समाजशास्त्र Sociology

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.