backward sections
and minorities of Indian society
were such groups promised
equality
of
educational
opportunity,
The Policy laid special emphasis on
106
total development of the child; and

it was recognized that along with
education, nutrition, health,
social, mental, physical, moral and
emotional development of the child
must be ensured. This was called
Early Childhood Care and
Education (ECCE) programme,
which received high priority in the
Policy,
The Policy laid emphasis on
providing social and moral
education to the child to foster
national unity and integration to
eliminate obscurantism, religious
fanaticism, violence, superstitions
and fatalism.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Arduous efforts have been made in the
last
four
decades
for
the
Universalisation of Elementary
Education and to fulfill the mandate of
the Indian Constitution. National
policy on Education 1986 and 1992
also gave top priority to the
achievements of Universal Elementary
Education (UEE). Many projects and
programmes at the micro and macro
levels have since been undertaken in
this regard. Experience has shown that
with all the past interventions, there
has been considerable progress in
providing access to primary education,
increase in enrolment and retention,
improvement in school attendance and
generation of strong demand for
education, especially for girls.
However, pupil-achievement has been
low and there have been inter-state
and inter-district differences in pupils

attendance and achievement level.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SAA) is an
attempt to provide human capabilities
to all children through provision of
community managed quality
education in a mission-mode.
Therefore, it focuses on the following :
A programme with a clear time
frame for Universal Elementary
Education (Class VIII),
A response to the demand for
quality-based education all over
the country,
An opportunity for promoting social
justice through basic education,
An effort to effectively involve
Panchayti Raj Institutions, School
Management Committees, village
and urban slum level Education
Committees, Parent-Teacher
Associations, Tribal Autonomous
Councils and other grass-root level
structures in the management of
elementary schools.
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is
intended to provide useful and relevant
elementary education for all children in
the age-group of 6 to 14 year by 2010.
There is also another goal to bridge
school, regional and gender gaps, with
the active participation of the
community in the management of
schools. Following are the main
objectives to be achieved by SSA:
All children to be put in School,
Education Guarantee Centre,
Alternative school, Back-to-School
Camp by 2003,
All children to compete five years of
primary schooling by 2007,
107
All children to complete eight years

of elementary schooling by 2010.
Should Education be Privatised?

Education is the national goal of a
welfare state. It is the duty of the
government to ensure education to
every citizen of the country. In
pursuance of this, the Indian
Government has planned to provide
free compulsory education to the
children up to 14 years of age, which
it continues to do. In order to protect
the educational interests of the socially
and economically deprived persons of
the country, the government has taken
several measures including financial
support and reservation of seats them.
Despite all these measures, the
government could neither achieve the
target of universal education nor could
it ensure equal opportunity of
education to all. This is largely due to
the fact that the government did not
bother to abolish the double standards
of education by disbanding the private
school system in the country.
Ironically, The Kothari Commission
and the National Education Policy
1986 laid emphasis on having a

common school system for the whole
country, but the two systems of
education continue to exist.
Privatization of education would
mean the administration and
management
of
educational
institutions to be completely in the
hands of individual entrepreneurs or
private organizations. The educational
institutions would then be run strictly
on the market principles of cost-benefit
ratio completely ignoring the
educational needs and economic
handicaps of the poor people. In India,
where inequality in educational
attainment is of alarming proportions,
complete privatization of education
would perpetuate and reinforce
inequality in the country. The present
education system in the country is
often dubled as the most elitist and if
it is privatized, it will further become an
exclusive preserve of the elite groups of
society. Therefore, India is not yet
prepared to opt for complete
privatization of education. Instead,
greater sensitivity is required to be
shown to the need of mass education.
GLOSSARY
COMMUNITY. Denotes a collectivity of people who occupy a common geographical
area; and are engaged in same social, economic or political activity.
DIVISION OF LABOUR. The phrase refers to the division of a work process into a number
of parts, each part undertaken by a separate person or group of persons.
ECOLOGY. Ecology is man-made material adaptation to the physical environment.
HOMOGENEITY. Similarities between two or more different groups or certain other
things.
108
P RE - INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES . Societies which existed prior to the dawn of

manufacturing industry during the Eighteenth century Europe.
SCRIPTURAL. Religious books.
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION. The hierarchically organized structures of social inequality
ranks, status groups, etc. which exist in many society.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Define education. Discuss the organizational structure of education.

Differentiate with examples between informal and formal education.
Discuss the salient features of modern education.
Elaborate the organizational and curricular characteristics of the modern
formal education system.
Discuss the views of the functionalist sociologists on the role of education in
society.
In what way does social structure influence the nature of modern education?
What are salient features of National Education Policy 1986 of the
Government of India?
What do you mean by privatization of education?
Point out the basic aims of education.
Should education be privatized? Give your opinion.
Write in brief note on education as an instrument of change.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Bottomore, T.B., Sociology, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., Britain, 1971.
2. Giddens, Anthony, Sociology, Cambridge, 1989.
3. Harlambose, M., Sociology : Themes and Perspectives, Oxford, 1980.
109
CHAPTER 12
Culture, Society and Personality

CULTURE
Culture-Traits and Culture Complex
Culture is a mode of behaviour and

also a way of life. In social life, every
individual behaves according to
expectations of other persons in the
group. These expectations are based on
values and norms of the group. Social
norms determine Individuals overt
acts, which, therefore, reflect values of
culture. The art and artifacts, tools and
techniques, and other physical
conditions which are used in the act
as a matter of habit also form the
culture of the group. According to
Ralph Linton, The culture of a society
is a way of life of its members, the
collection of ideas and habits which
they learn, share and transmit from
generation to generation. Clyde
Kluckhohn says that culture is a
design for living held by members of a
particular society. Two very important
characteristics of culture are: culture
is learnt, not inherited and it is a
behavioural pattern shared by
members of a group or society. It also
refers to the ways of acting of people in
the context of various social
relationships in todays life.
Culture consists of various units

called culture traits. Culture traits,
according to Linton are the individual
acts and objects, which constitute the
overt expression of a culture.
Exchange of rings in marriage, rules of
kicking the ball in football game, red
cloth, flowers and incensed sticks in
religious rites etc., are examples of
culture-traits. These units, by
themselves, hold no significance.
They become significant and
meaningful only in relationship with
other units. For example the spark plug
holds significance so long as it is
placed at the proper place in an engine,
ring and vermilion only in marriage
and a whistle only during a match in
the field. An organisation or institution
consists of more than one such cultural
units or traits and the configuration of
these simple units is called a culture
complex. For example, family,
marriage, religion, education, games
and automobiles are a few examples of
a large number of culture-complexes
of human society. The interrelations
between different parts of culture
make an arrangement. Ruth Benedict
110
also recognises this fact by saying that

culture constitutes a pattern, which
varies from society to society.
Therefore, different societies have their
different and distinct culture-patterns.
For example, the institution of family in
India is perceived quite differently
from how it is perceived in Great
Britain, today. Indian family is
traditionally regarded as joint,
whereas the family in Western Countries
is nuclear in nature. A society is
characterized by its culture-pattern.
Cultural Values and Norms
Cultures vary from society to society
and each culture has its specific values
and norms. The norms are the rules of
behaviour approved by society and the
values refer to what ought and what
ought not to be done. In some cultures,
individualism is the predominant value
in society, whereas in others, the
collective approach of resolving a
problem or meeting obligations is
appreciated. In one culture, hospitality
has a high social value, whereas in
some others, it may not be so. In some
societies, polygamy is an accepted form
of marriage, whereas in many others,
it is not viewed as proper.
Culture Change
Values and norms undergo change
over time. Certain external conditions
in the contemporary society have
given impetus to this change. These
conditions are industrialization,
urbanization, global network of
television and computer, all of which
have expanded enormously in the last

few decades. Values related to interpersonal relationships in the family
have changed and consequently
modes of behaviour of people have also
changed. For example, In Indian joint
family, the authority of the eldest male
member has eroded in favouring one
who makes effective economic
contribution to the family budget.
Change in culture is a slow but a
continuous process. But this process
is accelerated by two conditions: (a)
When a group of people comes in
contact with other cultures, it borrows
culture-traits from them. As a result,
the borrowed traits either add to the
culture of the borrower or replace or
modify certain traits which it already
has. The more the people have contacts
with other cultures, the more would
they borrow from other cultures,
modifying their own culturecomplexes, (b) The culture undergoes
change not only because it borrows
traits from other cultures, but also by
way of the process of spread of culturetraits. This process is called diffusion.
Diffusion takes place not only by
contact but also by indirect means of
communication. The advancement in
information,
technology
and
transportation system has made
contact easy and quick making the
process of diffusion quite fast.
Environment and Change
There are three aspects of the
environments the individual lives in:
the geographical, the social and the
cultural. Culture is that part of

environment which has been created
by human beings. It consists of the
whole gamut of material and nonmaterial objects that have been shaped
and created; and that satisfy
physiological, social, economic and
psychological needs. The tools and
techniques, customs and traditions,
economic, political and religious
institutions are some examples of
culture.
Culture gives a new shape to
natural environment but is also
influenced by the latter. Culture
relates itself to the efficiency and skill
of human beings to exploit the natural
environment according to their needs.
They have made roads in difficult
terrains like hills and deserts.
Uncultivable lands have been made
cultivable and fertile. Different kinds of
tools, instruments and appliances
have been invented in enormous
volume and continue to be improved
upon, whether these are means of
transport and communication or of
comfort and decoration. Besides such
material objects of culture, we have
also created non-material aspects of
culture for our social life, such as
values and norms, morals and
manners, art and artifacts, religion
and philosophy. All these items of
culture keep on changing according
to the demands of the times to come.
The
natural
environment
determines the nature of culture. The
architecture of houses varies from
place to place across geographical
variations. The houses are built of
111
wood at one place and of bricks at

another, and of stones at yet another
place. The Eskimos make snow houses
called igloo. They use sledges for
transportation when snow is hard. The
bullock-cart used in plains cannot be
used in the desert where only camels
are the most convenient means of
transportation. In the Eskimo family,
the old persons do not enjoy the same
respect and care as do their
counterparts in a family in the plains
largely because the life in plains is not
as difficult as it is for the Eskimos
where younger members make more
beneficial contribution. The human
beings like other animals, adapt to the
existing natural environment and in
the process of adaptation create and
develop culture for the maintenance of
their life. The cultural variations as are
found in human society are mainly due
to geographical variations. Material
and non-material cultures are interrelated parts of a larger cultural unit
called social institution. For example,
family consists of house, furniture,
food habits on the one hand, and
marriage rules, a system of
relationships and norms and values,
on the other.
Cultural Diversity
The early hunting and food gathering
societies were homogeneous and
monocultural. The modern industrial
societies are multicultural. The
processes like migration, globalization
and colonialism have contributed to
cultural diversity in every society.
112
Indian society is known for its high

degree of cultural diversity. There are
several tribal communities, thousands
of castes and sub-castes, several
religious communities and groups of
people with different languages. All
these communities form Indias
glorious multicultural character. In an
important survey, K.S. Singh has
identified 4635 communities.
SOCIETY
Society is a collectivity of individuals
interacting among themselves. They
interact in order to satisfy their needs.
These needs may be biological,
economic, social and psychological.
Interaction among individuals leads to
the formation of group. People, thus,
live in groups. Social group is not
merely a collection of individuals but
also is a system of values and norms
which control the behaviour of the
members of the group. The behaviour
is not acceptable to the group, if it does
not conform to its values and norms.
The control mechanism of the group
minimizes the occurrence of deviant
behaviour among its members and
maintains its equilibrium. The
constituents of norms guiding the
behaviour maps for the continuity of
culture in a group. The family, the play
group, the village neighborhood, the
community and the association are the
examples of group. Groups constitute
society.
A human individual is not a mere
biological being but also a social being.
The process through which this
transformation from biological to social

is carried out is called socialization. In
the process of socialization, right from
infancy, an individual learns customs,
traditions, values and norms of the
group. The interaction among the
individuals in the group is governed by
the values and norms i.e. the culture
they are socialized in. It is through
internalization of culture and
interaction with the fellow members of
the group, therefore, that the
personality of an individual develops.
In human society, the individual is
thus, a personality shaped by its
culture.
Individual and Society
The debate whether individual came
first and society followed or vice-versa
is perhaps not a very productive
exercise. Both individual and society
are compliment to each other. The
individuals need society for their own
survival. Human infants, infact,
require the longest period of
dependence before they are able to
work independently. The members of
the family, chiefly the mother
contribute to the rearing and training
of the child. In modern society many
institutions directly or indirectly
provide assistance to family in
performing this role.
Society also exists because of the
fact that human individual is
essentially a social animal. Sociability
is his basic nature. Society came into
existence due to this human nature
which extends from the family bonds.
Malinowski, a noted anthropologist,

wrote that there is nothing like herd
instinct in human beings as claimed
by McDougall, one of the pioneers of
social psychology. The gregariousness
found among them is an extension of
the relationships within the family.
Human individuals live in groups
essentially because they are social
beings.
Kingley Davis, in his book Human
Society, writes that society for its
existence has to have a population and
has to maintain that population by way
of making provisions of nutrition,
protection and reproduction of new
organisms. Different functions have to
be allocated among the people in order
that they have a feeling of mutual
solidarity. Society has to motivate
people to have contact among
themselves and to learn about
tolerance and resistance to the
outsiders. And, finally society has to
evolve mechanism for the perpetuation
of the social system. All these taken
together help meet the basic needs of
social survival.
Social Group
Social group is a carrier of culture and
works as the main agent to provide
training to human individuals to
develop their personality. The social
groups can be classified in many ways
but the most popular and significant of
all is the division into primary and
secondary groups. This division is
largely on the basis of the nature of
relationships found in the group. The
relationships in primary group are
113
informal and intimate. Such relations

cannot be substituted, and are not
made as means to some end. The
family and the group of friends are
examples of primary group. C.H. Cooley
has emphasized that primary group
plays the most significant role in the
socialization of child. Secondary
groups, on the other hand, are
consciously formed with some purpose.
They represent specialized interests of
its members.
The relationships in secondary
groups are formal, exclusive, geared to
a specific purpose. The corporations,
trade unions, political parties and the
states are examples of secondary
groups. The relationships in both types
of groups are based on prescribed
norms and values and rules and
regulations. The rules and regulations
in the secondary group are more
clearly defined than in the primary
group. The secondary groups are the
by-product of industrialization in
society. With the development of
society, new institutions and
secondary groups emerge. The society
becomes complex as has our society
come to be. Karl Manheim calls the
modern complex industrial society a
mass society, which is characterized
by impersonal relations, extreme
specialization of roles, loneliness of the
individuals and a certain sense of
alienation.
Interaction among individuals in
the group leads to formation of
relationships, which may be either
associative or dissociative type.
Dissociative
or
oppositional
114
relationships again may be in the form

of either competition or conflict. When
people are involved in competition
they make efforts to improve their own
efficiency to outclass the opponent.
The boys appearing in an examination
to qualify for a job or the football match
between two teams in a stadium are
the examples of competition. But in
conflict, the involved persons try to
weaken or destroy the efficiency of one
another. A fight between two enemies
and a war between two countries are
the examples of conflict. Competition
sometimes turns into a conflict.
In co-operation, people strive for a
goal with the help of other persons or
groups. Two boys making a model for
science exhibition and many persons
working together for providing relief to
the flood-affected people are the
examples of co-operation. Thus, a
society consists of the relationships
among the individuals which crop up
as a result of interactions among them.
The behaviour of the individual in the
group is governed by the norms of the
group. The normative pattern of the
group constitutes its culture.
Status and Role
Every individual in society is assigned
a status. The individual occupies more
than one statuses. The same person
may be a police officer, a father, a son,
a husband, a doctor, a member of a
club, a customer, a trader and so on.
Each status is accompanied by specific
role which the person who occupies the
status is expected to perform. The
interaction among the people in society

is an interdependence of the behaviour
of individuals carried out according to
the norms prescribed with regard to
statuses they occupy and roles they
perform.
Some sociologists are of the opinion
that the social roles are static part of
culture and do not change. Through
socialization, individual learns the
social roles and behaves accordingly
during interaction with other members
of society. This is the view of the
functionalist sociologists. Giddings
does not accept this view that roles are
fixed and individual learns them
to behave accordingly. Instead,
according to him, individuals come to
understand and assume social roles
through an ongoing process of social
interaction.
Culture and Society
Culture and society are inseparable.
Society, as we have already said, refers
to a set of values and norms guiding
their behaviour to each other. Both
culture and society are coterminous to
each other. They are the two aspects of
the same social situations. For
example, a cricket match is a social
organization but the rules and
regulations of the match which the
players are supposed to observe form its
cultural aspect. The family is a social
unit but the interpersonal relations,
child-rearing
practices
and
distribution of responsibilities and
authorities among the members of the
family are cultural aspects of family.
A certain minimal degree of

integration of culture-traits is
necessary for the maintenance of
society. Lack of integration in the
cultural system produces confusion for
the individuals, loss of efficiency for the
society and the rise of conflict and
consequently society tends to
disintegrate.
PERSONALITY
Everyone in human society has
personality. If we say that one has
personality, we are not referring to
physical features of the person as is
sometimes, understood by a common
man. Personality refers to that totality
of a person, which consists of biological
constitution, attitudes, values, views,
habits and behaviour-pattern. The
personality thus, is a sum total of
acquired and innate dispositions of a
person. These variables are never the
same in every individual. Therefore, no
two individuals are exactly similar in
every respect.
There are some scholars in
psychology whose conviction is that
personality traits are inherited from
parents but this is an extreme view;
and does not sound fully convincing.
On the contrary, Social Psychology is
replete with scholars who are confident
that personality traits are entirely
social and cultural. Personality is
shaped by social environment. F.H.
Allport, H.A. Murray, A. Kardiner and
R. Linton are among those who have
this view. Otto Klineberg falling in this
line says that personality emerges
115
mainly in a social situation but

biological factors undoubtedly play a
part in shaping the individual. The
controversy over the primacy of
biological or social factors is resolved
by G. Murphy who writes that
personality is neither biological nor
social but bio-social.
The human being has certain fixed
biological characteristics, such as
digestive system, respiratory system
and circulatory system. Upon these
physiological functions of the body
depends individuals adaptation to the
environment and its survival becomes
possible. Related to these processes
are certain basic needs of the
individuals which must be satisfied if
they are to live. The hunger, the sexual
need, need for bodily protection are
such biological needs. There are
various other needs in terms of their
nature and intensity. In order to satisfy
these needs, the individual needs some
means and methods. The means and
methods which may satisfy these
needs are not arbitrary and as per the
wishes of the individual. These means
are institutionalized by society. For
example, if an individual is hungry, he
can satisfy this need legitimately only
by earning bread through prescribed
means and not by snatching from
others.
Apart from the basic needs, people
in society have many other needs.
These needs are secondary and relate
largely to the enjoyment of leisure and
comfort in life. Such needs are socially
and culturally generated, and their
satisfaction also is controlled by the
116
culture of society. In society,

individuals learn to adapt to the means
of acquiring satisfaction and also to the
fact that in a given social condition,
parameters of satisfaction are well
defined. In the process of adaptation,
the individuals learn to modify their
actions in order to obtain satisfaction
of their needs. How well they adapt to
the existing socio-cultural framework
of needs and means depends on their
capacity to learn. The capacity to learn
varies from individual to individual
because it is related to the organic
constitution and also to the mental
make-up of the individual and is both
acquired and hereditary.
An infant completely depends on
others for its survival. Initially it needs
care of the mother or surrogate
mother. As it grows up, it comes in
contact with other people and by that
time, habits of social adaptation begin
to be formed. The child starts learning
the language and the pattern of
culture. In the family, the child learns
a set of roles or functions associated
with different statuses and as a result
it develops specific habits, attitudes
and values which determine his acts
and thoughts. The combination of the
acts and thoughts, according to
Kimball Young may be labelled as
personality.
Definition of Personality
There are many different uses of the
term personality. G.W. Allport, a
psychologist, has prepared a list of fifty
different ways in which the term
personality has been used. In a very

common use, the word is used for an
individual with good features which
make him attractive. But personality
does not merely refer to external
qualities and appearances of an
individual. Essentially, it refers to
internal habits, qualities, motives and
attitudes of a person.
Kimball Young defines personality
as the more or less integrated body of
habits, attitudes, traits and ideas of an
individual, as these are externally
organized into specific and general
roles and statuses, and internally
around self consciousness and the
concept of self and around the ideas,
values and purposes, which are related
to motives, roles and statuses. It is
clear from this definition that there
are two aspects of what we call
personality:
1. the individuals acts in respect of
the roles and statuses assigned to
him in the group (the external
aspect),
2. set of ideas, values and attitudes
formed in respect of his roles and
statuses (the internal aspect).
Allport evaluated a number of
definitions of personality and
concluded in his book Personality; A
Psychological Interpretation that
personality is a dynamic organization
within the individual of those
psychological systems that determine
his unique adjustment to his
environment.
H.J. Eysenck is more lucid and
perhaps flawless in defining
personality in the book The Structure of
117
Human Personality. According to

Eysenck personality is the more or less
stable and enduring organization of a
persons character, temperament,
intellect and physique, which
determine his unique adjustment to
the environment.
Personality is an integrated whole.
It is a combination of both biological
and socio-cultural characteristics.
G. Murphy writes that personality is
neither biological nor social alone but
bio-social.
The personality has uniqueness
but it does not mean that every
individual is unique in every respect
from others. All the persons of a
particular society have some common
characteristics. In this context, the
statement of Kluckhohn, Murray and
Schneider is significant to note. They
write, every man is in certain respects
(a) like all other men, (b) like some
other men, and (c) like no other man.
A man is like all other men to the extent
they have a common human biological
heritage, which determine their
responses to the environment. He is
like some other men because he
belongs to a cultural group and due to
the fact that all other persons of the
group have been brought up in the
same cultural milieu; his role
performance will be similar to all other

persons of the group but not to the
members of another group. A person is
like no other man because the latter
has not gone through exactly the same
sequence of experiences, as has been
the case with the former.
The above three situations of a
person in the group reflect the
relationship of an individual with his
group in terms of the role of culture
and biological heritage and efficiency in
shaping the personality of an
individual.
It must have been very clear that
the tri-concept of culture, personality
and society are interwoven. Society
and culture are the two sides of the
same coin. The group formations and
interpersonal relationships in the
group are the societal part, whereas
the mode of behaviour in respect of one
another is the cultural part of it.
Human individuals, apart from
biological characteristics, have a set of
attitudes and values, ideas and
ambitions, which combine to form their
personality. Through the process of
socialization, the individual acquires,
except biological features, every
thing that forms personality. The
individual is related with society
through culture.
GLOSSARY
CULTURE
PATTERN.
A typical type of culture or a specific type of culture.
C ULTURE - TRAIT . The individual acts and objects which constitute the overt
expression is known as culture complex. The meaning relationship
118
between two or more than two culture traits or an organization

consists of more than one such cultural traits and the configuration
of these simple traits is called a culture complex.
MONOCULTURAL. Same type of culture or one type of culture.
PERSONALITY. Personality refers to that totality of a person which consists of
biological constitution, attitudes, values, views, habits and behaviourpatterns.
SOCIAL GROUP. In terms of culture social groups are the carriers of culture and work
as the main agent to provide training to human individuals to develop
their personality.
STATUS AND ROLE. Status is a position occupied by a person, in a family or kinship
group or in a office in a social system relative to other. Each status is
accompanied by specific role which the person who occupies the status
is expected to perform.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Define culture. What are the types of culture?

Explain cultural traits.
What do you understand by culture complex?
What is the meaning of values and norms?
Explain the term cultural change.
What is the relationship between environment and culture?
What is igloo?
Explain the relationship between individual and society.
What is the role of social group in the context of culture?
What is associative dissociative type or relationship?
What is the meaning of status and role?
How culture and society are inseparable?
What is the meaning of personality?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Durkheim, Emile, Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Free Press, New York,
1965.
2. Sutherland, R.L., Woodward, Juilien, Maxwell, L., Summer, W.G., Folkways,
Dover, New York, 1906.
3. Tylor, E.B., Primitive Culture, New York, 1871.
4. Weber, Max, Protestant, Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,Charles Scribriers
Sons, New York, 1922, English translation 1958.
5. Young, Kimball, Mack, R.W., Systematic Sociology, Affiliated East-West Press
Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1972.
119
CHAPTER 13
Individual and Socialization

At the time of birth, the human infant
knows nothing about what we call
society and social behaviour. It only
needs to satisfy certain physical needs
which is done by the elders in the
family. As the child grows up, it keeps
on learning behaviour patterns by
interacting with other family members.
The child internalizes the values and
norms of the family which control the
behaviour of its members. The child in
due course of time, by learning the
accepted behaviour patterns of society
becomes a social individual from a
mere biological individual what he was
at the time of birth.
Socialization is a lifelong process
but the most important aspect of this
process starts during infancy. By the
time individual becomes adult, the
major part of socialization is completed.
However, when ever there is change in
the social and cultural environment of
the individual in life, the process of his/
her socialization gathers momentum,
until he/she adapts to the new culture.
Such situations generally arise when
the individual moves from one job to
another or from one society to another.
Socialization makes human
individual a social being, without
socialization, individuals would not
behave like human beings. Even the

human style of speaking and modes of
communication are the function of
socialization. Keep a child, right after
birth, for a considerable period of time,
away from the company of human
being, you shall not find the
development
of
any
human
characteristic other than biological in
the child. Even the way of walking and
eating of an individual is culturally
determined and a child kept away from
society would not be able to learn it.
The best example here would be the socalled wolf-children of Midnapore.
Two females aged two and eight were
reportedly found in a wolf den in
Bengal in 1920. They walked like
animals on two legs and two hands,
preferred a diet of raw meat, howled
like wolves; and lacked any form of
speech.
Phases and Agencies of Socialization
There are broadly speaking two phases
of socialization as writes Giddens:
primary socialization and secondary
socialization. Also there are different
agencies of socialization working at
different levels of the process. Agencies
of socialization are groups or social
120
contexts in which significant

processes of socialization occurs.
Agencies of socialization are: family,
schools, peer groups, organizations, the
media etc. Primary socialization takes
place in infancy and childhood. This
is the most crucial stage of
socialization as the basic behaviour
pattern is learnt by the child at this
stage. This stage consists of three substages: (i) the oral stage, (ii) the anal
stage and (iii) the oedipal stage. At the
first stage the infant builds up definite
expectations about feeding time and
learns to signal his/her pressing needs
for care. The second stage begins more
or less after a year of infancy. The child
at this stage is trained to take over
some degree of care for himself/herself
such as toilet training. The third stage
begins roughly from the fourth year and
goes up to puberty. This is the period
when child becomes a member of the
family, as a whole. All the roles in the
family prescribed according to sex are
internalized by the child. The child
identifies with the social roles. The
family is the main agency of
socialization in the first phase.
Secondary socialization starts from
the later stage of childhood and goes up
to maturity. However, socialization
never stops in life. The schools, peer
groups and other agencies in which the
person is placed in life, play the role of
socialization.
The Family as Agency of Socialization
The family is the smallest unit of
society and represents it in all respects.
The family has in its fold all the norms,

values, behaviour patterns, statuses
and roles of society. Therefore, the role
of family in socializing individuals to
become a part of society is uppermost.
The role of family in socialization has
been greatly recognized by C.H. Cooley.
The child
observes that every
individual in the family is assigned a
status such as father, mother, brother,
sister, husband, wife etc. All the family
members behave according to the
defined roles associated with their
statuses. The child identifies himself/
herself with these statuses and roles
and internalizes them, so as to be
capable of and ready for behaving in
society according to accepted patterns.
By the time, child moves out of family
to participate in social activities in
society, at large, he/she has learnt
most of socially accepted behaviour
patterns.
Development of Self
Right from the very childhood an
individual learns and internalizes the
role structure and develops own self.
The self is a core of personality. An
individuals self is a set of attitudes and
the consciousness of his acts and
thoughts, as they are related to others.
The internalization takes place
through the process of socialization.
Much of the personality of an
individual is shaped in this way. The
individual learns this part of culture
pattern unconsciously. Self, according
to Charles H. Cooley, is social and
develops as a result of the role of
primary group and social interaction,
particularly communication in
sociali-zation. There are three
prominent theories of socialization and
develop-ment of self.
Sociologists of the functionalist
school are of the view that the social
roles are the fixed parts of culture,
which a person has to learn in society.
Individuals internalize those roles and
behave, accordingly. There is no scope
of negotiating with the roles. Anthony
Giddens does not accept this
functionalist view. According to him,
socialization is a process in which
humans can exercise agency; they are
not simply passive subjects waiting to
be instructed or programmed.
Individuals come to understand and
assume social roles through an
ongoing process of social interaction.
THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION
Cooleys Theory of Socialization
Charles H. Cooley, in his book Human
Nature and the Social Order presents
his concept of looking-glass self and
explains how the self of a human
individual develops and socialization
takes place. The following three
principal elements, according to
Cooley, are involved in the
development of self; and formation of
personality:
1. the imagination of our
appearance to the other person,
2. the imagination of his judgment
of that appearance, and
3. some sort of self-feeling, such
as pride or mortification.
Cooley asserts that during
121
interaction with people, the child

remains conscious, how others feel
about his/her behaviour towards
them. On the basis of their judgment
on the behaviour, the child develops a
feeling about himself/herself. It may be
a feeling of pride, if the behaviour is
appreciated or of mortification, if the
behaviour is condemned by the people.
A persistent appreciation leads to
formation of a confident and extrovert
personality, whereas, continuous
condemnation and discouragement
may cause the formation of an insipid
and introvert personality in the child.
Social self depends on social
interaction and, therefore, it is
ultimately determined by culture on
which the social interaction is usually
based. Individuals ideas, attitudes,
values and habits are formed on the
basis of the ideas and attitudes of the
people of the surroundings. This forms
the basis of his/her socialization.
The primary group, according to
Cooley, plays the crucial role in
socialization. Primary groups are
characterized by intimate, face-to-face
association, direct co-operation and
conflict, a relatively free play of
personality and sentiment. Primary
groups may exist in all social
organizations but most glaring
examples of primary group, in the
present context, to which Cooley gives
importance are the family, the play
group and intimate neighbourhood.
Cooley calls these groups primary
because, they are the nursery of
human nature providing the earliest
and most complete experience of all the
122
social processes, spirit of service,

kindness, obedience to social norms
and other ideals of society.
Meads Theory of Socialization
Cooleys interpretation, as we read
earlier,
depends
on
human
imagination, whereas George Herbert
Mead interprets socialization, on
resulting acts of this consciousness.
Meads view is that human interaction
depends on symbols. Symbols are not
understood in terms of their face-value
but they contain meaning. Symbols
impose meaning on objects and events
and in doing so largely exclude other
possible meanings. For example, chair
may be used to stand on or to assault
some one but during social interaction
it conveys the meaning of only a social
position a person enjoys.
Symbols are man-made and do not
refer to the intrinsic nature of objects.
People impute certain meaning to the
object and perceive that object in that
way. Human interaction is not possible
without symbols and, therefore, the
existence of society is not possible
without symbols. Language is the most
significant symbol in human society. It
is also, therefore, necessary that the
symbols are largely shared by
members of society. The individuals in
society learn symbols and the
meanings conveyed by them in order to
be capable of interacting with others.
Thus, social interaction requires the
presence of commonly shared symbols
which is possible by means of what
Mead terms role-taking. Role-taking is
the situation in which a person puts

himself/herself in the situation of the
other interacting person in order to
interpret the intention and meaning of
that person. For example, if some one
is crying or smiling, it can not be
understood without placing oneself in
the position of the person who is crying
or smiling.
The role-taking process of the child
starts from the time of birth. In the
beginning, the child identifies with the
role of what Mead calls, particular
others such as mother, father etc. and
as grows up, his/her identification
takes place with the generalized
others. So long as the child has not
identified or understood the role of
others he/she is only I. With his/her
identification with the role of
generalized others, I gets converted
into Me. This conversion of I into Me
signifies the socialization of the child.
This whole process of role-taking can
be understood with the help of the
example of a game. In playing the game
of football, a boy comes to see himself
from the point of view of other
participants and tries to understand
what they expect of him. The boy thus,
understands his relationship with
other participants and develops a
collective viewpoint of participants.
This collective viewpoint is the
perspective of the generalized others.
According to Mead, the individual
and society are inseparable. Only
society makes individual a human
being. The individual creates social
environment and then is shaped by it.
The self of the individual develops from
interaction with others in society and

interaction is not possible without
communication. The communication
is based on symbols with shared
meanings.
Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory of
Socialization
Sigmund
Freuds
theory
of
socialization emphasizes that the
formation of personality is an outcome
of the interplay of biological,
psychological and social faculties of
the individual. A major part of human
personality according to Freud, is
formed in the very childhood say up to
fifth year of age and during the rest of
life it is elaborated and sharpened. The
role of primary socialization in the
formation of personality is reiterated in
Freuds theory of personality structure.
The human mind has three main
regions; (i) consciousness, (ii) subconsciousness; and (iii) unconsciousness. The conscious region of mind
relates the person with present events
and activities in life. The sub-conscious
region stores up the experiences of
events of the recent past. And the
unconscious region of mind consists of
the experiences of events of the remote
past. The experiences stored up in the
mind contribute to the formation of
personality. These experiences keep on
striving for their expression in one form
or the other.
For the analysis of human
personality Freud, later, on shifts his
emphasis from different regions of
mind to the structure and function of
123
personality.
The
personality,
according to Freud, is made up of three
hypothetical systems: The id, the ego
and the superego. These systems
interact among themselves and the
product of this interaction is the
human behaviour. The id consists of
every thing psychological including
what is inherited and what is
instinctive. It is a reservoir of
psychological energy. The id works on
pleasure principle and knows only
that which gives pleasure. It believes
only in what Freud calls true psychic
reality. It never bothers about the
objective reality in society and also
knows nothing about rules,
regulations, values and moralities. The
id aims at avoiding pains and
discharging tension. It must satisfy its
needs, even if, it has to arrange
imaginary means such as nocturnal
dreams. But after all, hallucination by
itself is not really capable of reducing
tension. For example, the image of food
can not satisfy hunger.
Then appears the second
psychological process leading to
formation of the ego, the second
system of personality. The function of
ego is based on reality principle. The
basic distinction between id and ego
is that id knows only subjective reality
of the mind, whereas the ego
differentiates objective reality (concrete
external reality) from the subjective
reality (imaginary reality). The role of
ego becomes important because the
concrete needs of the person can not be
satisfied by mere imaginary object of
satisfaction. Instead, concrete objects
124
existing in the external world would be

required for their satisfaction. The id
avoids tension and desires to satisfy
needs immediately, whereas the ego
prevents the satisfaction of needs
unless appropriate object of
satisfaction is available. The ego
discovers what is right and what is
wrong, what is acceptable and what is
not acceptable to society, what is
possible and what is not possible. The
action of an individual is guided by the
ego in choosing from among these
alternatives on realistic principle. The
ego thus, does not put obstruction
before the aims of id, it rather
forwards its aims but in an organized
way. It does not exist independent of
id and derives power from it.
The superego is the third and last
system of personality to be developed.
It is the moral aspect of personality and
is guided by the principle of idealism.
It represents the norms and values of
the society which the child has
internalized through the process of
socialization. It strives for neither real
nor imaginary real. It concerns itself
with what is ideal. Its main concern is
to decide whether the chosen object of
satisfaction of needs is right or wrong

from the point of view of the standards
set by society.
The main function of the superego
is to restrict the impulses of the id
particularly, those which are not
acceptable by society and to guide the
ego to follow the moral principles of
society. Thus, superego leads to
perfection of human action. It controls
both id and ego.
It is important to keep in mind that
these three systems of personality do
not work against one another. They
work together as a team under the
guidance of ego. These three
respectively biological, psychological
and social factors work together
towards balancing one another leading
to the formation of personality.
A weak ego supposedly leads to
the development of maladjusted
personality. This situation arises when
there is poor balance between the
superego and the id. If the super Ego
is stronger than the ego, the
personality may become neurotic and
if the id is stronger than ego, the
personality may be of immoral and
delinquent type.
GLOSSARY
AGENCY. Agencies here means the institutions those are responsible for the
socialization.
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT. Man-made environment including the cultural institutions
and even the customs and traditions of the community.
INDIVIDUAL. Human being, person.
INHERITED. The transmission of rights of property.
125
INSTINCTIVE. The inmate motivation drives leading to species, specific behaviour

patterns.
INTERACTION . The process and manner in which social actors relate to each
other, especially, in face to face situation. Action + reaction =
interaction.
HYPOTHETICAL. Any proposition which is advanced for testing or appraisal as a
generalization about a phenomenon.
NORMS AND VALUE. Norms are the general precepts those are accepted by the society.
Values are constituent facts of social structure.
PERSONALITY FORMATION. Built a specific type of personality due to various reasons.
PROCESS. Process is a continuous action.
SOCIALIZATION. It is a process of learning, according to, societys rules. It is also
transmitted culture from one generation to other.
SELF. A mental construction of the person, by the person or the person sees him/
her reflected by others, in their reaction.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What is socialization? Discuss various agencies of socialization.

Discuss the role of family in the process of socialization.
Critically examine the important theories of socialization.
Discuss the development of individual in the process of socialization.
Explain meads theory of socialisation.
Explain Freuds theory of socialisation.
Explain C.H. Cooleys theory of socialisation.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Cooley, C.H. , Human Nature and the Social Order, New York, 1922.
Goode, W.J., Principles of Sociology, New Delhi, 1977.
Marx, Karl, The German Ideology, 1845, Poverty of Philosophy, 1987.
Mead, G. Herbert, Mind, Self and Society, Chicago, 1934.
New Combe, T.M., Sociology Psychology, New York, 1930.
Parsons, Talcott, The Social System, New York, 1951.
126
CHAPTER 14
Culture and Personality Formation

Every individual in human society has
a personality. Personality is a product
of the culture in which the person has
been brought up. We know that the
style of life i.e. the culture of a tribal
community inhabited in some remote
area is entirely different from that of an
urban community. But if a tribal baby
is raised in an urban family alongwith
other babies of the family, the
personality of the baby so formed
would be, altogether, different from
those of other members of the tribal
community. If a Hindu child right from
its babyhood is brought up by an
orthodox Christian family, its
behaviour and ideas in adulthood will
hardly show any symptom of a Hindu.
So will also be the case if a Christian
baby is brought up in a staunch Hindu
family. The personality is so much
determined by culture that a person
brought up in a particular cultural
environment will more or less misfit
into the other.
There are several instances to
prove dominant role of social and
cultural environment in the formation
of personality of a person. T.A.L. Singh
and R. M. Zing have described children
who were found in the cave of a wolf.
These wolf children except of human
body had no characteristic of a normal

human being. They behaved, almost,
like wolves. Anna was another child
which has been referred to by Kingsley
Davis. This child was kept in isolation
from human society. Such cases are
very strong examples of the fact that a
human individual at the time of birth
is only a biological animal. It is only as
a result of his/her living in human
society in relationship with other
individuals and being under a constant
influence of culture of society that he/
she becomes a social being . Thus, the
very social existence of a person is a
function of cultural environment.
Every person behaves in a specific
way because of being shaped by a
specific culture. This behaviour would
be strange for them who do not belong
to that culture. Once upon a time,
there was a practice of sati among a
section of people of Hindu society.
Though it was not a general practice
countrywide. The widows dared rush
to the funeral fire of their deceased
husbands to burn themselves along
with them. This would be a horrifying
and inhuman act for the women who
belonged to other communities, where,
sati was not a practice. This practice is
now legally banned in the country and
it is ensured that this practice does not

recur. Likewise, a Japanese of Samurai
community in old Japan would stab a
sword in his stomach, if suffered a
disgrace. This kind of suicide was
called hara-kiri. Culture shapes people
to fit a particular life style. It moulds
their ideas and beliefs. Offering an
organ of own body to show devotion to
God and to placate Him were once
related to common religious practice in
some old communities of our society.
Women get their ear lobes or the
septum nose pierced to dangle jewels
from them. They do it because their
culture demands. Some traditional
Indian women observe pardah
whereas, some modern ones prefer to
wear clothes as per the western
culture. A particular kind of dress is a
part of culture of the society it belongs.
Traditional dress of Bengalis is
different from that of Gujaratis. Turban
is an essential part of the traditional
dress of Sikhs. Indians greet their
elders in one way and Europeans in
other. Such are the cultural
specificities in society.
Culture also defines what is proper
and when it is proper. There is a
ceremonial dress for the bride and
bridegroom at the time of marriage
ceremony, which they would never
wear otherwise. The manner of
greeting a person varies from culture
to culture. While greeting a person one
touches the feet of the person to be
greeted, the other greets by folding
hands and still other shakes hands
with him.
127
Learning Culture
The learning of culture begins right
from the time when the newly born
baby first comes into contact with his
family members, the first among them
usually, being the mother. The child
closely observes the attitudes, values
and beliefs of the family. Similarly, the
behaviour pattern of the family are
observed by its members. By doing this
child learns the roles associated with
different statuses in the family. Father,
mother, son, daughter, brother, sister,
husband, wife and many other kinship
related statuses are found in the
family. Ralph Linton defines status and
role to explain their role in personality
formation. According to him, the place
in particular system, which a person
occupies at a particular time is referred
to as his status with respect to that
system. The role is used to designate
the sum total of culture patterns
associated with a particular status. It,
thus, includes the attitudes and values
and behaviour patterns organized by
the society for all the persons
occupying this status. In so far as it
responds as an overt behaviour, the
role is a dynamic aspect of status.
Right from the very childhood, an
individual learns and internalizes the
role structure and develops his/her
own self. Internalization takes place
through the process of socialization.
Much of the personality of an
individual is shaped in this way. The
individual learns this part of culture
pattern unconsciously.
There is another part of culture
128
which
an
individual
learns
consciously. This learning process
begins at a later stage when the formal
teaching in school begins. There he
learns about a more complicated part
of culture such as the history of
culture, the nature of government, the
cultural heritage and so on. This part
of culture is so vast that it can not be
learnt in a day or two. The individual
learns it in several years of his/her
school and college life.
Ralph Linton classifies culture into
three categories:
1. The cultural universals,
2. The cultural alternatives,
3. The cultural specialties.
Cultural universals are that part of
culture, which every individual must
learn. Moral values are such cultural
elements. The cultural specialties form
that part of culture, which are not
necessary for every one to learn. The
individuals have their choice in
selecting the cultural item for
themselves. Occupational choice is an
examples of this category. An
individual has complete freedom in
modern society to become an engineer,
a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher or an
entrepreneur.
Cultural alternatives are found in
the field of art, architecture and
fashion. Individuals also enjoy freedom
in making choice from among the
available alternatives in this category.
A persons wearing a particular hair
style is a cultural alternative. It is
because of these cultural categories
that in a society all the persons have
some common characteristics. At the
same time, several kinds of variation in

personality traits among them are also
observed.
The child training results into adult
personality. The variations in
personality dispositions among human
individuals are directly related with the
training pattern during their
childhood. That a person is aggressive
or submissive, courageous or
cowardly, extrovert or introvert,
depends on the nature of child-rearing
practices in the family. John T.
Hitchcock, in his study of Rajputs of
Khalapur of Western Uttar Pradesh of
India has pointed out how the kinship
groupings, interpersonal relations
within and interaction between these
groups, authority pattern, roles and
statuses and the position of women
relate to the growth and development
of childrens personality among the
Rajputs of Khalapur. They attach too
much importance to the prestige of
Khandan (family lineage); and the
children are trained to keep it up.
Rajput mothers of Khalapur are found
to be low on maternal warmth, high on
emotional stability and permitting
aggression by children against them
(mothers). The mothers are described
as being less warm towards male
children than towards female children.
Leela Dube, however, is not convinced
by the finding that the mother lacks
warmth towards male children.
Importance of child rearing in
personality formation has also
been emphasized by David McClelland
who writes that it is the childrearing practice, which leads to the
formation
of
entrepreneurial
personality.
It is proved that there is close link
between child training and adult
personality but it does not mean that
the former is the cause and the latter
the effect. Margaret Mead studied
Mundugumor society of Melanesia and
found that both men and women
developed as ruthless, aggressive,
positively sexed individuals, with the
maternal cherishing aspects of
personality at minimum. It is not easy
to determine, whether the hostile and
assertive behaviour of adult women is
the cause or the effect of the relatively
unfriendly treatment of children. A.
Kardiner has pointed out that the
patterns of child training (primary
institutions)give rise to the basic
personality structure and then in turn
it becomes projected into the
secondary institutions (for example,
religious beliefs and practices).
Newcomb states that different
practices in child training are
consequences of differences both in
culture and in personality and that
different practices in child training
also lead to differences both in culture
and in personality.
Dollards suggestions hold
importance
in the context of
understanding of the role of culture in
understanding personality. He is of the
view that much is known about an
individual, merely, from the fact that
he or she is born in a particular
community. A great deal can be
foretold about the later personality of
any individual at birth, if we know the
129
nature of his group. The Freudians

have given great importance to family
in the development of personality. But
it should be kept in mind that the
family in India and in many other
countries holds so much significance
that outside influence on any member
of the family is insignificant. But as
Mead has pointed out, in Somoa where
a child who is dissatisfied with his own
home may find a more congenial one
with his relatives.
The nature of family varies and
therefore, varies the nature of
personality. Among Trobriand
Islanders the authority is vested in the
uncle not the father and in matriarchal
families like Nayar and some American
Negro families the authority rests with
the mothers, whereas, in most of other
societies the head of the family is the
father. These variations have
consequential
effect
on
the
development of personality. Klineberg
is of the opinion that family is of
importance not only in transmitting the
culture but also in terms of the
personal relationships which develop
within its framework.
No culture is ever completely
expressed in any one individual. There
are, as we have mentioned earlier,
universals which apply to all normal
adult members of the society, but there
are also specialties which are found
only in distinct categories of
individuals (the priests and warriors).
In many psychological studies it
has also been asserted that personality
is a result of the constitution of body.
Ernst Kretschmer a German
130
psychiatrist, has put forth a

relationship between physical type
and susceptibility to mental disorder
like schizophrenia.
It is, moreover, difficult to negate
constitutional or hereditary factors in
personality formation because we find
personality differences in children
much before any influence of cultural
environment on them would begin. But
it is important to keep in mind that the
role of cultural environment in
personality is primary and utmost. The
biological entities themselves are
conditioned by culture. It has been
observed that there is effect of the
environment of the mother on the
fetus. On the basis of a study, L.W.
Sontag concludes that mothers
anxieties and fears may have certain
somatic effects, which prove irritating
to the foetus. This may lessen
adaptability to the post-natal environment and digestive disturbances may
follow. Due to a common belief, in our
society, the expected mother during
pregnancy are advised to always remain
in a pleasant environment. No
behaviour of the human individual is
governed, absolutely, by innate
tendencies. The instincts are also
modi-fied by the environment. For
example, fear is reduced if the person is
repeatedly exposed to the object of fear.
Culture and Personality
Disorganization
The extent of mental disorganization
varies from society to society. This
variation is largely due to varying
cultural conditions. When culture of a
society makes excessive demands on

its individuals, they are subjected to
mental stress. This condition causes
the probability of aberration in their
personality. Expecting too much in the
examination from a child of an average
mental efficiency may lead to the
development of abnormality in the
child.
Multiplicity of cultures also puts
strain on the people, sometimes,
causing confusion and mental tension.
In Indian society several cultures exist
and compete with one another. This
situation does put strain on certain
individuals.
Mental ill health also results from
rapid culture change. In this process
New ideas and values emerge without
replacing the old one. Mead points out
that a child may face such culture
conflict even within ones own family.
The members in a family may be
having different attitudes and values.
For example, the father may be a
vegetarian, teetotaller, fundamentalist
and believer in traditional and simple
living, whereas the uncle may be a nonvegetarian, secular and believes in
modern and high living and so on.
These kinds of likes and dislikes and
even different standards of morality
may be found in one family. The lack
of a standard cultural pattern in the
family weakens its role of healthy
socialization of the child.
The fact that pathological
personalities are growing faster in
modern societies is largely due to
rampant increase in the needs and
consumerist temperament of the
131
people without a proportional growth in

the means to satisfy them. Some people
in society are not able to adjust with
such situations and are prone to
become neurotic. Karen Horney in his

book The Neurotic Personality of Our
Times calls such personalities the
step-children of our culture.
GLOSSARY
INTERNALIZATION. Takes place through the process of socialization.
L EARNING . Is a process of adjusting previous response pattern to newly
experienced or perceived environmental changes.
NEUROTIC PERSONALITY . Any diseased condition of person e.g. alcoholic, drug
addict, etc.
PERSONAL DISORGANIZATION. The condition in which an individual cannot function
effectively because of inner confusion usually resulting from his
acceptance of contradictory standards of behaviour.
PERSONALITY. Is a product of culture in which a person has been brought up.
Culture shapes people to fit a particular type of style. It moulds their ideas
and beliefs.
ROLE. Is used to designate the sum total of culture patterns associated with a
particular system.
STATUS. A person occupies the place in particular system at a particular time
is referred to as his status.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Differentiate between primary and secondary socialization.

Discuss Cooleys theory of socialization.
What do you mean by culture?
Elaborate the relationship between culture and geographical
environment.
Explain the relationship between culture and society.
Discuss the processes of interaction in the group.
Define culture traits and culture complexes and give suitable examples.
Explain relationship between culture, society and personality.
Define personality. Discuss the relationship between culture and
personality.
Explain that culture shapes personality.
Define socialization. Explain the role of socialization in personality
formation.
132
12. Discuss Meads theory of socialization and differentiate it from that of

Cooley.
13. Discuss the psycho-analytical theory of socialization.
14. Explain relationship between culture and pathological personality.
15. Write on family as an agency of socialization.
16. Which are the phases of socialization?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Benedict, R.F., Patterns of Culture, Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1946.
2. Kardiner, A., The Individual and His Society, 1939.
3. Kluckhohn, C., Murray, H.A. and Schneider, D.M. (Eds.), Personality in
Nature, Society and Culture, Knoph, New York, 1953.
4. Linton, L., The Culture Background of Personality, Routledge & Kegan Paul
Ltd., London, 1947.
5. Mead, G.H., Mind, Self and Society, Chicago University Press, Chicago,
1934.
6. Young, K., Handbook of Social Psychology, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.,
London, 1946
133
CHAPTER 15
Methods of Research
Social science is concerned with the
understanding and explanation of
human behaviour. Data play an
important role in explanation of
human behaviour. Social scientists
have developed methods for systematic
collection of data. The historical,
comparative and functional methods
generate data, which can be
interpreted in more than one ways.
What facts do people seek to compare?
What histories do they seek to recount?
How do we analyze social relations?
These are the vital questions relevant
for present discussion on historical,
comparative and functional methods of
research.
HISTORICAL METHOD
It is not unusual to find inquiries of
different sorts in the social sciences.
Inquiries in social sciences could be
classified in two categories, the
nomothetic and the ideographic.
According to this classification, the
ideographic sciences are those which
study unique and unrepeatable
events, while the nomothetic sciences
attempt to make generalizations. We
can, thus, call sociology as a
nomothetic science and history as an
ideographic science.
Historians try to increase our

accurate knowledge of unique
phenomena of the past, whereas
sociologists try to seek information
about certain uniformities in social
behaviour under specific conditions.
This, in principle, is the difference
between the two modes of inquiry.
However, the data of history are also
widely used now by sociologists. On
the other hand, historians have also
started using data generated by
sociologists for their own writings.
Historical method has also been
employed by Karl Marx in conjunction
with dialectical materialism in
understanding the human societies.
He believed that the materialistic
structure of societies accounts for their
developmental, and thus, he took this
philosophical device and applied to the
materialistic view of society. The other
form of historical approach is a
characteristic of the work of Max
Weber, and later sociologists. Max
Webers own historical approach is
exemplified, especially, in his studies
of the origins of capitalism, the
development of modern bureaucracy,
and the economic influence on the
world religions. A very convincing
illustration of this approach of Weber
134
is to be found in his treatment of the

growth of capitalism in Europe. As he
brings out in his book, Protestant Ethic
and the Spirit of Capitalism.
The main methodological features
of these studies are that particular
historical changes of social structures
and types of society are investigated;
and are compared in certain respects
with changes in other societies. In this
manner, both causal explanation and
historical interpretations find a place in
the social explanation.
Sources of Historical Data
In her book Scientific Social Surveys
and Research, P.V.Young describes
sources of historical data highlighting
both the adequacy and limitations of
historical data.
The social scientists generally
confine themselves to three major
sources of historical information,
(i) Documents and various historical
sources to which historians themselves
have access, (ii) materials of cultural
history and of analytical history,
(iii) personal sources of authentic
observers and witnesses. When, how
and under what circumstances these
sources are to be used depends upon
the discretion of the researchers
interest, the scope of the study and the
availability of the sources.
Historical data have some
limitations, which arise mainly
because historians cannot describe all
the happenings in time and space
available at the time of writing history.
Personal biases and private
interpretations,
often,
enter
unconsciously, even when, honest
attempts are made to select and
interpret pertinent facts. This can be
illustrated by reference to the current
controversy that is raging on the
writing of Medieval Indian history,
especially the Babri Masjid versus
Ramjanam Bhoomi dispute.
COMPARATIVE METHOD
The analyses of social change in history
are carried out with the help of several
methods. One of the most favoured
methods is the comparative method
used in sociology. This entails the
study of different groups and
institutions in order to examine
similarities and differences.
All sociological research involves
the comparison of cases or variables,
which are similar in some respects and
dissimilar in others.
A major
methodological issue is whether or not
the units of comparison (whole
societies, major institutions, religions,
groups, and so on) and the indicators
chosen to compare differences or
similarities are genuinely comparable
and can legitimately be used outside
their specific cultural settings. The
features under examination may occur
within the same society, for example
rates of mobility between different
castes and classes belonging to the
same society may be mutually
compared, or, the same variables may
appear in different societies like the
rates of social mobility among the same
strata but in different societies.
The comparative method is amply

used in anthropological and
ethnological research. George P.
Murdock, realizing the necessity for
storing the information, which was
continuously building up and the
importance of having it at the disposal
of social scientists everywhere, opened
a Cross Cultural Survey at Yale
University. Today, the Human
Relations Area File has been developed
on the basis of Murdocks idea and
material, and is one of the principal
data banks which social scientists
possess. Incidentally, in the Victorian
age, Herbert Spencer had already
begun an important systematic
inventory of information about social
institutions in a great number of
countries. Today, all sorts of data
banks are developing in various places,
making important factual information,
readily and widely, available.
In Britain its most forceful
exponent was A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
who dominated anthropology in the
late thirties and forties, and used social
anthropology as synonym for
comparative sociology. The systematic
use of comparison and contrast as
method of enquiry became widely
accepted among sociologists and social
anthropologists in the first half of the
Twentieth century. Radcliffe-Brown
sought to extend Durkheims
sociological theory of totemism by
comparing and contrasting the
relationship between social structure
and religious practices among the
Australian Aborigines who had
totemism and the Andaman
135
Islanders who did not have it. He

also proposed that a relationship could
be established through systematic
comparative study between ancestor
worship and lineage structure.
Herbert Spencers work is a lucid
example of the comparative method
where he has compared military and
industrial types of societies. RadcliffeBrown observed that the comparative
method alone gives you nothing.
Nothing will grow out of the ground
unless you put seeds into it. The
comparative method is one way of
testing hypotheses. The difficulties
while using the comparative method
seems to be due in part to the absence
of hypotheses, or due to not clearly
formulated hypotheses, at the outset,
and in part to the problem of defining
the unit of comparison. Thus, for
example, Comtes use of the
comparative method to establish his
law of three stages is based, not upon
a scientific hypothesis but upon a
philosophical view of the development
of humanity as a whole.
Durkheim
regarded
the
comparative
method
as
the
counterpart in the social sciences of
the experimental method pursued in
the other sciences. He recognized that
social facts could only be observed, not
artificially produced under experimental conditions. Therefore, Durkheim
favoured the comparative-historical
approach because sociologists could
not carry out experiments and had to
rely on the method of indirect
experiment the comparison of
similar cases in a systematic way.
136
Thompson comments that this was, for

Durkheim, the core of sociological
methodology. In his book on Emile
Durkheim, Thompson says that
Durkheim drew up classification of
behaviour (for example, suicide rates)
to make it possible to test hypotheses
about the relationship between social
phenomena. The typology could be
used when making comparisons. This
is the nearest thing to an experimental
method in sociology.
FUNCTIONAL METHOD
The functionalist approach, in
sociology and social anthropology,
appeared initially as a reaction against
the methods and claims of the
evolutionists. It was a criticism of
native and superficial uses of the
comparative method and of the
methods of conjectural history. In
which, unverified and unsystematic
data were employed on contemporary
or primitive societies for reconstructing
the early stages of human social life. It
was also a criticism of the intention and
claim of the evolutionists to give a
scientific account of the whole social
history of mankind.
The terms functional analysis and
functionalism are often equated.
Therefore, we would like first to
understand the meaning of these
terms before we discuss functional
method. In Functional analysis
requires from the researcher that he/
she explains or analyzes his/her
observations of recurring phenomena
in terms of their consequences for the
wider social system, within which, they
exist. For example, the national

anthem played on certain occasions
such as the celebration of the Republic
Day in India has a function of
enthusing a sense of mutual solidarity
among the citizens from different caste
and communities in the country. In
this context, functional analysis is a
method
of
sociological
and
anthropological enquiry, which
consists in examining social and
cultural items by locating them in a
wider context. This usually means
showing how these items affect and are
affected by others with which they
coexist, over time, within the same
social system. In other words,
functional method refers to the
functional analysis, which is also
known as functionalism and
structural functionalism.
Functionalism is a doctrine, which
asserts that the principal task of
sociology and social anthropology is to
examine the contribution, which social
items make to the social and cultural
life of human collectivities. It may
additionally assert that to examine
social phenomena in this way is to
explain why these items occur at all;
and/or why they have persisted.
Functionalism provides a perspective
from which to attempt an analysis of a
society. The central concern is with the
source of order and stability in society.
The focus is on:
(a) The way social institution help
to maintain order and
continuity in social life; and
(b) The way structural arrangements in society influence
behaviour.
The notion of social function had,

of course, been formulated in the
Nineteenth century, most explicitly by
Herbert Spencer. It is based upon an
age-old analogy between society and
an organism, but it could be presented
in a more scientific manner after the
development of modern biology.
Spencer, however, like most of those
influenced by biological conceptions,
was most concerned to work out a
theory of social evolution in his
analyses of social structure and social
function in the Principles of Sociology.
It was Durkheim, as Rad-cliffe
Brown insists, who first gave a rigorous
formulation of the concept of social
function in The Division of Labour in
Society and in The Rules of Sociological
Method. He defined function as a
relationship between a set of dynamic
processes and the needs of the wider
social system. Emile Durkheim saw
society as composed of many parts,
each with its own function. When all
the parts of society fulfil their
functions, society is in a normal state.
If they do not fulfil their expected or
assigned function, society is then in an
abnormal or pathological state. To
understand
society,
then
functionalists say that we need to look
at both structure how the parts of a
society are related to one another as
well as and function how each part
contributes to society.
Auguste Comte and Herbert
Spencer used an organic analogy,
analyzing society as a kind of living
organism. Just as a biological
organism has inter-related tissues and
137
organs that function together, they

wrote, so does society. Like an
organism, if society is to function
smoothly, its various parts must work
together in harmony. Robert K. Merton
dismissed the organic analogy but
continued with the essence of
functionalism. The image of society as
a whole, as he maintained is composed
of inter-related parts. Merton used the
term function to refer to the beneficial
consequences of peoples actions that
help to maintain the equilibrium of a
social
system.
In
contrast,
dysfunctions, are consequences that
undermine a systems equilibrium.
Functions can either be manifest or
latent. Merton called an action
intended to help a systems
equilibrium, it is a manifest function.
For example, the tuition fee in a college
may be doubled. The intention, or
manifest function, of such a sharp
increase may be to raise faculty
salaries and thus, recruit better
faculty. Merton pointed out that
peoples actions can also have latent
functions, un-intended consequences
that help a system adapt. Let us
suppose that the increase in-tuition fee
led to the recruitment of better faculty
at your college, as a result of which,
your college gained a national
reputation. As a result, it was flooded
with new applicants and was able to
expand both its programs and its
campus. These can, thus, be seen as
an un-intended resultant or
consequence of the increase in tuitionfee. These can also be termed as latent
function of the increase in tuition-fee.
138
Sometimes human actions have the

adverse effect, of course, and hurt the
system. But such consequences are
usually un-intended and could not
possibly have been anticipated. Merton
called them latent dysfunctions. Let us
assume that the increase in the tuition
fee backfired, that half the student body
could not afford the increase and
dropped out. With this loss of income,
the college had to reduce salaries and
lay off faculty. Because these results
were not intended and actually harmed
the system, they represent a latent
dysfunction of the tuition increase.
From the perspective of functional
analysis, the group is a functioning
whole, with each part contributing to
the welfare of the whole. Whenever, we
examine a smaller part, we need to look
for its functions to see how it is related
to the larger unit. This basic approach
can be applied to any social group,
whether an entire society, a college, or
even a group as small as the family.
What has been called functional
analysis should, in fact, be seen as a

particular form of the system approach
in the social sciences. To enquire as to
why particular features of that system
persist is to locate similar features in
the wider system and to identify their
relevance in the overall system. This
has also resulted in two major critiques
of the functionalist method, one that a
socio-cultural item may be functional
for a group in society but dysfunctional
for another, and the second that to look
for the function of each and every
socio-cultural item has also produced
a status quoist outlook generating
resistance against change, which may
in fact be required in a society at a
particular point of time.
Finally, we may say that functional
analysis is a method, which refers to
factors and forces of integration,
equilibrium and also disequilibrium.
At a given point of time, inter-relation
between different components of
society can be studied from the
functional point of view.
GLOSSARY
ANTITHESIS. Opposite of original state/proposition/theme.
BUREAUCRACY . Type of organization in which administration is based upon
impersonal, written rules and a hierarchy of offices.
CAPITALISM. Free economy operating according to market forces, private ownership.
CONCOMITANT VARIATIOn. An empirical relationship in which the magnitude of the
first variable varies with the magnitude of the second variable.
CONJECTURAL. Balance of forces, particular ideologies, class interests etc. that in
combination make up a particular pattern of social and economic
contradictions.
CROSS-CULTURAL
METHOD .
139
Comparisons of contemporary cultures.
DIALECTICAL. A process which sees forces of change from thesis (original state)
to anti-thesis (opposite state) to synthesis (combination of first two
states).
EQUILIBRIUM . A state of balance between parts within a social system.
ETHNOGRAPHIC. Written record of small society based on direct observation.
IDEAL
TYPE .
A mental construction form in its abstract or pure for the social

measurement.
IDEOGRAPHIC. Studying unique and unrepeatable events (e.g. History).

I NTEGRATION . The extent to which an individual experiences a sense of
belonging to a social group by virtue of sharing its norms, values,
beliefs etc.
LATENT
FUNCTIONS .
Functions, which are hidden and remain unacknowledged

by participants.
MANIFEST FUNCTIONS. Functions of a social system which are intended and/ or

overtly recognized by the participants in that social system.
MATERIALISM. Relation of production which correspond to a definite stage of
the development of their productive forces.
NOMOTHETIC. A Science that attempts to make generalization (e.g. Sociology).
ORGANIC ANALOGY . Comparison made to show a degree of similarity between
living organs.
SYNTHESIS . A resultant of interaction between thesis and antithesis.
T HESIS. Original state/proposition /theme.
VARIABLES. A social factor such as age, social class etc., which can be observed
to affect other measures, such as income level.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Define historical method.

Define comparative method.
Define functional analysis.
State the importance of functional method and also some of its important
critiques.
What is historical method? Discuss its importance in sociological
research.
Define comparative method. Discuss its importance and limitations.
Provide four difference between historical and comparative method.
How functional analysis is used as functional method?
140
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Beteille, Andre, Some Observations on the Comparative Method, Amsterdam:
CASA, 1990.
2. Beteille, Andre, Sociological Bulletin (The Comparative Method and the
Standpoint of the Investigator), 47(2), September, 1998.
3. Beteille, Andre, Sociology: Theory and Method, Oxford University Press, Delhi,
2002.
4. Botomore, T.B., Sociology, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., Britain, 1971.
5. Merton, Robert, K., Social Theory and Social Structure, Free Press, New York,
1968.
6. Vallier, I. (Ed.), Comparative Methods in Sociology, Berkeley University of
California Press, California, 1971.
7. Young, Pauline, V., Scientific Social Surveys and Research, Prentice Hall of
India, New Delhi, 1973.
141
CHAPTER 16
Techniques of Data Collection

Techniques refer to tools or apparatus,
either verbal or mechanical, for
elicifing informations from the
respondents. On the other hand
method is not only a combination of
several techniques but refors to a
complete set of guidelines pertaining
to collection and analysis of data.
Sociologists use a variety of techniques
such as observation, interview,
questionnaire, schedule, case study
etc.
Observer and social reality are two
distinct entities that need to be bridged
in order that some correct and
dependable inferences are possible
about the nature and structure of
society and the social phenomena.
This is difficult to state the complex
and dynamic nature of social reality,
which is changing every moment even
while it is being studied. The task
becomes all the more difficult because
the observer herself/himself is very
much a part of the situation under
study whether directly or
vicariously. Therefore, a variety of
research techniques have been
devised over the years accordingly to
the nuances of the various situations
to be studied. Some of these are as
under :
Observation
Observation is a method that employs
vision as its main means of data

collection. It implies the use of eyes
rather than of ears and the voice. It is
accurate watching and noting of
phenomena as they occur with regard
to the cause and effect or mutual
relations. It is watching other persons
behaviour as it actually happens
without controlling it.
Lindzey Gardner has defined it as
selection, provocation, recording and
encoding of that set of behaviours and
settings concerning organisms
(naturalistic settings of familiar
surroundings) which are consistent
with empirical aims. Here the
selection means that there is a focus in
observation and also editing before,
during and after the observations are
made. Provocation means that though
observers do not destroy natural
settings but they can make subtle
changes in natural settings, which
increase clarity. Recording means that
observed incidents/events are
recorded for subsequent analysis.
Encoding involves simplification of
records.
Characteristics of Observation
Black and Champion have given
the
following
characteristics
of
observation:
Behaviour of respondent is observed.
142
It
enables
understanding
significant events affecting social
relations of the participants.
It determines reality from the
perspective of observed person
himself.
It defines regularities and
recurrences in social life by
comparing data in one study with
those in other studies.
Observation involves some controls
pertaining to the observer and to the
means he uses to record data.
However, such controls do not exist
for the setting or the subject
population.
It is focused on hypotheses-free
inquiry.
It avoids manipulations in the
independent variable, i.e. one that
is supposed to cause other variable
and is not caused by them.
Recording is not selective.
Conditions of Scientific Observation

Data in social sciences, as in other
sciences, are based on sensory
observation. A check in an answer-box
is a datum, not the inference that the
respondent is for or against something.
A smile is a datum. The inference is
that the smiling person is in a happy
mood.
Social science depends to a
considerable extent on seeing things.
Observation is a technique, which
facilitates direct understanding of
social phenomena. Observation
ensures reliability and better
understanding. The word observation
is used here and elsewhere to include
all forms of sense perceptions used in
recording responses, as they impinge

on our senses. We make, however, a
distinction between a response and a
datum a response is some manifest
kind of action, a datum is the product
of the recording of the response.
There are two important conditions
imposed on scientific observations as
opposed to other observation. These are
reliability and inter-subjectivity.
Reliability and inter-subjectivity have
to do with the two components of the
observation process here called
perception and recording. Galtung
introduced two principles :
1. Principle of inter-subjectivity or
reliability : Repeated observation of the
same responses by the same observer
shall yield the same data.
2. Principle of inter-objectivity :
Repeated observation of the same
responses by different observers shall
yield the same data.
In this connection, a principle of
validity is, often, mentioned, with the
understanding that an observation is
valid if one has observed what he wants
to observe. Validity, thus, obviously
has to do with the relation between the
manifest
and
latent,
since
observations by definitions always are
at the manifest level.
3. Principle of validity : Data shall be
obtained of such a kind and in such a
way that legitimate inferences can be
made from the manifest level to the
latent level.
Looking above condition, we may
view that scientific observation is
planned and logical. Also, it is relevant
to a problem, which serves formulated

research purpose. It is reliable and
valid.
Observational Methods
Observation is fundamental in social
life of human beings, however
everydayseeing
has
to
be
distinguished from observation.
Observation is a tool of scientific
inquiry. It differs from seeing in the
reuse that it has a purpose behind it,
that is to understand the social
phenomena.
Observation becomes a scientific
tool for social inquiry when the
following factors are taken into
account (i) Action, (ii) Context or
setting, (iii) Duration of event, (iv)
Frequency of the event and (v) the
meaning behind the interaction.
Some times observation is backed
up by a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a
statement on the relationship between
two or more social phenomena. This
relationship has to be tested before any
generalisations are made observation
becomes focussed and acquires a
direction when acompanied with a
hypothesis. Besides this observation
can also be used as a techniques of data
collection in an exploratory study.
Types of Observation
Participant observation
Participant observation entails data
gathering through participation in
daily life of informants in their natural
interactional setting. A social
researcher watches, observes and talks
to people in order to understand their
143
interpretation, social meanings and

activities. Researcher adds to this the
dimension of her/his personal
experiences of sharing everyday life of
those under study.
A participant observer takes part in
the everyday activities of community
The village, tribe or neighbourhood
and spends time as a member of that
group or society. To, accomplish this he
has to take up a role so that he has great
acceptability in the community life of
the concerned group. Participant
observation, in the classical sense,
emerged during the field work
conducted by B. Malinowski among
the trobi and Islanders, of Western
Pacific. He spent many years with the
trobianders, learned their language
and understood their cultural life from
an insiders perspective or emic point
of view. It helps researcher to develop a
deep understanding of the culture
especially in accordance with the local
paralance.
Non-Participant Observation
The observer is detached from the group
under observation, who may or may not
know they are being studied. You must
put yourself in the position of the
acceptable incompetent.
M.
Hammersley and P. Atkinson say it
is only through watching and listening
that the ethnographer can acquire
some sense of the social structure of
the setting and begin to understand the
culture of the participants.
These methods are not necessarily
alternatives, they can be used in
144
conjunction with each other. It

depends on what you wish to discover.
One method may be more appropriate
than another for different aspects of the
same study. A survey, for example, may
also require observational details to
supplement it.
In non-participant observation, the
observer remains detached and does
not participate or intervene in the
activities of those who are being
observed. He merely observes their
behaviour. Sometimes, this places the
persons being observed in an awkward
position and their conduct becomes
unnatural. But some say that though
initially the observers bahviour is more
useful as a tool of data collection
because the observer can choose the
situations to be observed and can
record the data freely.
Non-participant observation is not
dependent on a systematic plan of
observation. However, it facilitates the
standardization of social situations to
be observed and admits too of a
systematic plan of the whole
observation process and the recording
of results. This is because the observer
is not required to participate actively
in the social processes at work in the
social field he is observing. Since, he
is not himself immediately affected by
the demands of the situation, he can
concentrate his whole attention more
easily on systematic observation of the
situation and what is happening in it.
Limitations of Observation
It is often impossible to anticipate

the occurrence of an event,
precisely, enough to be able to be

present to observe it. Even the
observation of regular daily
occurrences, sometimes, becomes
difficult because of the possibility
that unforeseen factors may
interfere with the task of
observation.
The practical possibility of applying
observational techniques is limited
by the duration of events. For
example, life histories cannot be
obtained this way. Besides some
occurrences that people may not be
willing and able to report are,
rarely, accessible to direct
observation (for example, marital
relations).
The data collected through
observation cannot be quantified.
The recorded data will show how
persons interacted with one
another but it cannot be easily
counted the number of times they
interacted. It is difficult to
categorize in-depth emotional and
humanistic data.
Observational studies use a
smaller sample than survey
studies. Two or more observers can
study a bigger sample but then
their observations cannot be
compared. Since observations are
made for a longer period, to employ
many observers can become a
costly affair.
There are some problems related to
reliability and validity of the
observation. The constant error
introduced by the observer because
of the distortion of perception for

various reasons is one of the major
shortcomings of reliability.
Observers may assign the same
observational items to different
categories because they may
themselves
have
different
tendencies to perceive evidence of
a particular behaviour. It may lower
the reliability of even a well-trained
and skilled observer. The load of
work can also hamper reliability.
The result of overloading is, often,
that the observer cannot record all
relevant data.
CASE STUDY
Periods of intense use and periods of
disuse mark the history of case study
research. The earliest use of this form
of research can be traced to Europe,
predominantly to France. The
methodology and sociology research
in the United States was most closely
associated with the University of
Chicago, Department of Sociology.
From the early 1900s until 1935, The
Chicago School was pre-eminent in the
field and the source of a great deal of
the literature.
Frederic Le Play is reputed to have
introduced the case study method into
social science. He used it as a
handmaiden to statistics in his studies
of family budgets. Herbert Spencer, an
English philosophical sociologist was
the first to use case materials in his
ethnographic studies.
Case study research excels in
bringing to us an understanding of a
145
complex issue or object and can extend

experience or add strength to what is
already known through previous
research. Case studies emphasize
detailed contextual analysis of a
limited number of events or conditions
and their relationships. Researchers
have used the case study research
method for many years across a variety
of disciplines. Social scientists, in
particular, have made wide use of this
qualitative research method to
examine contemporary real-life
situations and provide the basis for the
application of ideas and extension of
methods. Researcher Robert K. Yin
defines the case study research
method as an empirical inquiry that
investigates
a
contemporary
phenomenon within its real-life
context; when the boundaries between
phenomenon and context are not
clearly evident; and in which multiple
sources of evidence are used.
Concept of Case Study
Case study method is an ideal
methodology when a holistic, in-depth
investigation is needed. Case studies
have been used in varied social
investigations, particularly, in
sociological studies, and are designed
to bring out the details from the
viewpoint of the participants by using
multiple sources of data. It is, therefore,
an approach to explore and analyze the
life of social unit a person, a family, an
institution, a culture group or even an
entire community. Its aim is to
determine the factors that account for
the complex behaviour patterns of the
146
unit and the relationships of the unit

to its surroundings. Case-data may be
gathered, exhaustively, on the entire
life cycle or on a definite section of the
cycle of a unit but always with a view
to ascertain the natural history of
social unit and its relationship to the
social factors and forces involved in its
environment. In other words, through
case study, researchers attempt to see
the variety of factors within a social
unit as an integrated whole.
R.K. Yin has identified some
specific types of case studies:
Exploratory, Explanatory, and
Descriptive. Exploratory cases are
sometimes considered as a prelude to
social research. Explanatory case
studies may be used for doing causal
investigations. Descriptive cases
require a descriptive theory to be
developed before starting the project.
R.E. Stake included three other types
of case studies: Intrinsic when the
researcher has an interest in the case;
Instrumental when the case is used
to understand more than what is
obvious to the observer; and Collective
when a group of cases is studied.
Characteristics of Case Study
Method
J.L. Feagin, A. Orum and G.A. Sjoberg
describe the following characteristics
of case study:
1. The case study strives towards a
holistic understanding of cultural
systems of action. Cultural
systems of action refer to sets of
inter-related activities engaged in
by the actors in a social situation.
2. The case studies must always have

boundaries.
3. Case study research is not
sampling research. However,
selecting cases must be done so as
to maximize what can be learned,
in the period of time available for the
study.
4. Case studies tend to be selective,
focusing on one or two issues that
are fundamental to understanding
the system being examined.
5. Case
studies
are
multiperspectival analyses. This means
that the researcher considers not
just the voice and perspective of the
actors but also of the relevant
groups of actors and the interaction
between them.
Survey and Case Study
A survey is a form of planned collection
of data for the purpose of description or
prediction as a guide to action or
analyzing the relationship between
certain variables. Surveys are usually,
conducted on a fairly large scale as
contrasted with case studies which
tend to be more intensive but on a
smaller scale. Case study is done in
terms of limited space and broader
time, whereas survey is done in terms
of limited time with broader space.
Case study and survey methods are
not significantly different when the
units in the case study are large like
society or community. However, the
differences arise when the unit is
small like a person, or family. In this
case while admitting the case data,
question arises are they sufficiently

penetrating and suitable to the task of
determining characteristic subjective
values in general, particularly, when
the criteria of adequacy, representativeness and trustworthiness are
applied? Read Bain says that life record
as significant scientific material
because it does not provide
impersonal universal, non-ethical,
non-practical
aspects
of
phenomenon. The case study tends
to be conducted so that data can be
quantified, processed and analyzed
scientifically. Pre-thought schedules
of questions or structured interviews
are often, used and the answers to the
questions are analyzed and classified
into significant categories.
In case study, we are worried about
the uniqueness of the phenomenon
and also with the totality of the
phenomena. It is microcosmical,
whereas survey methods macrocosmically. The typicality of the case
study is specificity, intensiveness,
totality and individuality. It takes all
aspects of individual phenomenon to
be its preview. The typicality of the
survey method is the broadness of
phenomena and the narrowness of the
focus of inquiry. Case study is inward
looking, while survey method is
outward looking.
The Methodological Implications
Various related methods are used in
case study, namely, social surveys,
questionnaires, and interviews, attitude
scales, projective techniques etc.
Besides these techniques, personal
147
documents, diaries, autobiographies,

letters, life history, data etc. are also
used.
Both case study and survey differ in
degree not in kind. Those who favour
surveys criticize case study for being
unrepresentative and for dealing with
artificial situations. The advocated of
case study method are critical of
surveys for their reduced ability to
control important variables, for
following events rather than ranking
them. The application of these
approaches, however, depends on what
we need to find out and on the type of
question to which we seek an answer.
Many research inquires have
employed both the approaches during
different phases of their research,
using the result of one to inform and
redefine other, thus, producing
conclusion that both are precise and
representative.
Limitation of Case Study Method
The case study method is very time
consuming and very demanding of the
researcher. The possibility of becoming
involved emotionally is much greater
than in survey research, thus, making
detached and objective observation
difficult and sometimes, impossible.
Another problem in the use of case
study method is that, since, only one
example of a social situation or group
is being studied the results may not be
representative of all groups or
situations in the category. In other
words, the particular mental hospital
ward, slum, or suburb may not be
148
typical of all mental hospital wards,

slums, or suburbs.
Critics of the case study method
believe that the study of a small
number of cases can offer no grounds
for establishing reliability or generality
of findings. Others feel that the intense
exposure to the study of some specific
cases biases the findings. Some
dismiss case study research as useful
only as an exploratory tool. Yet,
researchers continue to use the case
study research method with success in
carefully planned and crafted studies
of real-life situations, issues and
problems.
TECHNIQUES OF QUESTIONNAIRE
It is well worth noting that persons are
not only reluctant to openly report their
feelings, plans, fears and so on; they
may in point of fact, be unable to do so.
We may not be aware of many of our
beliefs and hence, may not be able to
report them. Nevertheless, each of us
has a unique opportunity to observe
himself/herself and to that extent one
is in a position to and often will
communicate his knowledge about
himself. But such reporting or
communication, especially one that
diagnoses and explains why ones
behaviour was what it was, requires
qualities of penetration much beyond
the reach of average person. It is given
to only a few to be able to engage in selfdiagnosis. The capacity to peep into
depths of ones personality is
conspicuous by its absence among the
people at large. It is precisely that this
works to the detriment of the efficacy
of the questionnaire technique.
Questionnaire poses a structured

and standardized set of questions,
either to one person or to a small
population, or most commonly to
respondents in a sample survey.
Structure here refers to questions
appearing in a consistent, predetermined sequence and form. The
sequence may be deliberately
scrambled, or else arranged according
to a logical flow of topics or question
formats.
Questionnaires are distributed
through the mail or by hand, through
arrangements such as the drop-off,
where a fieldworker leaves the
questionnaire for respondents to
complete by themselves, with provision
either for mailing the complete form
back to the research office, or for a
return call by the fieldworker to collect
the questionnaire. A questionnaire
administered in a face-to-face
interview, or over the telephone
(growing in popularity among
researchers) is generally termed a
schedule. In deciding upon one of
these methods, researcher balances
the cost, probable response rate and the
nature of the questions to be posed.
Interview Schedule
The set of structured questions in
which answers are recorded by the
interviewer himself is called interview
schedule or simply the schedule. It is
distinguished from the questionnaire
in the sense that in the later
(questionnaire) the answers are filled
in by the respondents himself or
herself. Though the questionnaire is

used when the respondents are
educated, schedule can be used both
for the illiterate and the educated
respon-dents. The questionnaire is
especially
useful
when
the
respondents are scattered in a large
geographical area but the schedule is
used when the respondents are located
in a small area so that they can be
personally contacted. The wording of
the questions in the questionnaire has
to be simple, since the interviewer is
not present to explain the meaning and
import of the question to the
respondent. In the schedule, the
investigator gets the opportunity to
explain whatever the respondent
needs to know.
Typology of Questionnaires
Two sorts of questionnaire are used in
surveys. They are as follows:
1. Standardized questionnaire,
2. Open-ended and close ended
questionnaire
Standardized questionnaires are
those in which there are definite,
concrete and pre-ordained questions
with additional questions limited to
those necessary to clarify inadequate
answers or to elicit more detailed
responses. The questions are
presented with exactly the same
wording and in the same order to all
the respondents. The reason for
standardized questions is to ensure
that all the respondents are replying to
the same set of questions. Here the
respondents or the researcher mark
certain categories of reply to the
149
questions asked for instance, yes/no/

dont know or very likely/likely/
unlikely/very unlikely. Standardized
questionnaires have the advantage
that responses are easy to compare and
tabulate, since only a small number of
categories are involved. On the other
hand, because the standardized
questions do not allow for subtleties of
opinion or verbal expressions, the
information they yield is likely to be
restricted in scope. Structured
questionnaires are used in a wide
range of projects, both to initiate a
formal inquiry and also to supplement
and
check
data
previously
accumulated. These may pertain to
studies of economic or social
problems, measurement of opinion on
public issues or events, studies of
administrative policies and changes,
studies on the cost of living, consumer
expenditures, child welfare, public
health, and numerous other issues.
Questionnaire items follow
characteristic forms: open ended
questions, where respondents fill in the
blanks, using an original choice of
words, or the closed-response format,
where responses must conform to
options supplied by the interlocutor.
Choices are frequently presented in the
agree/disagree or yes/no form.
Standardizing the phrasing for each
question is a key phase in
questionnaire design. Seemingly,
minor alterations in wording can
substantially affect responses, a
phenomenon which has affected much
methodological research.
Open ended questionnaires are
150
questions with no alternative answers

provided. Open-ended questions are
designed to permit a free response from
the subject rather than one limited to
certain alternatives. The distinguishing characteristic of open-ended
questions is that they, merely, raise an
issue but do not provide or suggest any
structure for the respondents reply.
The respondent is given the
opportunity to answer in his/her own
terms and his/her own frame of
reference. They are not limited to
ticking fixed choice responses. Openended questionnaires are more
flexible and provide rich information
than standardized ones. The
researcher can follow up answers to
probe more deeply into what the
respondent thinks. On the other hand,
the lack of standardization means that
responses may be more difficult to
compare. One of the principal values
of the open-ended question is its use
as an exploratory tool before opinion
has been solidified or before the
research objectives have been clearly
defined.
Closed ended questionnaires
include alternative answers the
possible answers are built into the
question itself (example: Are you very
strongly, less strongly or not at all in
favour of?). Sometimes the possible
answers are given outside the question
itself, in short list, which is read out or
handed over to the subject for him to
choose an alternative. This is termed
as closed question with external
alternative answers. There is normal
practice that with internal alternatives
answers one should use no more than

three alternatives. If a choice of more
than three alternatives is necessary,
one must switch to external
alternatives. What, then, are the typical
features of these two forms of
questions? In the case of a question of
fact, especially in its simplest form
when it is a question on knowledge,
the open question form requires
recollection, while the closed
question form requires recognition.
This latter is much easier for the
subject. The interview flows better.
From the point of view of the
interpretation of questionnaires the
closed question is preferable. The
results are unambiguous and
comparable. With an open question,
the heterogeneous answers must first
be ordered into categories (codified)
before they can be interpreted.
Constructing classes in this way is
sometimes very laborious and a
challenging task. The interpreter must
first of all read perhaps a hundred
questionnaires to see how the answers
are distributed before starting to
collate them in classes.
From the point of view too, of the
reliability of interview-data, the closed
question is preferable. With the openended question the interviewer must
write down the subjects answer and
since, the latter often says a lot and
speaks quickly, it is not always possible
to take him down word for word. The
form in which the interviewer records
the answer is thus, influenced by his
perception and linguistic ability and
under certain circumstances this can
produce serious distortions.
Communication
Although the content of questionnaire
is governed by the purpose of the study
many problems of communication may
still arise on all surveys regardless of
content. Much careful attention and
experimentation are needed to
produce effectively worded questions.
The language should be concise and
directed toward producing uniformity
of understanding among the
respondents.
Arrangement of the Questions
The arrangement or ordering of the
questions should receive special
attention and pre-tested with care.
Every effort should be made to have the
order appear logical to respondent.
1. The questions placed first on the
questionnaire should be those
easiest to answer. Factual
questions and questions which are
interesting, are used at the
beginning of the questionnaire.
2. Placing a question early in the
questionnaire, which can affect
answers to later questions on the
form should be prevented wherever
possible. For example, in health
survey, starting off with a question
about chronic illnesses before
asking about current illnesses may
result in an underreporting of
illnesses of all kinds.
3. A time sequence should be
observed in the arrangement of
questions. If it is necessary to
include questions relating to
several periods of time on the same
form, they should be so grouped
151
that the respondent will not be

forced mentally to jump from one
time-period to another.
4. Subject-matter
sequence,
likewise, is important, and insofar
as possible, all questions
pertaining to one subject should be
grouped together.
The Problem of Validity
Questions must not only elicit stable
or reliable answers but they must also
provide the kind of information, which
the researcher wants. More often, the
problem of truth is a much more
complex one. It creates problems when
the respondent is not giving the facts
but the researcher is not really certain
that these are not the facts.
Another aspect of validity lies in
that statement, which is technically
true but in reality false. We have all
used this evasive technique at times;
warned by our parents not to lit
dangerous crackers on Diwali.
However, the answer to such
dissimulation is not only good
interviewing but also a good
understanding of the kinds of answers,
which might be given by the
respondents on the part of researcher,
so that the additional alternatives will
also be asked. This technique rests
upon the greater knowledge, which the
respondent has of the total situation.
If the researcher asks a question
without adequate prior research,
many of them will miss the mark and
the respondent will be able to tell the
truth without telling the facts. The
danger is particularly great when the
research has been sharpened to the
point where only a few, specific
152
questions are to be asked. A good

questionnaire will contain some check
questions on crucial issues, variously
placed within the document, designed
to parallel or confirm each other.
Sometimes, these will explore other
facets of the same behaviour. In other
cases, the check question will be
almost a repetition of the first but
intended to take the respondent offguard.
Usually, the cross-check question
is a kind of specification. That is, a
general question is checked by specific
references. Thus, a general question
may be posed which deals with patterns
of neighbouring in the locality, and
this question may be checked by
specific questions about specific
neighbouring relationships, such as
borrowing and lending, dropping in,
etc. This technique is a useful device
generally for penetrating the cliche
answer.
Advantage of Questionnaires
There
is
little
doubt
that
questionnaires are rather inexpensive
and for that reason quite attractive.

This is not merely a question of saving
money
but
also
of
saving
administrative time and talent, e.g. by
using the mail system instead of a
costly ad hoc staff of interviewers. One
special advantage lies in the
simultaneity of access, if it is important
to reach all respondents at the same
time, this is probably easier by means
of questionnaires than interviews,
unless the ratio of interviewers to
interviewees is close.
Limitations of Questionnaire
Although questionnaire is a good
techniques of research method
(especially when the area is very vast)
but it is also has some limitations
like:(i) Only literate people can answer it.
(ii) Some times respondents do not
give the facts.
(iii)Respondents send back the half
filled questionnaire.
(iv) Some important questions can not
be answered.
(v) It is an expensive technique.
GLOSSARY
CASE
STUDY.
A research approach that involves a detailed and thorough analysis

of a single case/unit.
CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS. Questions followed by a list of possible answers to be

selected by the respondents.
CODING. Categorizing data.
COMMUNITY STUDY. Research that focuses on the detailed analysis of a single
community; an application of the case study approach.
CONCEPT. A word or set of words that expresses a general idea about the nature of
things or events, or the relations between them; it often provides a
category for classification.

C ONTROL GROUP . In an experiment, the group from which the independent
variable is withheld.
CORPORATIVE ANALYSIS. Research involving observation in more than one social
system, or in the same social system at more than one point in time.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE. A variable whose occurrence or change is believed to be
affected by one or more independent variables.
DOCUMENTS. Written sources.
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. In an experiment, the group into which the independent
variable is introduced.
FIELD STUDY. A type of research in which the subjects of investigations are observed
under their usual environmental conditions.
GENERALIZATION. A general statement or preposition based on specific observations.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE. A variable whose occurrence or change results in the
occurrence or change of another variable, in a controlled experiment, the
variable that is introduced into the experimental group.
INTERVIEW. Face-to-face method of collecting data.
INTERVIEW BIAS. Effects that interviewers have on respondents that lead to biased
answer.
M ETHODOLOGY . The conceptual, logical and research procedures by which
knowledge is developed.
NON-PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION. It is a method of observation in which an investigator
directly observes a group without becoming a functioning member of the
group or taking part in its activities.
OBSERVATION. It is the examination of behaviour directly by an investigator or by
persons who serve as observers.
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS. Questions that a respondent is able to answer in his or her
own words.
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION. It is a method of observation in which an investigation
participates as a member of the group he is studying.
QUESTIONNAIRE. A printed list of questions to be answered by respondents by
himself/herself.
RAPPORT. A feeling of trust between researcher and subjects.
RELIABILITY. Shows the consistency, objectivity and lack of ambiguity of a statistical
test or a set of measurements.
RESPONDENTS. People who respond to a survey, either in interviews or in selfadministered questionnaires.
SCHEDULE. A printed list of questions addressed to a respondents, but filled in
by the investigator.
SECONDARY DATA . The data already collected by researchers.
153
154
STRUCTURED INTERVIEW. A form of interview that has set questions.

SUBJECTIVITY. The quality that reflects the private and unique experience of
an individual.
UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW. A form of interview where no pre-set questions are
asked.
VALIDITY. It is logically correct, so that ones reasoning follows logically from
ones own premises.
EXERCISES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Define observation. Give its characteristics.

Discuss various types of observations. Give examples to illustrate.
Discuss the pre-conditions for scientific observation.
What are the limitations of observation?
What is case study? Describe the characteristics of case study.
Distinguish between survey and case study.
Discuss the methodological implications of case study.
What do you understand by questionnaire?
Define and distinguish between questionnaire and interview-schedule.
Discuss the problem of communication and validity of questionnaire.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Feagin, J.L., Orum, A. & Sjoberg, G.A. (Eds.), A Case for Case Study,
University of North Carolina Press, Chapelhill, N.C., 1991.
2. Galtung, Johan, Theory and Methods of Social Research, George Allen &
Unwin Ltd., London, 1967.
3. Goode, William J., and Paul K. Hatt, Methods in Social Research, McGrawHill Book Company, New York, 1952.
4. Jahoda, Marie; Morton, Deutsch, and Stuart W.Cook, Research Methods in
Social Relations, Dryden, New York, 1951.
5. Mead, G.H., Mind, Self and Society, Chicago University Press, Chicago, 1934.
6. Shaw, Clifford R., The Case Study Method, Publications of American Sociological
Society, XXI, pp.149-157, 1927.
7. Stake, R.E., The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995.
8. Yin, R.K., Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage,
1984.

Introduction To Sociology

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Introduction To Sociology

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

CONTENT

: Origin, Nature and Scope of Sociology

: Relationship with other Social Sciences

: Marriage, Family and Kinship

: Religion and Culture

: Culture, Society and Personality

: Individual and Socialization

: Culture and Personality Formation

: Techniques of Data Collection

Origin, Nature and Scope of Sociology

descriptions of actual societies in

leaves them with little time to double

practice of democracy. Thus, changes

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

was a philosopher, Herbert Spencer

economic historian Benoy Kumar

Economics, he introduced sociology as

Hobhouse explained how sociology

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

The Sociological Perspective

method of scientific inquiry and it calls

Comtes treatise on the Positivist

conduct any scientific studies, but

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

classless society will emerge from such a

objective and systematic methods of

understand social reality by eliminating

fulfils the basic requirements of objective

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

bad. It addresses issues. Study of

association and state).

and power. It is said that the study of

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

It is a yardstick, a model that serves as a measuring rod against

OBJECTIVITY. Total neutrality.

It means mobility or social change in the society.

A theory of evolution of human societies inspired by Charles

Durkheims term for the patterns of behaviour that characterise

It is stable cluster of norms, values and roles.

The degree to which people feel a part of social groups.

It refers to interdependence of different aspects of society

It is complex of institutions, groups and arrangements

SOCIOLOGY. It is a scientific study of society and human beahviour.

The view that personal values of the scholar should not

influence social research.

What is meant by Sociology?

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

Relationship with other Social Sciences

of social sciences goes further. For

only grasp the distinctive nature of the

social science disciplines and both are

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

satisfied, however, with mere

descriptive discipline. Sociology

The sociologist critically examines

transformation of mechanical (simple)

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

exercise dominance in society

infrastructure to have access to power at

TECHNIQUES OF DATA COLLECTION

of society. According to Durkheim social

integrate their activities (including

the major difference between human