UNDERSTANDING

CULTURE, SOCIETY
AND POLITICS
PREPARED BY: MS. SHIELA MAE B. COMBALICER
 Chapter 5
How society is
organized
 Primary

Group- a number of people

Two people coming together
who are connected by some
for a common purpose is
shared activity, interest or
Groups already defined as a group.
quality.
within
society

Secondary Intermediate
Primary group
This term refers to a small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face
association and cooperation. A small and close-knit circle of family members
or of friends and like-minded people.
These groups lasts longer and communication among members is direct and
cordial.
Examples:
◦ Barkada
◦ Family
◦ Childhood friends
Secondary group
This term refers to formal, impersonal groups in which there is a little social
intimacy or mutual understanding.
Large scale and may have membership in other countries.
Examples:
◦ Transnational companies
◦ Trade unions
◦ Corporate organizations
◦ Professional associations
Intermediate group
A cross between primary and secondary groups. It is a group that is large
scale yet applies familial relationship with members.
Examples:
◦ ABS-CBN (kapamilya)
◦ GMA 7 (kapuso)
◦ TV5 (kapatid)
In-groups and out-groups
A member can identify him/herself within the When one does not identify with similar or
group. The indicators for group identification another group because of his/her in-group.
can be very distinct yet abstract like: ◦ Lasallians are Lasallians because they are not
◦ Ethnicity Ateneans
◦ Race
◦ Faith
◦ Ideology
It could be by common interests, pastime or
hobbies-
Playing chess
Reference groups
This group is used to determine the reference point in so far as the kind of expected behaviour
or norm one should act and manifest. In this way it defines who we are and what is expected of
us in relation to and in comparison with its members. A person can have multiple reference
groups.
Examples:
◦ Athlete student- expected to balance academic life and sports training
◦ As a student, your reference group depends on what year level you are-Freshman, Sophomore, Junior,
Senior
◦ When forming dance groups- Backstreet boys or Spice girls

*Reference group can also be used as a basis for what someone aspires to be- sort of a model
Networks
Caroline Persell (2008) defines social network as “a set of relations, links, or ties among social
actors”.
This kind of social connection can be seen in multilevel marketing, which is a sales strategy that
entices and invites people to sell products and by doing so will get discounts, incentives or
commission for the products sold or for recruited sellers. The number of people down the line
increases sales and the number of sellers and buyers.
Examples of Multilevel marketing:
◦ Avon
◦ Boardwalk
◦ Amway
◦ Ever Bilena
International Council for Direct Selling
Industry (ICDSI)
Provides a list to determine whether you are transacting with a legitimate direct selling company
or not (Top direct selling, 2015):
1. Is there a product?
2. Are commissions paid on sale of products and not on registration/entry fees?
3. Is the intent to sell a product not a position?
4. Is there no direct correlation between the number of recruits and compensation?
5. If recruitment were to stop today, will the participants still make money?
6. Is there a reasonable product return policy?
7. Do products have fair market value?
8. Is there a compelling reason to buy?
*When your answers are all yes, then the company is a legitimate one.
Functions of social networks. David S. Hanchen (2001)
presents the consequences or effects of networks (as cited in
Persell 2008):
1. Diffusion-in networks information travel fast like gossips and other breaking
news.
2. Exchanges- information exchange, material exchange like in multilevel
marketing and a lot more.
3. Social Support-referral system works well in networks in locating someone,
finding a job, seeking advice and forming support groups.
4. Exclusion- understandably, those outside the network are excluded from the
benefits, support systems and information shared within the network.
Kinship, marriage and
household
Family
Defined as a type of social institution that unites people by blood, kinship or alliance into one
group within a society. The unifying factor could be that two people are in love, or simply they
want to care for each other or they have similar personal goals.
◦ Parents
◦ Grandparents
◦ Siblings
◦ Relatives
◦ Close friends
Kinship
Is a culture’s system of recognized family roles and relationships that
define the obligations, rights and boundaries of interaction among
the members of a self recognizing group.
 Kinship
• The blood or marriage which binds people together in group.
• The term “Kinship” is different from family because the former
is more linked to marriage, common ancestry, or adaption
(Macionis, 2010).
TERN
GCS OF KINSHIP
Y F
INSHIP BY BLOOD
TY E
D
C
B
WHAT IS
A
KINSHIP?
Descent and marriage
Unilineal
Matrilineal
Patrilineal
Bilateral
 Unilineal descent
Identified by tracing the affiliation of a person through descent of only one sex, the female or
the male, the mother or the father in the ancestry line.
Encourages unions of two
Through common ancestry using both different types of groups
mother and father’s side of the family.

Clans Lineages Moieties Phratries

Link by kin with members tracing connection through Based on the association by choice with an
one another even if the supposedly ancestral union is ancestral line but the members couldn’t
not clear. explain the reason for the link
Patrilineal: tracing descent through the men only
Matrilineal:tracing descent through women only
Bilateral:tracing descent through both men and women
Bilateral descent
Traces the affiliation of a person from both the female and the male as
recognition of the equal worth and value of both sexes in identifying the
ancestry line.
Political Leadership Structure
Political Organization
Bands
- have informal leadership, connected by family ties and very much reliant on communal
decision making.
Tribes
National form of human social organization based on a set of smallest groups ,having temporary or
permanent,political integration
Defined by common descent,language,culture,and ideology.
Viewed historically - known to be the social groups that existed before the emergence of nations and
States.
 CHIEFDOMS
Are political organizations that rose out of the need to control larger population.
There is notable and centralized leadership.
Society ranked according to leader's and followers(also known as nobles and
commoners).

State --the most formal and complex form of political organization.

-there is an identified governing body to look after the affairs of thousands of is a
wide range of institutions within the states which includes: Legislative, Executive, and
Judicial bodies.
 TYPES OF
AUTHORITY😄🙂🙂
 3 TYPES OF AUTHORITY
TRADITIONAL
CHARISMATIC
RATIONAL
Traditional Authority- is one where there is a
dominant personality that leads people based on
tradition and order.
The leader is dependent upon rules, norms and
principles that would govern the day-to day affairs
of the people.
CHARISMATIC- points to a type of leadership where an
individual possesses certain types of characteristics that draw
people in .
Such leader is capable of mobilizing people because of their
massive trust and genuine desire to follow.
Ex. Nelson Mandela
Mahatma Gandhi
Martin Luther King Jr.
RATIONAL AUTHORITY - also called lega- rational
authority, is a type of leadership where there are
clearly defined rules and laws which must be
followed.
People obey the leader not because of his/her ability
but because of the legitimacy of leadership based on
predefined rules and regulations.
 POLITICAL LEGITIMACY
Defined as the belief that a rule, institutions, or leader has the right to govern. It is a
judgment by an individual about the rightfulness of a hierarchy between rule or ruler
and its subject/s and about the subordinate's obligation toward the rule or ruler.
It is a collective belief held by citizens to acknowledge and respect the leadership to be
legitimate.
Try to follow the rules and regulations imposed upon their day-to-day activities.
Allows a society to operate within the context of an organized political structure.