The post Elements of Social System appeared first on Sociology Learners.
]]>Each system has a role in the society, which aid in the functioning of society as whole, moreover, social system is the collective of individuals, each individual within a social system has different roles and responsibilities, which contribute in the stability of social system.
Like roles and responsibilities each individual within a social system has a status. Each status of an individual is associated with roles and responsibilities. For example, the staff of college have their respective status as principle, teacher, administrator, accountant, coach etc. they all play different roles according to their status.
No system can function without authority; authority is also distributed among individuals according to their status. Like in cricket team the selection authority rests with selection committee, in school and college principle has authority of decision making and in family head of family has the authority of decision making. In each social system authority is given to an individual.
Every member of social system who follow the orders and perform their duties according to their status have rights.
Norms define the code of conduct and rules of the social system. Without norms the social system will be disintegrated. It is the blueprint of conduct within the social system, which guide each individual within a social system.
Each social system has its space to conduct their business. It can be home or building depend on the type of social system and its operations.
The post Elements of Social System appeared first on Sociology Learners.
]]>The post What is Deviance? appeared first on Sociology Learners.
]]>
“When individuals fail to obey social norms and values of a particular society is called deviance”.
“Deviance can be explicated as, behaviors which are in conflict with the principles of a particular society”.
“Behaviors or actions that disrupts societal norms and are mutually disapproved by group members, is known as deviance”.
Good or bad — moral or immoral conducts are two sides of a coin, social norms decide whether, a particular conduct is moral or immoral — good or bad. Individuals are labeled on the basis of their choice of social conduct , those who conform to social norms they are considered respectable members of society however, those who violate social norms they are labeled as criminals.
Each society has its own formal norms or written rules. These formal rules are established to protect and reinforce the conducts or things which are collectively cherished by individuals within a given society. Social norms vary from society to society because individuals within different societies value distinct conducts or things. However, People are supposed to act or interact in accordance to the norms of their society. State Laws or formal norms are imperative for the survival and smooth functioning of every society. Formal rules regulate individual behavior within a society and these rules are established in order to sustain peace and order within a given society. When individuals break or violate norms of their respective society the phenomenon is called deviance in sociology.
The customary norms of each society differ from one another, normative conducts of one society might be considered deviant social behavior in other society. Polygyny is legal and considered normative behavior in many countries. However, it is considered deviant behavior in other countries and is punishable by law. For instance, men can have more than one wife in Middle Eastern countries or, in Muslim countries. On the other hand, in USA having more than one wife is considered as deviant behavior. Moreover, time and Situation is crucial to determine whether, a particular social conduct is deviant or, normative. For instance, in time of peace, taking someone life is disapproved by state law and considered as deviant behavior. Whereas, in time of war it is not considered deviant behavior. Therefore, to analyze individuals behavior whether, it’s deviant or, not. One should evaluate it on the basis of following factors, time, situation, social norms and conditions.
Punishment for deviant behavior depend upon the structure of society. In developed countries violating state laws are considered as deviant behavior and may lead to severe punishment. Whereas, in tribal or traditional societies violating religious norms and values are considered as deviant behavior. For example, In USA it is not against the law if, unmarried couple engage in intimate relationship. While, infidelity is considered as deviant behavior and could be punishable by death in Afghanistan tribal areas. In developed countries people have more regard towards state laws. On the other hand, tribal or traditional societies give more priority to their religious and cultural norms compare to state constitution, therefore, their judgment of deviant and non-deviant behavior is solely based on their religious values and norms.
The post What is Deviance? appeared first on Sociology Learners.
]]>The post The Elements of Culture appeared first on Sociology Learners.
]]>To live together in a group the most important part is communication amongst the individuals of the group. For the prime purpose of communication every group has its own language. Language contains set of symbols, gestures and sounds which vary in different culture. Learning language is of vital importance for an individual to become a part of society, indeed it is the first and fundamental thing that a child learn. Moreover, it is important for a child to learn language of a given culture to acquire social skills. A child learn social skills via interacting with the members of society and language is the fundamental element for interaction. If an individual wants to become a part of new group or society he has have to learn the language of that group to interact with the other members of group. For example if a person want to join a law firm, first he has to get a law degree, because lawyers have their own terminologies and sentence structure, which could not be understood without having a law degree.
Norms are another element of culture. Social norms are the expectations of a culture from an individual to how to behave in a society in a specific situation. For example if there is a line in fast food restaurant, for joining the line you have to stand behind the last person in the line, if you barge in middle or in front it will be against the norms. Furthermore, norms are divided in to two components, mores and folkways. Folkways are the general standard behaviors followed by, individuals in a group. For example way of dressing, way of greeting guests and the way of preparing food. Mores are the ethical and moral behaviors followed by individuals in a group. For example intrusion in someone home is unethical, steeling is not a moral behavior and in some cultures committing adultery is considered immoral behavior. Therefore, not following mores leads to punishment in a society, whereas, there is not any strict restriction on following folkways.
Beliefs are the collectively shared ideas of individual in a society about what is true. Shared ideas bind individual with one another in a society. Most of norms and values of a given culture originate from beliefs. For example, in a country where people belief in higher power or God may find atheism intolerable.
Values are deeply intervened with beliefs. Values are the ideal principles or abstract standards of a culture. Values determine, right and wrong, morally correct and morally incorrect and what is good and what is bad. Values might lead to cultural cohesion and can also become source of conflict between two cultures.
The post The Elements of Culture appeared first on Sociology Learners.
]]>