YA

SOCI 221 Lecture 3

SOCI 221: Basic Concepts in Sociology

Lecture Information

  • Lecture Title: Society and Social Institutions: Family

  • Lecturer: Dr. Samson Obed Appiah, Dept. of Sociology

  • Contact Information: soappiah@ug.edu.gh

  • Institution: College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology

  • Academic Year: 2024/2025

Lecture Overview

  • Social life is stable, orderly, and predictable.

  • Daily interactions exhibit patterns shaped by social structures.

  • The lecture focuses on how social life is structured through various social institutions, particularly the family.

Lecture Objectives

  • Understand how social institutions are structured to meet basic societal needs.

  • Explain the constituents of social institutions.

  • Examine the roles and functions of various social institutions and their interdependence.

  • Analyze the family as the fundamental institution in society.

  • Identify recent changes in family structures.

Basic Needs of Society

Human Survival Needs

  • Basic needs must be satisfied for societal continuity.

  • Six universal needs recognized in human societies:

    • Order and Freedom: Need for social order and personal freedom.

    • Fear Reduction: Need to allay fears related to the mystical and unknown.

    • Hunger Satisfaction: Need for food and nourishment.

    • Sexual Gratification: Need for reproduction and intimacy.

    • Aspiration Achievement: Need to reach personal goals and dreams.

    • Health and Safety: Need for wellbeing and security.

Social Institutions and Structure

Function of Institutions

  • Social institutions emerge to address fundamental needs.

  • Defined as mechanisms for meeting basic societal needs.

  • Organized, patterned, normative structures that provide guidelines for behavior and survival needs in society.

Defining Social Institutions

  • Definition: Major areas of social life that fulfill human needs.

  • Examples:

    • Family - Social unit for care and socialization.

    • Marriage - Regulation of relationships.

    • Education - Transmission of knowledge.

    • Economics - Creation and distribution of resources.

    • Religion - Community and belief systems.

Characteristics of Social Institutions

  • Institutions are:

    • Stable Clusters: Values, statuses, roles, and groups that address societal needs.

    • Normative Patterns: Organized sets of norms guiding behaviors.

    • Solution Providers: Address fundamental societal issues.

Constituents of Social Institutions

Elements of Institutions

  • Must include:

    • Social Values

    • Social Needs

    • Social Norms

    • Statuses/Roles

    • Social Groups

  • Each institution creates patterns of interaction and solutions to recurring societal demands.

Analogies in Social Structure

Organic Analogy

  • Society functions like a living organism where institutions interdependently work together for societal functioning.

  • The combination of institutions constitutes the social structure.

Functions of Social Institutions

Key Functions

  • Establish order and procedures for fulfilling needs.

  • Serve as sources of social control regulating behaviors.

  • Provide social identity facilitating collective actions.

  • Establish relationships and define rights/responsibilities.

Functionalist Perspective

  • Argues institutions exist for vital societal functions and without these institutions, society cannot function.

The Family as a Social Institution

Importance of the Family

  • Most basic social unit providing belonging, love, care, and socialization.

  • Over 90% of individuals prefer living within a family structure.

Defining Family

Key Definitions

  • Peter Murdock (1973): Family as a social organization with residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction.

  • Ian Robertson (1977): Permanent group related by ancestry, marriage, or adoption.

  • Bertrand (1994): Sanctioned group by kinship ties living together under specific social roles.

Types of Families

Family Structures

  • Nuclear Family: Parents and their unmarried children.

  • Polygynous Family: One husband, multiple wives.

  • Polyandrous Family: One wife, multiple husbands.

  • Composite Family: Multiple related nuclear families residing together.

  • Extended Family: Includes relatives outside the nuclear family.

Family Developmental Cycle

Phases of Family Development

  • Phase of Expansion: Begins with marriage and lasts until childbearing is complete.

  • Phase of Fission/Dispersion: Marked by children marrying and complexities arise.

  • Phase of Replacement: Transition when new generations take over family roles.

Changes to Family Institutions

Decline of Traditional Family

  • Rise of one-parent households due to technology and alternative childbearing methods.

  • Legalization of same-sex marriages and parenting.

  • Increase in voluntary childless couples and cohabitation without formal marriage.

Summary

  • Social institutions provide structure to meet basic human needs and vary significantly.

  • Family, as the core social institution, has evolved yet retains its vital role in society.

Sample Questions

  • Identify changes in the Family institution and reasons for these changes.

  • Discuss the mutual dependence of social institutions within society's social structure.

Reading List / References

  • Robertson, Ian (1987). Sociology. New York: Worth Publications.

  • Schaefer, Richard T. (2004). Sociology: A Brief Introduction. (5th Edition) Boston: McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.

  • Vander Zanden, J.W. (1990). Sociology: The Core. New York: McGraw-Hill.