SOCIOLOGICAL

ASPECTS IN
HOURING DESING
UNIT 5
What Are Families?
A group of individuals who live together and
cooperate as a unit.
Families possess a genuine love for family which not
simply parents and children but also relatives and
grandparents.
What is SOCIETY ?
A group of families organized and working together
for a common goal, interest and beliefs is called
society.
As the people who interact in such a way as to share
a common culture.
The term society can also have a geographical
meaning and refer to people who share a common
culture in a particular location.
Family in relation to society?
Families are the foundation in society.
The life and reputation of every society depends on the
behaviour or actions of its families.
When families breakdown and fail to provide the healthy
nurturing we need, the effects impact not only our own
lives but also in our communities.
We suffer the consequences. – The goals of society may
not be achieved if the family fails in achieving its goals.
What is CULTURE?
Culture is that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member
of society.
Culture is everything that people have- (material
possessions), think (values and attitudes), do
(behaviour patterns) as member of a society.
Family in relation to culture?
The family acts as an instrument by which culture is
kept alive.
Through the family, the beliefs, customs and
traditions of the older generation are passed on to the
next generation.
Social and Cultural changes in the
family
In the past few decades, the world has seen major
changes in the face of the family.
Continuous and constant changes with the time has
resulted to what sociologist call socio-cultural
changes.
Such changes have caused conflicts in the family,
resulting to problems like separation, juvenile
delinquency, early marriage and drug addiction.
The declining authority of the male
Before, the absolute control was exercised by the head of
the family, the father.
Now, the father and mother share equal authority and
responsibility.
The sophisticated division of labour – while the traditional
role of the wife is take charge of the domestic affairs of
the home and the early education of the children, she has
now become an accepted partner in earning the family
income.
Migration to urban areas and the
frontier areas
There is now a high degree of mobility of the
population as compared to the traditional way of life.
Better communication, improvement on the means of
transportation and mass education has attracted
people to strike out for a new places.
Forms of MARRIAGES
• MONOGAMY- one man marries only one woman at a
given time.
• POLYGAMY- one person marries two or more persons
of the opposite sex at a given time.
Two forms: –
POLYGYNY- marriage of a man to two or more women
at a given time in which there is no marriage bond
between the wives.
POLYANDRY- the woman is legally married to two or
more men at the same time.
Classification of families
Simple or Nuclear Conjugal family- a family
composed of composed of husband and wife
husband, wife and their children.
Extended Family Families that include –relatives
other than parents and children.
Extended Is made up of nuclear or single-parent
families plus other relatives such as grandparents,
aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Regional Characteristics in India.
 Every region in India has its own characteristics and traditions,
like the palm-leaf houses in the south are nothing similar to the
stone houses of the Himalayas or the houseboats of Kashmir.
 Every state has its own identity which is respected by people in
India and also the world. Family life is equally varied in Indian
states.
 India is a country with many states in which people from
different cultures, religions, castes, etc., live.
 The language, clothing, customs, and traditions of people are
influenced by the respective regions they reside in.
Family Structure
 Most of the families in India are extended ones, wherein,
every member has his/her own role, often influenced by age
and gender.
 Children are cherished and considered to be gifts from God.
 The family structure in India is typical, wherein, there are
many wedding customs which have to be strongly followed
by everyone.
 Religion, caste, traditional practices, and regional
differences influence family structures. Indians are more
emotionally attached to the members of their family.
Social stratification
 Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization
of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based
on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and
power.
 Society’s layers are made of people, and society’s
resources are distributed unevenly throughout the
layers.
 The people who have more resources represent the top
layer of the social structure of stratification. Other
groups of people, with progressively fewer and fewer
resources, represent the lower layers of society.
Inequalities between induviduals
 sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide
system that makes inequalities apparent.
 While there are always inequalities between individuals,
sociologists are interested in larger social patterns.
 Stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about
systematic inequalities based on group membership, classes, and
the like.
 No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities.
A person’s social standing is affected by the structure of society.
 Although individuals may support or fight inequalities, social
stratification is created and supported by society as a whole.
Systems of Stratification
 Caste system
 Class system
 Meritocracy
 Status Consistency

A caste system is one in which people are born into their

social standing and will remain in it their whole lives.
People are assigned occupations regardless of their
talents, interests, or potential. There are virtually no
opportunities to improve one’s social position.
A class consists of a set of people who share similar
status with regard to factors like wealth, income,
education, and occupation. Unlike caste systems,
class systems are open. People are free to gain a
different level of education or employment than their
parents. They can also socialize with and marry
members of other classes, allowing people to move
from one class to another.
Meritocracy is another system of social stratification
in which personal effort—or merit—determines
social standing. High levels of effort will lead to a
high social position, and vice versa. The concept of
meritocracy is an ideal—that is, a society has never
existed where social rank was based purely on merit.