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".