समाजशास्त्र Sociology

Quick summary

Sociology is the scientific study of society, social relationships and social behaviour. The word was coined by Auguste Comte in 1838, who is called the Father of Sociology. This topic covers the meaning, definitions, nature, scope and importance of sociology, and its relation with other social sciences.

Key points

• The word sociology comes from the Latin socius (companion or associate) and the Greek logos (study or science). So it means the study of society.
• Sociology began in Europe in the 19th century, after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution changed society very fast.
• Max Weber – sociology is a science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action.
• MacIver and Page – sociology is about social relationships; the network of relationships we call society.
• Emile Durkheim – sociology is the science of social institutions (and social facts).
• Morris Ginsberg – the study of human interactions and inter-relations, their conditions and consequences.
• Definitions:
• Nature of sociology (Robert Bierstedt): it is an independent, social (not natural) science; categorical, not normative (studies what is, not what ought to be); pure, not applied; abstract, not concrete; generalising, not particularising; both rational and empirical.
• Formal (specialistic) school – Georg Simmel, Tonnies, Max Weber, Vierkandt: sociology studies forms of social relationships.
• Synthetic school – Durkheim, Hobhouse, Sorokin: sociology is a general science of all social life.
• Scope – two schools:
• Subject matter: social groups, institutions, social processes (cooperation, conflict, competition), social change, social problems.
• Sociology is related to history, political science, economics, psychology and anthropology but has its own focus on social relationships.
• Importance: understanding society scientifically, planning and welfare, solving social problems (caste, dowry, poverty), national integration, careers in social work and administration.

Important terms

• Society (समाज) – a web of social relationships.
• Social relationship – a relation between people who are aware of each other.
• Social fact – ways of acting and thinking that are external to the individual and exercise constraint (Durkheim).
• Positivism – Comte's view that society should be studied by scientific methods.
• Empirical – based on observation and experience.

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. Who coined the term sociology and when?

The term sociology was coined by the French thinker Auguste Comte in 1838. He is called the Father of Sociology.

Q2. What is the formal school of sociology?

The formal school says sociology should study only the forms of social relationships, like cooperation, competition and conflict, and not their content. Simmel and Tonnies belong to this school.

Q3. Explain the nature of sociology.

• Independent science with its own subject matter.
• Social science, not physical science.
• Categorical (what is), not normative.
• Pure science, not applied.
• Abstract, generalising, rational and empirical.
• Based on Bierstedt's characteristics.

Q4. Discuss the scope of sociology with reference to the formal and synthetic schools.

• Formal school: thinkers, main ideas, criticism (too narrow).
• Synthetic school: thinkers, main ideas, criticism (too vague).
• Conclusion: both views complement each other; sociology studies forms as well as society as a whole.

Q5. Explain the importance of sociology in modern India.

• Scientific understanding of Indian society.
• Helps in planning and development programmes.
• Studies caste, tribal, rural and urban problems.
• Helps social reform and national integration.
• Useful for social work, administration, journalism and research careers.

Exam tip

Begin long answers with one definition and the thinker's name. For "scope", always write about both schools and give a short conclusion.

Quick summary

Sociology was born in 19th-century Europe as a response to the huge changes brought by the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Old ways of life were breaking down, and thinkers wanted a scientific way to understand society. Auguste Comte gave the subject its name in 1838. This topic explains the background, the forces behind the emergence and the early growth of sociology, including in India.

Key points

• Intellectual background – the Enlightenment (18th century): thinkers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau stressed reason, science, freedom and progress. They questioned blind faith and tradition. This created the idea that society too can be studied with reason.
• Growth of natural sciences: the success of physics, chemistry and biology (Newton, Darwin) encouraged thinkers to apply the scientific method to social life.
• French Revolution (1789): it attacked monarchy, feudal privileges and the authority of the Church, and spread the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. It caused social disorder, so thinkers like Comte asked how order and progress can go together.
• Industrial Revolution (from about 1760, Britain): the factory system, machines, wage labour and new classes (capitalists and workers) appeared. Joint families weakened and people migrated to cities.
• Urbanisation: rapid growth of cities brought slums, crime, poverty, pollution and loneliness. These new social problems demanded study.
• Changes in religion and family: secular thinking grew; the power of the Church declined; the family lost many economic functions.
• Founding thinkers: Auguste Comte (name and positivism), Herbert Spencer (evolution, organic analogy), Emile Durkheim (social facts, first university chair of sociology in France), Max Weber (social action) and Karl Marx (class conflict).
• Sociology in India: teaching began at Bombay University in 1919 under Patrick Geddes; G. S. Ghurye later led this department. Lucknow (Radhakamal Mukerjee, D. P. Mukerji) was another early centre.
• Today sociology is a separate science with its own methods, fields and career options (research, social work, NGOs, administration, media, policy).

Important terms

• Enlightenment – the 18th-century intellectual movement that valued reason, science and individual freedom.
• Positivism – Comte's view that society should be studied by observation and scientific method, not by theology or speculation.
• Industrialisation – the shift from hand production to machine production in factories.
• Urbanisation – the growth of towns and cities and of the urban way of life.
• Secularisation – the decline of the influence of religion in public life.

Important thinkers and theories

• Auguste Comte (1798–1857) – coined the word "sociology" (1838); Law of Three Stages; called sociology the "queen of sciences".
• Herbert Spencer – applied evolution to society; compared society to an organism.
• Emile Durkheim – defined sociology as the study of social facts; The Rules of Sociological Method (1895).
• Karl Marx – explained society through economic structure and class struggle.
• Patrick Geddes and G. S. Ghurye – early leaders of sociology at Bombay University.

5 important questions

Q1. Who coined the term "sociology" and when?

Auguste Comte, the French thinker, coined the term "sociology" in 1838. It combines the Latin socius (companion) and the Greek logos (study). He is called the father of sociology.

Q2. How did urbanisation contribute to the emergence of sociology?

Industries drew lakhs of people to cities. Overcrowding, slums, crime, poverty and loss of community feeling became serious. Thinkers needed a new science to study and solve these urban problems.

Q3. Explain the social and intellectual conditions that led to the emergence of sociology.

• Intellectual: Enlightenment, faith in reason, success of natural sciences.
• Political: French Revolution, collapse of the old order, new ideas of equality.
• Economic: Industrial Revolution, factories, capitalists and workers.
• Social: urbanisation, weakening of family and religion, new problems.
• Conclusion: sociology arose to understand order and change scientifically.

Q4. Discuss the role of the Industrial Revolution in the rise of sociology.

• Meaning and period of the Industrial Revolution.
• Changes: factory system, wage labour, new class structure, division of labour.
• Effects: migration, urban problems, decline of joint family, exploitation of workers.
• How thinkers responded: Marx (class conflict), Durkheim (division of labour), Weber (capitalism and rationality).

Q5. Write a note on the development of sociology in India.

• Ancient Indian thought had social ideas (Varna, Ashrama, Dharma) but not a separate science.
• 1919: department at Bombay University (Patrick Geddes); later G. S. Ghurye.
• Lucknow school: Radhakamal Mukerjee, D. P. Mukerji; later M. N. Srinivas, A. R. Desai, Irawati Karve.
• After independence: research on caste, village, tribe, development; today taught in all universities.

Exam tip

For the long question on emergence, use the four headings – intellectual, political, economic and social – and give one example for each. Always mention Comte and 1838.

Quick summary

Sociology studies society as a whole, while other social sciences study one part of social life – economy, politics, the past, the mind or culture. These sciences depend on each other and borrow concepts and methods. This topic explains how sociology is related to, and different from, economics, political science, history, psychology and anthropology.

Key points

• Sociology is a general social science: it studies social relationships, groups and institutions in all areas of life. Other social sciences are special social sciences.
• Sociology and Economics: economics studies production, distribution and consumption of wealth. Economic activity happens inside society (family, caste, values affect it). Max Weber linked the Protestant ethic with capitalism; Marx linked the economy with class. Economic sociology is a meeting field.
• Sociology and Political Science: political science studies the state, government, power and law. Voting, political parties and leadership are shaped by caste, religion and class. Political sociology joins both.
• Sociology and History: history records past events in time order; sociology looks for general patterns. G. E. Howard said "history is past sociology and sociology is present history". Historical sociology joins both.
• Sociology and Psychology: psychology studies the individual mind and behaviour; sociology studies group life. Social psychology studies the individual in the group (attitudes, prejudice, crowd behaviour).
• Sociology and Anthropology: anthropology mainly studied simple, pre-literate (tribal) societies through fieldwork; sociology mainly studied modern, complex societies. Today the two are so close that A. L. Kroeber called them "twin sisters".
• Differences are of focus, scope and method: sociology has a wider scope, studies relationships rather than one activity, and uses surveys, case studies and comparison.
• In India many topics (caste, village, tribe, development) are studied jointly; this is called an interdisciplinary approach.

Important terms

• General social science – a science that studies social life as a whole (sociology).
• Special social science – a science that studies one aspect of social life (economics, politics).
• Interdisciplinary approach – using ideas and methods of several subjects to study one problem.
• Social psychology – the study of the individual's behaviour in group situations.
• Social anthropology – the study of simple societies, their culture and institutions.

Important thinkers and theories

• G. E. Howard – history is past sociology; sociology is present history.
• A. L. Kroeber – sociology and anthropology are twin sisters.
• Max Weber – The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905): religion influences economic behaviour.
• Karl Marx – economic base shapes the whole social structure.

5 important questions

Q1. Why is sociology called a general social science?

Because it studies social relationships in every field of life – family, economy, politics, religion and education – and the whole of society, not just one part of it.

Q2. What is social psychology?

Social psychology is the meeting field of sociology and psychology. It studies how the individual thinks, feels and behaves under the influence of groups, e.g. attitudes, prejudice and crowd behaviour.

Q3. Explain the relationship between sociology and economics.

• Meaning of both subjects.
• Economy is part of society: family, caste and values shape work and consumption.
• Economic changes cause social change (industrialisation, poverty, unemployment).
• Thinkers: Weber (religion and capitalism), Marx (economic base).
• Differences: scope, unit of study, method; economic sociology as a joint field.

Q4. Discuss the relationship between sociology and history.

• History: unique past events, dates, chronology; sociology: general patterns of the present.
• History gives data to sociology; sociology gives concepts (class, caste, institution) to history.
• Howard's statement; historical sociology.
• Differences in approach and scope.

Q5. Distinguish between sociology and anthropology.

• Anthropology: simple, small, tribal societies; sociology: complex, modern societies.
• Anthropology uses long fieldwork and participant observation; sociology uses surveys, statistics as well.
• Anthropology studies culture as a whole including physical traits; sociology studies social relations.
• Today the gap is narrowing – Kroeber's "twin sisters".

Exam tip

In every "relationship" answer write three parts: meaning of both subjects, how they depend on each other (with an example), and the main differences. A small comparison table earns extra marks.

Quick summary

Society, community and association are the basic concepts of sociology. Society is a web of social relationships; a community is a group living in a definite area with a sense of belonging; an association is a group organised for specific purposes. This topic also explains institutions and how these concepts differ.

Key points

• Society – MacIver and Page: society is a web of social relationships which is always changing.
• Characteristics of society: likeness, difference, interdependence, cooperation and conflict, social relationships, abstract nature, dynamic (always changing).
• Man is a social animal (Aristotle). He depends on society for survival, language and personality.
• Community – a group of people living in a particular area, sharing a common life and having a strong we-feeling (community sentiment).
• Elements of community: definite locality, community sentiment (we-feeling, role-feeling, dependency-feeling), common life, a name, spontaneous growth.
• Examples of community: a village, a town, a tribe, a nation.
• Association – MacIver: a group organised for the pursuit of an interest or a group of interests in common.
• Features of association: group of people, common interest, organisation with rules, formation by choice, membership voluntary, temporary or permanent, has a name.
• Examples: political party, trade union, school, club, cooperative society.
• Institution – established forms or procedures (rules) by which group activity is carried on (MacIver). Example: marriage is an institution; family is an association.
• Community is born naturally; association is deliberately made. A community has no specific aim; an association has specific aims.

Important terms

• Community (समुदाय) – group in a definite area with we-feeling.
• Association – organised group for definite aims.
• Institution – established set of rules and procedures.
• We-feeling – sense of belonging together.
• Abstract – cannot be seen or touched (society is a network of relationships).

Important thinkers and theories

• MacIver and Page – definitions of society, community and association (book: Society).
• Ferdinand Tonnies – Gemeinschaft (community: close, personal ties) and Gesellschaft (society/association: impersonal, contractual ties), 1887.
• Aristotle – "Man is a social animal."

5 important questions

Q1. Define community.

A community is a group of people living in a definite area, sharing a common life and having a strong feeling of belonging together (we-feeling). Example: a village.

Q2. Give two differences between an association and an institution.

An association is a group of people (e.g. a college), while an institution is a set of rules and procedures (e.g. examination system). We belong to associations; we follow institutions.

Q3. Explain the meaning and characteristics of society.

• Definition by MacIver and Page.
• Likeness and difference both needed.
• Interdependence and cooperation; conflict also present.
• Abstract nature: a network of relationships.
• Dynamic and changing.
• Society gives culture and personality to the individual.

Q4. Explain the elements of community.

• Group of people.
• Definite locality.
• Community sentiment: we-feeling, role-feeling, dependency-feeling.
• Common life and culture.
• Spontaneous growth and a particular name.

Q5. Distinguish between community and association.

• Use the table: origin, aim, membership, locality, duration, examples.
• Add: community is a whole, association is a part within it.
• Conclude that both are essential for social life.

Exam tip

Learn MacIver's three definitions word for word in your own simple language. The community vs association table is a favourite exam question.

Quick summary

A social group is a collection of two or more people who interact with each other and have a sense of unity. Sociologists classify groups in many ways — primary and secondary, in-group and out-group, reference groups and others. This topic covers the meaning, features and important classifications of groups.

Key points

• Social group – two or more persons in interaction, with common interests and a feeling of unity. A mere crowd at a bus stop is not a group.
• Characteristics: reciprocal relations, sense of unity (we-feeling), common interests, group norms, size, stability or change.
• Primary group – concept given by Charles Horton Cooley in Social Organization (1909). Members have close, face-to-face, intimate relations. Examples: family, play group, neighbourhood.
• Cooley called primary groups the "nursery of human nature".
• Features of primary group: small size, physical nearness, long duration, intimate relations, relations as an end in themselves, spontaneous and informal control.
• Secondary group – large, formal and impersonal groups, formed for specific aims. Examples: political party, company, trade union, city.
• In-group and out-group – classification by W.G. Sumner (Folkways, 1906). In-group = "we" group with loyalty and cooperation; out-group = "they" group seen with distance or dislike.
• Sumner also explained ethnocentrism: viewing one's own group as superior.
• Reference group – a group a person uses as a standard to judge himself, though he may not be a member (Herbert Hyman introduced the term; Robert Merton developed it).
• Other classifications: voluntary and involuntary (Charles Ellwood), horizontal and vertical (Sorokin), Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (Tonnies), formal and informal groups.
• Secondary groups are increasing in modern urban-industrial society.

Important terms

• Group (समूह) – people in interaction with we-feeling.
• Quasi-group – a collection without organised structure, e.g. a class or an audience.
• Ethnocentrism – judging other cultures by the standards of one's own.
• Dyad / triad – groups of two and three (Simmel).
• Peer group – group of people of the same age and status.

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. Define primary group.

A primary group is a small group with intimate, face-to-face and lasting relations, such as the family. The term was given by C.H. Cooley.

Q2. What is an out-group?

An out-group is a group to which a person does not belong and towards which he feels distance, competition or dislike. Members refer to it as "they". The term was given by W.G. Sumner.

Q3. Explain the meaning and characteristics of a primary group. Why is it important?

• Meaning and Cooley's definition.
• Physical conditions: small size, closeness, long duration.
• Character: identity of ends, intimacy, spontaneity, informal control.
• Importance: socialization, personality, emotional security, social control.

Q4. Distinguish between primary and secondary groups.

• Size: small vs large.
• Relations: face-to-face and intimate vs indirect and formal.
• Duration: long vs often temporary.
• Control: informal (customs) vs formal (rules, law).
• Aim: general vs specific.
• Examples for each.

Q5. Explain in-group and out-group with examples.

• Sumner's classification.
• In-group: we-feeling, loyalty, cooperation, sacrifice.
• Out-group: they-feeling, indifference, conflict.
• Ethnocentrism.
• Examples: own village vs neighbouring village; own team vs rival team.
• Same person can be in many in-groups.

Exam tip

Attach the thinker's name to each concept (Cooley – primary, Sumner – in/out group, Merton – reference). This alone earns easy marks in short answers.

Quick summary

Social structure is the stable pattern of relationships, groups and institutions that holds a society together. Every person occupies positions (statuses) in this structure and is expected to behave in certain ways (roles). This topic explains social structure, status and role, their types, and problems like role conflict.

Key points

• Social structure – the orderly and lasting arrangement of the parts of society (individuals, groups, institutions) and the relations among them. It is abstract, relatively stable and passes from generation to generation.
• Elements of social structure: individuals, groups, institutions, norms and values, statuses and roles.
• A. R. Radcliffe-Brown saw social structure as the network of actual social relations; S. F. Nadel described it in terms of roles.
• Status – the position a person occupies in a group or society, with rights and duties. Ralph Linton explained status and role in The Study of Man (1936).
• Ascribed status – given by birth, without effort: sex, age, caste, kinship (son, daughter), race.
• Achieved status – earned by personal effort and ability: doctor, teacher, sarpanch, champion.
• Traditional societies (e.g. caste-based) give more importance to ascribed status; modern societies give more importance to achieved status.
• Role – the expected behaviour attached to a status. Linton: role is the "dynamic aspect" of status. Status is occupied, role is performed.
• Role set (Robert K. Merton) – the many roles linked with one status, e.g. a teacher's roles towards students, parents, principal and colleagues.
• Status set – all the statuses one person holds at a time (son, student, NSS volunteer, cricketer).
• Role conflict – when two roles demand opposite things, e.g. a working mother whose child is ill on an office deadline day.
• Master status – a status that dominates others in identity, e.g. a person known mainly as "the MLA".

Important terms

• Social structure – the stable pattern of social relationships and institutions.
• Status – a social position with rights and duties.
• Role – behaviour expected from a person holding a status.
• Role conflict – clash between the demands of two or more roles.
• Role strain – difficulty in meeting the many demands of one role.

Important thinkers and theories

• Ralph Linton – status and role; ascribed and achieved status (The Study of Man, 1936).
• Robert K. Merton – role set and status set.
• A. R. Radcliffe-Brown – social structure as a network of social relations.
• S. F. Nadel – structure as an ordered arrangement of roles.

5 important questions

Q1. What is ascribed status?

Ascribed status is a social position given to a person at birth or by nature, without any effort, such as sex, age, caste or being someone's son or daughter.

Q2. What is role conflict?

Role conflict arises when a person holds two or more roles whose expectations clash, so fulfilling one means failing in another, e.g. a police officer asked to arrest a relative.

Q3. Explain the meaning and elements of social structure.

• Definitions: Radcliffe-Brown, Nadel; structure as an ordered pattern.
• Elements: individuals, groups, institutions, norms, values, status and role.
• Features: abstract, stable, inter-related parts, changes slowly.
• Example: Indian village with caste, family, panchayat.

Q4. Distinguish between ascribed and achieved status with examples.

• Meaning of status (Linton).
• Ascribed: by birth, fixed, no effort; caste, sex, age.
• Achieved: by effort, open, competitive; occupation, education, office.
• Traditional vs modern societies; changes due to education, democracy and law in India.

Q5. Explain the concept of role. Discuss role set and role conflict.

• Role as the dynamic side of status; relation with norms.
• Role set (Merton) with the example of a teacher or doctor.
• Role conflict and role strain with examples; ways to reduce them (priority, separation of roles, support).

Exam tip

Remember the pair "status is occupied, role is played". Linton for status–role and Merton for role set are the names examiners look for.

Quick summary

Social interaction is the process by which people act and react towards each other. It is the basis of all social life. When interaction takes a regular, repeated form, it is called a social process. Social processes are grouped as associative (cooperation, accommodation, assimilation), which unite people, and dissociative (competition, conflict), which divide them.

Key points

• Social interaction – the mutual influence of two or more persons or groups through contact and communication. Its two conditions are social contact and communication (language, gestures, symbols, media).
• Types of interaction: person–person, person–group, group–group.
• Social process – a repeated and patterned form of interaction that produces some result (unity or division).
• Park and Burgess (1921) named four main processes: competition, conflict, accommodation and assimilation.
• Cooperation – working together for a common goal. It can be direct (farmers helping each other at harvest – irjik in rural Maharashtra) or indirect (division of labour in a factory). It is the most basic associative process.
• Accommodation – adjustment between conflicting parties so they can live together without open fighting. Forms: compromise, arbitration, conciliation, toleration, conversion and subordination–superordination.
• Assimilation – a slow, unconscious process in which individuals or groups take on the culture of another group and lose their earlier differences, e.g. migrant families adopting the local language and customs over generations.
• Competition – a struggle for scarce goods (jobs, seats, prizes) that is usually impersonal, unconscious and continuous; it is guided by rules.
• Conflict – a conscious, personal and intermittent struggle in which the aim is to defeat or harm the rival, sometimes using force. Forms: personal, racial, class, caste, political, international.
• Competition, if uncontrolled, can turn into conflict; conflict often ends in accommodation.

Important terms

• Social interaction – mutual action and reaction between people.
• Associative process – a process that brings people together.
• Dissociative process – a process that separates people.
• Accommodation – adjustment that reduces open conflict.
• Assimilation – fusion of cultures in which differences disappear.

Important thinkers and theories

• Robert E. Park and Ernest W. Burgess – Introduction to the Science of Sociology (1921); four social processes.
• Georg Simmel – studied forms of interaction such as conflict and cooperation.
• Max Weber – social action is action oriented to the behaviour of others.

5 important questions

Q1. What are the two conditions of social interaction?

Social contact (direct or indirect) and communication (through language, gestures, writing or media). Without them no interaction can take place.

Q2. Distinguish between competition and conflict (any two points).

Competition is impersonal and unconscious, while conflict is personal and conscious. Competition is continuous and follows rules; conflict is intermittent and may use force.

Q3. Define cooperation and explain its types and importance.

• Definition: joint effort for a common goal.
• Types: direct and indirect (MacIver and Page); primary, secondary and tertiary (A. W. Green).
• Importance: family life, agriculture, industry, social harmony, nation-building.
• Example: Shramdan in villages, self-help groups.

Q4. What is accommodation? Explain its forms.

• Meaning: adjustment between hostile groups.
• Forms: compromise, arbitration, conciliation, toleration, conversion, subordination.
• Importance: reduces conflict, keeps social order; example of labour–management agreements.

Q5. Explain assimilation and the factors that help or hinder it.

• Meaning and features: slow, unconscious, two-way.
• Helping factors: toleration, intermarriage, common language, equal opportunity, education.
• Hindering factors: cultural and racial differences, prejudice, isolation, domination.
• Indian example: groups of migrants settling in Maharashtra.

Exam tip

Draw a small chart: Social processes → Associative (cooperation, accommodation, assimilation) and Dissociative (competition, conflict). It makes the answer clear in the first glance.

Quick summary

Culture is the whole way of life of a group of people — their knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs and habits. It is learned and shared, and passed from one generation to the next. This topic covers the meaning, characteristics, types and elements of culture, and concepts like cultural lag.

Key points

• E.B. Tylor (Primitive Culture, 1871): culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. This is the most quoted definition.
• Malinowski: culture is the handiwork of man and the medium through which he achieves his ends.
• Characteristics of culture: learned (not inherited biologically), social (shared by a group), transmitted from generation to generation, satisfies human needs, adaptive, changes over time, integrated, varies from society to society, gives identity.
• Material culture – tangible things made by man: tools, houses, mobile phones, vehicles.
• Non-material culture – intangible things: language, beliefs, values, customs, ideas.
• Types of culture (W.F. Ogburn):
• Cultural lag (Ogburn, Social Change, 1922): material culture changes faster than non-material culture, and the gap between the two is cultural lag. Example: people use modern medicine but still believe in some superstitions.
• Elements of culture: symbols and language, values, norms (folkways and mores), beliefs, technology.
• Folkways – everyday customs; breaking them brings mild disapproval. Mores – customs linked with morality; breaking them brings strong reaction. (Both terms given by W.G. Sumner.)
• Culture and civilisation: MacIver said culture is what we are (ends, values) and civilisation is what we use (means, technology).
• Cultural relativism: each culture should be understood on its own terms, without judging it by another culture.
• Culture shapes personality, gives meaning to life, controls behaviour and links people together.

Important terms

• Culture (संस्कृती) – learned and shared way of life.
• Subculture – culture of a smaller group within a larger society, e.g. youth culture.
• Acculturation – taking traits from another culture through contact.
• Diffusion – spread of cultural traits from one society to another.
• Culture shock – confusion felt on entering a very different culture.
• Ethnocentrism – judging other cultures by one's own standards.

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. Define culture.

According to E.B. Tylor, culture is the complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and other habits acquired by man as a member of society.

Q2. What is cultural lag?

Cultural lag is the gap created when material culture changes quickly and non-material culture (values, beliefs) changes slowly. The concept was given by W.F. Ogburn.

Q3. Explain the characteristics of culture.

• Learned and acquired.
• Social and shared.
• Transmitted through language and socialization.
• Satisfies needs; adaptive.
• Changes over time; integrated.
• Varies from society to society.
• Give examples from Indian culture (festivals, food habits, language).

Q4. Distinguish between material and non-material culture.

• Meaning of each with examples.
• Tangible vs intangible.
• Speed of change: fast vs slow.
• Easy vs difficult to transmit to other societies.
• Link to cultural lag.

Q5. Explain the difference between culture and civilisation.

• Culture is an end, civilisation a means (MacIver).
• Culture is internal, civilisation external.
• Civilisation is measurable and progresses steadily; culture is not easily measured.
• Civilisation borrowed easily; culture not.
• Both are interrelated.

Exam tip

Quote Tylor's definition in every long answer on culture. Give at least two Indian examples (e.g. Pola festival in Vidarbha, Marathi language) to make the answer original.

Quick summary

Socialization is the lifelong process by which a person learns the language, values, norms and roles of society and becomes a social being. Without it, a human child cannot develop a normal personality. This topic covers its meaning, stages, agencies and important theories by Cooley, Mead and Freud.

Key points

• Meaning: socialization is the process of learning to live in society. Through it a biological individual becomes a social person.
• Definition (Ogburn): socialization is the process by which the individual learns to conform to the norms of the group.
• Importance: develops personality, transmits culture, teaches roles, builds self-control, prepares for adult life.
• Cases of children reared in isolation (e.g. Kamala and Amala, the "wolf children" found in Bengal in 1920) show that without socialization human qualities like language do not develop.
• Types: primary socialization (in childhood, mainly by family), secondary socialization (later, by school, workplace), anticipatory socialization (learning the role of a group one wants to join), re-socialization (learning new values, e.g. in a new job or prison).
• Agencies of socialization: family (most important), peer group, school, religion, mass media, workplace, state and law.
• Cooley – Looking-glass self: we form our self-image from how we think others see us. Three steps: we imagine how we appear to others, we imagine their judgement, and we feel pride or shame.
• G.H. Mead – Theory of the self: the self has two parts, the "I" (spontaneous) and the "Me" (social, learned). Stages: imitation (preparatory), play stage and game stage. The child learns the attitude of the "generalised other".
• Sigmund Freud: personality has three parts — id (instincts, pleasure principle), ego (reality principle) and superego (conscience, social values). Socialization builds the superego.
• Durkheim saw education as the methodical socialization of the young generation.

Important terms

• Socialization (सामाजिकीकरण) – learning to become a member of society.
• Self – a person's awareness of himself as a distinct individual.
• Generalised other – the general attitudes and expectations of society as a whole (Mead).
• Significant others – persons closely important to the child, such as parents.
• Role – expected behaviour attached to a status.

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. What is socialization?

Socialization is the lifelong process through which an individual learns the culture, norms and roles of society and develops a social personality.

Q2. Explain the looking-glass self in brief.

Given by C.H. Cooley, it says our idea of ourselves comes from how we imagine others see and judge us. Others act like a mirror for our self-image.

Q3. Explain the agencies of socialization.

• Family: first and most important; language, values, habits.
• Peer group: equality, cooperation, new ideas.
• School: discipline, knowledge, citizenship.
• Religion: moral values.
• Mass media: TV, internet, social media.
• Workplace and state.

Q4. Explain G.H. Mead's theory of the development of self.

• Self arises through social interaction.
• "I" and "Me".
• Stages: imitation, play stage (taking role of one person), game stage (taking roles of many).
• Generalised other.
• Importance of language and symbols.

Q5. Explain the stages and types of socialization.

• Primary, secondary, anticipatory, re-socialization with examples.
• Stages from infancy to adulthood (Freud/Parsons stages may be named: oral, anal, oedipal, adolescence).
• Socialization continues throughout life.

Exam tip

Name the theory with its thinker in the first line: "Cooley — looking-glass self", "Mead — I and Me", "Freud — id, ego, superego".

Quick summary

Social institutions are established and lasting ways of meeting the basic needs of society. Family, marriage and religion are three of the most important institutions. This topic explains their meaning, characteristics, types and functions.

Key points

• Institution (MacIver): established forms or conditions of procedure characteristic of group activity. Institutions are stable, universal, based on norms and slow to change.
• Family – MacIver: a group defined by a sex relationship, precise and enduring enough to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.
• Characteristics of family: universal, emotional basis, limited size, nuclear position in social structure, responsibility of members, social regulation, permanent as an institution but temporary as an association.
• By size: nuclear (parents and unmarried children) and joint/extended.
• By authority: patriarchal and matriarchal.
• By residence: patrilocal and matrilocal.
• By descent: patrilineal and matrilineal (e.g. Nayars of Kerala, Khasis of Meghalaya are matrilineal).
• Types of family:
• Functions of family: essential (sexual regulation, reproduction, care of children, home) and non-essential (economic, educational, religious, recreational).
• Marriage – a socially approved union of man and woman for family life. It gives social recognition to the couple and legitimacy to children.
• Forms of marriage: monogamy (one spouse) and polygamy. Polygamy includes polygyny (one man, many wives) and polyandry (one woman, many husbands; e.g. among the Todas).
• Rules of mate selection: endogamy (marry within one's caste or group) and exogamy (marry outside one's gotra or clan).
• Religion – Durkheim (The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, 1912): a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. He divided the world into the sacred and the profane.
• Functions of religion: social unity, social control, moral guidance, emotional support, legitimacy to norms. Karl Marx criticised religion as "the opium of the people".

Important terms

• Family (कुटुंब) – basic group of parents and children.
• Endogamy – marriage within one's own group.
• Exogamy – marriage outside a particular group.
• Sacred – things set apart and treated with reverence.
• Profane – ordinary, everyday things.
• Totem – an object, animal or plant regarded as sacred by a clan.

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. What is endogamy?

Endogamy is the rule that a person must marry within his or her own group, such as caste or sub-caste. It is a key feature of the Indian caste system.

Q2. What does Durkheim mean by sacred and profane?

Sacred things are special objects and ideas set apart and respected, like temples and rituals. Profane things are ordinary objects of daily life. Religion deals with the sacred.

Q3. Explain the characteristics and functions of family.

• Definition by MacIver.
• Universality, emotional basis, limited size, nuclear position, responsibility, social regulation.
• Essential functions and non-essential functions.
• Changing functions in modern times (taken over by school, hospital, state).

Q4. Explain the forms of marriage.

• Monogamy: features, merits.
• Polygyny: causes and examples.
• Polyandry: fraternal and non-fraternal; Todas, Khasa.
• Group marriage (rare).
• Rules of endogamy and exogamy.

Q5. Explain Durkheim's theory of religion and the functions of religion.

• Study of Australian aborigines (Arunta), totemism.
• Sacred and profane.
• Religion as collective representation; worship of society itself.
• Functions: cohesion, control, meaning, emotional support.
• Dysfunctions: conflict, superstition.

Exam tip

For family, always divide functions into "essential" and "non-essential" — it makes the answer look organised and complete.

Quick summary

Every society must organise how goods are produced and shared, and how power is used and order is kept. The established ways of doing this are the economic and political institutions. This topic explains property, division of labour and economic systems, and the state, government, power and authority as studied in sociology.

Key points

• Economic institutions – established patterns for production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services.
• Main economic institutions: property, division of labour, exchange (barter, money, market) and economic systems (hunting–gathering, pastoral, agricultural, industrial).
• Property – rights of ownership and use over things. Types: private, public (state), collective/community (e.g. village grazing land – gairan).
• Division of labour – splitting work into specialised tasks. Durkheim (The Division of Labour in Society, 1893) showed it creates organic solidarity in modern society; in India the traditional caste-based division was hereditary (the jajmani system).
• Economic systems: capitalism (private ownership, profit, market), socialism (state or social ownership, planning), and mixed economy (India – both public and private sectors).
• Political institutions – established patterns through which power is used, decisions are made and social order is maintained.
• State – a people living in a definite territory with a government and sovereignty (four elements: population, territory, government, sovereignty). Max Weber defined the state as the body that holds the monopoly of legitimate use of physical force in a territory.
• Government – the agency through which the state works: legislature, executive, judiciary.
• Power – the ability to make others act as one wishes even against their resistance (Weber). Authority – power accepted as legitimate.
• Weber's three types of authority: traditional (custom – kings, village elders), charismatic (extraordinary personal qualities – leaders like Gandhi), legal-rational (rules and law – officers, elected bodies).
• Economic and political institutions are closely linked: economic power often brings political influence, and state policy shapes the economy.

Important terms

• Property – socially recognised rights over things.
• Division of labour – specialisation of work.
• Mixed economy – coexistence of public and private sectors.
• Power – capacity to control others' behaviour.
• Authority – legitimate, accepted power.

Important thinkers and theories

• Emile Durkheim – division of labour and organic solidarity.
• Karl Marx – ownership of the means of production decides class and political power.
• Max Weber – power, authority and its three types; definition of the state.

5 important questions

Q1. What is legal-rational authority?

It is authority based on written rules and laws. People obey the office, not the person, e.g. a collector or an elected MLA acting under law. It is typical of modern bureaucracy.

Q2. Name the four elements of the state.

Population, territory, government and sovereignty.

Q3. Explain the meaning and types of property.

• Definition and social nature of property.
• Types: private, public, collective/community; movable and immovable.
• Functions: security, status, motivation to work.
• Changes in India: land reforms, women's inheritance rights (Hindu Succession Amendment 2005).

Q4. Discuss division of labour as an economic institution.

• Meaning and forms: by sex, age, caste, skill.
• Durkheim: mechanical vs organic solidarity.
• Traditional India: caste occupations and jajmani system.
• Advantages and disadvantages (efficiency vs monotony, alienation).

Q5. Explain power and Weber's three types of authority.

• Difference between power and authority.
• Traditional, charismatic and legal-rational with examples.
• Routinisation of charisma; relevance to Indian democracy.

Exam tip

For political institutions, Weber's three types of authority are the most asked point. Give one Indian example for each type.

Quick summary

Education is the social institution through which a society passes on its knowledge, skills, values and culture to the next generation in an organised way. It is both an agency of socialization and a channel of social mobility and change. This topic covers the meaning, types, functions of education and its role in Indian society.

Key points

• Education – the process of transmitting knowledge, skills and values. Durkheim called it "the methodical socialization of the young generation".
• Types: formal (schools, colleges, fixed syllabus, degrees), non-formal (organised but flexible – adult literacy classes, open university), informal (learning from family, peers, media in daily life).
• Functions of education (functionalist view): transmission of culture, socialization, development of personality, training for occupations (role allocation), social integration and national unity, encouraging new knowledge and social change.
• Latent functions: making friends, finding marriage partners, keeping youth away from the labour market for some years.
• Conflict view: Marxist writers say education often reproduces class inequality; children of rich families get better schools. Pierre Bourdieu called the advantage of upper-class families cultural capital.
• Education and social mobility: degrees and jobs allow people to rise in status irrespective of birth; this is very important for Dalits, OBCs, tribals and women in India.
• Education and social change: reformers like Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule (first girls' school in Pune, 1848) used education to fight caste and gender inequality. Dr. Ambedkar's message: "Educate, agitate, organise".
• Indian policy: Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 (6–14 years); National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 – multidisciplinary learning, mother-tongue instruction in early years, four-year degree with exit options.
• Problems: dropouts, gender and rural–urban gaps, low quality, commercialisation, educated unemployment, digital divide.

Important terms

• Formal education – organised, institutional and certified learning.
• Non-formal education – planned but flexible learning outside the regular system.
• Informal education – unplanned learning in everyday life.
• Cultural capital – knowledge, tastes and language skills that give advantage in education.
• Hidden curriculum – values (obedience, punctuality, competition) learnt in school without being formally taught.

Important thinkers and theories

• Emile Durkheim – education as methodical socialization; creates moral unity.
• Talcott Parsons – school as a bridge between family and society; role allocation by merit.
• Pierre Bourdieu – cultural capital and reproduction of inequality.
• Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar – education as a tool of social liberation.

5 important questions

Q1. What is non-formal education?

It is planned and organised learning outside the regular school system, with flexible time, place and syllabus, e.g. adult literacy classes, open schools and distance education.

Q2. What is meant by hidden curriculum?

The values and habits such as discipline, obedience, punctuality and competition that students learn from school life, even though they are not part of the written syllabus.

Q3. Explain the functions of education.

• Transmission of culture and socialization.
• Personality development and skills for jobs.
• Social integration and national unity.
• Social mobility and social change.
• Latent functions; brief Durkheim and Parsons.

Q4. Discuss the role of education in social change in India.

• Reform movements: Phule couple, Ambedkar, Karve.
• Mobility of weaker sections; women's empowerment.
• Scientific attitude, decline of superstition, democracy.
• Limits: inequality of access; RTE 2009 and NEP 2020.

Q5. What are the major problems of education in India?

• Dropouts and low enrolment in higher education.
• Gender, caste and rural–urban disparities.
• Quality, teacher shortage, commercialisation.
• Educated unemployment and digital divide; suggested remedies.

Exam tip

Quote Durkheim's definition and name Savitribai Phule's 1848 school – these two points make an education answer look well prepared.

Quick summary

Social stratification is the division of society into layers (strata) arranged in a hierarchy of higher and lower positions. People in different strata get unequal shares of wealth, power and prestige. This topic covers its meaning, features, forms (caste, class, estate, slavery) and the main theories.

Key points

• The term comes from geology, where strata means layers of rock.
• Definition (Ogburn and Nimkoff): the process by which individuals and groups are ranked in a more or less enduring hierarchy of status is stratification.
• Characteristics (Melvin Tumin): it is social (not biological), ancient, universal, found in diverse forms, and has consequences for life chances and life style.
• Slavery – some people owned by others as property.
• Estate – feudal Europe: clergy, nobility, commoners; based on law.
• Caste – closed system based on birth; endogamy; e.g. India.
• Class – open system based mainly on economic position; mobility possible.
• Forms of stratification:
• Caste vs class: caste is closed and ascribed (by birth); class is open and achieved (by effort).
• Bases of stratification: wealth/income, occupation, education, power, religion, birth, gender.
• Karl Marx: society is divided into two classes based on ownership of the means of production — the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers). Class struggle leads to change.
• Max Weber: three dimensions of stratification — class (economic), status (social honour/prestige) and party (power).
• Functional theory (Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore, 1945): stratification is necessary and functional; important positions get higher rewards so that talented people fill them.
• Melvin Tumin (1953) criticised Davis–Moore: stratification limits talent, creates hostility and is often inherited, not earned.
• Social mobility – movement of people from one position to another. Vertical (upward or downward) and horizontal. Concept developed by P.A. Sorokin (Social Mobility, 1927).

Important terms

• Stratification (स्तरीकरण) – ranked layers in society.
• Ascribed status – status by birth (caste, sex).
• Achieved status – status gained by effort (doctor, officer).
• Open system – mobility between strata is possible.
• Closed system – mobility is very difficult or impossible.
• Intergenerational mobility – change of status between parents and children.

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. What is social stratification?

It is the arrangement of people in society into higher and lower layers on the basis of wealth, power, prestige or birth. It creates social inequality.

Q2. What is vertical mobility?

Vertical mobility is movement of a person from one status level to a higher or lower level. Example: a clerk becoming a manager (upward) or a rich trader becoming poor (downward).

Q3. Explain the characteristics of social stratification.

• Social, not biological.
• Universal and ancient.
• Different forms in different societies.
• Hierarchy of statuses.
• Affects life chances (health, education) and life style.
• Tumin's five features.

Q4. Distinguish between caste and class.

• Basis: birth vs economic position.
• Closed vs open.
• Ascribed vs achieved status.
• Endogamy compulsory vs no marriage rules.
• Religious sanction vs secular.
• Stable vs changing.

Q5. Explain the functional theory of stratification and its criticism.

• Davis and Moore: positions differ in importance.
• Talent is scarce; training is costly.
• Higher rewards attract talent.
• Stratification is inevitable and useful.
• Tumin's criticism: inheritance of privilege, waste of talent, conflict, rewards not always related to importance.

Exam tip

For theory questions, compare Marx (one economic basis) with Weber (three bases: class, status, party). Examiners like this contrast.

Quick summary

Social mobility means the movement of individuals or groups from one social position to another in the stratification system. It may be upward, downward or sideways. Open societies allow more mobility than closed ones. This topic explains the meaning, types, factors and channels of social mobility with Indian examples.

Key points

• Social mobility – change in the social position (status) of an individual or group. Pitirim A. Sorokin first studied it systematically in Social Mobility (1927).
• Horizontal mobility – change of position at the same level, e.g. a clerk shifting from one bank to another, or a teacher moving from Nagpur to Pune.
• Vertical mobility – movement up or down the social ladder. Upward: a farm labourer's son becomes an engineer. Downward: a business family loses its wealth.
• Intergenerational mobility – change in status between parents and children.
• Intragenerational mobility – change in status within one person's own lifetime (a peon who becomes an officer through exams).
• Individual and group mobility – a whole caste or community can also rise, e.g. through Sanskritisation (M. N. Srinivas) or political organisation.
• Open and closed systems: class is an open system where status can be achieved; caste was a closed system where status was fixed by birth. In modern India caste rules have weakened, so mobility has increased.
• Factors that encourage mobility: education, industrialisation and urbanisation, migration, democracy and constitutional equality, reservation policy, technology, individual ambition.
• Channels (Sorokin): army, church/religious organisations, schools, political organisations, economic organisations, occupational organisations, family and marriage.
• Obstacles: caste prejudice, poverty, gender discrimination, lack of education, rural isolation.
• Effects: new aspirations, personal satisfaction, social change; but also stress, rootlessness and relative deprivation.

Important terms

• Vertical mobility – movement up or down in social hierarchy.
• Horizontal mobility – change of position without change of rank.
• Intergenerational mobility – mobility across generations.
• Open system – stratification where achieved status matters.
• Relative deprivation – feeling of being worse off compared to a reference group.

Important thinkers and theories

• Pitirim A. Sorokin – Social Mobility (1927); horizontal and vertical mobility; channels of mobility.
• M. N. Srinivas – Sanskritisation as a process of group mobility in caste.
• Robert K. Merton – reference group and relative deprivation.

5 important questions

Q1. Define social mobility.

Social mobility is the movement of an individual or a group from one social position to another in society, upward, downward or at the same level (Sorokin).

Q2. Give an example of intragenerational mobility.

A young man starts as a clerk, passes departmental exams and retires as a senior officer – his status changed within his own lifetime.

Q3. Explain the types of social mobility.

• Horizontal and vertical (upward and downward).
• Intergenerational and intragenerational.
• Individual and group mobility.
• Examples from Indian society for each.

Q4. Discuss the factors affecting social mobility in India.

• Education and occupation.
• Industrialisation, urbanisation, migration.
• Constitution, democracy and reservation.
• Sanskritisation and Westernisation.
• Obstacles: caste, poverty, gender.

Q5. What are the channels of social mobility according to Sorokin?

• Army, religious organisations, schools.
• Political, economic and occupational organisations.
• Family and marriage.
• Brief relevance of each in modern India.

Exam tip

Always link mobility to the type of society: caste = closed, class = open. Sorokin's name and the 1927 book should appear in your answer.

Quick summary

Sex is biological, but gender is social: it is the set of roles, behaviour and expectations that a society attaches to being a man or a woman. Gender shapes the family, work, education and power. This topic explains the sex–gender difference, gender socialization, patriarchy, gender inequality in India and feminist perspectives.

Key points

• Sex – biological differences between male and female (body, chromosomes, hormones). It is mostly fixed and universal.
• Gender – socially and culturally made ideas of masculine and feminine. It differs across societies and changes over time. Ann Oakley explained this difference in Sex, Gender and Society (1972).
• Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex, 1949): "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman" – womanhood is shaped by society.
• Gender socialization – learning gender roles from family, school, peers, religion and media: boys are given cars and told "boys don't cry"; girls are given dolls and taught household work.
• Gender roles and stereotypes – fixed ideas such as "men are breadwinners, women are home-makers", which limit both sexes.
• Patriarchy – a social system in which men hold more power and authority in family and society; property and lineage pass through men (patrilineal, patrilocal families).
• Gender inequality in India: low sex ratio (943 females per 1000 males, Census 2011; child sex ratio 919), female foeticide, lower literacy and work participation of women, unequal wages, domestic violence and dowry.
• Legal measures: Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, PCPNDT Act 1994 (against sex-selection), Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005, 73rd and 74th Amendments (one-third seats for women in local bodies), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (2015).
• Feminist perspectives: liberal feminism (equal rights and opportunities through law and education), Marxist/socialist feminism (women's oppression linked with class and unpaid housework), radical feminism (patriarchy is the root of oppression).
• Beyond binary: sociology also recognises transgender persons; the Supreme Court recognised the "third gender" in the NALSA judgment (2014).

Important terms

• Gender – socially constructed roles of men and women.
• Patriarchy – male-dominated social system.
• Gender stereotype – fixed and simplified belief about the qualities of men or women.
• Gender socialization – learning of gender roles.
• Feminism – movement and theory for equal rights of women.

Important thinkers and theories

• Ann Oakley – distinction between sex and gender (1972).
• Simone de Beauvoir – woman as the "second sex" (1949).
• Sylvia Walby – structures of patriarchy (Theorizing Patriarchy, 1990).
• Savitribai Phule and Tarabai Shinde – early Indian voices for women's rights; Tarabai Shinde wrote Stri Purush Tulana (1882).

5 important questions

Q1. Distinguish between sex and gender.

Sex is biological and largely fixed; gender is social and cultural, learnt through socialization and different in different societies.

Q2. What is patriarchy?

Patriarchy is a social system in which men dominate family and society, control property and decision-making, and descent is traced through the male line.

Q3. Explain the process of gender socialization.

• Meaning; agencies: family, school, peer group, religion, media.
• Examples of toys, dress, work, language.
• Consequences: stereotypes, limited choices.
• Changing trends in urban India.

Q4. Discuss the main forms of gender inequality in India.

• Sex ratio and female foeticide.
• Education, health and nutrition gaps.
• Work and wage gaps; unpaid domestic work.
• Violence, dowry, under-representation in politics.
• Legal and policy measures.

Q5. Explain the main feminist perspectives.

• Liberal feminism.
• Marxist/socialist feminism.
• Radical feminism.
• Indian feminist thought and movements (Tarabai Shinde, Savitribai Phule, later women's movement).

Exam tip

Begin any gender answer with the sex–gender distinction and Oakley's name; then add one Census figure (943) to show Indian relevance.

Quick summary

Social control is the way society makes its members follow its norms and values so that social order is maintained. The term was first used systematically by E.A. Ross in his book Social Control (1901). This topic covers the meaning, types, agencies and importance of social control.

Key points

• Meaning: social control is any social or cultural means by which systematic and consistent restraints are imposed on individual behaviour.
• Definition (MacIver and Page): social control is the way in which the entire social order coheres and maintains itself.
• Need/importance: maintains order, protects culture, gives stability, ensures cooperation, checks deviant behaviour, protects weak sections.
• Formal – by written laws, rules, police, courts, government (Karl Mannheim used formal and informal).
• Informal – by customs, traditions, folkways, mores, public opinion, gossip, praise and ridicule.
• Positive – by rewards, praise, recognition (Kimball Young).
• Negative – by punishment, fines, social boycott.
• Direct and indirect (Mannheim) – direct by primary groups like family; indirect by secondary groups and institutions.
• Types of social control:
• Informal: family, religion, morality, customs, folkways and mores, public opinion, neighbourhood.
• Formal: law, state, education system, police and courts.
• Agencies (means) of social control:
• Folkways and mores (W.G. Sumner): breaking folkways gets mild disapproval; breaking mores gets strong condemnation.
• In simple rural societies, informal control by family, caste panchayat and religion is strong. In modern urban societies, formal control by law and state is more important.
• Deviance – behaviour that breaks social norms. Social control aims to prevent and correct deviance.
• Too much control can stop creativity and change; too little control leads to disorder.

Important terms

• Social control (सामाजिक नियंत्रण) – means of making people follow social norms.
• Norm – a rule of expected behaviour.
• Sanction – reward or punishment used to enforce norms.
• Deviance – violation of norms.
• Public opinion – the views held by most people on an issue.
• Law – formal rules made and enforced by the state.

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. Who first used the term social control?

E.A. Ross, an American sociologist, first studied social control systematically in his book Social Control published in 1901.

Q2. What is informal social control?

It is control through unwritten means like customs, traditions, religion, gossip and public opinion. It is strong in small groups such as the family and village.

Q3. Explain the meaning and need of social control.

• Definitions.
• Maintains order and stability.
• Protects culture and values.
• Promotes cooperation and unity.
• Checks deviance and crime.
• Helps social welfare.

Q4. Explain the formal and informal agencies of social control.

• Informal: family, religion, customs, folkways, mores, public opinion.
• Formal: law, state, police, courts, education.
• Comparison: written vs unwritten; rural vs urban importance.
• Examples from Indian society.

Q5. Explain the role of family and religion in social control.

• Family: first agency; teaches discipline, values; rewards and punishments.
• Religion: belief in sin and virtue, fear of God, moral rules, rituals.
• Both work informally and mainly through internal control.
• Their influence is declining in modern society but still important in India.

Exam tip

Classify types of control with the thinker's name (Mannheim – direct/indirect; Kimball Young – positive/negative). Use Indian examples like caste panchayat and gram sabha.

Quick summary

Conformity means behaving according to the norms of a group or society; deviance means behaviour that breaks those norms. Every society needs conformity for order, but some deviance is found everywhere and can even bring change. This topic explains the meaning, causes and theories of conformity and deviance.

Key points

• Conformity – acting in line with accepted norms, values and expectations. Most people conform most of the time because of socialization, fear of punishment, desire for acceptance and habit.
• Solomon Asch's line experiment (1950s) showed that many people give a wrong answer just to agree with the group – the power of group pressure.
• Deviance – behaviour that violates social norms and attracts disapproval or punishment. It is relative: what is deviant changes with time, place and culture (e.g. smoking in public, inter-caste marriage).
• Crime is deviance that breaks written law; not all deviance is crime (e.g. rude behaviour).
• Positive deviance – going beyond norms in a good way, such as reformers who broke caste rules (Phule opening schools for girls and untouchables).
• Functions of deviance (Durkheim): it is normal in every society, clarifies the boundaries of right and wrong, unites people against wrongdoing, and can lead to social change.
• Anomie theory (Durkheim) – deviance increases when norms are weak or unclear (normlessness), as in rapid social change.
• Strain theory (Robert K. Merton, 1938) – deviance arises when society stresses goals (wealth, success) but blocks legitimate means. Merton's five modes of adaptation: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion.
• Differential association (Edwin Sutherland) – deviance is learnt through close interaction with people who favour breaking norms.
• **Labelling theory (Howard Becker, Outsiders, 1963)** – an act becomes deviant when others label it so; a label like "criminal" can push a person into a deviant career.
• Control of deviance: family guidance, education, religion, public opinion, police and courts, rehabilitation (juvenile homes, de-addiction centres).

Important terms

• Conformity – following social norms.
• Deviance – violation of social norms.
• Anomie – a state of normlessness.
• Innovation (Merton) – accepting goals but using illegitimate means.
• Labelling – publicly defining a person as deviant.

Important thinkers and theories

• Emile Durkheim – deviance is normal and functional; anomie.
• Robert K. Merton – strain theory; five modes of adaptation.
• Edwin Sutherland – differential association.
• Howard Becker – labelling theory.
• Solomon Asch – experiment on group conformity.

5 important questions

Q1. What is deviance?

Deviance is any behaviour that goes against the accepted norms of a group or society and is disapproved of by others. It is relative to time, place and culture.

Q2. What is anomie?

Anomie, a term used by Durkheim, is a condition of normlessness in which social rules become weak or unclear, so people do not know how to behave.

Q3. Explain Merton's theory of deviance.

• Goals and institutional means.
• Strain when means are blocked.
• Five modes: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion – with examples.
• Evaluation.

Q4. Discuss the causes of conformity and deviance.

• Conformity: socialization, group pressure (Asch), rewards and punishments, habit.
• Deviance: anomie, strain, learning (Sutherland), labelling, poverty, broken families, peer groups.
• Relativity of deviance.

Q5. "Deviance is functional for society." Discuss.

• Durkheim's view: normality, boundary setting, solidarity.
• Positive deviance and social change: reformers in India.
• Dysfunctions: insecurity, loss of trust; need for control.

Exam tip

Merton's five modes of adaptation are the most frequently asked point; learn them with one example each, such as a cheating student (innovation) or a drug addict (retreatism).

Quick summary

Social change means a change in social structure and social relationships over time. Every society changes, though the speed varies. This topic covers the meaning, characteristics, factors and theories of social change, and related ideas like evolution, progress and development.

Key points

• Definition (Kingsley Davis): social change means only those alterations which occur in social organisation, that is, the structure and functions of society.
• MacIver and Page: social change is change in social relationships.
• Characteristics: universal, continuous, speed varies, rate and direction cannot be predicted exactly, it is a community change (not individual), may be planned or unplanned, a value-neutral term.
• Physical/geographical – climate, floods, earthquakes.
• Biological/demographic – birth rate, death rate, migration.
• Technological – machines, internet, mobile phones (Ogburn stressed technology).
• Economic – mode of production (Marx).
• Cultural and ideological – religion and ideas (Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism).
• Political and legal – laws such as abolition of untouchability, reservation.
• Education and mass media.
• Factors of social change:
• Linear (evolutionary) – society moves forward in stages: Comte's law of three stages, Spencer's simple to complex.
• Cyclical – societies rise and fall in cycles: Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee (challenge and response), Pitirim Sorokin (ideational, idealistic and sensate cultures).
• Conflict theory – Karl Marx: change through class struggle.
• Functional theory – Talcott Parsons: change is slow adjustment to keep equilibrium.
• Theories of social change:
• Evolution – slow, gradual and continuous change from simple to complex.
• Progress – change in a desired direction; value-loaded.
• Development – planned change for improvement, mainly economic and social.
• Indian processes of change: Sanskritization, Westernization, modernization (M.N. Srinivas, Yogendra Singh).

Important terms

• Social change (सामाजिक परिवर्तन) – change in social structure and relations.
• Revolution – sudden, radical change.
• Diffusion – spread of cultural traits from one society to another.
• Innovation – new idea or invention that brings change.
• Cultural lag – non-material culture lagging behind material culture (Ogburn).

Important thinkers and theories

5 important questions

Q1. Define social change.

According to Kingsley Davis, social change means changes in social organisation, that is, in the structure and functions of society.

Q2. Distinguish between evolution and progress.

Evolution is a natural, gradual change from simple to complex and is value-neutral. Progress is change in a desired direction and involves value judgement.

Q3. Explain the characteristics of social change.

• Universal and continuous.
• Social, not individual.
• Speed differs across societies and times.
• Unpredictable.
• Planned or unplanned.
• Chain reaction: one change leads to others.

Q4. Explain the factors of social change.

• Geographical, demographic, technological, economic, cultural, political and educational factors.
• One example for each from Indian society.
• Conclusion: multiple factors act together.

Q5. Explain the linear and cyclical theories of social change.

• Linear: Comte, Spencer, Morgan; progress through stages.
• Cyclical: Spengler (growth and decay), Toynbee (challenge and response), Sorokin (fluctuation).
• Criticism of each.
• Comparison of the two.

Exam tip

Use one Indian example for each factor of change — for example, the mobile phone revolution for technology and the Hindu Code Bills for law.