This document defines and compares key sociological concepts: 1) Society is a collection of individuals united through social relationships and interdependence, while community refers to a smaller group sharing a locality and sense of belonging. 2) An association is a deliberately formed group pursuing shared interests through organization, whereas an institution represents established social norms and structures for meeting needs. 3) A social system consists of interacting individuals following cultural norms and common goals, distinguished from other systems by boundaries.

1. Some Basic Concepts
Shyamasree Saha
Ph.D. Scholar
NIT Agartala

2. 1. Society
• “ A Society is a collection of individuals united by
certain relations or mode of behavior which mark
them off from others who do not enter into these
relations or who differ from them in behavior”.
- Morris Ginsberg
• “ Society is the complex of organised associations
and institutions with a community”.
– G.D.M. Cole
• “ Society is “ a web of social relationship”.
- MacIver

3. Characteristics of society:
• Society consists of people
• Mutual Interaction and Mutual Awareness
• Society depends on Likeness
• Society rest on Difference too
• Co-operation and Division of Labor
• Society implies Interdependence also
• Society is dynamic
• Social control
• Culture
• Gregarious nature of Man- “Man is a Social Animal”

4. 2. Community
• Community is “ a social group with some degree of
“we-feeling” and living in a given area” – Bogardus
• Community is “ the smallest territorial group that can
embrace all aspects of social life”
– Kinsley Davis
• “A community is a group or collection of groups that
inhibits a locality” – Ogburn and Nimkoff
• Community is “ any circle of people who live together
and belong together in such a way that they do not
share this or that particular interest only, but a whole
set of interests”. – Manheim

5. Main Elements of Community:
The main bases of community are:
• Locality: A community is a territorial
group. It occupies some geographical area.
Locality is the physical basis of community.
Living together facilitates people to
develop social contacts, give protection,
safety and security. Further, the very
physical conditions may influence social
life to a great extent.

6. Contd.
• Community Sentiment: It means a feeling
of belonging together. The members must
be aware of their staying together and
sharing common interest. The members
develop a sense of “we-feeling”. It means
a kind of identification with the group.
Without a sense of identification, a sense
of awareness, a sense of living and
sharing some common interest in life ,
there can not be any community.

7. Other Aspects of Community:
• Stability
• Naturalness
• Size of community
• Regulation of Relations

8. Society & Community : Difference
Society Community
1. Society is a web of social
relationships
Community consists of a group of
individuals living in a particular area
with some degree of “we-feeling”
2. A definite geographic area is not an
essential aspect
It always denotes a definite locality /
geographic area
3. Society is abstract Community is concrete
4. “We-Feeling” may or may not be
present
“Community sentiment” is an essential
element
5. Society is wider. There can be more
than one community in a society
Community is smaller than society
6. The objectives and interest of society
are more extensive and varied
Objectives and interests are
comparatively less extensive and varied
7. Society involves both likeness and
difference.
Likeness is important than difference in
community

9. 3. Association
• An Association is “ an organization deliberately
formed for the collective pursuit of some interests,
or a set of interests, which its members share”.
– R.M.MacIver
• An Association is “ a group of social beings related
to one another by the fact that they possess or
have instituted in common an organization with a
view to securing a specific end or specific ends”.
– Morris Ginsberg

10. Characteristics of Association:
• Association- a Human Group
• Common Interest or Interests
• Co-operative Spirit
• Organization
• Regulation of Relations
• Association as Agencies
• Durability of Association

11. Association Community
1. Membership is voluntary By birth itself individuals become
members of a community. It is rather
compulsory
2. Has some specific
interest/interests
Has some general interests
3. Does not necessarily imply the
spatial aspects
Is marked by a locality
4. May be stable and long lasting or it
may not be so
Is relatively more stable and permanent
5. May have their legal status Has no legal status
6. May have their own rules and
regulations to regulate the
relations of their members. They
may have written or unwritten
rules
Regulates the behavior of its members
by means of customs, traditions, etc. it
does not have written rules or laws
7. Association is partial. It may be
regarded as a part of the
community
Community is integral. It may have
within its boundary, several associations.

12. 4. Institution:
• Institutions “may be described as
recognized and established usages
governing the relations between
individuals and groups”. – Ginsberg
• Institutions represent “ the social structure
and the machinery through which human
society organizes, directs and executes the
multifarious activities required to satisfy
human needs”. – H.E. Barnes

13. Characteristics of Institutions:
• Social in nature
• Universality
• Institutions are Standardized Norms
• Institutions as Means of Satisfying Needs
• Institutions are the Controlling Mechanisms
• Relatively Permanent
• Abstract in Nature
• Oral and Written Traditions
• Synthesis Symbols
• Institutions are Interrelated

14. Functions of Social Institutions
• Institutions cater to the Satisfaction of Needs
• Institutions control Human Behavior
• Institutions simplify Actions for the Individual
• Institutions assign roles and Statuses to the
Individual
• Institutions Contribute to Unity and
Uniformity
• Manifest Functions of Institutions
• The negative Functions of Institutions

15. Association Institution
1. Is a group of people organised for
the purpose of fulfilling a need
/needs
Refers to the organised way of doing
things. It represents common procedure
2. Association denotes Membership.
We belong to associations, to
political parties, youth clubs ,etc.
Denotes only a mode or means of
service. We do not belong to institution.
We do not belong to marriage,
education or law
3. Consists of individuals Consists of laws, rules and regulations
4. Are Concrete Are Abstract
5. An association has a location An institution does not have location
6. Are mostly created or established Are primarily evolved
7. May have its own distinctive name Does not posses specific names, but has
a structure and may have symbol
8. May be temporary or permanent Are relatively more durable

16. 5. Social System
• According to David Popenoe, “ A Social
System is a set of persons or groups who
interact with one another; the set is
conceived of as a social unit distinct from the
particular persons who compose it”.
• Duncan Mitchell in his A Dictionary of
Sociology writes: “ A social system basically
consists of two or more individuals interacting
directly or indirectly in a bounded situation”.

17. Characteristics of Social System:
• Social system consists of two or more individuals
among whom we find an established pattern of
interaction.
• Individuals in their actions take account of how the
others are likely to act or behave
• Individuals in the system behave in accordance with
their shared cultural norms and values.
• Individuals in the system act together in pursuit of
common goals or rewards.
• “Social System” as a concepts may represent entire
society or a no. of subsystem such as political system,
judicial system, etc.
• A social system has its own boundary with the help of
which it can be distinguished from other social
systems.

18. Elements of Social System
• The Social Act – is a process in the social system that
motivates the individual/ individuals in the case of a group.
The orientation of action has a close relation with the
attainment of satisfaction of the actor
• The Actor- it is he who holds the status and performs the
role. A social system must have a sufficient proportion of
actors. Those actors must be sufficiently motivated to act
according to the requirements of its role system
• The Role & Status – the social system involves participation
of actor in the process of interactive relationship. The Role
denotes the functional significance of the actor for the social
system. Status denotes the place of the actor in the social
system