PSEB 11th Class Sociology Important Questions Chapter 9 Social Structure

Punjab State Board PSEB 11th Class Sociology Important Questions Chapter 9 Social Structure Important Questions and Answers.

PSEB 11th Class Sociology Important Questions Chapter 9 Social Structure

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Which of these is the feature of social structure?
(а) Structure tells us about external structure of anything
(b) There are many elements of social structure
(c) Different societies have different structures
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these

2. What type of social structure is?
(a) Stable
(b) Moveable
(c) Slowly moving
(d) Moving fast
Answer:
(b) Moveable

3. Social structure is a ……………….
(a) permanent concept
(b) temporary concept
(c) breakable concept
(d) changing concept
Answer:
(a) permanent concept

4. The term social structure was used first time by …………..
(a) Naddel
(b) Herbert Spencer
(c) Talcott persons
(d) Malinowski
Answer:
(b) Herbert Spencer

5. Who forms social structure?
(a) Community
(b) Religion
(c) Values
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these

6. Sequal form of different units is known as
(a) interaction
(b) system
(c) structure
(d) none of these
Answer:
(c) structure

7. What type of structure modern societies have?
(a) Simple
(b) Complex
(c) Systematic
(d) Modern
Answer:
(b) Complex

8. Give any feature of role.
(a) One person can have many roles
(b) Roles are regulated by our culture
(c) Roles are functional in nature
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these

9. Give any feature of social status.
(a) Each status has a place in society
(b) Roles are determined with status
(c) Roles are determined by society
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these

10. The status given on the basis of birth is known as ………………
(a) ascribed status
(b) role status
(c) achieved status
(d) fixed status
Answer:
(a) ascribed status

11. Status which one gets according to his ability is ……………..
(a) role status
(b) fixed status
(c) ascribed status
(d) achieved status
Answer:
(d) achieved status

12. What is the base of ascribed status?
(a) Birth
(b) Age
(c) Sex
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these

13. What is the base of achieved status?
(a) Education
(b) Money
(c) Individual ability
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these

Fill in the Blanks:

1. The systematic form of different but interrelated parts of society is known as …………….
Answer:
Social structure

2. When an individual gets many roles at a time, it is known as ………………
Answer:
Role set

3. ……………. is the position which one gets and he needs to fulfil.
Answer:
Status

4. …………… status is given on the basis of birth.
Answer:
Ascribed

5. …………… status is that which one gets with his ability and hard work.
Answer:
Achieved

6. ………….. and …………….. are two sides of same coin.
Answer:
Status, Role

True/False:

1. Herbert Spencer used the word Social Structure for the first time.
Answer:
True

2. All the parts of society are interrelated.
Answer:
True

3. Spencer wrote a book ‘The Principles of Sociology’.
Answer:
True

4. Status is of three types.
Answer:
False

5. One gets ascribed status with his hard work.
Answer:
False

6. One gets achieved status according to his birth.
Answer:
False

One Word/Line Question Answers:

Question 1.
Which part of society is expressed in social structure?
Answer:
External aspect of society is expressed in social structure.

Question 2.
Which units form social structure?
Answer:
Important units of society such as institutions, groups, associations etc. form social structure.

Question 3.
What do we get from the units of structure?
Answer:
We get sequence from the units of structure.

Question 4.
What type of concept is social structure?
Answer:
Social structure is a permanent concept which exists everywhere.

Question 5.
What is the base of social structure?
Answer:
The base of social structure is ideal system.

Question 6.
How many types of social structure are given by Talcott Parsons?
Answer:
Talcott Persons gave four types of social structure.

Question 7.
Name the sociologist who explained social structure in comparison with human body.
Answer:
Herbert Spencer explained social structure in comparison with human body.

Question 8.
Is structure of all the societies same?
Answer:
No, structure of all the societies is not same.

Question 9.
Name the two important elements of social structure.
Answer:
The two important elements of social structure are idealistic system and status system.

Question 10.
What type of structure modern societies have?
Answer:
Modern societies have complex structure.

Question 11.
What type of structure ancient societies had?
Answer:
Ancient societies had simple structure.

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
What is Structure?
Answer:
Sequal form of different units is known as structure. It means that if different units are kept in a sequence, a systematic form comes in front and it is known as structure.

Question 2.
Who forms social structure?
Answer:
Social structure is formed by different units such as family, religion, community, organisations, groups, values, status, institutions, normes etc. Except this normative system, position system, sanction system, system of anticipated responses and action system also give great contribution in it.

Question 3.
Is social structure abstract?
Answer:
Yes, social structure is abstract in nature as it is formed by units such as institutions norms, values, ideas etc. which are abstract and we can’t see them, That’s why social structure is also abstract in nature.

Question 4.
Name the type of social structure given by Talcott Parsons.
Answer:
Talcott Parsons has given four types of social structure and these are:

• Universalistic achieved pattern
• Universalistic ascribed pattern
• Particularistic achieved a pattern
• Particularistic ascribed pattern

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
What is Social Structure?
Answer:
Our society has been made with the co-operation of many units. These units are institutions, associations, groups, status, roles etc. Just with’the collection of these units, society cannot be formed but is formed because of a specific system which exists in these units. For example, we cannot call wood, nails, fevicol, polish a chair. But when all these things will be joined in a specific system, then it can be called as a structure of a chair. In this way, all the units of society, which we can only feel, will be kept in a system then it is known as social structure.

Question 2.
Give four elements of Social Structure.
Answer:
According to Talcott Parsons and Harry M. Johnson, there are four main elements of social structure and these are:

• Sub-group
• Social norms
• Roles
• Social values

Question 3.
How is social structure the product of interactions?
Answer:
No specific design is formed to tell the institutions, groups, norms in social structure but they are developed because of the result of the social interactions. That’s there is no need to do any effort in this regard consciously.

Question 4.
Meaning of Sub-group.
Answer:
Different parts which exist in social structure are sub-groups. It means that many sub-groups like college, school, family etc. exist in a big group like a community. The structure of social groups is determined by the roles and status of their members. Sub-groups stay for a longer time than the members. For example, a teacher has a definite role and status in school but these roles and status never come to an end even after his death. But these roles and statuses are taken by any other person. In this way, even after the death of many persons, sub-groups stay for a very long time.

Question 5.
Meaning of Sequence.
Answer:
Many units like an institution, caste, norms, values co-exist in society. Just with the joining of these units social structure cannot be formed unless a definite type of sequence exists in these units. It is this sequence because of which we can see any form. Like, if the bricks, sand, cement, iron will be put in a sequence, then the form of a house will come in front of us. This is known as a sequence.

Question 6.
What is Social Status?
Answer:
Position of a person which exists in society, has been given the name of social status. This position is that by which person is known by his rights and patterns of his roles on the basis of his gender, age, birth, occupation etc. For example, if any officer is coming in office then everyone stands up, this respect is given to him, because of his position. A specific pattern related with his function is known as social status.

Question 7.
Any two elements of Status.
Answer:

1. Status is determined by the cultural position of the society because functions related with needs exist in society, with which stability is maintained in society. For example, in ancient times status of Brahmans was higher in caste system but according to modern culture, status of a rich person is higher.
2. Every person has to do his role according to his status. It means that role is related with every status.

Question 8.
Types of status given by Ralph Linton.
Answer:
According to Linton there are two types of status:

• Ascribed status
• Achieved status

Question 9.
Two characteristics of Social Role.
Answer:

• These are determined by social sanctions because these are the basis of culture. Any role done against social values is not accepted by society.
• Norms and values of society are changeable because of which roles also change. Different roles in different times have different importance.

Question 10.
Characteristics of Social Status.
Answer:

• Every status has a place in society.
• Status is determined by the culture of the society.
• Status is always comparable.
• Every status has a psychological base.
• The role is determined by status.

Question 11.
Characteristics of Role.
Answer:

• One person has many roles.
• The role is determined by our culture.
• The role is functional.
• The role is determined by social sanctions.
• Different roles have different importance.
• The role is changeable.

Question 12.
Importance of Role.
Answer:

• It maintains a social system and balance.
• It regulates the actions of individuals.
• It divides the functions in society.
• It regulates social interaction.
• It makes an individual active and affects his behaviour.

Question 13.
Role Conflict.
Answer:
Role Conflict is a situation that starts at the time when one individual needs to perform many roles at a given time and he is unable to maintain a balance between these different role. A person has many roles and certain expectations are associated with each role. When a person is not in a position to maintain a balance between these roles and conflict starts between roles then this process is known as role conflict.

Long Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
Explain the meaning of social structure given by different sociologists.
Answer:
Different sociologists have defined it in their own way which are given below:

1. View of Herbert Spencer. Herbert Spencer was the first Sociologist who threw some light on the structure of the society but was unable to give a clear definition of the social structure. He explained the meaning of the social structure in his book ‘Principles of Sociology on a biological basis. Spencer tried to clarify the meaning of social structure on a the basis of ‘Organic Structure’. Durkheim also used this word but he also left it in halfway.

According to Spencer, the human physical structure has many parts like legs, ears, mouth, hands etc. and one organised system is there in these parts on the basis of which all these parts work for body. It means that our body works only because of collection of interrelation and interdependence of these parts. Social structure is also of same type. Yet different parts of social structure are like parts of the body but their type is different. Because of which some people are fat, thin, tall and, short.

“Social structure is of same type. Yet its all Parts are same in all societies but their type is changed. That’s why social structure of one society is different from other society. In this way Spencer has kept these parts interrelated on the basis of their function but with function mutual relations are also necessary. That’s why this meaning is very much unclear.

2. Views of Radcliff Brown. Radcliff Brown was a famous Anthropologist of England. He belongs to the structural functional school of sociology. According to him, “The components of social structure are human beings, the structure itself being an arrangement of persons in relationship institutionally defined and regulated.” Brown has taken many examples from Australian and African tribal societies to clarfiy his definition. According to him the system of kinship which exists in them is the sequence of institutionalized relations. According to Brown, “Human beings are connected by a complex network of social relations. I use the term ‘Social Structure’ to denote this network of actually existing relations.”

According to Brown, the way in which changes come in human physical structure, in that same way change comes in social structure but the basic element in both remains the same. It means that the units of making the structure keeps on changing. In this way if we look at the two societies then we will come to know that the basic elements of making them remain the same but units keep on changing because of which difference com6s among them. But with difference we cannot say that these both societies are completely different from each other. It is so because their basic elements are same and similarities remain among them.

According to Broyvn, social structure is not static but is a mobile continuity. Social structure also changes like human body but basic elements never change. Parts of making social structure are changing but basic elements never change. Structure remains the same but sometimes form of general structure changes.

3. Views of S.F. Nadal. According to S.F. Nadal, “We arrive at the structure of society through abstracting from the concrete population and its behaviour the pattern or network (or system) of relationship obtaining between actors in their capacity of playing roles relative to one another.” According to Nadal, “Structure is the systematic arrangement of different parts. These are related only with the external aspect of society and are completely different from functional aspect of society. According to him, society has three elements

• Group of people.
• Institutionalized rules according to which the members of the groups interact.
• An institutionalized pattern or expression of these interactions.

To understand the concept of structure we have to understand the concept of one society given by Nadal. According to Nadal, ‘One society is a group of people in which different humans are related with each other on the basis of social institutionalization that social rules control and direct human behaviour.’ In this way there are three elements in Nadal’s concept of one society and these are persons, their interactions and social relations which come out of those interactions.

According to Nadal, a system is related to the structure of anything but not with its functional aspect. In this way, society is a group of people in which different humans and their behaviour is regulated and controlled by institutionalised social rules. According to Nadal, human system in group is not necessary but the functions done by them should be systematic and regulated. In short, we can say that definite sequence or system of interrelations of different parts of society are known as social structure.

According to S.F Nadal, “ Structure can be transposed irrespective of the concrete data manifesting it, differently expressed, the parts comprising any structure can vary widely in their concrete character without changing the identity of the structure.”

4. According to Harry M. Johnson, “Social structure is made with the mutual relations of different parts. Yet change comes in the parts of social structure but stability remains among them. According to him, structure of any thing is the relative and permanent interrelations which exist in the different parts of that thing.” So according to him, the structure of anything consists of relatively stable inter-relationship among its parts, moreover the ‘part’ itself implies a certain degree of stability since a social system is composed of the interrelated acts of people, its structure must be sought in some degree of regularity or recurrence in these acts.”

5. According to Talcott Parsons,“Social structure is a term applied to the particular arrangement of the interrelated institutions, agencies and social patterns as well as the status and roles which each person assumes in the group.”

According to Parsons, the way in which different parts of the body are interrelated, in that same way different units of social structure are interrelated with which one specific system comes in front of us. Under this system every person obeys his role and status. Social relations are abstract and that’s why social structure is also abstract. We cannot touch or see social relations but alone can understand and feel. He gave one thing that status and roles are determined by the customs, traditions, beliefs etc. of society * Different agencies and institutions come out from these status and when all these are interrelated and organized in a specific system then social structure is formed.

According to Parsons, structure is not a single united unit but structure is made of different parts. These different parts are related with one another. If the relation between them would be temporary then they will not be able to give necessary co-operation in the formation of structure. That’s why co-operation of permanent parts is necessary for the formation of the structure. In this way the structure is the total of permanent parts. We cannot include changeable elements in it. But here one thing is important and that is that change often comes in different parts of structure and Social structure gets stability from these changes.

Types Of Status:

Question 2. How many types of status are there? Explain them.
Or
Explain Ascribed and Achieved status briefly.
Answer: Ralph Linton divided status into two parts:

1. Ascribed Status
2. Achieved Status

These two types of status are used in every society. Every person is different from each other. They are different from each other on the basis of birth and ability. Status based on birth is known as Ascribed status and the status based on ability is known as Achieved status because person gets this status on the basis of his ability. That’s why status in society are of two types.

1. Ascribed Status. Ascribed status is that which a person gets by birth without any work. We get this status automatically from the customs, values, traditions of society. Even exactly after his birth person starts getting these status. Firstly, he becomes member of the family and gets status related to gender. Then he relates with his kins and society because of which he gets relative status. He gets these status at that time when the society hardly knows about his qualities. Person gets status through socialization. Person gets these status on the basis of some rules and these bases are given below:

1. Sex: Humans are differentiated in society on the basis of sex like boy, girl, male, female. Some biological differences are also there between these sexes. In ancient times the base of division of labour was only sex. Females used to take care of house, males used to go out to arrange the food. Physically there are many differences among them. Some functions are limited only to biological extent. Yet the abilities of both male and female are similar these days but the situation on the basis of gender is same even today. That’s why, even in today’s age, many status are given according to gender and the position of female is very much lower as compared to male. But still many status are there which a female cannot get. Female was not allowed to enter the Brahmacharya Ashrama. According to Hindu religious books, person should have son to get salvation. In this way status of father, son, mother, daughter is given on the basis of sex.

2. Status on the basis of age: Age is also one of the important factors in determing status of a person in different societies. It is a biological base which a person gets without any hard work. Status of a person changes in different circumstances with the change of age. These stages are also related with the cultures of society. In ancient times, society was controlled by the eldest person of the society. Age is one of the important factors in India for marriage or to give vote. Person gets authority in society in a different way with age. We can take example of the family. Children are given higher or lower status according to the age. People make fun with the children in the family. At ypung age parents takes care of the habits of their children and often it is said that, “Now you are not a small child, behave, speak and work properly.” Persons are given punishment according to their age.

In modern times, status given on the basis of age have been changed because children with less age but more ability are given more prestige and respect in society. Young people work on the higher posts and people with more age work under them. In this way yet changes have come with base of age but still this base has a lot of importance. This base has great importance in maintaining balance in society. Person get his position without any effort.

3. Kinship. In the ancient times, kinship was so important that humans got responsibility on the basis of kinship. Son of the king was known as Prince. Prince used to get equal respect which the king was given. Identity of the child was being done on the basis of family or kinship. There was a special relation between child and the family. Child used to get caste right after his birth, in caste system, in which he was born. It means that he used to get position of the family in caste system. Person was known by his family. Princes were getting education and training of weapons, horse riding etc. They had to take responsibilities of the family. Every child has to carry forward the work of his family. Community membership, religion etc. of the child were related with ascribed status.

4. Social factors. Humans were classfied in different groups in many societies and there was a system of hierarchy in these groups. It means that these groups were considered as higher or lower groups. Classification of these groups was being done on the basis of different occupations or abilities like officer, teacher etc. People of one group used to keep relations with other group.

2. Achieved Status. In ancient times and in modern times ascribed status is of great importance. Person used to get ascribed status through the process of socialization. But in modern times man cannot limit himself to only ascribed status. If the ability of a person will not come out properly then society cannot develop. Ability of the person gives him the chance to move forward and person gets social position on the basis of his ability and even society gives him status.

Ancient societies were simple and classless, that’s why ascribed statuses were of great importance. But slowly and slowly societies started to become complex and with this importance was started to be given to individuals abilities. Person started to get achieved status with his hard work and society gave him enough opportunity to show his abilities.
In this type of status the ability of the person is evaluated on the basis of social values. The way in which society is changing, achieved status are also changing. These are limited according to the needs of society. Division of labour and specialization give many chances to person to achieve position. Money is of great importance in capitalist societies because of which position of a person is high or low. Because of industrialization, occupations are related with technology because of which distribution of status cannot be done on the basis of ascribed status. For example, a person cannot become doctor without taking relative education.

A person achieves status with the help of his hard work and efforts which can be kept on the basis of money, occupation, education etc. Person can develop his personality fully with this status. Achieved status is of great importance in changing conditions of modern society. Now individual’s abilities are of great importance in society. Lundberg was of the view, “The ascription of a particular status with the intensive training that such ascription makes possible, is a guarantee that the role will be performed even if the performance is mediocre. The ascription of status sacrifices the possibility of having certain roles performed brilliantly for the certainity of having them performed possible.”