Basic Concepts in Sociology: Society, Community, Association, Institution, Status, Role, Norms, Values and Culture
What the exam tests
You must define and distinguish society, community, association, institution, status, role, norms, values and culture, then apply them to concrete examples.
Core rules and concepts
- Society: a web of social relationships, not simply a crowd. It persists through interaction, cooperation and conflict.
- Community: a group sharing territory and a sense of belonging ('we-feeling'), as in Tonnies' Gemeinschaft. A village or neighbourhood is a community.
- Association: a deliberately organised group with rules and a specific purpose, such as a trade union or club.
- Institution: established norms and procedures organised around basic needs such as family, education, religion and economy.
- Status and role: status is a position in the social structure; role is the dynamic, expected behaviour attached to it. Status can be ascribed or achieved.
- Norms and values: norms are rules of conduct; values are shared ideals that justify norms.
- Culture: learned, shared, symbolic and transmitted; includes material and non-material elements.
Worked example
A teacher's status is 'teacher'. The role includes preparing lessons, assessing fairly and maintaining classroom order. School norms require punctuality; the value may be fairness. If the teacher also coaches a football team, that is a different association and role. This shows how one person occupies several statuses and performs several roles.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating society as a mere collection of individuals.
- Using community and association as synonyms; community is territorial and affective, association is purposive and organised.
- Confusing status (position) with role (behaviour).
- Defining culture as 'high culture' rather than learned, shared ways of life.