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SOCIAL STRUCTURE

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 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY: MODULE 3

SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Samitha Udayanga*

Department of Sociology, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

kasamitha@[Link]

Learning outcomes
1. Define major concepts related to social structure and organization
2. Understand the deference between social structure and organization
3. Identify fundamentals of social structure
4. Analyze practical cases with social structure related theories

Introduction
Society is the very core of human life, though each individual strives to continue their own
life style different from others. Although individual behavior can consists of unique qualities
and characteristics it is likely to go along with principles of society. Society is consists of a
number of individuals, but it is not just an amalgamation of individuals in the sense society
is not understood as a sum total of individuals, as society consists of unique qualities that of
an individual gathering. Sociologists thus are keen on understanding those unique qualities
of a society that influence human behavior. Inherently individuals are social beings, means
biological human beings become social beings through socialization and therefore human
beings are subjected to behavioral modification through imposed rules of the society. Unlike
animals, human beings undergo socialization through which social norms are inculcated in
personality while learning the existing culture. Over the past history of human evolution, a
number of rules that are essential in the continuation of society and civilization have
developed. These rules of society are sometime unconsciously influence human behavior in
a society, and hence there can be difference among rules of social behavior in line with time
and space. For example, rules of Sri Lankan society can be different from American society.
Rules of society however influence the way of human behavior in given social context. This

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chapter thus describes how rules of society influence human behavior, basic concepts of
social structure, social organization and the contestations between social structure theories
and social interaction theories.
Social structure can be defined as relatively changing rules and principles of a society
that predominantly influence human behavior. As some defines social structure is about
patterns of relations. It refers to patterning in social relations that have some sort of
obduracy, in that people are likely to adhere to those principles imposed on them. In one
hand, ‘structure’ is used to understand the macro organization of society, on the other hand
it is used to identify micro level social relationships among people, and both dimensions are
equally important to understand how society works and continues. At the macro level how
different social institutions are systematically organized is understood whereas at the micro
level how social relationships among people are administered in accordance with principles
imposed by society is understood. For example, economic institution of a society can be
influence by religion and vice versa. Kinship system is another example of how social
relationships are organized in society in line with socially imposed principles and rules.
Individual behavior thus seems entirely depends on social structure, but this belief has been
contested several times as individual behavior too in some cases influence the way in which
society is structured, therein rules and principles of society can changed along with
individual behavior as explained by Giddens (2007) in his structuration theory.

Social Structure and Essential elements of social structure

Structure refer to any recurring patterns of social behavior, or specifically to the ordered
relationships between different elements of a social system or society (Giddens, 2007). This
is one of the most important and elusive concept of sociology (Sewell, 1992). This concepts
has first emerged in Spencer’s arguments though early philosophical accounts too talk about
structural influences on human behavior. Supposedly social structure includes historically
constructed and commonly agreed upon rules or principles believed to be the essential
elements that help continuation of society. As described earlier ‘society is not just a sum
total of individuals’ as described by Durkheim (1938), because it contains qualities that
cannot be seen in an amalgamation of individuals, as clearly recognized by Durkheim. For
example, each individual employees of an organization would reluctant to undergo union
action against employers unless they are empowered with other fellow individual
employees. A union of employees as a small society consists of a solidarity that however

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cannot be seen in an amalgamation of employees. This philosophical stance is required to
be understood very carefully, because theories of social structure and organization
supposedly depend on this belief of ‘sui generis’ or Social Solidarity.
Social structure is time and space relative, means social structure is organized in
accordance with the time and space. Since human beings are cultured, culture often
contains those principles and rules which influence people, and as culture is often responds
to the nature where it evolves. In spite of different arguments, some anthropologists agreed
on the influence of nature on culture is vital as the nature often influence the way culture is
structures. For example, Sinhalese new year customs and cultural practices are based on
tropical weather conditions and related economic activities. Agriculture is the main mode
of production in tropical regions including Sri Lanka and that influence how our cultural
practices are determined. Culture thus responds to the nature quite closely. Sri Lankan
kinship system is also structured in accordance with agriculture based cultural practices,
and hence when cultural practices and cultural norms change it is likely to change the very
core of social structure. During the past few years family structure has been changed
dramatically from extended structure to a nuclear system caused by changing traditional
cultural norms and acculturation of global values. Even though social structure is believed
to be relatively stable thus can be changed in line with adopting changing cultural norms
and cultural practices.
Human behavior in society is more often governed and patterned in accordance with
socially accepted rules and principles rather than individual beliefs. Individual beliefs too
play a significant role, social structure supersedes individual regulations and beliefs through
norms, laws, ethics and other accepted social principles. One of those principles is the
‘incest taboo’ through which sexual relationships among parallel cousins are prohibited.
Prevention of sex between parallel cousins/kinspersons is an important rule for the
continuation of society, which otherwise might cause biological issues such as gene
transmitted diseases. ‘Incest’ thus has been defined as a ‘taboo’ that prevent kinspersons
from sex between parallel cousins. ‘Prevention of sex among parallel cousins’ is therefore a
principle of social structure that administer the human behavior even without the consent.
When such a principle is broken or breached, an inherent social punishment can be given
to the person that further compel the person to adhere into principles of society, sometime
unconsciously.
What people do in a society sometime can be understood as administered by the
structure of society with complete ‘unconsciousness’. People unconsciously adhere to the

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principles imposed by society because they have been inculcated those principles through
socialization and by living in society for a long period of time, and thus experience among
people play an important role in social structure. Experiences embedded in cultural
practices transmit structural principles to the next generation, through this process some
principles can be changed, replaced or completely obsoleted. Some old social rules can
exists while some are obsoleted, and thus this attributes to cultural lag, there in some old
rules influence people while contesting with newly emerged rules of society. For example,
“homosexuality” has not been accepted in Sri Lanka for a long time, and ‘heterosexuality’
has been accepted in Sri Lankan culture based on a number of reasons, however now this
old principle is questioned with the introduction of ‘human rights’. Patterns of human
behavior therefore can be reinterpreted and changed, but this again give rise to new social
order, as described in the theory of structuration (Giddens, 2007).

Theoretical Development of the concept

The idea of ‘social structure’ first introduced by Herbert Spencer (1896) one of the pioneers
of sociology who predominantly focus on ‘organismic metaphor’. Spencer argued that
society had ‘social structures’ that carried out social functions. Structural functionalism first
appeared in his writings though Radcliffe-brown was the first to explain and understand
this through empirical-theoretical investigations. Roots of the idea of social structure comes
from the organic metaphor applied to society. This metaphor is purportedly an old one in
the Western philosophy, therein Plato described an interdependence different social
organizations to derive the need for specific occupation and specialization, the very core of
Dukheimian sociology. Later, with the rise of materialistic view of human existence Rene
Descartes and Thomas Hobbs extended the organismic metaphor to understand the
process of society. Like different organs and systems of a body, society contains different
systems and structures each of which is specialized for a particular function, such as
education for socialization and economy for marinating economic activities. Although these
explanation remained unpopular for a period of time, Spencer a British social scientist
forwarded the idea with great details to the academic community.
Comte (1974) also contributed to the advancement of this theoretical position, by applying
the organismic metaphor in understanding division of labour, examining laws according to
which the societal whole develops and how the whole regulates its constant organs.
Although Comte, Spencer like early classical social scientists had focused on ‘social

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structure’, they did not realize the importance of ‘structure’ itself in the social process
because they vividly argued the functions embedded in institutions of structure and
furthermore did not focus on micro level structural influence on human behavior, which
was widely explained and described later by Levi Strauss (1997).
The organismic analogy developed in ways charted by Kaufmann (1908) and Levin
(1995). What was crucial for sociology and anthropology was the duality of structure and
function that was described in detailed by Durkheim and elaborated by Radcliffe Brown.
Identification of the duality of Structure and Function was one of the significant
development of sociological theory, because later theoretical underpinnings often were
based on the philosophical stances with regards to the duality of structure and function.
The duality of structure and function has been represented in different sociological theories
in different ways. Levi Strauss held a sole structural position in which social behavior of an
individual is believed to be subjected to hidden rules of society whereas Malinowski focused
on sole functionalism through which human behavior is explained in accordance with
functions of macro social institutions.
Durkheim (1933) proposed that society is structured according to the functions that
social groups fulfill in the division of labour. This perspective was appeared in his
monumental work “The elementary forms of religious life” in which he described the
elementary forms and functions of religion. This perspective was influential in anthropology
a subject that study human behavior scientifically, largely influenced by the work of
Radcliffe-brown in Andaman Islands (1952). He emphasized that structure is a set of
relations among entities, in that sense society is a system that consists of interrelated sub
systems with specialized tasks/ functions.
Sole ‘structuralism’ that describes human social behavior as administered in
accordance with predominant influence of hidden rules first emerged in linguistics largely
mediated by Ferdinand De Saussure a French linguistic-philosopher and then in
anthropology influenced by works of Levi Strauss. According to this view, language is largely
influenced by hidden rules. Utterance of sentences and construction rules of language
known as grammar is inculcated in human brain so that unconsciously those grammar rules
influence what we talk. Meaning of sentences are based on proper arrangement of meaning
units or word and other elements. Intended meaning is expressed using commonly accepted
language symbols to the society, provided that the way in which the intended meaning is
expressed in line with accepted rule or grammar, otherwise the intended meaning would
not be properly communicated. This very principle is analogues to society. Keeping

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functions of institution aside, the very core of institutions is determined by hidden rules.
The way in which society structured has been accorded in line with hidden rules. When an
individual initiate a social action in a society, hidden rules can influence it unconsciously.
Each and every action is under the purview of social structure, so that functions of both
macro and micro social entities such as family, temple, and state go along with social
structure. This has been exemplified by different anthropologists.
Imagine the place of your kin network. Before your birth, the place has been
determined. Place is not just a simple stance of structure, everything of human being in his
or her life is determined according to that very place of kin network. This can be different
from society to society. In Sinhalese culture, girl-child is structurally placed second to the
male-child as society has been constructed with patriarchal principles. Patriarchy is one of
the principle set in most of cultures around the world, and female-prominent social
behavior can prevalent when matriarchal principles dominate. Place of the kin network even
determine how you live, the way in which you learn, and the person you marry and other
many individual activities, therefore structure or hidden rules that govern human behavior
must be understood in the study of society.
Moreover, Ralph Linton (1936) one of the prominent American sociologist
suggested another duality, namely that of status and role, supposedly micro level social
process is constructed in line with this duality. Status, Linton argued that a slot or a place
in the social system (rather than in the structure) or a place in a particular pattern. Such a
position he further describes has both rights and duties associated, and action in accordance
with these is the performance of role. Role thus is the function set associated with the status
or the place in the social system, this theoretical explanting thus particularly focus on micro
level interaction among people. A number of later sociologists have similarly understood
social structure as an organized set of roles. Pitrim Sorokin examined the personality,
society and culture through a structural perspective (1962), that influenced works of
structural functionalism developed by Parsons (1961) and Merton (1957, 1967).
Recently Pierre Bourdieu (2007) and Anthony Giddens (2007) have endeavored some
theoretical explanations about social structure and social organization, that you will learn
later in this chapter.

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Elements concerning social structure
Status and Role
Status is the assigned position or a place of a person in society. This position might often be
a job title, though some other socially assigned positions can be identified: Student, Parent,
Siblings, Relative, Father, Mother, Teacher, Brother etc. Status here does not imply about
the prestige, but the place or the position given to a person within the social system. Any
individual occupies several different positions at a given time, therein simultaneously one
can be a mother, school teacher and a house wife. All those positions of an individual is
called that persons’ Status Set.

Sociologists have identified three statuses.

1. Achieved Status : This is the place or the position that has been achieved by the person
through the own effort and sometimes because of good or bad luck as some
anthropologists argue. Ex: Bank Manager, Teacher, Principle. In order to become a
Teacher, one must learn and should qualify with basic requirements and not just given
by the society.
2. Ascribed Status: This is the status that someone is born with and has no control over.
There are often a few ascribed statuses attached to a person and is not achieved through
own effort but ascribed or imposed on the person by society. Ex: Caste, Ethnicity, Race.
Caste status is certainly ascribed on person by the society and no control over.
3. Master Status: This is the key or the core status of a person that overrides other status
that one might occupy.

As sociologists and anthropologists explain, whatever the status that people occupy, some
sort of certain objects and practices signify and help understand the position held is known
as Status Symbols. Status symbols are more important for sociologists because it helps
them understand class status among people and thereby to understand social stratification.
Social Stratification is the way in which groups of society are organized. Stratification is
often determined and signified in accordance with status symbols.
Role
Each and every status is accompanied by a Role, which is the expected behavior or the
function with a certain status. For example, there is a significant role of a Father that is
different from a principle. When a person occupies a number of statuses, that person is

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required to play different roles. Although a number of statuses can be managed by a person
sometimes with a difficulty, a major problem can be emanated is the Role Conflict. Role
conflict is the conflict among different behaviors one might encounter when occupying a
set of statuses. For example, if a Teacher favor his/her child in the school, that might violate
the expected behavior of a teacher, but then again parent’s role can also be devalued.

Social Network, Group and Organizations

As noted above social structure consists of different rules and principles which administer
human behavior thereby creating a regular pattern that continues to exists for a long time
in society. Social networks, status and role are some of the elements that are embedded in
basic principles of society. Societal rules are imposed on people through participation of
those people in a particular new work arrangement. Different types of such net work
systems are available in every society, for example: Kinship system. Social Network is the
totality of relationships that link people to other people and groups and through them to
other people and groups. Traditional way of network building process has now been
changed due to the prevalence of global values, though the very core of network building
still continues. Social institutions consists of social networks and are specialized to achieve
a particular objective while performing a specific task known as function. Social networks
can be considered a key building block of social structure.
Social Networks are visible in a society through group and organizational behavior.
They are too essential components of social structure. A social group consists of two or
more people who regularly interact on the basis of mutual expectations and who share a
common identity. Group behavior is one essential behavioral patterns among people,
wherein individual action is associated with the social consensus. Intrinsically human beings
are believed to be social beings in that building social groups incorporating common
characteristics has a vital importance. Moreover, Organization is a large group that follows
defined and explicit rules and procedures to achieve a specific goal. Two types of social
organizations can be identified, i.e. formal organization and informal organization. Formal
organization follows an explicit code of conduct, on the contrary informal organizations are
structured informally and they do not follow a specific set of rules though its impact on
formal organizations might be significant.
Social structure consists of particular set of principles that influence human
behavior, whereas social organization some describes as the way in which human behavior

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is accorded in line with structural principles, thus there can be a contestation between social
structure and organization. Organization has two meanings: one focus on formal
arrangements among people, and the other focus on the way in which people behave in
accordance with structural principles. Caste based societal rules and human behavior
accorded with those principles can be described for example. Even though principles that
must be adhered in accordance with the caste can be violated as behavioral sovereignty is
believed to be go along with individual’s capability of decision making.

Social Institutions
Another important component of social structure is the Social Institution. This can be
identified as the patterns of beliefs and behavior that help a society meet its basic needs.
Contemporary complex societies are filled with different social institutions that help them
achieve basic needs. Social institution is a complex structure that contains a system in which
different subsystems are functioning. Religion is a macro social institution that contains a
set of principles and sub systems that help people to achieve their religious needs, for
example.

Theoretical Perspectives of Social Structure

There are some theoretical perspectives that describe “social structure” with different
theoretical standpoints. Because core rules of human interaction depend on social
structure, some sociologists and anthropologists have theorized the “influence of social
structure on social behaviour” and “influence of social behaviour on social structure”
differently. August Comte (1974), for example, looked at the surface level function of social
structure in that organismic resembles was asserted. This is the very core of Spenser’s
argument of society. Max weber, however posited that individual action and verstehen
(subjective interpretation given by the actor) is important rather than social structure where
in “individual action” was predominantly concerned over “impact of social structure on
human action”. It was Malinowski (1928) who first introduced “functionalism” to socio-
cultural anthropology where he described about the importance of functional arrangements
among different parts of a whole social system.
Functionalists including Durkheim, Comte, Spenser strongly believe that society is
a complete system that consists of subsystems with unique functions. In addition, sub
systems or institutions of society are interrelated so that function of a system can impact on

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the other while creating a functional interdependence. Function or the task set performed
by each individual institution is more important than the rules behind functions, as they
have argued in their studies. This was further extended by Radcliffe-brown, integrating
structure with the function, more commonly known as “structural functionalism”. He
asserted the importance of understanding hidden rules behind human action and the
function of each institution. However, it was Levi- Strauss (1969) who first introduced and
widely described about “Structuralism” where he claimed the importance of “structural
influence on human behaviour”.
In his monumental work “The elementary structure of Kinship” (1969), he examined
the structural logics that organize complex patterns of kin relationships by understanding
them as formal laws of transfers . Formal laws of transfers reveal how hidden rules behind
social networks are processed and influenced. This is one of the intriguing argument that
explain hidden rules that unconsciously influence human interactions. For example,
Marriage has been understood as a social institution that consists of different functions,
but for Strauss it was a pattern human behaviour governed by structural rules. This always
depends on formal laws of transfer as he explained. Marriage may be seen as the transfer of
a daughter or a son from one lineage to another. There is a ground cognitive structure in
this transfer. Because one person is transferred to another group, the receiving group is
indebted to the sending group, so that receiving group must be compensate the sending
group by way of gift, bride price, bride work, bride service or dowry. Also the coexistence
among lineages are stabilized these transfers. Due to complex rules of marriage, individual
intentions are however not tolerated. For example, love marriage within the same group can
be restricted. These rules are apparent in different societies and cultures. Incest or
restricting sexual intercourse between parallel cousins, bride price, bride exchange,
restricting homosexuality, polyandry, polygyny are some of those rules that prevent
individual intentions and compel them to go along with the social rules.
Structuration Theory, is a recent theoretical development contributed by Giddens
(2007) and Bourdieu (2000) who described human behaviour based on the synthesis of
structure ad agency. “Human Practice” has been given a prominent place here.
Structuration theory argues that “structure” is not a rigid or stable element, but a
continuously changing element due to the effect of close relationship between structure and
human agency. You will learn these concepts future, widely.

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Activity
1. Read the “introduction chapter” of “The elementary structure of Kinship”
2. Watch the video on “Bali Rituals and Social Structure” provided by Margaret Mead
on YouTube.
3. Study how “Sinhala Marriage” and “Tamil Marriage” are organized and compare
them.

Review Questions
1. What does it mean by “Social Structure”?
2. What are the differences between “Social Structure” and “Social Organization”
3. How hidden rules embedded in culture influence human behaviour? Explain with
suitable examples.
4. What are the basic elements of “Social Structure”
5. What is a status-set? What are the three types of Statuses?
6. What does it mean by “formal law of transfer”?
7. What are the different theoretical perspectives that talk about social structure?
8. What is “Structuration”?

References
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persons and their algebras. Social Networks 8, 215–256.
Burt, Ronald S., 1982. Toward a Structural Theory of Action. Academic Press, New York.
Comte, Auguste, 1974[1842]. The Positive Philosophy. Freely Condensed and Edited by
Harriet Martineu. AMS Press, New York.
Durkheim, Emile, 1933[1893]. The Division of Labor in Society (G. Simpson, Trans.). Free
Press, Glencoe, Illinois.

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