Social structure

1. SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Mrs. Namita Batra Guin
Professor, Deptt. of Community Health Nursing

2. Part-I
• Society
• Nature of society
• Types of society
• Advantages and disadvantages of society
• Community
• Characteristics
• Difference between society and community
• Association
• Characteristics of association
• Difference between community and association
• Difference between society and association
• Institutions
• Characteristics
• Types of institutions
• Types of social institutions
• Functions of institutions
• Difference between institution and association

3. SOCIETY
• Individual is the basic component of society
• Interaction of individuals with each other gives birth to groups. These groups
interact with one another and develop mutual relationships that makes society.
• Within a society there are patterns and groupings based on likeness and differences.
Human being is dependent on society for their basic need satisfaction.
• Thus society may be viewed as largest number of human beings who interact to
satisfy their social needs and who share a common culture.
• Term Society refers to entire humanity including those who are unfriendly or uncivil
to the remainder of society.

4. Definition
• A society is a network of interconnected major groups viewed as a unit and
sharing a common culture. - J.H. Fichter
• A society is a group of interacting individuals sharing the same territory and
participating in a culture. - Ian Robertson

5. Nature of
Society
Abstract: Social relationships are invisible and abstract.
One cannot see society or social structure only its external
aspects can be observed.
Consists of People: Society is composed of people.
Without people, there can be no society.
Society is organization of relationship: Society is the
total complex of human relationships. It includes whole
range of human relations.
Existence of both similarities and differences: Society
involves likeness and differences. For instance family rests
upon the biological differences between the genders.
Division of labour: It involves the assignment to each
unit or group, a specific share of common task.

6. Nature of
Society
System of stratification: Society is a
system of stratification of statuses and
classes that each individual has relatively
stable and recognizable position in the
social structure.
Social control: Society has its own ways of
controlling behaviour of its members.
Mutual interaction and mutual
awareness: Society is a group of people in
continuous interaction with each other.
These interactions are possible because of
mutual awareness.

7. Types of societies
Foraging
Societies
Pastoral
Societies
Horticultural
societies
Agricultural
societies
Industrial
societies
Postindustrial
societies

8. Foraging
Societies
• It is the earliest form of society. The
members survive primarily by hunting,
trapping, fishing, and gathering edible plants.
The majority of the members' time is spent
looking for and gathering food.
• These societies were small compared to the
others. They generally have less than 50
members.
• These societies were nomadic, which means
that they move constantly in order to find
food and water.
• Members of the society were mutually
dependent upon each other. And they had an
equal division of labour.

9. Pastoral
Societies
• People lived in a certain place and started to
pasture animals for transportation and permanent
food.
• These societies rely on products obtained through
the domestication and breeding of animals for
transportation and food.
• Pastoral societies are common in areas where
crops cannot be supported, for example in North
Africa.
• Pastoral societies only have to move when the
land in which the animals graze is no longer
usable.
• Pastoral societies also allow for job specialization,
since not everyone is needed to gather or hunt for
food.
• Still exists in Somalia, Ethiopia and north African
countries.

10. Horticultural
Societies
• Emerged between 10,000 and 12,000 years
ago in Latin America, Asia, and parts of the
Middle East.
• These societies rely on the cultivation of
fruits, vegetables, and plants in order to
survive.
• Horticultural societies are often forced to
relocate when the resources of the land are
depleted or when the water supplies decrease.
• Division of labour continued.

11. Agricultural
Societies
• These societies rely on the use of technology
in order to cultivate crops in large areas,
including wheat, rice, and corn.
• The technological advances led to an increase
in food supplies, an increase in population,
and the development of trade centers.
• This period of technological changes is
referred to as the Agricultural Revolution and
began around 8,500 years ago.
• Life is centred around the village community
system.
• Land ownership is uneven, which led to the
stratification of the society based on social
class.

12. Industrial
Societies
• With usage of new inventions, humans started to
use machines and advanced technologies to
produce and distribute goods and services.
• Products such as paper and glass became available
to the average person, and the quality and
accessibility of education and health care soared.
• Gas lights allowed increased visibility in the dark,
and towns and cities developed a nightlife.
• There was a rise of urban centers. Workers
flocked to factories for jobs, and the populations
of cities became increasingly diverse.
• Nationality became more important, classes
existed based on their economic differences.

13. Post-
Industrial
Societies
• The post-industrial societies are also known as
Information societies.
• Digital technology is the steam engine of
information societies.
• Since the economy of information societies is
driven by knowledge and not material goods,
power lies with those in charge of storing and
distributing information.
• Members of a postindustrial society are likely
to be employed as sellers of services—
software programmers or business
consultants, for example—instead of
producers of goods.
• Social classes are divided by access to
education, since without technical skills,
people in an information society lack the
means for success.

14. Advantages and Disadvantages of Society
Advantages
• Promotes teamwork
• Teaches cooperation
• Teaches to share and care
• Brings in synergy
• Sets norms of behaviour
• Provides physical and psychological
protection
Disadvantages
• Curbs individual freedom to grow
• Uses coercive methods for compliance of
social norms.
• Coercion can be detrimental to general
health of an individual.

15. Community
• Small or large Social unit who has something in common such as norms,
religion, values or identity.
• They share a sense of place that is situated in a given geographical area or in
virtual space through communication platforms.

16. Definition
• Community is a set of interrelationships among social institutions in a
locality. - Bell and Newby
• Community is a social group with common territorial base, those in group
share interests and have a sense of belonging to the group. - Robert
Stebbins

17. Characteristics of Community
• Group of People
• Definite locality
• Feeling of belongingness
• Grows spontaneously
• Permanent in nature
• Sharing of similar characteristics
• Variety of ends
• Organised social life
• Concrete nature

18. COMPARISON
Society
• Group live together and interact with one another.
• Members are diverse
• Interactions are the core element.
• Heterogenous
• Objective and interest more extensive and varied
• Feeling of belongingness may or may not be
present
• Society is abstract in nature
Community
• Live together in same place or have particular
characteristics in common.
• Members share common characteristics.
• Interactions happen involuntarily.
• Homogenous
• Less extensive and varied
• Feeling of belongingness is essential element.
• Community is concrete in nature

19. COMPARISON
Society
• It is shapeless and has no area
consideration
• Society has much wider scope.
• In society likeness and conflict can
exist side by side.
Community
• For community, locality is essential
and it has a definite shape.
• Community is narrow in scope.
• In community, every effort is made
to avoid conflict and bring likeness.

20. Association
• It is a group of persons collected together with some particular aim.
• It is concrete form of organization of human beings, contrary to society
• Definition: It is an organization that is deliberately formed for the collective
pursuit of some interests, which the members of it share.
• Association can be formed on basis of duration, power and function.

21. Characteristics of Association
• Concrete form of organization
• Lack of spontaneous growth
• Specific aim and objective
• Follows specific rules and regulations
• Membership is voluntary

22. Difference
Community
• Arises spontaneously or naturally
• Regarded as integral or whole
• Part of society
• Community membership is
compulsory.
• Community sentiment is necessary to
constitute a community.
Association
• It has no natural growth.
• It is an organization of social life
• There are number of associations
within a community.
• Membership of an association is
voluntary.
• The sentiment is not a basic factor to
form association.

23. Difference
Society
• System of social relationships, which are
intangible and invisible.
• It is a result of natural evolution.
• It is older than association.
• Peron cannot live without society.
• Membership of society is compulsory.
• Aim of society is general.
• Characterized by both cooperation and conflict
Association
• Deliberately and artificially created.
• Formed by people to fulfill the specific aims and
objectives.
• Arose at a later stage, when person learn to organize
itself.
• Person may live without being a member of any
association at all.
• Membership is voluntary
• Aim of association is particular
• Association is based on cooperation

24. Institutions
• It is a system for organizing standardized patterns of social behaviour.
• Definition: An institution is a set of formal, regular and established
procedures, characteristic of a group or number of groups that perform a
similar function within a society.

25. Characteristics
• Universality
• Abstractness
• Satisfaction of specific needs
• Social in nature
• Prescription of rules
• Symbols of culture
• Maintain social order
• Relatively permanent
• Institutions are interrelated
• Well defined objectives
• Institution has definite traditions
• Institutions are transmitters of
social heritage.

26. Types
Based on
value
system of
community
Basic institutions: family, religious institutions
Subsidiary institutions: clubs or recreational
institutions
Based on
Community
approval
Sanctioned: schools
Unsanctioned: extortionists
Based on
recognition
General: religion and human rights
Restricted: institutions restricted to a particular
community
Based on
functions
Operative: agriculture, trade institutions
Regulative: Police, prosecutors

27. Classification of Social institutions
• Four types (E.W. Burgess)
• Cultural institutions: Institutes that transmit social heritage like family, school,
church.
• Economic institutions: These are those institutes that organize services of utility
like bank, labor union, commercial and industrial enterprises
• Recreational institutions: Those institutes that satisfy human desires for
entertainment, amusement, play etc.
• Social control institutions: Those institutions that help in solving social problems
of society and maintain order in society like law and state.

28. Functions
• Serve as basis for human development
• Socialization
• Special purpose
• Maintenance of social order
• Transmission of culture
• Personality development
• Institutions provide role and status for individual

29. Difference
Institution
• Represents a social condition and
behaviour. Constituted by laws, rules and
regulations.
• Abstract in nature
• Grow naturally and are primarily evolved.
• Relatively more permanent
• Denotes modes or ways of service
Association
• Represents human aspects. Comprised of
human beings
• Concrete and have form
• Formed out of necessity
• Not as permanent as institutions
• Denotes membership

30. Difference
Institution
• Does not posses a particular name
• Fulfills primary and basic needs of
people.
• Rules of institution are based on the
informal means of social control
• Example: education, religion
Association
• Association possess a distinctive name
• Group of people organized for the
pursuit of some specific purposes.
• Laws of association are formed based
on formal means of social control.
• Example: college, church etc.

31. Part-II
• Individual and society
• Social contract theory
• The organismic theory
• Personal disorganization
• Causes of personal disorganization
• Effects of personal disorganization
• Social Groups
• Characteristics of social groups
• Classification of social groups

32. Individual and Society
The relation between individual and society is very close. Society maintains the regularities through
customs and check the antihuman behaviour.
Society does not exist independently without individuals.
The individual lives and acts within society and society is the combination of individuals within their
cooperative effort.
On the other hand society exists to serve individuals. It is the society that an individual is surrounded
and encompassed by culture as a societal force.
The relationship between the individual and society depends upon the fact that the individual and society
are mutually dependent and grows with the help of each other.
There are two major theories regarding relationship of man and society. – Social Contract theory and
Organismic theory.

33. Social Contract Theory
• Proposed by sociologist Locke.
• According to theory, in order to gain certainty and security human made contract to
enter in the civil society or the state and the theorist calls it as Social Contract.
• The purpose of the social contract was to protect and preserve the rights of the
individual.
• Later the social contract contributed to the governmental control.
• The government contract was made by the society when it established a
government.

34. Social Contract Theory
• Criticism
• Historically there is no evidence that society has ever been deliberately
created as a result of voluntary agreement or contract.
• The theory seemed to be mere fiction as the state of nature never existed.
• The most primitive people lived in some form of society however it was
rudimentary or unorganized.

35. The Organismic Theory
• It considers society like biological organism.
• As the union between the several parts of an animal body makes an
organism, similarly the union of individuals forms the society.
• The theorist said as the cell belongs to the body of the individual, individual
belong to the society.

36. The Organismic Theory
• Criticism
• Society has no specific form as the body of the individual.
• The units of the society are not fixed in their respective positions as in case
of an individual organism.
• Society is an organization of minds for a common purpose.

37. Personal Disorganization
• It represents a behaviour of the individual which deviates from the social
norms. It results in social disapproval which may express itself in a wide
variety of degrees.
• The individual may also react in different ways. It may be mild reactions or
violent behaviour. Accordingly individual respond wither positively or
negatively to social disapprovals.

38. Causes of Personal Disorganization
• Situational disorganization: Happens when a precipitating event causes life
disruption.
• Habitual disorganization: One has created his own state of
disorganization with his collection of bad habits.
• Historical disorganization: when past of the person impacts the state of
order.

39. Causes
• Situational disorganization
• Being unhappy in job
• Having a heavy workload
• Working long hours
• Being insecure
• Facing discrimination or harassment at work
• Death of a loved one
• Divorce
• Moving to a new place

40. Causes
• Habitual disorganization
• Smoking
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Skipping meals
• Procastination
• Developing unhealthy sleeping habits
• Overusing social media.

41. Causes
• Historical disorganization
• Traumatic event- natural disaster, violence, faulty parenting
• Social world- dowry system, caste system

42. Effects/consequences of Personal
Disorganization
• Fear and uncertainty, headache, fatigue and difficulty in sleeping
• Difficulty concentrating, upset stomach, irritability and depression
• High blood pressure and abnormal heartbeat
• Heart disease or heart attack
• Heartburn, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome
• Upset stomach- cramps, constipation and diarrhoea.
• Weight gain or loss
• Fertility problems and flare ups of asthma or arthritis.

43. SOCIAL GROUPS
• Social groups are basic part of human life.
• Social groups consists of two or more people who regularly interact and
share a sense of unity and common identity
• Group of people, who see each other frequently and considers themselves as
a part of a group.
• Definition: A social group is an aggregate of people playing interrelated roles
and recognized by themselves or others as a unit of interaction. - Willliams

44. Characteristics of Social Groups
• Mutual attachment
• Constitutes number of individuals
• Similarity of behaviour
• Sense of unity
• We-feeling
• Group norms
• Sharing of common interests
• Permanent or temporary
• Dynamic in nature
• Group control

45. Classification of social groups
• In-groups and Out-groups
• Involuntary and voluntary groups
• Institutional and non-institutional
groups
• Horizontal and vertical groups
• Territorial and non-territorial groups
• Genetic and congregate group
• Informal and formal group
• Small and large group
• Primary and secondary group

46. Social Groups
• In-group and out group: members of in-group have close relationship with each
other and their loyalty to the group. Out-group stands for a collection of individuals
for whom a set of individuals have a feeling of dislike, animosity or hostility.
• Involuntary and voluntary: Involuntary includes family, city, state, caste, race.
Voluntary includes political parties, youth associations, cultural associations etc.
• Institutional and Non-institutional: Institutional includes church, caste. School,
while non-institutional includes crowds, mobs, public, audience etc.
• Horizontal and vertical: Horizontal includes nation, religious organizations, while
vertical includes economic classes (smaller groups in comparison to the horizontal
groups).

47. Social Groups
• Territorial and non-territorial group: Territorial includes states, non-
territorial includes class, caste, crowd.
• Genetic and congregate: Genetic includes family, racial group, ethnic
group while congregate includes trade unions, political parties.
• Small and large group: Based on size jus like horizontal and vertical
groups.
• Formal and informal: In formal membership is defined, entry is under
written rule. In informal group membership is not defined.

48. Social Groups
• Primary and secondary group: Primary group has a face to face
interactions. Secondary groups, relations are formal and impersonal. These
groups are less intimate as the level of interaction is restricted at a formal
level. E.g. business associations

49. Comparison
Characteristics Primary Group Secondary Group
Size Small Large
Durability Long lasting Short term
Interest of members Diffused Specific
Group Focus Relationship Task
Relationship Personal, direct Impersonal, goal-oriented
Structure Informal Formal
Communication Direct Indirect
Member’s role Stable Interchangeable
Cooperation Direct Indirect
Significance in society Greater significance Little significance

50. Part-III
• Social Process
• Forms of social process
• Cooperation
• Characteristics of cooperation
• Types of cooperation
• Importance of cooperation
• Competition
• Characteristics of competition
• Types of competition
• Forms of competition
• Importance of competition
• Conflict
• Characteristics of conflict
• Causes of conflicts
• Types of conflicts
• Effects of conflict
• Difference between conflict and competition

51. Part-III
• Accommodation
• Characteristics of accommodation
• Methods of accommodation
• Assimilation
• Levels of assimilation
• Types of assimilation
• Characteristics of assimilation
• Factors conducive for assimilation
• Factors hindering assimilation
• Importance of assimilation
• Difference between accommodation and
assimilation
• Social isolation
• Causes of social isolation
• Effects of isolation
• Emotional isolation

52. Social Process
• Refers to form of social interaction that occurs repeatedly.
• There are several forms of social interaction such as cooperation,
accommodation, conflict and competition.
• Definition: Social process is a manner in which relations of the members of
a group, once brought together, acquire a distinctive character.
• It also refers to the repetitive form of behaviour which is commonly found
in social life

53. Forms of social process
• Social process can be positive or negative.
• Social process has been classified into two broad categories that are known as
associative and dissociative
• Associative process: The associative or conjunctive social process are positive.
These social process work for solidarity and benefit of the society. I includes:
cooperation, accommodation, assimilation and acculturation etc.
• Dissociative process: Social process leading to negative results are called as
dissociative process. These processes results in disintegration of society. These are
known as disjunctive social processes. These include conflict and competition.

54. Cooperation
• Cooperation is one of the fundamental
processes of social life.
• It is a form of social process in which two or
more individuals or groups work together
jointly to achieve common goals.
• It is a form of social interaction in which all
the participants benefit by attaining their
goals.
• Definition: It is a continuous and common
endeavor of two or more persons to perform
a task to reach a goal that is commonly
cherished.

55. Characteristics
of
Cooperation
Associative process
Conscious process
Personal process
Continuous process
Universal process
Based on essential elements

56. Types of Cooperation
• Direct cooperation: This type of cooperation is voluntary. The essential character
of this kind of cooperation is that people do such identical functions, that they can
do separately. E.g. cooperation between husband and wife.
• Indirect cooperation: includes those activities in which people do unlike tasks
together toward a common end. This cooperation is based on the principle of
division of labour.
• In such type of cooperation people perform different functions to attain a common
objective. E.g. carpenters, masons, plumber, electricians cooperate to build a house.

57. Importance of Cooperation
• Cooperation is the most elementary form of social process without which society
cannot exist.
• It is the foundation of our social life. The continuation of human race requires
cooperation of males and females.
• Cooperation of human beings is both psychological and social necessity.
• Cooperation also satisfies physical, mental and spiritual needs of the person.
• Cooperation helps society to progress. All the progress that mankind has made in
various fields is attributed to cooperation.
• It can also provide solutions to many international problems and disputes.

58. Competition
• It is one of the dissociative form of social
processes.
• It is the most fundamental from of social
struggle.
• It occurs whenever there is insufficient supply
of anything that human beings desire and
cannot be achieved by all.
• It occurs when demand out turns supply.
• Definition: It is an impersonal, unconscious,
continuous struggle between individuals and
groups for satisfaction because of their
limited supply and all may not have.

59. Characteristics
of
Competition
Universality
Dual in nature
Influenced by culture
Unconscious activity
Continuous process
Based upon certain norms
Based upon goals and rewards
Cause of social change
Constructive as well as destructive

60. Types of competition
• Personal Competition
• It means rivalry between the people. It occurs among the two opponents on
their personal level.
• Impersonal Competition
• It takes place among the groups and not among the individuals. Competitors
compete with one another as member of group such as business, social or
cultural groups.

61. Forms of competition
• Economic competition: competition between individual or group to
achieve certain material goods.
• Cultural competition: It occurs when two or more cultures try to establish
their superiority over others. This type of competition leads to cultural
diversities in the society.
• Social competition: Mainly found in modern societies. For acquiring a high
status, popularity, name and fame in society people compete with each other.

62. Forms of competition
• Racial competition: Found among different races in the world. It takes
place when one race tries to establish its superiority over the other.
• Political competition: In democratic countries this competition is inevitable
among various political parties and even between different members of a
political party to obtain political power.

63. Importance of competition
• Positive functions:
• Provides better opportunities
• Determines functions in the society
• Source of motivation
• Essential element for progress
• Negative functions
• Emotional disturbances and frustrations
• May cause insecurity and instability
• Source of conflict
• May lead to monopoly

64. Conflict
• It is one of the dissociative or disintegrative social
processes.
• Universal and fundamental social process in human
relations.
• It is a process of seeking to obtain rewards by
eliminating or weakening the competitors.
• Conflict is competition in its occasional, personal
and hostile forms. It is also goal oriented.
• It seeks to capture its goal by making ineffective
and unfair means.
• Definition: A social process in which an individual
or groups seek their ends by directly challenging
the antagonists by violence.

65. Characteristics of Conflict
• Universal Process
• Normal part of life
• Personal in nature
• Deliberative and conscious activity
• Lacks continuity
• Conflict is a process
• Required interventions to resolve
• Conflict is inevitable
• Based upon perception rather than reality
• Conflict is dimensional

66. Causes of Conflict
• Shortage of material
• Struggle for existence
• Inmate qualities of human beings
• Difference in attitude and aspirations
• Social change
• Moral values and expectations

67. Types of conflicts
• According to Maclver and Page, there are two types of conflicts
• Direct conflict: when a person or group injures or destroys the opponent in order to
secure a goal or reward that results in direct conflict such as litigation, revolution and
war.
• Indirect conflict: Attempts are made by individuals or groups to frustrate the efforts
of their opponents in an indirect manner.

68. Types of conflicts
• According to George Simmel, there are four types of conflicts
• War: When all efforts to resolve the conflict between two states fail, war finally breaks
out as it is only alternative to the peaceful means of solution.
• Indirect conflict: It means a prolonged and bitter quarrel or dispute that usually occurs
among the members of the society. This is also known as intra-group conflict.
• Litigation: It is a form of conflict which is judicial in nature. To redress their
grievances and to get justice, people take recourse to legal means in the court of law.
• Conflict of impersonal ideals: It is a conflict carried on by the individuals not
themselves but for an ideal.

69. Types of conflicts
• According to Gillin and Gillin, there are five types of conflicts
• Personal conflict: It is conflict between two persons within the same group
• Racial conflict: It is a conflict between the two races
• Class conflict: It is a conflict between two classes such as poor and rich.
• Political conflict : Conflict between two political parties for the power.
• International conflict: Conflict between two nations

70. Role or Effects of Conflict
• Positive Functions
• Promotes solidarity and patriotism
• Emergence of larger group
• Redefining the values
• Establishment of intimate relations
• May change status
• Decision making
• Reconciliation
• Group cooperation
• Inspires creativity
• Share and respect opinions
• Improve future communication
• Negative Functions
• Causes social disorder
• Weakens the solidarity
• Violence
• Lowers the morale
• Decreases the productivity
• Distract primary purposes
• Psychological problems

71. Difference
Conflict
• May be productive and destructive
• May involve violence
• It is personal
• Lacks continuity
• Disregards social norms
• Diverts member’s attention from group objectives
• Lead to frustration and social disorder
• Involves discord and disagreement
• Uses unfair means
Competition
• It is productive most of the time
• It is non-violent in nature
• May be both personal as well as impersonal
• A continuous process
• Considers norms
• Keeps members alert to goals and objectives
• Encourages intelligence, innovations and entrepreneurship
• Can take place without clashes
• Emphasis on hard work and other positive values.

72. Accommodation
• It is the achievement of adjustment between
people that permits harmonious acting
together in social situation.
• It is a process through which individuals or
groups make adjustment to the changed
situation to overcome difficulties faced by
them.
• Definition: The term accommodation refers
particularly to the process in which man
attains a sense of harmony with his
environment.

73. Characteristics
End-result of
conflict
Universal
activity
Continuous
process
Conscious and
unconscious
process
Mixture of
both love and
hatred
Brings changes

74. Methods of Accommodation
• Admitting one’s defeat: Applicable between the conflicting parties of
unequal strength.
• Compromise: Applicable when the combatants are of equal strengths. Each
party to the dispute makes some concessions and yields to some demands of
the other.
• Through the mediator: Achieved by means of arbitration and conciliation
which involves attempts of the third party to resolve the conflict between
the contending parties.

75. Methods of Accommodation
• Toleration: Applied when there is no settlement of dispute but there is only the
avoidance of overt conflict or open conflict.
• Conversion: One of the contending parties tries to convent his opponents to his
view of point by proving that he is right and they are wrong.
• Rationalization: It involves withdrawal of contending party from the conflict on
the basis of some imaginary explanations to justify his action.
• Subordination: When individual or groups ordinarily accepts their relative
positions. It is an act of placing in a lower rank or position. Refusal to allow women
to be educated was part of society’s subordination of women to men.

76. Assimilation
• It means that the cultural differences between
divergent groupings of people disappear.
Thus people start thinking and acting similarly
as they absorb new common traditions,
attitude and consequently takes on a new
cultural identity.
• Definition: It is the social process whereby
individuals or groups come to share the same
sentiments and goals.

77. Levels of Assimilation
• Individual Level: When an individual enters a new group with different cultural
patterns, he/she has to adopt to new patterns of values, habits, customs and
beliefs of other group in order to be fully accepted by the new group. In course
of time he/she becomes assimilated into the group.
• Group Level: When two with dissimilar patterns of behavior come in close
contact, they inevitably affect each other. In this process, it is generally seen that
the weaker group do more of the borrowing from and would give very little to
the stronger group.
• Culture Level: When two cultures merge to produce a third culture and has
features of both merging cultures.

78. Types of Assimilation
• Cultural Assimilation: It involves learning day to day norms of the
dominant culture, dress, language, food, recreation, games and sports. This
process involves internalizing the more critical aspects of culture such as
values, ideas, beliefs and attitude.
• Structural assimilation: It involves developing patterns of intimate contact
between the guest and host groups in clubs, organizations and institutions of
the host society.

79. Characteristics
• Associative process
• Universal process
• Slow and gradual process
• Unconscious process
• Two way process

80. Factors Conducive for assimilation
• Toleration: It helps people to come together, to develop contacts and to participate in
common cultural and social activities
• Close social contact: When people of different cultures comes into close proximity with
each other, assimilation process takes place very easily.
• Amalgamation: It occurs when two different group establishes matrimonial relationships
among themselves.
• Equal economic opportunities: People or groups having equal economic positions
become more easily intimate. Thus, intimate relationship promotes assimilation.
• Common physical traits: Common physical traits or qualities of people of different
cultures also promote process of assimilation.
• Cultural similarity: Similarity between two groups of individual promote assimilation.

81. Factors hindering assimilation
• Physical differences: difference s in features, complexion of skin and other physical trait may
hinder in assimilation.
• Cultural differences: Language and religion, if different may have different difficulty in
assimilation.
• Prejudice: It is the attitude on which segregation depends for its success. It impedes assimilation
between constituent elements within a given society.
• Sense of superiority and inferiority: assimilation is hindered by the feelings of superiority and
inferiority.
• Domination and subordination: it leads to differences and lack of intimate relationship
between dominant group and subordinate group.
• Isolation: People living in isolation fails to establish social contact with others.

82. Importance
of
assimilation
Process of mutual interchange or
diffusion of culture through which
persons and groups come to share a
common culture.
It reduces group conflicts by blending
differing groups into a larger, culturally
homogenous group.
It eliminates boundary lines as two
groups, formerly distinct, assumes a
common identity.

83. Difference
Accommodation
• Natural result of conflict
• Takes place suddenly by bringing radical
changes.
• Conscious effort
• May or may not be a permanent process.
• Takes place between conflicting parties
• Based upon both love and hatred.
Assimilation
• Takes place only after accommodation
• Slow and gradual process
• An unconscious process
• Permanent process
• Based upon friendly and cordial
relationship
• Both a cultural and psychological process.

84. Social isolation
• Having little or no contact with other people.
• It is different from loneliness. Loneliness is a state of emotion that is felt by
the individual who are not satisfied with their social connections.
• Social isolation is voluntary and last for extended period of time.
• It is the absence of social interactions, contacts and relationships with family
and friends, with neighbors on an individual level, and with society at large
on a broader level.

85. Causes of social isolation
Eccentric people may
choose to have little
contact with other
people.
Physical disability or
illnesses.
Advanced age
Developmental delays,
intellectual disabilities
or neurological
disorders.
Retirement
Transportation and
housing
Immigrants

86. Effects of social isolation
On physical health
• Higher levels of stress hormones
• Heart disease including high B.P.
and CAD.
• Risk of disabilities
• Risk of developing chronic diseases
• Increase risk of premature deaths.
On mental health
• risk of mental health issues:
depression, dementia, social anxiety
and low self-esteem.
• hallucinations, insomnia, post
traumatic stress.

87. Part-IV
• Socialization
• Characteristics of socialization
• Agencies of socialization
• Process of socialization
• Types of socialization
• Social Change
• Characteristics of social change
• Process/stages of social change
• Patterns of social change
• Factors influencing social change
• Role of nurse as change agent

88. Socialization
• It is a process by which a living organism is changed into a social being.
• A continuous life process in the life of an individual and it continues from
generation to generation.
• It is a process pf inducting the individual into the social world.
• It refers to the process of interaction through which the growing individual learns
the habits, attitude, values and beliefs of the social group into which he/she has
been born.
• Definition: It is a process whereby one internalizes the norms of his/her groups,
so that a distinct self emerges uniquely to this individual.

89. Characteristics
• Continuous process
• Helps in maintaining social order
• Universal
• Formal and informal
• Regulates the behavior of the individual
• Individualized in nature
• Socialization is variable
• Predictable in nature
• Unique for individual

90. Agencies of
Socialization
Family: Family plays important role in the formation of
personality. It trains younger generation to take adult roles in the
society.
Neighborhood: It is a local social unit, where there is constant
interaction among the people of the same locality.
Peer group: Group in which the members share some common
characteristics such as age, gender etc. Some of the important
lessons are learnt from peer group.
Educational institutions: Culture is formally transmitted and
acquired in which science and art of one generation is passed on
the next.
Religion: It instills fear of hell in the individual so that he/she
should from bad and undesirable activities.
Occupation: While working, individual enters into relations of
cooperation involving specialization of tasks and at the same
time it gives them identity in the society

91. Agencies of
Socialization
Political parties: They disseminate political
values and norms and socialize the citizen.
Mass Media: It transmits information and
messages which influence the personality of
an individual to a greater extent.
The state: The state is the provider of
services like protective functions, care services
etc. As citizen, the life of a person is greatly
influenced by their national interests

92. Process of socialization
• Process of socialization operates with in the infant that is known as
internalization of objects.
• Socialization may also be viewed as the internalization of social norms.
Social rules become internal to the individual in the sense that they are self
imposed.
• At second level, the process of socialization may be viewed as an essential
element of social interaction. Individual become socialized as they act in
accordance with the expectations of others.

93. Factors of the process of socialization
• Imitation: The process of copying the actions of other individuals. The individual
performs exactly the same activity as the one being performed before him/her.
• Suggestion: It is the process of communicating information that has no logical or
self evident basis. It may be conveyed through some language, pictures or some
similar medium.
• Identification: The process of associating the self closely with other individuals or
objects and their characteristics or views.
• Language: It is a medium of cultural transmission. The language molds the
personality of the individual from infancy.

94. Types of Socialization
• Primary Socialization: Socialization of infant in the initial years of his life. It is a
process by which the infant learns language and cognitive skills, internalizes norms
and values. The norms of the society becomes part of the personality of the
individual.
• Secondary socialization: Socialization beyond and outside family. The child learns
social conduct from his/her peers. Child also learns important lessons in schools. It
is also referred to as social training received by institutional or formal setting.
• Adult socialization: A person learns according to his roles in the society like
becoming an employee, husband or wife, where primary and secondary socialization
have not prepared them fully. The aim of this socialization is to bring change in the
views of the individual.

95. Types of Socialization
• Anticipatory Socialization: Refers to the process by which men learn the
culture of a group with the anticipation of joining that group.
• Re-socialization: Refers to the process of discarding former behaviour
patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one’s life. Such re-
socialization takes place mostly when a social role is radically changed.

96. Social Change
• It denotes the difference in anything be it individual, group, society or any
material object over a period of time.
• It is defines as the change in the human interactions and relationships that
transforms cultural and social institutions.
• It is any significant alteration over time in behaviour patterns and cultural
value norms. E.g. industrial revolution

97. Characteristics of Social change
• Natural
• It is not uniform
• It is variable
• Change of society rather than individual
• Duration of social change varies
• It is universal
• It is interrelated and interdependent
• It is a multifactor process
• It is neutral from values.
• Exact form of social change is uncertain

98. Factors of Social Change
• Physical Environment: changes in physical environment often produces
changes in the lives of the people. Human misuse of natural resources can
bring very rapid changes in physical environment which in turn change the
social and cultural life of people. Repeated flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis
may effectively change the lives of the people
• Demographic factors: A population change is itself a social change but also
becomes a causal factor. Increase or decrease in the population brings change
in its size and composition. It also includes factors like death rate, migration,
marriage and literacy rate.

99. Factors of Social Change contd…
• Cultural factors: ideas, values and beliefs
• Economic factors: Impact of industrialization, changes in family system, poverty and
unemployment
• Political factors: New laws like child marriage, widow remarriages, divorce, inheritance and
succession, untouchability.
• Technological innovations: Modernization and new innovations.
• Social Movements: Leaders and social media.
• Conflicts, Wars and conquest: Change also results from social conflict, including wars,
ethnic conflict, efforts by social movements to change society, and efforts by their
opponents to maintain the status quo.

100. Process of Social Change
• There are two types of social change
• The processes of change within the social structure
• Processes of change that can modify the structure in its entirety, which is
also referred to as societal change.

101. Stages of Social change
• Survival: The stage of survival is self-evident. A family that has moved into the
upper middle class may struggle to maintain its status at that level. Its progress from
lower to middle class is development, but its struggle to remain at the higher level is
survival.
• Growth: Growth is a horizontal extension of the existing structure non-stop.
Internet is passing through a period of growth. Universal education is growing and
has not yet reached its limit.
• Development: Development is to seek new ways radically different from the old.
• Evolution: Evolution is to grow into a new higher structure, which is radically
different from development.

102. Theories of Social Change
• Evolutionary Theory: According to this theory, societies are viewed as
organism and they evolve in the same manner as Darwin’s notion of
biological evolution. The societies go through series of stages based on
increasing complexity towards higher and more advanced and developed
state of existence. This theory favors a notion that each new stage of
development is more advanced then the previous one.
• Cyclical Theory: It believes that societies have pre-determined life cycle of
birth, growth, maturity and decline. Likewise great cultures emerge, rise to
the heights only to subside and giving rise to another.

103. Theories of Social Change
• Functional Theory: Societies change but they also tend to move towards
equilibrium. Any disturbance in the system is easily accommodated within the
exiting structure. For instance, the task of education that can easily be performed by
family ids taken over by educational institutions like schools, colleges and
universities.
• Conflict Theory: Accoring to this theory, every pattern of action, belief and
interaction tends to generate an opposing reaction. Thus this theory highlights the
forces producing instability using social disorganization. It sees unequal distribution
of power and authority as fundamental source of conflict.

104. Patterns of Social Change
• Linear change pattern: This type of change shows straight line of
progression from one stage to another in a linear fashion. Society gradually
moves to higher state of civilization..

105. Patterns of Social Change
• Cyclical change pattern: This type of change shows repeated set of activities that
follows a cyclical pattern like rhythms of nature, day and night. Similarly society also
has predetermined cycle. After going through all the stages, it returns to the original
stage and fresh cycle begins again.
• Fluctuating change pattern: When the order of change turns in the opposite
direction after leading towards the progress, it is called as fluctuating pattern of
changes. In other words, tendency to change in this type is not consistent. It moves
up or down depending upon the favorable or unfavorable circumstances.

106. Role of Nurse as a change agent
• Nurses act as advocates for health promotion, educate the public on
prevention of illnesses and injury and provide care and support that changes
lives of the people.
• Nurses help families to learn to become healthy by understanding the
emotional, physical, mental and cultural experiences they encounter during
health and illnesses.
• Nurses help people and families to cope with illness, deals with it and live
with it.

107. Role of Nurse as a change agent
• Nurses are always at the fore front of the change in health care of the
society.
• Nurses provide an ongoing assessment of people’s health round the clock by
using their observatory skills and help to save the lives of many people.
• Promoting community’s self determination in choosing a safer environment
requires that the individual involved must change.
• Nurses help in changing the customs and rituals that can affect the health of
the people.

108. Role of Nurse as a change agent
• Nurses study the social problems and can suggest the remedial measures to
overcome such problems.
• By knowing how society works and its impact on health, nurses can become a
powerful force for social changes.
• Nurses work as advocates for the rights of their clients and bring changes in their
social lives.
• Nurses not only understand the behaviour, conflict, personal relationships, hierarchy
and groups but also helps the people to understand adaptation and coping strategies
to deal with stressful situations and bring major changes in their social lives.

109. Part-V
• Rural community
• Characteristics of rural community
• Urban Community
• Characteristics of urban community
• Difference between rural and urban
community
• Tribe
• Characteristics of tribe
• Major health problems of urban areas
• Major health problems of rural areas
• Major health problems of tribal areas
• Importance of social structure in
nursing profession

110. Rural Community
• It is a natural phenomenon. It is present in every society of the world having
distinct cultures and patterns of social life.
• Agriculture is the amin identity and element.
• Definition: A group of people, who mainly depend upon agriculture and
allied occupation are permanently residing in a particular geographical area
and participating in common socio-economic and cultural activities.

111. Characteristics
of rural
community
• Agriculture as main occupation
• Close/familiar relationships
• Homogenity: people have common
occupation and lifestyle, share same customs
and traditions.
• Simple life
• Low density of population
• Social differentiation on the caste system
rather than class system
• Social interaction: Level of interaction is
more stable as mostly it occurs among the
primary groups.
• Social solidarity: more stable as they share
common customs, traditions and values.

112. Characteristics
of rural
community
contd..
• Joint family system: Generally villages have
joint family system where father is head of the
family.
• Social status and mobility: The caste system
determines the social status of the people as
their occupation mainly depends upon the
caste and they have lesser mobility as
compared to cities.
• Moral values: Very high as they have deep
faith in their religion and greater fear from
natural forces.
• Great feeling of self-belongingness: They
have high solidarity and feeling of
belongingness and they hep each other

113. Urban Community
• Urban people have highly impersonal lifestyle and high degree of complexity
and heterogeneity is seen in their living stye and identities.
• It is actually a product of rational choice.
• A complex division of labour with specialization in their jobs is the identity
of the urban community.
• Modern civic facilities are usually available.

114. Characteristics of Urban community
• Size: Size is much larger than the rural community
• Density of population: Greater that the rural community
• Type of family: Nuclear families are more popular
• Type of marriages: More freedom to the children to choose their life partners.
• Class system of social stratification: In urban areas social status of an individual
is not only determined his class or status but also by his merits and levels of
intelligence rather on basis of birth or caste.

115. Characteristics of Urban community contd..
• Heterogenous nature of society: urban areas have great diversity in the culture.
• Self-centered and materialistic nature: Social existence of man revolves around
wealth and material possessions.
• Extreme variations in the social status: In urban areas, there are houses of
richest as well as poorest people.
• Social distance and social interactions: Social distance is a result of anonymity
and heterogeneity. There is lack of personal involvement in affairs of others.

116. Characteristics of Urban community contd..
• Social mobility: The most important feature of urban community is its
social mobility.
• Anonymity: There is lack of identity and self belongingness.
• Lack of social norms: There is absence of uniform and fixed social norms.
• Associations based upon interest: urban community is characterized by
impersonal, mechanical and formal social contacts occurring among the
people.

117. Difference between rural society and urban society
S.No. Characteristics Rural society Urban society
1. Life style Very simple Very complex and complicated
2. Social Status Homogeneity Heterogeneity
3. Educational and occupational
scope
Very limited in rural areas Wide range to choose any
occupation and multiple options
4. Role and type of family Mostly joint families and plays a
predominant role
Nuclear families and hold is not very
strong.
5. Values of culture Deeply rooted Very difficult to find pure culture
6. Love for nature People love nature and worship it
as god and goddess
No time to enjoy nature. People are
more materialistic.

118. Difference between rural society and urban society
S.No. Characteristics Rural society Urban society
7. Size and population Small in size and not highly
populated
Cities are large in size and are highly
populated
8. Stratification Mostly based on caste system Based on class system which is based on
economic, political, social and educational
status of individual.
9. Relationship Predominantly personal and durable More secondary, impersonal, causal and short
lived.
10. Availability of health
services
Very limited in rural areas Great range of specialist services available at
tertiary level.
11. Recreational resources Limited and very simple Wide choices for entertainment like
amusement parks, cinemas, theaters
12. Solidarity Strong with more sense of
belongingness
Less and formal

119. Tribe
• It is a social group having many clans, nomadic bands and other sub-groups
living on a definite geographical area having separate language, separate and
singular culture.
• Definition: It is a group of bands occupying a contiguous territory or
territories and having a feeling of unity deriving from numerous similarities
in a culture, frequent contacts and a certain community of interest.

120. Characteristics of tribe
• Common topography: They live within a definite topography and it is a common place for
all the members.
• Common dialect: members exchange their views in a common dialect.
• Practice of endogamy: The community uses endogamy to resist integrating and
completely merging with the surrounding populations.
• Sense of unity: It is an invariable necessity for a true tribal life.
• Common culture: It produces a life of homogeneity among the members of tribe.
• Kinship: It forms the basis of tribal social organization. It includes people related by both
descents of them like social relations happen with the development and also by marriage.

121. Characteristics of tribe contd..
• Ties of blood relationship: Blood relation is the greatest bond and most powerful force
inculcating sense of unity among the tribal.
• Awareness of protection: Tribal people always need protection from intrusion and
infiltration.
• Distinct political organization: every tribe has its own distinct political organization that
looks after the interests of the people. The whole political authority lies in the hands of
tribal chief.
• Rudimentary type of religion: Tribes believes in certain myths and rudimentary type of
religion.
• Economic structure and occupation: they are heavily concentrated in the forest areas
within nature and this determines their economic activity, which consists of hunting and
agriculture.

122. MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS

123. Major health problems of Urban Areas
• Air pollution: rapid urbanization created huge challenges like congestion,
pollution an traffic safety.
• Non-communicable diseases: urban lifestyle has led to reduced physical
activity and promoted unhealthy nutrition.
• Global warming and change of climate: There is lot of traffic and
industrial pollution. It leads to increase in pollutants.
• Development of slum areas: The rural immigrants migrant to cities leading
to development of slum areas.

124. Major health problems of Urban Areas contd..
• Overcrowding: Huge number of people live in a small space that leads to
congestion in urban areas and is responsible for many diseases.
• Unemployment: although income in the urban areas is high but cost of
living is very high making income horribly low, leading to stress and other
social problems.
• Water and sanitation problems: Scarcity of natural resources.
• Poor health: Social, economic and living conditions in congested urban
areas affect access and utilization of public health care services.

125. Major health problems of Urban Areas contd..
• Traffic congestion: Increased number of vehicles leads to congestion
leading to frustrations and stress and other mental health problems.
• Increased proportions of crime: Overcrowding, poverty, unemployment,
lack of basic facilities, resources and social services, lead to many social
problems like drug abuse, violence and other crimes.
• High risk for infectious diseases: Urban slums have high incidences of
infectious diseases. Factors contributing are: overcrowding, high density of
population, poor sanitation facilities etc.

126. Major health problems of Urban Areas contd..
• Higher incidences of epidemic diseases: Urban slums are epicenter of epidemic
diseases, as due to close proximity, diseases spread at a very high speed leading to
epidemics.
• Higher proportions of malnutrition among children: 50% of the children in
urban slums areas are malnourished due to lack of education, faulty food practices,
employment of mothers and child labour etc.
• Changes in ecosystem: Urban lifestyle requires the consumption of great natural
resources that affect the global ecosystem and make earth more prone to calamities.

127. Major health problems of Rural areas
• Infectious disease: Gastrointestinal diseases, airborne infections and other
communicable diseases.
• Malnutrition: one of the dominant health problem in rural areas.
• Poor maternal Health: Lack of health facilities for antenatal care, natal and post
partum care.
• High Infant and child mortality rate: Higher prevalence of morbidity and
mortality rates of infants and children.
• Animal bites: Snakes, dog, and insect bites resulting into death and disability.

128. Major health problems of Rural areas contd..
• Agriculture related injuries and diseases: Mechanical accidents, pesticide
poisoning, skin and respiratory diseases.
• Socio-psychological problems of females: Verbal abuse, physical abuse,
sexual harassment etc. leads to psychological health issues.

129. Major Health problems of Tribal area
• Low life expectancy: Data according to census 2011 shows life expectancy among
tribal population is lower than the general population.
• Poor maternal health: maternal mortality rate is higher among tribal community
due to various factors like early marriage, early childbirth and high incidence of
anemia among women of tribal community.
• High child mortality rate: High incidence of child mortality is present among
tribal community and there is high incidence of low birth weight babies and poor
rate of immunization among the children of tribal communities.
• Poor use of family welfare services: According to NFHS-4 data, it was found
that total fertility rate of tribal community was higher than the general population

130. Major Health problems of Tribal area contd..
• Communicable diseases: Tribal population bears a disproportionate burden of
the communicable diseases. These include malaria, tuberculosis, skin infections,
STDs etc.
• Genetic disorders: The prevalence of sickle cell anemia and thalassemia is higher
among tribal population.
• Malnutrition: The prevalence of stunted growth and lower BMI among tribal
population is more than the general population.
• Animal attacks: As tribal communities are often surrounded with forests, animal
bites are very common.

131. Major Health problems of Tribal area contd..
• Violence: Maoists insurgent or Naxalite activity has expanded markedly
especially in the central tribal belt of India.
• Addiction: Tribal people consume locally made alcohol that contributes in
deteriorating their health.
• Poor access to health services: Due to lack of transportation and roads
and poor connectivity, they have lack of access to health services.

132. Importance of social structure in nursing
profession
• It helps nurses to understand the behaviour, conflicts, and interpersonal
relationships of their clients.
• It helps to understand the hierarchy, groups and adaptation of different
people working in their team.
• Nurses gets information regarding the socio-cultural life of their clients.
• It helps nurse to know the social context of their patients that provides the
significant insight about their experiences of health and care.

133. Importance of social structure in nursing
profession- contd..
• It facilitates reflective practice thus help nurses to more confidently challenge
ineffective practices.
• Nurses will be able to provide genuine care and perform appropriate
diagnosis if they have an understanding of social structure.
• It enables nurses to understand their social responsibilities as agents of
change.
• It will not only help in treating the diseases but also help a nurse to improve
quality of life of patients.

134. Importance of social structure in nursing
profession contd..
• Nurses will be able to understand the relation of their duties with the social
structure of their patients to provide effective care to their clients.
• It helps in understanding the characteristics of social relationship, its
complexities and its impact on health care.