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UNIT II- BASIC CONCEPTS, Social groupIs a collection of two or more persons who are continuously interacting and share, common interests and a sense of loyalty within a given society., i). Persistent interaction among its members., ii). A shared sense of belonging among its member., iii). Acceptance of common norms and values., iv). Membership of the group maybe or informal., v). A shared interest., AggregatesAre collection of people who temporarily share the same physical space but do, not see themselves as belonging together and do not have sustained or persistent, interaction. E.g, a crowd, Social categoryIt refers to a group of people/classification of people on the basis of similar, characteristics. For e.g, all men having the same occupation, doctors or all girls, having a height of 5ft., Both aggregates as well as social category are quasi groups which can sometimes, become a social group over time., For e.g, all domestic workers in a locality may over time form a union and become, organized and develop a common identity as a social group.

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Primary group, Primary group is a small group of people. It is characterized by intimate and face, to face and emotional relationships., e.g, family and peer group., Secondary group, Secondary group is relatively large in size. It is marked by formal and impersonal, relationships., e.g, club residents, welfare associations., Primary groups are primary because they are central in our lives and they play an, important role in influencing our lives. Very often primary groups are formed, within the orbit of secondary groups., E.g, a group of friends within an office., In Group, -the group with which an individual identifies himself or herself, has a sense of, belonging to. It is a “we group”. There is a sense of attachment towards the, members of In-group., Out Group, A group to which an individual has no sense of belonging or identification. It is, “they group”. There is a sense of indifference and at times maybe even hostile, towards members of outgroups., Reference group, It is that group to which we do not belong but we aspire to be like the and, therefore we try to emulate their lifestyle., For e.g, for many Indian youths movie stars are a reference group.

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Peer group, Is a type of primary group composed of individuals who are either of similar age, or who share a common profession. Peer groups have a very strong influence in, the life of an individual., Status and roleStatus refers to the position of an individual occupies in a group or in society., Each status has certain defined rights and duties assigned to it., For e.g, doctors, mothers, Status set, Each individual occupies status in the society. The totality of the status occupied, by an individual in the society is called a status set., For e.g, the status set of Pinky is daughter, friend, student, sister, club member, etc., Prestige, Status has certain amount of prestige or social value attached to it. Prestige is, attached to the status rather than to the person occupying it. E.g, prestige of a, doctor maybe higher than that of a shopkeeper even if the earning of the doctor, is lesser than that of the shopkeeper., Achieved status, It is achieved by an individual on merit and effort. It is based on individual’s, choice. It can change qualification, income etc. It plays an important role in, modern societies. E.g, clan, Ascribed status, It is assigned to us on the basis of birth, biological inheritance, parents’ status etc., A person does not choose his status and is difficult to change it. It plays an, important role in traditional societies. E.g, caste

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Role, It is the behavorial aspect of status. Thus status and role are interconnected. For, e.g, the status of a student has certain behavior attached to it. However while a, status is occupied, role is played., Role conflict., Role conflict occurs when performance of one role conflicts with that of another., E.g, Modern working woman very often finds that her role as a professional, conflicts with that of a mother., Role stereotyping, It refers to reinforcing of certain roles. For e.g, the role of bread winners for the, husband and that of homemaker for the wife is often stereotyped in ads and, films., Social roles and status are not fixed. People do make efforts to change the role, and status (even ascribed status) assigned to them by the society. For e.g, dalits, have been opposing the low status assigned to them on the basis of caste., Social stratification, According to Giddens, social stratification refers to division of members of a, society into different social categories or strata which are ranked into a hierarchy, according to their relative powers, prestige and wealth., According to Tumin, social stratification refers to arrangement of society into, hierarchies of strata of social categories that command unequal amounts of, property, power and honor., Social stratification is not an individual fact rather it is a social fact. It refers to the, ranking of large numbers of individuals into hierarchically organized strata., It has little to do with individual meritability and more to do with socially, patterned inequalities.

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Major system of stratification includes1. Caste 2. Slavery 3. Clan 4. Gender 5. Estate, The privileges or social rewards enjoyed by any individual depends upon, his/her caste, clan, gender and position in society., Caste as a system of stratification., Caste refers to inequalities in terms of social honor/prestige., Castes are ascriptive groups, membership to which is determined by birth., Each caste is ranked as higher/lower as compared to the others in the social, hierarchy., It is an institutional characteristics of Hindu society but it has spread to, other non Hindu communities too such as Muslims, Christians and Sikhs., Although it is very predominant in traditional India it holds its way in, modern India too in politics as well as social life., Features of caste, i). Caste is ascribed. It is determined by birth. A person is born into the, caste of one’s parents. It is not a matter of choice. One cannot change, one’s caste or leave it., ii). Caste is endogamous. Marriage is restricted to members of the group., Intercaste marriage is prohibited., iii). Pollution and purity. Pollution is considered an important aspect in, maintaining the structural distance between various castes. Each caste, considers its duty to preserve its purity., iv). Strict rules about food and food sharing, Caste membership involves rules about food and food sharing. What kind, of food may or may not be eaten is prescribed and whom one may share, food with is also prescribed., v). Heirarchy of rank and status. All castes are rrangedin a hierarchy of rank, and status., Vi). Segmental organization

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Caste involves subdivisions within themselves, that is, caste almost always, have sub castes and sub castes may again have sub sub castes., vii). Traditionally linked occupation, A person born into a caste could only practice the occupation associated, with that caste. So occupations were hereditary under caste system.