Social institutions are stable forms of organization and regulation of public life. They can be defined as a set of roles and statuses designed to meet certain social needs.

The term "social institution" in sociology, as well as in everyday language or in other humanities, has several meanings. The combination of these values ​​can be reduced to four main ones:

1) a certain group of persons called to perform tasks that are important for living together;

2) certain organizational forms of a set of functions performed by some members on behalf of the entire group;

3) a set of material institutions and means of activity that allow certain authorized individuals to perform social impersonal functions aimed at satisfying the needs or regulating the behavior of group members;

4) some social roles that are especially important for the group are sometimes called institutions.

For example, when we say that a school is a social institution, then by this we can mean a group of people working in a school. In another meaning - the organizational forms of the functions performed by the school; in the third sense, the most important for the school as an institution will be the institutions and means that it has at its disposal in order to fulfill the functions entrusted to it by the group, and finally, in the fourth sense, we will call the social role of the teacher an institution. Therefore, we can talk about different ways of defining social institutions: material, formal and functional. In all these approaches, however, we can identify certain common elements that form the main component of the social institution.

In total, there are five fundamental needs and five basic social institutions:

1) the need for the reproduction of the genus (the institution of the family);

2) needs for security and order (state);

3) the need to obtain means of subsistence (production);

4) the need for the transfer of knowledge, the socialization of the younger generation (institutions of public education);

5) the need for solving spiritual problems (the institute of religion). Consequently, social institutions are classified according to public spheres:

1) economic (property, money, regulation of money circulation, organization and division of labor), which serve the production and distribution of values ​​and services. Economic social institutions provide the entire set of production relations in society, connecting economic life with other areas of social life. These institutions are formed on the material basis of society;

2) political (parliament, army, police, party) regulate the use of these values ​​and services and are associated with power. Politics in the narrow sense of the word is a set of means, functions, based mainly on the manipulation of the elements of power to establish, execute and maintain power. Political institutions (state, parties, public organizations, court, army, parliament, police) in a concentrated form express the political interests and relations existing in a given society;

3) the institutions of kinship (marriage and family) are associated with the regulation of childbearing, relations between spouses and children, and the socialization of young people;

4) institutions of education and culture. Their task is to strengthen, create and develop the culture of society, to pass it on to the next generations. These include schools, institutes, art institutions, creative unions;

5) religious institutions organize a person's attitude to transcendent forces, i.e., to supersensitive forces acting outside the empirical control of a person, and the attitude to sacred objects and forces. Religious institutions in some societies have a strong influence on the course of interactions and interpersonal relations, creating a system of dominant values ​​and becoming dominant institutions (the influence of Islam on all aspects of public life in some countries of the Middle East).

Social institutions perform the following functions or tasks in public life:

1) create an opportunity for members of society to satisfy various kinds of needs;

2) regulate the actions of members of society within the framework of social relations, i.e., ensure the implementation of desirable actions and carry out repressions in relation to undesirable actions;

3) ensure the stability of public life by supporting and continuing impersonal public functions;

4) carry out the integration of the aspirations, actions and relationships of individuals and ensure the internal cohesion of the community.

Taking into account E. Durkheim's theory of social facts and proceeding from the fact that social institutions should be considered the most important social facts, sociologists have deduced a number of basic social characteristics that social institutions should have:

1) institutions are perceived by individuals as an external reality. In other words, the institution for any individual person is something external, existing separately from the reality of thoughts, feelings or fantasies of the individual himself. In this characteristic, the institution resembles other entities of external reality—even trees, tables, and telephones—each of which is outside the individual;

2) institutions are perceived by the individual as an objective reality. Something is objectively real when any person agrees that it really exists, and independently of his consciousness, and is given to him in his sensations;

3) institutions have coercive power. To some extent, this quality is implied by the two previous ones: the fundamental power of the institution over the individual is precisely that it exists objectively, and the individual cannot wish it to disappear at his will or whim. Otherwise, negative sanctions may occur;

4) institutions have moral authority. Institutions proclaim their right to legitimation - that is, they reserve the right not only to punish the violator in any way, but also to issue a moral reprimand to him. Of course, institutions vary in their degree of moral strength. These variations are usually expressed in the degree of punishment imposed on the offender. The state in an extreme case can deprive him of his life; neighbors or co-workers may boycott him. In both cases, punishment is accompanied by a sense of indignant justice in those members of society who are involved in this.

The development of society goes largely through the development of social institutions. The wider the institutionalized sphere in the system of social ties, the more opportunities society has. The diversity of social institutions, their development is, perhaps, the most accurate criterion for the maturity and reliability of a society. The development of social institutions manifests itself in two main variants: first, the emergence of new social institutions; secondly, the improvement of already established social institutions.

The formation and formation of an institution in the form in which we observe it (and take part in its functioning) takes a rather long historical period. This process is called institutionalization in sociology. In other words, institutionalization is the process by which certain social practices become sufficiently regular and long-lasting to be described as institutions.

The most important prerequisites for institutionalization - the formation and establishment of a new institution - are:

1) the emergence of certain social needs for new types and types of social practice and the socio-economic and political conditions corresponding to them;

2) development of the necessary organizational structures and related norms and rules of conduct;

3) internalization by individuals of new social norms and values, the formation on this basis of new systems of individual needs, value orientations and expectations (and, therefore, ideas about the patterns of new roles - their own and correlated with them).

The completion of this process of institutionalization is the emerging new kind of social practice. Thanks to this, a new set of roles is formed, as well as formal and informal sanctions for the implementation of social control over the corresponding types of behavior. Therefore, institutionalization is the process by which a social practice becomes sufficiently regular and continuous to be described as an institution.

People tend to live in groups that exist for a long time. However, despite the advantages of collective life, it does not in itself ensure the automatic preservation of societies. For the preservation and reproduction of society as an integral system, it is necessary to find and use certain forces and resources. This aspect of the existence of societies is studied in the context of social needs or social functions.

J. Lenski singled out six basic conditions for the existence of society:

Communication between its members;
- production of goods and services;
- distribution;
- protection of members of society;
- replacement of retiring members of the society;
- control of their behavior.

The elements of social organization that regulate the use of society's resources and direct the joint efforts of people to meet social needs are social institutions (economic, political, legal, etc.).

social institution(lat. institutum - establishment, device) - a historically established, relatively stable form of organization and regulation of social relations, ensuring the realization of the needs of society as a whole. By creating social institutions and participating in their activities, people affirm and consolidate the relevant social norms. From the content side, social institutions are a set of standards of behavior in certain situations. Thanks to social institutions, the stability of the forms of behavior of people in society is maintained.

Any social institution includes:

The system of roles and statuses;
- rules governing human behavior;
- a group of individuals undertaking organized social action;
- material resources (buildings, equipment, etc.).

Institutions arise spontaneously. institutionalization is the ordering, standardization and formalization of people's activities in the relevant sphere of social relations. Although this process may be perceived by people, its essence is determined by objective social conditions. A person can only correct it with competent management activities based on scientific comprehension of this process.

The variety of social institutions is determined by the differentiation of types of social activity. Therefore, social institutions are divided into economic(banks, stock exchanges, corporations, consumer and service enterprises), political(the state with its central and local authorities, parties, public organizations, foundations, etc.), institutes of education and culture(school, family, theater) and social in the narrow sense(institutions of social security and guardianship, various amateur organizations).

The nature of the organization varies formal(based on strict prescriptions and bureaucratic in spirit) and informal social institutions (setting their own rules and exercising social control over their implementation through public opinion, tradition or custom).

Functions of social institutions:

- meeting the needs of society: organization of communication between people, production and distribution of material goods, setting and achieving common goals, etc.;

- regulation of the behavior of social subjects with the help of social norms and rules, bringing people's actions into line with more or less predictable patterns of social roles;

- stabilization of social relations, consolidation and maintenance of sustainable social ties and relationships;

- social integration, rallying individuals and groups throughout society.

The conditions for the successful functioning of institutions are:

Clear definition of functions;
- rational division of labor and organization;
- depersonalization, the ability to function regardless of the personal qualities of people;
- the ability to effectively reward and punish;
- involvement in a larger system of institutions.

The mutual connection and integration of institutions in society is based, firstly, on the regularity in the manifestations of the personal properties of people, the homogeneity of their needs, secondly, on the division of labor and the subject connection of the functions performed, and thirdly, on the dominance in society of institutions of one specific type , which is due to the peculiarities of its culture.

Social institutions stabilize people's activities. However, the institutions themselves are diverse and changeable.
The activities of social institutions are carried out through social organizations. The basis for the emergence of the organization is people's awareness of the need to achieve common goals and carry out joint activities.

Social institution: what is it

Social institutions act as historically established and stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people in one community. This term is used by authors and researchers in relation to various fields. This includes education, family, healthcare, the state and many others.

The emergence of social institutions and their coverage of the general population and various spheres of human life is associated with a very complex process of formalization and standardization. This process is called institutionalization.

Remark 1

Institutionalization is very multifactorial and structured, and includes a number of key points that cannot be ignored when studying social institutions, their typology and basic functions. One of the key conditions that precedes the emergence of a social institution is the social need on the part of the population. This is due to the fact that social institutions are necessary for organizing the joint activities of people. The main goal of such activities is to meet the basic social, economic, political and spiritual needs of the population.

The diversity of social institutions has been the object of study by many sociologists. All of them tried to find similarities and differences in the functionality of social institutions and their purpose in society. Thus, they came to the conclusion that each social institution is characterized by the presence of a specific goal of its activity, as well as certain functions, the implementation of which is necessary to achieve the goal and implement specific tasks. In addition, a member of each social institution has its own social status and role, which is also important, because in this way a person in one period of his life can have several social statuses and roles at once (father, son, husband, brother, boss, subordinate, and others) .

Types of social institutions

Social institutions have a rather diverse typology. The authors also offer different approaches to the definition of specific and typological features of institutions.

Depending on the functional qualities, social institutions can be of the following types:

1. Socio-economic institutions. These include property, exchange, the process of production and consumption, money, banks and various economic associations. Social institutions of this type provide the entire set of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of social and economic resources;
2. . Their activities are aimed at establishing and further supporting certain forms of political power. This includes the state, political parties and trade unions that provide political activity, as well as a number of public organizations that pursue political goals. In fact, the totality of these elements constitutes the entire political system that exists in specific societies. ensure the reproduction, as well as the preservation of ideological values, stabilize the social and class structures of society, their interaction with each other;
3. Socio-cultural and educational institutions. Their activity constructs the principles of assimilation and further reproduction of cultural and social values. They are also necessary for individuals to join and be included in a certain subculture. Sociocultural and educational institutions influence the socialization of the individual, and this applies to both primary and secondary socialization. Socialization occurs through the assimilation of basic social and cultural norms and standards, as well as the protection of specific norms and values, their further transmission from the older generation to the younger;
4. Normative-orienting institutions. Their purpose is to motivate the moral and ethical basis of a person's personality. The totality of these institutions affirms imperative universal human values ​​in the community, as well as special codes that regulate behavior and its ethics.

Remark 2

In addition to the above, there are also such as normative-sanctioning (law) and ceremonial-symbolic institutions (otherwise they are called situational-conventional). They define and regulate daily contacts, as well as acts of group and intergroup behavior.

The typology of social institutions is also determined by the scope. Among them are the following:

• Regulatory social institutions;
• Regulatory social institutions;
• Cultural social institutions;
• Integrative social institutions.

Functions of a social institution

The functions of social institutions and their structure has been developed by many authors. For us, the classification of J. Szczepanski is of interest, since it is the most standard and relevant in modern society:

1. Social institutions satisfy the basic needs of the population in general and the individual in particular;
2. Social institutions regulate relations between social groups;
3. Social institutions ensure the continuous process of the individual's life, make it expedient, as well as socially significant;
4. Social institutions connect the actions and relationships of individuals, that is, they contribute to the emergence of social cohesion, which prevents crisis and conflict situations.

Remark 3

Other functions of social institutions include improving and simplifying adaptation processes, fulfilling important strategic tasks of society, regulating the use of significant resources, ensuring public order and structuring the daily lives of individuals, reconciling the interests of each member of society with the interests of the state (stabilization of public relations).

social institution or public institution- a form of organization of joint life activity of people, historically established or created by purposeful efforts, the existence of which is dictated by the need to meet the social, economic, political, cultural or other needs of society as a whole or part of it. Institutions are characterized by their ability to influence people's behavior through established rules.

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Subtitles

History of the term

Types of social institutions

• The need for the reproduction of the genus (the institution of family and marriage).
• The need for security and order (the state).
• The need to obtain means of subsistence (production).
• The need for the transfer of knowledge, the socialization of the younger generation (institutions of public education).
• Needs in Solving Spiritual Problems (Institute of Religion).

Basic information

The peculiarities of its word usage are further complicated by the fact that in the English language, traditionally, an institution is understood as any well-established practice of people that has the sign of self-reproducibility. In such a broad, not highly specialized, sense, an institution can be an ordinary human queue or the English language as a centuries-old social practice.

Therefore, in Russian, a social institution is often given a different name - “institution” (from Latin institutio - custom, instruction, instruction, order), understanding by it the totality of social customs, the embodiment of certain habits of behavior, way of thinking and life, passed down from generation to generation, changing depending on the circumstances and serving as an instrument of adaptation to them, and under the "institution" - the consolidation of customs and orders in the form of a law or institution. The term "social institution" has absorbed both "institution" (customs) and the "institution" itself (institutions, laws), as it combines both formal and informal "rules of the game".

A social institution is a mechanism that provides a set of constantly repeating and reproducing social relations and social practices of people (for example: the institution of marriage, the institution of the family). E. Durkheim figuratively called social institutions "factories for the reproduction of social relations." These mechanisms are based both on codified codes of laws and on non-thematized rules (non-formalized “hidden” ones that are revealed when they are violated), social norms, values ​​and ideals that are historically inherent in a particular society. According to the authors of a Russian textbook for universities, “these are the strongest, most powerful ropes that decisively determine the viability [of the social system]”

Spheres of life of society

There are a number of spheres of the life of society, in each of which specific social institutions and social relations are formed:
− Economic- relations in the production process (production, distribution, exchange, consumption of material goods). Institutions related to the economic sphere: private property, material production, market, etc.
− Social- relations between different social and age groups; activities to ensure social guarantees. Institutions related to the social sphere: education, family, health care, social security, leisure, etc.
− Political- relations between civil society and the state, between the state and political parties, as well as between states. Institutions related to the political sphere: state, law, parliament, government, judiciary, political parties, army, etc.
− Spiritual- relations that arise in the process of the formation of spiritual values, their preservation, distribution, consumption, as well as transmission to the next generations. Institutions related to the spiritual sphere: religion, education, science, art, etc.

− Kinship institution (marriage and family)- associated with the regulation of childbearing, relations between spouses and children, the socialization of young people.

institutionalization

The first, most commonly used meaning of the term "social institution" is associated with the characteristics of any kind of ordering, formalization and standardization of social ties and relations. And the process of streamlining, formalization and standardization is called institutionalization. The process of institutionalization, that is, the formation of a social institution, consists of several successive stages:

1. the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;
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 rules and regulations;
5. institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, that is, their adoption, practical application;
6. the establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, the differentiation of their application in individual cases;
7. creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception;

So, the end of the process of institutionalization can be considered the creation in accordance with the norms and rules of a clear status-role structure, socially approved by the majority of participants in this social process.

The process of institutionalization thus involves a number of points.

• One of the necessary conditions for the emergence of social institutions is the corresponding social need. Institutions are designed to organize the joint activities of people in order to meet certain social needs. Thus, the institution of the family satisfies the need for the reproduction of the human race and the upbringing of children, implements relations between the sexes, generations, etc. The institution of higher education provides training for the workforce, enables a person to develop his abilities in order to realize them in subsequent activities and ensure his own existence, etc. The emergence of certain social needs, as well as the conditions for their satisfaction, are the first necessary moments of institutionalization.
• A social institution is formed on the basis of social ties, interactions and relationships of specific individuals, social groups and communities. But it, like other social systems, cannot be reduced to the sum of these individuals and their interactions. Social institutions are of a supra-individual nature and have their own systemic quality. Consequently, a social institution is an independent public entity that has its own development logic. 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.

First of all, we are talking about a system of values, norms, ideals, as well as patterns of activity and behavior of people and other elements of the sociocultural process. This system guarantees similar behavior of people, coordinates and directs their certain aspirations, establishes ways to satisfy their needs, resolves conflicts that arise in the process of everyday life, provides a state of balance and stability within a particular social community and society as a whole.

In itself, the presence of these socio-cultural elements does not yet ensure the functioning of a social institution. In order for it to work, it is necessary that they become the property of the inner world of the individual, be internalized by them in the process of socialization, embodied in the form of social roles and statuses. The internalization by individuals of all sociocultural elements, the formation on their basis of a system of personality needs, value orientations and expectations is the second most important element of institutionalization.

• The third most important element of institutionalization is the organizational design of a social institution. Outwardly, a social institution is a set of organizations, institutions, individuals equipped with certain material resources and performing a certain social function. Thus, the institution of higher education is put into action by the social corps of teachers, service personnel, officials who operate within the framework of institutions such as universities, the ministry or the State Committee for Higher Education, etc., who for their activities have certain material values ​​​​(buildings, finance, etc.).

Thus, social institutions are social mechanisms, stable value-normative complexes that regulate various areas of social life (marriage, family, property, religion), which are not very susceptible to changes in people's personal characteristics. But they are set in motion by people who carry out their activities, "play" by their rules. Thus, the concept of "the institution of a monogamous family" does not mean a separate family, but a set of norms that is realized in an innumerable set of families of a certain type.

Institutionalization, as shown by P. Berger and T. Luckman, is preceded by the process of habitualization, or “accustoming” of everyday actions, leading to the formation of patterns of activity that are later perceived as natural and normal for a given occupation or solving problems typical in these situations. Action patterns, in turn, serve as the basis for the formation of social institutions, which are described in the form of objective social facts and are perceived by the observer as a "social reality" (or social structure). These trends are accompanied by signification procedures (the process of creating, using signs and fixing meanings and meanings in them) and form a system of social meanings, which, forming into semantic connections, are fixed in natural language. Signification serves the purposes of legitimation (recognition as legitimate, socially recognized, legitimate) of the social order, that is, to justify and substantiate the usual ways of overcoming the chaos of destructive forces that threaten to undermine the stable idealizations of everyday life.

With the emergence and existence of social institutions, the formation in each individual of a special set of sociocultural dispositions (habitus), practical schemes of action that have become for the individual his internal "natural" need is connected. Thanks to habitus, individuals are included in the activities of social institutions. Therefore, social institutions are not just mechanisms, but "a kind of" factory of meanings "that set not only patterns of human interactions, but also ways of comprehending, understanding social reality and the people themselves" .

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

concept social institution suggests:

• the presence of a need in society and its satisfaction by the mechanism of reproduction of social practices and relations;
• these mechanisms, being supra-individual formations, act in the form of value-normative complexes that regulate social life as a whole or its separate sphere, but for the benefit of the whole;

Their structure includes:

• role models of behavior and statuses (prescriptions for their execution);
• their justification (theoretical, ideological, religious, mythological) in the form of a categorical grid that defines a "natural" vision of the world;
• means of transmitting social experience (material, ideal and symbolic), as well as measures that stimulate one behavior and repress another, tools to maintain institutional order;
• social positions - the institutions themselves represent a social position (“empty” social positions do not exist, so the question of the subjects of social institutions disappears).

In addition, they assume the existence of certain social positions of "professionals" who are able to put this mechanism into action, playing by its rules, including a whole system of their preparation, reproduction and maintenance.

In order not to denote the same concepts by different terms and to avoid terminological confusion, social institutions should be understood not as collective subjects, not social groups and not organizations, but as special social mechanisms that ensure the reproduction of certain social practices and social relations. And collective subjects should still be called "social communities", "social groups" and "social organizations".

• “Social institutions are organizations and groups in which the life of community members takes place and which, at the same time, perform the functions of organizing and managing this life” [Ilyasov F.N. Dictionary of Social Research http://www.jsr.su/ dic/S.html].

Functions

Each social institution has a main function that determines its "face", associated with its main social role in the consolidation and reproduction of certain social practices and relationships. If this is an army, then its role is to ensure the military-political security of the country by participating in hostilities and demonstrating its military power. In addition to it, there are other explicit functions, to some extent characteristic of all social institutions, ensuring the implementation of the main one.

Along with explicit, there are also implicit - latent (hidden) functions. Thus, the Soviet Army at one time carried out a number of hidden state tasks unusual for it - national economic, penitentiary, fraternal assistance to "third countries", pacification and suppression of riots, popular discontent and counter-revolutionary coups both within the country and in the countries of the socialist camp. The explicit functions of institutions are necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and fixed in the system of statuses and roles. Latent functions are expressed in unforeseen results of the activities of institutions or persons representing them. Thus, the democratic state that was established in Russia in the early 1990s, through the parliament, the government and the president, sought to improve the life of the people, create civilized relations in society and inspire citizens with respect for the law. Those were the clear goals and objectives. In fact, the crime rate has increased in the country, and the standard of living of the population has fallen. These are the results of the latent functions of the institutions of power. Explicit functions testify to what people wanted to achieve within the framework of this or that institution, and latent ones indicate what came of it.

The identification of the latent functions of social institutions allows not only to create an objective picture of social life, but also makes it possible to minimize their negative and enhance their positive impact in order to control and manage the processes taking place in it.

Social institutions in public life perform the following functions or tasks:

The totality of these social functions is formed into the general social functions of social institutions as certain types of social system. These features are very versatile. Sociologists of different directions tried to somehow classify them, to present them in the form of a certain ordered system. The most complete and interesting classification was presented by the so-called. "institutional school". Representatives of the institutional school in sociology (S. Lipset, D. Landberg and others) identified four main functions of social institutions:

• Reproduction of members of society. The main institution that performs this function is the family, but other social institutions, such as the state, are also involved in it.
• Socialization is the transfer to individuals of patterns of behavior and methods of activity established in a given society - the institutions of the family, education, religion, etc.
• Production and distribution. Provided by the economic and social institutions of management and control - the authorities.
• The functions of management and control are carried out through a system of social norms and regulations that implement the corresponding types of behavior: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions, etc. Social institutions control the individual's behavior through a system of sanctions.

In addition to solving its specific tasks, each social institution performs universal functions inherent in all of them. The functions common to all social institutions include the following:

1. The function of fixing and reproducing social relations. Each institution has a set of norms and rules of conduct, fixed, standardizing the behavior of its members and making this behavior predictable. Social control provides the order and framework in which the activities of each member of the institution must proceed. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the structure of society. The Code of the Institute of the Family assumes that members of society are divided into stable small groups - families. Social control provides a state of stability for each family, limits the possibility of its collapse.
2. Regulatory function. It ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns and patterns of behavior. All human life takes place with the participation of various social institutions, but each social institution regulates activities. Consequently, a person, with the help of social institutions, demonstrates predictability and standard behavior, fulfills role requirements and expectations.
3. Integrative function. This function ensures cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of the members. This happens under the influence of institutionalized norms, values, rules, a system of roles and sanctions. It streamlines the system of interactions, which leads to an increase in the stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure.
4. Broadcasting function. Society cannot develop without the transfer of social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people who have learned its rules. This happens by changing the social boundaries of the institution and changing generations. Consequently, each institution provides a mechanism for socialization to its values, norms, roles.
5. Communication functions. The information produced by the institution should be disseminated both within the institution (for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with social norms) and in interaction between institutions. This function has its own specifics - formal connections. This is the main function of the media institute. Scientific institutions actively perceive information. The communicative capabilities of institutions are not the same: some have them to a greater extent, others to a lesser extent.

Functional qualities

Social institutions differ from each other in their functional qualities:

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

Dysfunction of a social institution

Violation of normative interaction with the social environment, which is a society or community, is called a dysfunction of a social institution. As noted earlier, the basis for the formation and functioning of a particular social institution is the satisfaction of a particular social need. Under the conditions of intensive social processes, the acceleration of the pace of social change, a situation may arise when the changed social needs are not adequately reflected in the structure and functions of the relevant social institutions. As a result, dysfunction may occur in their activities. From a substantive point of view, dysfunction is expressed in the ambiguity of the goals of the institution, the uncertainty of functions, in the fall of its social prestige and authority, the degeneration of its individual functions into “symbolic”, ritual activity, that is, activity not aimed at achieving a rational goal.

One of the clear expressions of the dysfunction of a social institution is the personalization of its activities. A social institution, as you know, functions according to its own, objectively operating mechanisms, where each person, on the basis of norms and patterns of behavior, in accordance with his status, plays certain roles. The personalization of a social institution means that it ceases to act in accordance with objective needs and objectively established goals, changing its functions depending on the interests of individuals, their personal qualities and properties.

An unsatisfied social need can bring to life the spontaneous emergence of normatively unregulated activities that seek to make up for the dysfunction of the institution, but at the expense of violating existing norms and rules. In its extreme forms, activity of this kind can be expressed in illegal activities. Thus, the dysfunction of some economic institutions is the reason for the existence of the so-called "shadow economy", resulting in speculation, bribery, theft, etc. The correction of dysfunction can be achieved by changing the social institution itself or by creating a new social institution that satisfies this social need.

Formal and informal social institutions

Social institutions, as well as the social relations they reproduce and regulate, can be formal and informal.

Classification of social institutions

In addition to the division into formal and informal social institutions, modern researchers distinguish conventions (or “strategies”), norms and rules. The convention is a generally accepted prescription: for example, “in the event of a telephone break, the one who called back calls back.” Conventions support the reproduction of social behavior. A norm implies a prohibition, requirement or permission. The rule provides for sanctions for violations, therefore, the presence in society of monitoring and control over behavior. The development of institutions is connected with the transition of a rule into a convention, i.e. with the expansion of the use of the institution and the gradual rejection in society of coercion to its execution.

Role in the development of society

According to American researchers Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (English) Russian it is the nature of the public institutions that exist in a particular country that determines the success or failure of the development of this country, their book Why Nations Fail, published in 2012, is devoted to proving this statement.

After examining the examples of many countries of the world, scientists came to the conclusion that the defining and necessary condition for the development of any country is the presence of public institutions, which they called public (Eng. Inclusive institutions). Examples of such countries are all developed democratic countries of the world. Conversely, countries where public institutions are closed are doomed to fall behind and decline. Public institutions in such countries, according to researchers, serve only to enrich the elites that control access to these institutions - this is the so-called. "extractive institutions" (eng. extractive institutions). According to the authors, the economic development of society is impossible without advancing political development, that is, without the formation public political institutions. .

What is a "social institution"? What are the functions of social institutions?

Specific formations that ensure the relative stability of social ties and relations within the framework of the social organization of society are social institutions. The term "institution" itself is used in sociology in different meanings.

Firstly, it is understood as a set of certain persons, institutions, provided with certain material resources and performing a specific social function.

Secondly, from a substantive point of view, an "institution" is a certain set of standards, norms of behavior of individuals and groups in specific situations.

When we talk about social institutions, we mean in general a certain organization of social activity and social relations, including both standards, norms of behavior, and corresponding organizations, institutions that "regulate" these norms of behavior. For example, if we talk about law as a social institution, we mean both the system of legal norms that determine the legal behavior of citizens, and the system of legal institutions (court, police) that regulate legal norms and legal relations.

Social institutions- these are forms of joint activity of people, historically established stable, or relatively stable types and forms of social practice, with the help of which social life is organized, the stability of ties and relations is ensured within the framework of the social organization of society. Various social groups enter into social relations among themselves, which are regulated in a certain way. The regulation of these and other social relations is carried out within the framework of the relevant social institutions: the state (political relations), the labor collective (social and economic), the family, the education system, etc.

Each social institution has a specific goal of activity and, in accordance with it, performs certain functions, providing members of society with the opportunity to satisfy the corresponding social needs. As a result of this, social relations are stabilized, consistency is introduced into the actions of members of society. The functioning of social institutions, the performance of certain roles by people within their framework are determined by the presence of social norms in the internal structure of each social institution. It is these norms that determine the standard of people's behavior, on their basis the quality and direction of their activities are assessed, sanctions are determined against those who are characterized by deviant behavior.

Social institutions perform the following functions:

consolidation and reproduction of social relations in a certain area;

integration and cohesion of society;

regulation and social control;

communication and inclusion of people in activities.

Robert Merton introduced into sociology the distinction between explicit and latent (hidden) functions of social institutions. The explicit functions of the institution are declared, officially recognized and controlled by society.

Latent Functions- these are "not their own" functions, performed by the institution covertly or accidentally (when, for example, the education system performs the functions of political socialization that are not characteristic of it). When the discrepancy between explicit and latent functions is great, a double standard of social relations arises, threatening the stability of society. An even more dangerous situation is when, along with the official institutional system, so-called "shadow" institutions are formed, which take on the function of regulating the most important public relations (for example, criminal structures). Any social transformations are carried out through a change in the institutional system of society, the formation of new "rules of the game". First of all, those social institutions that determine the social type of society (institutions of property, institutions of power, institutions of education) are subject to change.

A social institution is a relatively stable and long-term form of social practice that is authorized and supported by social norms and through which social life is organized and the stability of social relations is ensured. Emile Durkheim called social institutions "factories for the reproduction of social relations."

Social institutions organize human activity into a certain system of roles and statuses, setting patterns of people's behavior in various spheres of public life. For example, such a social institution as a school includes the roles of teacher and student, and the family includes the roles of parents and children. There are certain role-playing relationships between them. These relations are regulated by a set of specific norms and regulations. Some of the most important norms are enshrined in law, others are supported by traditions, customs, and public opinion.

Any social institution includes a system of sanctions - from legal to moral and ethical, which ensure the observance of the relevant values ​​and norms, the reproduction of the corresponding role relations.

Thus, social institutions streamline, coordinate many individual actions of people, give them an organized and predictable character, and ensure standard behavior of people in socially typical situations. When this or that activity of people is ordered in the described way, they speak of its institutionalization. Thus, institutionalization is the transformation of people's spontaneous behavior into an organized one ("fight without rules" into "play by the rules").

Practically all spheres and forms of social relations, even conflicts, are institutionalized. However, in any society there is a certain amount of behavior that is not subject to institutional regulation. Usually there are five main complexes of social institutions. These are the institutions of kinship associated with marriage, family and the socialization of children and youth; political institutions associated with relations of power and access to it; economic institutions and institutions of stratification that determine the distribution of members of society in various status positions; cultural institutions associated with religious, scientific and artistic activities.

Historically, the institutional system has changed from institutions based on kinship and ascriptive attributes characteristic of traditional society to institutions based on formal relationships and statuses of achievement. In our time, the most important institutions of education and science are becoming, providing high social status.

Institutionalization means normative and organizational strengthening, streamlining social ties. When an institution appears, new social communities are formed, engaged in specialized activities, social norms are produced that regulate this activity, and new institutions and organizations ensure the protection of certain interests. For example, education becomes a social institution when a new society appears, professional activities for training and education in a mass school, in accordance with special norms.

Institutions can become obsolete and hinder the development of innovation processes. For example, the qualitative renewal of society in our country required overcoming the influence of the old political structures of a totalitarian society, old norms and laws.

As a result of institutionalization, such phenomena as formalization, standardization of goals, depersonalization, deindividualization may appear. Social institutions develop through overcoming the contradictions between the new needs of society and outdated institutional forms.

The specificity of social institutions, of course, is mainly determined by the type of society in which they operate. However, there is also continuity in the development of various institutions. For example, the institution of the family in the transition from one state of society to another may change some functions, but its essence remains unchanged. During periods of "normal" development of society, social institutions remain fairly stable and stable. When there is a mismatch between the actions of various social institutions, their inability to reflect public interests, to establish the functioning of social ties, this indicates a crisis situation in society. It is solved either by a social revolution and a complete replacement of social institutions, or by their reconstruction.

There are different types of social institutions:

economic, which are engaged in the production, distribution and exchange of material goods, the organization of labor, money circulation, and the like;

social, which organize voluntary associations, the life of collectives that regulate all aspects of the social behavior of people in relation to each other;

political, related to the performance of the functions of power;

cultural and educational, affirming, developing the continuity of the culture of society and passing it on to the next generations;

Religious, which organize people's attitude to religion.

All institutions are linked together in an integrated (combined) system, in which alone they can guarantee a uniform, normal process of collective life and fulfill their tasks. That is why all the listed institutions (economic, social, cultural and others) are generally referred to as social institutions. The most fundamental of them are: property, state, family, production teams, science, mass media system, upbringing and education systems, law and others.