Social institutions are the recognised and established usages, rules and procedures that govern relations between individuals and groups in a society. They arise from social relationships to meet basic needs such as reproduction, socialisation, the division of labour, order and authority. Family, marriage, kinship, economy, polity, education and religion are the main examples. Institutions are universal, abstract, relatively permanent and interrelated.
This note covers the meaning, definitions, characteristics, types and functions of social institutions for the UPSC Anthropology Optional. It falls under Paper I, topic 2.2 (social institutions) of the Anthropology Optional syllabus.
Meaning of social institutions
Every organised activity in society depends on a recognised set of rules, traditions and usages. These are institutions: forms of procedure which society accepts and which govern how people and groups deal with one another. An institution is therefore not a building or a body of people. It is a pattern of rules. Marriage is an institution; a particular married couple is not.
Definitions of social institutions
| Scholar | Definition |
|---|---|
| Morris Ginsberg | Recognised and established usages governing the relations between individuals and groups. |
| MacIver and Page | The established forms or conditions of procedure characteristic of group activity. |
| Kingsley Davis | A set of interwoven folkways, mores and laws built around one or more functions. |
| H. E. Barnes | The social structure and machinery through which human society organises, directs and executes the many activities required to satisfy human needs. |
| C. A. Ellwood | Habitual ways of living together which have been sanctioned, systematised and established by the authority of communities. |
Why do institutions arise?
Scholars agree that institutions arise and persist because of a definite felt need.
- Sumner and Keller: institutions come into existence to satisfy the vital interests of man.
- Lester Ward: they arise from social demand or social necessity.
- L. H. Morgan: every institution rests on a perpetual want.
Malinowski's analysis of an institution
For anthropology the most influential account is that of Bronisław Malinowski, who treated the institution as the real unit of cultural analysis. Every institution, he held, has the following components:
| Component | Meaning | Example: the family |
|---|---|---|
| Charter | The stated purpose and values for which the group is organised | Procreation and the rearing of children |
| Personnel | The people organised, with their roles and authority | Husband, wife, children |
| Norms | The rules the personnel are expected to follow | Rules of marriage, residence and inheritance |
| Material apparatus | The equipment and environment used | House, hearth, property |
| Activities | What the personnel actually do | Daily domestic life |
| Function | The need the institution in fact satisfies | Reproduction and socialisation |
Characteristics of social institutions
| Characteristic | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Social in nature | Institutions are products of the collective, repeated relationships of people. |
| Universal | They exist in all societies and at all stages of development. Family, religion, property and some form of political institution are found in tribal societies too. |
| Standardised norms | They prescribe the way of doing things. Marriage governs the relation between husband and wife; a school has its rules and procedures. |
| Means of satisfying needs | They meet the needs of self-preservation, self-perpetuation and self-expression. |
| Controlling mechanisms | Religion, morality, state and law control behaviour, preserve order and give stability. |
| Relatively permanent | They change slowly and gradually, and in time become conservative elements in society. |
| Abstract | They are not tangible things. Marriage cannot be kept in a museum; religion cannot be quantified. |
| Oral and written traditions | In simple societies they are largely oral. In complex societies they also take written form: constitutions, sacred texts, syllabi, contracts. |
| Symbols | Each has its symbols, material or non-material: the flag and anthem of the state; the wedding ring or mangalsutra of marriage; the prayer of a school. |
| Interrelated | Religious, moral, educational, political and economic institutions are linked. To understand one, the others must be understood. |
Types of social institutions
Primary and secondary institutions
The term "institution" is often reserved for normative systems in five basic areas of life. These are the primary institutions. Secondary institutions are derived from them.
| Basic area of life | Primary institution | Secondary institutions |
|---|---|---|
| Determining kinship | Family | Marriage, monogamy, polygamy, divorce |
| Legitimate use of power | Polity | Democracy, party system, interest groups |
| Distribution of goods and services | Economy | Property, trading, banking, credit |
| Transmitting knowledge | Education | School, college, university |
| Relation to the supernatural | Religion | Temple, church, mosque, totem, taboo |
Other classifications
- Crescive and enacted (Sumner). Crescive institutions, such as marriage, property and religion, grow slowly out of the mores. Enacted institutions, such as a bank or a university, are deliberately set up for a purpose.
- Primary and secondary (Kardiner). In the culture and personality school, Abram Kardiner used the terms differently. Primary institutions, such as family organisation and child-rearing, shape the basic personality. Secondary institutions, such as religion and folklore, are projections of that personality.
Institution and association
MacIver's distinction is useful in answers: we belong to associations, but not to institutions.
| Basis | Institution | Association |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | A form of procedure; a set of rules | An organised group of people |
| Membership | Has no members; it is followed | Has members |
| Form | Abstract | Concrete |
| Example | Marriage; education; worship | A family; a college; a temple trust |
Functions of social institutions
- Satisfy needs. They provide and prescribe the means of meeting the needs of self-preservation, self-perpetuation and self-expression.
- Control behaviour. They replace spontaneous and irregular behaviour with patterned, regular and predictable behaviour, and make clear what is allowed and what is not.
- Simplify action. By prescribing ready ways of acting, they save time and energy and remove uncertainty.
- Assign status and role. Family, marriage, education, property, caste and religion give individuals a social standing and a part to play.
- Promote unity and uniformity. By regulating relations, they hold society together.
- Serve their own ends and survival. Every institution pursues its objective and also preserves its internal cohesion. The state serves its citizens and protects its boundaries, and must also guard against internal revolt and external conquest.
Manifest and latent functions
R. K. Merton distinguished manifest functions, which are intended and recognised, from latent functions, which are unintended and unrecognised. The manifest function of education is to transmit knowledge; a latent function is to provide a circle of friends and future contacts.
Dysfunctions of institutions
Institutions can also have harmful effects. They do not change easily, even when circumstances demand it. When they become too conservative they slow progress and can hamper the growth of individual personality. Rigid caste rules, for example, have restricted occupational choice and mobility.
Using this topic in a UPSC answer
- Open with one definition, such as Ginsberg's, and state that an institution is a set of rules, not a group.
- Use Malinowski's components to show the anthropological treatment, applied to the family or to a tribal institution such as the youth dormitory.
- Present primary and secondary institutions in a table.
- Give four or five functions, then manifest, latent and dysfunction in one line each.
- Conclude on interrelation: a change in one institution, such as the economy, alters family and religion as well.
For presentation, see our guide to anthropology answer writing with diagrams, thinkers and case studies.
Frequently asked questions
What is a social institution?
A social institution is an established and recognised set of rules, usages and procedures that governs relations between individuals and groups and meets a basic need of society. Family, marriage, economy, polity, education and religion are examples.
What are the five primary social institutions?
The five primary social institutions are family, polity, economy, education and religion. They deal respectively with kinship, the legitimate use of power, the distribution of goods and services, the transmission of knowledge, and relations with the supernatural.
What is the difference between primary and secondary institutions?
Primary institutions are the basic normative systems found in every society, such as family and religion. Secondary institutions are derived from them: marriage and divorce from the family, banking and credit from the economy, schools and universities from education.
What are the characteristics of social institutions?
Social institutions are social in origin, universal, abstract, relatively permanent and interrelated. They consist of standardised norms, satisfy human needs, control behaviour, carry oral or written traditions and have their own symbols.
What are the functions of social institutions?
Social institutions satisfy basic needs, regulate behaviour, simplify action for the individual, assign statuses and roles, and promote unity in society. They can also be dysfunctional when they become rigid and resist needed change.
What is the difference between an institution and an association?
An institution is a set of rules or a form of procedure, and is abstract. An association is an organised group of people, and is concrete. People are members of associations, but they follow institutions.
How did Malinowski define an institution?
Malinowski treated the institution as the unit of culture. He analysed it into a charter, personnel, norms, material apparatus, activities and function, with each institution serving one or more human needs.