social institutions

(noun)

In the social sciences, institutions are the structures and mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human collectivity. Institutions include the family, religion, peer group, economic systems, legal systems, penal systems, language, and the media.

Related Terms

Examples of social institutions in the following topics:

  • Social Institutions

    • An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community.
    • An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community.
    • Sociology traditionally analyzes social institutions in terms of interlocking social roles and expectations.
    • Social institutions are created by and defined by their own creation of social roles for their members.
    • The social function of the institution is the fulfillment of the assigned roles.

  • Social Interaction and Technology

    • The agreement may be influenced by social institutions as well as the preferences and values of the individuals.
    • A social institution is a habitual pattern of behavior that is embedded in a social system.
    • Marriage is an example of a social institution.
    • As a social institution, they may change over time as social values, technology, work and environment change.
    • Institutions simultaneously facilitate and constrain human activities.

  • The Functionalist Perspective

    • The functionalist perspective attempts to explain social institutions as collective means to meet individual and social needs.
    • The functionalist perspective attempts to explain social institutions as collective means to meet individual and social needs.
    • It is sometimes called structural-functionalism because it often focuses on the ways social structures (e.g., social institutions) meet social needs.
    • Because social institutions are functionally integrated to form a stable system, a change in one institution will precipitate a change in other institutions.
    • Functionalists analyze social institutions in terms of the function they play.

  • Institutions and Costs

    • Social institutions and organizations are a social response to reduce the costs of exchange and eminent domain.
    • Social institutions also facilitate and enforce reciprocity.
    • The institutions define the rules of the game; provide individuals with information and some degree of certainty in their social interactions.
    • Consequently, the institutions that are prevalent at any point in time may lag behind environmental, technological and social changes.
    • The insurance, pharmaceutical, hospital and medical industries have more interest in the social institutions that influence the delivery of health care than individuals.

  • Understanding Social Interaction

    • In sociology, social interaction is a dynamic, changing sequence of social actions between individuals or groups.
    • The United States Congress is an example of a social institution that is clearly predicated upon social interactions.
    • A social interaction is a social exchange between two or more individuals.
    • Social structures and cultures are founded upon social interactions.
    • By interacting with one another, people design rules, institutions and systems within which they seek to live.

  • Resocialization and Total Institutions

    • A total institution is a place where a group of people is cut off from the wider community and their needs are under bureaucratic control.
    • Within a total institution, the basic needs of a entire bloc of people are under bureaucratic control.
    • Institutions established to care for harmless or incapable people, including orphanages, poor houses and nursing homes
    • First, the staff of the institution tries to erode the residents' identities and independence.
    • Review Goffman's five types of social institutions and their functions, including their processes of resocialization

  • The Conflict Perspective on Deviance

    • Conflict theories emphasize the social, political, or material inequality of a social group, that critique the broad socio-political system.
    • Foucault theorized that institutions control people through the use of discipline.
    • In conflict theory, deviant behaviors are actions that do not comply with social institutions.
    • He also theorized that institutions control people through the use of discipline.
    • Institutions of knowledge, norms, and values, are in place to categorize and control humans.

  • Institutionalized Children

    • Institutionalized children may develop institutional syndrome, which refers to deficits or disabilities in social and life skills.
    • In clinical and abnormal psychology, institutional syndrome refers to deficits or disabilities in social and life skills, which develop after a person has spent a long period living in mental hospitals, prisons, or other remote institutions.
    • The term institutionalization can be used both in regard to the process of committing an individual to a mental hospital or prison, or to institutional syndrome; thus a person being "institutionalized" may mean either that he/she has been placed in an institution, or that he/she is suffering the psychological effects of having been in an institution for an extended period of time.
    • Deinstitutionalization can have multiple definitions; the first focuses on reducing the population size of mental institutions.
    • This can be accomplished by releasing individuals from institutions, shortening the length of stays, and reducing both admissions and readmission.

  • Social Constructionism

    • Social constructionism is a school of thought introduced into sociology by Peter L.
    • Berger and Thomas Luckmann with their 1966 book The Social Construction of Reality.
    • Social constructionism focuses on the description of institutions and actions and not on analyzing cause and effect.
    • Berger and Luckmann argue that social construction describes both subjective and objective reality - that is that no reality exists outside what is produced and reproduced in social interactions.
    • A clear example of social constructionist thought is, following Sigmund Freud and Émile Durkheim, religion.

  • The Role of Socialization

    • Socialization prepares people for social life by teaching them a group's shared norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors.
    • The role of socialization is to acquaint individuals with the norms of a social group or society.
    • Socialization is an important process for children, who are socialized at home and in school .
    • Second, socialization teaches individuals how to prepare for and perform certain social roles—occupational roles, gender roles, and the roles of institutions such as marriage and parenthood.
    • The term "socialization" refers to a general process, but socialization always takes place in specific contexts.