Social Disorganization – 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.
Social Disorganization
Social disorganization is a theoretical perspective that explains ecological differences in levels of crime based on structural and cultural factors shaping the nature of the social order across communities. This approach narrowed the focus of earlier sociological studies on the covariates of urban growth to examine the spatial concentration and stability of rates of criminal behavior.
Definition of Social Disorganization
According to Eliot and Merrill:
“Social disorganization represents breakdown in the equilibrium of forces, decay in the social structure, so that old habits and forms of social control no longer function effectively”.
According to Emile Durkheim:
“Social disorganization as a state of disequilibrium and a lack of social solidarity or consensus among the members of a society”.
According to Gillin and Gillin,
Social disorganization may be defined as “maladjustment various elements in the total cultural configuration as to endanger the survival of the group or as seriously to interfere with the satisfaction of the fundamental desires of its members with the result that social cohesion is destroyed.”
According to Reuter and Hart:
“By social organization is meant the totality of cultural institutions and their inter-relationship together with the body of the unorganized activities’.
According to E. Jones:
“Social organization is the system by which the parts of society are related to each other and to the whole society in a meaningful way”.
Types of Social Disorganization
Elliot & Merill have spoken of three types of social disorganization. These are as follows:
Personal or individual disorganization:
- Which includes crime, insanity or mental derangement, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling and suicide
Family disorganization:
- Which consist of divorce, desertion, separation, broken home, unmarried mother, illegitimate birth & venereal disease.
Community disorganization:
- Which compromise of poverty, beggary, unemployment, overcrowding, lawlessness political corruption, crime etc.
Causes of Social Disorganization/Social Problem
Elliott and Merrill has ascribed the four main causes for the disorganization-
- The social processes under the three main heads-cultural, political and economic
- Cultural lag
- Conflicting attitudes and values
- Social crises
G.R Madan has listed a few factors responsible for disorganization.
A. Psychological factors-The cause of social disorganization is to be found in the human psychology itself. Psychological factors contribute to disorganization in two ways:
- Failure to maintain proper communication among fellow beings.
- Failure to modify or change one’s attitudes in tune with demands of time.
B. Cultural lag- Cultural lag the concept used by W.E.Ogburn refers to the imbalance in the rate and speed of change between the material cultural and non-material culture
C. Physical or geographic factors- The maladjustment of man and his culture to certain extraordinary physical or geographic conditions or situations may cause disorganization in society.
D. Biological factors- Population explosion or extreme scarcity of population the instances of racial intermixture, defective hereditary traits and such other biological factors may also cause disorganizing effects upon society.
E. Ecological factor- Social disorganization is related to environment in terms of regions and neighborhoods.
F. Social problems leading to social disorganization- Social problems and forces such as a revolution, social upheaval, a class struggle, a financial or economic crisis, a war between nations, mental illness, and political corruption threaten the welfare of the society.
G. Degeneration of values- Social values is often regarded as the sustaining forces of society. They contribute to the strength and stability of social order.
H. Disintegration and confusion of roles- Members of society are expected to perform certain definite roles in accordance with their placements in society.
I. Political subservience- Political subordination of a country will result in social disorganization. The subordinate country is not permitted to develop its economy and institutions independently and is made as a means to serve the interest of the dominant country.
J. Conflict of goals and means- Conflict of goals and means for achieving them may also cause disorganization. Most of the individuals share the dominant goals of the society and act accordingly
K. Decline of social control- The declining control of religion, morals, customs, traditions and other institutions on the behavior of men has also enhanced the process of disorganization.
L. Extreme divisions of labor- According to Durkheim social disorganization is often brought about by extreme division of labour.
M. Disruptive social change-Society undergoes change mainly due to the operation of physical, biological, technological and cultural factors.
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