Kerala Plus Two Sociology (DHSE) key terms

Two or more people who interact on a regular basis, recognise one another as members, and share expectations about behaviour. Groups may be primary or secondary, formal or informal, and membership shapes identity and conduct.

A small, face-to-face group marked by intimate, personal and enduring relationships, such as family or close friends. Members know each other as whole persons rather than as performers of narrow roles.

A large, impersonal and formally organised group formed to achieve specific goals, such as a school, office or trade union. Relationships are segmental, role-based and often governed by written rules.

A collection of people who live in a defined area, share a sense of belonging and common interests, and interact closely enough to meet basic needs. Community implies shared life, not merely shared address.

A deliberately formed group organised around a specific purpose, with defined membership, rules and procedures, such as a cooperative or a club. It is created by choice, unlike a community.

An established pattern of norms and procedures that organises a fundamental human activity over time, such as family, religion, education or economy. Institutions persist beyond particular individuals and give predictable structure to social life.

The position a person occupies in a social structure, carrying certain rights and expectations. Ascribed status is fixed by birth or inheritance; achieved status is earned through effort or selection.

The set of behaviours and obligations expected of a person who holds a particular status. One status usually involves several roles, and conflicting expectations between roles produce role conflict.

Shared rules of conduct that specify what is considered appropriate or inappropriate in a given situation. Norms may be folkways, mores or laws, and they are enforced through informal or formal sanctions.

Broad, shared ideas about what is desirable, right or worthy in a society, such as honesty, equality or respect for elders. Values guide the selection of goals and underpin norms and institutions.

The total way of life learned and shared by members of a society, including knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs and habits. Culture is transmitted socially rather than biologically.

The tendency to judge other cultures by the standards of one's own and to regard them as inferior. It obstructs objective understanding and is countered by cultural relativism.

The methodological principle that beliefs and practices should be understood within the context of the culture in which they occur. It calls for suspension of one's own cultural assumptions during study, not uncritical approval of every practice.

The lifelong process through which individuals learn the culture of their society, acquire skills and internalise norms and values. It transforms biological beings into social persons and continues through adulthood and old age.

The persons, groups and institutions that transmit culture and shape personality, including family, peer group, school, mass media and religious organisations. Primary socialisation occurs in the family; later agents extend and sometimes challenge earlier learning.

A socially recognised kinship group based on marriage, blood or adoption, which regulates sexual relations, reproduction and care of the young. Its forms include nuclear and extended, patrilineal and matrilineal, patrilocal and matrilocal.

A socially sanctioned union that establishes rights and obligations between spouses and between them and their kin, and legitimises offspring. Rules of endogamy and exogamy govern whom one may marry.

Relationships based on descent, marriage or adoption that define mutual obligations and recognised social ties. Kinship terms classify relatives and vary across societies, distinguishing affinal from consanguineal ties.

A hereditary, endogamous and hierarchically ranked social unit traditionally linked with occupation and ritual purity in India. Caste is ascribed by birth, and its disabilities are constitutionally prohibited though inequalities persist.

A form of stratification based on unequal distribution of wealth, income, occupation and education, with relatively open boundaries. Class position is achieved rather than ascribed, and class consciousness may develop around shared interests.

The systematic ranking of individuals and groups into unequal layers with differing access to valued resources, power and prestige. Stratification may rest on caste, class, gender or other criteria and is transmitted across generations.

Movement of individuals or groups between positions in a stratification system. Vertical mobility involves movement up or down a hierarchy; horizontal mobility involves change of position without change of rank.

The socially constructed roles, expectations and identities associated with being male or female, as distinct from biological sex. Gender differences are learned, vary across cultures and are sustained by institutions such as family and school.

The process by which certain groups are pushed to the edges of social, economic and political life and denied full participation. It results from exclusionary practices rather than from deficiency in the excluded group.

The denial of access to resources, rights, services and decision-making that are available to others in a society. Exclusion may be economic, political or cultural, and often operates through both formal rules and everyday practice.

A limitation in functioning that arises from the interaction between a person's impairment and the barriers of the surrounding environment. The social model locates disability in exclusionary design and attitudes rather than in the body alone.

Unequal distribution of valued resources, opportunities and status among members of a society, structured along lines such as caste, class, gender and ethnicity. Inequality is patterned, not accidental, and tends to reproduce itself.

A principle of state neutrality in religious matters. In the Indian constitutional sense it means the state has no religion of its own, treats all religions equally and may reform religious practices to protect rights and equality.

The belief that people who share a religion also share identical secular interests, and the political mobilisation of religion against other religious communities. It converts religious identity into a hostile, exclusive political category.

Identification with and loyalty to one's region, expressed in demands for cultural recognition, autonomy or fair resource allocation. It may strengthen cultural identity or, in extreme forms, challenge national unity.

The coexistence within a society of varied languages, religions, castes, ethnic groups and customs. Indian diversity is reflected in regional cultures and is constitutionally recognised through protections for minorities and linguistic groups.

The idea that Indian society combines cultural variety with a shared political and civil framework. Unity is sustained through constitutional principles, common institutions and interdependence rather than uniformity of belief or practice.

The process by which societies adopt industrial, scientific, bureaucratic and democratic forms of organisation, with shifts in values towards achievement and rationality. In India it interacted with colonial rule and existing social hierarchies.

Growing interconnection of economies and societies through trade, investment, technology and communication, producing flows of goods, capital, people and ideas across borders. Its effects on employment, culture and inequality are uneven and contested.

A sustained, organised collective effort by a group to promote or resist change in some aspect of society. Movements may be reformist, revolutionary, peasant, tribal, women's, environmental or identity-based.

Alteration over time in the structure, culture and institutions of a society, including patterns of relationship and distribution of resources. Change may be gradual or abrupt, planned or unintended.

A research method in which the investigator takes part in the everyday life of the group being studied over an extended period, observing and recording while maintaining analytical distance. It yields rich qualitative data but raises questions of objectivity and ethics.

A method of collecting standardised information from a large number of respondents, usually through questionnaires or structured interviews, so that responses can be compared and quantified. Sampling and question design determine its reliability.

An intensive, detailed study of a single instance, such as one village, family, institution or event, examined in its full context. It offers depth and insight into processes but supports only limited generalisation.

Systematic, methodical inquiry into social phenomena using evidence gathered through defined procedures. It requires clarity of question, appropriate method, ethical conduct and transparent reporting of findings and limitations.