Chapter 9
Social Institutions
Social Institutions
Society has a structure and performs certain functions as such
Society comprises of social institutions
Social institutions are a product of Cultural Evolution.
Introduction
In society, human beings must rely upon social institutions in order to survive.
Institutions are social arrangements that channel behavior in prescribed ways in the
important areas of social life.
They channel our action in the same way that instinct channels animal behavior.
These institutions not only provide procedures that shape our conduct and actions, but
also pressure us to fall in line and reinforce socially acceptable behavioral patterns.
Social institutions perform manifest and latent functions.
For Concept
(Manifest functions are the intended and obvious consequences of a social institution or action.
They are the "active" reasons people consciously engage in something.
Latent functions are the unintended and often hidden or unrecognized consequences. They are
the secondary, sometimes unacknowledged, effects.
A classic example is a college education. The manifest function is to get an education and earn
a degree for a career. A latent function is meeting a future spouse or making lifelong friends.
The latter is an important outcome, but it's not the primary, stated purpose.)
Social Institutions:
1. The Family
2. Education
3. Religion
4. Economy
5. Politics
1. Family: An Introduction
The purpose for creating families in a social sense is to extend kinship patterns. Families
are structured around kinship.
Kinship is a social bond, based on blood, marriage, or adoption, that joins individuals into
families.
Kinship is important because all societies must transmit culture, property, wealth, and
power from one generation to the next.
Kinship facilitates these processes.
Kinship can also be a mechanism for placing individuals into a broader social network
that helps to order social relationships.
Traditional societies often are organized by elaborate family networks, but in industrial
society members of the nuclear family are the center of each person's most important kin
relationships.
Thus, it is important to see that as the institution of the family breaks down, the very
fabric of society may be at risk as well.
Some of the important functions performed by the family include, reproduction of new
members and socializing them, and provision of emotional and physical care for older
persons and young.
Family in fact, is an institution which resolves or eases a large number of social
problems.
New definition of a family:
Relationships in which people live together with commitment, form an economic unit and care
for any young, and consider their identity to be significantly attached to the group.
The Family: Some Basic Concept
Family of orientation: The family into which a person is born can be referred to as the
family of orientation.
Family of procreation: is constructed by the adult individual who creates a family as he
or she becomes an adult.
Families of affinity: people with or without legal or blood ties who feel they belong
together.
Extended (consanguine) Family: It consists of an old system of family with the close
connections of two or three generations of relations.
Nuclear (conjugal) Family: consists of two elders and their children. It is often referred
to as the "immediate family."
The Family: Marriage Pattern
Endogamy & Exogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, such as one's own clan,
community, or religious group.
Exogamy is the practice of marrying outside a specific social group.
Endogamy & Exogamy
These terms refer to the rules of who a person can marry.
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, category, or
community. This could be marrying someone of the same race, religion, or social class.
For example, some religious groups may require their members to marry other members
of that same faith.
Exogamy is the practice of marrying outside a specific social group. This is the opposite
of endogamy and prevents people from marrying within their own family, clan, or other
defined group. A common example is the law against marrying a close relative.
Monogamy & Polygamy
These terms refer to the number of spouses a person can have.
Monogamy is the practice of having one spouse at a time. This is the most common
form of marriage in many societies today.
Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at a time. There are two types
of polygamy:
o Polygyny: One man with multiple wives.
o Polyandry: One woman with multiple husbands.
The Family: Residential Patterns
Patrilocal: The couple lives with or near the husband's family.
Matrilocal: The couple lives with or near the wife's family.
Neolocal: The couple establishes a new, independent residence away from both sets of parents.
The Family: Authority Structures
Patriarchal: A family structure where authority is held by the eldest male (e.g., father or
grandfather). He makes the major decisions for the family.
Matriarchal: A family structure where authority is held by the eldest female (e.g., mother or
grandmother). She makes the major decisions for the family.
The Family: Patterns of Descent
Patrilineal: In this system, the family name and descent are traced through the father's line. The
son is typically the inheritor of property, and it is associated with a patriarchal authority
structure.
Matrilineal: Here, the family name and descent are traced through the mother's line. The
daughter is typically the inheritor of property, and it is associated with a matriarchal authority
structure.
Bilineal: This system uses both the father's and mother's lines to trace descent. While women
still assume their husband's surname, there is no predetermined rule for which child inherits
property.
