Invitation to Sociology

24USOCDSC101

MODULE – I

1.1 Emergence of Sociology as a discipline- Social and Intellectual Forces contributing to

the rise and development of Sociology, Social Thought

Emergence of Sociology
Sociology is the systematic study of society and human social action. The meaning of the
word comes from the suffix "-ology" which means "study of," derived from Greek, and the
stem "socius-" which is from the Latin word socius, meaning "companion", or society in
general Sociology was originally established by Auguste Comte (1798–1857) in 1838.Comte
endeavoured to unify history, psychology and economics through the descriptive
understanding of the social realm. He proposed that social ills could be remedied through
sociological positivism, an epistemological approach outlined in The Course in Positive
Philosophy [1830–1842] and A General View of Positivism (1844).
Though Comte is generally regarded as the "Father of Sociology", the discipline was formally
established by another French thinker, Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), who developed
positivism as a foundation to practical social research. Durkheim set up the first European
department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1895, publishing his Rules of the
Sociological Method. In 1896, he established the journal L'Année Sociologique. Durkheim's
seminal monograph, Suicide (1897), a case study of suicide rates amongst Catholic and
Protestant populations, distinguished sociological analysis from psychology or philosophy
Sociology is the systematic study of relationships among people. Sociologists assume that
behaviour is influenced by people’s social, political, occupational, and intellectual groupings
and by the particular settings in which they find themselves at one time or another.
Sociologists differ in their approach. Their three major choices are:
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict
c. Interactionism
Sociology’s vast subject matter can be identified as a study of people:  Where they collect
 How they socialize and organize  Whom they include in and exclude from their groups
 What they do to their environment  When they confront formulas for control, such as
politics, law, finance, religion, education, and social pressures and  Why they change.
Intellectual Forces contributing to the rise and development of
Sociology
1. Renaissance period
The Renaissance (from French: Renaissance "Rebirth",) was a cultural movement or rebirth
that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17thcentury, beginning in Italy in the
Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. In politics, the Renaissance
contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased
reliance on observation. Historians often argue this intellectual transformation was a bridge
between the Middle Ages and Modern history. It made intellectual pursuits as well as social
and political upheaval. As a cultural movement, it encompassed innovative flowering of Latin
and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on
classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch, the development of linear
perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting, and gradual
but widespread educational reform.
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life
in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th
century, its influence was felt in literature, philosophy, art, music, politics, science, religion,
and other aspects of intellectual inquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method
in study, and searched for realism and human emotion in art. Humanism and individualism
Humanism is prominent intellectual idea emerged in renaissance period. Renaissance
humanism is a collection of Greek and Roman teachings, undertaken by scholars, writers, and
civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists, taking place initially in Italy,
and then spreading across Europe. Humanist scholars shaped the intellectual landscape
throughout the early modern period. Political philosophers such as Niccolò Machiavelli and
Thomas More revived the ideas of Greek and Roman thinkers, and applied them in critiques
of contemporary government. Pico della Mirandola wrote what is often considered the
manifesto of the Renaissance, a vibrant defense of thinking, the Oration on the Dignity of
Man. The rediscovery of ancient texts and the invention of printing democratized learning
and allowed a faster propagation of ideas. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò
Machiavelli, sought to describe political life as it really was, that is to understand it rationally.
A critical contribution to Italian Renaissance humanism Picodella Mirandola wrote the
famous text "De hominis dignitate"(Oration on the Dignity of Man, 1486), which consists of
a series of theses on philosophy, natural thought, faith and magic defended against any
opponent on the grounds of reason.
Individualism is a belief system that places great importance on the ability of people to act
as individuals. The basic moral premise is that the individuals think that they can act and
benefit by alone, not by group. The opposite of this is collectivism, which holds that abstract
groups or transcendent entities can act, benefit or suffer, necessitating an abstract structure
(such as the state) to support these groups or entities. As the Renaissance developed,
Individualism developed, became a prominent theme in Italy. Many philosophers wrote about
the potential of man and developed their own beliefs as to the kind of person an individual
should aim to be. These views inspired many people to invest in their studies of the arts and
humanities, and as a result, many significant achievements came out of the Renaissance.
2. Age of Enlightenment & Development of Scientific spirit
The history of social science during the Age of Enlightenment traces developments in science
and technology during the Age of Reason, when Enlightenment ideas and ideals were being
disseminated across Europe and North America. The enlightenment is the period in which
rationalism definitely replaced religion as the organizing principle of knowledge. In this
period that the development of social science took hold and flourished. The social science
developed as individuals attempt to explain the social problems and suggest what could be
done to solve them. Thus, the Enlightenment period established the three ‘humiliations’ of
human beings. They are:
 The earth is not the centre of the universe
 Humans are creatures of nature like other animals
 Our reasoning ability is subject to passion and subconscious desires.
Before we experienced these ‘humiliation’, people believed that social problems set up by
God and were to be accepted or endured. Only after enlightenment did people believe that
society and culture are themselves products of history and evolution of culture. Many
philosophers, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and Denis Diderot, Thomas Hobbes
and John Locke developed new social ideas during the Enlightenment period that were based
on reason and methods of scientific inquiry.
During the Age of Enlightenment, political entities expanded from basic systems of
self-governance and monarchy to the complex democratic and communist systems that exist
in the Industrialized and the Modern Eras. In the 18th century, after Montesquieu's ‘The Spirit
of the Laws’ established that social elements influence human nature, the pre-classical period
of social theories developed a new form that provides the basic ideas for social theory, such
as: evolution, philosophy of history, social life and social contract, public and general will,
competition in social space, organismic pattern for social description and so forth.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in this time played a significant role in social theory. He revealed the
origin of inequality, analysed the social contract (and social compact) that forms social
integration and defined the social sphere or civil society. He also emphasized that man has the
liberty to change his world, a revolutionary assertion that made it possible to program and
change society.
Thomas Hobbes argued that deductive reasoning from axioms created a scientific framework,
and hence his Leviathan was a scientific description of a political commonwealth. In the 18th
century, social science was called moral philosophy, as contrasted from natural philosophy
and mathematics, and included the study of natural theology, natural ethics, natural
jurisprudence, and policy ("police"), which included economics and finance ("revenue").
Adam Smith was a professor of moral philosophy. Voltaire's ‘Lettres Philosophiques
’presented new scientific and philosophical ideas developed by Isaac Newton, John Locke,
and others, introducing them to the French. Methods used to study scientific phenomenon
were extended to study social and moral issues.
Social Forces contributing to the rise and development of
Sociology
French and Industrial Revolutions
The beginning of tradition of social sciences has been one of the major developments of the
19th century. It is often said that social sciences are mostly understood as responses to the
problem of order that was created in men's minds by the weakening of the old order under the
blows of French Revolution and Industrial Revolution. The European society was hard hit by
these revolutions. The old order that rested on kinship, land, social class, religion, local
community and monarchy became very shaky. Thinkers were more concerned about finding
ways and means of reconsolidating these elements of social order. Hence the history of 19th
century politics, industry and trade is basically about the practical efforts of human beings to
reconsolidate these elements.
Before the revolution the French society consisting of three different estates that each
represented a portion of the French population in which two of the three estates—the clergy
and the nobility—were tax-exempt, the attainment of any such solution was unlikely. Third
Estate— consisting of the general French public—was many times larger than either of the
first two. During the French Revolution, which began in 1789, France’s class system changed
dramatically. Aristocrats suddenly lost their money and status, while peasants, who had been
at the bottom of the social ladder, rose to more powerful and influential positions.
The Industrial Revolution followed on the heels of the French Revolution, unfolding in
Western Europe throughout the 1800s. During the Industrial Revolution, people abandoned a
life of agriculture and moved to cities to find factory jobs. They worked long hours in
dangerous conditions for low pay. New social problems emerged and, for many decades, little
was done to address the plight of the urban poor. The inequalities and oppression in French
society leads thinkers to think and give solution for the social turmoil. As a result, the famous
concept ‘liberty, equality and fraternity arisen. Thus, evolution of philosophy into social
science can be seen in France, where philosophers joined to produce an encyclopaedia, edited
by Denis Diderot and Jean d’Alembert. I.2. Theories on the nature of society: Thomas
Hobbes, John Locke, Rousseau

Refer materials on French Revolution and

Industrial Revolution in Google Classroom.
Social Thought Meaning, Definition, Characteristics

Man faces a world of complex social problems. As a result he is perplexed beyond

description. His thinking often ends in confusion. In thinking about social problems
the so-called practical person has proceeded in his own way. In the strict sense,
social thought is the product of the thinking together of associates. Most social
thought is of the ordinary dinner table variety that is casual and desultory.
Most social thought in the sense of group thought about social questions has
contributed little to knowledge. Discussion-group thinking illustrates social thinking
on its higher levels, but discussion-group thinking is not yet extensive. However, a
great deal may be expected from it in the future. In fact in countries that preserve
freedom of speech, it promises to become ultimately the main type of thought.

Meaning of Social Thought

Social thought is a philosophical and intellectual ideas of a person or persons
regarding to a particular time, place and about the growth, development and decay
of human societies. Social thought is a current social thinking about the structure and
functions of a social system.

Definition of Social Thought

1. “Social thought is an idea a concept or a set of concepts about social problems
and its possible solutions in a social situation”.
2. “In past as well as is the present social system, social thought is a rule of
thought or thinking about social questions and related answers by some
persons”.
In short social thought is thinking about the problems of society by one or few
persons in various times.
Characteristics of Social thought:
Social thoughts are mainly derived from the social problems.
According to Bogardus, social thoughts have the following characteristics:
1. Social thoughts are originated from social problems.
2. Social thoughts are also related to the human social life.
3. It is the result of social interactions and interrelations.
4. Social thoughts are influenced by the time and also place.
5. Here; thinkers are very much influenced by their social life, and personal
experiences.
6. It inspires the development of civilization and culture.
7. Social thoughts are based on abstract thinking.
8. It is an integral part of social utility.
9. It helps in promoting social relationships.
10. It is neither absolute nor static. It is evolutionary.
 Invitation to Sociology
24USOCDSC101

MODULE – I

1.2 SOCIOLOGY – THE SCIENCE OF SOCIETY

Origin of Sociology, Definition, Nature and Scope; Sociology as a science – Subject
matter, Branches

THE TERM ‘SOCIOLOGY’

The word sociology (or ‘sociologie’) is derived from both Latin and Greek origins. The Latin
word: socius, ‘companion’; the suffix ‘logy’ means science, from Greek, ‘logos’, meaning
‘knowledge’. It was first coined in 1780 by the French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès
(1748–1836) in an unpublished manuscript. Sociology was later defined independently by the
French philosopher of science, Auguste Comte (1798–1857), in 1838.
Comte used this term to describe a new way of looking at society. Comte had earlier used the
term "social physics", but that had subsequently been appropriated by others, most notably
the Belgian statistician Adolphe Quetelet. Comte endeavoured to unify history, psychology
and economics through the scientific understanding of the social realm. Writing shortly after
the malaise of the French Revolution, he proposed that social ills could be remedied through
sociological positivism, an epistemological approach outlined in The Course in Positive
Philosophy (1830–1842) and A General View of Positivism (1848). Comte believed a
positivist stage would mark the final era, after conjectural theological and metaphysical
phases, in the progression of human understanding. In observing the circular dependence of
theory and observation in science, and having classified the sciences, Comte may be regarded
as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of the term.

DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY
It is evident that sociologists differ not much in their opinion about definition of sociology.
Their divergent views about the definition of sociology only reveal their distinct approaches
to its study. However, the common idea underlying all the definitions mentioned above is that
sociology is concerned with humans and their aggregational entities.
Auguste Comte, the founding father of sociology, defines sociology as the science of social
phenomena "subject to natural and invariable laws, the discovery of which is the object of
investigation".
Kingsley Davis: that "Sociology is a general science of society".
Harry M. Johnson: "sociology is the science that deals with social groups".
Emile Durkheim: "Sociology is the Science of social institutions".
Park regards sociology as "the science of collective behavior".
Small defines sociology as "the science of social relationships".
Marshal Jones identifies sociology as "the study of man-in-relationship-to-men".
Ogburn and Nimkoff: "Sociology is the scientific study of social life".
Franklin Henry Giddings defines sociology as "the science of social phenomena".
Henry Fairchild: "Sociology is the study of man and his human environment in their relations
to each other".
Max Weber: "the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action in
order thereby to arrive at a casual explanation of its course and effects".
Alex Inkeles: "Sociology is the study of systems of social action and of their inter-relations".
Kimball Young and Raymond W. Mack: "Sociology is the scientific study of social aspects of
human life".
Morris Ginsberg: of the various definitions of sociology the one given by Morris Ginsberg
seems to be more satisfactory and comprehensive. He defines sociology in the following way:
"In the broadest sense, sociology is the study of human interactions and inter-relations, their
conditions and consequences".
NATURE OF SOCIOLOGY
Every branch of knowledge has its own nature and characteristics. Thus, Sociology as a
branch of knowledge had its own nature which distinguishes it from other social sciences and
helps us to understand what kind of science it is.
1) Sociology is considered to be an independent science
It has emerged as an independent social science in the first half of the 19th century and it is
not treated and studied like the branch of any other of the sciences like philosophy or the
history. As an independent science, it has developed its own field of the study, boundary as
well as the method.
(2) Sociology is a pure science and not an applied science
The aim of applied science is to apply the acquired knowledge into life and to put it to use.
But the aim of pure sciences is the acquisition of knowledge and it is not bothered whether
the acquired knowledge is useful or can be put to use. Sociology is a pure science, because it
aims at the acquisition of knowledge about human society, hot the utilisation of the
knowledge.
(3) Sociology is an abstract science and not a concrete science
It only refers that Sociology is not interested in concrete manifestations of human events. It is
more concerned with the form of human events and their patterns. Similarly, Sociology does
not confine itself to the study of this society or that particular society. It simply means that
Sociology is an abstract science, not a concrete science.
4) Sociology is a social science which studies society, its people and their behaviour
All the sciences are divided into two categories: natural sciences and social sciences. Natural
sciences study physical phenomena where as social sciences study social phenomena. Social
sciences include Economics, Political Science, and Anthropology etc. Sociology belongs to
the family of social sciences. As a social science it concentrates its attention on man, his
social behaviour, activities and social life. In other words, it studies man as a social being.
5) Sociology Generalizing and not a particularizing science
Sociology tries to find out the general laws or the principles of the human interaction, nature,
form, content and the structure of human groups as well as the societies. It does not study
each and every event that takes place in the society which is not possible too. It makes
generalization on the basis of selected events under study. For example, not by studying or
examining any particular secondary group but by observing a few secondary groups, a
sociologist makes generalization on secondary groups.
6) Sociology is a general science and not a special social science
The area of inquiry of Sociology is general and not specialised. Social sciences like Political
Science, History, Economics, etc. study only particular area of human behaviour in a
specialistic way. But Sociology does not investigate special kind of phenomena in relation to
human life, and activities but it studies human activities in a general way in the context of the
collective entity; ie; society.
7) Sociology is a categorical and not a normative discipline
Sociology "confines itself about what is, not what should be or ought to be." As a science it is
silent about questions of value. It does not make any kind of value judgment. It only means
Sociology as a discipline cannot deal with problems of good and evil, right and wrong.
8) Sociology is both Rational and the Empirical science
There are two broad ways to acquire the knowledge. One is known as empiricism that
emphasizes experience and facts that result from the observation and the experimentation.
The other is known as rationalism which stresses reason and theories that result from logical
inference. The empiricist collects facts, the rationalist co-ordinates and arranges them. In
sociological theory both are significant. Thus, Sociology is both a rational and empirical
science.
Besides the above point of the discussion on nature of sociology, it can be described
differently and in more pragmatic way. Despite some of the early sociologists’ argument and
their claim, sociology to be a scientific discipline, nature of the sociology can be discussed
far and against its scientific attributes.
Sociology deserves a scientific character; it is an open laboratory. Like the natural sciences,
the social laboratory functions open where a sociologist can study the society and its
reactions in varying degrees and in original situations. Due to this resemblance of the natural
science to social science, this discipline can be regarded as the scientific in nature. In
sociological study, too many experimentation may be the important factor to study the human
affairs. Natural sciences experimentation is equally applicable to the study of the society. By
making comparative investigations, its conclusions are logical and scientific.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN SOCIOLGY/ THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY

Every science has its own areas of study or fields of enquiry. It becomes difficult for anyone
to study a science systematically unless its boundaries are demarcated and scope
determined precisely. Scholars identify two main schools of thought regarding the scope of
sociology: (1) The specialistic or formalistic school and (2) The synthetic school.
1. The Specialistic or Formalistic school
This school of thought is led by the German sociologist George Simmel. The other main
advocates of this school are Vierkandt, Max Weber, Small, Von Wiese and Tonnies. Simmel
and others are of opinion that Sociology is a pure and an Independent science. As a pure
science, it has a limited scope. Sociology should confine itself to the study of the certain
aspects of human relationship only. Further, it should study only the ‘forms’ of social
relationships but not their contents. Social relationship such as competition, division of
labour, etc. are expressed in different fields of social life such as economic, religious,
political etc. Sociology should disentangle the forms of social relationships and study them
in abstraction. Sociology as a specific social science describes, classifies and analyses the
forms of social relationships.
Criticism: The views of Formalistic school are widely criticized. Some critical remarks may
be cited here.
1.They have unreasonably narrowed the field of sociology. Sociology should study not
only the general forms of social relationships but also their concrete contents.
2.The distinction between forms of social relations and their contents is not workable.
social forms can not be abstracted from the content at all , since social forms keep on
changing when the contents change. Sorokin writes, “we may fill a glass with wine,
water or sugar without changing its form , but I cannot conceive of a social institution
whose form would not change when its members change”
3.Sociology is not the only science that studies the forms of social relationship. Other
sciences also do that. The study international law, for example, includes social relations
like conflict, war, opposition, agreement, contract etc. Political science, economics also
study social relationship.
4.The establishment of pure sociology is impractical no sociologist has been also to develop
a pure sociology so far .no science can be studied in complete isolation from the other
science, in fact, today more emphasis is laid on inter –disciplinary approach.
1. The Synthetic school
The synthetic school of thought conceives of sociology as a synthesis of the social sciences,
not a pure or special social science. Durkheim, Hob House, Ginsberg and Sorokin have
been the chief exponents of this school.
The views of Email Durkheim; Durkheim, one of the stalwarts of this school of thought, says
that sociology has three main divisions or fields of inquiry. They are as follows: social
morphology, social physiology and general sociology. 1. Social morphology: social
morphology studies the territorial basis of the people and also the problems of population
such as volume and density, local distribution etc. 2. Social physiology: social physiology
has different branches such as sociology of religion, of morals, of law, of economic life and
language etc. 3. General sociology: general sociology can be regarded as the philosophical
part of sociology. It deals with the general character of the social facts. Its function is the
formation of general social laws.
The main argument of this school is that all parts of social life are intimately inter-related.
Hence the study of one aspect is not sufficient to understand the entire phenomenon. Hence
sociology should study social life as a whole. From these two schools of thought we can
conclude that any how sociology has special subject matter: social relationship. But
sociology is related with all social sciences. Sociology is related with Economics, but
considers social relationship in economic aspects. Sociology is related with History, but
considers social relationship in historic aspects.

BRANCHES OF SOCIOLOGY
The main branches of sociology are as follows:
1. Historical Sociology
It is the study of social facts and social groups. It studies the background of any social events.
How and when different social groups or organizations originated? Eg., The history of Hindu,
Roman, Greek, etc. and other major civilizations were studied by P.A. Sorkin.
2. Sociology of Knowledge
The newly emerged branch of sociology indicates that our knowledge is the product of social
phenomena. This means our knowledge is always influenced by society. The economic
religious political and other interests save the human belief and idea.
4. Sociology of Crime (Criminology)
This branch of sociology studies the criminal behaviour of individuals or groups. Origin of
crime its types nature, causes as well as law, punishment, police, etc. come under this study,
The efforts for the improvement is also studied. Different organizations establish to control
the crime as well as their role also come under its study.
3. Sociology of Religion
This branch studies the structure of the religion in social system as no society is free from the
influence of it. It analyses the social behaviour of human beings. It also studies the religious
constitutions and their role in the society. Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Herbert Spencer
did the study of elementary forms of religious life.
6. Economic Sociology
This branch of sociology studies production, distribution, consumption and exchange of
goods and services. This branch also studies the economic activities of the society in which
the focus is given about the socio-cultural factors. The access in production, the mode of
distribution, the real consumers, the role of culture in such activities are studied under it.
Eg.. “Why Hindus don’t eat Cow?”
7. Rural Sociology
This branch of sociology studies the way of life of rural people as the rural population is
higher than the urban. The patterns of life such as behaviour, belief, culture, tradition norms,
values, etc. are totally different than of urban people. So, it studies the rural society in
scientific way. It also studies rural life, social institutions, social structure, social processes,
etc. of the rural society.
8. Urban Sociology
This branch of sociology studies the way of life of urban people. It gives information about
the social organizations and institution of urban society as well as social structure and social
interaction. It also studies the social pathology of urban society such as discrimination) crime,
corruption, robbery, beggary, loot, theft, unemployment, prostitution, environmental
pollution, etc.
9. Sociology of Gender
Studies such aspects and issues related with gender generally found in societies and cultures
as gender related conceptions and misconceptions, gender co-existence, gender inequality and
conflicts etc.
10. Political Sociology
This branch of sociology studies different political moments of the society. It includes the
study of different political ideology (view), their origin, development and functions. In this
study, different political parties are considered as social institutions. Various activities and
behaviour of political parties are studied in this branch. As they are the part of social system.
11. Sociology of Demography
Demography of scientific mathematical and statically study of population. It studies about
size, situation, composition, density, distribution, and measurement etc. of the population. In
this branch of sociology, we study the distribution of human population with the analysis of
population change in sociological perspectives. It also finds out the determining factors of
population change and its trend.
12. Sociology of Law
Sociology of law and legal system are considered as the part of society, as social institution.
Law is one of the very important means of social control. Law is related with other different
social sub systems. Such as economy, nature of distribution, authority, structure of family
kinship relationships, etc. So, this branch of sociology is related to moral order for the society
as formulation and implementation of rules and regulations, law and order come under this.
13. Industrial Sociology
This branch of sociology is concerned with the industrial relationship of the human beings. It
studies the different industrial organizations and institutions. As well as their interrelationship
and links with other various institutions of society. It also studies the inter relationships of
industrial institutions with various aspects of human life such as culture, beliefs, customs,
religion or the way of life.
Besides the above-mentioned various branches of sociology, other different branches are also
emerging day by day as sociology is a very broad social science. Some of them are:
Sociology of Family, Sociology of Race, Sociology of Occupation, Sociology of Art,
Sociology of literature, Sociology of Peace, Sociology of Development, Sociology of
Defence, Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Planning, Sociology of Differentiation,
Sociology of Stratification, etc.

SUBJECT MATTER OF SOCIOLOGY

(AREAS / FIELDS OF STUDY OF VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SOCIOLOGY)
1. Culture and Cultural Processes
(Sociology of Culture)
Sociologist’s approach to culture can be divided into a "sociology of culture" and "cultural
sociology"—the terms are similar, though not entirely interchangeable. The sociology of
culture is an older term, and considers some topics and objects as more-or-less "cultural" than
others. Conversely, cultural sociology sees all social phenomena as inherently cultural.
Sociology of culture often attempts to explain certain cultural phenomena as a product of
social processes, while cultural sociology sees culture as a potential explanation of social
phenomena.
For Simmel, culture referred to "the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external
forms which have been objectified in the course of history". While early theorists such as
Durkheim and Mauss were influential in cultural anthropology, sociologists of culture are
generally distinguished by their concern for modern (rather than primitive or ancient) society.
Cultural sociology often involves the hermeneutic analysis of words, artefacts and symbols,
or ethnographic interviews. However, some sociologists employ historical-comparative or
quantitative techniques in the analysis of culture, Weber and Bourdieu for instance. The
subfield is sometimes allied with critical theory in the vein of Theodor W. Adorno, Walter
Benjamin, and other members of the Frankfurt School. Loosely distinct from the sociology of
culture is the field of cultural studies. Birmingham School theorists such as Richard Hoggart
and Stuart Hall questioned the division between "producers" and "consumers" evident in
earlier theory, emphasizing the reciprocity in the production of texts. Cultural Studies aims to
examine its subject matter in terms of cultural practices and their relation to power. For
example, a study of a subculture (such as white working class youth in London) would
consider the social practices of the group as they relate to the dominant class. The "cultural
turn" of the 1960s ultimately placed culture much higher on the sociological agenda.
2. Family, Gender, and Sexuality
(Sociology of Family, Sociology of Childhood, Sociology of Gender, Feminist Sociology)
(Feminist Theory, and Queer theory)
"Rosie the Riveter" was an iconic symbol of the American home front and a departure from
gender roles due to wartime necessity.
Family, gender and sexuality form a broad area of inquiry studied in many sub-fields of
sociology. A family is a group of people who are related by kinship ties:- Relations of blood /
marriage / civil partnership or adoption. The family unit is one of the most important social
institutions found in some form in nearly all known societies. It is the basic unit of social
organization and plays a key role in socializing children into the culture of their society. The
sociology of the family examines the family, as an institution and unit of socialization, with
special concern for the comparatively modern historical emergence of the nuclear family and
its distinct gender roles. The notion of "childhood" is also significant. As one of the more
basic institutions to which one may apply sociological perspectives, the sociology of the
family is a common component on introductory academic curricula. Feminist sociology, on
the other hand, is a normative sub-field that observes and critiques the cultural categories of
gender and sexuality, particularly with respect to power and inequality. The primary concern
of feminist theory is the patriarchy and the systematic oppression of women apparent in many
societies, both at the level of small-scale interaction and in terms of the broader social
structure. Feminist sociology also analyses how gender interlocks with race and class to
produce and perpetuate social inequalities. "How to account for the differences in definitions
of femininity and masculinity and in sex role across different societies and historical periods"
is also a concern. Social psychology of gender, on the other hand, uses experimental methods
to uncover the micro processes of gender stratification. For example, one recent study has
shown that resume evaluators penalize women for motherhood while giving a boost to men
for fatherhood.
3. Economic behaviours and Systems
(Economic Sociology)
The term "economic sociology" was first used by William Stanley Jevons in 1879, later to be
coined in the works of Durkheim, Weber and Simmel between 1890 and 1920. Economic
sociology arose as a new approach to the analysis of economic phenomena, emphasizing
class relations and modernity as a philosophical concept. The relationship between capitalism
and modernity is a salient issue, perhaps best demonstrated in Weber's The Protestant Ethic
and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) and Simmel's The Philosophy of Money (1900). The
contemporary period of economic sociology, also known as new economic sociology, was
consolidated by the 1985 work of Mark Granovetter titled "Economic Action and Social
Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness". This work elaborated the concept of
embeddedness, which states that economic relations between individuals or firms take place
within existing social relations (and are thus structured by these relations as well as the
greater social structures of which those relations are a part). Social network analysis has been
the primary methodology for studying this phenomenon. Granovetter's theory of the strength
of weak ties and Ronald Burt's concept of structural holes are two best known theoretical
contributions of this field.
Social Stratification, poverty and inequality
(Social stratification, Social inequality, Social mobility, and Social class)
Social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of individuals into social classes, castes,
and divisions within a society. Modern Western societies stratification traditionally relates to
cultural and economic classes arranged in three main layers: upper class, middle class, and
lower class, but each class may be further subdivided into smaller classes (e.g. occupational).
Social stratification is interpreted in radically different ways within sociology. Proponents of
structural functionalism suggest that, since the stratification of classes and castes is evident in
all societies, hierarchy must be beneficial in stabilizing their existence. Conflict theorists, by
contrast, critique the inaccessibility of resources and lack of social mobility in stratified
societies.
Karl Marx distinguished social classes by their connection to the means of production in the
capitalist system: the bourgeoisie own the means, but this effectively includes the proletariat
itself as the workers can only sell their own labour power (forming the material base of the
cultural superstructure). Max Weber critiqued Marxist economic determinism, arguing that
social stratification is not based purely on economic inequalities, but on other status and
power differentials (e.g. patriarchy). According to Weber, stratification may occur among at
least three complex variables: (1) Property (class): A person's economic position in a society,
based on birth and individual achievement. Weber differs from Marx in that he does not see
this as the supreme factor in stratification. Weber noted how managers of corporations or
industries control firms they do not own; Marx would have placed such a person in the
proletariat. (2) Prestige (status): A person's prestige, or popularity in a society. This could be
determined by the kind of job this person does or wealth and (3) Power (political party): A
person's ability to get their way despite the resistance of others. For example, individuals in
state jobs, such as an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a member of the
United States Congress, may hold little property or status but they still hold immense power
Pierre Bourdieu provides a modern example in the concepts of cultural and symbolic capital.
Theorists such as Ralf Dahrendorf have noted the tendency towards an enlarged middle-class
in modern Western societies, particularly in relation to the necessity of an educated work
force in technological or service-based economies. Perspectives concerning globalization,
such as dependency theory, suggest this effect owes to the shift of workers to the developing
countries.
4. Belief, Spirituality and Religion
(Sociology of Religion)
The sociology of religion concerns the practices, historical backgrounds, developments,
universal themes and roles of religion in society. There is particular emphasis on the recurring
role of religion in all societies and throughout recorded history. The sociology of religion is
distinguished from the philosophy of religion in that sociologists do not set out to assess the
validity of religious truth-claims, instead assuming what Peter L. Berger has described as a
position of "methodological atheism". It may be said that the modern formal discipline of
sociology began with the analysis of religion in Durkheim's 1897 study of suicide rates
among Roman Catholic and Protestant populations. Max Weber published four major texts on
religion in a context of economic sociology and social stratification: The Protestant Ethic and
the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism (1915),
The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism (1915), and Ancient
Judaism (1920). Contemporary debates often centre on topics such as secularization, civil
religion, the intersection of religion and economics and the role of religion in a context of
globalization and multiculturalism.
Ceremonial life – Birth, Death, Bereavement
A subfield of the sociology of health and illness that overlaps with cultural sociology is the
study of death, dying and bereavement, sometimes referred to broadly as the sociology of
death. This topic is exemplified by the work of Douglas Davies and Michael C. Kearl.
5. Work, employment, and industry
(Industrial Sociology, Sociology of Work, and Industrial relations)
The sociology of work, or industrial sociology, examines "the direction and implications of
trends in technological change, globalization, labour markets, work organization, managerial
practices and employment relations to the extent to which these trends are intimately related
to changing patterns of inequality in modern societies and to the changing experiences of
individuals and families the ways in which workers challenge, resist and make their own
contributions to the patterning of work and shaping of work institutions."
6. Knowledge and Education
(Sociology of knowledge, Sociology of science)
The sociology of knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought and the
social context within which it arises, and of the effects prevailing ideas have on societies. The
term first came into widespread use in the 1920s, when a number of German-speaking
theorists, most notably Max Scheler, and Karl Mannheim, wrote extensively on it. With the
dominance of functionalism through the middle years of the 20th century, the sociology of
knowledge tended to remain on the periphery of mainstream sociological thought. It was
largely reinvented and applied much more closely to everyday life in the 1960s, particularly
by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann in The Social Construction of Reality (1966) and
is still central for methods dealing with qualitative understanding of human society (compare
socially constructed reality). The "archaeological" and "genealogical" studies of Michel
Foucault are of considerable contemporary influence.
The sociology of science involves the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing
"with the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes
of scientific activity." Important theorists in the sociology of science include Robert K.
Merton and Bruno Latour. These branches of sociology have contributed to the formation of
science and technology studies. Both the ASA and the BSA have sections devoted to the
subfield of Science, Knowledge and Technology. The ISA maintains a Research Committee
on Science and Technology.
The sociology of education is the study of how educational institutions determine social
structures, experiences, and other outcomes. It is particularly concerned with the schooling
systems of modern industrial societies. A classic 1966 study in this field by James Coleman,
known as the "Coleman Report", analysed the performance of over 150,000 students and
found that student background and socioeconomic status are much more important in
determining educational outcomes than are measured differences in school resources (i.e. per
pupil spending). The controversy over "school effects" ignited by that study has continued to
this day. The study also found that socially disadvantaged black students profited from
schooling in racially mixed classrooms, and thus served as a catalyst for desegregation busing
in American public schools.
7. Environment and Species
(Environmental Sociology and Sociology of Disaster)
Environmental sociology is the study of human interactions with the natural environment,
typically emphasizing human dimensions of environmental problems, social impacts of those
problems, and efforts to resolve them. As with other sub-fields of sociology, scholarship in
environmental sociology may be at one or multiple levels of analysis, from global (e.g.
world-systems) to local, societal to individual. Attention is paid also to the processes by
which environmental problems become defined and known to humans. As argued by notable
environmental sociologist John Bellamy Foster, the predecessor to modern environmental
sociology is Marx's analysis of the metabolic rift, which influenced contemporary thought on
sustainability. Environmental sociology is often interdisciplinary and overlaps with the
sociology of risk, rural sociology and the sociology of disaster.
8. Human Ecology, Spatial Congregation
(Architectural Sociology, Visual Sociology, Sociology of Space)
Human ecology deals with interdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and
their natural, social, and built environments. In addition to Environmental sociology, this field
overlaps with architectural sociology, urban sociology, and to some extent visual sociology.
In turn, visual sociology—which is concerned with all visual dimensions of social
life—overlaps with media studies in that it uses photography, film and other technologies of
media.
9. Health, illness, and Disabilities
(Sociology of Health and illness, Medical Sociology)
The sociology of health and illness focuses on the social effects of, and public attitudes
toward, illnesses, diseases, mental health and disabilities. This sub-field also overlaps with
gerontology and the study of the ageing process. Medical sociology, by contrast, focuses on
the inner-workings of medical organizations and clinical institutions. In Britain, sociology
was introduced into the medical curriculum following the Goodenough Report (1944).
The sociology of the body and embodiment takes a broad perspective on the idea of "the
body" and includes "a wide range of embodied dynamics including human and non-human
bodies, morphology, human reproduction, anatomy, body fluids, biotechnology and genetics.
This often intersects with health and illness, but also theories of bodies as political, social,
cultural, economic and ideological productions. The ISA maintains a Research Committee
devoted to "The Body in the Social Sciences".
10. Art, Music and Literature
(Sociology of Art, Sociology of Literature)
Sociology of literature, film, and art is a subset of the sociology of culture. This field studies
the social production of artistic objects and its social implications. A notable example is
Pierre Bourdieu's 1992 Les Règles de L'Art: Genèse et Structure du Champ Littéraire,
translated by Susan Emanuel as Rules of Art: Genesis and Structure of the Literary Field
(1996). None of the founding fathers of sociology produced a detailed study of art, but they
did develop ideas that were subsequently applied to literature by others. Marx's theory of
ideology was directed at literature by Pierre Macherey, Terry Eagleton and Fredric Jameson.
Weber's theory of modernity as cultural rationalization, which he applied to music, was later
applied to all the arts, literature included, by Frankfurt School writers such as Adorno and
Jürgen Habermas. Durkheim's view of sociology as the study of externally defined social
facts was redirected towards literature by Robert Escarpit. Bourdieu's own work is clearly
indebted to Marx, Weber and Durkheim.
11. Leisure, Recreation
(Sociology of leisure and Sociology of Sport)
Sociology of leisure is the study of how humans organize their free time. Leisure includes a
broad array of activities, such as sport, tourism, and the playing of games. The sociology of
leisure is closely tied to the sociology of work, as each explores a different side of the
work–leisure relationship. More recent studies in the field move away from the work–leisure
relationship and focus on the relation between leisure and culture. This area of sociology
began with Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class.
12. Political behaviour, Leadership and Authority (systems of governance)
(Political Sociology)
Jürgen Habermas
Historically, political sociology concerned the relations between political organization and
society. A typical research question in this area might be: "Why do so few American citizens
choose to vote?" In this respect questions of political opinion formation brought about some
of the pioneering uses of statistical survey research by Paul Lazarsfeld. A major subfield of
political sociology developed in relation to such questions, which draws on comparative
history to analyse socio-political trends. The field developed from the work of Max Weber
and Moisey Ostrogorsky.
Contemporary political sociology includes these areas of research, but it has been opened up
to wider questions of power and politics. Today political sociologists are as likely to be
concerned with how identities are formed that contribute to structural domination by one
group over another; the politics of who knows how and with what authority; and questions of
how power is contested in social interactions in such a way as to bring about widespread
cultural and social change. Such questions are more likely to be studied qualitatively. The
study of social movements and their effects has been especially important in relation to these
wider definitions of politics and power.
Political sociology has also moved beyond methodological nationalism and analysed the role
of non-governmental organizations, the diffusion of the nation-state throughout the Earth as a
social construct, and the role of stateless entities in the modern world society. Contemporary
political sociologists also study inter-state interactions and human rights.
13. Criminality, Deviance, Law and punishment
(Sociology of Law, Sociology of Deviance and Criminality)
Criminologists analyse the nature, causes, and control of criminal activity, drawing upon
methods across sociology, psychology, and the behavioural sciences. The sociology of
deviance focuses on actions or behaviours that violate norms, including both formally
enacted rules (e.g., crime) and informal violations of cultural norms. It is the remit of
sociologists to study why these norms exist; how they change over time; and how they are
enforced. The concept of social disorganization is when the broader social systems leads to
violations of norms. For instance, Robert K. Merton produced a typology of deviance, which
includes both individual and system level causal explanations of deviance.
The study of law played a significant role in the formation of classical sociology. Durkheim
famously described law as the "visible symbol" of social solidarity. The sociology of law
refers to both a sub-discipline of sociology and an approach within the field of legal studies.
Sociology of law is a diverse field of study that examines the interaction of law with other
aspects of society, such as the development of legal institutions and the effect of laws on
social change and vice versa. For example, an influential recent work in the field relies on
statistical analyses to argue that the increase in incarceration in the US over the last 30 years
is due to changes in law and policing and not to an increase in crime; and that this increase
significantly contributes to maintaining racial stratification.
14. Peace, Conflict and War
(Sociology of Peace and Conflict, Military Sociology, and Sociology of Terrorism)
This subfield of sociology studies, broadly, the dynamics of war, conflict resolution, peace
movements, war refugees, conflict resolution and military institutions. As a subset of this
subfield, military sociology aims towards the systematic study of the military as a social
group rather than as an organization. It is a highly specialized sub-field which examines
issues related to service personnel as a distinct group with coerced collective action based on
shared interests linked to survival in vocation and combat, with purposes and values that are
more defined and narrower than within civil society. Military sociology also concerns
civilian-military relations and interactions between other groups or governmental agencies.
Topics include the dominant assumptions held by those in the military, changes in military
members' willingness to fight, military unionization, military professionalism, the increased
utilization of women, the military industrial-academic complex, the military's dependence on
research, and the institutional and organizational structure of military.
15. Population, Fertility, Mortality and Migration
(Social Demography, Sociology Mobility and Displacement)
Demographers or sociologists of population study the size, composition and change over time
of a given population. Demographers study how these characteristics impact, or are impacted
by, various social, economic or political systems. The study of population is also closely
related to human ecology and environmental sociology, which studies a populations
relationship with the surrounding environment and often overlaps with urban or rural
sociology. Researchers in this field may study the movement of populations: transportation,
migrations, diaspora, etc., which falls into the subfield known as Mobilities studies and is
closely related to human geography. Demographers may also study spread of disease within a
given population or epidemiology.
16. Race and ethnic relations
(Sociology of Race and Ethnic Relations, Social Anthropology)
The sociology of race and of ethnic relations is the area of the discipline that studies the
social, political, and economic relations between races and ethnicities at all levels of society.
This area encompasses the study of racism, residential segregation, and other complex social
processes between different racial and ethnic groups. This research frequently interacts with
other areas of sociology such as stratification and social psychology, as well as with
postcolonial theory. At the level of political policy, ethnic relations are discussed in terms of
either assimilationism or multiculturalism. Anti-racism forms another style of policy,
particularly popular in the 1960s and 70s.
17. Social Progress, Development and Social Change
(Community Development, and International Development and Social Change)
The sociology of change and development attempts to understand how societies develop and
how they can be changed. This includes studying many different aspects of society, for
example demographic trends, political or technological trends, or changes in culture. Within
this field, sociologists often use macro sociological methods or historical-comparative
methods. In contemporary studies of social change, there are overlaps with international
development or community development. However, most of the founders of sociology had
theories of social change based on their study of history. For instance, Marx contended that
the material circumstances of society ultimately caused the ideal or cultural aspects of
society, while Weber argued that it was in fact the cultural mores of Protestantism that
ushered in a transformation of material circumstances. In contrast to both, Durkheim argued
that societies moved from simple to complex through a process of sociocultural evolution.
Sociologists in this field also study processes of globalization and imperialism. Most notably,
Immanuel Wallerstein extends Marx's theoretical frame to include large spans of time and the
entire globe in what is known as world systems theory. Development sociology is also
heavily influenced by post-colonialism. In recent years, Raewyn Connell issued a critique of
the bias in sociological research towards countries in the Global North. She argues that this
bias blinds sociologists to the lived experiences of the Global South, specifically, so-called,
"Northern Theory" lacks an adequate theory of imperialism and colonialism.
There are many organizations studying social change, including the Fernand Braudel Center
for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations, and the Global Social
Change Research Project.
18. Communication, and Information Technology
(Sociology of Communication)
The sociology of communications and information technologies includes "the social aspects
of computing, the Internet, new media, computer networks, and other communication and
information technologies".
Internet and digital media
The Internet is of interest to sociologists in various ways; most practically as a tool for
research and as a discussion platform. The sociology of the Internet in the broad sense
regards the analysis of online communities (e.g. newsgroups, social networking sites) and
virtual worlds, thus there is often overlap with community sociology. Online communities
may be studied statistically through network analysis or interpreted qualitatively through
virtual ethnography. Moreover, organizational change is catalysed through new media,
thereby influencing social change at-large, perhaps forming the framework for a
transformation from an industrial to an informational society. One notable text is Manuel
Castells' The Internet Galaxy—the title of which forms an inter-textual reference to Marshall
McLuhan's The Gutenberg Galaxy. Closely related to the sociology of the Internet, is digital
sociology, which expands the scope of study to address not only the internet but also the
impact of the other digital media and devices that have emerged since the first decade of the
twenty-first century.
Media studies
As with cultural studies, media study is a distinct discipline that owes to the convergence of
sociology and other social sciences and humanities, in particular, literary criticism and critical
theory. Though the production process or the critique of aesthetic forms is not in the remit of
sociologists, analyses of socializing factors, such as ideological effects and audience
reception, stem from sociological theory and method. Thus the 'sociology of the media' is not
a sub discipline per se, but the media is a common and often-indispensable topic.
19. Social Network and interdependence
(Figurational Sociology, Relational Sociology, and Socio mapping)
Harrison White
A social network is a social structure composed of individuals (or organizations) called
"nodes", which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such
as friendship, kinship, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of
beliefs, knowledge or prestige. Social networks operate on many levels, from families up to
the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved,
organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.
An underlying theoretical assumption of social network analysis is that groups are not
necessarily the building blocks of society: the approach is open to studying less-bounded
social systems, from non-local communities to networks of exchange. Drawing theoretically
from relational sociology, social network analysis avoids treating individuals (persons,
organizations, states) as discrete units of analysis, it focuses instead on how the structure of
ties affects and constitutes individuals and their relationships. In contrast to analyses that
assume that socialization into norms determines behaviour, network analysis looks to see the
extent to which the structure and composition of ties affect norms. On the other hand, recent
research by Omar Lizardo also demonstrates that network ties are shaped and created by
previously existing cultural tastes. Social network theory is usually defined in formal
mathematics and may include integration of geographical data into Socio mapping.
20. Human Psychie – Conditions, Processes and issues
(Social psychology, Psychoanalytic Sociology)
Sociological social psychology focuses on micro-scale social actions. This area may be
described as adhering to "sociological miniaturism", examining whole societies through the
study of individual thoughts and emotions as well as behaviour of small groups. Of special
concern to psychological sociologists is how to explain a variety of demographic, social, and
cultural facts in terms of human social interaction. Some of the major topics in this field are
social inequality, group dynamics, prejudice, aggression, social perception, group behaviour,
social change, non-verbal behaviour, socialization, conformity, leadership, and social identity.
Social psychology may be taught with psychological emphasis. In sociology, researchers in
this field are the most prominent users of the experimental method (however, unlike their
psychological counterparts, they also frequently employ other methodologies). Social
psychology looks at social influences, as well as social perception and social interaction.
21. Urban and Rural Social Systems
(Urban Sociology, Rural Sociology)
Urban sociology involves the analysis of social life and human interaction in metropolitan
areas. It is a discipline seeking to provide advice for planning and policy making. After the
industrial revolution, works such as Georg Simmel's The Metropolis and Mental Life (1903)
focused on urbanization and the effect it had on alienation and anonymity. In the 1920s and
1930s The Chicago School produced a major body of theory on the nature of the city,
important to both urban sociology and criminology, utilizing symbolic interactionism as a
method of field research. Contemporary research is commonly placed in a context of
globalization, for instance, in Saskia Sassen's study of the "Global city". Rural sociology, by
contrast, is the analysis of non-metropolitan areas. As agriculture and wilderness tend to be a
more prominent social fact in rural regions, rural sociologists often overlap with
environmental sociologists.
22. Community Studies, Social Welfare
(Sociology of Welfare, Community Development)
Often grouped with urban and rural sociology is that of community sociology or the
sociology of community. Taking various communities—including online communities—as
the unit of analysis, community sociologists study the origin and effects of different
associations of people. For instance, German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies distinguished
between two types of human association: Gemeinschaft (usually translated as "community")
and Gesellschaft ("society" or "association"). In his 1887 work, Gemeinschaft und
Gesellschaft, Tönnies argued that Gemeinschaft is perceived to be a tighter and more
cohesive social entity, due to the presence of a "unity of will". The 'development' or 'health' of
a community is also a central concern of community sociologists also engage in development
sociology, exemplified by the literature surrounding the concept of social capital.
EXTRA READING:
METHODS OF STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY
The following list of research methods is neither exclusive nor exhaustive:
1. Observation: Using data from the senses, the researcher records information about social
phenomenon or behaviour. Observation techniques may or may not feature participation. In
participant observation, the researcher goes into the field (such as a community or a place of
work), and participates in the activities of the field for a prolonged period of time in order to
acquire a deep understanding of it. Data acquired through these techniques may be analysed
either quantitatively or qualitatively. In the observation research, a sociologist might study
global warming in some part of the world that is less populated.
2. Archival research or the Historical method: History and Sociology are so much
inter-related that some of the sociologists like G. E. Howard regard history to be past
Sociology, and Sociology present History, it is evident that our present forms of social life,
our customs or ways of living have their roots in the past and they can, therefore, be best
explained when they are traced back to their sources. This can be possible only with the help
of History. It draws upon the secondary data located in historical archives and records, such
as biographies, memoirs, journals, and so on.
3. Comparative method: The main task of Sociology, as we have seen, is to ascertain
relations and inter-relation between different aspects of social life. Sociology cannot make
proper use of the experimental method and all its various stages of observation, classification,
hypothesis, generalisation etc. with regard to a particular social phenomenon in a laboratory
as the physical sciences can do. But a sociologist can surely experiment in the laboratory of
the world by employing the Comparative Method. This method involves comparisons of
various kinds or groups of people in order to find out the differences as well as similarities in
their ways of life and thus to find out clues to man’s social behaviour.
This method has been used by many sociologists to find out what elements in social life are
functionally со-related. Taylor used this method in the study of the institutions connected
with the family among primitive people and was able to show that the practice of
mother-in-law avoidance was со-related with the custom of matrilocal residence.
4. Experimental research: Experimentation can be defined as investigation in which the
situation or subjects are systematically manipulated by the investigator and controlled
observation made so that a definite hypothesis about the relation of variables can be tested.
The researcher isolates a single social process and reproduces it in a laboratory (for example,
by creating a situation where unconscious sexist judgements are possible), seeking to
determine whether or not certain social variables can cause, or depend upon, other variables
(for instance, seeing if people's feelings about traditional gender roles can be manipulated by
the activation of contrasting gender stereotypes). Participants are randomly assigned to
different groups that either serve as controls—acting as reference points because they are
tested with regard to the dependent variable, albeit without having been exposed to any
independent variables of interest—or receive one or more treatments. Randomization allows
the researcher to be sure that any resulting differences between groups are the result of the
treatment.
5. Survey method: The social survey method consists in the collection of data concerning the
living and working conditions of people in a given area with a view to formulating practical
social measures for their betterment and welfare. The researcher gathers data using
interviews, questionnaires, or similar feedback from a set of people sampled from a particular
population of interest. Survey items from an interview or questionnaire may be open-ended or
closed-ended. Data from surveys is usually analysed statistically on a computer.
Bogardus defines Social Survey as “the collection of data concerning the living and working
conditions, broadly speaking, of the people in a given community”. Social survey is
concerned with collection of data relating to some problems of social importance with a view
to formulating a constructive programme for its solution. It is conducted within a fixed
geographical limit.
Social surveys are of various types. These are: (i) General or specialised surveys; (ii) Direct
or indirect surveys; (iii) Census survey or sample surveys; (iv) Primary or secondary surveys;
(v) Initial or repetitive surveys; (vi) Official, semi-official or private surveys; (vii)
Wide-spread or limited’ surveys; (viii) Public or confidential surveys; (ix) Postal or personal
surveys; (x) Regular or ad hoc surveys;
Survey involves the following steps; (i) Definition of the purpose or objects; (ii) Definition of
the problem to be studied; (iii) The analysis of this problem in a schedule; (iv) The
delimitation of the area or scope; (v) Examination of all documentary sources; (vi) Field
work; (vii) Arrangement, tabulation and statistical analysis of the data; (viii) The
interpretation of the results; (ix) Deduction; (x) Graphic expression.
These surveys are very useful as they do not only provide detailed accounts of the social and
economic facts but also bring home various social evils prevalent among the people of the
area concerned and thereby draw the attention of the government to eradicate these evils by
passing appropriate legislation.
6. Statistical Method: The Statistical Method is used to measure social phenomenon
mathematically that is with the help of figures. According to Bogardus, “Social Statistics is
mathematics applied to human facts.” It is obvious that Statistics can be used with advantage
where the problem can be expressed in quantitative terms as in measuring the growth of
population, the increase of birth and death rates, rise and fall in income etc. Prof. Giddings
was the first great sociologist to emphasise the importance of statistics for sociological
researches.
Much of the research work in Sociology is currently being carried on with the help of the data
collected through statistics, for example, in studying population, migration, economic
conditions, human ecology etc. But the great difficulty in adopting the statistical method is
that mostly the social problems are qualitative and not quantitative. This method can,
therefore, be used in a limited sphere only.
7. Functionalism or Structural Functional Method: The approach of functionalism is
being given great importance in the study of social phenomena by some sociologists. By this
method we try to interpret any part of society in terms of its functions and not in terms of its
utility and origin. Functionalism, in other words, refers to the study of social phenomena
from the point of view of the functions that particular institutions such as family, class,
political institutions, religion, etc., serve in a society.
The functional method assumes that the total social system of the society is made up of parts
which are inter-related and inter-dependent, each performing a function necessary to the life
of the group, and these parts can best be understood in terms of the functions that they
perform or in terms of the needs they meet. And since they are inter-dependent, we can
understand them only by investigating their relationship to other parts as well as to the whole
social system.
The functional approach was employed by sociologists like Comte, Spencer and others and
anthropologists like Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown. The American sociologists like
Parsons and Merton have elaborated this method and given it the name of structural
functional method, because of the emphasis that it lays on social structures or institutions in
studying the social phenomena.
8. The Ideal Type Method: The Ideal Type Method of investigating social phenomenon has
been expounded by Max Weber, Simmel and Durkheim. According to this method an ideal is
constructed from concrete cases and then a particular case is evaluated according to the
degree of its approximation to the ideal.
For example, if a sociologist is interested in a problem, say, of “friendship” or “democracy”
he will create an ideal conception of friendship or democracy on the basis of concrete cases
and then, he will measure the particular case of friendship or the working of democracy in a
particular country to that ideal and ascertain its value accordingly.
According to Weber, an ideal type of social behaviour involves a description of certain aims
and normative controls, from which springs a notion of the rational course of action. The
ideal type analysis and scales of personal values have proved very valuable for descriptive
and analytical studies.
This method can be used: (a) As a means of interpreting particular situations; (b) As a
generalizing concept by means of which we can disentangle a similar element from the
variety of its manifestation; (c) As a means for detecting the causal force of other factors.
But this method has its difficulties the construction of an ideal is not an easy task. It is a
subjective process, influence of personal preference cannot, therefore, be ruled out in
constructing an ideal. Secondly, the ideal once fixed cannot be good for all times as it is liable
to change with the change in situations. Thirdly, this method is not adequate to understand the
complexity of society.
9. Inverse Deductive Method: Sociology makes use of Inverse Deductive Method on a large
scale. This method was advocated by J. S. Mill and involves the following procedure:
In the first place, it assumes that there is relation between different elements of social life. By
the use of Taylor’s method of tracing adhesions, we inquire what elements in social life are
functionally correlated. As we have mentioned above, Taylor had applied this method to the
comparative and statistical study of the institutions connected with the family among the
primitive peoples and showed that the practice of mother-in-law avoidance is co-related with
the custom of matrilocal residence.
Similarly, it has been suggested that there is some relationship between industrialisation and
capitalism, between urbanisation and disintegration of the family, between war and class
differentiations and so on. The rise of nobility and the extensive development of serfdom
appear to be correlated with the growth of the economic system.
Secondly, after finding the correlation between the institutions, we come to the study of
sequences i.e., finding whether there are any regularities in the changes of the institutions,
and whether the changes in any one institution are correlated with changes in other
institutions, e.g., we may inquire whether changes in class structure are connected with
changes in the economic organisation or again whether changes in the forms and functions of
the family are connected with changes in the economic order in religious beliefs or in morals.
Thirdly, if the laws of co-relative changes or sequences are established they provide what J.
S. Mill called the middle principles of sociology. Finally, such laws would not, however,
yield the final explanation of social phenomenon; they would require to be related to more
ultimate laws of Psychology and Social Psychology which govern the life and evolution of
human societies as such.
Thus, Sociology cannot make use of either deductive method or inductive method. It makes
use of inverse deductive method which is a combination of inductive obtained by means of
the comparative method or by statistical method with deduction from more ultimate laws.
7. Case Study: A case study is a form of qualitative analysis involving the very careful and
complete observation of a person, a situation or an institution. In the words of Yang, “The
case study method may be defined as an all- inclusive and intensive study of an individual, in
which the investigator brings to bear all his skill and methods or as a systematic gathering of
enough information about a person to understand how he or she functions as a unit of
society.” Burgess assigns it the name of social Microscope. This method is usually employed
for the study of professional criminal and other social deviants and involves an investigation
and an analysis of all the factors entering into the case and its examination from as many
points of view as possible.
Some of the techniques used in the method are interviews, questionnaires, life histories,
documents of all kinds having a bearing on the subject and all such material which may
enable the sociologist to have a deep insight into the problem. Thoroughness is the keystone
of this method. Case work is used in a variety of settings such as child care and child
guidance institutions, schools, colleges, medical and psychiatric settings, family welfare,
marriage counselling centres, institutions for the old and infirm as well as handicapped and
also with people who suffer from addiction, character disorders, emotional disturbances and
the like.
8. Sociometry: Sociometry has been recently evolved by sociologists for the measurement of
such non statistical relations as envy, class conflicts, social adjustments etc. Sociometry is a
set of techniques to measure in quantitative and diagrammatic terms attractions and
repulsions in interpersonal relations. The approach has been very useful in the study of small
group structures, personality trait and social status. It discloses the feelings people have for
one another and provides various indexes or measures of interaction. The sociometric test can
be very helpful in the assignment of personnel to work groups in such a way as to achieve a
maximum of inter-personal harmony and a minimum of inter-personal friction.
This technique is, in a sense, a combination of ideal type analysis and statistics. The method
was at first initiated by G. L. Moreno in his book. We shall survive. Though it was primarily
and chiefly used by psychologists but its value in the study of sociological problems is now
being gradually recognised.
9. Content Analysis: The content of interviews and other texts is systematically analysed.
Often data is 'coded' as a part of the 'grounded theory' approach using qualitative data
analysis (QDA) software, such as Atlas.ti, MAXQDA, NVivo, or QDA Miner.
10. Longitudinal study: An extensive examination of a specific person or group over a long
period of time.
11. Computational sociology: Sociologists increasingly draw upon computationally
intensive methods to analyse and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations,
artificial intelligence, text mining, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches
like social network analysis and social sequence analysis, computational sociology develops
and tests theories of complex social processes through bottom-up modelling of social
interactions.
Although the subject matter and methodologies in social science differ from those in natural
science or computer science, several of the approaches used in contemporary social
simulation originated from fields such as physics and artificial intelligence. By the same
token, some of the approaches that originated in computational sociology have been imported
into the natural sciences, such as measures of network centrality from the fields of social
network analysis and network science. In relevant literature, computational sociology is often
related to the study of social complexity. Social complexity concepts such as complex
systems, non-linear interconnection among macro and micro process, and emergence, have
entered the vocabulary of computational sociology. A practical and well-known example is
the construction of a computational model in the form of an "artificial society", by which
researchers can analyse the structure of a social system.
I. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
Concept
Symbolic interactionism is a school of thought in sociology that explains social behaviour in
terms of how people interact with each other via symbols; in this view, social structures are
best understood in terms of such individual interactions. Symbolic interactionism is a
sociological theory that develops from practical considerations and alludes to people's
particular utilization of dialect to make images, normal implications, for deduction and
correspondence with others. In other words, it is a frame of reference to better understand
how individuals interact with one another to create symbolic worlds, and in return, how these
worlds shapes individual behaviours.

Some of the characteristics of the symbolic interaction perspective are an emphasis on

interactions among people, use of symbols in communication and interaction, interpretation
as part of action, self as constructed by individuals and others in flexible, adjustable social
processes through communication and interaction. Writers from this perspective examine
and analyse the interaction order of daily life and experiences, rather than the structures
associated with social systems or large scale and relatively fixed social forces and laws.
While the interaction order may be the basis of systems and structures, and human action in
the interaction order is guided by social rules in the context of resources and constraints,
systems and structures are not a primary focus of symbolic interactionists.

Symbolic interactionism comes from a sociological perspective which developed around the
middle of the twentieth century and that continues to be influential in some areas of the
discipline. It is particularly important in microsociology and social psychology. It is derived
from the American philosophy of pragmatism and particularly from the work of George
Herbert Mead, as a pragmatic method to interpret social interactions.

II. FUNCTIONALISM

The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical
perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was
especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable.
Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of
the whole society. Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of society is
functional for the stability of the whole society. The different parts are primarily the
institutions of society, each of which is organized to fill different needs and each of which has
particular consequences for the form and shape of society. The parts all depend on each other.

Functionalism sees social structure or the organisation of society as more important than the
individual. Functionalism is a top down theory. Individuals are born into society and become
the product of all the social influences around them as they are socialised by various
institutions such as the family, education, media and religion.

Functionalism sees society as a system; a set of interconnected parts which together form a
whole. There is a relationship between all these parts and agents of socialisation and together
they all contribute to the maintenance of society as a whole.
Social consensus, order and integration are key beliefs of functionalism as this allows society
to continue and progress because there are shared norms and values that mean all individuals
have a common goal and have a vested interest in conforming and thus conflict is minimal.

According to the functionalist perspective of sociology, each aspect of society is

interdependent and contributes to society's stability and functioning as a whole. For example,
the government provides education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on
which the state depends to keep itself running. That is, the family is dependent upon the
school to help children grow up to have good jobs so that they can raise and support their own
families. In the process, the children become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, who in turn
support the state.

If all goes well, the parts of society produce order, stability, and productivity. If all does not
go well, the parts of society then must adapt to recapture a new order, stability, and
productivity. For example, during a financial recession with its high rates of unemployment
and inflation, social programs are trimmed or cut. Schools offer fewer programs. Families
tighten their budgets. And a new social order, stability, and productivity occur.

III CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

The conflict perspective, or conflict theory, derives from the ideas of Karl Marx, who
believed society is a dynamic entity constantly undergoing change driven by class conflict.
Whereas functionalism understands society as a complex system striving for equilibrium, the
conflict perspective views social life as competition. According to the conflict perspective,
society is made up of individuals competing for limited resources (e.g., money, leisure, sexual
partners, etc.). Competition over scarce resources is at the heart of all social relationships.
Competition, rather than consensus, is characteristic of human relationships. Broader social
structures and organizations (e.g., religions, government, etc.) reflect the competition for
resources and the inherent inequality competition entails; some people and organizations have
more resources (i.e., power and influence), and use those resources to maintain their positions
of power in society. Sociologists who work from the conflict perspective study the
distribution of resources, power, and inequality. When studying a social institution or
phenomenon, they ask, “Who benefits from this element of society?” While functionalism
emphasizes stability, conflict theory emphasizes change. According to the conflict
perspective, society is constantly in conflict over resources, and that conflict drives social
change.

Key points:

● Conflict theory sees social life as a competition, and focuses on the distribution of
resources, power, and inequality.
● Unlike functionalist theory, conflict theory is better at explaining social change, and
weaker at explaining social stability.
● Conflict theory has been critiqued for its inability to explain social stability and
incremental change.
● Conflict theory derives from the ideas of Karl Marx.
 Module II
Fundamental Concepts in Sociology

2.1 The Social Aggregates: Social Group, Organization, Association –

Classification, Features, Functions, Comparison

Social Aggregates and Social Categories

Social group is the foundation of society and culture. Man is a product of group life.
Most of the Anthropologists believe that man started his life on this earth by living
together. Man has always been dependent upon his fellow beings in defense, food
and shelter. The satisfaction of various needs could be done only by cooperation
among various people in society. This reciprocal help brought them into social
contact with one another and here the social group was founded. It was the real
foundation of human society.

A social group consists of two or more people who regularly interact on the basis of
mutual expectations and who share a common identity. It is easy to see from this
definition that we all belong to many types of social groups: our families, our
different friendship groups, the sociology class and other courses we attend, our
workplaces, the clubs and organizations to which we belong, and so forth. Except in
rare cases, it is difficult to imagine any of us living totally alone. Even people who live
by themselves still interact with family members, coworkers, and friends and to this
extent still have several group memberships.

It is important here to distinguish social groups from two related

collectivities: social categories and social aggregates. A social category is a
collection of individuals who have at least one attribute in common but otherwise do
not necessarily interact. Women is an example of a social category. All women have
at least one thing in common, their biological sex, even though they do not interact.
Asian Americans is another example of a social category, as all Asian Americans have
two things in common, their ethnic background and their residence in the United
States, even if they do not interact or share any other similarities. As these examples
suggest, gender, race, and ethnicity are the basis for several social categories. Other
common social categories are based on our religious preference, geographical
residence, and social class.

Falling between a social category and a social group, is the social

aggregate, which is a collection of people who are in the same place at the same
time but who otherwise do not necessarily interact, except in the most superficial of
ways, or have anything else in common. The crowd at a sporting event and the
audience at a movie or play are common examples of social aggregates. These
collections of people are not a social category, because the people are together
physically, and they are also not a group, because they do not really interact and do
not have a common identity unrelated to being in the crowd or audience at that
moment.

A social aggregate is different from a social group, which refers to two or more people
who interact regularly and who have things in common, like a romantic couple, a

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family, friends, classmates, or co-workers, among others. A social aggregate is also
different from a social category, which refers to a group of people defined by a shared
social characteristic, like gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, class, and so on.

Every day we become part of social aggregates, like when we walk down a crowded
sidewalk, eat in a restaurant, ride public transit with other passengers, and shop in
stores. The only thing that binds them together is physical proximity.

Social aggregates sometimes figure into sociology when researchers use a

convenience sample to carry out a research project. They are also present in the work
of sociologists who conduct participant observation or ethnographic research. For
example, a researcher studying what happens in a particular retail setting might take
note of the customers present, and document their demographic makeup by age,
race, class, gender, and so on, in order to provide a description of the social aggregate
at that store.

The term group is an amorphous one and can refer to a wide variety of gatherings,
from just two people (think about a “group project” in school when you partner with
another student), a club, a regular gathering of friends, or people who work together
or share a hobby. In short, the term refers to any collection of at least two people who
interact with some frequency and who share a sense that their identity is somehow
aligned with the group. Of course, every time people are gathered it is not necessarily
a group. A rally is usually a one-time event, for instance, and belonging to a political
party doesn’t imply interaction with others.

People who exist in the same place at the same time but who do not interact or share
a sense of identity—such as a bunch of people standing in line at Starbucks—are
considered an aggregate, or a crowd. Another example of a non-group is people
who share similar characteristics but are not tied to one another in any way. These
people are considered a category, and as an example all children born from
approximately 1980–2000 are referred to as “Millennials.” Why are Millennials a
category and not a group? Because while some of them may share a sense of identity,
they do not, as a whole, interact frequently with each other.

Interestingly, people within an aggregate or category can become a group. During

disasters, people in a neighborhood (an aggregate) who did not know each other
might become friendly and depend on each other at the local shelter. After the
disaster ends and the people go back to simply living near each other, the feeling of
cohesiveness may last since they have all shared an experience. They might remain a
group, practicing emergency readiness, coordinating supplies for next time, or taking
turns caring for neighbors who need extra help. Similarly, there may be many groups
within a single category. Consider teachers, for example. Within this category, groups
may exist like teachers’ unions, teachers who coach, or staff members who are
involved with the PTA.

SOCIAL GROUPS
Human beings never live in isolation. Human life is essentially a group life. As a
social animal he always lives in group. An individual begins his life as a participating
member of the group i.e. family. He takes birth, lives, grows and dies in group. He

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forms group to fulfil his different needs and to attain common goals. Groups play an
important role in shaping personality, in the development of social organization and
socialization.
Our social behaviour and personalities are shaped by the groups to which we belong.
Throughout his life, individual is a member of various groups, some are chosen by
him, others are assigned to him at birth. Groups constitute the complex pattern of
the ‘social structure’. Groups are a part of society

Meaning and definition

Two or more persons in interaction constitute a social group. It has common aim. In
its strict sense, group is a collection of people interacting together in an orderly way
on the basis of shared expectations about each other’s behaviour. As a result of this
interaction, the members of a group, feel a common sense of belonging.

A group is a collection of individuals but all collectivities do not constitute a social

group. A group is distinct from an aggregate (people waiting at railway station or bus
stand) member of which do not interact with one another. The essence of the social
group is not physical closeness or contact between the individuals but a
consciousness of joint interaction.

According to Green, “A group is an aggregate of individuals which persist in time,

which has one or more interests and activities in common and which is organised.”

According to Maclver and Page “Any collection of human beings who are brought
into social relationship with one another”. Social relationships involve some degree
of reciprocity and mutual awareness among the members of the group.

According to Ogburn and Nimkoff, “Whenever two or more individuals come

together and influence one another, they may be said to constitute a social group”.
According to E.S. Bogardus, “A social group may be thought of as a number of
persons two or more, who have some common objects of attention who are
stimulating to each other, who have common loyalty and participate in similar
activities”.

NATURE OF SOCIAL GROUPS

A social group exhibits some degree of social cohesion and is more than a
simple collection or aggregate of individuals, such as people waiting at a bus stop or
people waiting in a line. Characteristics shared by members of a group may include
interests, values, representations, ethnic or social background, and kinship ties.
One way of determining if a collection of people can be considered a
group is if individuals who belong to that collection use the self-referent
pronoun “we;” using “we” to refer to a collection of people often implies
that the collection thinks of itself as a group. Examples of groups include:
families, companies, circle of friends, clubs, local chapters of fraternities and
sororities, and local religious congregations.
Identification and attachment, in turn, stimulate more frequent and
intense interaction. Each group maintains solidarity with all to other groups and

3
other types of social systems. Groups are among the most stable and enduring of
social units. They are important both to their members and to the society at large.
Through encouraging regular and predictable behavior, groups form the foundation
upon which society rests. Thus, a family, a village, a political party a trade union is
all social groups. These, it should be noted are different from social classes, status
groups or crowds, which not only lack structure but whose members are less aware
or even unaware of the existence of the group. These have been called quasi-groups.
Nevertheless, the distinction between social groups and quasi-groups is fluid and
variable since quasi-groups very often give rise to social groups, as for example,
social classes give rise to political parties.

The Most Important Characteristics of Social Group

(1) Given number of Individual:

A social group consists of a given number of individuals. Without a number of
individuals no social group can be formed. Two or more than that individual are
necessary to form a group. This number may vary.

(2) Reciprocal Relations:

There exist reciprocal relations among the members of a social group. These
reciprocal relations among the members are the basis or foundation of social group
without which social group cannot be formed.

(3) Common Goals:

It is another important characteristic of a social group. The aims, objectives and
ideals of the members are common. For the fulfilment of these common goals social
groups are formed. Here individual interests are sacrificed for group interests.

(4) Sense of unity and solidarity:

Members of a social group are always tied by a sense of unity and bond of solidarity,
common goals and mutual relations strengthens this bond of unity and solidarity.
This creates loyalty and sympathy among the members of social group.

(5) A strong sense of ‘we-feeling’:

Members of a social group is characterized by a strong sense of ‘we-feeling’. This we-
feeling fosters co-operation among members. Because of this we- feeling the
members identify themselves with the group and consider others as outsiders.

(6) Group Norms:

Every social group has its own, regulations and norms which the members are
supposed to follow. With the help of these rules and norms the group exercises
control over its members. These norms may be written or unwritten. Any violation of
group norms is followed by punishment. The group norms maintain unity and
integrity in the group.

(7) Similar Behavior:

Members of a social group show similar behavior. As the interests, ideals and values
of a group are common hence its members behave in a similar manner. This similar
behavior helps in the achievement of common goals.

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(8) Awareness:
Members of a social group are aware about the membership which distinguishes
them from others. This is perhaps due to ‘the consciousness of kind’ as opined by
Giddings.

(9) Group Control:

Social group exercises some sort of control over its members and over their activities.
This control may be direct or indirect. Of course group exercises control only over
non-conformists or deviants.

(10) Social groups may be permanent or temporary in nature. There are permanent
groups likes family and temporary groups like crowd, mob etc.
(12) Social groups are dynamic in nature. It is not static. It responds to different
changes. The nature of change may be slow or rapid but it is bound to occur.
(13) Social groups have established patterns.

Classification of groups
Social groups are not only innumerable but also diverse. Different sociologists have
classified social groups on the basis of different criteria. Groups have been classified
variously on the basis of factors such as – racial features, religious beliefs, territory,
nature of government, size, caste, sex, age, class, occupation, blood relationships,
degree of organisation, nature of social interaction, range of group interests,
permanent or temporary nature, degree of mobility and so on.

1. William Graham Sumner of Social Groups: ‘In-Groups’ and

‘Out-Group’:
W.G. Sumner in his ‘Folkways’ differentiates between ‘in-groups ‘and ‘out-groups’.
An ‘In-Group’ is simply the We-group, an ‘Out,-Group’ the ‘they- group. This
classification is more subjective, in the sense; it depends on the tendency on the part

5
 of an individual to identify himself with a particular group in a particular situation
for a particular reason.

For example, for a Hindu, all the other Hindus constitute his ‘in-group’ and members
of other religious grou

ps, ‘out-group For a Lingayat, the other Lingayats may constitute his ‘in-group’, and
other people, his ‘out-group’ and so on.

In Groups (We-Group)
Famous Sociologist William Graham Sumner has classified groups on the basis
of we-feeling into two broad categories such as in group and out group. The
individual belongs to a number of groups which is considered as his in groups. In
groups are the groups with which an individual identifies himself completely.
Member of in group has feelings of attachment, sympathy and affection towards the
other members of these groups. In groups are generally based on a consciousness of
kind. Members of an in group identity themselves with the word ‘we’. In groups are
relative to particular social circumstances.
These groups are marked by a feeling of ‘enthnocentrism’ i.e. the members of in
group consider their group superior than other groups. The family, the tribe, the
college, the village to which a person belong are his in groups. The members of an in
group feel that their personal welfare is in some way or other connected with the
other members of the group. In the relationship among the members of in group they
display co-operation, good will, mutual help and respect for each other. Members of
in group possess a sense of solidarity a feeling of brotherhood. In group members are
always ready to sacrifice themselves for the group.
Because of in group human qualities like love, sacrifice and sympathy develop among
individuals. In group may be called as we-group. When Odias says “We are Odias
(Oriya)” are the examples of we-group feeling and also any ethnic group can be
considered to constituted we-group feeling as well. There always exists a
considerable degree of sympathy among the members of in group. In group members
identify themselves with the group as a whole. In groupness is the core of group life.
This in groupness sets the members of an in group apart from all other people.
Characteristics of In-Group
1. Ethnocentrism: According to Sumner ethnocentrism is one of the most
important characteristic of in group. He opines ethnocentrism is that view of things
in which one’s own group is the centre of everything and others are scaled with
reference to it. Because of this feeling the members of in group consider their group
superior than other groups. It is really the sentiment*of patriotism. By this
primordial feeling an individual identify himself with the group.

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2. Similar Behaviour: It is another characteristic of in group. Members of in-group
always show similar behaviour and they are similar in many respects. They show
similar attitude, opinion and similar reactions.
3. We-feeling: We-feeling is another important characteristic of in-group. Members
of in group have a strong sense of awe feeling by which they identify themselves and
distinguish them from others. This shows a strong sense of unity among themselves.
4. Sense of Unity: It is another characteristic of in group. Members of in group are
united by a strong sense of unity. In groupness creates a strong sense of unity or
living together among the members of in group. As a result of this members consider
them as one and united.
5. Love, Sympathy and fellow-feeling: This is another important characteristic
of in group. Good human qualities like love, sacrifice, sympathy, mutual help and
fellow feeling develop only in a in group. These human qualities govern the
relationship among the members.
Out-groups (they Group)
Sumner classified groups into in groups and out groups on the basis of we feeling.
Out-group is the opposite of in-group. An out group is always defined by an
individual with reference to his in group. Out-groups are marked by a sense of
difference and frequently, though not always, by some degree of antagonism. In
other words out groups are those to which a person does not belong. Out-group
people used the term they or other to express themselves.
Out-group refers to a group of persons towards which we feel a sense of avoidance,
dislike and competition. For example for an Indian India is his in group but China is
an out group for him. Out-group people do not share an awareness of kind. One does
not identify himself with his out group. We feel a sense of indifference towards the
members of out-group. Individual develops a feeling of antagonism towards his out
group.
The Characteristics of out group
Like in group out group is also found in all societies. Out group have the following
characteristics:
1. Out group is always defined in relation to in group. Dissimilar behavior is marked
between the member of in group and out group.
2. Out group identify itself with the help of’ they’ or other feeling. Individual is not a
member of this group. Hence this kind of feeling develops among them.
3. Individual expresses a feeling of antagonism or enmity towards out group.
Sometimes individual consider out group as his enemy.
4. Individual always expresses or shows negative attitude towards the out group. As a
result he do not identify himself with the out group.
5. Out group is not based on ethnocentrism.
Differences between in-group and out-group
1. The groups with which individual identifies himself are his in group. one’s family,
one’s college are example of his in group. But out groups refers to those groups with
which individual do not identify himself. These are outside groups. Pakistan is an out
group for Indians.
2. In group members use the term ‘we’ to express themselves but they use the term
‘they’ for the members of out-group.
3. Individual is the member of his in group whereas he is not at all a member of his
out group.

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4. In group based on ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is one of the important
characteristic of in group. But out group is not based on ethnocentrism.
5. Similarity in behavior, attitude and opinion is observed among the members of in
group. But they show dissimilar behavior; attitude and opinion towards the members
of out group.
6. In group members have positive attitude towards their own in group but they have
negative attitudes towards their out group.
7. Members of in group display co-operation, good-will, mutual help and possess a
sense of solidarity, a feeling of brotherhood and readiness to sacrifice themselves for
the group. But individual shows a sense of avoidance, dislike, indifference and
antagonism towards the members of out group.
8. In group is a group to which individual belongs to but all other group to which he
does not belongs to are his out group.
9. Members of in group feel that their personal welfare is bound up with other
members of group but out group members do not feel so.

Ethnocentrism

W.G. Sumner also said that ethnocentrism is a characteristic of the in-group.

Ethnocentrism is that view of things in which one’s own group is the centre of
everything and others are scaled and rated with reference to it. It is an assumption
that the values, the ways of life and the attitude of one’s own group are superior to
those of others.

An out-group, on the other hand, is defined by an individual with reference to his

in-group. He uses the word ‘they’ or ‘other’ with reference to his out-group. Toward
the members of out-group we feel a sense of indifference, avoidance, disgust,
hostility, competition or outright conflict. The relationship of an individual to his
out-group is marked by a sense of remoteness or detachment and sometimes even of
hostility.

It is obvious that in-groups and out-group are not actual groups except in so far as
people create them in their use of the pronouns ‘we’ and ‘they’ and develop a kind of
attitude towards these groups. The distinction is nevertheless an important formal
distinction because it enables us to construct two significant sociological principles.
But the distinction between ‘we’ and ‘they’ is a matter of situational definition.

2. Involuntary and Voluntary Groups: Dwight Sanderson

There are some groups we join on our own. These are voluntary groups of which we
choose to become members.

For example, one becomes a member of a literary group, not because one has to but
because one decides to seek the membership of the group to pursue one’s literary
interests.

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There are, however, some groups of which we are members because we have to. We
have no choice in the matter .These are involuntary groups. One becomes, for
instance, a member of a caste group simply because he is born into that particular
caste.

3. Horizontal Groups and Vertical Groups:Sorokin

P.A. Sorokin has divided groups into two major types – the horizontal and the
vertical.

The vertical group includes persons of different strata or statuses. But the
horizontal group includes persons of the same status. A nation, for instance, is a
vertical group, while a class represents horizontal grouping.
4. Territorial Groups and Non-Territorial Groups:Park and Bergess

Park and Burgess has classified social groups into two types such as : (i) Territorial
group and (ii) Non-territorial group.

(i) Territorial group: - A territorial group is one, which has its own definite territory.
The village, city-state, nation etc. are the examples of territorial group.

(ii) Non-territorial group: - A non-territorial group is one, which does not possess
any territory of its own. A Trade Union or a Kissan Union is a non-territorial group.

5. Primary Groups and Secondary Groups (see detailed explanation)

On the basis of nature and quality of social interaction groups have been classified
into primary and secondary.

6. Social Groups, Social Category and Statistical Aggregate:

A distinction is also made between social groups, social categories and statistical
aggregate;

(i) Social groups are those which are characterised by some established pattern of
interaction.

Example: Peer groups, classroom groups, family, political party etc.

(ii) A social category refers to the people who share a common status.

Example: Bank officials, soldiers, teachers, farmers, women etc.

(iii) A statistical aggregate include people who share similar interests.

Example: Cricket fans, subscribers of a magazine.

7. Genetic Groups and Congregate Group:Giddings

F.H. Giddings classifies social groups into four types, namely: (i) Genetic group, (ii)
Congregate group, (iii) Disjunctive group and (iv) Overlapping group.

9
(i) Genetic group: - Genetic group is the family in which a man is born involuntarily.

(ii) Congregate group: - Congregate group is the voluntary group into which an
individual moves or in which he joins voluntarily.

(iii) Disjunctive group: - A disjunctive group is one, which does not allow a person to
be a member of other groups at the same time. A college or a nation is the bright
example of disjunctive group.

(iv) Overlapping group:- An overlapping group is one whose members may belong to
other groups at the same time, The Indian Sociological Association or All Orissa
Sociological Association is an example of overlapping.

8. Tonnies Classification of Communities (or Groups):

A German Sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies has classified communities into
“Gemeinschaft” and “Gesellschaft”. These two terms have been translated into
English as “Community” and “Association” respectively.

(i) Gemeinschaft (Community):

The ‘Gemeinschaft’ is characterised by “intimate, private, and exclusive living
together.” It represents a community or social groups in which individuals are
involved in the process of interaction as ‘persons’.

They feel that they can satisfy all or most of a wide range of purposes in the group.
The family, kin group, the neighbourhood, the rural village, the friends group
represent the Gemeinschaft. In such groups intimate, friendly and personal relations
are found among the members.

(ii) Gesellschaft (Association):

The Gesellschaft is defined as “public life”, as something which is purposefully
entered upon. Tonnies says that these associations largely represent group with
economic interests. The Gesellschaft or the ‘association’ represents relationships that
are specific, partial, and utilitarian.

Business contract, legal pacts between individuals represent the Gesellschaft

relationships. Business Companies, Corporations, Cities, and Towns etc. represent
‘Gesellschaft’ type groups. In these groups the individuals are not wholly involved in
the group life. They look to the group for the satisfaction of some specific and partial
ends.

Thus, Gemeinschaft or the Community is united by kind of feeling or sentiment

between individuals. It acts as a cementing factor. On the other hand, Gesellschaft or
the Association is united by a rational agreement of interests. This classification of
communities made by Tonnies is very much akin to the classification of groups into
‘primary groups’ and ‘secondary groups.

9. Small Groups and Large Groups:Small

George Simmel introduced this classification. Size is the basis of this classification.
Small groups include ‘dyad’, ‘triad’ and other small groups. Large groups represent
racial groups, political groups, nation and other big collectivities.

10
10. Institutional and Non-Institutional Groups and Temporary and
Permanent Groups. Charles A. Ellwood in his ‘Psychology of Human Society’ has
mentioned these three categories.

Institutional groups are mostly permanent in nature and include church, state, caste,
the school and so on while the non-institutional groups are temporary in nature and
include groups such as crowds, mobs, public, and audience and so on.

Other Classifications:
In addition to the above, there are also other classifications such as the following:

1. Organised groups and Unorganised groups.

2. Congregated groups and dispersed groups.

3. Majority groups and Minority groups.

4. Open groups and closed groups.

5. Independent groups and Dependent groups.

6. Formal groups and Informal groups.

Social Groups- experiment by SHERIF

Social groups and organizations comprise a basic part of virtually every arena of
modern life. Thus, in the last 50 years or so, sociologists have taken a special
interest in studying these scientific phenomena from a scientific point of view.

Psychologists Muzafer and Carolyn Sherif, in a classic experiment in the 1950s,

divided a group of 12‐year‐old white, middle‐class boys at a summer camp into the
“Eagles” and the “Rattlers.” At first, when the boys did not know one another, they
formed a common social category as summer campers. But as time passed and they
began to consider themselves to be either Eagles or Rattlers, these 12‐year‐old boys
formed two distinct social groups.

In-groups, out-groups, and reference groups

In the Sherifs' experiment, the youngsters also erected artificial boundaries between
themselves. They formed in‐groups (to which loyalty is expressed)
and out‐groups (to which antagonism is expressed).

To some extent every social group creates boundaries between itself and other
groups, but a cohesive in‐group typically has three characteristics:

● Members use titles, external symbols, and dress to distinguish themselves

from the out‐group.

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 ● Members tend to clash or compete with members of the out‐group. This
competition with the other group can also strengthen the unity within each
group.

● Members apply positive stereotypes to their in‐group and negative

stereotypes to the out‐group.

In the beginning, the Eagles and Rattlers were friendly, but soon their games
evolved into intense competitions. The two groups began to call each other names,
and they raided each other's cabins, hazed one another, and started fights. In other
words, loyalty to the in‐group led to antagonism and aggression toward the
out‐group, including fierce competitions for the same resources. Later in the same
experiment, though, Sherif had the boys work together to solve mutual problems.
When they cooperated with one another, the Eagles and Rattlers became less
divided, hostile, and competitive.

People may form opinions or judge their own behaviors against those of
a reference group (a group used as a standard for self‐appraisals). Parishioners
at a particular church, for instance, may evaluate themselves by the standards of a
denomination, and then feel good about adhering to those standards. Such positive
self‐evaluation reflects the normative effect that a reference group has on its
own members, as well as those who compare themselves to the group. Still,
reference groups can have a comparison effect on self‐evaluations. If most
parishioners shine in their spiritual accomplishments, then the others will probably
compare themselves to them. Consequently, the “not‐so‐spiritual” parishioners
may form a negative self‐appraisal for not feeling “up to par.” Thus, reference
groups can exert a powerful influence on behavior and attitudes.

Primary and Secondary Group (Detailed explanation)

The concept of primary group was introduced by Charles Horton Cooley, in his book
“Social Organisation” published in 1909. Though Cooley has never used the term
‘secondary group’, but while .discussing the groups other than those of primary,
some sociologists like K. Davis, Ogburn and Maclver have popularised other groups
such as secondary groups. Hence, the classification of primary and secondary groups
is made on the basis of the nature of social contact, the degree of intimacy, size and
the degree of organisation etc.
The Primary group is the most simple and universal form of association. It is nucleus
of all social organisation. It. is a small group in which a small number of persons
come into direct contact with one another. They meet “face to face” for mutual help,
companionships and discussion of common questions. They live in the presence and
thought of one another. The primary group is a small group in which the members
live together.

In the words of C.H. Cooley “By primary groups I mean those characterized by
intimate face to face association and cooperation. They are primary, in several
senses, but chiefly in that they are fundamental in framing the social nature and
ideal, of the individual”. Such groups in Cooley’s phrase are “the nursery of human
nature” where the essential.

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Sentiments of group loyalty and concern for others could be learned. C.H. Cooley
regards certain face-to-face associations or groups like the family, tribe, clan, play
groups, the gossip groups, kinship groups, the community groups, etc, as primary
groups. These groups are primary because they are always “first” from the point of
view of time and importance. “It is the first and generally remains the chief focus of
our social satisfactions”.

Characteristics of a Primary Group:

Primary Group possess certain essential traits. The following are the characteristics
of Primary group.

1. Closeness or Physical Proximity:

Physical proximity or presence provides an opportunity for the development of
intimate and close relations. In order that relations of the people may be close, it is
necessary that their contacts also should be close.Seeing and talking with each other
makes exchange of ideas and thoughts easy. It is because the members of primary
group meet and talk frequently that a good feeling and a sense of identify develop
among them quickly

2. Smallness:
Primary groups are smaller in size. The smaller the size of the group, the greater will
be the intimacy among its members. Relationship can be intimate and personal only
in a small group. It is a fact that intimacy declines as the size of the group increases.
The limited size of the group facilitates the participation of all its members in its
common activity. Better understanding and fellow felling among the members can be
possible only when the group is small in size.

3. Durability:
Primary group is relatively, a permanent group. Intimacy between the members
becomes deeper because they meet frequently and are closely associated with one
another. The longer the duration of the acquaintance, the greater the intimacy. All
the members of the primary group try to fulfill the condition of continuity or
durability of relationship.

4. Identity of Ends:
Members of a primary group have similar attitudes, desires and objectives. They all
work together for the fulfilment of their common end. Every member tries to
promote the common welfare of his group. The experiences, pain and pleasure,
success and failure, prosperity and adversity of an individual member are shared by
all the members of the group.

5. Relationship is an end in itself:

The Primary relationship is regarded not as a means to an end but rather as an end
itself. If the people make friends for specific purpose or means, we cannot regard
their friendship as genuine. A genuine friendship or true love is not formed for a
purpose. It is above the consideration of any selfish interest or interests

6. Relationship is Personal:
The primary relationship is a matter of persons. It exists because of them and it in
sustained by them. It should be noted that this relationship comes to an end as soon

13
as one of the partners disappears from the primary group. The personal relationship
is non-transferable and irreplaceable.

(vii) Relationship is Inclusive:

In the primary group, we face our fellows as total human beings. A person comes to
know his fellow in all the details of his life, as a whole being. A person in the primary
group is not merely a legal entity, an economic cipher or a technological cog. He is all
of these rolled into one. He is the complete concrete person.

It thus becomes clear that primary relationships are non-contractual, non-economic,

non-political and non-specialised; they are personal, spontaneous, sentimental and
inclusive.

Importance of Primary Group:

The primary group is considered to be equally important both for the individual and
society.

Individual point of view:

The primary group plays a commanding role in the development of human
personality. It is fundamental in forming the social nature and ideal of the individual.
It is regarded as a nursery of human nature. The development of “self’ – the core of
personality depends on close, intimate and personal contacts.

It is in the primary group – the family – that the individual in his formative stages
identifies himself with others and takes over their attitudes. In the family the child
acquires all his fundamental habits-those of his bodily care, of speech, of obedience
or disobedience, of right or wrong, of sympathy, of love and affection.

Similarly, in the primary group – the play group, the child learns to give and take
with other children. The play group affords him early training in meeting his equals,
learning to cooperate, to compete and to struggle. The primary groups, such as
family or the play group, are premier agencies of socialization. That is why the family
is often said to be the foundation of society and the play group, the best school for the
future citizen.

The primary groups not only satisfy the human needs but also provide a stimulus to
each of its members in the pursuit of interest. The face-to-face association-ship or
the close physical presence of others acts as a stimulus to each. One feels that he is
not alone pursuing the interest but there are many others who along with him are
devoted to the same pursuit. “Through participation of all, the interest gains a new
objectivity”. This feeling stimulates one to keener efforts, by enlarging and enriching
the character of the interest.

Societal point of view:

Primary groups are important not only from the individual’s point of view, they are
equally important from societal point of view. Primary group acts a an agency of
social control. It not only provides security to the members but also control their
behaviour and regulate their relations.

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 The primary groups, such as the family or the play group, are predominantly the
agencies of socialization. They transmit culture and in this respect they are
irreplaceable. They help the individuals to acquire basic attitudes towards people,
social institutions and the world around him.

The attitude of kindness, sympathy, love, tolerance, mutual help and sacrifice which
provide the cementing force to social structure are developed in the primary groups.
From such experiences and attitudes spring the desire for democracy and freedom.

The members are taught by the primary groups to work in the society according to
their roles with efficiency. In this way, primary groups run the society smoothly and
maintain its solidarity. “It is the first and generally remains the chief focus of our
social satisfactions.”

Summary of the importance of primary groups

Primary groups are important in several senses. They are equally important for
individual as well as society. It is also equally important for child, youth and adults.
Because they prepare individuals to lead a successful social life. Primary group is the
first group with which a child comes in contact at the prime stage of his life. It is the
birth place of human nature. Primary group plays a very important role in the
socialization process and exercises social control over them. With the help of primary
group we learn and use culture. They perform a number of functions for individual as
well as society which show their importance.
1. Primary group shapes personality of individuals. It plays a very important
role in moulding, shaping and developing the personality of an individual. Because
individual first come in contact with primary group. Individual is socialized in a
primary group. It forms the social nature, ideas and ideals of individuals. His self
develops in primary groups. A child learns social norms, standards, beliefs, morals,
values, sacrifice, co-operation, sympathy and culture in a primary group.
2. Primary group fulfils different psychological needs of an individual such
as love, affection, fellow feeling, co-operation, companionship and exchange of
thought. In primary group he lives among his near and dear ones. It plays an
important role in the reduction of emotional stresses and mental tensions.
Participation with primary groups provides a sense of belongingness to individuals.
He considers himself as an important member of group.
3. Individual lives a spontaneous living in a primary group. Spontaneity is
more directly and clearly revealed in a primary group. Because of this spontaneous
living members of a primary group come freely together in an informal manner.
These informal groups satisfy the need for spontaneous living.
4. Primary group provide a stimulus to each of its members in the pursuit
of interest. The presence of others i.e. near and dear ones in a group acts as a
stimulus to each. Here members get help, co-operation and inspiration from others.
The interest is keenly appreciated and more ardently followed when it is shared by all
the members. It is effectively pursued together.
5. Primary group provides security to all its members. Particularly it provides
security to the children, old and invalids. It also provides security to its members at
the time of need. A member always feels a kind of emotional support and feels that
there is someone on his side.
6. Primary groups acts as an agency of social control. It exercises control over
the behavior of its members and regulates their relations in an informal way. Hence

15
 there is no chance of individual member going astray. It teaches individuals to work
according to the prescribed rules and regulations.
7. Primary group develops democratic spirit within itself. It develops the
quality of love, affection, sympathy, co-operation, mutual help and sacrifice,
tolerance and equality among its members.
8. Primary group introduces individuals to society. It teaches them how to
lead a successful life in a society. It is the breeding ground of his mores and nurses
his loyalties. K. Davis is right when he opines that “the primary group in the form of
family initiates us into the secrets of society”. It helps the individual to internalize
social norms and learns culture.
9. Primary group increases the efficiency of individuals by creating a favorable
atmosphere of work. It provides them security and teaches many good qualities.
10. Primary groups also fulfill different needs of society. It is the nucleus of all social
organizations.

Secondary Group:

The Secondary groups are of special significance in modern industrial society. They
have become almost inevitable today. Their appearance is mainly due to the growing
cultural complexity. Secondary groups may be defined as those associations which
are characterized by impersonal or secondary relations and specialization of
functions. K. Davis says that “The secondary groups can be roughly defined as the
opposite of everything already said about primary groups.”

They are also called “special interest groups” or “self-interest groups”. The examples
of secondary groups include a city, a nation, a political party, corporation, labour
union, an army, a large crowd etc. These groups have no direct bearing on the
members. Here members are too many and too scattered. Here human contacts are
superficial, undefined and mechanical.

Different sociologists have defined secondary group in different ways. Some of the
important definitions are given below.

According to C.H. Cooley, “Secondary groups are wholly lacking in intimacy of

association and usually in most of the other primary and quasi-primary
characteristics”.

As Ogburn and Nimkoff say, “The groups which provide experience lacking in
intimacy are called secondary groups”.

According to Kingsley Davis, “Secondary groups can be roughly defined as the

opposite of everything said about primary groups”.

Robert Bierstedt says, “Secondary groups are all those that they are not primary”.

Characteristics:
The characteristics of secondary group are as follows:
1. Large in size:

16
Secondary groups are relatively large in size. These groups comprise a very large
number of persons. For example, a political party, a trade union, international
associations, such as Rotary Club, Lions Club, the Red cross Society which consists of
thousands of members scattered all over the world.

2. Formality:
The relations of members in a secondary group are of a formal type. It does not
exercise primary influence over its members. Secondary groups exert influence on
the members indirectly. They are controlled by formal rules and regulations such as
law, legislation, police, court etc.

3. Impersonality:
Secondary relations are impersonal in nature. Here contacts are chiefly indirect. The
two persons may never see each other. Relations among them are impersonal,
because members are not very much interested in other members as ‘persons’.They
are more concerned with their self-centered goals than with other persons. There is
no sentiment attaching to the contacts. It is not required that the parties know each
other. For example, in the large scale factory organisation, the members are known
to each other as the boss, the foreman, skilled workers, ordinary workers etc. The
secondary relations are viewed as a means to an end and not an end in itself.

4. Indirect Cooperation:
Indirect cooperation is another characteristic of secondary groups. In it, members do
different things interdependently. Ali contribute to the same result, but not in the
same process. They do unlike things together. In the large scale organisation where
division of labour is complex, the members have not only different functions but
different powers, different degrees of participation, different rights and obligations.

5. Voluntary Membership:
The membership of most of the secondary groups is not compulsory but voluntary.
Individuals are at liberty to join or to go away from the groups. It is not essential to
become the member of Rotary International or Red Cross Society. However, there
are some secondary groups like nation or the State whose membership is almost
involuntary.

6. Status depends upon Role:

In secondary groups the status or position of every member depends on his role. The
determination of his status is not influenced by ascription or by his birth or personal
qualities but by the achievement or the role he plays. For example, the status of the
President in a trade union depends upon the role he plays in the union and not upon
his birth.

Importance of Secondary Group:

The secondary groups occupy a dominant place in modern civilised and industrial
societies. Where life is relatively simple or where the number of people is small, the
face to face group may be sufficient for most purposes. But as the society expands
demanding more and more division of labour and specialization of functions, the
large-scale secondary groups become necessary. The small communities have now
given way to large communities.

17
In place of cottage industry we have now grant corporations employing thousands of
people. Population has moved from the village to the city. The changing trends of
modern society have swept away primary groups. Man now depends more on
secondary groups for his needs. The child was formerly born in the warm atmosphere
of the family, now he is born in the cold atmosphere of the hospital.

The followings are the advantages of secondary groups:

1. Efficiency:
The secondary group helps its member to improve their efficiency in their specific
field of activity and in consequences, they become experts. The emphasis is on
getting the job done. Sentiment, emotion is subordinated to achievement. A formal
authority is set up with the responsibility of managing the organisation efficiently.
The secondary relationships are instrumental in accomplishing certain specific tasks.
In this sense, they may be regarded as functional in character.

2. Wider Outlook:
The secondary group broadens the outlook of its members. It accommodates a large
number of individuals and localities which widens the outlook of its members. It is
more universal in its judgement than the primary group.

3. Wider Opportunities:
The secondary groups have opened channel, of opportunities. A large number of
professions and occupations are opening the way for specialised careers. Secondary
groups provide a greater chance to develop individual talents. The talented individual
can nor rise from an unknown background to the highest position in business,
industry, civil and technical services.

The functions of secondary groups are essential for our society if we wish to enjoy our
current life styles. The people are becoming more and more dependent on these
groups. The tremendous advances in material comfort and in life expectancy in
modern world would be impossible without the rise or goal-directed secondary
groups.

Difference between Primary Group and Secondary Group:

It is important to mention here that dichotomy between primary and secondary’
groups was perceived by Cooley but it was not elaborated by him. However, the
following are the chief points of difference between the primary group and secondary
group.

1. Size:
A primary group is small in size as well as area. The membership is limited to a small
area. It is not spread over the whole world. At the other end in a secondary group the
membership is widespread. It may contain thousands of members scattered in
different parts of the world as is the case with a corporation.

2. Physical Proximity:
Primary groups are based on close contacts. People in these groups do not merely
know one another and interact frequently. But they know one another well and have
strong emotional ties. Secondary groups do not give its members feeling of close

18
proximity that primary groups give. In primary group, one is concerned with the
other person as a person, but as a functionary who is fitting a role.

3. Duration:
Primary groups exist for a longer period. Relationships in primary group are
permanent in nature. Secondary groups, on the other hand are based on temporary
relationship. For example, members of a club infrequently and only for a few hours at
a time.

4. Kinds of Cooperation:
In a secondary group, the cooperation with the fellow members is direct. The
members cooperate only to achieve the objective of the group. In a primary group, on
the other hand, the members directly cooperate with each other participating in the
same process. They sit together, discuss together play together.

5. Types of Structures:
Every secondary group is regulated by a set of formal rules. A formal authority is set
up with designated powers and a clear cut division of labour in which the function of
each is specified in relation to the function of all the rest fellows. The primary group
is based on an informal structure. The members participate in the same process. The
spontaneous adjustment in the working of the group. No formal and detail rules are
drafted. The structure is simple.

6. End in itself versus Means to an End:

Primary groups are an end in themselves. Individuals enter into primary relations
because such relations contribute to personal development, security and well-being.
Secondary group on the other hand is goal oriented.

Membership is for some limited and well-defined objective. For example, if marriage
is done purely with an economic gain, it lacks warmth and quality which we think
should go into marriage. On the other hand, members of the secondary group value
extrinsic political, economic or other benefits of the relationship rather than
relationship itself.

7. Position:
In primary groups, the position or status of a person is fixed according to his birth,
age and sex. But in secondary groups, the position of a person is determined by his
roles. For example, in family, the position of father is based upon birth, whereas in a
trade union the position of the president depends upon the roles he plays in the
union.

8. Difference in Development of Personality:

Primary group is concerned with the total aspects personality of a person and it
develops his whole personality. Secondary group, on the other hand, is concerned
with a particular aspect of personality and it develops only that aspect. In this way,
the qualities live love, sympathy, obligation, mutual help, and tolerance etc. flourish
in primary groups, while secondary groups promote self-interest and individuality.

9. Relationship:

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The relationship of members with each other in primary group is direct, intimate and
personal. They meet face to face and develop direct contacts. A secondary group is
based on impersonal relationships. It does not exercise a primary influence over its
members because they do not live in presence and thought of one another.

10. Social Control:

The mode of recruitment to the primary group is formal. Therefore, formal means of
social control are more effective. As members have closeness and greater intimacy,
there is great control over a member.

To conclude, terms ‘Primary’ and ‘secondary’ thus describe a type of relationship and
do not imply that one is more important than the other.

Reference Group:

Man is an imitative animal. The desire to imitate other individuals or groups is

instinctive in him. When one finds another person progressing in life, he also desires
to progress like them in order to reach their status and position. Such behavior after
comparison with others is called reference behavior. Under such behavior, one
relates oneself to the other individuals or groups and tries to adopt their values of
standards. The individuals or groups whose behavior is imitated by him are known as
reference groups. Such imitation of behavior is found in both the individual and
group levels.

The term ‘reference group’ was coined by Herbert Hyman in Archives of Psychology
(1942) to refer to the group against which individual evaluates his or her own
situation or conduct. Hyman distinguished between a membership group to which
people actually belong, and a reference group which is used as a basis for comparison
and evaluation.
According to Hayman, there are some particular individuals in a society whose
standards or values become the ideals for other people and are imitated by them.
Sheriff provided a psychological explanation of reference behavior. According to him
an individual, in a group situation accepts the group norm but lie sometimes also
begins to imitate the behavior of the distinguished people.
According to Linton, in every society, there are some roles and statuses which every
individual seeks to achieve. There are two reasons for reference group behaviors. On
the social and economic situation, second, the psychological level of the individual or
group. It has been generally observed that a poor person gives more prestige to the
behavior of rich, prosperous persons. Similarly, people with low mental level are
more influenced by other people.
Sheriff has defined reference groups as “these groups to which
individual relates himself as a part or to which he relates himself
psychologically”.
Strictly speaking, a reference group is one to which we do not actually belong but
with which we identify ourselves or to which we would like to belong. We may
actually belong to a group, yet we accept the norms of another group to which we
refer but to which we do not actually belong.

20
 L Merton writes, individual in the society choose not only reference group but also
reference individual. Reference individual has often been described as “role model”.
The person who identifies himself with a reference individual will seek to
approximate the behaviour and value of that individual in his several roles.
A reference group is a collection of people that we use as a standard of comparison
for ourselves regardless of whether we are part of that group. We rely on reference
groups to understand social norms, which then shape our values, ideas, behavior,
and appearance. This means that we also use them to evaluate the relative worth,
desirability, or appropriateness of these things.
Embracing the norms of a reference group and expressing them ourselves is how we
achieve important connections with others that lead to social acceptance —doing so
is how we "fit in" and achieve a sense of belonging. Conversely, those of us who either
can't or choose not to embrace and express the norms of reference groups that are
expected of us might be seen as outcasts, criminals, or in other cases, revolutionaries
or trendsetters.
According to Merton, “Reference group behavior theory aims to systematize the
determinants and consequences of these process of evaluation and sub-appraisal, in
which the individual takes the values, or standards of other individuals and groups,
as a comparative frame of reference.” Reference group behavior, according to Sheriff
grows on account of psychological relations.
In the context of reference group behavior, there are three kinds of
members: aspiring members, potential members and actual members. There are
some individuals who aspire to enter a reference group but lack the ability or
capacity to enter. Their position is one of non-member. There are some individuals
who do not have any desire to enter a reference group but cannot enter it on account
of some personal ideas. When persons possessed of capacity and ability to enter the
other group fail to do so enter it is called negative membership. Such persons suffer
from mental tension.
The following characteristics of Reference Group Behavior may be
pointed out:
1. The individual or group considers the behavior of the other individual or group as
ideal behavior and imitates it.
2. The individual or group compares himself or itself with the other individual or
group,
3. In reference group behavior the individual or group desires to rise higher in the
social scale and as such, the group or individual comes to feel its or his defects or
weaknesses.
4. The feeling of relative weaknesses or defects leads to the feeling of relative
deprivation in the individual or group. Thus on account of the feeling of relative
deprivation and individual takes the values or standards of other individuals, which
leads to change in his behavior.
According to Sheriff, man is the only animal capable of reference group behaviour.
He can change his behavior by assimilating the values and standards of the other
individual or group. This, condition, in the words of Sheriff, stems from man’s
psychological capacity to relate himself to groups, values and goods beyond the limits

21
of immediate surroundings within his perceptual range and beyond the limits of the
living present into the future.

A reference group may or may not be a membership group. Later on Robert K

Merton and Alice Kitt (1950) refined the concept and provided a functionalist
formulation of it. Their work was stimulated by Samuel Stouffer’s. The American
Soldier (1949) in which the concept of relative deprivation was developed.
Merton and Kitt point out that feeling of deprivation were less related to the actual
degree of hardship they experienced, than to the living standards of the group to
which they compared themselves. Thus, relative deprivation is a special case of
comparative reference group behaviour. Merton later distinguished reference groups
and inter­action groups (in Social Theory and Social Structure, 1957).
The originator of this concept, Hyman found in his study of social class that people
thought of as their status could not be predicted solely from such factors as income
or level of education. To a certain extent, an individual’s self-evaluation of status
depended on the group used as a framework for judgment. In many cases, people
model their behaviour after groups to which they do not belong.
Reference Group is a group to which an individual or another group is compared.
Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating
themselves and their own behaviour a reference group. The group which intends to
compare themselves with some other groups which they consider ideal is a
membership group.
Reference groups are used in order to evaluate and determine the nature of a given
individual or other group's characteristics and sociological attributes. It is the group
to which the individual relates or aspires to relate himself or herself psychologically.
It becomes the individual's frame of reference and source for ordering his or her
experiences, perceptions, cognition, and ideas of self. It is important for determining
a person's self-identity, attitudes, and social ties. It becomes the basis of reference in
making comparisons or contrasts and in evaluating one's appearance and
performance.
Reference groups provide the benchmarks and contrast needed for comparison and
evaluation of group and personal characteristics. Robert K. Merton hypothesized that
individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the
social role to which the individual aspires.
Primary and secondary groups can act both as our reference groups, or as groups
that set a standard for guiding our own behaviour and attitudes. The family we
belong to obviously affects our actions and views, as, for example, there were
probably times during your adolescence when you decided not to do certain things
with your friends to avoid disappointing or upsetting your parents. On the other
hand, your friends regularly acted during your adolescence as a reference group, and
you probably dressed the way they did or did things with them, even against your
parents’ wishes, precisely because they were your reference group.
Many of our reference groups are groups to which we do not belong but to which we
nonetheless want to belong. A small child, for example, may dream of becoming an
astronaut and dress like one and play like one. Some high school students may not
belong to the “cool” clique in school but may still dress like the members of this

22
clique, either in hopes of being accepted as a member or simply because they admire
the dress and style of its members.
Samuel Stouffer and colleagues (Stouffer, Suchman, De Vinney, Star, & Williams,
1949) demonstrated the importance of reference groups in a well-known study of
American soldiers during World War II. This study sought to determine why some
soldiers were more likely than others to have low morale. Surprisingly, Stouffer
found that the actual, “objective” nature of their living conditions affected their
morale less than whether they felt other soldiers were better or worse off than they
were. Even if their own living conditions were fairly good, they were likely to have
low morale if they thought other soldiers were doing better.
Another factor affecting their morale was whether they thought they had a good
chance of being promoted. Soldiers in units with high promotion rates were,
paradoxically, more pessimistic about their own

chances of promotion than soldiers in units with low promotion rates. Evidently the
former soldiers were dismayed by seeing so many other men in their unit getting
promoted and felt worse off as a result. In each case, Stouffer concluded, the soldiers’
views were shaped by their perceptions of what was happening in their reference
group of other soldiers. They felt deprived relative to the experiences of the members
of their reference group and adjusted their views accordingly. The concept of relative
deprivation captures this process.
Types
Sociologists have identified two types of reference groups as described below:
(i) Positive Reference Groups: These are the ones we want to be accepted by.
Thus, if we want to be a film actor, we might carefully observe and imitate the
behaviour of film actors. These are the groups, collectivities or persons that provide
the person with a guide to action by explicitly setting norms and espousing values.
(ii) Negative Reference Groups: These groups we do not want to be identified
with, also serve as sources of self-evaluation. A person might, for example, try to
avoid resembling members of a particular religious group or a circus group. A group
rejected by or in opposition to ego’s own group, it is ‘the enemy’ or the negative
group.
(iii) Informal & Formal Reference Groups: Most reference groups are
informal reference groups, which means that they are based on the group members'
shared interests and goals. Informal groups are not structured with a specific goal in
mind. Group members interact on a very personal level. Examples of informal
reference groups include: Families, A group of local mothers, Peer groups.
Formal reference groups have a specific goal or mission. They also have a specific
structure and positions of authority. Examples of formal reference groups include:
Labour unions, Mensa, a society for people with high IQ, Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD)

23
(iv) Membership & Disclaimant Reference Groups: Membership reference
groups are those reference groups that we not only belong to but are also in
agreement with in regards to attitudes, norms, and behaviours. Suppose that Carol is
a married woman. If Carol identifies and agrees with the attitudes and behaviours of
other married women in her area and relies on them as a way to compare and modify
her own attitudes and behaviours, then she is part of a membership reference group.
Disclaimant reference groups are groups that we belong to, but do not agree with in
regards to attitudes, social, and behaviours. Suppose that Carol has a busy career and
does not want any children. Carol finds that the married women in her area believe
that all married women should stay at home and have at least one child. In this
instance, the married women in her area are a disclaimant reference group.
(v) Aspirational & Avoidant Reference Groups: We do not have to belong to a
reference group in order for it to have an influence over us. An aspirational reference
group is a group we do not belong to, but we hope to belong to in the future. Suppose
Jim is a high school senior who is applying for college in hopes of becoming a career
psychologist. He might use established career psychologists as an aspirational
reference group to determine which programs he should apply to, what his
undergraduate major should be, and what societies he should join.
Importance and Functions
The concept of reference group is important for understanding socialisation,
conformity, and how people perceive and evaluate themselves, especially in relation
to the self.
Reference groups perform three basic functions:
(1) They serve a normative function by setting and enforcing standards of conduct
and belief.
T. Newcomb (1953) writes: “The significant thing about a reference group is, in fact,
that its norms provide frames of reference which actually influence the attitude and
behaviour of a person.”
(2) They also perform a comparison function by serving as a standard against which
people can measure themselves and others.
(3) They serve not only as sources of current evaluation but also as sources of
aspiration and goal attainment (as a means of antici­patory socialisation). A person
who chooses to become a professor or a lawyer begins to identify with that group and
becomes socialised to have certain goals and expectations.
Social Networking groups and Social Media
A social network is a social structure between actors, either individuals
or organizations. It indicates the ways in which they are connected through
various social familiarities, ranging from casual acquaintance to close familial bonds.
The study of social networks is called both “social network analysis” and “social
network theory.” Research in a number of academic fields has demonstrated that
social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and
play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are
run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.
Sociologists are interested in social networks because of their influence on and

24
importance for the individual. Social networks are the basic tools used by individuals
to meet other people, recreate, and to find social support.
In addition, the sheer size and the volatile nature of social media has given rise to
new network metrics. A key concern with networks extracted from social media is the
lack of robustness of network metrics given missing data.
In the late 1890s, both Émile Durkheim and Ferdinand Tönnies foreshadowed the
idea of social networks in their theories and research on social groups. Tönnies
argued that social groups can exist as personal and direct social ties that either link
individuals who share values and belief (Gemeinschaft, German, commonly
translated as "community") or impersonal, formal, and instrumental social links
(Gesellschaft, German, commonly translated as "society").
Durkheim gave a non-individualistic explanation of social facts, arguing that social
phenomena arise when interacting individuals constitute a reality that can no longer
be accounted for in terms of the properties of individual actors.
Georg Simmel, writing at the turn of the twentieth century, pointed to the nature of
networks and the effect of network size on interaction and examined the likelihood of
interaction in loosely knit networks rather than groups.
These days we often hear of “networking,” or taking advantage of your
connections with people who have connections to other people who can
help you in one or other requirements of you. You do not necessarily
know these “other people” who ultimately can help you, but you do know
the people who know them. Your ties to the other people are weak or non
- existent, but your involvement in this network may nonetheless help
you find the warmth of friendship relation.
Modern life is increasingly characterized by such social networks, or the totality of
relationships that link us to other people and groups and through them to still other
people and groups. Some of these relationships involve strong bonds, while other
relationships involve weak bonds (Granovetter, 1983). Facebook and other Web sites
have made possible networks of a size unimaginable just a decade ago. Social
networks are important for many things, including getting advice, borrowing small
amounts of money, and finding a job.
The indirect links you have to people through your social networks can help you find
a job or even receive better medical care. For example, if someone come down with a
serious disease, you would probably first talk with your primary care physician, who
would refer you to one or more specialists whom you do not know and who have no
connections to you through other people you know. That is, they are not part of your
social network. Because the specialists do not know you and do not know anyone else
who knows you, they are likely to treat you very professionally, which means, for
better or worse, impersonally.
Social media
Computer networks combined with social networking software produces a new
medium for social interaction. A relationship over a computerized social networking
service can be characterized by context, direction, and strength. The content of a
relation refers to the resource that is exchanged. In a computer mediated
communication context, social pairs exchange different kinds of information,

25
including sending a data file or a computer program as well as providing emotional
support or arranging a meeting. With the rise of electronic commerce,
information exchanged may also correspond to exchanges of money,
goods or services in the "real" world. Social network analysis methods
have become essential to examining these types of computer mediated
communication.
Social media are computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and
sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via
virtual communities and networks. The variety of stand-alone and built-in social
media services currently available introduces challenges of definition; however, there
are some common features: User-generated content such as text posts or comments,
digital photos or videos, and data generated through all online interactions, are the
lifeblood of social media.
Users create service-specific profiles for the website or app that are designed and
maintained by the social media organization Social media facilitate the development
of online social networks by connecting a user's profile with those of other
individuals or groups.
Users typically access social media services via web-based technologies on desktop
computers, and laptops, or download services that offer social media functionality to
their mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablet computers). When engaging with
these services, users can create highly interactive platforms through which
individuals, communities and organizations can share, co-create, discuss, and modify
user-generated content or pre-made content posted online. They introduce
substantial and pervasive changes to communication between businesses,
organizations, communities and individuals. Social media changes the way
individuals and large organizations communicate. These changes are the focus of the
emerging field of techno-self studies.
Social media differ from paper-based media (e.g., magazines and newspapers) or
traditional electronic media such as TV broadcasting in many ways, including
quality, reach, frequency, interactivity, usability, immediacy, and permanence. Social
media operate in a dialogic transmission system (many sources to many receivers).
This is in contrast to traditional media which operates under a monologic
transmission model (one source to many receivers), such as a paper newspaper
which is delivered to many subscribers or a radio station which broadcasts the same
programs to an entire city.
Some of the most popular social media websites are Baidu Tieba, Facebook (and its
associated Facebook Messenger), Gab, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest,
Reddit, Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter, Viber, VK, WeChat, Weibo, WhatsApp, Wikia,
and YouTube. These social media websites have more than 100,000,000 registered
users.
Observers have noted a range of positive and negative impacts of social media use.
Social media can help to improve individuals' sense of connectedness
with real or online communities and social media can be an effective
communication (or marketing) tool for corporations, entrepreneurs,
non - profit organizations, including advocacy groups and political
parties and governments.

26
At the same time, concerns have been raised about possible links between heavy
social media use and depression, and even the issues of cyberbullying, online
harassment and "trolling". Currently, about half of young adults have been
cyberbullied and of those, 20 percent said that they have been cyberbullied regularly.
Another survey was carried out among 7th grade students in America which is known
as the Precaution Process Adoption Model. According to this study, 69 percent of 7th
grade students claim to have experienced cyberbullying and they also said that it is
worse than face to face bullying.
Online Communities
The idea of a community is not a new concept. What is new, however, is transferring
it over into the online world. A community was previously defined as a group from a
single location. If you lived in the designated area, you became a part of that
community. Interaction between community members was done primarily
face-to-face and in a social setting. This definition for community no longer applies.
In the online world, social interactions no longer have to be face-to-face or based on
proximity. Instead, they can be with literally anyone, anywhere. There is a set of
values to consider when developing an online community. Some of these values
include: opportunity, education, culture, democracy, human services, equality within
the economy, information, sustainability, and communication.
Cost plays a role in all aspects and stages for online communities. Fairly cheap and

easily attainable technologies and programs have also influenced the increase in
establishment of online communities. While payment is necessary to participate in
some online communities, such as certain dating websites or for monthly game
subscriptions, many other sites are free to users such as the social networks
Facebook and Twitter. Because of deregulation and increased Internet access, the
popularity of online communities has escalated. Online communities provide instant
gratification, e

ntertainment, and learning.

Importance of social groups
Parsons defined sociology as the study of structure and function of human groups. It
means sociology is the systematic study of human groups. The study of society is
called sociology.

The study of human society is essentially the study of human groups. Society consists
of groups of innumerable kinds and variety. No man exists without a society and no
society exists without groups. Groups have become a part and parcel of our life.

Out of necessity and inevitability human beings are made to live in groups.
Knowingly or unknowingly or unwillingly, with pleasure or contempt, people live in
groups and societies. Man’s life is to an enormous extent lived and controlled by
groups of different kinds.

Survival Becomes Problematic without Groups:

27
Groups have become so necessary that our very survival becomes problematic and
doubtful in their absence. Groups are complementary to the development of human
faculties, traits and human nature. Man by birth itself has the biological potentiality
of becoming man – the social being.

Man Becomes Man Only Among Men:

Man becomes man only among men. Various studies have convincingly proved that
man fails to develop human qualities in the absence of human environment. The
famous case of Kasper Hauser, a youth who was bereft of human contacts because of
political mechanisation, the most interesting feral case of the two Hindu female
children Kamala and her sister found in an wolfs den and the pitiable case of Anna,
an illegitimate American child which was kept away from human contacts for more
than five years and several other instances have proved beyond doubts that only a
human environment makes a man; a biological animal, a human being.

The biological potentiality of man to become a ‘person’ does not happen on its own
automatically, even in the absence of a human environment. The biological
potentiality blossoms only in social situation, to be more precise, only in the context
of groups. Added to this, the prolonged human infancy and the helplessness of new
born baby have almost made it a prisoner of the most elementary social group that is
family.

Groups Help Social Survival Also:

Not only from the point of view of survival but also from the viewpoint of leading a
successful life has man depended on groves. By engaging himself in constant
relations with others he learns things and mends his ways.

He keeps his eyes wide open, lends his ears to what others say, and tries to keep his
memory ever fresh to remember the good things of the past and to refrain from
repeating the blunders of the past. In brief, from birth to death, man is engaged in
the process of socialisation. Socialisation or the process of humanisation helps man
to develop a personality of his own.

Groups Contribute to the Development of Personality:

Personality is the product of the group life. The ‘self that every individual develops,
though’. Unique, is it a product of the group? No ‘self arises in isolation. Groups
provide scope for the individuals to express their real nature, their talents and
abilities.

Hidden potentialities can find their expression only in the context of social groups.
What is latent in man becomes manifest only in groups. The groups shape man’s
attributes, his beliefs, his morals and his ideals.

Emotional developments, intellectual maturity, satisfaction of physical and social

needs are unthinkable without groups. Group is a part of our mental equipment and
we are a part of group.

From the above, we can conclude that social group is the basic factor in all social
functions, social structure, social institutions, system and organization. All
sociological studies are based upon the study of social group. It means that social

28
group is important in human life. The importance of social groups becomes clearer
when we observe that human personality develops in social groups. The type of
personality depends of the type of groups in which he was socialized. The whole
process of socialization pass through social groups.

Man learns his culture among the groups in which he lives. Culture is the way of
living of a people. The ways of living can be learnt only by living a social life with
people. It means group life is the essential element in learning processes. All the
techniques of life are learnt in society. Hence social group is the real teacher.

Group life is a must for the continuity of human race. The system of marriage in
societies is universal social event. By marrying we regulate the sexual relations
between husband and wife. The main aim of humanity is attained by the birth of
child. This is the first group founded between two human beings of opposite sexes.
Here a permanent group is founded called family.

Social groups provide requirements to the needy people. In this way, the satisfaction
of needs is the binding force among the individuals and unites them into social
group. Society has divided people into different groups according to their needs and
interests. ‘These groups have reciprocal role in society. They help one another and
satisfy the needs of the people. The function of the institutions depends upon the
groups of people working in them.
From friendships to families to entire societies, humans naturally form social groups;
in fact, this tendency is essential to what it means to be human. A social group is any
grouping of two or more interacting people who recognize their relationship with
each other as a distinct social unit. Social groups play an important role in daily life
and help humans make meaning of the world around them.
Social groups fulfill one of the basic psychological needs for survival: a sense of
belonging. Feeling needed and wanted motivates humans to persist and affects
mental health. For this reason, belonging is an important element of Maslow's
hierarchy of needs. In this model, humans must first meet their physiological needs
for survival, including shelter, food and basic bodily functions. Once they meet these
needs, they must meet less tangible needs like safety and a sense of belonging. Only
humans who meet these needs have the ability to self-actualize, or make meaning in
their lives.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
This modern society is composed of a large number of organizations. Our society is
the organizational society. We not only live in, belong to and work through
organizations but satisfy most of our desires and fulfill our aspiration through
organization. The term organization generally mean an association i.e. arrangement
of status and roles. In sociology, a social organization is a pattern
of relationships between and among individuals and social groups.
Social organization is the product of social interaction. Interaction among
individuals, among groups, among institutions, among classes, among members of a
family create social organization. Organization means interrelationship among

29
members or parts which is an interaction. The members of a family become an
organized group by interaction among them. Similarly, the sections of a factory have
mutual link with one another. The parts of one thing shift from one section to other
section till it is completed and then by organization of its parts it is converted into a
whole. These sections of factory interact with one another and produce parts of a
machine and then these parts organized together make a machine as a
complex-whole. It is all due to interaction among sections, groups and individuals.
This production is the result of social organization.

According to Earnest Jones it is a system in which all the parts of a society are
interrelated to each other and to the whole society in a meaningful way.
Ogburn and Nimkoff have defined organization is an articulation of different
parts which perform various functions; it is an active group device for getting
something done.
Eliott and Merrill says, organization is a state of being, a condition in which the
various institutions in a society are functioning in accordance with their recognized
or implied purposes.
According to H.M Johnson, organization refers to an aspect of interaction
systems.
Lapiere says that "social organization consists of all the ways by which men live and
work together, more especially of all the programmed, ordered and coordinated
relations of the members of the society." Social organisations at different levels
organize and give expression to collective behaviour. They coordinate and crystallize
numerous interests of individuals and groups.
At present the term social organization is used to refer to the interdependence of
parts in groups. These groups may vary in size and nature from workers to the
factories. Many sociologists prefer to use the term social system to refer to the society
as such rather than social organization.
The term is used in sociological studies and researches today to stress the importance
of arrangement of parts in which the parts of society are related to each other and
how each is related to the whole society. Organization makes possible the complex
activities in which the members of a complex society participate. A small body of
organized police can control a very large crowd. A small number of men constituting
themselves as a government can rule a country.

Sometimes the word organization is used to refer to the associational groups. It

includes corporations, armies, schools, banks and prisons. The society consists of
many such organizations. A state is frequently called a political organization. A
school may represent an educational organization and so on. They are all social
organizations.
According to Ogburn and Nimkoff entire society represents a wider
organization; a social organization. But society is also quite generally an organized
group of interacting individuals.
According to Broom and Selznick, "an organization means technical
arrangement of parts." Social organization means social relationship among groups.
30
Individuals and groups interrelated together create social organization. It is the
result of social interaction among people. It is the network of social relationship in
which individuals and groups participate. All the social institutions are social
organizations. Associations, clubs and all other formal groups are organizations.
Social systems are also based on' social organizations. In an organized body; its
members get into one another on the basis of roles and status. The interaction among
the members sets them into organizations. The mode of such interaction is called
social organization.
A recent development in organizational life of mankind are the organizations formed
online, using modern electronic gadgets and social media platforms. Social
organizations may be seen online in terms of communities. The online communities
show patterns of how people would react in social networking situations. The
technology allows people to use the constructed social organizations as a way to
engage with one another without having to physically be in the same place. Looking
at social organization online is a different way to think about it and a little
challenging to connect the characteristics. While the characteristics of social
organization are not completely the same for online organizations, they can be
connected and talked about in a different context to make the cohesiveness between
the two apparent. Online, there are various forms of communication and ways that
people connect. Again, this allows them to talk and share the common interests
(which is what makes them a social organization) and be a part of the organization
without having to physically be with the other members. Although these online social
organization do not take place in person, they still function as social organization
because of the relationships within the group and the goal to keep the communities
going.
Relationship of Social Organization, Status and Role

The individuals in a social organization perform their activities according to their

social positions called status. The activities done in an organization are called roles of
the members, Even individual performs his roles according to his status. Therefore,
status and role are the basis of social participation in an organization. An organized
body if formal has its roles and status assigned to its members and offices bearers.
The office-bearers like. President, Vice-President, Secretary in an organization have
their roles and status defined in the rules and regulations of that body. United
Nations Organization (U.N.O) all trade unions and professions associations are the
social organizations in which role and status of the participants are defined

Nature of social organisation

1. A Definite Purpose Any organization has its definite purpose. Examples: The Bank
as an organization has a definite purpose of facilitating the financial transactions. A
college or School has the aim to promote education
2. Unanimity or consensus among the members: Mutual understanding, cooperation
and consensus among the members are the basic features of an organization
3. Harmony between Status and Role
In any organization there is clear defined job and proper position of the human
resource to conduct the function. Right man in right place is the characteristics of the
organization.

31
 4. Control of the organization on the behavior of the individuals: Organization
controls individual through different rules and regulations. Organization moves
through law rather than individual interest.
. Characteristics of Social Organizations
a. Unanimity among Members
Unanimity means the full agreement among the members of a social organization
who accept the situation willingly. Unanimity among members of a social
organization is an important character which plays a vital role in the existence of that
organization. Every individual in a group or society has its own status and according
to the status they perform various roles which are acceptance to the whole group. But
when the status or a role of an individual charged it becomes dysfunctional to the
social organization and leads to social disorganization. For example caste system in
its initial stages worked well and was a part of our social organization but when the
statuses of the individual in caste system were misused. The whole system of social
organization equilibrium members is necessary.
d. Desire to Accept Status
In a society, all the members have no equal status but having difference in sex,
physical capabilities, age and group. So for smooth running of a social organization
every individual accepts one’s own status and works bitterly. These individuals work
in a cooperative level which promotes their living standards. So, in a good social
organization these individual accept their own status which can be improved.
e. Interdependence
Social organization is characterized by interdependence—that is, what occurs among
certain components has, to varying degree, consequences for some or all of the other
components and their relations with one another. These consequences can range
from loss, even annihilation, to survival and other types of gain. Subsumed are
regulation and stability as well as replacement and transformation.
f. Organized social entities
The units considered vary in their distinguishability, modifiability, and permanence.
For some purposes they have been defined as concrete entities, such as persons or
countries, or as activities by these entities, such as acts of persuasion or conquest.
For other purposes the units have been defined abstractly as only certain aspects of
concrete entities or of their activities, called roles or functions (e.g., Hawley 1986, pp.
31–32), that signify position or participation in a particular aspect of collective living,
or as complexes of these entities or activities. Examples are worker, labor, industry in
production; official or bureau, directive, central administration in governance; judge
or court, adjudication, court system in jurisprudence; supplicant or temple, prayer,
denomination in religion; friend or friendship group, attachment, solidary web in
emotional bonding; and lecturer or college, teaching, school system in social
learning. It will be noted from these examples that units can be sets or combinations
of other units. They are called substructures when they constitute broad components
of social organization not detailed as to their composition. Examples of societal
substructures are political state, economy, or moral community.
g. Definite form and size

32
Structure of organizations subsumes both form and content: form generally in the
senses of numbers, sizes, shapes, assemblage, connections among units, and
directions of flow (say, of resources or persuasion); content in the sense of type of
unit, substructure, relationship, or process. Clearly this distinction, though
convenient for exposition, is not absolute. Units have been assigned to types on the
basis of their forms. And there is form when the same everyday dramas can be
"performed" in virtually any setting, whether work or nonwork (Goffman 1959).
i. Relative endurance
Endurance. An important basis of classifying structure—or, for that matter, any
complex unit or relationship that comprises structure—is by the extent to which it
predates and outlives, or is otherwise independent of, specific units. Factory workers
and managers are relatively replaceable, but a marriage does not substitute a new
spouse for one that has been lost without becoming a different marriage. A market
can be independent of particular producers and consumers, but a partnership or
international bloc is not. Moreover, general features of factory, family, market,
partnership, or bloc—or the means of generating these—tend to predate and survive
as prototypes any of their specific instances (see, e.g., Jackson 1990).
j. Complexity and dynamism
The very complexity of social organization—the number and variety of units, levels,
and interconnections—is itself an aspect of form. Though admittedly crude
(Luhmann [1977] 1982, pp. 232–233; Tilly 1984, pp. 48–50; Rueschemeyer 1986, p.
168), this variable can be used to account for other aspects of social organization
(e.g., Lenski 1075, 1979; Turk 1977; Habermas [1981] 1987, pp. 153–197; Luhmann
[1977] 1982, pp. 229–254; Rueschemeyer 1986).
k. Structural forms of society
Social Organizations are structural or substructural units in any society. It has been
classified according to its consequences for stability and change in overall structure
(e.g., Marx and Engels [1846] 1970; Marx [1859] 1971; Parsons [1966, 1971] 1977;
Luhmann [1977] 1982; Habermas [1981] 1987; Hawley 1986). Among these,
adaptation to the environment and of units to one another have been stressed (see,
e.g., Duncan 1964; Lenski 1975, 1979; Parsons [1966, 1971] 1977; Habermas [1981]
1987; Luhmann [1974–1977] 1982; Hawley 1986), quite likely because socially
organized life has been observed to be the major adaptive means available to
primates (e.g., by Lenski 1975).
Thus, the distinction is often made between (1) economic substructure affecting
environmental adaptation for the generation and distribution of general resources
(e.g., gross national product, homelessness) and (2) political substructure affecting
the generation and distribution of general capacity to mobilize resources for
concerted action, including action by opposing collectivities (e.g., national efforts,
party campaigns, uprisings). Further distinction involves (3) substructure affecting
the generation and distribution of general bonds or schisms that provide harmony or
discord among units (e.g., community cohesion, solidary antagonism; see Parsons
and Smelser [1956] 1965, pp. 48–49; Parsons [1966] 1977, pp. 135–140; Hawley
1986, p. 66; Coleman 1990, pp. 91–116, 175–196, 517–527) and (4) substructure
affecting the generation, distribution, and maintenance of participation in structure:
recruitment of units (including but not limited to procreation) and their training,

33
allocation, motivation, and retention—in short, the populating and regulating of
social structure.
l. Rules and Code of conduct to members
The classification of content of organizations can also rest on disputed or common
meanings, understandings, purposes, or binding rules (including law) that are
communicated about environment and structure. Communication can involve all
kinds of participants or only certain ones and can be modified depending on the
context (Goffman 1959). The products of communication vary in their permanence
through repetition, recording, or recall; in their breadth of dissemination and
acceptance; and in their association with sanction—that is, support by enforcement
or other incentives to comply. They can, but often do not, coincide with the
structure's objective consequences (Habermas [1981] 1987, esp. pp. 153–197) but can
affect it.
Institutional rules are viewed as "higher level" determinants of social organization
(Parsons [1971] 1977, pp. 234–236), not only of relations among units but also of the
units themselves (Meyer et al. 1987; Coleman 1990, pp. 43–44, 325–70). Here the
rules governing specific structure are considered to be products of more inclusive
structure, such as political state or church (Znaniecki 1945; Turk 1977, pp. 210, 215–
221), or to be elements of a world "culture pool" (Moore 1988; Meyer et al. 1987).
Near the other extreme, meanings ("ideas") are viewed primarily as by-products of
the material relations of production (Marx and Engels [1846] 1970, pp. 57–60) or in
terms of their significance for organized adaptive processes vis-à-vis the environment
(e.g., Duncan 1964; Lenski 1975). Meaning, if the concept is employed at all, is
restricted to the acting unit's purposive rationality: its adoption, within the limits of
error and imperfect knowledge or skill, of means that are appropriate to specified
outcomes (see, e.g., Hawley 1986, pp. 6–7).
Compliance to one cluster of rules and understandings is approximated, with utility,
sanction, attachment, and/or commitment as its basis or bases. Here change has
been attributed, in the main, to changes in the environment or in ways of coping with
it (e.g., Hawley 1986, pp. 15–18) or to ubiquitous "tension" between rules of action
and the situation of the acting unit (e.g., Parsons and Smelser [1956] 1965, esp. pp.
50–51).
m. Pluralism and Plasticity
The degree to which meanings are single or plural can be affected by segmentation or
specialization. Different collectivities, constituted, say, on the basis of different
fundamental beliefs, different descent, or different economic circumstances
(Landecker 1981), coexist segmentally either by loose agreement or by coercive
regulation, each with separate rules and understandings (Tenbruck 1989), or struggle
with one another over which ones shall prevail (e.g., Landecker 1981, pp. 136–169;
Wallace 1988).
The greater the specialization among units, all things being equal, the greater also is
the plurality of interests, according to some models. A recurrent theme is that this
form of pluralism affects the probabilities of different degrees of involvement by
given units and of different alignments among units from one issue to the next. Such
differential participation can have a negative effect on the probability of broad or
intense conflict (Dahrendorf 1959, pp. 215–231; Polsby 1980, pp. 84–97, 122– 138;
Turk 1977, pp. 97–103, 1985; McAdam et al. 1988).

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n. Commitment and Trust
Commitment of units to one another and to their common structure is a widely
recognized influence. The "we" that characterizes collectivities (Cooley 1902, 1916) or
the "consciousness" that causes support of existing social organization or generates
struggle within it (Marx and Engels [1846] 1970; Durkheim [1902] 1964) is seen as
having either of two effects. It can be direct, producing commitment to the given
structure, or indirect by habitualizing the commitment and trust that serves
participation in a variety of settings, even ones that are specific and neutral (also see
Coleman 1990, p. 297).
Increasing specialization and other forms of organizational complexity and
increasing scale have been viewed as negative influences on commitment, even on
commitment to disputing factions or to revolutionary movements seeking structural
change. Commitment to large-scale organizations comprising specialized
substructure is generally considered less than to other kinds of collectivities because
of anonymity among the constituent units, which are likely to have the characteristics
of a mass, and because only part of the constituent is involved.
Functions of Social Organizations
a. Patterning of behaviour of members
Social organization is nonrandom pattern within human populations that comprise
society by sharing the main aspects of a common existence over time as well as
nonrandom patterning, the human and interhuman activities through which patterns
are formed, retained, altered, or replaced. These twin aspects of social organization
had been considered structure, relatively stable patterns of interrelations among
persons or other social units, and process, the manner in which the patterns are
produced, reproduced, or transformed (see, e.g., Faris 1964). The distinction is
blurred to the extent that interrelations vary in degrees of regularity, uniformity, and
permanence in the rhythms of coexistence, contact, or avoidance of which they
consist (Williams 1976). In short, structure can also be viewed as patterned process
among human agents (e.g., Blumer 1969, pp. 78–89; Giddens 1979, pp. 49–95;
Coleman 1990, esp. pp. 1–44).
b. Social stratification
More complex social organization can consist of stratification among units that are
themselves stratified. For example, it has been shown that the nations of the world
are both internally stratified and stratified vis-à-vis one another (Wallerstein 1979),
although effects of the one structure on the other are variable (see, e.g., Evans and
Stephens 1988).
c. Specialization of functions
Specialization. In its pure sense, specialization refers to composition of unlike units
that only taken together can accomplish all that is deemed significant. As a division
of labor (Smith [1789] 1976; Durkheim [1902] 1964; Rueschemeyer 1986),
specialization is characterized by greater interdependence—facilitative or
inhibitory—than in the cases of simple segmentation or stratification. Segments can
be added or lost with little effect; specialties cannot. Specialization ranges from little
more than by age and sex in hunting and gathering societies, possibly with part-time
political and religious leadership, to thousands of occupational specialties and

35
nonoccupational roles in industrial and postindustrial societies (Lenski 1975, 1979;
Hawley 1986, pp. 31–37, 64–67).
Organizations are specialized collectivities. Defined as complexes of more or less
cooperative relations directed toward more or less specific objectives, these units
have been said to occur in every known society as "the major vehicle through which
concentrated goal-directed effort takes place" (Udy 1979). They, the aggregates they
comprise, and relations among them—including organizations of organizations—are
considered to be primary units of social organization, at least in industrial and
postindustrial communities and nations (see, e.g., Turk 1077, 1985; Skocpol 1979;
Perrow 1986; Evans and Stephens 1988; Perrucci and Potter 1080; Coleman 1990).
d. Social Control
When a social organization becomes disorganized, social control is very essential for
its organization. The individuals must be brought under social control which makes a
block in the way of social disorganization. In every society small groups are
combined and form a social organization but when it becomes disintegrated and
again leads to the formation of small group. So, there exists an interaction between
social organization and social group and both are interlinked with each other.
e. Social networking relations
Sheer numbers make it impossible for each unit to have relations with each other
one. This affects the probabilities of positions, networks, or organizations that
channel and mediate social relationships (research stimulated by Simmel 1908, pp.
55–56). More recent work shows how specific interconnections, such as marriage or
crowd behavior under conditions of threat, can be affected by aggregates, by their
relative sizes and other properties, and by relations among these properties (e.g.,
Blau 1987, Coleman 1990). Network analysis has added precision to the
measurement of form—say, of stratification or of degrees of interconnectedness—by
detailing the connections (links) among units and the patterns that these provide
(see, e.g., Cook 1977; Leinhardt 1977; Burt 1982; Turner 1986, pp. 287–305). Its
techniques are uniquely suited to the chains, clusters, and sequences of exchange,
cooperation, alliance, or command over which goods, services, money, information,
or influence flow.

Types of Social Organisation

Formal and Informal are the two major types of social organisation
Formal organization Meaning and definition:
A formal organization is a social system organized around specific goals and usually
consisting of several interrelated groups or subsystems. Formal organizations are
governed by clearly stated and enforced norms. The formal organization is basically
goal-oriented entity that exist to accurate the efforts of individuals and it refers to the
structure of jobs and positions with clearly defined functions, responsibilities and
authorities.
According to Chester Banard “an organization is formal when the activities are
coordinated towards a common objective”. For many tasks within modern societies,

36
people require groups they can deliberately create for the achievement of specific
goals.
Amitai Etzioni classified organizations on the basis of people's reasons for entering
them: voluntary, coercive, and utilitarian. “Formal organization is a group that
restricts membership and makes use of officially designated positions and roles,
formal rules and regulations, and a bureaucratic structure.” This notion deals with
the organization with a distinctive rules & organization regulations regarding the
structure. Examples: Corporations, the Catholic Church, court systems, military
organizations, and university administrations etc are the examples of formal
organizations.
Characteristics of Formal Organizations:
A formal organization has the following characteristics:
1. Well defined rules and regulation: The first & foremost characteristic of a formal
organization is a well-defined set of rules & regulations. These will be strictly
followed to carry out the activities of the company to achieve goals.
2. Arbitrary structure: A formal organization always contains an arbitrary structure
that allows all the departments of the organization work in a coordinated way to
achieve the target.
3. Determined objectives and policies: A formal organization consists of specific
objectives & policies. All the activities in the company follow around these policies &
to achieve the objectives.
4. Limitation on the activities of the individual: Every individual in a formal
individual is assigned with specific duties & responsibilities. This is true regulation
for every personnel.
5. Strict observance of the principle of co-ordination: The co-ordination between
different departments in an organization is strictly maintained to achieve the most
efficient result.
6. Messages are communicated through vertical chain: Normally in a formal
organization the vertical communication chain is followed so that the chain of
command & its unity is maintained.
7. Status symbol: A formal organization is a separate social entity. The activities have
a separate entity than the individuals performing those activities.
Informal Organization:
The informal organization consists of role rather than statuses. The relationship
between the members is more personal relationship than the status relationship.
Interaction and communication in informal organization s are direct, face to face and
intimate. It is more flexible than formal organization. It is smaller in size and
structural arrangement is less complex. Examples: Gang, friendship groups, peer
groups, Bands etc. Whenever a set of people get together and starts interacting on a
long term basis, they start to form an informal group. An informal group is more
than just a collection of people. Groups have internal social structure based on
dominance and friendship relations. There are social leaders. There are hangers-on.
These factors influenced the development of informal organization.

37
Chester I. Barnard states, "Informal organization brings cohesiveness to formal
organization. It brings to the members of a formal organization, a feeling of
belonging, of status, a self-respect and of gregarious satisfaction." Keogh Javis
defines, "an informal organization is a powerful influence upon productivity and job
satisfaction." Tended effectively, the informal organization complements the more
explicit structures, plans and processes of the formal organization: it can accelerate
and enhance responses to unanticipated events, foster innovation, enable people to
solve problems that require collaboration across boundaries, and create footpaths
showing where the formal organization may someday need to pave a way
Nature of informal organization:
Informal Organization arises from social Interaction. It was concluded by
Hawthorne Experiments that informal organizations were an integral part of the
total work situation. Informal organizations are the network of personal and social
relations arises spontaneously as the people make contact with each other and are
not the result of formal authority. Power in informal organizations' is attached to
person and not to the position and it is given by the members of, the group
irrespective of the position in formal structure or is attained by the leader.
It is quite unstable since it relates to the sentiments of the people of the group.
Managers, generally, are the leaders in the format organization and they like to
abolish the informal groups. But they cannot do so because they know that they have
not established them so they cannot abolish. Informal organizations are small
because they are closely related to the limitation of personal relationships. So, they
are so many informal organizations in a formal organization.
Key characteristics of the informal organization:
The nature of the informal organization becomes more distinct when its key
characteristics are juxtaposed with those of the formal organization.
1) Evolving constantly
2) Grass roots
3) Dynamic and responsive
4) Excellent at motivation
5) Requires insider knowledge to be seen
6) Treats people as individuals
7) Flat and fluid(Less number of managerial positions –fluid=no fixed shape)
8) Trust and reciprocity
9) Difficult to pin down
10) Essential for situations that change quickly or are not yet fully understood

ASSOCIATION

Meaning of Association

38
A social animal man always lives in groups. Association is a kind of social group
which has much sociological importance. Association is the characteristic of a
modern complex society. It also had its existence in primitive and agrarian societies.
Human beings have a bundle of needs and interests. Though it is impossible to fulfill
these needs and interests, he still made several attempts to fulfill these. From the
beginning of human civilization, he has been trying to fulfill all his needs and
interests.
Maclver and Page opine that man mainly follows three ways to fulfill his needs and
interests. First, man acts independently without considering others.
Secondly, he fulfills himself by conflict.
Thirdly, he fulfills his interests through cooperation and mutual assistance.
Hence when people take the help of others or a group of people to organize
themselves to achieve common interest, an association is formed.
Men satisfy their variety of needs and interests by establishing different associations.
As there are manifold needs, hence there are various associations.
Association is an organized group of people to pursue a specific purpose or the
fulfillment of a variety of needs. But the mere organization of a group of people
without some common purpose does not form an association. Associations are
deliberately formed according to some fixed rules for the fulfillment of some
common interest or interests. Associations are established formal organizations.
Associations offer membership and elect or choose their officials for smooth
functioning. Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Rotary Club, and Political parties
are an example of association.
Famous Sociologist F. Tonnies, Max Weber, and Maclver have made an important
contribution to the development of the association. Tonnies opine that those groups
which are formed to protect the interests of public life are called associations.
Similarly, Maclver opines groups organized to protect special interests are called
associations. But to have a complete understanding of the term, let us look at its
definitions.
Definition of Association
1. According to Maclver, “An organization deliberately formed for the
collective pursuit of some interest or set of interest, which the members of it
share, is termed as association.”
2. According to P. Gisbert, “Association is a group of people united for a
specific purpose or limited number of purposes.”
3. According to E. S. Bogardus, “Association is usually working together of
people to achieve some purposes.”
4. According to Morris Ginsberg writes, “An association is a group of
social beings related to one another by the fact that they posses or have
instituted in common an organization with a view to securing specific end or
specific ends.”

39
 5. According to Gillin and Gillin, “An association is a group of individuals
united for a specific purpose or purposes and held together by recognized or
sanctioned modes of procedure or behaviour.”
6. According to G. D. H. Cole says, “By an association I mean any group of
persons pursuing a common purpose by a course of corporative action extending
beyond a single act and for this purpose agreeing together upon certain methods
of procedure, and laying down, in however, rudimentary a form, rule for
common action.”
Essential Elements of Association:
Essential elements of an association are as follows:
(1) It is a concrete form of Organization
Association is a group of persons collected together with some particular aim. It is,
thus, a concrete group which can be seen; while at work. Thus, in contrary to society’
Association is a concrete form of organization of human beings.
(2) It is established
Like community, association does not grow spontaneously. It has no natural growth
and it does not grow itself. They are created by men to satisfy some motive or cause
Rules and regulations are formed to run a particular kind of association and the
member of the association run it on the basis of these rules and regulations.
There, we find a ‘code of conduct’ to be followed by the office-bearers and other
members of the association. Moreover, their rules and regulations are subjected to
drastic changes if the creator of association desire so.
(3) Its aim is determined
No association is formed without any aim. First, there is the problem and the
solution of which, becomes the aim of the association formed to solve such problems.
For example, if it is a dramatic association, then its aim will naturally be to stage
dramas and plays. No association can maintain its identity without any distinct aim
and object.
(4) Followers of rules and regulations are the only members
Every association floats on the ground of certain rules and regulations. It also
contains code of conduct for the members. Those who follow the rules^ and
regulations provided for and participate in the pursuit of the aim of the association
are only called as the members of it.
Anyone acting contrary or disowning the obligations as members may be expelled
from the membership; as per procedure framed for the purpose. For example, if the
member of “political association” stops believing or start criticizing the policies of the
association of which he has been, hitherto the supporter, shall cease to be the
member.
It also becomes obligatory for every member to co-operate with other in the
achievement of the goals of the association. Otherwise, what for else is he the
member? What is his aim of joining such an association? The answer is; it is useless

40
for him to be the member of such an association, and it is equally useless for an
association to keep such an individual on the membership list.
(5) Its membership is voluntary
An association is not an essential organization like State or society. Neither it is a
natural organization in which every one’s contribution can be asked for on natural
grounds. Neither there is any common instinct among the persons based on common
and unified ideology to become the member of a particular association. And, also
there is no ‘whips’ from the heaven or State to every citizen to form a association and
to become its member.
But the membership of an association is voluntary. A person becomes the members
because he wants it and only because he likes it and if he grows a feeling of dislike he
is absolutely free to disown any such association. “Mr. A is free to become the
member of Arya Samaj and shift its memberships from Arya Samaj to Sanatan
Dharam Samaj.” There are no restrictions, no law and no suppression of Mr. A for his
changes.
(6) An association exists for its aims and objects
The life of an association is up to the achievement of the aim for which it has been
created. The existence of association after his achievement of the aim becomes,
immaterial and irrelevant. It becomes nominal and lifeless body of formalities only.
“The aim is the soul of the association.
The essential characteristics of an association are as follows
Several essential characteristics characterize association. These characteristics are
mentioned below:
1. A group of people:
An association is a group of people who have some common objectives.
Without a group of people, no association can be formed. Hence, a group of
people is important.
0. Common interests:
An association does not refer to any ordinary group of people; rather, it refers
to an organized group of people. When a group of people organized
themselves for the pursuit of some common interest, an association is formed.
Hence association is called an organized group. There are certain rules which
guide people.
0. Common aims and objectives:
It is the most important characteristic of association. Because association does
not refer to a mere collection of human beings, it refers to those groups of
individuals who have common aims and objectives. All members try to achieve
common objectives. Hence association is a means to achieve common
objectives. For example, people having similar political objectives may join a
particular political party.
0. Some rules and regulations:

41
 The organization of an association rests upon a particular set of laws. These
laws are necessary for regulating the conduct of members belonging to an
association. The members of an association follow these rules and regulations.
0. Co-operative Spirit:
1. An association is based on the cooperative spirit of its members. People work
together to achieve some common purposes. It gives opportunities to its
members to work together to achieve some common purposes. This
cooperative spirit helps them to realize their objectives. When this spirit is
lacking, there is no cooperation and no association.
0. Voluntary membership:
The membership of an association is voluntary. People voluntarily join an
association for the achievement of their desired objectives. They can also
withdraw their membership according to their wishes. Similarly, no one can
compel them to be a member of any association, but he has to obey the
association’s rules and regulations.
0. Degree of permanency:
The degree of permanency varies from association to association. Some
associations may be temporary, whereas some are permanent. There exist
some long-lived associations like family or state. Similarly, there exist some
temporary associations like flood relief associations.
0. Legal Status:
Association is an organized social group that has responsible members. This
shows that the association has a legal status. It can sue and be sued. Legal
action can also be taken against the members as well as officials if disobey its
rules and regulations.
0. Office bearers:
An association has office bearers who manage its affairs and guide its
functioning. These office bearers are elected for a definite period of time by
their members.
0. Artificial nature:
Association is an artificial creation. It is man-made in nature. Some
individuals deliberately form associations to fulfill their common objectives. It
does not grow naturally or spontaneously. There exists no natural bond
between the members of the association. Rather there exists a bond of
self-interest.
0. Limited significance:
Membership of an association has limited significance. Because the
association is a temporary group organized for the fulfillment of specific
interests of its members. It has significance for its members so far it servers
their purpose. When it fails to serve its purpose, it loses its significance.

42
Thus, we conclude that association is a group within society or a community. It is a
formal organization as its membership is formal. But all formal organizations like the
army are not associations. Formal rules and regulations guide association. Hence
though, the association seems like a formal organization, but in reality, it is not so.
But both associations and formal organizations are the product of modern industrial
society and new political systems. At present, association plays a very important role
in the new socio-economic and political setup.
Types of Association
There are two kinds of Association:
(i) Free Association
In free association one idea suggests another which, again suggests another, and so
on without any check. Reverie(a state of being pleasantly lost in ones thoughts)
affords the best example of free association. Ideas freely suggests other ideas in a
continuous train of ideas during reverie. In building ‘castles in the air’ ideas freely
suggest one another without any check. Here there is free association. But it is
motivated by emotions.
An experiment can test free association. The subject is given a series of words as
stimuli and is asked to respond to each word by speaking some other word that is
suggested to his mind. He must speak out the first word, recalled.
If you give the subject the stimulus word ‘table’, he may respond by speaking out
‘dinner’, or ‘chair’. What particular word will be recalled depends on the frequency,
recency, and intensity of association.
If he has frequently observed the connection of two facts, the linkage between them
is strong. If he has recently observed their connection, the linkage between, them is
strong. If his observation of their connection was a vivid experience, the linkage
between them is strong. The present state of the individual also is to be taken into
account.
If he is happy, the pleasant ideas will occur to him. If he is unhappy, unpleasant ideas
will occur to him. If frequency, recency and intensity co­operate in favour of the same
response, then that response is sure to occur. If they pull different ways, the
strongest of them will determine the response.
First, these tests throw some light on the individual’s habits of thought. Some ideas
are strongly linked with one another in his mind owing to frequency. So his
“egocentric responses” can easily show his predilections.
Secondly, the tests gave a “detective” use based on the factor of recency. If a
murderer has recently committed murder properly selected stimulus words will lead
him to recall the scene of murder, and his responses will betray him; he may check
the responses and hesitate and thus arouse suspicion.
Thirdly, the tests can unearth an individual’s emotional “complexes”, which are very
intense. Hesitation and embracement in responding to word relating to money,
betray his financial trouble. Psychoanalysts employ free association tests to unearth
complexes.
(ii) Controlled Association

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When a definite purpose steers the associative process, we speak of controlled
association. There is free association is reverie, but con­trolled association in
remembering answers to questions during an examination.
In this test the subject is required to respond to each stimulus word by a word
standing in a particular relationship to it. He may-­be asked to give the antonym of a
word. He may be asked to mention a part of each object denoted by a word. Or, he
may be asked to mention the higher class to which the stimulus word belongs. An
intelligent subject takes less time to respond in an easy controlled association test.
In a controlled association test, the subject is set or prepared to make a particular
kind of response. For example, he is set to say the opposite of the stimulus words.
And he readily responds to the stimulus words ‘high’, ‘rich’, etc., by saying ‘low’,
‘poor’, etc. The preparatory set is favourable to right recall. It has influence on
selection of the right word.
There is controlled association in arithmetical word. Rapid adding, subtracting, or
multiplying would be impossible without an efficient set. Here the set is a response to
the task. In reading, the set is a response to the context. The meaning of a word is
called up by the context.
The objective situation arouses a set that controls both thought and action. The
individual reacts to a particular situation in a particular way. He thinks and acts in a
particular manner in a particular situation.
Differences between Association and Community
An association is not a community but a group within a community. The differences
between them are as follows:
Firstly, Ferdinand Tonnies remarks that community is a form of grouping which
arise spontaneously or naturally and on a type of will which is deeply rooted in the
entire personality. Association, on the other hand, is artificially formed, reflective or
deliberate, resting on a type of will which consciously means to attain given ends.
Community is organic, spontaneous, and creative but association is mechanical,
artificial and held together by ties which belong to the world of rivalries, bargaining,
and compromises.
Secondly, as used by Maclver, the community is “a focus of social life”. It is regarded
as integral or whole because it fulfills all the needs of its members. One’s life may be
lived wholly within it. An association, on the other hand, is “an organization of social
life”. It is regarded as partial because it is formed for the pursuit of specific interests
or aims.
Thirdly, associations exist within community. An association is formed by the
individuals for their own interests. There are a number of associations within a
community. According to Maclver, association is not a community but an
organisation within a community.
Fourthly, the membership of an association has a limited significance. Membership
is voluntary. They withdraw their membership when they lose interest in it. But the
community membership has a wider significance and compulsory. People are born
into community but they choose their associations.

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Lastly, community sentiment is necessary to constitute community without which
the existence of community cannot be imagined. There can be no community without
the sense of “we-feeling”. But sentiment is not at all a basic factor to form an
association.
The distinctions between community and association were very much clear in
primitive societies. But due to the rapid of urbanization, development of
transportation and communication, it becomes very difficult to distinguish between
them.
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