Meaning of Social Structure – Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through the study of the past, controlled and naturalistic observation of the present and disciplined scientific experimentation and modeling.
It attempts to accomplish legitimate, objective conclusions through rigorous formulations and observation. Generally, behavior science deals primarily with human action and often seeks to generalize about human behavior as it relates to society.
Meaning of Social Structure
Social structure refers to the pattern of social relationships in a society. Such structure regulates the interactions among members of the society, providing guidelines within the cultural norms for achieving the goals defined by cultural values. Generally, social structure maintains societal stability. However, when the social structure and the societal values become incompatible, the structure must embrace social change to allow the society to survive and continue healthy development.
While a variety of sociological approaches have sought to describe the development and maintenance of social structure, understanding the relationship between structure and change is necessary for the development of a peaceful world society.
Definition of Social Structure
According to Talcott Parsons (1951),
“Social structure is a term applied to the particular arrangement of interrelated institutions, agencies and social patterns as well as status and roles which each person assumes in the group”.
According to A.R. Radcliffe
“Components of social structure are human beings, the structure itself being an arrangement of persons in relationship institutionally defined and regulated”
According to Morriss Ginsberg
Regards social structure as “the complex of principal groups and institutions which constitute societies”.
According to Radcliffe-Brown
“An arrangement of persons in institutionally controlled or defines relationship, (such as the relationship of king and subject, or that of husband and wife)”.
Or,
Social structure is the arrangement of persons and social continuity is the continuity of such arrangements.
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