.

Social institution
.
Introductio
n
Human society is composed of
• individuals,
• groups,
• institutions,
• norms,
• social roles,
• social classes,
• strata, culture,
.
Introduction
An Institution is composed of
• individuals,
• Groups of people
• Social norms for defining relations among people,
• Social roles and status of the people who fulfill the activities of
the institution.
• Social organization among the individuals and their functions,
• Social class and strata are established
• by differentiation of status achieved
• through different roles and
• A cultural need is fulfilled by every institution
• for which it was established.
.
Introduction
From this analysis of social institution, we can say that
an institution

A. An organized social group,

B. A part of social system in the whole society, and
C. Structured on the basis of social relations as defined
by the cultural norms.
 Introduction
From this review, we conclude that an institution is the
product of social integration and social organization,
and a society is composed of social institution as its
organs.
The network of social relationship among
various institutions is called social structure.
Characteristics of social institutions

1) Social institutions consist of norms, values, rules regulating conduct, roles, sanctions, rewards, and
organized patterns of belief.
2) Social institutions are built on the basic social needs of the individual and the survival of society. This
means that they specifically address the functional prerequisites of every society.
3) Social institutions do not just emerge spontaneously nor consist of experimental behavior. They are
deliberate, time –tested, well established, and consistent patterns of behavior and response typical of
the social structure of a particular group or society.
4) Social institutions function in an established, stable and predictable manner.
5) They represent a standardized pattern of behavior and procedure which differentiate distinct segments
of human social life from others.
….

1) Social institutions are relatively enduring in nature rather than being

short-lived or temporal.
2) An aggregate of social institutions constitutes the totality of the social
system.
3) Social institutions are like other parts of the human body. Each has its
functions, but all are related to the whole. They constitute in the
process, a social corpus (the social body) of formalized and integrated
roles.
Functions of Social Institutions

i. Emotional Needs: the social institution that performs this role is the family; it deals with the
satisfaction of needs like love, affection, hunger, fear, self-preservation, self-gratification, and
fear of the supernatural.

ii. Economic Needs: Satisfies the material needs of people and for the satisfaction of necessities
of food, clothing, and shelter.

iii. Familial Needs: Establishes the institution of marriage and family for the continuation of
human species through structured means.

iv. Religious Needs: Deals with man’s inherent fear of the supernatural. It deals with this fear
through religious prayers and offerings.
v. Political Needs: Deals with the basic necessity of governing large groups of people through
formalized means of government and laws.
…
Social Control: The basic objective of the social institutions is to maintain
social control in the society. Social institutions provide formation to its
members through exemplary characters. Through this formation it expected
from the members that they would be following these models in their normal
routine social life.
Social Transformation: The social institutions protect the social inheritance
by transforming it from one generation to another. If this transformation is
not done, then it will be difficult to sustain the existences of the society. e.g.,
in our daily life we act and behave whatever we are taught during to process
of socialization.
Socialization: Social institutions play vital role in the socialization of the
individuals. It is, therefore, the members of each society posses' particular
characteristics which separate them from the other societies. The purposed
characteristics of social institutions are also necessary for their own existents.
For this purpose, the social institutions organize the socialization of its
members
…
Other salient functions the social institutions perform include:
1. Institutions are important means by which social behavior can be regulated and
controlled.
2. Institutions are instrumental in transmitting culture from one generation to another.
3. Institutions unite people and groups. They maintain unity and harmony in so­ciety by
providing unified patterns of behavior that are followed by all members despite
diversities.
4. Institutions provide status to every individual. For instance, the status of
married/unmarried, status of son/daughter or sibling, economic status, and so on can
come under this.
Certain aspects of institutions harm the functioning of society. For example, the institu­
tion of religion has led to religious fundamentalism, besides reinforcing reli­gious
identities, which has resulted in conflicts and communalism. In India, the caste system,
which is a part of the Hindu religion, resulted in the emergence of untouchability.
Similarly, marriage has resulted in the birth of the social evil of dowry. Thus,
institutions also have certain negative repercussions on society
.
Basic
institution
Politics Education

Family

Economy Religion
.
Social structure among
institutions
1. Family and Education
Educates familyand religion
Teaches moral
Family Members
values Sends children to school
Fulfils the conditions of school
.
Social structure among institutions
1. Family and Education
Provide education to
children
Provide a social status to
school
family Raise leaving standards
Teaches social & cultural
norms
 .
Social structure between family and
economy
1. Family and Education
Teachers

Community School

Admin of
 .
Social structure among institutions
2. Social structure between family, education
Economy
&
Education

Family

Economy
 .
Social structure among institutions
2. Social structure of economy, politics,
Religion, family and educaation
Education

Religion

Family
Politics

Economy
Associations and
Institutions

.
Introduction
 As we know people have different needs and desires. Consequently, they also
adopt different means to fulfil those needs and desires.
 Associations were known in earlier social formations but the nature of association
as a form of social group in modern industrial society is different from earlier
ones.
 As society gets more complex people’s needs and interest also expand. Interest or
utility takes supremacy in more complex societies and begin to determine every
sphere of life .
 Therefore, sociologically speaking groups which are established in order to
protect and enhance people’s interests through certain specified rules and
regulations in an organized manner are called associations.
 Institutions are set of rules that structure social interaction (Jack Knight, 1992).
Institutions can be understood as code of conduct or a set of rules and guidelines
for human activity.
 They structure human interaction through stated or implied rules that set
expectations. Some examples of institutions are law, education, marriage, and
family.
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF
ASSOCIATION
 “an organization deliberately formed for the collective pursuit of some interest or a
set of interests, which its members share”.
 An association is “a group of social beings related to one another by the fact that
they possess or have instituted in common an organization with a view to securing a
specific end or specific ends”.
 An association is “a group organized for the pursuit of an interest or group of
interest in common”.
 Hence, humans have different interests, and they establish different associations to
fulfil them. No single association can satisfy all the interests of the individual or
individuals.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
ASSOCIATION
Association-a Human Group
 By the term group here means collection of social being who share distinctive social
relationships with one another.
 As group which refers to reciprocity between its members.
 Therefore, here association as a group expressly organized around a particular interest.
 The idea of expressly organized differentiates association as social group from other social
groups like primary and secondary groups or class and crowd.

Common Interests
 It is not just collection of individuals but association as a distinct social group in terms of
interest aspect of association.
 Because the association is organized for purposes, for the pursuit of specific interests, we
belong to it by virtue of these interests. /Thus, interests are the foundational virtue around
which different forms of associations are formed
…
Association as an organization:
 Association denotes some kind of organization.
 An association is known essentially as an organized group. The character of
Associations and Institutions organization gives stability and proper shape to an
association.
 The idea of association as an organization also determines the way in which the
status and roles are distributed among its members.
 Regulation of Relations:
 Every association has its own ways and means to regulate the behavior and
relations of its members.
 Therefore, they frame certain rules and regulations which may be in written or
unwritten forms.
…
Co-operative Spirit:
 One of the characteristics of association is its co- operative pursuit to fulfil its
interests.
 This co-operative pursuit may be spontaneous as offering a helping hand to a
stranger.
 It may be casual or in fact may be determined or guided by the customs of a
community as in case of farmers assisting their neighbors at harvest time. But
indeed, association is guided by common interests of group members.
Membership is Voluntary:
 Membership in association is voluntary. It depends on individual choice as per
their interests.
 In fact, individuals are at liberty to join them. One can join athletic club for
purposes of physical recreation or sport, to a business for livelihood or profits, to a
social club for fellowship.
 Therefore, membership in an association has social limited significance.
..
Associations as Agencies:
 Associations are means or agencies through which their members realize their
similar or share interests.
 Such social organizations necessarily act, not merely through leaders but through
officials or representatives as agencies. In a way associations normally act through
agents who are responsible for and to the association. It also give a distinctive
character of association as a legal entity
Association has Corporate Character:
 Association by virtue of being a social organization may own property or funds
which are held collectively and do not belong to individual members.
 It possesses rights and obligations, powers and liabilities which the members can
not exercise as individuals.
 It is in this sense, corresponding to its peculiar method of functioning that
association has a corporate character.
ASSOCIATION AND INSTITUTION

 Though it seems similar however, sociologically speaking both the concepts differs
in terms of their meaning, nature and in many more ways. However, it needs to be
clarified that we belong to associations but not to institutions.
 In a way institutions are defined as established forms or conditions of procedure
characteristic of group activity. While forming association which is a deliberate
formation surrounding certain common interests also create rules and procedures
to deliver the objective.
 Thus, every association has, with respect to its particular interest, its characteristic
institutions. The church, for example, has its sacraments, its modes of worship, and
its rituals. The family has marriage, that is, the institution of mating relationship; it
has the home, the family meal, and so forth.
…

 The state has its own peculiar institutions, such as representative government and
legislative procedures.
 However, we belong to associations but not institutions. It broadly refers to the
idea that when we consider something as an organized group, it is an association
but when we consider as a form of procedure it refers to as an institution.
 Association denotes membership; institution denotes a mode or means of service.
When we view a college as a body of teachers and students, we are selecting its
associational aspect, but when we regard it as an educational system, we are
selecting its institutional features.
 Therefore, we cannot belong to an institution. We do not belong to marriage or
property systems or solitary confinement, but we do belong to families.
Institutions as social
phenomena
 Social phenomena are considered as including all behavior which
influences or is influenced by organisms sufficiently alive to
respond to one another. This includes influences from past
generations.
 Social phenomena are the constantly evolving individual and
external influences that significantly affect our behaviors and
opinions. Social phenomena can be caused by politics, historical
events, and behaviors of others.
 Wedding ceremonies and practices are a major example of
social phenomena. Other examples of social phenomena include
poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic.