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ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2016-2017)

B.S.W.E.-1
Introduction to Social Work
Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the
Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teachers/Tutors/Authors for the help and guidance
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answers may be seen as the Guide/Help for the reference to prepare the answers of the Questions given in the assignments
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information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer the official study material provided by the university.

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Note:
(i) Answer all the five questons.
(ii) All question carry equal marks.
(iii) Answer to question No. 1 and 2 should not exceed 500 words each.
Q. 1. Highlight the factors of social change.
Ans. FACTORS OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Physical Environment and Social Change: Physical environment influences social life. Changes in physical
environment are inevitable due to natural phenomenon like earthquake, soil erosion, volcanic eruptions and misuse
by human being, e.g. deforestation, industrialization, over utilization of natural resources etc. Physical environment
determine the form, growth and change in human society. E.g. availability of natural resources leads to settlement
of human societies around them. Misuse or over exploitation of physical environment changes the social and cultural
life of people. Destruction of environment has contributed to the fall of greatest of civilizations in the world, e.g.
Harrapan civilization.
India also, in the race of becoming developed nation, has contributed to the destruction of its physical environment.
E.g. the green revolution came at the cost of soil erosion and loss of natural soil fertility. Industrial and technological
development let to deforestation for creating space for setup of industries. Natural calamilites like famine, floods
etc. have resulted in migration of people from one place to another. Thus, it is clear that physical environment
brings about social change.
Demographic Factors of Social Change
By demographic changes, we mean the change in the population. Population of a place undergoes change due
to births, deaths, migration of people from one place to another, sex ratio, use of contraceptive etc. These factors,
further lead to social and cultural change and change in political institutions of a country.
Population and Family Planning: It has been noticed that in world developing countries have more population
than the developed world. Both cases, i.e. less population and more population bring about change in the society.
Developed countries with less population have high standards of living. In contrast to it, high population of developing
countries is linked with high fertility rate resulting in overpopulation, which brings about low standard of living for
people of the country. It further leads to infant and maternal mortality rate, regional disparity, unemployment,
violence, crime etc. In order to have control on increasing population, birth control measures were introduced
which were initially opposed by the Indian society as irreligious and immoral. Later on with spread of education,
slowly this measure to control population was accepted by society which resulted in change in society in terms of
values and attitude. People were in favour of small families where they could properly educate the children, have
better standards of living, and health life.

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Sex Ratio: This is a topic best dealt by studying the Indian society. The problem being faced today by the
Indian society is declining sex ratio. Indian society has always preferred male child. Female infanticide was a
common practice in traditional Indian societies. Girl child was considered as a burden on family. This attitude has
still not changed; on the contrary it has become worse. Due to the facility sex detection test, people now know the
sex of the child before its birth. They have resorted to the inhuman practice of killing of female foetus. This has
resulted in the imbalance in sex ratio and violence against women. To save the society from disastrous consequences
the government of India had banned the sex detection test through Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994.
Changing Age Structure: Though it feels nice to hear that due to improved health conditions, the longevity of
humans have increased. This also has its negative points. Earlier, bulk of the population was formed by young
people, but due to increased medical facility the death rate has fallen and with the use of contraceptive, the birth rate
has reduced. Increase in population of old people is creating social problems like- old people will require more
social and economic support system failing which there will be more complications, e.g. marginalization of old
people, failing health and loneliness.
In short, society consists of its members and any change in their numbers is bound to have effect on society
leading to social change in terms of values, culture, economy and politics, etc.
Economy: It is the undisputed fact that the economic structure forms the social structure of society. During
prehistoric times, man was a wanderer. He learned to stay together to fulfil his needs. Initially, he was hunter and

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gatherer and from there he went through various stages of economic development and today the human society is
based on industrialization, scientific and technological development. During various economic phases man enjoyed
different forms of social life, relationships, development, values and culture which suited that age.
In nutshell, we can say that economic development is directly proportional to social development. Any change
in economy will directly impact the social structure and bring about change in it. Similarly, change in social structure
will impact the economy of the country.
Technological Factors of Social Change
Revolution in technology has shrunk the world and brought about social change in almost all fields of human
life. Industry, agriculture, transportation, communication and environment etc. have been affected by technological
advancement.
Development of technology has affected human being in almost every sphere of social life. Some of them are
listed below:
● Joint family system has been taken over by nuclear families.
● Role of women has transformed, from working in the house, she has started to work outside and also started
participating in social life. She is now at par with her male counterparts.
● There has been a drastic change in relationships e.g. relationship of husband and wife has changed. Change
is observed in other fields also, Cases of divorces and late marriages, inter caste and love marriages are
common. Family does not play much role in social control.
● Impact of caste system in the life of individuals is negligent.
● Cases of migration from rural to urban areas have increased and given rise to slum culture in cities and town.
● Superstitions, very prominent in traditional societies, have taken a back seat due to spread of scientific
education and technology.
● More and more dependence on gadgets in daily life, and reduced physical labour.
● In a society, it will be observed that there is rise in cases of emotional, economic and social insecurity; stress
and strain due to increased competition in professional life. Life has become so fast paced that people find
it difficult to cope up with.
● In short, we can say that technological advancement has affected social life in both positive as well as
negative way.
Q. 2. What are the characteristics of caste system in India?
Ans. Concept of Caste and Its Characteristics: The Caste System in India is a system of social stratification,
social restriction and a basis for affirmative action in India. Historically, the caste system in India defined communities
into thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jatis.
Caste is commonly thought of as an ancient fact of Hindu life, Rig Veda the oldest and most important of four
Vedas recommends four varnas in hierarchal order they are:

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● Brahmins : Priest and teachers

● Kshatriya : Warriors and rulers
● Vaishya : Traders and other common people.
● Shudra : Menial Tasks
Some historians claim that there was a fifth category of untouchables and they are considered outside the varna
system. Individuals become a member of a society by birth this caste can not be changed by the individual. There
have been instances of the whole caste up-gradation due to improvement in economical status but it depends on the
acceptance by the society. There has been a change in the degree of rigidity due to sanskritization, inter caste
marriage and advancement of education. According to G.S. Ghurye, the anthropologist there are six characteristics
of caste:
1. Hierarchy: Hierarchy is present in almost all the societies in one form or the other. Though the principles of
determining may change from one society to another. In the case of India, the caste is the basis of hierarchy not the
wealth and power. But in reality both economic and political factors play an important role in determining the caste
position. According to M.N. Srinivasan, the sociologist, a dominant caste is that caste in the community that has a
sufficiently high ritual status, numerical strength and material resources like land, wealth, and access to power.
2. Segmented Division of Society: Castes are developed groups based on the basis of birth and not on the basis
of selection. Every caste has a caste council to control the rights and duties of individuals and they have powers to

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regulate the member’s life as well. They can punish offenders. Many casts have their Gods and Goddesses. So there
is enough autonomy to deal with issues related to its members.
3. Restrictions on Feeding and Social: Intercourse: There are certain restrictions on eating and exchange of
certain food items in some caste. The food is divided in pakka and kachcha. Pakka is cooked in ghee and is
considered to be superior. A Brahmin can take pakka food from vaishya and kshatriya but nothing from shudra and
untouchables. These kind of difference divide the society and create distances between castes.
4. Civil and Religious Disabilities and Privileges of Different Castes: There is a difference in the rights and
privileges in different castes that segregate on the basis of caste. In north of India, lower castes are segregated but
in the south all castes are segregated. For example, In Viakom in the princely state of Travancore the shudras were
not allowed walk on the temple street. But with the persistent and nationwide agitation by leaders like Mahatma
Gandhi changed the situation. There used to be differential treatment for the same crime. The shudras could not
enter many holy places only Brahmins were allowed. In some of the rural areas there are still discrimination against
lower caste.
5. Lack of Unrestricted Choice of Occupation: Each caste is traditionally assigned an occupation according
to hierarchy. The aptitude, skill and interest were not at all considered and he had to adopt to the occupation
according to his caste. The occupations were also divided on the basis of caste in hierarchy. For example, Brahmins
could become priests only. The young members used to get the training of the occupation to learn the skills. The
education was not universal classroom based. Though there were restrictions on occupation some of them were
open to all such as weaving, agriculture and military. In pre-modern times the economic relationships were based on
client-patron relationship basis.
6. Endogamy: This is a marriage practice where the bride and the groom are from the same group. This is
prevalent in many sub-castes. Such as Iyers and Iyengars may not marry each other being both of them Brahmins.
But exceptions are always there as a higher caste man marries a lower caste woman known as hyper-gamy and a
higher caste girl marrying a lower caste boy is called hypo-gamy. The hypergamy is still allowed but hypogamy is
not.
Caste in other Religions
In all the religions the caste system can be seen only in Hinduism. But virtually all the religions are divided on
the basis of caste. There is a different kind of hierarchy present in all the religions. There is a radical equality in the
members such as in Islam and Christianity. In the case of Sikkhism and Buddhism also caste like differences are
observed such as in Sikkhs Jat, Sikhs and Mazhabi Sikh. In Islam both Sheikhs and Syeds claim to be descendents
of prophet Muhammad. The Pathans and Mughals are considered to be warriors. Other groups are occupation based
in Islam which are considered lower than the Sheikh, Syed, Pathans and Mughals. There is very little social intercourse
between members. Christianity is also an egalitarian religion encouraging conversions of the people from all the
castes.

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Q. 3. Answer any two of the following questions in 250 words each:

(a) Mention the major characteristics of babyhood.
Ans. Babyhood: Infancy is succeeded by the stage called babyhood. It begins when the child is around two
weeks and lasts upto two years. Main characteristics of babyhood are:
1. Developments during babyhood lay foundations for the developmental patterns for the rest of the life.
2. Babyhood is marked with visible physical changes like–increase in height, body weight and body proportions.
3. Baby starts socialization and shows interest and recognizes the family members. Strong bond is created with
mother or the one who takes care of the baby.
4. Baby attains his individuality and become little independent.
5. This stage is marked by differentiation of sexes of the baby. They are dressed according to their sexes,
games and toys are also provided accordingly. Sex role typing is observed in their behaviour and interactions.
6. The baby’s health is also at risk due to illness, accidents and at time some psychological problems that can
affect the normal development of the baby.
In this stage, baby usually starts walking at the age of 12–14 months. He graduates from liquids to solid foods
and also learns the basis of receptive and expressive speech and creates an emotional bond with the parents and
close family.
Physical Development: During babyhood, rapid growth is observed in the height and weight. The weight of
the baby increases three fold of the birth weight by end of the first year. Height also increases on an average to

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around 2-2.5′′ feet in the first year and upto 32-34 inches in the 2nd year. The baby starts responding with a smile
to known faces at around two months. Baby starts rolling on sides to back at 2 months and from back to side at 4
months and rolls all over by 6th month. During 6th month, the baby moves in sitting position and starts pulling itself
up and starts sitting with supports by 8 months. Big object are picked with the help of hands and palm by 5th month
and by 9th month, baby is able to pick up finer objects with the help of fingers. Baby starts crawling between 6th-
8th month and helps himself pull up with support and stand by 10 months. Baby is able to stand without support and
walk a small distance with support by 11-12 months. By 14th month baby can walk without support also. These
physical developments of a baby are called motor abilities. They play a crucial role in the development of the
personality of the child.
Speech Development: Ability to communicate is a great milestone in the life of everyone. To develop speech
helps in communicating with others. Speech are divided into two aspects: (i) Receptive speech which means to
understand what other are trying to communicate and (ii) Expressive speech which means to make others understand
what we want to communicate. Baby starts producing several sounds which we call babbling and slowly graduate
to the stage of monosyllables, e.g. the baby starts speaking words like ba,ba,ba,ba, Ma,ma,ma; ka,ka,ka etc. Before
the age of two years the baby starts speaking two syllables words and form sentences with no grammar, e.g. de do
( which means to give).
Emotional and Social Development: During this stage all the emotions like joy, affection, curiosity, fear,
anger etc. are expressed in a very loud manner and short lived. Smile is the first emotional and social response
which a baby gives out. This is how he learns to respond to social environment and that creates a foundation for his
social behaviour in the society.
Play Development: Play activities may be classified on the following two basis:
1. Content of play:
● Sense pleasure play
● Skill play
● Dramatic play
● Rituals
● Competitive games
2. Social Character of Play: This includes with whom is the child playing with and what the nature of the
relationship with the child:
● Play with adult
● Solitary play
● Parallel play
● Associative play
● Cooperative play.

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Personality Development: During babyhood only, the personality of the individual starts taking shape. The
basis of the personality, i.e. the self-concept is formed. Other traits also start strengthening or weakening according
to the levels of interaction with the environment of the individual.
Hazards in Babyhood: A baby is prone to hazards which are physical, psychological and social in nature.
Physical hazards a baby had to experience various illnesses, accident or lack of nutrition resulting in death.
Psychological hazards include delayed development of motor skills and speech ability and problems attached to
it. These disabilities directly impact the social interactions resulting in emotional and psychological problems.
Social hazards include lack of opportunities to attain social skills. The personality of the baby is affected with
the perception that what others think of him. Any kind of unfavourable attitude from others gives rise to negativism,
resulting in resentment and withdrawal behaviour in the child which can cause irreparable damage to the personality
of the child.
(d) Discuss the relevance of voluntary action and social work.
Ans. Relevance of Voluntary Action and Social Work: The professional social workers have proved their
worth in the state and central government while planning for the development of social welfare in the country.
There is always a tussle between professional and non-professional workers as the non-professional are non-socialized
in skills and values of that of social work. As the salaries do not attract best professional social workers in the
government organizations the exposure of professionals is very less in the government sector.

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Professional Social Worker and Voluntary Social Worker
Social workers are well equipped with the knowledge and skills of their profession to handle situations. Social
workers work to earn a living but they have a sense of pride in doing their job for social purpose. They do their job
of helping community wherever in need but it is difficult for the workers to change the community with their new
ideas for a change in the society or in other words they can’t be leaders of a change. Both professional and voluntary
social workers contribute to the society. The volunteer is the one who visualizes the society free of ills he brings
interest and confidence in the society. Social worker acts as an institution which brings full effective functioning
institutions. This means that the worker accepts the client fully and tries to reach his goals by using his knowledge
and skills. The worker in-return will pass moral judgement as a genuine concern for the client and community.
Social workers objective is to provide relief and rehabilitation. A true social worker is the one who helps his client
either himself or through his associate or organization.
The role played by a social worker depends on the kind of scientific training he/she has had. The knowledge,
skill, outlook interpretation and his contribution to the society all will be based on the training he/she has had. The
professionals should inspire the volunteer to take active participation and provide enough opportunity for his creative
skills to be performed. The contribution of the professional is equally valuable in policy formation. Because the
professional social workers are trained to respect human dignity and liberty, they also have a humanitarian outlook
can protect society from the violations of every kind that might adversely affect the society.
Role of Voluntary Organizations in Social Welfare
Social welfare in a planned way happened in India only with the Gandhiji’s 14 point social and economic
development plan. This programme was used as point for acceleration of the process of political struggle of
independence with development for the down trodden masses by way of “self help through mutual help”. Through
a network of agencies contructive programs for industries like Khadi, Nai Talim, Leprosy Work, Harijan sewa
started with contribution of thousands selfless volunteers which is the basis of social welfare post independence in
India.
A planned development mobilizes human resources towards the improvement of socio-economic condition of
the society. Voluntary organizations also help in the industrial development of the country and motivate people to
act in a socially approved behaviour.
Impact of Voluntary Services in Social Welfare
Social volunteers help a great role to play in the social welfare as they help in development of education and
health, providing housing and welfare services to the weak and handicapped, they also aim social welfare services
through change in the physical emotional and intellectual thinking of the society. Social development helps people
increase their capacity of contributing towards society of self help and the help of the others. In some cases, the
state welfare authorities take the help of voluntary organizations for pushing their development programmes forward.
On the other hand, in some cases the state has supported the voluntary efforts to stop beggary, prostitution and

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juvenile delinquencies. However, the focus point of voluntary organizations is welfare function. One of the most
successful voluntary action was started by Acharya Vinoba Bhave recommending Bhudan, Gramdan, and Jeevandan
which brought a massive change in the thinking process of people that they started sharing their assets with less
fortunate people. The other role now a days played by voluntary organizations is to meet the new complex society
problems. In India there are 1000 voluntary agencies working for the welfare and eradication of drug addiction,
prostitution, victims of terrorism. Through voluntary organizations only the 100% literacy in Kerala has been
achieved. The great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, Jaiprakash Narayan have shown their faith in the
voluntary organizations. According to Balwant Rai Mehta Committee Report (1957)–“Today in the implementation
of various schemes of community development more and more emphasis is laid on non-governmental organizations
and on the principle that ultimately people’s own local organizations should take over the entire work”. Also the
fifth and the seventh five year plans were supported by the voluntary action and the state assistance was provided to
them to perform these functions. This, proves that voluntary agencies when technically sound can be of great use
for the developmental tasks. Thus, voluntary organizations are going to get the required acknowledgement from the
government for their contribution in the social welfare of the country.
Q. 4. Answer any four of the following questions in 150 words each:
(a) Trace the three stages of prenatal development briefly.
Ans. Prenatal Development: Prenatal development covers a period of nine months starting the time of

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fertilization to the birth of the child. The entire prenatal stage is divided into three stages:
● The period of zygote–It starts with fertilization and lasts upto two weeks.
● Period of embryo–From 2nd week to two calendar months.
● Period of the fetus–Starts from end of 2nd month and lasts until the birth of the child.
1. The Period of Zygote: The fertilized egg or zygote moves down the ovarian tube into the uterus. Zygote
floats freely into the uterine cavity for 4-5 days and then it is fixed into the walls of uterus. This state is called
implantation. After implantation, mitotic cell division takes place and zygote resembles like a ball with two layers
of cells.
2. The Period of Embryo: Embryonic state starts from 2nd week and lasts up to 2 months. In this stage cell
differentiation takes place and different types of cells come into existence. During this stage the external parts of
body are formed, i.e., head, face, hands, fingers, legs. Important organs like heart, lungs and brain also forms
during this stage and heart beat can be heard. The first trimester, i.e. first 12 weeks of pregnancy are very crucial
and important as all important organs are formed during this period.
3. The Third Stage is the Period of Fetus: It starts from the beginning of the third month and stretches up to
the birth of baby. The growth continues and body proportions increases. The movement of the fetus can be felt in
this stage. All important organs are formed by the 5th month. The development of the nervous system takes place
in a fetus between 2nd to 4th month. The prenatal development of fetus takes place in 9 months and the fetus is
ready for the delivery.
(b) Explain the impact of class system in India.
Ans. Impact of Caste System on Indian Society: The caste system of modern society has changed its face in
the following ways:
Compartmentalization of Individual Life
There have been changes in the food habits and social interaction area of urban sector where we can see a
change. People are not so rigid with traditional aspect in urban areas but the rural areas are still the same.
Decline of Caste in Ritual Sphere
People are not so conscious of eating or touching a low caste person today. They do not believe in impurity or
polluting themselves by doing so. So caste system has reduced if not fully vanished.
Caste as a Social Network
The caste has become the basis of networking with people and acquiring resources. People give preference to
those with same caste in a job opportunity or for escalation. People move from one place to another influenced by
the caste interest.
Caste Consciousness and Community Consciousness
Even today caste is the basis of identification of an individual. Sometimes it creates a conflict in taking collective

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decisions. The dominant castes have benefitted from various developmental programs at other’s cost. The biggest
example is the Bhoodhan movement which could not succeed due to differences in the caste of resources distribution.
This shows that common community consciousness is still far away from reality in India.
Caste Consciousness Leads to Violence
The intense caste consciousness leads to conflict. Any local trivial incidents become violent because of the
strong identification with the caste. These conflicts arise due to the unequal distribution of resources and the need
of the dominant caste to keep lower caste in their place and the growing consciousness of the lower caste to these
inequalities.
Caste has also Lead to Structural Violence
In the structural violence, the laws and rules are made in such a way that it hurts the dignity of a person to cause
mental pain the apt example is the untouchability. Not to allow lower caste people in schools or in the temples or to
use common resources. The reason given by some people for untouchability is that the lower class people are not
physically clean.
Caste has Caused Problems in Modern Organizations
Caste has also created problems in modern organizations where people get selected on the basis of caste rather
than on merit, which effects the productivity and performance of the organization. This shows that not only village
community but modern organizations are also divided on caste basis.
Caste has Interfered in Uniform Application of Laws and Rules

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Uniform application of rules and laws apply to each and every individual apart from their social background.
Though these applications are much needed for modern organizations the caste consideration creates a big problem
in it.
The different viewpoint of upper-caste and lower-caste on how the caste system is affecting them says that
upper caste claims the reservations are keeping them in a disadvantage where as the lower caste claims that the
upper caste being in the strategic positions in the law making them victims. However, the strong sections of each
caste take advantage of the opportunities at the cost of others.
Although the positive point of the caste system in India has promoted plurality in the social structure. The
difference in the value system, language, culture encourages a diverse opinion. Domination of a single caste or
group is not possible in the political and cultural set-ups. This helps in an active and vibrant democracy. Since this
is an age old tradition it helps in stability of the society. This has also provided a social security by securing
occupation for the next generation. Similarly, in the times of distress the fellow members come to the rescue.
(c) Discuss the factors of social change.
Ans. There are various factors which being about social change:
Physical Environment: Social life is influenced by physical environment of the place. Physical environment
means forests, deserts, mountains, and whatever good nature has provided human beings with. Changes in physical
environment are inevitable. Natural phenomena like earthquake, volcanic eruptions and human activities like
deforestation, misuse of natural resources, pollution brings about drastic changes the physical environment. Change
in physical environment leads to social changes in negative as well as positive sense. History reveals that unfavorable
physical environment have led to fall of world’s greatest civilization. Harsh climatic conditions limit the growth of
social life. For example, North and South polar regions and deserts. Similarly, favourable physical environment
promotes social growth. Northern plains of India are a classic example of it.
Economic Growth: Social and economic growth of any society in interlinked with each other. From the
prehistoric man to the man of modern societies has gone through various economic phases of development which
has directly affected the social growth. From a hunter and gatherer, man has now become a member of advanced
industrial society with scientific and technological development resulting in change in social life. Economic change
is directly proportional to social change. Development in economy will affect change in society in terms of educational,
technological, scientific advancement.
Demographic Factors of Social Change
Demographic factors mean study of population. Change in population of a place determines the social, political
and cultural change in a society. It has been seen that advanced countries have less population than the developing
countries. Developed counties with high economic growth have high standards of living. Developing countries
with high population have to face problems like high birth rate, low health standards, unemployment, violence and
crime etc, due to low economic growth.

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In nutshell change in the demography affects the society in terms of social change, economic change, education,
values, culture and politics etc.
Technological Factors
Technological factors resulting in economic growth have shrunk the world. Technological development has
affected human being and brought about change in all spheres of social life. Nuclear families, revolutionary
transformation in the role of women in modern societies, change in human relationships, reduced interference of
religion in social life of people etc. All these factors have drastically changed the social institutions of social life.
Technological development has also led to cultural lag in societies.
All the above factors induce social change. Development in these factors leads to social change. There is no
single factor is can be marked as more important than other. All the factors affecting social change are interlinked
and development of change in one will also affect the other.
(d) Why is it important to have social equality in the country?
Ans. State participation in the social welfare activity in India has a long history. Right from the vedic times the
help to the needy has been recognized as an act of punya (good act). The basic idea is to help the less fortunate in the
community. The independent India brought industrial revolution and an intensive development activity in the country.
Political freedom is dependent on the social and economic development as well. The wants are diverse and some of
them have been with us others are outcome of modern age. The use of talent and resources can remove dirt, illiteracy,

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poor housing, superstition from our lives.
Most of the developed countries we see a divide of some enjoying the opportunities and others do not.
Similarly, economic equality gives a chance to share political participation but economic inequality seriously dam-
ages the quality of democratic life of a country. Thus, overcoming inequalities is one of the most important aspect
of democracy. Likewise social inequalities may also hamper the political participation. Socially underprivileged
may become politically weak.
Q. 5. Write short notes on any five or the following questions in 100 words each:
(a) Schizophrenia
Ans. Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders: Extreme disturbances in thinking resulting in mala-
daptive ways. Some symptoms of schizophrenia are, delusions hallucination, inability to pay attention to one topic,
jumping from one topic to another which are totally different from one another, fear of being attacked etc.
(c) Storm and stress
Ans. Hall coined the phrase “storm and stress” with reference to adolescence and applied the phrase as he saw
turmoil during adolescence as universal and inevitable. The core of the storm and stress view seems to be the idea
that adolescence is a period of life that is more difficult in some ways than other periods of life and difficult for
adolescents as well as for the people around them. Results suggested that beliefs in storm and stress notions are
quite prevalent, arguments between parents and adolescents are believed to occur quite frequently, and females
endorse storm and stress beliefs more readily than do males. This period is characterized by a teenager’s conflict
with parents, mood disruptions, and engagement in risky behaviour. Although the concept of storm and stress is not
accepted as a universal phenomenon in adolescents, psychologists recognize that this phenomenon is most likely to
take place during adolescence.
(d) Agencies of socialization
Ans. The process of socialization starts right from the day a child comes into existence. There are many agencies
which guide and help the child to learn these social processes in various phases of his life. This learning process
lasts for life time. Some of the main agencies that become an integral part of the individual are:
Family: As the child is born, He is nurtured with love and care of his parents and other members of the family.
It is the very first institution of his life where he learn how to speak and express his emotions. He experience love,
affection, care, cooperation etc. in a family. Family becomes the central part of his existence.
Religion: Religion inculcates belief and set of rules that a person follows with complete faith. Religion regulates
the behaviour of an individual and imbibes certain values which stay with him throughout his life.
Peer Group and Friends: Peer group is an inseparable part of a person. It can be called a family outside
family. Members of peer group share age, social position and thoughts. Adolescence is period when this agency
has maximum impact on the individual. Peer group affects the personality and overall mental makeup of a child.
Peer group is a place where they can escape from parental guidance and leans to form relationships on their own.
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Educational Institutions: Educational institutions are considered as the agencies for grooming and personality
development for an individual. Here, he is in care and guidance of teachers. Educational institute provide learning
environment that inculcate a sense of responsibility and discipline among the children. These institutes provide
moral, intellectual and social insight to individual which become important milestones in the life of the child.
Profession and Employment: When an individual finishes his studies he enter the professional world. His
workplace also becomes an import agent of socialization. He learns about his new job, responsibilities attached to
it; learns the ethics and decorum of the workplace. Workplace makes a person competitive, hard working and he
learns to co–operate with his superiors and subordinates. Also, a newcomer learns to follow and obey the values
and practices being followed at the organization.
State: It is the supreme agency for socialization. It makes laws and code of conduct for the citizens of the
country also; it has provisions for punishing those who do not follow those laws. These laws and practices help a
country to function and develop as a respectable nation of the world. The government inculcates the virtues of
patriotism and sense of belonging in individual. It ensures that the citizens of the country respect and follow the
laws made by the state. The growth of nation helps its citizens to grow and excel and vice versa.
Other than the above, neighbourhood, institution of marriage, relatives, various social and cultural institutions
also play an integral part in enhancing the personality of the individual.
(e) Plurality of culture.

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Ans. Plurality of Cultures: When in a country the people follow different religion, caste, creed, and races and
they live different ways of life with their own culture and ethnic identities is called culturally plural country. In this
pattern or system people from different faith, religion, caste and race work together live together sharing common
bond of being together either by birth or by choice and still retaining their own culture proudly. Plural culture also
indicated co-existence of several sub-cultures. People think differently according to their cultural pattern and
follow different way of life their thinking also differs, all this gives a culture pluralism a cultural diversity as well.
Each group in the plural culture can be identified with their language, history or ancestry, religion, dressing style,
and many other things. These different characteristics are transmitted to their next generation and the culture continues
in the same way.
There is always solidarity amongst the same religion people no matter how big or small the group is in size. The
membership system is a closed one as this can be obtained by birth in the community. Almost all in he community
share the same sense of responsibility and have more or less similar opinion they have common beliefs and common
rights.
India is perfect example of cultural plurality. It has all tribal, rural and urban people. There is a complete
diversity of culture and people speak different language, follow different religion, and are different in caste, colour,
dressing and way of life. They all constitute sub-cultures of a larger society. Urban areas are more complex in terms
of variety of sub-culture.
(h) Purpose of Social Control
Ans. The purpose of social control is to control the social behaviour of people for smooth functioning of
society. We can list down the main purpose of social control as:
● To control the behaviour of members of group or society in accordance with the values and norms of the
society.
● To bring stability and cordiality in social relationships.
● Try to solve and control social conflicts and tensions arising out of deviant behaviour of individuals.
● To protect the interests of weak and vulnerable sections of society, e.g. women, children etc.
● To establish ways for cooperation among different groups of society to enable society to function in a smooth
manner.
● To maintain the unity and integrity of society.
● Society is dynamic, and keeps changing with time. Social control keeps modifying the values and norms
through its various agencies to keep the society in tune with changing times. At the same time, it maintains
humanitarian values, solidarity and dignity of society.
● It also evolves systems of rewards and punishments for individuals depending on their social behaviour.

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