PAPER I: GENERAL SOCIOLOGY: SOCIAL PROCESSES

Syllabus
Processes:
UNIT 1: Socialization: Agencies and Theories
UNIT 2: Stratification: Meaning and Basis
UNIT 3: Social Control: Agencies
UNIT 4: Social Change: Meaning and Factors

UNIT 3: Social Control: Agencies

 DEFINITIONS:
Social control refers to the control of society over the individual. Social control implies
a system of devices through which society controls the activities of individual
members.
- "Social Control refers to the "system of devices whereby society brings its members
into conformity with the accepted standards of behaviour".
: E.A. Ross
- “Social control refers to "the patterns of pressure which a society exerts to maintain
order and established rules."
: Ogburn and Nimkoff
 NATURE/CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL CONTROL:
1. Social Control denotes some kind of influence. The influence may be exercised
in various ways by means of public opinion, coercion, religion, morality, ideology,
leadership, etc.
2. The influence is essentially exerted by the society or community. The influence
is exerted at various levels. It may indicate the entire society's influence over all the
innumerable smaller groups, sub-groups and individuals or it may denote the
influence of a dominant group over several smaller groups. It may signify the
group's dominance over the individual members or in some cases, the influence of
a few extra-ordinary individuals over other ordinary individuals.
3. The influence is exercised for promoting the welfare of all the individuals or of
the group as a whole. Social Control is not aimless. It is there to serve the general
interests of all and to curb the dangerous selfish interests of those who try to satisfy
them.
4. The influence of the society has been there since times immemorial. Social
Control is as old as human society. It is an essential condition of the human society.
In the absence of social control, no society can ever hold together its members for
any length of time.
5. The influence is universal. Where there is society there is social control. It is there
even in the so-called uncivilised, barbaric and cannibalistic societies.
 IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL CONTROL:
1. Social Control brings about social conformity. This is the main purpose of social
control. Since the modem complex society is a multigroup society differential norms
will have to co-exist. As a result, behavioural patterns of different groups differ
significantly. But these differences should not be allowed to exceed the limits of
tolerance. People must be made to feel the need for security. For the sake of
security, they are obliged to accept conformity. Social Control thus provides for
conformity.
2. Social Control brings about solidarity. The second main purpose of social control
is to create in the minds of people the feeling of identity and of solidarity. For the
proper and smooth functioning of the society the different organisations and
institutions of the social system must be properly integrated. Otherwise, in this
competitive world the weaker group may be completely exploited by the stronger
one, or equally powerful groups may clash among themselves and spoil peace and
order. Some groups may even develop anti-societal attitudes and pose permanent
danger to the organisation of the society. It becomes necessary for the society to
establish a reasonable balance or equilibrium between different groups and
institutions. This would repose confidence among people. Society does this through
various means of social control.
3. Social Control assures the continuity of social groups or society. Societies not
only struggle for stability and solidarity but also for their own survival or continuity.
Continuity is the bed-rock on which the future of the society depends. Society
maintains its continuity by controlling effectively its people and their groups. Due to
this continuity the means of social control become in course of time a part of culture.
As a part of culture, they are transmitted from one generation to another. Thus,
various means of social control function endlessly to maintain the continuity of the
society.

 TYPES OF SOCIAL CONTROL:

Social Control can be classified into two major types on the basis of the means of
social control that are employed.
1. Formal Control:
The state makes use of law, legislation, military force, police force, administrative
devices, etc., for the purpose of social control. Similarly, different political, religious,
economic, cultural and other associations and institutions also institute formal
control over the behaviour of the members. Formal control is deliberately created.
Various rules are laid down to make it specific. The necessity of following formal
control or rules is clearly stated by associations and institutions. Violators of formal
control are given punishments depending upon the nature and type of violation. The
organisation that makes use of formal control may even create a body of officials
vested with power to enforce control as we find it in the case of state which has
established the police, military force, etc. Formal control has become a necessity in
the modem complex societies in which interaction is mostly impersonal in nature.
 1. Education:
Education is a great vehicle of social control. After the family, it is the class room,
the peer group and the leaders which exercise influence on a child by our
ancients. Education inculcates moral, intellectual and social values in individuals.
It imparts a sense of continuity. It links one to one’s heritage and sets a
perspective before him. It gives the social vision of uniformity to the individual
and fits him for social role.
2. Law: Law is the general condition prescribed by the State, and the members of
body politic are expected to follow it in given conditions. It is uniform and is
meant for all. Law is a comprehensive term and also includes common law,
which is mostly based on custom and is enforced by the courts and statutory law,
which is made by the Parliament. Another branch of law is the Constitutional law,
that is the law as provided in the Constitution. The law of the Constitution
determines the authority of the organs of the Governments in an appropriate
manner.
2. Informal Control:
Informal Control includes persuasion, slander, resentment, public opinion,
sympathy, sense of justice, folkways, mores, customs, religion, morality and such
other agents. These are not purposefully created. Nothing could be said with
certainty regarding their origin. They arise on their own way and in course of time
gain acceptance and popularity. They become deep-rooted with people in their
practices. No specific punishment would be given to the violators of informal control.
However, they are more effective than the formal means of control. They do not
require any extra staff to enforce them as it is so in the case of formal control. But
since informal means of control do not have the physical force to enforce conformity
to them, people may not observe them or go against them without being physically
punished for the same. Faith in religion, moral convictions, public opinion, artistic
standard, and the general state of enlightenment are found to be more important in
informal control.
1. Norms:
Norms are rooted in the institution. They provide the standard of behaviour and are
regulatory in character. The choice of individual for striving towards the cultural goal
is limited by institutional norms. These provide the guideline for action. The norms
give cohesion to the society. They influence attitude of individuals.
2. Folk Ways:
Folk refers to the people with a community sense. They have a uniform and a
common way of living. This constitutes the folkways. These are simple habits of
action common to the members of the group. They are the ways of folk that are
somewhat standardized and have some degree of traditional sanction for their
persistence. These in the interest of communal life and uniformity, are binding.
Disregard shown to these brings forth disapprobation.
3. Mores:
 Mores are such folkways as are based on value judgement and are deeply rooted in
the community life. Any disregard shown to these invokes sanction. According to
Mores are the common ways of acting which are more definitely regarded as right
and proper than the folkways and which brings greater certainty and severity of
punishment if violated.
 AGENCIES OF SOCIAL CONTROL:
There are various agencies through which social control is exercised. By ‘agencies’ of
social control we mean those arrangements through which values and norms of
society are communicated. They are definite entities through which the institutional
norms can be operative in a society.
1. Family:
Family is a very important instrument agency of social control. On the one hand it
socialises an individual and on the other it trains him about social behaviour. Family
prescribes rules and regulations that the members have to follow. These rules and
regulations form a part of social control. Family teaches the child to conform to the
norms of the society. It exercises control over its members to bring about the
desired action.
2. State:
The state, as the society’s overall regulative system, is the chief agency of social;
control. It exercises control over its members through legislations, the police, the
armed forces and the prisons. In reality, emergence of secondary groups is a gift of
modern complicated social order. In such a social order the State exercises control
through rules and regulations in a more effective way. Law is the most important
method of man-made social control. State is the agency of society that exercises its
social control in the most effective manner.
3. Educational Institutions:
The educational institutions are powerful agencies of social control and these
institutions are committed to the moulding of citizens. Formal education in modern
societies communicate ideas and values which play a larger part in regulating
behaviour. Education teaches to conform to the norms of the society. Education
provides a conscious teaching programme that assist society in socialising children
so that they will absorb its values, beliefs and norms.
4. Neighbourhood:
The neighbourhood reinforce the individual family as an agency of social control. In
the neighbourhood group controls traditionally take the form of mores. They are
kept alive and enforced by the older members of the locality.
5. Public Opinion:
Opinion of the people is the most important method of social control in a democratic
set up. Every man tries to escape from the criticism and condemnation by the
society. He therefore, tries to act according to public opinion and public sentiments.
In a democratic set up, public opinion is more effective and important than any other
agency.
6. Propaganda and Mass media:
 Propaganda is the deliberate effort to control the behaviour and relationships of
social groups through the use of methods which affect the feelings and attitudes of
the individuals who make up the group. Radio, television, press and literature not
only influence the ideas of the people but also bring about the changes in the way of
life and way of thinking.

7. Economic Organisation:
With the rise of modern industrial organisation, the increase in the size of
communities, a shift in the distribution of social control among the major institutions
has occurred. The agencies which have risen to the forefront of social control are
economic organisation, education and Government. The fear of losing a job
compels an individual to follow the rules and regulations of the industry.
 UNIT 3: SOCIALISATION: THEORIES AND AGENCIES
 DEFINITIONS:
This process of moulding and shaping the personality of the human infant is called
socialisation. Every society prescribes its own ways and means of giving social training
to its new born members so that they may develop their own personality. This social
training is called 'Socialisation'. Socialisation means the process whereby an individual
becomes a functioning member of the society. The individual becomes socialised by
learning the rules and practices of social groups. By this process the individual
develops a personality of his own. Socialisation is often referred to as the 'transmission
of culture’, the process whereby men learn the rules and practices of social groups.
Socialisation is an aspect of all activity within all human societies. Just as we learn a
game by playing it, so we learn life by engaging in it. We are socialised in-the course of
the activities themselves.
W.F. Ogburn: "Socialisation is the process by which the individual learns to conform to
the norms of the group".

 TYPES OF SOCIALISATION:
Ian Robertson in his book "Sociology" (1977), has mentioned four types of
socialisation. According to him, the. socialisation that a person undergoes in 'the
course of his lifetime may be one or more of four. different types: Primary socialisation,
anticipatory socialisation, developmental socialisation and re-socialisation. · ·
1. Primary Socialisation:
This is the most essential and basic type of socialisation. It takes place in the early
years of life of the newborn individual. It concentrates on the teaching of language
and cognitive skills, the internalisation of cultural norms and values, establishment
of emotional ties, and the appreciation of other roles, and perspectives.
'Internalisation of norms' is the most important aspect of primary socialisation.
Internalisation of norms refers to the process in which the norms of society become
a part of the personality of the individual. The human child does not have a sense
of right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, moral and immoral. By trial and
error, by direct and indirect observation, and experience, the child gradually learns
the norms relating to right and wrong behaviour. The socialising agents reinforce
the child’s learning by rewards and punishments or by means of approval and
disapproval.
2. Anticipatory Socialisation:
Men not only learn the culture of the group of which they are immediate members.
They may also learn the culture of groups to which they do not belong. Such a
process whereby men socialise themselves into the culture of a group with the
anticipation of joining that group, is referred to by sociologists like Merton as
 'anticipatory socialisation '. A person who intends to join the army may start doing
physical exercises to toughen his body and learning the manners of army personnel
to become one with them later. People may be socialised into groups of which they
are already members or into groups to which they wish to become attached.
Socialisation is not a process that takes place merely in early childhood. On the
other hand, it takes place at different times and places throughout life.
3. Developmental Socialisation:
This kind of learning is based on the achievements of primary socialisation. It builds
on already acquired skills and knowledge as the adult progresses through new
situations such as marriage or new jobs. These require new expectations,
obligations, and roles. New learning is added to and blended with old in a relatively
smooth and continuous process of development.
4. Re-Socialisation:
Not only do individuals change roles within groups, but they also change
membership-groups. In some instances, 'resocialisation’ i.e., "the stripping away of
learned patterns, and substitution of new ones for them" must occur. Such re-
socialisation takes place mostly when a social role is radically changed. It may also
happen in periods of rapid social mobility. For example, if an army officer retires
from the armed forces and joins a corporate office. In this instance the social role of
the individual got changed radically.
 THEORIES OF SOCIALISATION:
1. C.H. Cooley's Theory of 'Looking-Glass Self'
The term looking-glass self, first introduced by C.H. Cooley (1902), refers to the
dependence of one’s social self or social identity on one’s appearance to others.
The concept of self is central to sociology and has been studied extensively by
sociologists. It refers to an individual’s sense of identity, which is shaped by social
interactions and societal norms. Sociologists have explored different theories of self
and its acquisition, including Charles Cooley’s concept of the looking-glass self.
Cooley held that self and social are two sides of the same coin. According to
Cooley, the self is a social product that is formed through our interactions with
others. Our ideas, loyalties, attitudes, and points of view are derived from others.
One means of their transmission, Cooley called the 'looking-glass self. In other
words, our sense of self is shaped by how we think others perceive us. Cooley’s
theory of the looking-glass self suggests that we imagine how others see us and
then form a self-concept based on this perception. According to him, self-ideas or
self-attitudes develop by a process of imagining what others think of us by a kind of
'looking-glass' process.
Cooley’s concept of the looking-glass self is based on three key elements:
The imagination of our appearance to others,
The imagination of their judgment of that appearance, and
The resulting self-feeling, such as pride or shame.
Thus, individuals imagine how others see them, imagine the judgment of others
based on that perception, and then form a self-concept based on that perceived
judgment.
For example, if an individual thinks that they are being judged positively by their
peers, they will feel good about themselves and their self-concept will be positive.
On the other hand, if an individual perceives that they are being judged negatively,
they may feel bad about themselves and their self-concept will be negative.

The acquisition of the self, according to Cooley, is a continuous process that begins
in childhood and continues throughout our lives. As we interact with others, we
receive feedback on our behaviour and attitudes, which shapes our self-concept.
This feedback can be positive or negative and can come from both significant
others and strangers.
Cooley’s theory also highlights the role of significant others in the development of
the self. The significant others are people who are close to us, such as parents,
siblings, friends, and teachers, who play a crucial role in shaping our sense of self
through their reactions to our behaviour and attitudes.
In other words, the way that our significant others react to us and the feedback they
provide influences our self-concept.
As Cooley has stated in his 'Human Nature and the Social Order', the individual
develops the idea of self through contact with the primary group, particularly with
the members of the family. This he does by becoming conscious of their attitudes
towards him. In other words, the child’s conception of his self, and later, of the kind
of person he is, is by means of what he imagines others take him to be. Cooley,
therefore, called the child's idea of himself the 'looking-glass self'. The child
conceives of himself as better or worse in varying degrees, depending upon the
attitudes of others towards him. Thus, the child's view of himself may be affected by
the kind of name given by his family or friends. A child called 'angel' by his mother
gets a notion of himself which differs from that of a child called 'foolish’.
Thus, Cooley says that we are prone to look at ourselves through others’ eyes.
Depending upon the character and weight of that 'other' (in whose mind we see
ourselves), we develop different feelings. We are ashamed to seem evasive in the
presence of a straightforward man; cowardly in the presence of a brave man,
indecent in the presence of a refined man, greedy in the presence of a generous
man and so on. We may boast to one person of an action but we may feel
ashamed to express it to another. The way we imagine ourselves to appear to
another person is an essential element in our conception of ourselves.
Cooley concludes that "the self is social and that self-consciousness would not
exist in the absence of society". The 'looking-glass self' affects the daily life of all
individuals.
Criticism:
Cooley’s theory of the looking-glass self has been criticized for its overemphasis on
the role of others in the development of the self. Critics argue that the theory
neglects the importance of internal factors, such as individual agency and the ability
to resist external pressures. Additionally, the theory assumes a uniformity in human
behaviour and ignores the role of cultural and historical factors in shaping the self.
2. George Herbert Mead's Theory of ‘Self’:
G.H. Mead, the famous philosopher and psychologist at the University of Chicago,
also held the opinion like that of Cooley that the society is the determining factor in
the socialisation of the individual. He agreed with Cooley that the 'Self' is social.
According to Mead’s theory, the self is composed of two interrelated aspects: the “I”
and the “Me.”
The “I” represents the spontaneous and impulsive aspect of the self. It is the
subjective and active part of our consciousness that initiates and responds to
situations. The “I” is characterized by creativity, individuality, and the capacity to act
in unique and unpredictable ways. It is the part of the self that drives personal
desires, emotions, and immediate reactions.
On the other hand, the “Me” represents the socialized aspect of the self. It is the
internalized and generalized other—the collective understanding of the social
expectations, norms, and roles of society. The “Me” reflects the influence of
socialization and the internalization of societal values, beliefs, and cultural rules. It
guides our behaviour by providing a framework of how we should act based on
societal standards and expectations.
According to Mead, the development of the self involves an ongoing interaction
between the “I” and the “Me.” The “I” initiates actions and responses, but these are
influenced and shaped by the internalized norms and values of the “Me.” Through
social interactions, individuals learn to take the perspective of others and consider
how their actions will be perceived and evaluated by society. This process of
internalizing social norms and developing a sense of self through social interaction is
known as socialization.
Mead espoused that the individual comes to know about himself by what is known
as 'role playing'.
‘Role playing' –
Mead has said that the individual, in order to get a picture of himself, plays the roles
of others. In seeing himself as others see him, the individual is actually putting
himself in the place of others, and imagining what their response might be. This is
'role-playing'. The 'others' may be his parents, close associates, and finally, society
as a whole, As the child gets older, he can be observed to act towards his dolls or
toys as the mother or other members of the family have acted towards him. The
child, in his play, is taking the role of another person. Through 'role-playing', that is,
by playing the role of the mother, father or other persons, the child is enabled to see
himself objectively through the eyes of others. Of these others, some are more
"significant".
Significant Others-
The new-born infant has needs like those for food, clothing, that press for
satisfaction. The mother satisfies these needs and the child comes to depend upon
 her and. 'identifies himself' with her emotionally. But in course of time, the child
differentiates himself from his mother and comes to know that he has a subordinate
role to the superior role of the mother. Then the child understands the role of the
father. He differentiates his father from his mother and then integrates him into the
social system. In this way, the number of the 'significant others' increase for the
child.

The Generalised Others-

The child not only differentiates itself from others but also begins to act towards
himself from the viewpoint of the whole group. The child tries to understand the
relative roles of various individuals involved in the same social context. The child
begins to anticipate the behaviour of all the members of a group in a particular
context. ln other words, the child generalises the roles of others.
The whole community is 'generalised other' with which the child becomes identified.
'Self' and 'society ', in the child's experience are the two sides of the same coin. This
is exactly like a situation in which every one of us may say, or more likely think about
what will people think if I do this, or that.
The 'people' in this expression are not any particular persons but rather, generalised
persons, or generalised others. This 'generalised others' may include the associates
of our community. In this way the social explanation of the 'self is complete.
Hence, Mead’s theory of “I and Me” highlights the social nature of the self and
emphasizes the role of symbolic interaction in shaping our sense of self and our
behaviour. The self is not something that exists first and then into relationship with
others. The 'self' is a product of social interaction. It arises in social experience. It is
something that develops out of social interaction and is constantly changing and
adjusting as new situations and conflicts arise. The self develops and grows in a
social context.
3. Freud and His Concept of the Human Mind:
Sigmund Freud, the Austrian psychiatrist and founder of psychoanalysis, was not
directly concerned with the problem of the individual’s socialisation (he has not used
the word ‘socialisation’ anywhere in his writings), he nevertheless contributed amply
toward the clarification of the process of personality development
Much of the works of Freud centre around the 'Human Mind' rather than the process
of socialisation. Though Freud has not established any theory concerning
socialisation as such, his ideas have contributed much towards the clarification of
that process. This can be ascertained by an understanding of his analysis of the
human mind.
Freud has divided human mind into three compartments. They are as follows:
The id represents the instinctive desires, which may be viewed as an unsocialised
aspect of human nature. It is the obscure inaccessible part of our personality. It is
the source of drives (impulses of man—hunger, aggression, and sexual drives)
demanding immediate satisfaction in some way or the other. These impulses are
controlled and partially repressed into the unconscious, while a reality-oriented
conscious self or ego appears.
 The ego is the acting individual. It serves as the mediator between desires and
action representing the urges of the id when necessary. It tries to mediate the
resultant conflicting demands of the id and the superego.
The superego (the conscience) represents the social ideals (norms, values,
traditions, the idea of moral and immoral etc.). It is seen as internalised parental and
social authority. The parent is no longer outside telling the child what to do, but is
inside the psyche, invisibly overseeing the child’s thoughts and actions, praising
what is right and making the child feel guilty for wrong doing. Thus, society’s norms
and values are passed down from generation to generation in this way. According to
Freud, the individual's super ego is a reflection of his parents' standards of right and
wrong. The individual imbibes these into his own personality by identifying himself
with his parents. The parents' standards are no other than the society's or one of its
sub- groups in which the individual happens to live. Thus, logically the child, in its
socialisation process, adopts the norms of conduct of the society through the super
ego.
The Freudian theory contends that people possess a number of drives or urges
connected with satisfying basic needs, such as the need for food or sleep etc. These
urges, known collectively as the id, seek immediate satisfaction.
In society, however, instant gratification is rarely possible, and id must be controlled.
This control is accomplished by what Freud called the superego, the part of the mind
that incorporates society’s rules. The id and the superego are in continual conflict.
When we are hungry, for example, our id urges us to satisfy our hunger in the
quickest way possible.
Our superego, however, tells us that this is an unacceptable way to satisfy our
hunger. Freud stated that normally developing children develop ego, which
reconciles the demands of the id and superego as much as possible.
 AGENTS OF SOCIALISATION:
1. Family:
The family plays an outstanding role in the socialisation process. In all societies,
other agencies besides the family contribute to socialisation such as educational
institutions, the peer group etc. But family plays the most important role in the
formation of personality. By the time other agencies contribute to this process family
has already left an imprint on the personality of the child. The parents use both
reward and punishment to imbibe what is socially required from a child.
The family has informal control over its members. Family being a mini society acts
as a transmission belt between the individual and society. It trains the younger
generation in such a way that it can take the adult roles in proper manner. As family
is primary and intimate group, it uses informal methods of social control to check the
undesirable behaviour on the part of its members. The process of socialisation
remains a process because of the interplay between individual life cycle and family
life cycle.
2. Peer Groups:
Peer Group means a group in which the members share some common
characteristics such as age or sex etc. It is made up of the contemporaries of the
child, his associates in school, in playground and in street. The growing child learns
some very important lessons from his peer group. Since members of the peer group
 are at the same stage of socialisation, they freely and spontaneously interact with
each other. As children grow into teenagers, this process continues. Peer groups
are important to adolescents in a new way, as they begin to develop an identity
separate from their parents and exert independence. The members of peer groups
have other sources of information about the culture and thus the acquisition of
culture goes on. They view the world through the same eyes and share the same
subjective attitudes. In order to be accepted by his peer group, the child must
exhibit the characteristic attitudes, the likes and dislikes.

3. Educational Institutions:
Parents and peer groups are not the only agencies of the socialisation in modern
societies. Every civilised society therefore has developed a set of formalised
agencies of education (schools, colleges and universities) which have a great
bearing on the socialisation process. It is in the educational institutions that the
culture is formally transmitted and acquired in which the science and the art of one
generation is passed on to the next.
The educational institutions not only help the growing child in learning language and
other subjects but also instil the concept of time, discipline, team work, cooperation
and competition. Through the means of reward and punishment the desired
behaviour pattern is reinforced whereas undesirable behaviour pattern meets with
disapproval, ridicule and punishment.
In this way, the educational institutions come next to the family for the purpose of
socialisation of the growing child. Educational institution is a very important
socialiser and the means by which individual acquires social norms and values
(values of achievement, civic ideals, solidarity and group loyalty etc) beyond those
which are available for learning in the family and other groups.
4. Mass Media:
The mass media of communication play an important role in the process of
socialisation. The mass media of communication transmit information and
messages which influence the personality of an individual to a great extent. In
addition to this, communication media has an important effect in encouraging
individuals to support the existing norms and values or oppose or change them.
They are the instrument of social power. They influence us with their messages.
The words are always written by someone and these people too – authors and
editors and advertisers – join the teachers, the peers and the parents in the
socialisation process.
5. State/ Government:
Government or state is an indirect agent of socialization. This means, though we
do not come in contact with the institution directly, it does have an impact on our
social life and well-being. The government sets rules and regulations (laws) which
the people of the state/country need to follow, and breach of them often becomes
not only a moral wrong but a social wrong as well. For instance, prohibition of
drunk driving is a law passed by the state. Any person breaking it, not only
commits a punishable offense but also puts others’ lives in danger. Apart from
setting various laws and laying sanctions on us, the government, as a socializing
agent, also has a responsibility of assuring social security for people.
 6. Religion:

Religion is one of the most powerful agents of socialization which is linked with
concepts and values people identify themselves with. At the same time, it is the
most sensitive agent of socialization as well. People tend to develop their own
religious beliefs from their parents, right from their inception. They begin to
acquire knowledge of which god to believe in or not; when, where and how to
pray; what rituals to follow; what to consume and what to avoid; etc., right from
infancy, and it is these belief systems that evolve further and remain with them for
the rest of their lives.

UNIT 2: STRATIFICATION: MEANING AND BASIS

 DEFINITIONS:
Human society is not homogeneous but heterogenous. Men differ from one other, in
many respects. the physical appearance of individuals, their intellectual, moral,
philosophical, mental, economic, religious, political and other aspects are different. No
two individuals are exactly alike. Diversity and inequality are inherent in society.
Hence, human society is everywhere stratified.
Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings based
on factors like wealth, income, education, power etc. Elements of social stratification
have varying ranks of superiority and inferiority. Stratification involves placing people of
the society in various layers or strata in a hierarchical order.
1. Ogburn and Nimkoff: "The process by which individuals and groups are ranked in
a more or less enduring hierarchy of status is known as stratification."
2. Raymond W. Murry: Social stratification is a horizontal division of society into
higher and lower social units.
 CHARACTERISTICS:
According to MM Tumin, the main attributes of stratification are as follows:
1. It is Social:
Stratification is social in the sense; it does not represent biologically caused
inequalities. It is true that such factors as strength, intelligence, age and sex can
often serve as the basis on which statuses or strata are distinguished but such
differences by themselves are not sufficient to explain why some statuses receive
more power, property and prestige than others. Biological traits do not solely
determine social superiority and inferiority until they are socially recognised and
given importance. For example, the manager of an industry attains a dominant
position, not by his physical strength, nor by his age, but by having the socially
defined traits. His education, training, skills, experience, personality, character, etc,
are found to be more important than his biological equalities. Factors such as
intelligence, power, prosperity property etc. generally define status in the society but
stratification at different places and different fields is determined by different factors.
2. It is ancient:
The stratification system is quite old. According to historical and archaeological
records, stratification was present even in the small wandering bands. Age and sex
were the main criterion of stratification then. Difference between the rich and poor,
 powerful and humble, free men and slaves was there in almost all the ancient
civilizations. Ever since the time of Plato and Kautilya, social philosophers have
been deeply concerned with economic, social and political inequalities.
3. It is Universal:
The stratification system is a worldwide phenomenon. Difference between the rich
and the poor, or the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, is evident everywhere. All societies in
the world are divided on certain basis. All permanently organised groups are
stratified. Social divisions are found in almost all cultures and countries, whether
developing or developed. Although stratification is universal, but it varies from
society to society.
4. It is in diverse forms:
The stratification system has never been uniform in all the societies. The ancient
Roman society was stratified into two strata: the Patricians and plebians. The
ancient Indian Society into four Varnas, the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and
Shudras, the ancient Greek society into free men and slaves, the ancient Chinese
society into the Mandarins, merchants, farmers and the soldiers and so on. Class,
caste and estate seem to be the general form of stratification to be found in the
modern world. But stratification system is much more complex in the civilised
societies.
5. It is consequential:
The stratification system has its own consequences. The most important, most
desired and often the scarcest things in human life are distributed unequally
because of stratification. The system leads to two main kinds of consequences- life
chances and lifestyles.
Life- chances refer to such things as infant mortality, longevity, physical and mental
illness Childlessness, marital conflict, separation and divorce.
Life-styles include such matters as the mode of housing, residential area, one’s
education, means of recreation, relationship between the parents and children, the
kind of books and magazines to which one is exposed, one’s mode of conveyance
and so on.
Life- chances are more involuntary, while life-styles reflect differences in
preferences, tastes and values.
 CRITERIA FOR STRATIFICATION:
1. Wealth and Income:
Economic status in the society is determined by wealth and income. Possession of
substantial amounts of wealth is the main characteristic distinguishing the upper
class from other class groups in society. Persons having more wealth and income
generally belong to upper class and have higher social position and respect in
society. A person who belongs to middle class or lower middle class and doesn’t
receive significant amount of respect and social position as compared to those
belonging to upper classes. A peon receives lesser income than a teacher and thus
has a lower social status and respect than the latter. People belonging to upper
classes generally have better opportunities to secure the future of their children.
Lower class people have lesser resources and opportunities and thus face
hindrances in their development.
2. Occupation:
Occupation is another important aspect of social class, and an important
determinant of class status. Some professions are more honourable than others,
and hold higher positions in the society, such as doctors, engineers, civil servants,
lawyers, professors etc. Besides receiving higher incomes, these occupations also
carry with them high prestige. Since such occupations receive higher income and
hold prestigious positions in society, they also have distinctive modes of lifestyle
and belong to superior classes. Occupation reflects one’s ways of life, and therefore
one’s social class membership. It affects many other facets of life, such as values,
beliefs, marital relations, etc, other than determining the social class.

3. Education:
There is a close reciprocal relationship between social class and education.
Education forms the very basis of occupation and further income which ultimately
determines a person’s social status. Better education provides a person with
opportunities to pursue prestigious and highly paying occupations thus improving
his income and social status. Also, the knowledge, experience and development of
personality that comes with good education places a person a notch higher than
others having lesser or no education.
However, social class in itself is, in a way, a determinant of education as well.
People belonging to upper class and having higher income are able to afford quality
education for their children and also provide them with social encouragement. This
ultimately leads to children of upper classes getting best quality of education and
continuance of the legacy of membership of prestigious and upper classes. People
belonging to lower classes lack resources opportunities and knowledge to provide
education to their children and thus and thus it becomes difficult for them to break
the chain of poverty and become a member of upper classes.
4. Prestige:
It refers to the respect and admiration with which an occupation is regarded by
society Prestige is independent of the particular person who occupies a job.
Besides wealth, occupation and education, there are certain other criteria which
help a person to attain higher social status in the society. These are family
background, kinship relations, location of residence, etc, but education, occupation
and expanded income are the most fairly visible clues of social class. With these
are associated most of the other behaviour characteristics which make one ‘belong’
to a particular class.
 Difference between closed and open stratification:
Closed stratification
(i) Closed stratification is one in which individuals or groups do not enjoy the
freedom of changing their social strata.
(ii) In this type of social stratification there is no scope for social mobility.
(iii) Ascribed status – The individual who gets a social stratum by birth can never
change it in one’s lifetime.
 (iv) Example: The varna system and the caste system in India are examples of
close stratification.
Open stratification
(i) Open stratification is one in which individuals or groups enjoy the freedom of
changing their social strata.
(ii) In this type of social stratification there is scope for social mobility.
(iii) Achieved status – Individuals or groups move from one stratum to another on
the basis of their achievement.
(iv) Example: The class system in modern industrial society is an example of open
stratification.
(Also read diff between caste and class from CN Shankar Rao)
UNIT 3: SOCIAL CHANGE
 DEFINITIONS:
Any alteration, difference or modification that takes place in a situation or in an object
through time can be called change. ‘Social change’ is used to indicate the changes
that take place in human interactions and interrelations. Society is “a web of social
relationships” and hence, social change means a change in the system of social
relationships. Social relationships are understood in terms of social processes and
social interactions and social organisations Thus, the term social change is used to
describe variations in social interactions, social processes and social organisation. It
includes alterations in the structure and functions of the society.
ME Jones: “Social change is a term used to describe variations in, or modifications of
any aspect of social processes, social patterns, social interaction or social
organisation.”
 CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Social change is continuous:
Society is always undergoing endless changes. Society cannot be preserved in a
museum to save it from the ravages of time. From the dawn of history society has
been in continuous flux.
2. Social change is temporal:
Social change is temporal in the sense it denotes the time sequence. In fact, society
exists only as a time-sequence. Innovation of new things, modification and
renovation of the existing behaviour and the discarding of the old behaviour patterns
take time.
3. Social Change Involves Tempo (or Rate) and Direction of Change:
In most discussions of social change, some direction is assumed. This direction is
most necessarily inevitable. Sometimes, the direction is determined ideally. Change
towards such a destination is more appropriately regarded as progress. In actuality,
social change may tend towards any direction. The tempo or the rate of change is
also not governed by any universal laws. The rate of change varies considerably
from the time and society to society depending upon its nature and character-open
and closed, rural and urban and others.
 4. Social change is environmental:
It must take place within a geographic or physical and cultural context. Both these
contexts have impact on human behaviour and in turn man changes them. A social
change never takes place in vacuum.
5. Social change is an objective term:
The term social change describes one of the categorical processes. It has no value-
judgments attached to it. To the sociologist social change as a phenomenon is
neither moral nor immoral, it is amoral. It means the study of social change involves
no value judgment. One can study change even within the value system without
being for against the change.

6. Social change may be planned or unplanned:

The direction and tempo of social change are often conditioned by human plans and
programmes of man in order to determine and control the rate and direction of social
change. Unplanned change refers to change resulting from natural calamities such
as- famines, floods, earthquakes etc.
7. Social Change Results from Interaction of a Number of Factors:
A single factor may trigger a particular change, but it is always associated with other
factors. The physical, biological, technological, cultural and other factors may,
together bring about social change. This is due to the mutual interdependence of
social phenomenon.
8. Short versus long-run changes:
Some social changes may bring about immediate results while some others may
take years and decades to produce results. This distinction is significant, because a
change which appears to be very vital today may be nothing more than a temporary
oscillation having nothing to do with the essential trends of life, some years later.
9. Social change may create chain reaction:
Change in one aspect of life may lead to a series of changes in its other aspects. For
example- change in rights, privileges and status of women has resulted in a series of
changes in home, family relationships and structure, the economic and to some
extent political pattern of both rural and urban society.

 FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL CHANGE:

1. Geographical factors:
The physical factors or geographical factors consist of the surface of the Earth’s
climate, rainfall, rivers, mountains, natural vegetation, forests, animal life, minerals,
etc. They have a profound influence upon the human society. Social change is, to
some extent, conditioned by the physical environment. Rate and direction of social
change are governed by the physical environment. At polar regions and in the
desert, there can be no cities and almost changeless stabilities are maintained. The
 surface of the Earth is never at rest. Slow geographic changes as well as the
occasional convulsions in the form of storms, famines and floods, and earthquakes
do take place. They may bring about social change, but these changes in nature are
usually unaffected by the human activity. Here, the causation is one sided.
Some social geographers and social ecologists have attributed too much
importance to geographic factors in bringing about social change. The influences
that geographic factors exert upon human societies are neither decisive nor
negligible, they are limiting, but not determining. Man is capable of modifying the
natural landscape into a cultural landscape. Geography alone cannot explain the
rise and fall of civilizations. As human societies grow in complexity, and as culture
accumulates geographic factors steadily decrease in sociological significance.

2. Biological Factors:
Biological factors, too, set limits to the social possibilities of human societies in
certain ways. They help to determine the form and structure of these societies.
Plants and animals form a part of Man’s non- human environment. Man is
influenced by non-human biological factors. He modifies them to serve his
purposes, creating interaction between biological and cultural factors. Man, for
example, has always utilised plant and animal life to meet his basic needs for food,
clothing and shelter. The biological factors influence the numbers, composition, birth
rate, fertility rate, and hereditary quality of the successive generations.
The biological factors like the size and composition of population, produce social
changes. The phenomenal growth of population in the 19 th century had led to vast
social changes and brought problems. Food problem, housing problem,
unemployment, poor health, poverty and low standard of living are its direct
outcome. The relations of man and his society to the biological environment are
more dynamic than those of Man and his society to the physical environment. The
latter submits to his use and abuse, but the biological environment which is
inherently unstable responds rather than submits to man’s uses and abuses.
3. Cultural Factors:
Cultural factors constitute yet another source of social change, cultural factors
consist of our values, beliefs, ideologies and ideas, morals and manners, customs
and traditions and various institutions. Not only social values, direct social changes,
but they themselves are subject to change. Ideals, ideologies and philosophies are
inherently changeful. They change with time, and in turn, initiate change in the social
order. In some periods, ideas of liberty, equality and democracy may be found. In
some others, ideas of strict discipline and centralised order may be observed. And
still, in some other periods, religious orthodoxy or religious nonconformity may
prevail. There is an intimate connexion between our beliefs and institutions,
valuations and social relationships Cultural change involves social change because
it affects human relations, as the social and cultural changes are closely related.
Culture is not something static. No culture ever remains constant. It may undergo
change due to immigration, foreign invasion, international trade and contacts,
exchange of cultural delegations, conquest of one nation by another foreign rule, etc.
 Culture not merely responds to the outside influences, but it itself is a force directing
social change. It creates itself or develops by itself. Culture gives queues and
directions to social behaviour.
4. Technological Factors:
The technological factors represent the conditions created by man, which have a
profound influence on his life. In the attempt to satisfy his wants, fulfil his needs and
to make his life comfortable, man builds civilisation. Technology is a product of
civilization. When the scientific knowledge is applied to the problems of life, it
becomes technology. Technology is a systematic knowledge which is put into
practise that is, to use tools and run machines to serve human purposes. Science
and technology go together. Technology is fast growing. The modern age is often
called the technological age or the mechanical era. In utilising the products of
technology, man provokes social changes. The social effects of technology are far
reaching. According to Karl Marx, even the formation of social relations and mental
conceptions and attitudes are dependent upon technology.
Technology changes society by changing our environments to which we in turn
adapt. This change is usually in the material environment and the adjustment that
we make with these changes often modifies customs and social institutions. A
single invention may have innumerable social effects. Radio, for example, has
influenced our entertainment, education, politics, sports, literature, attitudes,
knowledge and so on.
(Study detailed impact of technology on social order from CN Shankar Rao).