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The concepts of “social institution” and “social role” refer to central sociological categories, allowing us to introduce new perspectives into the consideration and analysis of social life. They draw our attention primarily to normativity and rituals in social life, to social behavior organized according to certain rules and following established patterns.

Social institution (from Latin institutum - arrangement, establishment) - stable forms of organization and regulation of social life; a stable set of rules, norms, and guidelines that regulate various spheres of human activity and organize them into a system of social roles and statuses.

Events, actions or things that seem to have nothing in common, such as a book, a wedding, an auction, a meeting of parliament or a Christmas celebration, at the same time have significant similarities: they are all forms of institutional life, i.e. all organized in accordance with certain rules, norms, roles, although the goals that are achieved may be different.

E. Durkheim figuratively defined social institutions as “factories of reproduction” of social relations and connections. The German sociologist A. Gehlen interprets an institution as a regulatory institution that directs people's actions in a certain direction, just as instincts guide the behavior of animals.

According to T. Parsons, society appears as a system of social relations and social institutions, with institutions acting as “nodes”, “bundles” of social relations. The institutional aspect of social action- an area in which normative expectations operating in social systems, rooted in culture and determining what people in various statuses and roles should do, are identified.

Thus, a social institution is a space in which an individual is accustomed to coordinated behavior and life according to the rules. Within the framework of a social institution, the behavior of each member of society becomes quite predictable in its orientations and forms of manifestation. Even in the case of violations or significant variations in role behavior, the main value of the institution remains precisely the normative framework. As P. Berger noted, institutions encourage people to follow the beaten paths that society considers desirable. The trick will succeed because the individual is convinced: these paths are the only possible ones.

Institutional analysis of social life is the study of recurring and most stable patterns of behavior, habits, and traditions passed on from generation to generation. Accordingly, non-institutionalized or extra-institutional forms of social behavior are characterized by randomness, spontaneity, and less controllability.

The process of formation of a social institution, organizational design of norms, rules, statuses and roles, thanks to which it becomes possible to satisfy one or another social need, is called “institutionalization”.

Famous American sociologists P. Berger and T. Luckman identified psychological, social, and cultural sources of institutionalization.

Psychological ability person addictive, memorization precedes any institutionalization. Thanks to this ability, people's field of choice is narrowed: out of hundreds of possible methods of action, only a few are fixed, which become a model for reproduction, thereby ensuring direction and specialization of activity, saving decision-making efforts, and freeing up time for careful thinking and innovation.

Further, institutionalization takes place wherever there is mutual typification of habitual actions on the part of the acting subjects, i.e. the emergence of a specific institution means that actions of type X must be performed by figures of type X (for example, the institution of the court establishes that heads will be cut off in a specific way under certain conditions and that this will be done by certain types of individuals, namely executioners or members of an unclean caste, or those who the oracle points to). The benefit of typification is the ability to predict the actions of another, which relieves the tension of uncertainty, saving energy and time both for other actions and in a psychological sense. Stabilization of individual actions and relationships will create the possibility of division of labor, opening the way for innovations that require more high level attention. The latter lead to new addictions and typifications. This is how the roots of the developing institutional order emerge.

The Institute assumes historicity, i.e. the corresponding typifications are created during general history, they cannot occur instantly. The most important moment in the formation of an institute is the ability to pass on familiar actions to the next generation. While nascent institutions are still being created and maintained only through the interaction of specific individuals, the possibility of changing their actions always remains: these and only these people are responsible for constructing this world, and they are able to change or annul it.

Everything changes in the process of passing on your experience to a new generation. The objectivity of the institutional world is strengthened, that is, the perception of these institutions as external and coercive, not only by children, but also by parents. The formula “we do it again” is replaced by the formula “this is how it’s done.” The world becomes stable in consciousness, becomes much more real and cannot be easily changed. It is at this point that it becomes possible to talk about the social world as a given reality confronting the individual, like the natural world. It has a history that precedes the birth of the individual and is inaccessible to his memory. It will continue to exist after his death. An individual biography is understood as an episode placed in the objective history of society. Institutions exist; they resist attempts to change or circumvent them. Their objective reality does not become less because the individual can

ns understand their goals or mode of action. A paradox arises: a person creates a world, which he subsequently perceives as something different from a human product.

Development of special mechanisms social control turns out to be necessary in the process of passing on the world to new generations: it is more likely that someone will deviate from the programs set for him by others than from the programs he himself helped create. Children (as well as adults) must “learn to behave” and, having learned, “adhere to the existing rules.”

With the advent of a new generation, there is a need for legitimation social world, i.e. in the ways of its “explanation” and “justification”. Children cannot make sense of this world based on memories of the circumstances under which this world was created. There is a need to interpret this meaning, to set the meaning of history and biography. Thus, the dominance of a man is explained and justified either physiologically (“he is stronger and therefore can provide his family with resources”), or mythologically (“God first created a man, and then a woman from his rib”).

The developing institutional order develops a canopy of such explanations and justifications, which the new generation becomes familiar with in the process of socialization. Thus, the analysis of people's knowledge about institutions turns out to be an essential part of the analysis of institutional order. This can be knowledge both at a pre-theoretical level in the form of a collection of maxims, teachings, sayings, beliefs, myths, and in the form of complex theoretical systems. It doesn’t really matter whether it corresponds to reality or is illusory. More significant is the consensus it brings to the group. The importance of knowledge for the institutional order causes the need for special institutions involved in the development of legitimations, therefore, for specialist ideologists (priests, teachers, historians, philosophers, scientists).

The fundamental point of the institutionalization process is giving the institution an official character, its structuring, technical and material organization: legal texts, premises, furniture, machines, emblems, forms, personnel, administrative hierarchy, etc. Thus, the institute is endowed with the necessary material, financial, labor, organizational resources so that it can actually fulfill its mission. Technical and material elements They give the institution a tangible reality, demonstrate it, make it visible, declare it in front of everyone. Officiality, as a statement to everyone, essentially means that everyone is taken as a witness, called upon to control, invited to communicate, thereby making a claim for the stability, solidity of the organization, and its independence from the individual case.

Thus, the process of institutionalization, i.e. the formation of a social institution, involves several successive stages:

• 1) the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized actions;
• 2) formation of general ideas;
• 3) the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;
• 4) the emergence of procedures related to norms and rules;
• 5) institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, i.e. their adoption, practical application;
• 6) establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, differentiation of their application in individual cases;
• 7) material and symbolic design of the emerging institutional structure.

The institutionalization process can be considered complete if all the listed stages have been completed. If the rules of social interaction in any field of activity have not been worked out, are subject to change (for example, the rules for holding elections to local authorities in a number of regions of Russia could change already during the election campaign), or do not receive proper social approval, in these cases they say that these social connections have an incomplete institutional status, that this institution has not fully developed or is even in the process of dying out.

We live in a highly institutionalized society. Any sphere of human activity, be it economics, art or sports, is organized according to certain rules, adherence to which is more or less strictly controlled. The diversity of institutions corresponds to the diversity of human needs, such as the need to produce products and services; the need for the distribution of benefits and privileges; the need for safety, protection of life and well-being; the need for social control over the behavior of members of society; the need for communication, etc. Accordingly, the main institutions include: economic (institution of division of labor, institution of property, institution of taxation, etc.); political (state, parties, army, etc.); institutions of kinship, marriage and family; education, mass communications, science, sports, etc.

Thus, the central purpose of such institutional complexes that provide economic functions in society, such as contract and property, is to regulate exchange relations, as well as rights related to the exchange of goods, including money.

If property is the central economic institution, then in politics the central place is occupied by the institution of state power, designed to ensure the fulfillment of obligations in the interests of achieving collective goals. Power is associated with the institutionalization of leadership (the institution of the monarchy, the institution of the presidency, etc.). The institutionalization of power means that the latter moves from ruling persons to institutional forms: if earlier rulers exercised power as their own prerogative, then with the development of the institution of power they appear as agents of supreme power. From the point of view of the governed, the value of institutionalizing power is in limiting arbitrariness, subordinating power to the idea of ​​law; From the point of view of the ruling groups, institutionalization provides stability and continuity that benefits them.

The institution of the family, which historically emerged as a means of limiting the total competition of men and women for each other, provides a number of the most important human burials. Considering the family as a social institution means highlighting its main functions (for example, regulation of sexual behavior, reproduction, socialization, attention and protection), showing how, in order to perform these functions, the family union is formalized into a system of rules and norms of role behavior. The institution of family is accompanied by the institution of marriage, which involves the documentation of sexual and economic rights and responsibilities.

Most religious communities are also organized into institutions, namely, they function as a network of relatively stable roles, statuses, groups, and values. Religious institutions vary in size, doctrine, membership, origin, connection with the rest of society; Accordingly, the church, sects, and cults are distinguished as forms of religious institutions.

Functions of social institutions. If we consider in the most general form the activity of any social institution, then we can assume that its main function is to satisfy the social need for which it was created and exists. These expected and necessary functions are called in sociology explicit functions. They are recorded and declared in codes and charters, constitutions and programs, and are enshrined in a system of statuses and roles. Since explicit functions are always announced and in every society this is accompanied by a rather strict tradition or procedure (for example, the president’s oath upon taking office; mandatory annual meetings of shareholders; regular elections of the president of the Academy of Sciences; adoption of special sets of laws: on education, health care, the prosecutor’s office, social provision, etc.), they turn out to be more formalized and controlled by society. When an institution fails to fulfill its explicit functions, it faces disorganization and change: its explicit functions may be transferred or appropriated by other institutions.

Along with the direct results of the actions of social institutions, other results that were not planned in advance may also occur. The latter are called in sociology latent functions. Such results may have great importance for society.

The existence of latent functions of institutions is most clearly shown by T. Veblen, who wrote that it would be naive to say that people eat black caviar because they want to satisfy their hunger, and buy a luxurious Cadillac because they want to buy good car. It is obvious that these things are not acquired to satisfy obvious immediate needs. T. Veblen concludes that the production of consumer goods can perform a hidden, latent function, for example, satisfy the needs of certain social groups and individuals to increase their own prestige.

One can often observe, at first glance, an incomprehensible phenomenon, when some social institution continues to exist, although it not only does not fulfill its functions, but even prevents their implementation. Obviously, in this case there are hidden functions that make it possible to satisfy the unstated needs of certain social groups. Examples would be sales organizations with no customers; sports clubs who do not demonstrate high sporting achievements; scientific publications that do not have a reputation as a quality publication in the scientific community, etc. By studying the latent functions of institutions, one can more comprehensively present the picture of social life.

Interaction and development of social institutions. How more complex society, the more developed the system of institutions it has. The history of the evolution of institutions follows the following pattern: from institutions traditional society, based on rules of behavior and family ties prescribed by ritual and custom, to modern institutions based on achievement values ​​(competence, independence, personal responsibility, rationality), relatively independent of moral precepts. Overall, the general trend is segmentation of institutions, i.e., multiplication of their number and complexity, which is based on the division of labor, specialization of activities, which, in turn, causes subsequent differentiation of institutions. At the same time, in modern society there are so-called total institutions, that is, organizations that cover the full daily cycle of their wards (for example, the army, the penitentiary system, clinical hospitals, etc.), which have a significant impact on their psyche and behavior.

One of the consequences of institutional segmentation can be called specialization, reaching such a depth when special role knowledge becomes understandable only to initiates. The result may be increased social disunity and even social conflict between so-called professionals and laypeople due to the latter's fear that they may be manipulated.

A serious problem of modern society is the contradiction between the structural components of complex social institutions. For example, the executive structures of the state strive to professionalize their activities, which inevitably entails a certain closedness and inaccessibility for persons who do not have a special education in the field of public administration. At the same time, the representative structures of the state are designed to provide the opportunity for representatives of the most diverse groups of society to engage in government activities without taking into account their special training in the field of public administration. As a result, conditions are created for an inevitable conflict between the bills of deputies and the possibility of their implementation by the executive structures of power.

The problem of interaction between social institutions also arises if the system of norms characteristic of one institution begins to spread to other spheres of social life. For example, in medieval Europe the church dominated not only in spiritual life, but also in economics, politics, family, or in the so-called totalitarian political systems the state tried to play a similar role. The consequence of this may be disorganization of public life, growing social tension, destruction, or loss of any of the institutions. For example, the scientific ethos requires members of the scientific community to have organized skepticism, intellectual independence, free and open dissemination of new information, and the formation of a scientist's reputation depending on his scientific achievements, and not on his administrative status. It is obvious that if the state strives to turn science into an industry National economy, centrally managed and serving the interests of the state itself, then the principles of behavior in the scientific community must inevitably change, i.e. the institute of science will begin to degenerate.

Some problems may be caused by different rates of change in social institutions. Examples include a feudal society with a modern army, or the coexistence in one society of supporters of the theory of relativity and astrology, traditional religion and a scientific worldview. As a result, difficulties arise in the general legitimation of both the institutional order as a whole and specific social institutions.

Changes in social institutions can be caused internal and external reasons. The first, as a rule, are associated with the ineffectiveness of existing institutions, with a possible contradiction between existing institutions and the social motivations of various social groups; the second - with a change in cultural paradigms, a change in cultural orientation in the development of society. In the latter case, we can talk about societies of a transitional type, experiencing a systemic crisis, when their structure and organization change, and social needs change. Accordingly, the structure of social institutions changes, many of them are endowed with functions that were not previously characteristic of them. Modern Russian society gives many examples of similar processes of the loss of former institutions (for example, the CPSU or the State Committee for Planning), the emergence of new ones that did not exist in Soviet system social institutions (for example, the institution of private property), a serious change in the functions of institutions that continue to operate. All this determines the instability of the institutional structure of society.

Thus, social institutions perform contradictory functions on the scale of society: on the one hand, they represent “social nodes”, thanks to which society is “connected”, the division of labor is ordered in it, social mobility is directed, and the social transmission of experience to new generations is organized; on the other hand, the emergence of more and more new institutions, the complication of institutional life means segmentation, fragmentation of society, and can lead to alienation and mutual misunderstanding between participants in social life. At the same time, the growing need for cultural and social integration of modern post-industrial society can only be satisfied by institutional means. This function is associated with the activities of the media; with the revival and cultivation of national, urban, public holidays; with the emergence of special professions focused on negotiations and coordination of interests between different people and social groups.

Institute. Most often, this word is used in the sense of a higher educational institution (pedagogical, medical institute). However, the word “institute” is ambiguous. "Institute" is a Latin word. Translated it means “institution”.

In social sciences the term “social institution” is used.

What is a social institution?

There are several definitions of this concept.

Here is one of them, easy to remember and containing the essence of this term.

Social Institute - this is a historically established, stable form of organizing the joint activities of people implementing certain functions in society, the main one of which is the satisfaction of social needs.

EXPLANATION.

A social institution, to put it more simply, is such formations in society (an institution, a government body, a family and many, many other entities) that make it possible to regulate some relationships and actions of people in society. Allegorically speaking, this is the door through which you will enter to resolve some issues.

1. You need to order a passport. You will not go anywhere, but to the passport office - the institution of citizenship.
2. You got a job and want to know what your specific salary will be. You where will you go? In the accounting department, it was created to regulate salary issues. This is also the salary institute network.

And there are a huge number of such social institutions in society. Someone somewhere is responsible for everything, performing certain functions to satisfy people’s social needs.

I will give a table in which I will indicate the most important social institutions in each sphere of social relations.

Social institutions, their types

Social institutions are a constantly evolving structure. New ones arise, old ones die off. This process is called institutionalization.

Structure of social institutions

Structure, that is, the elements of the whole.

Jan Shchepalsky identified the following elements of social institutions.

• Purpose and scope of activity of a social institution
• Functions
• Social roles and statuses
• Facilities and institutions performing the functions of this institute. Sanctions.

Signs of social institutions

• Patterns of behavior, attitudes. For example, an educational institution is characterized by the desire to acquire knowledge.
• Cultural symbols. So, for a family it’s wedding rings, a marriage ritual; for the state - coat of arms, flag, anthem; for religion - icon, cross, etc.
• Oral and written codes of conduct. So, for the state - these are codes, for business - licenses, contracts, for families - a marriage contract.
• Ideology. For a family it means mutual understanding, respect, love; for business - freedom of trade and entrepreneurship; for religion - Orthodoxy, Islam.
• Utilitarian cultural traits. So, for religion - religious buildings; for healthcare – clinics, hospitals, diagnostic rooms; for education - classes, gym, library; For family home, furniture.

Functions of social institutions

• Satisfying social needs is the main function of every institution.
• Regulatory function— that is, the regulation of certain types of social relations.
• Consolidation and reproduction of social relations. Each institution has its own norms and rules that help standardize people's behavior. All this makes society more sustainable.
• Integrative function, that is, cohesion, interconnection of members of society.
• Broadcasting function— the opportunity to transfer experience and knowledge to new people who come to a particular structure.
• Socialization— the individual’s assimilation of norms and rules of behavior in society, methods of activity.
• Communicative- this is the transfer of information both within an institution and between social institutions as a result of the interaction of members of society.

Formal and informal social institutions

Formal institutions— their activities are regulated within the framework of current legislation (authorities, parties, courts, family, school, army, etc.)

Informal institutions- their activities are not established by formal acts, that is, laws, orders, documents.

Material prepared by: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna

Introduction

Social institutions occupy an important place in the life of society. Sociologists view institutions as a stable set of norms, rules, and symbols that regulate various spheres of human life and organize them into a system of roles and statuses, with the help of which basic life and social needs are satisfied.

The relevance of the study of the topic is due to the need to assess the importance of social institutions and their functions in the life of society.

The object of the study is social institutions; the subject is the main functions, types and characteristics of social institutions.

The purpose of the study is to analyze the essence of social institutions.

When writing the work, the following tasks were set:

1. Give a theoretical idea of ​​a social institution;

2. Reveal the characteristics of social institutions;

3. Consider the types of social institutions;

4. Describe the functions of social institutions.

1 Basic approaches to understanding the structure of social institutions

1.1 Definition of the concept of social institution

The term "institution" has many meanings. IN European languages it came from the Latin: institutum - establishment, arrangement. Over time, it acquired two meanings - narrow technical (the name of specialized scientific and educational institutions) and broad social: a set of legal norms for a certain range of social relations, for example, the institution of marriage, the institution of inheritance.

Sociologists, who borrowed this concept from legal scholars, endowed it with new content. However, in the scientific literature regarding institutions, as well as on other fundamental issues of sociology, there is no unity of views. In sociology there is not one, but many definitions of a social institution.

One of the first to give a detailed idea of ​​social institutions was the prominent American sociologist and economist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929). Although his book “The Theory of the Leisure Class” appeared in 1899, many of its provisions are not outdated to this day. He viewed the evolution of society as a process of natural selection of social institutions, which by their nature are no different from usual ways responding to stimuli created by external changes.

There are various concepts of social institutions; the totality of all available interpretations of the concept of “social institution” can be reduced to the following four bases:

1. A group of people performing certain social functions that are important to everyone.

2. Specific organized forms of sets of functions that are performed by some members of a group on behalf of the entire group.

3. A system of material institutions and forms of action that allow individuals to perform public impersonal functions aimed at satisfying the needs or regulating the behavior of members of the community (group).

4. Social roles that are especially important for a group or community.

The concept of “social institution” is given a significant place in Russian sociology. A social institution is defined as a leading component of the social structure of society, integrating and coordinating many individual actions of people, streamlining social relations in certain spheres of public life.

According to S.S. Frolov, “a social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that unites significant social values ​​and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society.”

In this definition, a system of social connections is understood as an interweaving of roles and statuses through which behavior in group processes is carried out and maintained within certain limits, by social values ​​- shared ideas and goals, and by social procedures - standardized patterns of behavior in group processes. The institution of family, for example, includes: 1) the interweaving of roles and statuses (statuses and roles of husband, wife, child, grandmother, grandfather, mother-in-law, mother-in-law, sisters, brothers, etc.), with the help of which family life is carried out; 2) a set of social values ​​(love, attitude towards children, family life); 3) social procedures (caring for the upbringing of children, their physical development, family rules and obligations).

If we summarize all the many approaches, they can be divided into the following. A social institution is:

A role system, which also includes norms and statuses;

A set of customs, traditions and rules of conduct;

Formal and informal organization;

A set of norms and institutions regulating a certain area of ​​public relations;

A separate set of social actions.

Understanding social institutions as a set of norms and mechanisms that regulate a certain sphere of social relations (family, production, state, education, religion), sociologists have deepened the understanding of them as the basic elements on which society rests.

Culture is often understood as the form and result of adaptation to the environment. Kees J. Hamelink defines culture as the sum of all human efforts aimed at mastering environment and the creation of the necessary material and non-material material resources. By adapting to the environment, society throughout history develops tools suitable for solving many problems and satisfying critical needs. These instruments are called social institutions. Institutions typical for a given society reflect the cultural appearance of that society. The institutions of different societies are as different from each other as their cultures. For example, the institution of marriage among different nations contains unique rites and ceremonies and is based on the norms and rules of behavior accepted in each society. In some countries, the institution of marriage allows, for example, polygamy, which in other countries is strictly prohibited according to their institution of marriage.

Within the totality of social institutions, a subgroup of cultural institutions can be distinguished as a type of private social institutions. For example, when they say that the press, radio and television represent the “fourth estate,” they are essentially understood as a cultural institution. Communication institutions are part of cultural institutions. They are the organs through which society, through social structures, produces and distributes information expressed in symbols. Communication institutions are the main source of knowledge about accumulated experience expressed in symbols.

No matter how one defines a social institution, in any case it is clear that it can be characterized as one of the most fundamental categories of sociology. It is no coincidence that special institutional sociology arose quite a long time ago and was well established as a whole direction, including a number of branches of sociological knowledge (economic sociology, political sociology, sociology of the family, sociology of science, sociology of education, sociology of religion, etc.).

1.2 Process of institutionalization

Social institutions arise as a unique response to the needs of society and individual societies. They are associated with guarantees of continuous social life, protection of citizens, maintenance of social order, cohesion of social groups, communication between them, and “placement” of people in certain social positions. Of course, the emergence of social institutions is based on primary needs related to the production of products, goods and services, and their distribution. The process of emergence and formation of social institutions is called institutionalization.

In detail the process of institutionalization, i.e. formation of a social institution, considered by S.S. Frolov. This process consists of several successive stages:

1) the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized actions;

2) formation of common goals;

3) the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;

4) the emergence of procedures related to norms and rules;

5) institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, i.e. their acceptance, practical application;

6) establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, differentiation of their application in individual cases;

7) creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception.

People united in social groups to fulfill a need that has arisen in them first jointly look for various ways to achieve it. In the process of social practice, they develop the most acceptable samples and patterns of behavior, which over time, through repeated repetition and evaluation, turn into standardized habits and customs. After some time, the developed patterns and patterns of behavior are accepted and supported by public opinion, and ultimately legitimized, and a certain system of sanctions is developed. The end of the institutionalization process is the creation, in accordance with the norms and rules, of a clear status-role structure, which is socially approved by the majority of participants in this social process.

1.3 Institutional features

Each social institution has both specific features and common features with other institutions.

To fulfill its functions, a social institution must take into account the abilities of various functionaries, form standards of behavior, loyalty to basic principles, and develop interaction with other institutions. It is not surprising, therefore, that similar paths and methods of action exist in institutions pursuing very different goals.

The characteristics common to all institutes are presented in Table. 1. They are grouped into five groups. Although an institution must necessarily possess, for example, utilitarian cultural features, it also has new specific qualities depending on the needs that it satisfies. Some institutions, unlike developed ones, may not have a full set of characteristics. This only means that the institution is imperfect, has not fully developed, or is in decline. If most institutions are underdeveloped, then the society in which they operate is either in decline or in the early stages of cultural development.

Table 1 . Signs of the main institutions of society

2 Types and functions of social institutions

2.1 Characteristics of types of social institutions

For the sociological analysis of social institutions and the characteristics of their functioning in society, their typology is essential.

G. Spencer was one of the first who drew attention to the problem of institutionalization of society and stimulated interest in institutions in sociological thought. Within the framework of his “organismic theory” human society Based on the structural analogy between society and organism, he distinguishes three main types of institutions:

1) continuing the family line (marriage and family) (Kinship);

2) distribution (or economic);

3) regulating (religion, political systems).

This classification is based on identifying the main functions inherent in all institutions.

R. Mills counted five institutional orders in modern society, meaning the main institutions:

1) economic - institutions that organize economic activities;

2) political - institutions of power;

3) family - institutions regulating sexual relations, the birth and socialization of children;

4) military - institutions that organize legal heritage;

5) religious - institutions that organize the collective veneration of gods.

The classification of social institutions proposed by foreign representatives of institutional analysis is arbitrary and original. Thus, Luther Bernard proposes to distinguish between “mature” and “immature” social institutions, Bronislaw Malinowski - “universal” and “particular”, Lloyd Ballard - “regulatory” and “sanctioned or operational”, F. Chapin - “specific or nucleative” and “basic or diffuse-symbolic”, G. Barnes - “primary”, “secondary” and “tertiary”.

Foreign representatives of functional analysis, following G. Spencer, traditionally propose to classify social institutions based on their main social functions. For example, K. Dawson and W. Gettys believe that the entire variety of social institutions can be grouped into four groups: hereditary, instrumental, regulatory and integrative. From the point of view of T. Parsons, three groups of social institutions should be distinguished: relational, regulatory, cultural.

J. Szczepanski also strives to classify social institutions depending on the functions they perform in various spheres and sectors of public life. Having divided social institutions into “formal” and “informal”, he proposes to distinguish the following “main” social institutions: economic, political, educational or cultural, social or public in the narrow sense of the word and religious. At the same time, the Polish sociologist notes that his proposed classification of social institutions is “not exhaustive”; in modern societies one can find social institutions that are not covered by this classification.

Despite big variety existing classifications of social institutions, this is largely due to various criteria division, almost all researchers identify two types of institutions as the most important - economic and political. This is due to the fact that a significant part of scientists believe that economic and political institutions have the most significant impact on the nature of changes in society.

It should be noted that a very important, extremely necessary social institution, brought to life by enduring needs, in addition to the two above, is the family. This is historically the first social institution of any society, and for most primitive societies it is the only really functioning institution. The family is a social institution of a special, integrative nature, which reflects all spheres and relationships of society. Other socio-cultural institutions are also important in society - education, healthcare, upbringing, etc.

Due to the fact that the essential functions performed by institutions are different, the analysis of social institutions allows us to identify the following groups of institutions:

1. Economic - these are all institutions that ensure the process of production and distribution of material goods and services, regulate money circulation, organize and divide labor, etc. (banks, exchanges, corporations, firms, joint stock companies, factories, etc.).

2. Political are institutions that establish, execute and maintain power. In concentrated form they express the political interests and relations existing in a given society. The set of political institutions allows us to determine the political system of society (the state with its central and local authorities, political parties, police or militia, justice, army and also various public organizations, movements, associations, foundations and clubs pursuing political goals). The forms of institutionalized activity in this case are strictly defined: elections, rallies, demonstrations, election campaigns.

3. Reproduction and kinship are institutions through which the biological continuity of society is maintained, sexual needs and parental aspirations are satisfied, relations between the sexes and generations are regulated, etc. (institute of family and marriage).

4. Socio-cultural and educational are institutions whose main goal is to create, develop, strengthen culture for the socialization of the younger generation and transfer to them the accumulated cultural values ​​of the entire society as a whole (family as an educational institution, education, science, cultural and educational and art institutions, etc.).

5. Social-ceremonial - these are institutions that regulate everyday human contacts and facilitate mutual understanding. Although these social institutions are complex systems and are most often informal, it is thanks to them that the methods of greetings and congratulations, the organization of ceremonial weddings, holding meetings, etc. are determined and regulated, which we ourselves usually do not think about. These are institutions organized by a voluntary association (public organizations, partnerships, clubs, etc., not pursuing political goals).

6. Religious - institutions that organize a person’s connection with transcendental forces. For believers, the other world really exists and in a certain way influences their behavior and social relationships. The institution of religion plays a prominent role in many societies and has a strong influence on numerous human relationships.

In the above classification, only the so-called “main institutions” are considered, the most important, highly necessary institutions, brought to life by the enduring needs that regulate basic social functions and are characteristic of all types of civilization.

Depending on the rigidity and methods of regulating their activities, social institutions are divided into formal and informal.

Formal social institutions, with all their significant differences, are united by one common feature: interaction between subjects in a given association is carried out on the basis of formally agreed upon regulations, rules, norms, regulations, etc. The regularity of activity and self-renewal of such institutions (state, army, church, education system, etc.) is ensured by strict regulation social statuses, roles, functions, rights and responsibilities, the distribution of responsibility between participants in social interaction, as well as the impersonality of requirements for those who are involved in the activities of a social institution. The fulfillment of a certain range of responsibilities is associated with the division of labor and the professionalization of the functions performed. To fulfill its functions, a formal social institution has institutions within which (for example, a school, university, technical school, lyceum, etc.) quite specific professionally oriented activities of people are organized; social actions are managed, their implementation is monitored, as well as the resources and means necessary for all this.

Informal social institutions, although their activities are regulated by certain norms and rules, do not have strict regulation, and normative-value relationships in them are not clearly formalized in the form of instructions, regulations, charters, etc. An example of an informal social institution is friendship. It has many features of a social institution, such as, say, the presence of certain norms, rules, requirements, resources (trust, sympathy, devotion, fidelity, etc.), but the regulation of friendly relations is not formal, and social control is carried out with the help informal sanctions- moral norms, traditions, customs, etc.

2.2 Functions of social institutions

The American sociologist R. Merton, who did a lot for the development of the structural-functional approach, was the first to propose distinguishing between “explicit” and “hidden (latent)” functions of social institutions. This difference in functions was introduced by him to explain certain social phenomena, when it is necessary to take into account not only expected and observed consequences, but also uncertain, secondary, secondary ones. He borrowed the terms “manifest” and “latent” from Freud, who used them in a completely different context. R. Merton writes: “The basis of the distinction between manifest and latent functions is the following: the former refer to those objective and intentional consequences of social action that contribute to the adaptation or adaptation of some specific social unit (individual, subgroup, social or cultural system); the latter refer to unintended and unconscious consequences of the same order.”

The explicit functions of social institutions are intentional and are recognized by people. Usually they are formally stated, written down in charters or declared, enshrined in a system of statuses and roles (for example, the adoption of special laws or sets of rules: on education, health care, social security, etc.), therefore they are more controllable by society.

The main, general function of any social institution is to satisfy the social needs for which it was created and exists. To carry out this function, each institution has to perform a number of functions that ensure the joint activities of people seeking to satisfy needs. These are the following functions; the function of consolidating and reproducing social relations; regulatory function; integrative function; broadcasting function; communicative function.

The function of consolidating and reproducing social relations

Each institution has a system of rules and norms of behavior that reinforce and standardize the behavior of its members and make this behavior predictable. Appropriate social control provides order and framework within which the activities of each member of the institution should take place. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the social structure of society. Indeed, the code of the family institution, for example, implies that members of society should be divided into fairly stable small groups - families. With the help of social control, the institution of family strives to ensure the state of stability of each individual family and limits the possibilities of its disintegration. The destruction of the family institution is, first of all, the emergence of chaos and uncertainty, the collapse of many groups, the violation of traditions, the inability to ensure normal sex life and quality education of the younger generation.

The regulatory function consists in the fact that the functioning of social institutions ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior. The entire cultural life of a person takes place with his participation in various institutions. Whatever type of activity an individual is engaged in, he always encounters an institution that regulates his behavior in this area. Even if an activity is not ordered or regulated, people immediately begin to institutionalize it. Thus, with the help of institutions, a person exhibits predictable and standardized behavior in social life. He fulfills role requirements and expectations and knows what to expect from the people around him. Such regulation is necessary for joint activities.

Integrative function. This function includes the processes of cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups, occurring under the influence of institutionalized norms, rules, sanctions and role systems. The integration of people at the institute is accompanied by streamlining of the system of interactions, an increase in the volume and frequency of contacts. All this leads to increased stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure, especially social organizations.

Any integration at an institute consists of three main elements, or necessary requirements: 1) consolidation or combination of efforts; 2) mobilization, when each group member invests his resources in achieving goals; 3) conformity of the personal goals of individuals with the goals of others or the goals of the group. Integrative processes carried out with the help of institutions are necessary for the coordinated activity of people, the exercise of power, and the creation of complex organizations. Integration is one of the conditions for the survival of organizations, as well as one of the ways to correlate the goals of its participants.

Transmitting function: Society could not develop if it were not possible to transmit social experience. Every institution needs new people to function properly. This can happen both by expanding the social boundaries of the institution and by changing generations. In this regard, every institution has a mechanism that allows individuals to be socialized into its values, norms and roles. For example, a family, while raising a child, strives to orient him towards the values ​​of family life that his parents adhere to. Government agencies seek to influence citizens to instill standards of obedience and loyalty, and the church tries to attract as many new members as possible to the faith.

Communication function. Information produced in an institute must be disseminated both within the institute for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with standards, and in interactions between institutions. Moreover, the nature of the communicative connections of the institution has its own specifics - these are formal connections carried out in a system of institutionalized roles. As researchers note, the communicative capabilities of institutions are not the same: some are specifically designed to transmit information (mass media), others have very limited capabilities for this; some actively perceive information ( scientific institutes), others passively (publishing houses).

Latent functions. Along with the direct results of the actions of social institutions, there are other results that are outside the immediate goals of a person and are not planned in advance. These results could have significant implications for society. Thus, the church strives to consolidate its influence to the greatest extent through ideology, the introduction of faith, and often achieves success in this. However, regardless of the goals of the church, people appear who leave for the sake of religion production activities. Fanatics begin persecuting non-believers, and the possibility of major social conflicts on religious grounds. The family strives to socialize the child to the accepted norms of family life, but it often happens that family upbringing leads to a conflict between the individual and the cultural group and serves to protect the interests of certain social strata.

The existence of latent functions of institutions is most clearly demonstrated by T. Veblen, who wrote that it would be naive to say that people eat black caviar because they want to satisfy their hunger, and buy a luxurious Cadillac because they want to buy a good car. It is obvious that these things are not acquired to satisfy obvious immediate needs. T. Veblen concludes from this that the production of consumer goods performs a hidden, latent function - it satisfies the needs of people to increase their own prestige. Such an understanding of the actions of the institution for the production of consumer goods radically changes the opinion about its activities, tasks and operating conditions.

Thus, it is obvious that only by studying the latent functions of institutions can sociologists determine the true picture of social life. For example, very often sociologists are faced with a phenomenon that is incomprehensible at first glance, when an institution continues to exist successfully, even if it not only does not fulfill its functions, but also interferes with their fulfillment. Such an institution obviously has hidden functions with which it satisfies the needs of certain social groups. A similar phenomenon can be observed especially often among political institutions in which latent functions are most developed.

Latent functions are, therefore, the subject which should primarily interest the student of social structures. The difficulty in recognizing them is compensated by the creation of a reliable picture of social connections and the characteristics of social objects, as well as the opportunity to control their development and to manage the social processes occurring in them.

Conclusion

Based on the work done, I can conclude that I was able to achieve my goal - to briefly outline the main theoretical aspects of social institutions.

The work describes the concept, structure and functions of social institutions in as detailed and varied a manner as possible. In the process of revealing the meaning of these concepts, I used the opinions and arguments of various authors who used different methodology from each other, which made it possible to more deeply identify the essence of social institutions.

In general, we can summarize that social institutions in society play a significant role important role, the study of social institutions and their functions allows sociologists to create a picture of social life, makes it possible to monitor the development of social connections and social objects, as well as to manage the processes occurring in them.

List of sources used

1 Babosov E.M. General sociology: Textbook. manual for universities. – 2nd ed., rev. and additional – Mn.: TetraSystems, 2004. 640 pp.

2 Glotov M.B. Social institution: definitions, structure, classification /SotsIs. No. 10 2003. pp. 17-18

3 Dobrenkov V.I., Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: Textbook for universities. – M.: INFRA-M, 2001. 624 P.

4 Z Borovsky G.E. General sociology: Textbook for universities. – M.: Gardariki, 2004. 592 P.

5 Novikova S.S. Sociology: history, foundations, institutionalization in Russia - M.: Moscow Psychological and Social Institute, 2000. 464 P.

6 Frolov S.S. Sociology. M.: Nauka, 1994. 249 pp.

7 Encyclopedic Sociological Dictionary / Ed. ed. G.V. Osipova. M.: 1995.

Introduction

1. The concept of “social institution” and “social organization”.

2.Types of social institutions.

3.Functions and structure of social institutions.

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

The term "social institution" is used in a wide variety of meanings. They talk about the institution of the family, the institution of education, health care, the institution of the state, etc. The first, most often used meaning of the term “social institution” is associated with the characteristics of any kind of ordering, formalization and standardization of social ties and relationships. And the process of streamlining, formalization and standardization itself is called institutionalization.

The process of institutionalization includes a number of points: 1) One of necessary conditions The emergence of social institutions serves a corresponding social need. Institutions are called upon to organize the joint activities of people in order to satisfy certain social needs. Thus, the institution of the family satisfies the need for the reproduction of the human race and raising children, implements relations between the sexes, generations, etc. The Institute higher education provides training work force, allows a person to develop his abilities in order to realize them in subsequent activities and ensure his existence, etc. The emergence of certain social needs, as well as the conditions for their satisfaction, are the first necessary moments institutionalization. 2) A social institution is formed on the basis of social connections, interactions and relationships of specific individuals, individuals, social groups and other communities. But it, like other social systems, cannot be reduced to the sum of these individuals and their interactions. Social institutions are supra-individual in nature and have their own systemic quality.

Consequently, a social institution is an independent social entity that has its own logic of development. From this point of view, social institutions can be considered as organized social systems, characterized by the stability of the structure, the integration of their elements and a certain variability of their functions.

3) The third most important element of institutionalization

is the organizational design of a social institution. Externally, a social institution is a collection of persons, institutions, equipped with certain material means and performing a certain social function.

So, each social institution is characterized by the presence of a goal for its activity, specific functions that ensure the achievement of such a goal, and a set of social positions and roles typical for a given institution. Based on all of the above, we can give the following definition of a social institution. Social institutions are organized associations of people performing certain socially significant functions that ensure the joint achievement of goals based on the members’ fulfillment of their social roles, defined by social values, norms and patterns of behavior.

It is also necessary to distinguish between such concepts as “social institution” and “organization”.

1. The concept of “social institution” and “social organization”

Social institutions (from the Latin institutum - establishment, establishment) are historically established stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people.

Social institutions guide the behavior of community members through a system of sanctions and rewards. In social management and control, institutions play a very important role. Their task comes down to more than just coercion. In every society, there are institutions that guarantee freedom in certain types of activities - freedom of creativity and innovation, freedom of speech, the right to receive a certain form and amount of income, to housing and free medical care, etc. For example, writers and artists have guaranteed freedom creativity, search for new artistic forms; scientists and specialists undertake to investigate new problems and search for new technical solutions, etc. Social institutions can be characterized from the point of view of both their external, formal (“material”) structure and their internal, substantive structure.

Externally, a social institution looks like a collection of persons and institutions, equipped with certain material means and performing a specific social function. From the content side, this is a certain system of purposefully oriented standards of behavior certain persons in specific situations. Thus, if justice as a social institution can be externally characterized as a set of persons, institutions and material means administering justice, then from a substantive point of view it is a set of standardized patterns of behavior of eligible persons providing this social function. These standards of behavior are embodied in certain roles characteristic of the justice system (the role of a judge, prosecutor, lawyer, investigator, etc.).

The social institution thus determines the orientation social activities and social relations through a mutually agreed upon system of expediently oriented standards of behavior. Their emergence and grouping into a system depend on the content of the tasks being solved by the social institution. Each such institution is characterized by the presence of an activity goal, specific functions that ensure its achievement, a set of social positions and roles, as well as a system of sanctions that ensure the encouragement of desired behavior and the suppression of deviant behavior.

Consequently, social institutions perform the functions of social management and social control in society as one of the elements of management. Social control enables society and its systems to ensure compliance with normative conditions, the violation of which causes damage to the social system. The main objects of such control are legal and moral norms, customs, administrative decisions, etc. The action of social control comes down, on the one hand, to the application of sanctions against behavior that violates social restrictions, and on the other, to the approval of desirable behavior. The behavior of individuals is determined by their needs. These needs can be satisfied different ways, and the choice of means to satisfy them depends on the value system adopted by a given social community or society as a whole. The adoption of a certain value system contributes to the identity of the behavior of members of the community. Education and socialization are aimed at conveying to individuals the patterns of behavior and methods of activity established in a given community.

By social institution, scientists understand a complex that covers, on the one hand, a set of normative and value-based roles and statuses designed to satisfy certain social needs, and on the other, a social entity created to use the resources of society in the form of interaction to satisfy this need.

Social institutions and social organizations are closely related to each other. There is no consensus among sociologists about how they relate to each other. Some believe that there is no need at all to distinguish between these two concepts; they use them as synonyms, since many social phenomena, such as the system social security, education, army, court, bank, can be simultaneously considered both as a social institution and as a social organization, while others give a more or less clear distinction between them. The difficulty of drawing a clear “watershed” between these two concepts is due to the fact that social institutions in the process of their activities act as social organizations - they are structurally designed, institutionalized, have their own goals, functions, norms and rules. The difficulty lies in the fact that when trying to identify a social organization as an independent structural component or social phenomenon, one has to repeat those properties and features that are also characteristic of a social institution.

It should also be noted that, as a rule, there are much more organizations than institutions. For the practical implementation of the functions, goals and objectives of one social institution, several specialized social organizations are often formed. For example, on the basis of the Institute of Religion, various church and religious organizations, churches and denominations (Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Islam, etc.) have been created and function.

2.Types of social institutions

Social institutions differ from each other in their functional qualities: 1) Economic and social institutions - property, exchange, money, banks, business associations various types- provide the entire set of production and distribution of social wealth, connecting, at the same time, economic life with other spheres of social life.

2) Political institutions - the state, parties, trade unions and other types of public organizations pursuing political goals aimed at establishing and maintaining a certain form political power. Their totality is political system of this society. Political institutions ensure the reproduction and sustainable preservation of ideological values ​​and stabilize the dominant social and class structures in society. 3) Sociocultural and educational institutions aim at the development and subsequent reproduction of cultural and social values, the inclusion of individuals in a certain subculture, as well as the socialization of individuals through the assimilation of stable sociocultural standards of behavior and, finally, the protection of certain values ​​and norms. 4) Normative-orienting - mechanisms of moral and ethical orientation and regulation of individual behavior. Their goal is to give behavior and motivation a moral reasoning, an ethical basis. These institutions establish imperative universal human values, special codes and ethics of behavior in the community. 5) Normative-sanctioning - social regulation of behavior on the basis of norms, rules and regulations enshrined in legal and administrative acts. The binding nature of norms is ensured by the coercive power of the state and the system of corresponding sanctions. 6) Ceremonial-symbolic and situational-conventional institutions. These institutions are based on a more or less long-term acceptance of conventional (under agreement) norms, their official and unofficial consolidation. These norms regulate everyday contacts and various acts of group and intergroup behavior. They determine the order and method of mutual behavior, regulate methods of transmission and exchange of information, greetings, addresses, etc., regulations for meetings, sessions, and the activities of some associations.

One of the factors characterizing society as a whole is the totality of social institutions. Their location seems to be on the surface, which makes them particularly suitable objects for observation and control.

In turn, a complex organized system with its own norms and rules is a social institution. Its signs are different, but classified, and it is they that are to be considered in this article.

The concept of a social institution

A social institution is one of the forms of organization. This concept was first used. According to the scientist, the whole variety of social institutions creates the so-called framework of society. The division into forms, Spencer said, is made under the influence of the differentiation of society. He divided the whole society into three main institutions, including:

• reproductive;
• distribution;
• regulating.

Opinion of E. Durkheim

E. Durkheim was convinced that a person as an individual can realize himself only with the help of social institutions. They are also called upon to establish responsibility between interinstitutional forms and the needs of society.

Karl Marx

The author of the famous "Capital" assessed social institutions from the point of view of industrial relations. In his opinion, a social institution, the signs of which are present both in the division of labor and in the phenomenon of private property, was formed precisely under their influence.

Terminology

The term "social institution" comes from the Latin word "institution", which means "organization" or "order". In principle, all the features of a social institution are reduced to this definition.

The definition includes the form of consolidation and the form of implementation of specialized activities. The purpose of social institutions is to ensure the stability of the functioning of communications within society.

This is also acceptable short definition term: an organized and coordinated form of social relations, aimed at meeting the needs that are significant to society.

It is easy to notice that all of the definitions provided (including the above-mentioned opinions of scientists) are based on “three pillars”:

• society;
• organization;
• needs.

But these are not yet full-fledged features of a social institution; rather, they are supporting points that should be taken into account.

Conditions for institutionalization

The process of institutionalization - a social institution. This occurs under the following conditions:

• social need as a factor that will be satisfied by the future institution;
• social connections, that is, the interaction of people and communities, as a result of which social institutions are formed;
• expedient and rules;
• material and organizational, labor and financial resources required.

Stages of institutionalization

The process of formation of a social institution goes through several stages:

• the emergence and awareness of the need for an institute;
• development of standards social behavior within the framework of the future institute;
• creating your own symbols, that is, a system of signs that will indicate the social institution being created;
• formation, development and definition of a system of roles and statuses;
• creation of the material basis of the institute;
• integration of the institute into the existing social system.

Structural characteristics of a social institution

The signs of the concept of “social institution” characterize it in modern society.

Structural features include:

• Scope of activity, as well as social relations.
• Institutions that have specific powers to organize people's activities and perform various roles and functions. For example: public, organizational and performing control and management functions.
• Those specific rules and norms that are designed to regulate the behavior of people in a particular social institution.
• Material means to achieve the goals of the institute.
• Ideology, goals and objectives.

Types of social institutions

The classification that systematizes social institutions (the table below) divides this concept into four separate types. Each of them includes at least four more specific institutions.

What social institutions exist? The table shows their types and examples.

Spiritual social institutions in some sources are called cultural institutions, and the family sphere, in turn, is sometimes called stratification and kinship.

General characteristics of a social institution

The general, and at the same time the main, features of a social institution are as follows:

• a circle of subjects who, in the course of their activities, enter into relationships;
• the sustainable nature of these relationships;
• a certain (and this means, to one degree or another formalized) organization;
• behavioral norms and rules;
• functions that ensure the integration of the institution into the social system.

It should be understood that these signs are informal, but logically follow from the definition and functioning of various social institutions. With the help of them, among other things, it is convenient to analyze institutionalization.

Social institution: signs using specific examples

Each specific social institution has its own characteristics - characteristics. They closely overlap with roles, for example: the main roles of the family as a social institution. That is why it is so instructive to consider examples and the corresponding signs and roles.

Family as a social institution

A classic example of a social institution is, of course, the family. As can be seen from the table above, it belongs to the fourth type of institutions, covering the same sphere. Therefore, it is the basis and ultimate goal for marriage, fatherhood and motherhood. Besides, family is what unites them.

Signs of this social institution:

• ties by marriage or consanguinity;
• general family budget;
• living together in the same living space.

The main roles boil down to the well-known saying that she is a “unit of society.” Essentially, everything is exactly like that. Families are particles from the totality of which society is formed. In addition to being a social institution, the family is also called small social group. And it is no coincidence, because from birth a person develops under its influence and experiences it throughout his life.

Education as a social institution

Education is a social subsystem. It has its own specific structure and characteristics.

Basic elements of education:

• social organizations and social communities (educational institutions and division into groups of teachers and students, etc.);
• sociocultural activity in the form of an educational process.

The characteristics of a social institution include:

1. Norms and rules - in an educational institute, examples include: thirst for knowledge, attendance, respect for teachers and classmates/classmates.
2. Symbolism, that is, cultural signs - anthems and coats of arms of educational institutions, the animal symbol of some famous colleges, emblems.
3. Utilitarian cultural features such as classrooms and offices.
4. Ideology - the principle of equality between students, mutual respect, freedom of speech and the right to vote, as well as the right to one’s own opinion.

Signs of social institutions: examples

Let's summarize the information presented here. The characteristics of a social institution include:

• a set of social roles (for example, father/mother/daughter/sister in the family institution);
• sustainable models of behavior (for example, certain models for a teacher and a student at an educational institute);
• norms (for example, codes and the Constitution of the state);
• symbolism (for example, the institution of marriage or religious community);
• basic values ​​(i.e. morals).

The social institution, the features of which were discussed in this article, is designed to guide the behavior of each individual person, directly being part of his life. At the same time, for example, an ordinary high school student belongs to at least three social institutions: family, school and state. It is interesting that, depending on each of them, he also owns the role (status) that he has and according to which he chooses his model of behavior. She, in turn, sets his characteristics in society.